By September, the nighttime temperature at Hogwarts was already nearing freezing, and a group of students were getting thoroughly chilled atop the Astronomy Tower.
Harry shivered and asked Ron, "Is there any magic that can warm someone up?"
Ron handed him a sweet. "Here. Fred gave it to me before class. He said it would warm you up after you ate it."
Astronomy class was not very strict about discipline, and Professor Sinistra turned a blind eye to many things.
So when Harry breathed flames like a dragon, the professor did not deduct any points from Gryffindor.
"Pepper Imps again." The professor shook her head with a smile. "Every year, some new students get tricked."
The flames covered Ron's face, but he was not hurt. He was merely given quite a fright.
"I'm furious!" he said through gritted teeth. "I knew Fred wouldn't have good intentions."
Charles teased from the side, "Just admit it—did you warm up or not?"
Fortunately, Astronomy class ended soon afterward. Today's lesson had only been about learning how to use telescopes, and as soon as class ended, everyone streamed downstairs.
Only Charles stayed behind to help the professor put away the telescopes.
With an excuse to separate himself from the others, Charles began tonight's operation.
"I want a room for practicing magic..."
After muttering this while walking back and forth three times in front of a wall on the Seventh Floor of the Astronomy Tower, a large door appeared in the wall.
When he entered the Room of Requirement, he found a fairly spacious classroom inside. The candles in the sconces on the walls burned brightly, and several wooden dummies stood on the floor.
Charles understood perfectly that spells had to be practiced. It was the same principle as "practice makes perfect."
The next morning, Charles arrived early for Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class.
Professor McGonagall was preparing the matches they would use in class, so Charles immediately went over and asked, "Professor, do you need any help?"
Professor McGonagall studied him with a smile for a moment before saying, "The owl that arrived this morning did indeed bring your broomstick. Mr. Smith said I could decide when you would be allowed to use it."
The smile on Charles's face became even more obedient and endearing.
Professor McGonagall continued, "Next Thursday afternoon, you'll begin Flying Class. I spoke with Madam Hooch. If you demonstrate a sufficient level of skill in class, I'll agree to let you use your own broomstick during lessons."
Charles immediately replied, "Thank you, Professor. I'll do my best!"
Professor McGonagall smiled again. "That is a fine broomstick, better than anything on the market. I'm almost envious."
Charles's eyes shifted, and he said, "You can use it when I'm not in class. Consider it a storage fee."
Professor McGonagall shook her head with a smile. "I'm no longer at the age when I can ride an unruly broom through the air and battle the wind. These days, I prefer a comfortable broom and the warmth of the sun."
Charles felt that he would have to write Old Man another letter.
The other students were getting ready to arrive, and Professor McGonagall gave him a slightly mischievous smile. "Keep what you see next a secret for me."
With that, she transformed into a cat and stood on the desk.
Charles resisted the urge to scratch her and instead asked, "Professor, do you like fish?"
That was when he learned that even Meowgonagall could roll her eyes.
Charles found a seat and settled down, wondering whether he should try becoming an Animagus. If he got lucky, he could freeload at a zoo.
However, becoming an Animagus required a very long time, and the process was extremely complicated.
First, one had to keep a mandrake leaf in one's mouth for an entire month between two full moons, without spitting it out or swallowing it. Charles figured he would probably need an IV drip or a feeding tube during that time, or else he would starve to death.
Next, one had to put one's saliva and the mandrake leaf into a crystal phial and expose it to moonlight. If there were clouds in the sky, the whole step had to be repeated. The Sahara Desert should work well for this part.
Then, beneath the moon, one had to add a strand of one's own hair and a silver teaspoon of dew to the crystal phial. The problem was that this dew had to be collected from a place untouched by sunlight or people for seven whole days, which meant making a trip to some uninhabited region like the Amazon rainforest.
After adding the remaining ingredients, the phial had to be placed somewhere quiet and dark. It could not be looked at or disturbed again until the next thunderstorm arrived. Putting it in Bogor, Indonesia, Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, or Hainan—places where thunder, lightning, and rain came every few days—should work nicely.
Aside from that, there were steps under one's control, such as pointing one's wand at one's heart and reciting the spell every morning and evening. Once the time was right, one could drink the potion and transform.
Charles found the idea rather appealing, but he was also a little worried. What if he turned into an earthworm and some fisherman used him as bait?
He remained distracted by the thought throughout the lesson, until Professor McGonagall said beside him, "You still need more practice."
Charles came back to his senses. By then, Professor McGonagall had handed each student a match and told them to turn it into a needle.
The object Charles transformed... did indeed look somewhat like a needle. One end was pointed, and although the other end had an eye, its tip was flat like a nail.
He could not determine whether this eye-ended nail was actually a needle. He could only recall what Professor McGonagall had just explained and continue practicing.
After class, Hermione looked extremely pleased with herself. Before leaving the classroom, she even flashed Charles an especially smug smile.
Ron said unhappily, "Look at how pleased she is with herself. You'd think she had cast some incredible spell."
Hermione had been the only person in the classroom to transform the matchstick perfectly into a needle. Professor McGonagall had even asked her to demonstrate it for the other students, naturally earning her extra points.
Hermione's pride came from her own ability, but it still rubbed some people the wrong way.
Charles merely smiled. He had been that age himself, and there was no point saying anything.
Besides, Hermione and he had been "rivals" for years. They had competed over grades throughout all six years of primary school.
Seeing that Charles had no reaction, Ron continued, "She seemed to be provoking you just now. Aren't you going to teach her a lesson?"
Only then did Charles realize that Ron was standing up for him. He asked, both amused and exasperated, "How do you want me to teach her a lesson?"
Ron thought about it. Since she was a girl, using force would not be appropriate, so he said, "Don't you have a talent for divination? Make up a prophecy to scare her."
Charles shrugged. "What could I make up that would scare her? Should I tell her she'll marry you in the future?"
Charles did not know whether Hermione would be frightened, but Ron was genuinely terrified. His face instantly turned even paler than Malfoy's, and he asked Charles nervously, "A-Are you really divining that, or are you just making it up?"
Charles put an arm around Ron's shoulders and said seriously, "When you can't beat someone, you should look for the reason within yourself. Don't feel bad inside and then think that hurting the other person somewhere else means you've won. It may make you feel good for a while, but the other person will only leave you farther and farther behind. In the end, the only one who fails is you, while the other person is already on an entirely different level. They won't care in the slightest how you're doing..."
Charles lectured Ron all the way from the Transfiguration classroom to the entrance of the dining hall. Ron tried to escape several times, but Charles had him by the shoulders, and he was not strong enough to get away.
He appealed to Harry for help with his eyes, but Harry offered him nothing except a sympathetic look.
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