Professor McGonagall on the Verge of a Sharp Explosion

Isaac opened the envelope, unfolded the parchment in his hands, and carefully read the words on it one by one.

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Waldore,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Enclosed is a list of the required books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

The moment Isaac learned Grindelwald's identity, he had realized that he had arrived in the world of Harry Potter.

When he saw scenes of the future through his gift of prophecy, he had begun looking forward to his own acceptance letter.

Now, the owl from Hogwarts had finally pushed open the door to the magical world for him.

Clutching the letter in his hand, Isaac's gaze went blank unconsciously. Then, scenes that did not belong to the present moment appeared before him.

"Huh?"

Already aware of the magical world's existence, Isaac had no intention of requesting a professor's accompaniment like an ordinary Muggle family.

There were only so many professors at Hogwarts, while quite a few Muggle-born witches and wizards enrolled every year.

The professors had to visit their homes personally, demonstrate magic to their parents, and then accompany them to Diagon Alley to buy the books and supplies needed for school.

In a single day, one professor could visit at most two or three families.

Isaac decided to ease the professors' workload a little.

But in the prophecy just now, an important guest would be visiting the house tomorrow.

"Anthony?"

"Young Master Isaac, I'm here." Anthony answered softly from the corner, then slowly stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

"An important guest will visit tomorrow afternoon. The guest is elderly, but very fond of sweets."

"Very well, I'll make the preparations." The old butler had long since grown accustomed to Isaac's peculiar gifts.

To him, the remarkable young Master Isaac was just like Mr. Grindelwald had once been—both were very "remarkable" people.

After giving the old butler his instructions, Isaac returned to his room with the letter.

After writing his reply at his desk, he handed it to Hogwarts' "messenger."

The owl had already been treated by the old butler. When it saw Isaac again, the Hogwarts messenger gave a remarkably human-like cry.

Its call was cheerful and brief, clearly showing how satisfied it had been with the earlier hospitality.

Isaac handed the letter to the owl and casually stroked its feathers. "I'll leave the reply to you, Mr. Messenger."

The owl shook itself, seized Isaac's reply in its talons, and flew out through the open window.

After seeing off the owl, Isaac waited for Grindelwald in the sitting room for a while. Once he was sure the man had no intention of meeting him, he returned to his room with a bellyful of complaints and prepared to turn in early.

Hey, he was already over a hundred years old. Was he really getting shy about meeting an old lover?

The next morning, at the Grangers' home.

Amid the eager anticipation of the family of three, Professor McGonagall knocked on the Grangers' front door right on time.

Hearing the knock, Hermione rushed to the door first and opened it.

"Hello, ma'am?" The instant she saw Professor McGonagall, Hermione unconsciously straightened up, and even her tone became noticeably steadier.

Professor McGonagall's presence was simply too imposing.

The "witch" standing at the door was tall and straight-backed, with an authoritative air.

Her long black hair was swept tightly back into a severe, impeccably neat bun.

She wore square glasses and had a stern, unsmiling face.

When she saw the "well-behaved" Hermione Granger before her, the severity on Professor McGonagall's face softened unconsciously.

Seeing that, Hermione quietly let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had been behind Hermione, stepped forward. The moment they saw Professor McGonagall, they took an immediate liking to her.

As parents, they naturally hoped their daughter's future teacher would possess a certain degree of authority.

Professor McGonagall's appearance perfectly matched parents' stereotypical image of a good teacher.

"Hello, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, and... Miss Granger."

Professor McGonagall nodded in greeting to the Granger family.

As a professor who helped Muggle-born first-years enroll every year, Professor McGonagall could not be said to know the Muggle world particularly well.

However, she had ample experience persuading parents from families of every social class.

For instance, families like the Grangers, who were reasonably well-off, were generally easy to persuade as long as they were shown the wonders of magic.

That was precisely what she did in the Grangers' home.

When Mr. and Mrs. Granger cautiously asked Professor McGonagall to demonstrate that magic truly existed, she gave the family a small demonstration of Transfiguration.

Although Professor McGonagall considered it a very elementary bit of magic, the Granger family still marveled at it repeatedly.

She also took the opportunity to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Granger the dangers that could arise if children with magical talent were not properly guided.

Mr. Granger immediately agreed to let Hermione attend Hogwarts.

Just as Professor McGonagall was about to take the family to Diagon Alley, Hermione suddenly asked her a question in a quiet voice.

"Professor McGonagall, do young wizards from wizarding families all possess particularly special talents?"

"What?" Professor McGonagall was somewhat puzzled. It really was an uncommon question.

Muggle-born young wizards generally did not pay attention to such matters unless they had met another young wizard their own age.

But... was that possible?

"I mean, do young wizards from wizarding families have talents that we don't possess? Talents like prophecy, for example..."

Hermione voiced her question and narrowed the scope of those talents specifically to prophecy.

That made Professor McGonagall, who had been about to leave, halt and turn to face Hermione.

If Hermione Granger had listed several different talents when mentioning special gifts, Professor McGonagall would have simply assumed that the child was precocious and thought too much.

But Hermione had mentioned prophecy—and only prophecy. That was rather telling...

Mentioning prophecy inevitably brought divination to mind, and speaking of divination made Professor McGonagall think of Hogwarts' Divination professor, Sybill Trelawney.

In Professor McGonagall's eyes, Professor Trelawney was nothing but a fraud. After all, in all these years, she had never made many accurate predictions.

As for Hermione... perhaps she really had met a young wizard, who had then confirmed Hermione's identity as a young witch through some detail.

Then "predicted" that she would receive a Hogwarts acceptance letter?

As Gryffindor's Head of House, what sort of prank or mischievous student had Professor McGonagall not seen over the years?

In Professor McGonagall's view, the young wizard Hermione had met could at most be considered an "honest child."