Professor McGonagall Holds a Grudge

Professor McGonagall took out her wand and pointed it at the lectern. After a series of twisting transformations, the lectern turned into a pink pig.

The pig looked adorable, like a pet pig raised at home. It was spotless, and without a doubt, it would taste delicious too.

The students were all captivated by Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration, wishing they could master it immediately.

Harry was looking forward to it as well. Even he could not perform Transfiguration on this level.

At most, he could turn a stool into a cup. Anything larger was beyond him.

But he had his own advantage: he could make transformations permanent. Likewise, if he returned to Kamar-Taj, the controllable magic within him would multiply several times over. By then, he might be able to perform Transfiguration as easily as Professor McGonagall had just done.

Professor McGonagall was very satisfied with the results of her spell. She had stirred up the young wizards' enthusiasm, and for some time to come, even the naughtiest among them would likely listen attentively.

She picked up the textbook and began the lesson.

It had to be said that Professor McGonagall truly was a master of Transfiguration. Even though Harry's self-study had already reached the level of fourth- or fifth-year students, he still gained plenty of inspiration from her explanations.

Soon, after they had taken copious notes, Professor McGonagall handed each of them a match and told them to try turning it into a needle.

Harry aimed his wand at the match, and it quickly became a needle.

It had a sharp point, a cylindrical body, and an eye at the end for threading. It was a perfect needle.

Professor McGonagall was delighted when she saw it. Harry's talent was excellent—exceptional. Even she had not done so well on her first attempt.

Without question, Harry would one day become a Transfiguration master even greater than she was!

Overjoyed, Professor McGonagall awarded points to her House.

"Perfect Transfiguration. Mr. Potter earns five points for Gryffindor!"

The students applauded one after another, celebrating the first points of the new term.

Other than Harry, only Hermione managed to make her match change slightly. But with Harry's brilliance before her, Hermione no longer seemed quite so outstanding.

Still, Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a rare smile and awarded Gryffindor another point.

The score might have been small, but small things were cute too, weren't they?

Because Harry had completed the transformation so quickly, the other young wizards began asking him for advice.

Harry answered their questions one by one.

Suddenly, Chaos Magic trembled faintly, warning Harry of danger!

Without hesitation, Harry waved his magic in that direction. "No, wait!"

Telekinesis knocked the match from Seamus's hand. After it smashed through the glass and flew out of the classroom, a deafening explosion rang out from outside!

The young wizards were terrified and turned toward Seamus in horror.

"No, it was only Transfiguration! Why did it explode?!"

"That's terrifying! If it had exploded beside us, we'd have been blown to pieces!"

The other young wizards blamed Seamus one after another, but Harry stared fixedly at him, his eyes gleaming.

Holy crap, what kind of heaven-blessed genius is this? He has an explosive talent even I don't possess!

If Harry could lend Seamus enough magic, perhaps he could use it to analyze the nature of Seamus's magic and develop an extraordinarily powerful explosive spell!

Harry was definitely taking this borrower!

Professor McGonagall was shaken by the incident as well. She deducted ten points from Seamus, but awarded Harry another ten.

Professor McGonagall stared into Harry's emerald-green eyes, liking him more the longer she looked. She thought to herself, This child is like me—clever and steady. Perhaps I should consider persuading him to stay at Hogwarts in the future.

It would be such a waste for someone so talented not to remain at Hogwarts.

After Transfiguration Class came Herbology, taught by Professor Pomona Sprout.

She was short, with flowing gray hair and a heavily patched hat. Covered in dirt, she was optimistic and compassionate.

Though this class could not improve Harry's combat abilities, he was still very interested in it.

Whether it was the screaming Mandrake, the light-fearing Devil's Snare, or the bite-happy Fanged Geranium, these magical plants he had never seen before brought Harry a different kind of enjoyment.

It reminded him of the first time the Supreme Mage had taken him traveling through the multiverse.

After Herbology came History of Magic, whose professor was actually a ghost.

It was said that long ago, Professor Binns had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace in the staff room. The next morning, when it was time for class, he forgot to bring his body with him. After that, he continued teaching History of Magic as a ghost.

The professor spoke in a dull, monotonous voice. Even Harry, who wanted to learn more about the Wizarding World through magical history, was starting to feel drowsy.

The Charms professor was Filius Flitwick, who had some goblin blood.

He was remarkably small, and during class, he had to stand on a stack of books just to reach the lectern.

Seeing this, Harry used Transfiguration to shrink the desk. Professor Flitwick seemed as though he had opened the door to a New World, and he tightly grasped Harry's hand to thank him.

When he began taking attendance with the class register, he seemed to think of something upon reaching Harry's name. He became so excited that he fell to the floor and was buried beneath the books on the desk.

He was quite an interesting professor.

Astronomy was held at night, and its professor was Aurora Sinistra.

The class mainly involved observing the stars and learning about the sky. It was much like the Muggle World, so there was not much to say.

What the young wizards looked forward to most was Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.

Every young wizard had heard of The Mysterious Person. They all wanted to learn how to defend themselves against Dark Magic and protect themselves.

Defense Against the Dark Arts also had a rich curriculum. Sometimes, the professor would even play the role of a Dark Wizard and duel the young wizards.

As a result, Defense Against the Dark Arts was freer and more interesting, making it the class every young wizard anticipated most.

But they were quickly disappointed. Professor Quirrell's lesson was practically a joke.

He carried a heavy smell of garlic, which filled the entire classroom.

He could only recite the textbook word for word. Apart from occasionally boasting, he had nothing of value to offer.

How could someone at Quirrell's level possibly become a professor at Hogwarts?

Even Professor Binns, whose lessons were the most dry and tedious, was an immensely knowledgeable ghost.

And during class, Harry noticed that Quirrell occasionally glanced in his direction. That alone was not unusual; many professors paid close attention to him.

But Professor Quirrell's gaze contained a concealed malice. Though he hid it deeply, Harry's senses were too keen, and he could still feel it.

There was no doubt that Professor Quirrell had secrets. He was most likely not a good person, perhaps even a Dark Wizard.

Though Harry did not know why Headmaster Dumbledore allowed him to teach, he had already lost interest in him.

The Supreme Mage had never been interested in the dead. All it would take was one dark night and a swing of his sword, and Hogwarts would have a far better Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.