31 Death

Transfiguration was McGonagall's class, and she was also the head of Gryffindor House. It was one of the favorite subjects of most Gryffindor lions. Even though McGonagall was just as stern, in their eyes she was definitely a wonderful person—at the very least, far better than Snape.

"Look, there's a cat over there." Fimiya stretched out her pale, delicate hand and pointed with a slender finger at a tabby cat standing on the lectern. The cat stood perfectly straight, watching the students take their seats with an almost uncanny intelligence. There were even white markings beside its eyes that resembled spectacles.

"I get it, Mr. Sherlock. It must be a pet. We're probably supposed to put our pets there. I heard the Transfiguration professor is McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor. She's an old woman who never married in her entire life. She must be so withdrawn and strange that no man wanted to marry her, so who knows what rules she'll impose in class?"

Lupo spoke loudly enough for practically everyone to hear. Nearly every Gryffindor student glared at him. If Sherlock had not been beside him, they would have rushed over and punched him.

"If I were you, Lupo, I'd apologize to that cat immediately!" Sherlock knew that the tabby was Professor McGonagall in disguise, and Lupo's reckless remarks had gone far too far—especially since the person concerned had heard every word.

After all, everyone lived differently and believed in different things. Snape, for instance, had never married either, but he had loved only one woman for his entire life.

"Apologize to a cat? Is it Professor McGonagall's pet? Mr. Sherlock, are you worried that cat will tattle to McGonagall...?"

After thinking for a moment, Lupo suddenly said, "Maybe that crazy old hag learned the Whispering Word Spirit Spell you invented, Mr. Sherlock. I think she ought to give you a hundred points just for that. Even if you hadn't enrolled at the time, she should make up for it now."

Sherlock sighed and apologized to the tabby on the lectern. "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall. He didn't mean it. If you were standing in front of him, he would definitely show you two hundred percent respect."

Fimiya and Dandeni immediately understood something from Sherlock's actions. In an instant, they shifted far away from Lupo. Nor were they the only ones. Apart from Sherlock, practically every other Slytherin student kept some distance from Lupo, afraid of being dragged into trouble.

The Gryffindor lions also understood what Sherlock meant. After all, he had made it quite clear. And McGonagall was the Transfiguration professor. It was said that after Dumbledore stepped down, McGonagall would take over. Dumbledore had been headmaster for as many years as McGonagall had taught Transfiguration.

"Isn't everyone just afraid that a cat will tattle? Actually, with furry animals like this, all you need is a little favor, and they'll forget who their master is."

Lupo tore a sheet from his notebook and rolled it into a strip, then took out his wand and used the Delicious Food Spell to turn it into a dried fish.

"This is the spell I'm most proficient with. After all, Mr. Sherlock is the person I admire most. My dream is to learn every spell Mr. Sherlock has invented."

Ignoring Lupo's flattery, Sherlock saw the dried fish he had conjured and immediately understood what he intended to do. He could not help warning him, "I advise you not to do that."

But Lupo did it anyway.

Lupo tossed the dried fish onto the floor in front of the cat and shouted, "Eat up, stupid cat! Don't go tattling to your master. Though maybe that stupid old lady McGonagall simply can't learn Mr. Sherlock's brilliant Whispering Word Spirit Spell. I practiced the Delicious Food Spell for a whole year."

In less than five minutes, Lupo had given Professor McGonagall three insulting nicknames in succession: old woman, crazy old hag, and stupid old lady.

Perhaps she had truly reached the limit of her patience. McGonagall leaped forward and transformed from the tabby cat back into her original form.

Right afterward, Sherlock felt as though a human-shaped pile driver had sat down beside him. Only because he pressed hard against the desk did he keep the table from being shaken over by the utterly terrified Lupo.

Fimiya quietly reached out and tugged at Sherlock's sleeve, asking him to sit closer to her and farther away from the self-destructive Lupo, lest he be caught in the crossfire.

But clearly, although Professor McGonagall's expression was dreadful, she still managed to restrain herself. Especially since Lupo was so frightened that he was practically drenched in sweat.

McGonagall spoke only a few stern, blunt words before announcing that the next lesson's task was simply to turn a feather into a needle. Her severe, almost deliberately fault-finding manner was far worse than Snape's.

Even if a Gryffindor lion made the slightest mistake, no matter how minor, McGonagall harshly reprimanded them. As for the Slytherin snakes, it went without saying.

In that instant, every student felt that Snape's classes had been so wonderful, and that Professor Snape was such a gentle and kind person.

Even the little lions thought so.

As class neared its end, McGonagall began checking each student's work one by one.

When she reached Sherlock, he merely snapped his fingers casually, turning the feather before him into a needle.

McGonagall's iron-faced expression immediately softened into surprise. "Very impressive wandless casting and silent spellcasting! Twenty points to Mr. Sherlock!"

It was truly remarkable that Sherlock could still earn points under such circumstances. At last, McGonagall reached Lupo's desk.

McGonagall did her best to smile. "All right, begin, Mr. Lupo. I do not expect you to be as outstanding as Sherlock—of course, many adult wizards cannot manage that either. You only need to complete today's task and turn it into a needle."

Lupo shakily took out his wand, but in his panic, he dropped it onto the floor.

He was about to pick it up when McGonagall's roar reached him.

"What kind of wizard can't even hold on to his own wand? Twenty points from Slytherin! Disrespecting a teacher! Disregarding school rules! The vile habit of gossiping about others behind their backs! Thirty points from Slytherin!"

The room erupted. Lupo alone had cost Slytherin fifty points in an instant. That was truly impressive.

Thinking it over, Lupo had given McGonagall three uncivilized nicknames in total. Ten points per nickname was not too bad. If it had been Snape, it would probably have been thirty points each.

After class, Dandeni and another student from Lupo's dorm had to practically drag him out of the classroom.

As Snape passed the House Cup, he saw that Slytherin House's original sixty points had suddenly been reduced by fifty. He found it baffling, and when he learned that McGonagall had deducted the points from Slytherin during Transfiguration, he found it rather strange.

He personally went to ask her why. After learning the reason, Snape was furious as well. He respected McGonagall greatly; when he had first enrolled, she had been the one to place the Sorting Hat on his head.

Slytherin could produce schemers, but it absolutely could not produce people of such poor character.

As a result, Snape deducted another ten points from Lupo. The sixty points Sherlock had earned in a single day were all wiped out by a few remarks from Lupo during one class.

And that evening, he still had to serve a punishment: assisting Filch as a caretaker's aide for one night. They would have to walk through the entire Hogwarts Castle in the pitch-black night.