Reflected In the Mirror, I'm A Maze

Asking Me, Who Doesn't Have Any Answers

The second day of school started off with less febrility, but with just as much enthusiasm, and Felix was determined to do better. He joked with his friends, ate a healthy breakfast, and the four 1st years then found their way to their first class of the day: Transfiguration.

There was no denying Felix was anxious – he'd never attempted a transfiguration spell before. But surely it couldn't go as badly as it did in Charms, right?

Their teacher was actually the Vice-Principal, Miss Sunmi, and she briefly reintroduced herself to everyone before immediately moving on to the actual class. Felix listened with rapt attention, trying to commit everything she said to memory so that once the time to practice came, he'd be ready. They learned the basics of the Transfiguration alphabet, and then the transformation formula, and the teacher then proceeded to offer a few examples, such as turning her desk into a pig.

About twenty minutes before the end of class, they moved on to the practical aspect, and Felix pulled out his wand with a slightly trembling hand.

You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it—!

The exercise was simple: turning a match into a needle. Felix wasn't too worried regarding a successful transformation – Miss Sunmi had already warned them that Transfiguration was very hard magic, and that she didn't expect any of the students to succeed in the exercise before at least their fifth class together.

All he wanted was to not mess it up too terribly. If he could just do it like any average student, then he'd be more than content with the results.

"Wanna try first?" suggested Jisung with a small smile – his desk partner for transfiguration.

Exhaling deeply, Felix nodded, and focused on the match before them. He pictured the formula they had just learned in his head, imagined in great details the match taking the appearance of a needle, waved his wand—

Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.

"Well, better than an explosion," he sighed, both relieved and disappointed. "Why don't you give it a try, Sungie?"

With an encouraging smile and a determined nod, Jisung lifted his wand. His eyes narrowed in concentration, he mumbled the incantation under his breath... and much to their surprise, the match suddenly shifted. Their startled gasps instantly earned the attention of their friends, and Seungmin's eyes widened.

"You did it!"

That exclamation drew the attention of the students around them and their teacher, who quickly hurried up to their desk. She picked up their item to examine it more closely and, a few seconds later, a proud smile bloomed on her lips.

"Well, would you look at that! A perfect transfiguration on your first go! Were you in a House, I'd have awarded you thirty points for this amazing display of skills, Mr. Han."

"T- thank you!"

Jisung was the first surprised by his success but, now that the shock had worn off, Felix realized that it made sense. Jisung had always been quite brilliant and creative, he had always had a knack for minor illusions, and he had already started studying some books in order to become an animagus just because he thought it was cool – in other terms, he had the perfect mind for Transfiguration.

"You're amazing, Jisung," breathed out Felix with stars in his eyes.

"Ah, I'm just a natural, I guess..." chuckled the boy, rubbing the back of his head. Although he always enjoyed being praised, Felix's earnest words always managed to make his heart beat a little faster. "A- anyway, you should try again! I'm sure that with some practice, you'll get it in no time!"