Professor McGonagall Wants to Investigate

Damon finished writing his reply to Professor McGonagall, picked up the sealing wax on the table, and lit a candle with a flame. As the fire danced, the wax slowly melted, dripping onto the envelope's seal. He then pressed it gently with a simple patterned stamp, leaving a unique mark behind.

Just as everything was ready, a soft call suddenly came from the windowsill, breaking the silence in the room.

Damon looked up and saw a brownish-yellow owl standing quietly on the windowsill, its large eyes fixed intently on him. Its feathers shimmered with a golden luster in the sunlight, exuding a certain elegance.

"Hoo hoo hoo."

The owl on the windowsill called out softly, extending one claw to press down on the letter, but still didn't leave. Those eyes seemed to hold some kind of magic, locking tightly onto Damon.

Damon froze for a moment, then suddenly realized the owl was demanding a reward.

He glanced around, momentarily unsure what to offer the little creature.

"Hoo hoo hoo!"

The little one had already waited a long time and now had little patience left. It hopped up angrily and pecked Damon's finger—hard enough to make him hiss in pain. Then it flapped its wings swiftly and flew away without looking back.

"What a temper," Damon said, shaking his hand. He watched the departing owl without any anger, instead breaking into a smile.

He was experiencing everything in this world, so naturally he couldn't get upset at part of that experience, even if it wasn't particularly pleasant.

[Ding! Detected host's contact with Messenger Owl. Unlocking branch—Magical Creature Affinity]

[Magical Creature Affinity—LV1 (Beginner)] 1/100

[Able to establish basic connections with some docile magical creatures. While you can understand their basic emotions, your ability to communicate with them is limited.]

Damon stared at the translucent blue panel that suddenly appeared before him, curiosity and surprise flickering in his eyes.

Clearly, this creature affinity could be upgraded using Magic Points.

Suddenly, the unpleasant part turned pleasant.

Magical creatures? The world of Harry Potter had all kinds of magical creatures, but the one that left the deepest impression on him was the Fire Dragon.

"I wonder if I level this up enough, could I ride a Fire Dragon for fun?" Damon imagined the scene and chuckled lightly.

But not only did he lack enough points right now, even if he had them, he wouldn't waste them on creature affinity. The most critical thing at the moment was clearly upgrading his magic level.

After sending off his reply, Damon began to wait patiently.

Days passed one by one, and life at the orphanage remained uneventful, while Damon buried himself in the system.

Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, spilling through the windowsill onto the worn wooden floor. As the window shifted in the breeze, light and shadow danced.

[Current Magic Points: 1]

[Magic Required for Upgrade: 999/1000]

Three days went by. On the fourth day, the moment his Magic Points were complete, Damon didn't hesitate for a second. He tapped the newly appeared "+" sign.

As the points were allocated, a strange power surged up from deep within Damon's body.

At first, it brought a slight sensation of warmth and fullness, like being gently wrapped in sunlight.

Then, the feeling grew stronger, as if countless tiny currents were darting through his meridians, a tingling numbness mixed with vibrant vitality.

Damon couldn't help but close his eyes.

At that moment, he vaguely sensed something ethereal.

Elegant, serene, precise, powerful.

"So this is magic?" Damon opened his eyes, following the impulse in his heart, and lightly waved his hand.

"Whoosh!"

It seemed a gentle breeze had passed, knocking over the ink bottle on the table. Ink spilled like a winding serpent, gradually dripping onto the floor.

Damon froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. He picked up the fallen ink bottle and began cleaning the mess on the floor, doing it gladly.

Afterward, he sat back down in his chair and opened the system panel.

[Magic System has been upgraded to Level 2]

[With every breath, you will gain 0.02 Magic Points]

[Current System Level: 2]

[Current Magic Level: 2]

[Current Magic Points: 2]

[Magic Required for Upgrade: 1000/5000]

[Skills Mastered: Omitted]

"The Magic Points reward doubled?" Damon noticed that the Magic Points required for the upgrade now started at 1000.

In other words, the magic he currently possessed, measured numerically, was 1000?

"Although magic is said to be will-based, Magic Points can still serve as a reference. Dumbledore's Magic Points are 180,000—hmm, can I reach that within a year?"

Damon planned as he arrived at the open space set aside for practicing magic, beginning to tentatively control a feather to float.

Before leaving childhood, wizards can naturally perform wandless magic when using a wand. This is why many young witches and wizards unconsciously cast magic when emotionally stirred before enrolling.

But Damon's body housed a thirty-year-old soul. Since crossing over, he had hardly ever been emotionally stirred, let alone angry, and thus hadn't realized that he was in the Magical World.

Although he knew the incantation for the Levitation Charm, Damon didn't risk saying it aloud. After all, the cost of reciting the wrong spell might be something he couldn't bear.

Relying on his own will, he felt the magic flowing within his body, imagining the feather floating under his control.

Professor McGonagall seemed to have encountered some unexpected trouble. Damon waited for over two weeks, even upgrading the Magic System twice, but she still hadn't come.

[Magic System has been upgraded to Level 4]

[With each breath, you will gain 0.04 Magic Points]

[Current System Level: 4]

[Current Magic Level: 4]

[Current Magic Points: 2]

[Magic required for upgrade: 10001/20000]

[Mastered Skills: Omitted]

"One-eighteenth of Dumbledore's magic level. At this point, I should be around the magic level of a third-year young wizard, right? But I definitely can't compare to the main trio."

That day, Damon, as usual, felt the magic slowly growing with each breath in his room, his heart filled with tranquility.

Suddenly, steady, rhythmic footsteps sounded outside the door. He instinctively looked up.

The door was gently pushed open. A tall, black-haired witch in an emerald-green robe stood at the entrance. Her robe was dusted with a bit of dirt, and her expression carried a hint of barely concealed fatigue. Only her sharp green eyes remained keen, radiating a gentle authority.

"Damon White." Professor McGonagall's voice rang out in the room, steady and firm.

"Professor McGonagall."

Damon rose respectfully, giving a slight bow. His mind quickly flashed through his knowledge of Professor McGonagall.

A master of Transfiguration, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, strict in character yet not without warmth. As long as one treated her with a proper and humble attitude, she was the ideal elder.

"How did you know it was me?"

Professor McGonagall studied this boy, who seemed to have a somewhat unique demeanor, with a hint of curiosity.

Damon's expression was calm, and he answered steadily:

"The entire orphanage has only the matron as one mature older woman. You are the second. Additionally, I sensed the pulse of magic in your footsteps."

Professor McGonagall's eyebrows lifted slightly, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes.

Most Muggle-born young wizards could indeed vaguely sense the existence of magic before enrolling, but that perception was often blurry. It only caused some inexplicable, strange phenomena when they were emotionally stirred or in danger.

Yet Damon could so directly identify her magic and affirm its existence—this was unusual.

Professor McGonagall's spectacles glinted as she looked at Damon and said in a low voice, "Prove it to me."

This child was the last one she had to pick up. Perhaps spending a little time talking with him wouldn't hurt.