Mrs. Norris, Do You Understand the Worth of the Beast Taming Sect?!

With an excited cat's cry, a thin shadow appeared in Rhine's field of vision.

It was an utterly unlikable-looking cat, with bulging lightbulb-like eyes, a skeletal body, and dull gray fur.

Rhine's heart stirred, and the cat's name surfaced in his mind.

"Mrs. Norris, caretaker Filch's pet."

Many schools in his previous life had cats as well. Those cats were often adored by students, and some even became the school's mascot.

But Mrs. Norris received no such treatment at Hogwarts.

Her appearance had absolutely nothing to do with being cute.

More importantly, she often patrolled alone with her owner. The instant she discovered that a young wizard had so much as crossed the line with a finger and violated school rules, she would immediately shriek excitedly for Filch.

As a result, Hogwarts students hated her to the bone. Many of them even wished they could give Mrs. Norris a vicious kick.

Now, upon seeing Rhine in the corridor in the dead of night, Mrs. Norris's cries became even more excited and piercing.

With his Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, Rhine could tell that she was shouting at the top of her lungs.

"A young wizard has violated school rules!"

"Got you!"

Rhine raised an eyebrow.

It seemed that after he had acquired the Achieve Vajra Indestructible Body talent, he had caused a bit too much commotion.

Even the Conceal Qi and Hide Mechanism talent had failed to cover it up, drawing this cat over.

Still, Rhine had nothing to fear.

Though the cat was intelligent, she was not an Animagus.

Even if Filch came as well, Rhine had a hundred ways to knock them out without letting them so much as see his face.

But in the next moment, a thought surfaced in Rhine's mind.

After unlocking the talent fusion function, his once-abundant supply of talents had become somewhat stretched thin. He practically had no spare talents left to fuse into Dao Charm.

Especially those few talents of extremely high rank—they were all immensely useful to Rhine, and not one could be touched.

Continuing to build connections and acquire talents was therefore imperative.

And if he wanted high-ranking talents, making connections with the professors was naturally the best choice.

Rhine remembered that, in the story, Gryffindor's first class was Transfiguration, taught by Gryffindor Headmaster Professor McGonagall.

Whether in status or strength, Professor McGonagall was anything but ordinary.

If he could establish even a Casual Acquaintance, or perhaps even a Close Friendship, with her, the talent he received would definitely be a pleasant surprise.

However, making connections with professors was not so simple.

The professors cared about students, but that was precisely where the problem lay.

New students enrolled every year. After spending so many years at Hogwarts, the professors had likely long since grown accustomed to first-years.

Care was one thing, but could professors truly form connections with young wizards?

It would already be impressive to establish a Casual Acquaintance by graduation!

Yet a strange glint appeared in Rhine's eyes.

He admitted that it was extremely difficult to connect with most professors.

But forming a connection with Professor McGonagall might not be as difficult for him as it seemed.

It was not because Professor McGonagall was the Gryffindor Headmaster, but because...

This professor seemed to have a habit of transforming into her Animagus form during the first lesson for new students. In his previous life, some HP fans jokingly called her a "giant catgirl."

When Professor McGonagall displayed her Animagus form before other young wizards, it would naturally make them cry out in amazement.

But as luck would have it, Rhine possessed uniquely exceptional advantages when it came to making connections with animals and spirit beasts.

The Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart had absorbed talents from the Beast Taming Sect, such as Spirit Beast Affinity and Spirit Beast Cultivation.

If Professor McGonagall was in human form, Rhine could only honestly work bit by bit to grow closer to her.

But if she transformed into a cat...

Did she understand the worth of the Primordial Beast Taming Sect?!

Still, to be safe, Rhine felt he should test it first.

Mrs. Norris before him was the perfect test subject.

As Mrs. Norris cried out excitedly at the top of her lungs, preparing to fetch Filch and have Rhine caught, Rhine crooked a finger.

"Kitty, come here."

Mrs. Norris froze for a moment, not expecting Rhine to speak cat language.

When had foolish humans learned the language of the noble cat race?

Even Dumbledore couldn't speak it!

Then, Mrs. Norris felt an affinity emanating from Rhine.

Why does this human smell so pleasant?

"Meow?"

By the time Mrs. Norris came back to her senses, she had unknowingly arrived at Rhine's feet and was rubbing her cheek against the hem of his wizard's robe.

Why am I doing something like this?

This is a Gryffindor who violated school rules. I need to catch him...

But before Mrs. Norris could wake herself up, Rhine's fingers scratched beneath her chin, employing his cat-petting skills.

In an instant, Mrs. Norris's pupils dilated.

What is this?

This is bad, bad, far too bad...

It feels so good!

Her mind utterly blank, Mrs. Norris was petted into oblivion by Rhine. She eventually flopped onto the ground and exposed her belly, while a tractor-like purr of pleasure rumbled from her throat.

A smile tugged at Rhine's lips as he continued questioning Mrs. Norris.

"Have you seen any other cats in the castle?"

"Have you seen a cat with markings around its eyes that look like glasses?"

Mrs. Norris purred intermittently.

This human is thinking about other cats while petting me?

Fine, just don't stop. Yes, I've seen the cat you're talking about several times.

That damned cat even stole my catnip once!

A strange light appeared in Rhine's eyes.

"Oh?"

"She likes catnip, does she? You like it too?"

"You also like the scent of silvervine? That makes sense. Cats should all like those things."

The Spirit Beast Cultivation Talent absorbed by the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart was still taking effect.

At that moment, Rhine developed an intuition.

Catnip and silvervine powder, mixed in a specific ratio and combined with several plants from the grasslands outside Hogwarts Castle, could create a scent that was beneficial to cats while also making them utterly infatuated and lost in it.

As this thought arose, Rhine's smile widened.

Professor McGonagall, how could he not prepare a little gift for their first meeting on the first day of class?

Then Rhine thanked Mrs. Norris.

"To show my gratitude, Mrs. Norris, you can be the first to try this scent."

More than ten minutes later.

Filch, who was patrolling the castle, suddenly heard Mrs. Norris making an extremely unusual cry.

His heart tightened. Thinking that some student out after curfew had attacked Mrs. Norris, he hurried over at once.

But when he arrived, he saw from afar Mrs. Norris rolling over and exposing her belly to a student whose face he could not make out. She looked utterly intimate and ingratiating.

She was even more affectionate toward that student than she was toward Filch.

Filch was struck as if by lightning. His steps halted, and his face was filled with utter devastation.

"?"

"How could this happen?"

"Mrs. Norris has never treated me like this..."

"I was here first!"