Professor Cat

The giant tentacles retreated back into the water.

Now, all the small boats had entered the dark tunnel.

However, Hagrid's lantern illuminated everything on his boat.

Wrapped in a moleskin coat, shivering from the cold and fear, and dripping water, Malfoy was the only light in the darkness.

All eyes turned to him.

Harry and Ron's eyes did the same.

There was a buzzing sound of discussion all around.

"Don't talk to me," Ron's voice trembled.

However, only Harry paid attention to him.

He asked curiously, "Why?"

Hermione glanced over, then refocused on Basil's profile.

Basil hummed Hedwig's Theme, his eyes closed contentedly.

Ron paid no mind, his eyes closed, a look of pure joy on his face. "Because I want to engrave this moment in my memory forever: Malfoy, the little baby in Hagrid's arms."

Harry chuckled in agreement.

"I still remember him badmouthing Hagrid in front of me: 'I've heard of him. He's a servant, isn't he? This man is rough, lives in a hut on the grounds, gets drunk now and then, does a bit of magic, and blows up his own bed.'"

"And now look at him? In the arms of someone he looks down on."

Ron's smile faded. "Wasn't I the first wizard your age you got to know?"

Harry looked confused. "It was you? I only chatted with him for a bit at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. We didn't even exchange names."

Basil opened his eyes and turned his head.

Ron didn't seem satisfied with Harry's answer.

Harry also found Ron a bit baffling.

The atmosphere between them suddenly changed. They sat with their backs to each other on opposite sides of the boat, falling into silence.

"Ew, you guys are acting like a bickering couple."

Basil couldn't help but lean closer to Hermione.

Hermione's face broke into a delighted smile.

Of the four of them, only Hermione had achieved victory!

They didn't speak again until they disembarked from the small boats onto a ground covered in gravel and pebbles.

Even Malfoy, still in Hagrid's arms, and Neville, who had found his toad and called it Trevor instead of Toad, didn't draw their attention.

At this moment, Basil also wore a look of melancholy.

Before him lay a bumpy tunnel carved into the mountainside.

What was even more despairing was that, based on his mental image of Hogwarts, after climbing up and crossing a flat, damp meadow, there would be another long flight of stone steps.

And only then would they reach the castle gates.

If only no one recognized him.

He could have sneaked ahead and, when the main group reached the stone steps, simply Apparated.

He cast a heavy glance at Hermione, who for some reason seemed much more enthusiastic.

Clearly, that was impossible.

He really should have thrown himself into the water earlier.

Then, he could have slept like a baby in Hagrid's arms and avoided all this walking.

In the blink of an eye, Basil, having completed the entire journey and arrived at the castle gates, still hadn't changed his mind.

He watched Hagrid clench his right fist and pound on the door.

Hagrid's left arm was around Malfoy, and Basil's envious gaze hadn't completely faded.

Then the great doors swung open.

A tall, black-haired witch in a dark green robe emerged and appeared before him.

"Hiss!" Basil nudged Ron, the wizarding world's know-it-all, with his elbow. "Who is she? I want all her information in one second!"

"Her?" Ron looked bewildered. "Who else could it be? Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House, and Head of the Transfiguration department."

"How can that be," Basil murmured as if in a dream. "How old is she?"

The cat-like professor before him had black hair and wore square-rimmed glasses.

Her skin was smooth and fair, with almost no wrinkles.

She had a pretty face, wore a form-fitting dark green robe, and had a shapely figure.

There was also a hint of gentleness revealed when Malfoy used the cold-repelling and water-dispelling spells.

This must be that kind and amiable old lady, Professor Cat!

Ron actually answered, "Um, let me think, my mom is 41, and she said Professor McGonagall is almost 30 years older than her."

"So she's almost 70?" Basil felt a bit of existential doubt.

The last time he felt this way was when he learned his grandmother gave birth to his father at the ripe old age of eighty.

Meanwhile, Ron continued to chatter, whispering personal information about Professor McGonagall.

In this moment, he realized he had other talents besides chess!

Ron Litaskit II Weasley is born!

"My mom said Professor McGonagall is an incredible legendary figure."

"As a baby, she could control the family cats, summon toys to her crib, and make her father's bagpipes play on their own."

"She received top scores in both her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, was chosen as Head Girl and Prefect, and won the 'Most Promising Newcomer in Today's Transfiguration' award."

(Hermione whispered in Basil's ear, "I know that too, it's in 'Modern Wizarding Masters'.")

"Right after graduation, she started working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"In just two years, she was offered a promotion."

"But she refused and chose Hogwarts. She took a position in the Transfiguration department, and the department head at the time was Albus Dumbledore."

Basil, hearing all this: Ron, what other surprises do you have that I don't know about!

However, Ron stopped here.

Because at this point, they had followed Professor McGonagall into the entrance hall, passed the closed Great Hall, and entered a small empty room at the other end of the hall.

Professor Cat was speaking to their group of first-year newcomers about things they already knew.

They needed to be sorted, there were different houses, the sorting ceremony was important, houses were your home, and house points were for honor and had rules for adding and subtracting.

"The house is our home? Not the school?" Basil, having undergone twenty-first-century education in Longguo, immediately found a loophole.

The rest was an introduction and emphasis on the houses.

Seeing Hogwarts as his own, Basil immediately let go of his curiosity about Professor McGonagall.

Instead, he frowned, listening to these words that divided his Hogwarts.

The houses belong to the school, and you must love your houses.

Isn't this just another version of 'my vassal's vassal is not my vassal, my lord's lord is not my lord'?

He asked Ron sternly, "The department head you mentioned was?"

Ron: "You don't think there's only one teacher responsible for each subject for all seven years, do you? In fact, for our major subjects, except for Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, there are faculty members for each department."

"However, they are mainly responsible for the seventh-year students. And backend tasks like grading homework. They usually stay in the staff room and don't attend banquets."

"So, we hardly ever see them. Some people jokingly call them house-elf professors."

"Ridiculous." Basil's brow furrowed even tighter.

The division of houses, and the existence of labor-like teaching assistants for various subjects.

For the little witches and wizards from Muggle families, coming to Hogwarts was clearly just to learn magic.

But Hogwarts was creating factional divisions.

Before I transmigrated: Sorting was so interesting.

After transmigrating and owning Hogwarts: "My school is being ruined like this by you all?"

Thinking this, Basil suddenly raised his right hand.

"Professor, I don't think you're saying this correctly!"