Animagus

Slytherin's male prefect was Lucius Malfoy.

From his appearance alone, he looked like a glittering platinum aristocrat, but that was deceptive. His haughty arrogance turned Pomona's stomach. Yet many ignorant Hufflepuff girls were infatuated with him, believing he might fall in love with them and marry them.

Daydreaming was a common failing among all Hufflepuff girls. By comparison, Ravenclaw girls preferred to spend their time reading. They did not even need to visit the school library, because their common room was a library. Most Hufflepuff girls found suitable husbands before graduation, while Ravenclaw girls preferred to work independently and become scholars, doctors, or other respected professionals.

Once everyone came of age, they had to face a question: career or family? Ravenclaw girls were undoubtedly the career-woman type, while Hufflepuff girls were homemakers. The wizarding world's most pressing problem at present was its dwindling population. To have children, one naturally had to marry, but Ravenclaw girls devoted their lives to knowledge. Ravenclaw was also a female-led House, and they had rules of their own. One of them was to learn to forget useless things. To them, starting a family and having children were useless.

It was easy for Ravenclaw to attack Hufflepuff. They only needed to list those pitiful women who had devoted themselves to their families and children, only to be abandoned by their husbands in old age and end up destitute on the streets—poor, ugly, and fat.

Hufflepuff fought back by listing those strange women who, in their old age, had no companionship except cats. Whoever was more pathetic lost; whoever cried first lost. Thus, expecting Ravenclaw girls and Hufflepuff girls to coexist peacefully was as difficult as making water and oil blend together. It went against the laws of nature; not even magic could accomplish it.

The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw boys got along fairly well. Article sixty-four of the Ravenclaw code stated: courage may not belong to you, but everyone can possess wisdom. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys were not fond of fighting, but that did not mean they never argued. They simply settled their disputes through debate, rather than waving wands and attacking each other in the corridors like Gryffindor and Slytherin.

The first class of the term was actually Transfiguration. Everyone had to bring their pets, and by coincidence, Professor McGonagall was precisely the "strange woman who did not marry and kept a cat for company" that Hufflepuff talked about. She was single, and her pet was a cat, standing on the lectern right now. The Ravenclaw girls looked immensely pleased with themselves. They whispered among themselves and occasionally glanced toward Hufflepuff, as though waiting to see what joke they would make of themselves next. The boy who had been reading in the common room early that morning looked as if he was about to vomit. Apparently, not only did he think he was dreaming; he also had yet to accept that animals could turn into cups.

Besides beauty and intelligence, another thing that could turn girls into bitter enemies was men. Pomona thought it utterly foolish to become romantic rivals over a man and never speak to one another again for the rest of their lives. She swore she would never let herself fall into the same predicament. Sitting in this classroom made her feel as though she were perched on pins and needles. It seemed Dumbledore's home was not only noisy, but uncomfortable as well, filled everywhere with adolescent rebellion and restlessness.

"You're late." At the last possible moment, Pomona arrived at the Transfiguration classroom atop Gryffindor Tower, panting and completely out of breath.

"Where's my pet?"

"Here." Mary lifted her cage and set it on the desk. "You were clearly the first one awake. How did you still end up late?"

"I ran into Dumbledore." Pomona lifted the cloth covering the cage. Inside was a tortoise.

It had no fur, so it did not need bathing like cats and dogs. It did not need feeding every day either, because it was cold-blooded; one meal could last it at least a week. Unlike a toad, it did not secrete disgusting slime or excel at jumping. It moved slowly, and even given an entire day, it could not escape the common room. It also lived a long time. It might still be alive even after Pomona died. What pet could be more hassle-free?

"The headmaster? What did he want with you?" Mary asked.

"Something big happened in France," Pomona said in a lowered voice. "Do you know about the Sorcerer's Stone?"

A woman suddenly cleared her throat in the classroom. While everyone wondered where the sound had come from, the tabby cat standing on the lectern abruptly began to change. Its front paws became hands, its hind legs became feet, and in the blink of an eye, it became a stern-faced woman in square glasses—Professor McGonagall.

"Although you entered the classroom before class began, you were still late, Miss Martin." Professor McGonagall stared at her. "I think you could spend less time wandering around. After graduation, you will have plenty of time to travel."

"Just like Newt Scamander," a Ravenclaw girl chimed in, and all the Ravenclaw girls burst into laughter.

Newt Scamander was a magizoologist and had also been a Hufflepuff student, except he had been expelled. He had also caused a huge disturbance in New York, nearly exposing the wizarding world.

"Bleurgh." The Muggle-born boy, Eddie Watt, finally vomited, causing quite a commotion.

Yes, the Slytherin and Gryffindor boys were irritating, but girls' eyes were always unconsciously drawn to them. Boys like Eddie were usually ignored by girls, and this was only the first class of the term!

"I have a feeling." Mary propped her head on one hand and watched the chaos behind them. "Today is going to be very long."

"You don't say?" Pomona sighed weakly. "What's second period?"

"Potions, with Slytherin."

Pomona felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach.

"What's wrong, Pomona?"

"Nothing."

Pomona sincerely hoped Snape did not have to take the first-year introductory classes again. That way, they could both live to a ripe old age.

"Do we have any classes with Gryffindor?"

"Yes, Herbology. Did one of your friends get sorted into Gryffindor?"

Pomona wanted to say no, but she did have a favorable impression of Lily.

"Is it because of Sirius Black?" Susan poked her head out from behind them.

"No!" Pomona frowned in disgust. She had forgotten that Gryffindor had not only Lily, but also those two nuisances, James Potter and Sirius Black.

"I remember he called you snot-face," Jane said softly. "He was so rude."

"But he's James Potter's friend." Susan bumped Jane's shoulder. "Didn't you quite like him?"

"No, I don't like him." Jane's face turned red. "I just think he's very brave."

"Brave? How is he brave?" Pomona asked, thoroughly baffled.

"He asked the question we had always been too afraid to ask. If it were me, I would never dare speak to a professor like that."

Looking at Jane's flushed cheeks, Pomona felt as though she had been struck by lightning.

She wondered whether it was still too late to transfer to Beauxbatons.