Harry Potter: Becoming a Top Student from Scratch

Magic is a power that borders on "willing something into existence," and Transfiguration is the most typical example of that.

Many students believed their failures in Transfiguration stemmed from mispronouncing the incantation or not moving their wands sharply enough, so they kept experimenting with those aspects. But when Professor McGonagall turned a desk into a pig earlier, she didn't use any elaborate movements or incantations—just a light tap of her wand, and the desk transformed.

Wade raised his wand and pointed it at the matchstick.

In his mind—

A clear mental image.

Unshakable conviction.

And absolute confidence.

If the concept of a "needle" was fuzzy in his head, or if he was thinking things like, "This is really hard," "Can magic even do this?", "I probably can't," or "I'll definitely fail the first time…" then the spell would almost certainly fail.

The wand was merely a conduit for a wizard's magic, making it more obedient and balanced. Incantations, gestures, and rituals were more like tools to reinforce belief—a form of self-hypnosis for the wizard.

A skilled wizard could change the world with willpower alone, without relying on any extras.

"Very good, Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall suddenly praised. "A clear transformation—one point to Gryffindor."

The nearby students craned their necks to look. The matchstick in front of Hermione had become sharply pointed at one end and had even taken on a silvery hue. It now resembled a needle.

The brown-haired girl tried hard to suppress her excitement, though her sparkling eyes betrayed her feelings.

Professor McGonagall said, "Miss Granger, perhaps you'd like to demonstrate the transfiguration process for the class? Considering—"

Before she could finish, a collective gasp came from the other side of the room.

Wade's matchstick had suddenly grown long and thin, with a narrow hole at one end, and its surface gleamed like polished metal.

Professor McGonagall walked over quickly and levitated the needle with her wand to examine it closely. A look of satisfaction and approval spread across her face. "A perfect transformation. Three points to Ravenclaw!"

She returned the needle to its original form and called the young wizards over to watch Wade demonstrate. Under everyone's gaze, Wade recited the incantation softly, tapped the wand gently—

The matchstick elongated and changed color, and in the blink of an eye, a fine silver needle appeared on the desk.

Everyone gasped in awe at once.

Wade looked up, his eyes sweeping past Hermione's somewhat reluctant expression and landing on a pair of bright green eyes.

The boy with messy black hair gave him a friendly smile, full of surprise and admiration. The red-haired, freckle-faced boy beside him wore a dazed, slightly goofy expression.

"They say Ravenclaws are the smartest," Wade overheard the red-haired Ron saying to Harry as class ended. "I guess I kind of get it now."

Following Transfiguration class was Charms, with only ten minutes in between to change classrooms. After assigning homework, Professor McGonagall dismissed them, and the students poured into the corridor and headed to the Charms classroom—still a combined class of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

"Wade." Hermione, ignoring house boundaries, sat right beside him and asked, "Do you have anything planned after class?"

"I'm heading to the practice room," Wade replied.

"Perfect." Hermione let out a breath of relief. "I'm planning to practice Transfiguration more too. How did you succeed so quickly? Is there a trick to it?"

"If there is, it's that you have to truly believe you can do it. That's the most important—"

Before Wade could finish, Professor Flitwick entered the classroom.

Professor Filius Flitwick, the Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw House, stood only about a meter tall—no bigger than a three- or four-year-old child—but he had long white hair and a fluffy white beard. To teach students who were all taller than him, he stood atop a stack of thick books arranged like stairs and climbed to the top.

Some students couldn't help but giggle.

"All right, all right, children," Professor Flitwick said, holding a short wand in his tiny hand. "Some of you might be thinking—why do we have this little guy teaching us?"

Many students laughed at his self-deprecating remark, and it was clear that Flitwick didn't mind being the butt of a friendly joke.

"Or maybe you're wondering, 'What could he possibly teach me?'"

As he spoke, Flitwick waved his wand, and a flock of tiny birds flew from its tip, circling over the students' heads. Then he tapped his wand again, and two books grew long bamboo-like arms and legs and began dancing in the air.

The students burst into applause, utterly convinced. In just two minutes, they had grown fond of the tiny professor—he wasn't cowardly like Quirrell, dull like Binns, or intimidating like McGonagall or Snape. The Ravenclaws couldn't help but think proudly—Our Head of House is definitely the best professor at Hogwarts!

"Thank you! Thank you for the applause," Flitwick said in his soft, high-pitched voice. "I believe Charms is the most fun class of all. A wizard who can't cast spells isn't much of a wizard! Of course, before we begin, I need to take attendance and get to know my lovely students—"

The roll call went smoothly until—

"Harry Potter!"

Before anyone could respond, Flitwick let out a shriek and toppled backward off his stack of books with a thud.

The students were stunned and exchanged bewildered glances. Many turned toward the black-haired boy. Harry Potter awkwardly raised his hand and said hesitantly to the empty pile of books, "I'm here, Professor."

Another small yelp came from behind the books. After a while, the disheveled Professor Flitwick climbed out, muttering, "Oh, of course—you're in my class too—of course, I should've known—"

The aging professor stroked his beard, cast a Scourgify on himself, and then looked excitedly at Harry. "Very glad to see you, my boy."

Harry nodded and gave a shy smile.

Wade didn't know if Flitwick saw a resemblance to someone else in Harry, but the professor paused for a moment before continuing the roll call.

The first Charms class, naturally, began with theory. The only spell they practiced was the basic Lumos charm. Most students could already manage it with some practice at home before term started, so by the end of class, everyone had succeeded. Flitwick generously awarded similar points to both houses. The homework was light too—just a three-inch summary reviewing key points from class. Wade figured he could probably just hand in his class notes and be done with it.

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