allendalepharm Chapter 318 Twilight
Chapter 318 Twilight
Chapter 318 Twilight (Thanks to 'King丨丶Twilight' for the Alliance Leader)
News of Dumbledore's upcoming classes spread quickly.
Nothing could have caused a greater sensation than this. The newspaper reporters who had left earlier even returned to the school under the guise of reporting, trying every means to attend this course.
At this point, they stopped spouting platitudes like "Dumbledore is old" and instead expressed their eagerness to receive guidance from the most powerful wizard of their time.
Even if it's just to listen to a few words by the window!
But when classes officially started, most of them were in despair. Not to mention the windowsills, even the corridors were crowded with people!
Looking back towards the stairs, more students and professors were heading this way, including those from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
There was a buzzing of discussion everywhere, and many children were wailing and complaining about not getting up earlier. They were even squeezed downstairs and couldn't go up.
When Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lockhart arrived, they were surprised to find that the classroom was packed with students, not to mention the seats.
They didn't even have a place to sit on the ground; they were crammed together, shoulder to shoulder.
"Should we move to the auditorium downstairs?" Lockhart suggested.
Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, then walked forward, passing through row after row of corridors, moving slowly.
A strange thing happened: Lockhart could clearly see row after row of empty seats being forcibly squeezed in, as if they were jumping out of the folds.
It has a visual effect similar to Sirius Black's house being squeezed out between two adjacent houses, but it's smoother and more natural.
So natural that the students were oblivious to the change, as if it were always meant to be this way.
They exclaimed in surprise, "There are still seats here!" and then squeezed in en masse.
This is a very strange spell. It doesn't use a Stretch Spell to create a large space and then turn it into chairs. Instead, it naturally transforms into seats that can accommodate the number of people who come in.
It's always packed, and every time someone comes in, they can find an empty seat.
This is a transformation!
Lockhart casually found a seat and sat down, marveling at the spell's effect before him. It was so dynamic, like some kind of lawful magic, saying that everyone should have their own seat, and then the seats appeared.
Once most of the people had come in, Dumbledore began to speak with a smile.
"Many years ago, when I was teaching Transfiguration, a student asked me, 'What exactly is Transfiguration?'"
"I said, it's the most amazing change in our eyes."
"Later, when someone asked me the same question, my answer became the mysterious force that subtly changes things."
"Stimulating visual changes and mysterious, subtle shifts are contradictory yet fundamentally the same."
Dumbledore's voice was calm and gentle, like an old man telling stories under a tree at the village entrance, kind and approachable yet full of captivating anticipation.
"Last year, Professor Lockhart approached me, expressing his desire to delve deeper into Transfiguration and the Weather Charm. During our conversation, he gave this peculiar casting state of Transfiguration a very interesting name—Twilight."
"Everything is about to change yet has not changed, everything has already quietly changed, everything will be presented in the most shocking way, everything is being conceived in this mysterious haze, encompassing all things, and everything seems to have not changed at all, cool and quiet."
When this was mentioned, Dumbledore gently waved towards the classroom window.
The morning sun outside the window suddenly turned into twilight. At the edge of the vast black lake, where the forest met the horizon, orange-red light pierced through the clouds and burst forth in all directions, hazy yet full of tension.
It seemed as if it was about to unleash some wondrous power, yet it also gave one a sense of the unique stillness of twilight.
"If you can feel the unique tension of nature and the change and constancy within its embrace from such imagery, you will find that Professor Lockhart's description of the state of transfiguration is extremely accurate."
The young wizards just stared blankly at the scene, marveling at the sudden change in their view outside the window; it had all gone from morning to almost night in an instant.
George Fred and a few of the more active young wizards couldn't wait any longer and rushed to the window, shouting to their classmates, "It's real!"
It's not just the view through the window that's changing; "the whole world has changed!"
Dumbledore didn't mind their loud voices and continued with a smile, "I think that's a very apt description, so when we aspire to achieve something in Transfiguration, I would suggest that you have a Twilight Heart."
This is actually Lockhart's answer—it cannot be spoken of, nor does it need to be spoken of; one only needs to observe its subtleties in the space between nothingness and existence.
Transfiguration is the subtle and wondrous interplay between existence and non-existence.
But such an explanation is too complicated and profound; not only the young wizards, but even the professors who come to listen in may not be able to understand it.
The twilight scene outside the window is more intuitive and allows wizards to better understand the subtle magical effects of transfiguration.
It has a completely different style from Dawn, and is more mysterious.
"When using Transfiguration, the most important consideration is the blossoming of one's own will; we all yearn for the world to change according to our will."
Dumbledore waved gently towards the window again.
Boom!
The loud noise startled the young wizards by the window.
A sudden clap of thunder, a flash of lightning that streaked across the night, illuminating everything only to extinguish it again, plunging everything back into darkness, until finally, a torrential downpour began outside the window in the dead of night.
Dumbledore waved his hand again.
Suddenly everything outside the window lit up; the sun shone brightly, causing the birds in the forbidden forest to chirp and sing, their calls echoing from afar.
"So we have a clear answer: What is transfiguration? The answer is self-expression."
"It uses metamorphosis to let the world reflect your heart and your will, and present it to everyone."
Dumbledore's voice carried a tone of earnest instruction.
"I hope you will remember this definition, as it will save you a lot of trouble when you learn Transfiguration."
The Tales of Beedle the Bard tells the story of a master transmigrator, described in the form of poems—
'
Dumbledore softly recited the verses from the book.
"—He emerged from the twilight mist, and the world quietly made way for him—"
As he spoke, he smiled and walked toward the professor's window.
The mischievous children, still engrossed in the changing world outside the window, quickly ran back to their seats, leaving only George and Fred standing there, looking at Dumbledore with awe.
Dumbledore chuckled and patted their heads before continuing toward the window.
As the young wizards gasped in surprise, the scene outside the window changed once again.
They seemed to be moving forward, or rather, the scene outside the window was rushing past.
First, it drew ever closer to the Black Lake, then swept over it, past the mountains, past the train tracks that stretched along the edge of the Muggle villages, past the peaks and hills of the Grand Highlands, and then into the world of the Muggles—
Sometimes Dumbledore would pause to continue his narration, and the scene outside the window would also pause, sometimes even stopping in front of a musical stage, where several singers were standing so close together.
Then Dumbledore continued walking toward the window, and the view outside moved forward again.
And so, they walked and stopped along the way, eventually stopping on a Muggle street.
The window was even right next to a mobile ice cream vendor with a cow design.
Dumbledore stood by the window and said to the waiter in the car, "I'd like a strawberry ice cream."
The waiter paused for a moment, seemingly not realizing how strange the scene before him was. He blankly accepted the Muggle banknote from Dumbledore's hand and quickly handed him an ice cream.
Dumbledore took a lick and exclaimed, "Not bad!"
"Thank you," the waiter said with a smile.
The words of gratitude were rapidly pulled and distorted in my ears, as if they were getting farther and farther away.
At this moment, the world outside the window began to rush backward, faster and faster, until it finally returned smoothly and peacefully to its original position on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle.
But this was not an illusion. Dumbledore was still holding the ice cream, winking mischievously at the screaming children, and then taking a bite with relish.
This caused the young wizards to gasp in surprise.
"So, I said—"
Dumbledore smiled at everyone, raised his ice cream as if toasting, and announced loudly, "Welcome to the world of Transfiguration!"
He was met with wild applause and excited screams from the young wizards.
Lockhart, who was taking notes in the corner, couldn't help but recall a little anecdote from his past life.
—The story goes that Wang Yangming and his friends went on an outing. One of his friends pointed to flowering trees in the mountains and asked, "You say that there is nothing outside the mind. So what does this flowering tree in the deep mountains have to do with your mind?"
Wang Yangming said, "Before you saw this flower, it was as still as your mind; when you saw it, its color suddenly became clear, and you knew that it was not outside your mind."
It is a transcendent state of being.
It is a subtle measure of self-will and the world.
Lockhart suddenly felt for some reason that Dumbledore might be able to understand the meaning behind this allusion.
He thought that after Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard, Dumbledore had kept himself locked up in Hogwarts for decades. Was this state of mind like the saying in the classics, "This flower and your heart return to stillness"? Then, after he went out, he suddenly understood the color of the flower.
He thought of Snape again. Was Snape's external world now also going from "returning to stillness" to "clarity of color"?
Lockhart thought of his theory of "vitality," which he had been exploring. All magic was neither good nor bad for wizards; only vitality gave everything. Was it also a kind of transformation magic that created something from nothing?
He even thought of the concept of "fairy tales," the unique rhythm of "entering a fairy tale and magic naturally blooming," just like the hazy and mysterious light bursting forth in the twilight, like a flower that suddenly has color and shape.
Transfiguration is truly a vast and profound subject.
It encompasses all types of magic in the world from a unique perspective.
It possesses a breadth of knowledge that other contemporary magical disciplines lack.
Thinking and thinking.
Lockhart couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap! I've been corrupted by knowledge too!"
He chuckled to himself, picked up his quill again, looked at Dumbledore who was beginning the formal lesson, and carefully recorded every word the other said.
This is transfiguration.
It is also Albus Dumbledore's own transfiguration world.
It possesses magical power derived from the insights of a white-haired wizard.
Even when someone makes a playful joke to lighten the mood in class, upon closer examination, it seems that the joke is also conveying a certain truth.
No one can deny Dumbledore's wisdom.
Even Professor McGonagall, a master of Transfiguration herself, was listening intently. Whenever she heard something exciting, her usually tense face would light up with a variety of expressions, sometimes in amazement, sometimes thoughtful, and sometimes even with a furrowed brow.
Lockhart could understand that feeling, because he felt the same way.
Every life that transcends its own boundaries is one where it cannot resonate with others. Lockhart knew that when he shared his magical ideas, Snape and Voldemort would always react with extreme resistance. Apart from Dumbledore, who always listened patiently, Grindelwald preferred to participate in the conversation and steer the topic toward politics.
Therefore, this is the most valuable starting point!
When Lockhart was recording Dumbledore's narration, he would carefully observe the expressions of Professor McGonagall, Grindelwald, Professor Snape, and everyone else, and then use some markings to record the parts of Dumbledore's narration that were incompatible with what everyone else was saying.
That part is Dumbledore's true self after stripping away his common traits.
It is among the best analytical materials for writing "King's Cross Platform: The Transfiguration World of Albus".
Of course, there were also tasks assigned by Dumbledore.
He could extract from it what Voldemort could listen to smoothly and easily, and also what Voldemort resisted from beginning to end.
The wonder of knowledge dissemination is truly fascinating.
Nobody knows this better than him!
As for how to make Voldemort better accept the contamination of his knowledge, hehe, perhaps the long river of time is an interesting adventure.
Lockhart traced Voldemort's life trajectory, pondering which point to go to to find Tom Riddle and then implant that wisdom into the other's head.
He even told Dumbledore that he was very good at this!
Voldemort himself played a part in this; Tom Riddle in the Horcruxes of the Diary used a unique method to subtly corrupt Ginny Weasley's soul, injecting her with far too many extra things.
Huh?
Lockhart was stunned. Could this be some kind of result of Voldemort's exploration of the magical bloodline in the human body?
After all, nothing comes out of nowhere; there must be some kind of context.
interesting!
Lockhart chuckled and rubbed his chin.
Tom~
Uncle's here!
"Please accept this gift from the thief of life," is a reverse forgetting spell, a soul-corroding force of darkness.
It's also a transformation from nothing to something!
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