Hogwarts: This Wizard is Unscientific 30
by adminChapter 30: The Unknowing Gentleman, The Know-It-All Miss, and the Demolitions Genius
2023-09-02
Chapter 30: The Unknowing Gentleman, The Know-It-All Miss, and the Demolitions Genius
At two in the afternoon, the Transfiguration classroom was already filled with students. This lesson was a joint class for Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Andy saw Neville, who had missed a Charms class, but Harry and Ron were still absent.
He wondered if they were hospitalized.
A tabby cat was perched on the lectern, staring at Andy for a full ten minutes. Hermione, upon entering the classroom, was immediately captivated by the cat. “Is this Professor McGonagall’s tabby?” she asked excitedly, already reaching out to pet it.
Luckily, Andy stopped Hermione just in time, preventing a potential disaster. Having seen the movies, Andy knew that the cat was actually Professor McGonagall in disguise.
After living in the magical world for so many years, Andy fully understood the level of magic involved in Animagi transformations. To put it bluntly, any wizard who mastered Animagus transformation possessed extremely high proficiency in Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall’s skill alone proved her exceptional ability.
Just before the class started, Harry and Ron rushed into the classroom. It seemed they weren’t hospitalized after all.
“Looks like we’re not late; the professor isn’t here yet,” Harry said with relief. He couldn’t imagine the consequences of being late—Professor McGonagall was their Gryffindor Head of House, after all.
“Is that Professor McGonagall’s cat?” Ron asked, heading towards the lectern without a second thought. “George and Fred said Professor McGonagall kept a cat.”
Thank goodness! Andy breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, ‘You’re my savior, Ron!’
Indeed, that was what George and Fred had said.
Professor McGonagall clearly didn’t appreciate being petted. Before Ron could get close, the tabby cat leaped from the lectern, transforming into Professor McGonagall in the process.
Ron’s hand froze mid-air. His eyes went vacant, his legs trembling with fear.
Professor McGonagall looked at Ron sternly. “You’re late.”
Ron forced himself to speak, “That was cool.”
“Thank you!”
Professor McGonagall didn’t seem impressed. “Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, I think I’ll have to turn one of you into a pocket watch so you can learn to tell time.”
“Professor, we got lost,” Harry quickly explained.
“Then become a map!”
Professor McGonagall glared at them. “You don’t need a map to find your seats, do you?”
The two quickly took their seats.
“Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous spell in all of Hogwarts. Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and will never be allowed to return.”
“I’ve warned you.”
Professor McGonagall started the class with a stern warning. She transformed the lectern into a pig, then back again to a lectern, eliciting gasps of wonder from the young wizards.
“Amazing!” Andy thought in admiration. Professor McGonagall’s skill was truly remarkable.
Helena Ravenclaw could also transform objects into animals, but the animals she transformed clearly lacked intelligence, looking no different from inanimate objects. Professor McGonagall’s pig, however, was incredibly lifelike, just like a real pig. This involved more than just Transfiguration; perhaps there was also a technique involved in imbuing inanimate objects with intelligence.
Professor McGonagall’s demonstration clearly piqued the students’ interest, yet what awaited them was a large chunk of theoretical knowledge and at least eight inches of Transfiguration notes.
Professor McGonagall liked to ask questions during class, and Hermione always answered them accurately, earning a “Ravenclaw gets one point” reward. This resulted in Professor McGonagall giving Hermione a very complex look.
Ugh! Why wasn’t this brilliant witch a Gryffindor? Wasn’t the Sorting Hat a Gryffindor hat? When did it start favoring Ravenclaw?
After explaining the theoretical knowledge, Professor McGonagall surveyed the classroom and habitually asked, “Does anyone have any questions?”
Andy quickly raised his hand.
Professor, I don’t understand.
All the young witches and wizards in the classroom looked at Andy. They knew Andy was about to ask questions they wouldn’t understand.
“Mr. Collins, please,” Professor McGonagall said, though somewhat stern, she was clearly a competent professor.
Professor McGonagall only explained the principle of transforming wood into metal in class, so Andy couldn’t ask questions unrelated to the lesson.
After organizing his thoughts, Andy asked, “Professor, wood and iron are completely different substances, yet the iron transformed using Transfiguration has all the properties of iron—doesn’t this mean that magic itself can simulate these properties?”
“Secondly, what is the principle behind magic altering the structure of matter? Although magic is amazing, I think there must be a reason behind it.”
“And…”
Andy asked four or five questions in a row, then waited expectantly for Professor McGonagall’s answers.
Professor McGonagall was momentarily stunned. These questions were beyond the scope of the lesson!
“You’re very close to the answer, Mr. Collins,” Professor McGonagall replied. “Many historically renowned witches and wizards have said that the highest level of magic is to achieve what one wishes, but it cannot create something out of nothing.”
“Magic can indeed simulate the properties of matter, but it must rely on other matter to complete the transformation.”
“If you want to learn more about Transfiguration, you can read more books on the subject.”
Professor McGonagall answered all of Andy’s questions, and Andy readily replied, “I’m reading books on the subject, Professor!”
Hermione secretly rolled her eyes at Andy. Liar. You’ve been reading Charms books.
“Any more questions, Mr. Collins?” Professor McGonagall asked.
“No. Thank you, Professor.” Andy sat back down.
“What about the rest of you?”
No! All the young witches and wizards shook their heads.
Professor McGonagall gave everyone a match and asked them to transform it into a needle using Transfiguration.
Andy lightly tapped his wand, and the match instantly turned into a needle. He even showed off by carving some beautiful patterns on the needle.
“Mr. Collins has succeeded. Ravenclaw gets two points.”
Professor McGonagall held up Andy’s needle, showing it to the other young witches and wizards. “You all started Hogwarts in the same year, and you mustn’t fall too far behind Mr. Collins, because that would make you look incredibly foolish.”
Andy was dumbfounded.
So that’s how you are, Professor McGonagall.
Not only did Professor McGonagall use Andy’s accomplishment to motivate the other students, she also inadvertently made Andy a target for their resentment.
Women really do hold grudges.
All I did was mention that you had a tabby cat, to trick other students into trying to pet you! And I didn’t even get to pet it yet, what gives?
Professor McGonagall clearly understood Gryffindors well; her goading was very effective on the Gryffindor students.
The moment she finished speaking…
BOOM!!!
An explosion echoed through the room.
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