MATCH made in heaven.
Authors note: I got ill and won't be able to update for two days. So the next release will be on Saturday.
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Atlas and Hermione ran up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, ready for their lesson with telescopes in hand. As they burst into the room, they were greeted by the sight of their fellow Gryffindors and some curious first-year Hufflepuffs, all eagerly wielding their telescopes. But horror dawned on their faces as they realized they had forgotten their own telescopes back in their common room.
Without skipping a beat, Hermione and Atlas sprang into action. They quickly informed Harry of their predicament and instructed him to let Professor Sinistra know they might be a tad late. Then they took off, bounding down the stairs two at a time like they were in a race, and they nearly collided with Professor Sinistra on the way down.
Completely out of breath, they tried to explain their situation but could only manage one word at a time before gasping for air. After a few moments of struggling, Professor Sinistra understood their predicament and granted them permission to be late as long as they hurried back as soon as possible, and that this time was an exception. She also reminded them to be careful on the stairs.
Finally, the two reached the common room, but it took some effort to get the Fat Lady to let them in as they were still panting and struggling to speak. Once they had retrieved their telescopes, they rushed back to the Astronomy Tower as fast as their legs could carry them. Atlas realized that Hermione's stamina was a bit worse than even his.
When they finally made it back to the astronomy tower, most of the students were already peering through their telescopes at the sky. Professor Sinistra wasted no time in getting them up to speed, assigning them to find Jupiter and count its moons.
Despite being drenched in sweat and out of breath, Hermione and Atlas quickly got to work, identifying the different moons with descriptions from their books.
As Atlas and Hermione caught their breath, they gazed up at the sky, watching the twinkling stars and the massive planet Jupiter. To Atlas, this class was a bit dull. If charms and herbology were mildly interesting, then astronomy was like watching paint dry. Sure, the night sky was beautiful and all, but it paled in comparison to the wonders of his own world. Back home, they had already colonized other planets and even terraformed them. The birth-rate issue had been a major problem, but it had led to some incredible advancements in technology and science. As they thought the problem lied with earth, they tried to colonize the nearby planets, as even with their technology, they weren't able to cross multiple light-years of distance in any reasonable time. The only surprise this lesson had was that the wizarding society knew about eleven more moons than the Muggles, who only knew about 18 at this time. Atlas knew that, in fact, there were 95 natural satellites of Jupiter, but most of them wouldn't qualify as moons.
Atlas was lost in his thoughts until Professor Sinistra's words snapped him back to reality. "Write twenty inches about the Jupiter moons by next week." Atlas groaned inwardly. He had already learned everything there was to know about them, but he guessed he would have to put it down on paper. It was a bit more bothersome for him because he had to research how much the wizarding world already knew so he wouldn't write down something that was currently unknown. He glanced over at Hermione, who didn't look bothered by it, but the rest of the class definitely was.
As the day drew to a close, Atlas eagerly made his way to bed, looking forward to a restful night's sleep. But alas, his hopes were dashed when he found that Ron had already dozed off, his thunderous snores echoing through the dormitory. He tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, but it was no use. It seemed that Astronomy had officially become the bane of Atlas's existence, thanks to Ron's seemingly unavoidable nocturnal noisemaking.
The next morning, Atlas woke up neither too early nor too late and headed to breakfast with his friends. They then made their way to Charms class, where Professor Flitwick regaled them with a hilarious story of the wizard who wanted to make a flying charm but instead created the levitation charm. This wizard was so proud of his achievement that he decided to show off his "flying charm" to his friends. So he climbed the tallest building in town, cast the spell on himself, and leaped off. But alas, he did not fly and just floated on the spot. His friends demanded proof that he could really fly, so the wizard made swimming motions and attempted to jump, but nothing worked. In desperation, he thought his clothes were weighing him down, so he stripped them off. And just like that, he plummeted to the ground! Although he survived the fall, he broke several bones and became the laughingstock of his village. The class couldn't help but chuckle at the wizard's misfortune, but they also learned an important lesson about the dangers of pride and the dangers of using spells without understanding them first.
As Professor Flitwick finished his story, he turned to the class and asked a question: "Why did the wizard fall down?" A few hands shot up, including Hermione's, Atlas's, and, surprisingly, Malfoy's. With a smirk on his face, Malfoy answered that the levitation charm only enchanted the clothes, not the person, which any student with a bit of magical knowledge would know. Harry and Ron sat quietly, avoiding Malfoy's teasing glare. Flitwick acknowledged Malfoy's answer and awarded him a single point for his knowledge. However, he also warned the students not to attempt anything similar to the foolish inventor of the spell and instead learn from his mistakes. With that, he let the class practice the spell on a feather, hoping they would remember the important lesson about the limitations of magic.
As Atlas focused on casting the spell nonverbally, the familiar sound of Hermione and Ron's bickering provided a background hum. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Seamus' feather had erupted into a fiery mess, and Atlas felt the heat singe his right eyebrow and hair on the side. Despite Professor Flitwick's efforts to contain the situation, the damage had been done. Atlas was left with a severe case of tinnitus, and worse yet, his once-dashing eyebrow was no more.
Atlas was furious but also curious about Seamus' seemingly innate ability to cause explosions. Atlas tried to get an explanation from the eyebrowless Seamus but only got a shrug as an answer. Either way, Atlas was determined to avoid any future mishaps and preserve what little was left of his eyebrows.
Atlas still eagerly picked up the new feather, determined to get the hang of the nonverbal spell. After some time, feathers were flying all around the room as his classmates struggled to control their charms. But Atlas was focused, and after a few failed attempts, he finally succeeded in making his feather float. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Feeling confident, he tried again and again, determined to perfect his nonverbal spell-casting skills. He was thrilled to find that once the spell connected with the feather, it was just as easy to control as with an incantation. But he only managed to cast the spell nonverbally one more time before the class ended.
As he left the classroom, he knew that he still had much to learn, but he was proud of his progress. He realized that his success with this spell would also help him in his future studies. He smiled as the class ended and left it with Seamus, Dean, and Hermione. Ron and Harry went off on their own.
The group dashed through the castle, eager to make it to Transfiguration on time. But as they hurried along, they overheard Ron make a hurtful comment about Hermione. Atlas could see the hurt in her eyes, and without hesitation, he took her hand and held it tightly as they continued on their way. It seemed to reassure her, and she didn't even shed a tear, much to his relief. Even Seamus and Dean spoke up, agreeing that what Ron had said was uncalled for and completely untrue.
As they left the stair to the Transfiguration classroom, the stairs suddenly changed direction. Atlas couldn't help but feel a sense of karma in the situation. Probably Ron would be late to class because of it.
As the group entered the Transfiguration classroom, they were met with instructions on the chalkboard to copy the text on it. He then noticed a tabby cat sitting on the teacher's desk, observing the students as they entered. Atlas knew it was Professor McGonagall and thought for a moment that it would be fun petting her, but knowing that it might cause trouble, he resisted the urge.
Soon the classroom was filled with students, all diligently copying the symbols from the chalkboard. Atlas saw that it was the transfiguration alphabet, which was made up of 26 unique symbols that were used solely for writing and calculating transfiguration formulas. As he wrote down each symbol, he couldn't help cracking a smile when finally, Ron and Harry finally stumbled in, a little out of breath. Ron was grinning, happy to report that the old McGonagall wasn't in the classroom. But just as he finished his sentence, the tabby cat they'd seen earlier jumped in his direction and transformed mid-jump into the stern Professor McGonagall. The class supressed a laughter as she proposed to transfigure one of them into a watch or a map, despite Ron's compliments on her transformation.
After the amusement had died down, the class got down to work. Everyone had already copied down the alphabet and the basic formula for transfiguration, except for Ron and Harry, of course. Professor McGonagall moved on to explain how the alphabet could be used to calculate the amount of magic power needed and the speed at which the wand should be moved to successfully transfigure an object. While the formula was quite basic, it still had many variables, like the weight of the object that one wanted to transform, an approximation of similarity to the changed form, the difference in nature, the clarity of the image, and the magic power and wand movement speed that were needed.
Atlas found himself thoroughly enjoying the class. It was the perfect fit for him and his academic inclinations. The spells they would be learning were fairly straightforward, and once one had the formula down. A clear image, mastery of wand movement, and precise control of magical output were necessary to simplify the formula. With enough practice, it was like the variables became factors, and the only difficulty was guessing the bodyweight and approximating the similarity to an object. But those things required practice. The difficulty in transfiguration would only increase if the object reached a certain size or if one wanted to transfigure a living being or something into a living being. It added a few more variables to the equation that could not be made into factors. Even if the calculation was slightly off, the transfiguration would still work in most cases, but it would not be perfect. In battles, a few variables were simply ignored or so roughly calculated to increase the casting speed that the transfiguration would often only resemble what it was really intended to be.
As they entered the classroom, Atlas was pleasantly surprised to find out that they would be trying out their very first charm since they started at Hogwarts. The challenge was simple - to transform a match into a needle. Atlas already had a good grasp of the basics of transfiguration, but his mother had never taught him the more advanced spells, always citing her own insecurities as the reason. However, this particular transfiguration would have been child's play for Atlas, but like always, he decided to cast the spell nonverbally.
To his amazement, the spell worked perfectly on the first try! Hermione was flabbergasted, and even Professor McGonagall was surprised. She rewarded Atlas with ten points and went as far as to excuse him from doing the homework for that lesson, as she didn't expect anyone to succeed in this lesson. She even promised the same privilege to anyone who could transfigure their match into a perfect needle like Atlas.
The Hogwarts students had calmed down after the initial surprise of Atlas succeeding on his first try. They were all trying their hardest to avoid the dreaded homework that awaited them. Seamus, who was seated on Atlas's left, leaned in and asked him for some tips on how to successfully cast the charm. Atlas looked deep into Seamus's eyes and could sense his curiosity and greed for an easy way out. He intentionally spoke slowly, emphasizing each word as he said, "Just...Don't...Think...About...Explosions." A sly grin appeared on Atlas's face as Dean, who was seated next to Seamus, erupted into giggles. Hermione was too focused on her match to have heard their conversation. Feeling a bit betrayed, Seamus tried to defend himself, claiming that the last explosion wasn't intentional.
Atlas raised an eyebrow as Seamus teased him with a mischievous grin. He couldn't help but wonder: Was there really an intentional explosion? And if so, when, why, and how? But Seamus wasn't giving up any details. Instead, he proposed a trade: a useful tip in exchange for the juicy explosion story. Atlas searched his mind for something to offer, but came up empty. So he did the next best thing: he decided to play along and tease Seamus a little. "Oh, you know," he said with a sly smile, "have you tried practicing? Calculating the formula? Or maybe even imagining an explosion?" Seamus, determined not to lose the argument, shot back with an evil grin, "Are you suggesting I should imagine an explosion? Are you sure?" And then he pointed his wand directly at Atlas' needle.
Professor McGonagall's stern voice echoed in the room, silencing the argument that had erupted between Atlas and Seamus. "Transfiguration is not a game. It's one of the most complex and potentially dangerous forms of magic you will learn at Hogwarts. If you choose to mess around in my class, you will be removed and not allowed to return. And that goes for you too, Mr. Graf," she added, her eyes fixed on Atlas.
The threat worked, and both Atlas and Seamus settled down to focus on their task. Atlas concentrated on transforming his needle back into a match, and Seamus tried his best not to blow up his match. Atlas attempted the spell seven times before it finally worked and the needle was transformed back into a perfect, beautiful match, and the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. He was slowly getting the hang of nonverbal spells.
At the end of the class, Hermione was the only one besides Atlas who had made any progress. Her match had transformed into a pointy silver shape, albeit not perfect yet as the end of the needle was still wood. Professor McGonagall assigned the class a ton of homework to calculate different formulas but warned them not to actually practice on their own without her supervision until they had more experience.