Professors

At noon, after finishing her classes, Professor McGonagall arrived at the teachers' dining hall. They did not dine with the students, mainly so that the students could eat more freely while the teachers maintained their authority.

After all, most students found it difficult to truly relax in front of their teachers.

She pushed open the door and entered the dining hall, only to hear someone calling her name.

"Hey! Minerva! Over here!"

Professor McGonagall followed the voice and found Professor Flitwick waving at her from across the room. A bottle of obviously fine wine sat on the table before him.

Professor Snape and Professor Sprout were seated opposite him. With her included, it made an informal gathering of the four Heads of House.

Looking at Snape's gloomy, sullen expression, McGonagall had no idea what had happened, but she still felt inexplicably pleased.

After all, due to the conflict between their two houses, she and Snape had been at odds over various matters for quite some time.

"You look awfully happy. Did something good happen? Don't tell me you received another invitation to commentate for the Wizard Duel Competition, Filius?"

Professor McGonagall smiled brightly.

"How could that be, Minerva? The Wizard Duel Competition isn't until after Christmas. You know that."

Only after saying this did Professor Flitwick realize the hidden meaning in McGonagall's words, and he gently shook his head.

Yet rather than looking even worse as McGonagall had expected, Snape gave a cold laugh. "Of course it's good news, Minerva. You should hear it too. I'm sure you'll be delighted."

Professor McGonagall's brow immediately furrowed. Only then did she notice that Professor Sprout's expression beneath her large hat was not particularly pleasant either.

"What happened?"

Professor McGonagall stepped forward and sat beside Professor Flitwick, opposite Professor Sprout, then asked her question.

The moment she sat down, exquisite food appeared on the plate before her, but she had no appetite now.

"This year's students are truly interesting, Minerva."

Professor Flitwick took a sip of wine and said with a smile, "Today, while teaching the first-years of Slytherin and Gryffindor together, I actually saw little lions and little snakes sitting mixed together. Some had even formed groups together."

"If this keeps up, we may not need to worry about Slytherin and Gryffindor students fighting endlessly in the future."

"Actually," Snape drawled in a voice irritating enough to make anyone's temper flare, "the two houses are already fighting endlessly. Large and small conflicts between the students have never stopped."

As he spoke, he looked at Professor McGonagall, who seemed to understand something. "Luke Gaunt truly is a very capable child. He gathered nearly all the new Slytherin students together so quickly, and they even went on to influence some of the older students."

"The conflict between Slytherin and Gryffindor has eased considerably."

Professor Sprout spoke with a frown. "That is a good thing, but... it happened a little too quickly. It shows that Luke's leadership ability is truly remarkable."

Professor Flitwick said with a smile, "That little fellow even gave a speech in class today! I have to admit, the boy is quite a good speaker."

"Aren't you worried, Filius?" Professor Sprout asked helplessly. "This child reminds me of certain people he shouldn't."

Professor Flitwick took another sip of wine and waved a hand. "There's nothing to worry about. I simply can't see anything harmful in this child's ideals."

Professor McGonagall's expression was not very pleasant either.

But Snape had no intention of gloating. Although Luke had a very good relationship with McGonagall, so close that he was practically like one of her own juniors, Luke was ultimately a student of Slytherin Academy, and Snape was the Head of Slytherin Academy. If something really happened, he himself would not escape blame.

After finishing his entire glass of wine, Professor Flitwick noticed that the other three people at the table seemed to have fallen into some strange inner turmoil.

"What are you all thinking?" he asked with a smile. "We're teachers. Since we've discovered a problem, the first thing we should do is help the students solve it, not solve the students who have a problem."

"Besides, do you really think Dumbledore doesn't know about this? For something like this, we should simply trust his judgment."

Snape could not help letting out a cold laugh at that. Then he sighed softly, shook his head, and lowered it to start eating.

Professor Sprout's expression softened somewhat. Upon thinking it over, that was indeed true. Since they were worried that the child might go down the wrong path, then a teacher's duty was to help him see the road ahead clearly before he truly stepped onto a path of no return.

Professor McGonagall no longer looked so grim, but the worry in her eyes had not faded.

Thus, amid four different moods, the four of them ended this informal and not particularly pleasant little meeting. They began an ordinary lunch in a rather chilly atmosphere.

"Transfiguration is this afternoon. Ron, do you think Professor McGonagall's class will be difficult?"

Harry looked at the timetable posted on the wall of the common room and asked hesitantly.

"Probably not as hard as Snape's. At least, that's what Fred and George said." Ron stuffed mint candies he had smuggled back from the dining hall into his mouth as he spoke. "But their grades have always been pretty good, so I don't know what it'll be like for the two of us."

That afternoon, in the Transfiguration Classroom.

The moment the bell rang, Harry and Ron rushed into the classroom together, panting heavily.

Ron looked around and was delighted to find that Professor McGonagall was not in the room. There was only a tabby cat on the teacher's desk.

All the students already in the classroom turned to look at them. Seeing how disheveled the pair looked, along with Ron's delighted expression, Malfoy instinctively began to sneer.

But he suddenly remembered his current position, so he silently withdrew his mocking expression and instead looked at them with an almost pitying gaze.

"Great, Harry, Professor McGonagall isn't here yet—"

The moment Ron began to speak, Harry saw Luke signaling frantically to them. He then saw Neville beckoning them over, while Hermione pointed at the cat with one finger.

Harry immediately covered Ron's mouth and dragged him to seats near the front.

Once the two had settled down, the cat at the front spoke amid Ron's horrified gaze. "Please do not be late again, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. Otherwise, I shall turn one of you into an alarm clock, so that at least one of you will be on time."