Professor McGonagall's Little Test

The next day, Chu Yang took his toiletries and left the dormitory, heading for the washroom. As he passed through the Common Room, he saw his roommates snoring soundly on the floor.

Goyle and Crabbe were still asleep, their snores nearly enough to bring down the ceiling. Even so, the people sleeping on the floor remained completely unmoved.

They were all sleeping very sweetly.

"Good luck, everyone. It's the first day of school, so don't be late. Hmm... that might be difficult."

Unfortunately, no one could hear Chu Yang's mockery.

After washing up and getting dressed, he picked up his textbooks and left the dormitory.

Not long after Chu Yang left, the older students gradually emerged from their dormitories. Some were still yawning, but their eyes were immediately drawn to the first-years in the Common Room.

Like knocked-over bowling pins, they lay sprawled across the floor in total disarray.

"Wow, looks like the juniors had a wild time last night!"

"I'm so jealous. That's what it's like to be carefree first-years."

"But did they forget that they have classes on the first day of school?"

"Looks like they had such a wonderful holiday that they're still lost in it."

"Does anyone know what their first class is?"

"Probably Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Class?"

"And their second?"

"Professor Snape's Potions class..."

"Why aren't you waking them up already? Damn it, our house is going to lose points on the first day of school!"

The older students suddenly realized the problem. The prefects especially felt their hearts sink at the thought of facing the terrifying Professor Snape if anything went wrong.

What kind of mess was this on the first day of school?

The burly older students anxiously resorted to force to wake the first-years sleeping on the floor.

Poor Goyle had been dreaming about eating delicious food when a large, stout older student slapped him awake.

"Ow!" Goyle jolted awake, one hand covering his bright red cheek as he stared blankly ahead, drool dripping from his mouth.

"Grab your books and get your ass to class!" the older student roared, glaring furiously. With so many first-years sleeping here, who knew how many points Slytherin would lose?

But the older students soon fell into despair. Other than Goyle and Crabbe, every first-year who had slept in the Common Room the previous night had come down with a cold.

Forget going to class—they did not even have the strength to stand.

The Slytherin Common Room immediately descended into chaos, while Chu Yang, the one responsible for it all, had long since gone down the stairs to the first-floor hall. He ate breakfast in the Great Hall first, then leisurely made his way to the classroom.

The classroom was empty. Chu Yang was the first student to arrive. He walked straight to the lectern and greeted the tabby cat on the desk. "Good morning, Professor McGonagall."

A human-like flicker of surprise appeared on the tabby's face before it leaped into the air and transformed back into human form.

Professor McGonagall, dressed in dark green robes, walked over to Chu Yang and asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Chu Yang smiled and raised the textbook in his hand. "We have Transfiguration Class today, don't we?"

"What a clever child. Your powers of observation and logical thinking are excellent. A wizard who is good at thinking is a good wizard." Professor McGonagall did not hold back her praise. Dumbledore had already given her plenty of information about Chu Yang.

As well as the high hopes Dumbledore had placed on him.

Since the other students had not arrived yet, Professor McGonagall chatted with Chu Yang about the contents of the textbook. She was then surprised to discover that Chu Yang had memorized A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration from cover to cover.

Professor McGonagall was delighted by Chu Yang's performance, but she still reminded him, "I'm pleased that you can read this book so thoroughly, but before that, you should first understand Magical Theory. Rashly attempting Transfiguration is very dangerous."

Of course, Chu Yang understood the importance of fundamentals. Just as Professor McGonagall had said, he had only read A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration after memorizing Magical Theory.

"Thank you for your advice." Chu Yang accepted Professor McGonagall's goodwill and smiled. "If you mean Mr. Adalbert Waffling's work, then I have indeed read it thoroughly."

Professor McGonagall thought she had misheard him and asked in surprise, "That book is no thin volume, Mr. Chu Yang. Are you sure you mean 'read thoroughly'? If you put it that way, then I'll have to test you properly!"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Chu Yang would not miss any opportunity to display himself. It concerned whether he could gain early access to the knowledge Dumbledore considered "dangerous."

That knowledge could greatly improve Chu Yang's abilities and bring help to his other selves in other worlds.

With a hint of anticipation, Professor McGonagall began testing Chu Yang's foundational knowledge.

In the empty classroom, the two exchanged questions and answers.

Soon, Hermione, another top student among the first-years, appeared at the classroom door. However, she did not interrupt Professor McGonagall's test of Chu Yang and simply stood there listening quietly.

Chu Yang was like a high-speed machine. He answered every question Professor McGonagall asked without hesitation, with no unnecessary time spent thinking.

As time passed, the sounds of students chatting and making noise gradually came from outside the classroom. Professor McGonagall stopped the test and praised him. "Your memory is truly impressive. More importantly, you have not merely memorized that knowledge—you understand it completely."

"You are entirely worthy of Dumbledore's special regard. But remember, never become arrogant or complacent. Conceit is a wizard's greatest taboo. Only humility will allow you to go further."

"I heard that you asked Headmaster Dumbledore to open more sections of the library because you wished to acquire more knowledge. Decades ago, there was also a gifted young man like you, but he went down the wrong path."

Chu Yang replied calmly, "Professor McGonagall, thank you for your advice. But no two flowers in this world are exactly alike, and people are the same. Two people who seem similar can end up with entirely different outcomes because their paths of growth differ."

"I hope so." Professor McGonagall looked thoughtful, then waved her hand. "Class is about to begin. Hurry and take your seat."

Hearing that, Chu Yang returned to his seat. The next second, Hermione entered from the classroom doorway, her expression looking especially grave.

She had originally believed that the gap between herself and Chu Yang could be made up through time and hard work.

But during that test, her mind had already turned to mush from the third question onward, let alone the later questions that she could not even understand.

When Chu Yang saw Hermione, he even took the initiative to greet her, but Hermione only stared at her book with a dejected expression.

The students gradually entered the classroom. Class was about to begin, yet quite a few students were still absent, the vast majority of them first-years from Slytherin.