Transfiguration Class

Early morning.

Bright sunlight passed through the air and struck the lake's surface. Filtered by the water, it became deep and soft, passing through the glass windows of the Slytherin dormitory and turning into rippling light like little snakes.

Silan got up early and spent some time admiring the Giant Squid at the bottom of the lake from the window.

He had heard that Hogwarts' Black Lake had been enchanted, so any student who fell into it would be carried back up by the Giant Squid. He had to admit, that was fairly humane.

He just wondered how much Dumbledore paid the Giant Squid lifeguard.

After picking out the books he would need for the day from his luggage, Silan headed toward the Great Hall along the spiraling stairs.

However, he was in no hurry to eat. Instead, he found a spot with a good view and watched the students making their way to class.

Hogwarts had as many as one hundred and forty-two staircases, nearly all of which moved around on their own. Some even vanished without warning.

And some doors were really just doors, with solid walls behind them.

The design was meant to defend against the Muggles' witch hunts in the past, but now the people suffering most from it were the students.

Sure enough, Silan saw Malfoy step into empty air and fall from the stairs.

If the place had not been enchanted to let young wizards land safely, Hogwarts would probably have gone bankrupt before Voldemort even had the chance to make a move.

"Damn it!"

"I have to start climbing from the first floor again!"

"I really should have my father tell Dumbledore to tear down all these stairs!" Malfoy cursed as he began climbing up again from the first floor.

Silan actually liked that particular staircase. If he fell from it, he could go straight to breakfast. Maximum efficiency.

By the time the ninth student fell from that disappearing stretch of stairs, Silan had finally figured out the pattern of the stairways leading to the classroom. After all, people had tested it for him with their own bodies.

But his top priority now was breakfast.

Breakfast was fairly plentiful. Hogwarts' house-elves prepared a huge variety of dishes for the students. Of course, no one should have high expectations for English food. It was not much better than German jokes or American history.

After gnawing on a roasted chicken leg, Silan sliced some sausage and grabbed a few other sides, making himself a sandwich packed with filling.

He was good at combining ingredients, so it tasted far better than ordinary English food.

It even had a bit of that hometown roujiamo feeling.

While he ate, Silan clearly sensed that the young wizards passing by looked at him differently. Many hurried past him, glancing at him in passing, while others stood at a distance, watching and whispering among themselves.

Silan found it a little strange. Do they want my sandwich?

Then make one yourselves. Why are you staring at me?

Under the gazes of his classmates, Silan sped up his eating.

After breakfast, he picked up his textbooks and prepared to head to class. The moment he stepped out of the Great Hall, he saw Ron fall from the stairs.

That made ten. A nice round number.

Silan waved his wand and caught Ron with a Levitation Charm, then slowly pushed him back onto the stairs.

"Thanks." Ron poked his little head out from the staircase.

Using the experience he had gained from watching the other students, Silan stepped onto the stairs. He soon reached the stretch that vanished, where Harry and Ron were still standing around.

"We wanted to thank you."

"Oh, come on, we don't know how to get to the classroom. We've been wandering around here for ages."

Only when Silan approached did Harry and Ron realize he was a Slytherin student. That made both of them feel a little awkward.

After all, Slytherin's reputation was well known, and Malfoy was out there earning it glory every day. In their eyes, there were hardly any good people in Slytherin.

Even if the person in front of them was named Prewett.

"I'll take you there," Silan offered.

Harry and Ron silently nodded and followed behind him.

"Hey, Harry, I heard Slytherin nearly got into a fight in the common room yesterday. Chris Nott even lost all his hair."

"Who did it?"

Ron gestured with his chin at Silan ahead of them. "Slytherin really isn't united."

"Is he really your cousin?" Harry asked quietly, glancing at Silan's back.

"Not sure yet." Ron tossed a Chocolate Frog into his mouth and took out the card to look at it. "Dumbledore again."

This was Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, shared by Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Hermione had arrived early and sat in the front row, flipping through her book as she carefully prepared for the lesson.

Or, it could be called reviewing, since she had already memorized the textbook.

Professor McGonagall had not arrived yet. There was only a tabby cat crouching on the teacher's desk, occasionally licking its paw.

The young wizards did not hurry into the classroom. Instead, they stood in small groups in the corridor.

Silan walked through the door and immediately spotted the cat on the desk.

The cat turned to look at him as well. Silan could clearly see that the markings around its eyes resembled Professor McGonagall's square glasses.

Anyone could figure out who it was without even using their brain.

Silan really wanted to go over and pet it, then pretend he had not known and muddle through.

As a first-year young wizard who had only just enrolled, it was normal not to recognize Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration, right?

Perhaps because he stared for too long, the cat on the desk jumped down and transformed into Professor McGonagall in the blink of an eye.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall. I didn't know it was you." Silan greeted her with a look of surprise.

He had missed his chance!

Professor McGonagall only transformed into a cat to welcome new students this one time. There would be no more chances to pet Professor Cat afterward.

Hesitation really did lead to defeat!

"Hello."

Professor McGonagall was a little surprised and pushed up her glasses.

She was not quite sure whether Silan had recognized her from the start.

Hearing Silan's voice, Hermione seemed to sense something. She looked up from her book and waved at him. "Come on, Silan, sit here."

"Thanks, Hermione."

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, then headed for the back rows.

"Good morning, Silan." Neville leaned forward from the back row and greeted Silan.

"Good morning, Mr. Longbottom."

"How was your night?" Hermione asked.

Silan placed the textbook he would need for class on the desk and answered, "Not bad. My classmates were all quite enthusiastic. I really got along with them."

Slytherin... enthusiastic?

Even coming from Silan, those words struck Hermione as rather strange.

Because the two of them were sitting in the front row, every young wizard entering the classroom saw them first.

Everyone's expressions turned somewhat odd. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor sitting together—no matter how they looked at it, that was strange.

It was not as though students from different houses could not sit together, but even when those two houses shared a class, their seats were usually clearly divided.

Once everyone had arrived, Professor McGonagall began the lesson.

She was usually a stern person, and she was even more rigorous during class, speaking without the slightest mercy.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will study at Hogwarts." Like a head teacher, Professor McGonagall swept her gaze around the room, making every young wizard feel as though she were looking directly at them.

"Anyone who misbehaves in my classroom will be asked to leave and never permitted to return. I have warned you."

Then McGonagall waved her wand and turned her desk into a pig.

Hermione's eyes widened as she tried to find even the slightest flaw or imperfection in the pig.

But she quickly gave up, because the pig looked far too much like a pig.

Seeing the students' astonished expressions, McGonagall was quite satisfied. "Before you begin waving your wands, we first need to learn about Transfiguration."

Probably every subject followed roughly the same procedure in its first lesson.

They would first explain the subject's general framework, its uses and effects, its theoretical foundations, and its historical origins.

Although those things did not have much effect on actually casting Transfiguration. Still, the greatest difference between a proper school and self-taught magic was systemization and structure. That was why people said one could tell someone's school and tradition the moment they made a move.

After a lengthy and dull explanation of theory, Professor McGonagall finally allowed the young wizards to pick up their wands and try turning the matches in front of them into needles.

With the boost from Spell Inspiration, Silan quickly mastered the Transfiguration Spell.

"Not bad." McGonagall picked up the embroidery needle Silan had created and nodded in satisfaction. "Five points to Slytherin."

Hermione also succeeded quickly, earning Gryffindor five points as well.

That kept things dynamically balanced.

Neville worked hard for more than half the lesson, but in the end, he only managed to make the tip of his match pointy. Still, he was already quite satisfied. With a few more attempts, he would definitely succeed.

During the break.

Chris Nott reluctantly rose from his seat and shuffled over to Neville.