Transfiguration Club

At dinner, the troublemaking Draco could not resist bringing his two lackeys, Goyle and Crabbe, over to the Gryffindor table to pick a fight. Skylar could only rub his forehead speechlessly. Just how obsessed with Harry was Draco? Why did he think about provoking him at every possible moment?

As described in the original story, Draco challenged Harry to a wizarding duel in a contemptuous tone.

In his view, Harry had grown up in the Muggle world and had only been exposed to magic for two weeks. He probably did not even know what a duel was and would surely not dare accept. That way, Draco could mock him to his heart's content. Unexpectedly, Ron, standing nearby and eager to make his presence known, stepped forward and meddlesomely accepted the duel on Harry's behalf. "A duel it is! I'll be his second when the time comes. Who's yours?"

Draco turned to look at Crabbe and Goyle, then said without hesitation, "Of course, my brother."

Crabbe and Goyle: "Then why were you looking at us...?"

"Midnight, then. How about it? We'll meet you in the Trophy Room. It's never locked." Draco ignored their complaints and continued.

Skylar's unhurried voice drifted over from afar. "I say... you lot are openly discussing fighting a duel in public, and you even picked midnight, a time that breaks school rules. Besides, isn't it a bit much to drag me into a duel before asking for my opinion?"

Ron sneered without the slightest courtesy. "You were the ones who proposed the duel in the first place. What, now you're scared and want to back out? Spineless coward!"

Ron's tone was indeed a little excessive. Even Harry could not help frowning when he heard it. But Harry did not want anyone to think he was taking Slytherin's side, so he chose to remain silent.

Ron's words enraged Skylar. Though his face remained expressionless, his tone suddenly turned chilling. "I simply do not want to break school rules for such a pointless reason. Since you want a duel, there's no need to wait until midnight..."

With that, Skylar drew his wand and lightly tapped a cup on the long table. In an instant, the cup transformed into a murderous gray wolf. It bared its sharp fangs and let out a terrifying howl!

Screams erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry's face went deathly pale, while Ron was so frightened that he toppled backward off his chair and landed hard on the floor. Just as Professor McGonagall hurried over from the staff table, Skylar gave his wand a light flick. The gray wolf instantly turned back into a cup, and Skylar's emotionless voice rang out. "Do you still want to duel me now?"

Professor McGonagall arrived with a stern expression and snapped, "Mr. Malfoy! Explain what is going on here! Using magic to harm fellow students is strictly forbidden at Hogwarts!"

Skylar turned to Professor McGonagall. He knew that she had always been impartial and would not favor Gryffindor, so he had nothing to fear.

He replied calmly, "Professor McGonagall, Weasley has never had a favorable opinion of the House of Malfoy. I do not care about that, but just now, I merely wanted to peacefully cancel the duel arrangement between them and my brother, only to be insulted by Weasley—he called me a spineless coward! I merely used Transfiguration to scare them a little. Surely that cannot be considered harming fellow students? There are so many witnesses here; they can all testify."

After questioning several students dining at the table, Professor McGonagall confirmed that Skylar had indeed spoken the truth. Her lips pressed into a tight line as she deducted twenty points from Gryffindor for Ron's insulting behavior. Gryffindor, which had already lost quite a few points over the past two weeks, fell straight to the bottom of the House rankings. Quite a few Gryffindor students sent Ron and Harry distinctly unfriendly looks.

Professor McGonagall turned back to Skylar. "Even if there was a reason for it, Mr. Malfoy, your actions were still inappropriate. You are only a first-year student. What if your magic went out of control and accidentally injured someone?"

Skylar spoke blandly, but his tone was filled with unquestionable confidence. "Professor, accidentally injuring a fellow student is impossible."

With a light wave of his wand, the four cups on the table simultaneously turned into a snake, a spider, a chick, and a red fox. Then, with another light wave, the four little creatures twisted together and became a serpent-like monster with a fox's tail, a rooster's comb, and eight spider legs. It raised its terrifying head, flicked its forked tongue, and hissed. Skylar waved his wand again, and the serpent monster instantly separated into the four little animals from before, which then turned back into four cups.

Professor McGonagall stood frozen, too stunned by Skylar's display to speak. After collecting herself, she slowly said, "Mr. Malfoy, that was truly incredible Transfiguration. Can you tell me how far you have progressed in Transfiguration?"

"How far?" Skylar reached up and stroked his chin. "I think... aside from the Switching Spell and the Vanishing Spell, I should have mastered everything at O.W.L. level..." As he spoke, he glanced at Ron. "To be honest, if I had wanted to just now, I could easily have turned him into a white ferret."

The remark left Ron shocked, frightened, furious, and resentful, but Professor McGonagall's presence and the aura Skylar gave off prevented him from uttering any harsh words.

Although Professor McGonagall's expression remained stern, Skylar could detect a faint flicker of delight in her eyes. "Come with me to my office now. I have something to discuss with you."

Skylar followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall. Before leaving, he could still hear Ron cursing under his breath, but he had no time to concern himself with that and could only follow Professor McGonagall closely to her office.

Professor McGonagall's office was a small study beside the second-floor corridor. A fire burned brightly in the fireplace, and the Quidditch pitch could be seen through the window. Behind Professor McGonagall's desk were shelves packed tightly with Transfiguration books and students' Transfiguration essays. All of them showed signs of having been read and handled, rather than merely sitting on the shelves for display.

It seemed Professor McGonagall's reputation as a Hatstall was not unfounded. Ravenclaw would have suited her just as well, Skylar thought to himself.

After sitting down at her desk, Professor McGonagall stared at Skylar for several seconds before carefully choosing her words. "Mr. Malfoy, you are the most gifted student in Transfiguration that I have ever seen. Your progress is far beyond that of students in your year. In order not to waste your talent, I would like to invite you to join my Transfiguration Club."

"Transfiguration Club?" Skylar looked puzzled. He knew the original story by heart, yet he did not remember such a club ever being mentioned.

He only remembered the Dueling Club that appeared in second year, the Slug Club that appeared in sixth year, and the student-run Gobstones Club... Right, when Gryffindor's Vicky Frobisher competed with Ron for a place on the Quidditch team, she had said that she cared more about the Charms Club. Perhaps the Transfiguration Club was a similar organization.

"It is a club I established. We meet once a week, and its members are older students who excel at Transfiguration. We discuss and study matters related to Transfiguration together. Of course, I also hope you will often publish academic papers in Transfiguration Today, contributing to the field of Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall explained.

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall took a book from the shelf. It was her own Transfiguration notes from when she had prepared for her O.W.L.s, filled with personal tips and insights not found in the textbooks. She gave it to Skylar. She thought very highly of him and greatly anticipated the achievements he would reach in the field of Transfiguration.

[Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Notes acquired!]

"It is my honor, Professor." Skylar bowed respectfully and left Professor McGonagall's office.

When he returned to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, Draco and his lackeys, Daphne, Meredith, and Pansy immediately surrounded him. "What did Professor McGonagall call you to her office for?" Draco was the first to ask impatiently.

"Nothing special," Skylar explained in an unconcerned tone. "She invited me to join her Transfiguration Club and gave me a book about Transfiguration."

"Transfiguration Club?" they asked in unison. "What's that?"

"I heard it's a club Professor McGonagall established herself," Skylar said after thinking for a moment. "They discuss and study matters related to Transfiguration."

"Are you joking?" Pansy was so astonished by Skylar's words that she was nearly speechless. Skylar was certain that she unconsciously glanced at Draco again, a complicated look flashing through her eyes.

"You're amazing. I'm so jealous," Meredith said with a touch of envy. This was undoubtedly special attention from Professor McGonagall.

"Of course. You should consider whose brother I am. If my brother were a little more diligent and spent more time studying and doing homework instead of constantly trying to disgust that bunch of Gryffindors, he definitely wouldn't be any worse than me. Isn't that right, Draco?" Skylar said with a smile.

"Of course!" Draco answered proudly.

At that moment, Skylar caught sight of Harry and Ron trying to eavesdrop nearby and said flatly, "Potter, Weasley, don't you think it's rather rude to listen in on other people's conversations?"

Draco and the others turned their heads. Seeing the two indeed lurking nearby, they immediately glared at them with angry expressions.

Ron refused to back down. "What gives you the right to say we were eavesdropping? We just happened to be passing by. Do we need your permission to walk through the aisle?"

Skylar replied blandly, "It does not matter. The matter of the duel from earlier is not over yet, but I have no intention of breaking school rules for your sake. How about this? Right here, in front of everyone, I challenge you to a game of Wizard's Chess to decide the winner. Do you dare?"

Skylar knew that Ron's most confident talent in the original story was Wizard's Chess. He would not refuse. Skylar intended to crush him in the area where he was best, making him experience complete and utter domination.

An excited flush crossed Ron's face. "I dare! Why wouldn't I?"

Skylar replied, "Of course, even if it is only a game of Wizard's Chess, I will not waste my time simply to beat you. If we are competing, there needs to be a wager—how about ten Galleons?"

Ron's face immediately reddened. All his savings combined did not even amount to a single Galleon. How could he possibly produce ten Galleons? But when facing the Malfoys he despised, he could not admit to being poor no matter what. He could not lose momentum or face.

Skylar ignored him. "If you don't have any Galleons on hand," Skylar said, turning to Harry, "then even if this wasn't caused by you, you're still involved. It's not unreasonable for you to pay this Galleon, is it?"

"Fine! I believe in Ron!" Harry agreed boldly.

After dinner ended, Skylar happily took the 10 Galleons he had just won and led Draco and the others back to the Slytherin dormitory.

At the long table sat Ron, looking utterly devastated, and Harry, whose expression was not much better. Harry could only comfort Ron in a low voice—but it did not seem very effective. Losing a Galleon was a small matter to Harry, but this game of Wizard's Chess had been played under everyone's watchful eyes. Having been defeated in public by someone from the Malfoy family, Ron suddenly felt as though life had lost all meaning.

He felt that every gaze around him was filled with pity, which made him feel deeply humiliated. Covering his face, he ran all the way into the Gryffindor dormitory, while Harry hurriedly followed him out of the Great Hall.