Chapter 38 Transfiguring Scabbers into a Goblet

[Note: Read up to Chapter - 88 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]

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"What're you planning to do?"

Ron instinctively tried to snatch Scabbers away from Aris' wand.

But he wasn't nearly quick enough.

"Didn't you lot want to see me cast a spell? Keep your eyes peeled," Aris said with a calm smile.

He gave a light flick of his silver-grey wand, and in the blink of an eye, a beam of light struck the rat curled in Ron's hands.

Aris caught it—a flicker of fear in the creature's eyes, far too human to ignore. But it vanished just as quickly.

A moment later, Scabbers began to twist and morph at a rapid pace… until he was no longer a rat at all.

In Ron's palm now sat a gleaming goblet.

"Merlin's beard! That's proper advanced Transfiguration!" Hermione gasped, wide-eyed with disbelief.

She shot to her feet, snatched up the goblet from Ron, and examined it like a jeweller inspecting a rare gem.

"I've read about this in theory—real Transfiguration means the object completely changes, right?

This goblet... the texture's perfect, the shape's flawless, even the material looks high-end. There's not a trace of a rat left!"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, flicking between Harry and Ron as though suspecting some trick.

"There's no way a first-year could manage that kind of magic... right?"

"But... but you saw it too!" Ron stammered, clearly rattled. "He really did it—turned Scabbers into a goblet!"

He looked down at the food in his lap, suddenly finding it far less appetizing.

Harry said nothing at first—just stared at Aris, half in awe.

Finally, he managed to speak.

"He's a genius."

He didn't know enough about magic… but even with his ignorant understanding, he still felt that what Aris did was simply brilliant.

Even though Hermione had just fixed the nose pads on Harry's glasses, he wasn't half as surprised by that as he was now.

Watching Aris casually wave his wand and turn a fat, old rat into a goblet—well, that was nothing short of astounding.

All three young wizards sat there, gobsmacked, unable to take their eyes off the goblet in Ron's hand.

You didn't need to be a scholar to know that kind of Transfiguration demanded a huge reserve of stable magical power—something usually only expected of students in their second year.

"Don't beat yourself up," Aris said gently, glancing over at Hermione, who looked as though she might spiral into a silent meltdown.

"You're already miles ahead of most first-years!"

And he wasn't just being polite.

Look at Ron's Spellwork—born and raised in a wizarding household, and yet he doesn't even know a single jinx and was fooled by his own brother.

The fact that Hermione could perform a functional Repairing Charm before even setting foot in the classroom was impressive in its own right.

Of course, her magic still didn't hold a candle to Aris'.

But then again, he'd started the game three steps ahead.

"You don't need to coddle me," Hermione said firmly, taking a deep breath and fixing Aris with a determined look.

"I'll catch up to you one day, mark my words!"

Aris gave a helpless smile.

"Honestly, there's really no need…"

Still, seeing the little girl so fired up, Aris couldn't bring himself to dampen her spirits.

"Alright then, I'll be waiting for your challenge, anytime!"

And with that, he and Miss Know-It-All struck a sort of unspoken pact, an agreement to spur one another on, to keep growing.

"Aris, I'm still completely gobsmacked and all," Ron piped up after reclaiming the goblet from Hermione, inspecting it anxiously,

"But... are you absolutely sure Scabbers is alright in there?"

"Of course he is," Aris replied without hesitation.

Though deep down, he knew full well that at this moment, Scabbers, rather, Wormtail, was likely seething with rage while being in the shape of that polished cup.

"Can't you just turn him back?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly with worry.

Everything had seemed fine at first—and now, somehow, his pet had become tableware.

"I'm afraid not, sorry. I've only learnt how to transfigure a mouse into a goblet, not the other way round."

Aris sighed, trying to sound as apologetic as possible.

At that moment, Hermione's brows furrowed slightly.

She wasn't entirely convinced.

If someone had the magical control and power to pull off such a refined Transfiguration, surely reversing it would be well within their grasp too.

So why lie?

Puzzled, she quietly chose not to call him out.

Aris, she reasoned, must have had a good reason—and besides, she rather liked that he wasn't showing off more than necessary.

"I swear I just saw him twitch," Ron muttered, eyeing the goblet as if it might leap up and bite him.

"Are you sure he's not... y'know, panicking in there?"

"You must be imagining it," Aris said earnestly. "He's just a goblet now—he won't be aware of anything."

"You're absolutely sure?"

"Positive. I reckon he'll pop back to normal in a few hours."

Aris smiled faintly.

"Are you sure he won't stay a goblet forever?"

"It's not exactly easy to perform Eternal Transfiguration..."

"I dunno—I just feel a bit sorry for Scabbers..."

The chat in the compartment remained lively and cheerful.

Then, after a moment, Hermione suddenly stood up.

"Oh! Neville's toad—I completely forgot!"

She was halfway out the door before pausing and turning back toward Aris.

"Aris, do you know any spell that could help Neville find his toad more quickly?"

"Of course," Aris nodded without hesitation. "There's actually a really practical one for that!"

"Brilliant! Please help him, then!" she beamed, clearly delighted.

By now, Ronald had finally torn his attention away from Scabbers and was watching Aris again with renewed interest.

"Another spell?" Harry added, visibly eager.

Since entering the wizarding world, he'd never seen so much magic up close in one go.

"Honestly, once you understand the method, you lot could pull this off too."

Aris gave Hermione a brief nod, then raised his wand and uttered clearly,

"Appare Vestigium!"

A soft shimmer of magical energy pulsed from the tip of his silver-grey wand.

The light twisted into a small directional wisp, like a glowing arrow.

Aris pointed in the direction the magic indicated.

"That way—just follow the trail. Neville's toad should be along that path!"

"Thank you!!!"

Hermione didn't wait a second longer and dashed off down the corridor, following the magical signal.

Harry looked back at Aris, awestruck.

"When d'you reckon we'll be able to do that sort of thing?"

"Don't fret. It's not as complicated as it looks. That one's actually just a variant of a basic tracing spell—related to Apparition, sort of.

If you keep your head in your books and put in enough wand practice, you'll have it nailed by second or third year!"

Aris offered them both an encouraging smile.

Though... he couldn't help but notice their shoulders droop a little more after hearing that.

Perhaps that wasn't as comforting as he'd hoped.

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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!

[Note: Read up to Chapter - 88 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]