Transfiguration and Herbology

Linley's first day at Hogwarts was a busy and fulfilling one.

As dusk approached, Linley successfully finished the homework assigned by the professors of his three classes in the library.

During this time, he also met Cedric, who enthusiastically helped him understand the professors' grading criteria for student assignments and how to effectively choose books in the library for assistance.

Linley even found a familiar feeling in this kind of life, reminiscent of his high school days in his previous life.

In reality, normal young wizards weren't nearly as busy as he was. Most of them would leave their weekly assignments until the last minute, spending their free time playing Wizard Chess, roughhousing in the castle corridors, or playing adventure games within the castle.

Finally, as the weekend neared, they would remember their homework and frantically borrow it from those who had already finished, or simply rush through it, gambling that the professors wouldn't bother them about it.

Unfortunately, these young wizards' luck in gambling wasn't very good; they often lost more than they won.

After all, Linley possessed the soul of an adult. Forcing him to play carefree games with a bunch of unruly children would be asking the impossible.

After having lunch in the Great Hall, Linley returned to the Slytherin common room.

In the dormitory, the other three individuals, besides himself, seemed to be getting along quite well.

The names of the other two boys were Mark Oliva and Michel Camilleri. They were playing Wizard Chess, while Hubert was nearby, seemingly loudly instructing the losing side on how to make their next move.

When Linley entered, their previously joyful atmosphere vanished as if a cat had suddenly appeared at a mouse party.

Hubert's gaze towards Linley was still shifty, and the two boys playing Wizard Chess also appeared very uncomfortable, losing their judgment on the next moves of the pieces, causing the pieces on the board to urge them on.

Linley narrowed his eyes. His mind was active, and seeing this scene upon returning to the dormitory, his ten years of boarding school experience from his previous life told him that not long before his return, Hubert and the other two had been badmouthing him behind his back.

Moreover, he had clearly been ostracized by the other three in his dormitory.

It wasn't surprising that they could quickly form friendships and be united in their animosity.

Firstly, Linley and they were not the same kind of people. Besides him, over half of the freshmen in this year came from pure-blood wizarding families, and the remaining portion were half-bloods with at least one wizard parent. Their faction was naturally opposed to Linley's.

Furthermore, after the conflict yesterday, regardless of how it initially started, Hubert ended up being the disadvantaged party, easily garnering sympathy from onlookers.

Also, Linley had barely interacted with them at all today, whereas Hubert had been with them the entire day.

Therefore, everything before him was a natural progression.

However, Linley didn't pay the slightest attention. This situation was exactly what he wanted.

He didn't want to get involved with these unruly children anyway; it would be better to keep a clear boundary between them in the future.

Of course, he wasn't naive enough to believe that after yesterday's lesson, Hubert would be convinced and never bother him again. Based on Linley's experience from two lifetimes, he would need at least two more similar lessons to truly behave himself.

Hogwarts' pace of life was very relaxed, and Linley had plenty of time to "train" him.

"Good evening."

Linley smiled and cordially greeted his roommates, who were now drifting away from him.

The three looked at him nervously, their lips moving, but no sound came out.

Linley didn't expect any response from them. He leisurely put his things away and then sat down at his desk to flip through his Transfiguration textbook.

Ostracism, only if you yourself don't feel awkward or constrained, will the ostracizers feel uncomfortable.

The role Linley was playing at this moment was that of a troublemaker, making Hubert and the others uncomfortable.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, during Transfiguration class, Linley arrived at the classroom early. The moment he stepped across the threshold, his body stiffened abruptly.

"P-Professor McGonagall." Looking at the tabby cat sitting regally on the podium, Linley was instantly reminded of a past embarrassing moment, causing him to stutter.

Professor McGonagall nodded gently, looking at him without speaking.

Linley immediately understood her meaning and obediently found a seat in the classroom, then quietly waited for the lesson to begin.

Clearly, Professor McGonagall was going to give the new students a big surprise.

This class was a joint one for Slytherin and Hufflepuff. After yesterday's events, no one dared to be late, and everyone arrived at the classroom punctually before the lesson began.

The cat on the podium attracted a lot of attention, but since there was also a Mrs. Norris in Hogwarts, they didn't show any particular surprise.

It wasn't until the cat suddenly transformed into a person, becoming Professor McGonagall, that almost all the young wizards who witnessed this scene cried out in surprise.

As Cedric had said that morning, Professor McGonagall's first lesson for new students every year was the same.

Transforming a matchstick into a needle.

Linley's talent for Transfiguration wasn't much higher than that of other young wizards. His initial stat was only 2, and after a system bonus point, it was now 3, so his efficiency in learning Transfiguration wasn't high.

However, he made up for his lack of talent with diligence. Basic Transfiguration, as long as one wasn't a Squib, could definitely be learned with a few more practices.

Moreover, Linley's talent was slightly higher than that of an ordinary person.

As expected, in this class, he once again earned five points for Slytherin with his excellent performance, securing both talent points for Transfiguration.

The same went for the Herbology class in the afternoon.

Professor Sprout, the Head of Hufflepuff, led the young wizards to the greenhouse behind the castle to teach them to identify the first magical plant: Dittany.

This kind of knowledge simply required a lot of looking and memorizing. Linley received loud praise from Professor Sprout for mentioning that Dittany could not only be used for medicinal purposes but was also used by some wandmakers as wand cores. Slytherin was again awarded five points.

After only two days at Hogwarts, Linley's panel attributes had seen a significant increase:

[Name: Linley Belloc]

[Title: Despicable Kidnapper, Newbie Freshman.]

[Magic Power Index: 3]

[Free Points: 1]

[Magic Aptitude:

Dark Magic 6

Transfiguration 4

General Spells 4

Herbology 4

Attack, Defense Spells 3

Potions 3

Alchemy 2

Ancient Runes 2

Divination 0

...]

[Main Quest: Earn commendations from the professors of the corresponding courses.]

[Reward: +1 to relevant Magic Aptitude and effects.]

Basically, his aptitude for most mainstream magic had reached level 4, with Dark Magic even hitting 6.

Although he hadn't learned any dark magic yet, Linley didn't know what a 6-point aptitude for it represented.

However, after practicing spells with Cedric this morning, Linley had already noticed the benefits of a 4-point aptitude in General Spells. For some relatively basic spells, like the Unlocking Charm taught in the first year, he only needed to watch Cedric demonstrate it three times to perfectly mimic the incantation and wand movements. On his fifth attempt, he successfully cast the magic he had never encountered before.

Even Cedric couldn't help but sigh, remarking that Linley's spell-learning speed was almost as fast as his own.