That evening, after dinner, Professor McGonagall had planned to continue preparing for next term's classes. But Mia had nothing to do, and wandering around Hogwarts at night was hardly safe. So she kept Mia with her, giving her a little early instruction while she worked.
Mia was a clever child. Until now, she had studied only some rather wicked Dark Magic and some especially wicked Dark Magic, but when she encountered Transfiguration for the first time that night, she showed remarkable talent.
It took Mia just ten minutes to turn the little transformation toy Professor McGonagall had given her from a triangle into a square. The magical world had plenty of educational toys like it, and the makers had dreamed up all sorts of flashy claims. The one in Mia's hands, for instance, was supposedly the same model Merlin had once given King Arthur.
Professor McGonagall had never hidden her fondness for clever, well-behaved little girls. As she worked, she kept an eye on Mia, who was leaning over her desk, and on her progress with the toy.
When Mia completed the toy's entire set of transformation exercises in less than an hour on her first attempt, the usually stern professor showed a rare, gentle smile of satisfaction. She stroked Mia's head, praised her work, then took an expensive assortment of snacks from a drawer and pressed it into her hands.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall."
Mia opened the snacks right in front of her and offered her a piece first.
"Thank you, dear. But you have them. I don't care for these snacks."
Seeing someone so young offer to share made Professor McGonagall's gaze even more affectionate. Deep down, she could not help thinking, *What a shame. Why do all the well-behaved children end up in Slytherin or Ravenclaw? Must