The Reopened Dueling Club (IV)

Most of the students were trying hard, but the results varied wildly. Some produced hamsters with only one ear; some turned their teacups into balls with rat tails; and for some, the cups in front of them simply did nothing at all.

Hermione was the first on the Gryffindor side to finish. Her wand traced a precise arc above the teacup, and the incantation she spoke was clear and steady. The white teacup spun on the table, its shape beginning to change—the body shrank into a plump little form, the rim became a pointed snout, and the handle folded inward to become a curled tail.

At last, a fluffy golden hamster stood on the table, tilting its head as its black-bead eyes darted about.

Dumbledore walked over and looked down at the hamster. He took a sunflower seed from his robe pocket and placed it in his palm. The hamster scurried closer, held the seed in its tiny paws, and stuffed it into its mouth, its cheeks swelling into two little balls.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, his voice carrying undisguised praise, "absolutely perfect. The Transfiguration was precise, the spirit of it was spot-on, and you even accounted for a hamster's instinct to eat sunflower seeds. Thirty points to Gryffindor."

Hermione's face turned red—the kind of red that came from being embarrassed by praise while still being unable to hide her pride. Ron leaned over beside her for a look, muttered, "I'll give it a try too," then waved his wand at his own teacup and recited a long string of incantations.

The teacup shook violently a few times, then—turned into something furry, with four uneven legs, flattened-looking, and barely passable as a rat. When it stood up, three legs pointed forward and one backward, making it walk like a freak