Professor McGonagall's Sting Operation

"What are you doing?!" The little blonde girl cried out in pain.

Kyle ignored her and bowed to the cat on the podium. "Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."

The color drained from Hannah's rosy cheeks in an instant.

The tabby cat leaped down from the podium and transformed midair into the stern-faced Professor McGonagall. "Good afternoon, Kyle."

Professor McGonagall shot a glare at the pale-faced Hannah. "Miss Abbott, return to your seat."

Kyle sat down in the front row of the classroom. Hannah timidly tugged at his sleeve, wanting to slip away to the back.

But in the end, the temptation of sitting beside Kyle overcame her fear of Professor McGonagall.

Hannah sat obediently beside Kyle, as if she had not been the one who had just made a lewd grab at Professor McGonagall.

Before the bell rang, the students gradually arrived, dividing the classroom into two clearly separate sections according to House.

"Transfiguration will be the most complex and also the most dangerous magic you learn at Hogwarts!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang through the classroom.

She sternly warned the young wizards below, "Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be sent out, and they will never be allowed back in."

As she said this, Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze remained fixed on Hannah beside Kyle, frightening Hannah until she trembled.

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall drew her wand from her robes.

She demonstrated profound Transfiguration magic for the young wizards while explaining the precautions required when casting Transfiguration spells.

"Incomplete Transfiguration usually comes with terrible consequences."

She cited Quintapeds and Sirens as examples. Those magical creatures were the products of wizards failing at human Transfiguration on themselves.

But judging by the stunned expressions of the young wizards below as they stared at the podium transformed into all sorts of animals, it was hard to say whether they had taken Professor McGonagall's words to heart.

"Remember, Transfiguration spells cannot create food. Wizards cannot conjure fine meals from nothing, nor can they turn other things into food."

"Suppose you turn a piece of wood into a loaf of bread, then eat it."

"Once the Transfiguration spell loses the magic sustaining it, the bread absorbed by your body will turn into wood splinters throughout your body. You will die in an extremely miserable fashion."

After sweeping her gaze across the young wizards below, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"The food you enjoy in the Great Hall is not conjured from nothing. It is prepared by the House-elves in the castle, then transported to the dining tables through magic."

Having warned the young wizards about the dangers of Transfiguration magic, Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. She handed out matches to every student.

"For our first Transfiguration lesson, we will attempt to turn the matches in your hands into needles."

This task posed no challenge at all for Kyle, who had inherited Dumbledore's talent for Transfiguration—not to mention that he had already studied it more than six months ago.

He did not even bother with an incantation. With a casual flick of his wand, the match instantly became a gleaming silver needle.

"Beautiful silent Transfiguration. Five points to Hufflepuff." Professor McGonagall awarded Kyle the points with a calm expression.

Hannah picked up the transformed silver needle in amazement. "How did you do that?! Silent casting!"

"Just use your hands," Kyle replied casually.

Hannah wanted to hit him.

Seeing Hannah clench her fists, Kyle immediately stopped spouting nonsense and began earnestly teaching her the techniques of Transfiguration magic.

"Before using a Transfiguration spell, clearly picture in your mind what you want the target to become. Then pronounce the incantation clearly and move your wand firmly and decisively."

"Do not wave or twist your wand unnecessarily, or the Transfiguration will definitely fail."

Over on the Gryffindor side, the studious little beaver also pricked up her ears and listened carefully as Kyle explained the essentials of Transfiguration.

After listening to Kyle, Hannah picked up her wand, held her breath, and stared at the match with intense focus.

Firm and decisive!

Her grip on the wand was so tight that veins bulged on her forehead, and surging magic rose around her.

At last, she swung her wand.

Bang!

"Professor McGonagall, we need a new match over here!"

Kyle raised his hand to signal Professor McGonagall, then conjured a ball of water and washed the soot from both his and Hannah's faces.

Over the rest of the lesson, among all the other young wizards in the classroom, only Hermione managed to turn her match into a silver needle, earning five points for Gryffindor.

The first lesson that afternoon was Charms with Professor Flitwick.

First-year Charms did not teach many spells. The entire Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 contained only a dozen or so basic spells about as difficult as Lumos.

Before the young wizards officially began learning their first spell, they first had to master wand movements and other casting techniques, such as pronouncing the syllables of an incantation.

They would not begin studying their first spell until around October.

So first-year Charms was of little use to Kyle, who was already highly proficient in both silent casting and wandless hand-sign casting.

So while everyone else practiced casting gestures in class, Kyle flipped through other magic books he had brought back from France.

Professor Flitwick knew Kyle's situation and did not say anything about it.

As long as Kyle did not skip class or cause trouble, Professor Flitwick did not ask much more of the leader of the Father-Worriers Alliance.

Regarding Kyle's education, the Hogwarts professors who knew his background all shared the same consensus—

The troublesome child of the Grindelwald family was Dumbledore's problem to worry about.

The little lions and badgers leaving Charms hurried straight to the greenhouses outside the castle. Their next lesson was Herbology.

Hogwarts's Herbology teacher was Pomona Sprout, who was also Hufflepuff's Head of House.

Compared with the school's strange staff—a middle-aged catgirl, a half-blood goblin, a bat turned human, and a half-giant—the short, stout Professor Sprout was perhaps the most kind-looking professor at Hogwarts.

Because she was always in the greenhouses tending to those magical flowers and plants, she was often covered in dirt, with her flowing gray hair hidden beneath a thick, patch-covered hat.

To a certain transmigrator from an agrarian empire, that down-to-earth appearance felt especially familiar.

"All of this school year's lessons will take place in Greenhouse One," Professor Sprout said gently as she stood at the greenhouse entrance.

"The magical plants in Greenhouse One are relatively less dangerous than those in the other greenhouses, but that does not mean there is no danger. I hope everyone will obediently follow my instructions once inside, so that no accidents occur."

The students murmured excitedly among themselves as they followed Professor Sprout into the greenhouse.

Kyle was also very interested in these magical plants.

Everything he had encountered before had been animals, but those strange magical creatures—such as Murtlaps with sea-anemone-like growths on their backs, and Grindylows that looked like water monkeys...

They did not look edible at all. Even if Bear Grylls came here, he might not be able to bring himself to take a bite.

As for high-danger creatures like dragons, Kyle did want to know what dragon meat tasted like.

But at his current strength, the most likely outcome was probably letting the dragon find out what human meat tasted like.

Compared to those bizarre magical creatures, the magical plants in front of him now should be much easier targets.

I wonder if these plants are edible? How should they be cooked? Do they taste good? How do they compare to Muggle vegetables?

Kyle's gaze gradually grew fervent.

I'm planning to tone down the romance. I can't write it well, so I'd better stick to happily messing around.