Professor McGonagall said sternly:
"Change it right now. I have no wish to see anyone spitting in front of me."
The corner of Douglas's mouth twitched. Then he took out the Magic Radar and temporarily severed the magical connection between the statue and the gate.
Then Professor McGonagall, Douglas, and Professor Dumbledore began modifying the statue with Transfiguration, making it as capable of moving like a real person as possible. They even carved a stone wand directly into its hand.
Professor Flitwick added all manner of charms to the statue, including magical power range assessment, automatic repair, magic channeling, magic absorption...
Professor Sprout took out a small pouch she carried with her and pulled out several konjac plants, along with some soil.
Douglas immediately understood what his Head of House intended and hollowed out spaces inside several key parts of the statue suitable for the konjac to grow in.
Professor Sprout explained:
"Although Filius (Filius Flitwick) has cast a magic-absorbing spell on the statue, the magic here is hardly abundant, and the statue's capacity for storing magic is limited. If several students come to challenge it at once, the statue will need time to replenish its magic.
"But with konjac, we won't have to worry about that. Once the statue absorbs magic, these konjac plants will store it. At the same time, they will amplify the magic-absorbing spell.
"When the surrounding magic is weak, there won't be any obvious difference. But when the students arrive, the konjac will stimulate the magic-absorbing spell to draw some magic from them. This will not only ensure that there is enough magic during combat, but also put some pressure on the children, making their training in this environment more demanding.
"Later, I'll also plant some wand flowers around the statue for the konjac to