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"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.”

-Professor McGonagall

 

     Students, please, be seated. Well, I’ll get right to it then. As you may or may not know, the school has selected Minerva McGonagall as headmistress. My name is Angus Gamp. I am her successor and your new Transfiguration professor. I would thank you to welcome me by showing me the courtesy of good studentship that I would expect from 7th year Transfiguration students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, I was never one for lengthy exposition, so let’s jump right to the fun of it, shall we?

     Transfiguration is the most scientific of all the core arts here at Hogwarts and, as such, I find that it will help to become aware of some core mechanics of the art. For example, the first part of this year will be focused on the branch of conjuring. Now when we look at a conjuring charm, it doesn’t matter which one, oh, let’s say.. incendio,  the fire making  spell. Now, it when using the charm, it appears as though the flames just pop up from nowhere. But in actuality, these flames are really the discharge of the combination of hydrocarbons and a spark. You see, conjuring doesn’t simply make from thin air, no, the process behind it is more elegant than that. Conjuring ‘borrows’ molecules, if even in untraceable amounts, from its surroundings and uses them to create something new. The cellulose chains in the wood of the desk in front of which I am standing, the ink in your quills, even the thinnest atomic layer of your skin may shed a couple carbon compounds to be lit. No need to fear, you’d run out of magic eons before you would decompose your own structure (that is related to magical animation to create living creature from nonliving cells and microscopic chain Gemino curses whereby magic is used to replicate compounds not available in the environment, we’ll get to that later). In any case, exact control of such microscopic manipulations is important for any transfigurist who wants to become a great.

     Therefore, your first assignment will be just that. On the board, I have written the Muggle formulation of a medicine of theirs. It’s called Maoecrystal-V. It has a unique aptitude to treat a Muggle illness called cancer. It has taken Muggle years to formulate this compound. A pity they can’t use magic; this conjuring could be done in mere hours. In any case, I have written the ingredients for one of the Muggle steps in synthesizing the compound on the board. All of the ingredients can be found here in the class, so you need not push your selves to delve into microscopic chain Gemino curses JUST yet. Your assignment is to use standard conjuring to summon the indicated ingredients of Maoecrystal-V in these EXACT ratios and specifications simultaneously in order to conjure a part of Maoecrystal-V. I will expect you to bring a full vial of the substance with you to class tomorrow. If you need to know anything more about the exact compounds that need to be summoned, I have written the Muggles’ development projects for Maoecrystal-V below the reaction. That will be all for today. Dismissed.

 

Source for this reaction:

Zheng, C.; Dubovyk, I.; Lazarski, K. E.; Thomson, R. J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 17750-17756.