"Good grief, Kane, how do you know Hogwarts so well? I thought you only got here yesterday like the rest of us?
How did you know that staircase was going to shift, and that there's a secret passage leading straight to the Transfiguration classroom?"
Harry and Ron kept asking these questions even after they'd entered the Transfiguration classroom.
Kane was getting annoyed by their questions. What was he supposed to say? That before they'd arrived at Hogwarts, he'd already wandered around the entire castle, bunked with Dumbledore, and chopped down a tree monster in the Forbidden Forest?
That would just make people hate him!
The classroom was packed with young witches and wizards. For Professor McGonagall's first class, not a single student was late.
The tabby cat sitting on the desk gave an imperceptible nod, then suddenly leaped forward and transformed mid-air into Professor McGonagall, landing gracefully in the center of the classroom.
"Very good. For your first lesson, not one of you is late. You're doing much better than last year's students," Professor McGonagall said calmly.
Hearing this restrained praise, the students below felt a small flutter of pride.
Ron, seeing that Professor McGonagall didn't have the fearsome, monstrous appearance his older brothers had described, the kind of professor who treated all houses equally by destroying every student with inhuman standards, relaxed a bit.
Then he raised his hand and asked, "What happened to last year's students in the end?"
"In the end, they advanced to their second year.
However, on their first day, they were not only late, but students also talked back to me. So I deducted two points from Slytherin that year," Professor McGonagall said evenly.
"Huh???"
Ron suddenly felt things weren't looking good.
Sure enough, Professor McGonagall continued, "Just like now, Mr. Weasley. For talking out of turn and disrupting classroom order, four points from Gryffindor."
In an instant, the entire Hufflepuff section went silent as quails, wilting on the spot.
The other house sharing the class with Gryffindor quickly hunched their shoulders.
Professor McGonagall showed no favoritism when deducting points. Absolutely terrifying.
Under normal circumstances, McGonagall wouldn't deduct points for something as minor as talking out of turn.
But since this was the first class, she desperately needed to establish her authority in front of these young wizards. And Ron had unwittingly walked right into it.
Talk about bad luck.
But these things were relative. What was a bad outcome for Ron was perfect for Professor McGonagall.
This display of authority was excellent. Looking at the quail-like students below, she nodded with satisfaction, then began her standard opening speech.
""I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House and your Transfiguration teacher. Transfiguration is a complex and dangerous branch of magic, so I expect attention and respect in my class. Mistakes can be fatal, so I suggest you take this seriously"
After finishing her speech, Professor McGonagall took a match from the desk.
"I've said what needs to be said. Now it's time to test whether you've done any preparation before the start of term. Turn a match into a needle. A very simple trick."
"Of course, if you fail, it's not a problem. I'll explain everything from the beginning afterward. In my classroom, you won't miss a single piece of knowledge."
As Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she waved her wand and matches flew from the matchbox onto each student's desk.
"This is just a quiz, not an exam. Don't feel pressured. Just do your best."
Listening to Professor McGonagall's carrot-and-stick teaching style, Kane felt an unusual sense of reassurance.
After all, such precise and efficient teaching methods clearly belonged to an experienced and knowledgeable professor.
The chances of asking her questions after class and coming away empty-handed had drastically decreased.
Feeling more at ease, he pulled out his wand.
The Transfiguration he'd studied before was quite basic—mostly about reciting incantations while visualizing the form you wanted the object to transform into.
The more complex that form was, and the greater the difference from the original object, the more difficult the transformation. But this posed no real challenge for Kane.
First, he genuinely felt he had a talent for this. Plus, thanks to his shadow magic, his magical power was somewhat stronger than other young wizards.
Second, turning a matchstick into a needle... was this really supposed to challenge his imagination?
Sure enough, as the gemstone embedded in his wand flashed with light, the matchstick on the desk had already transformed into a gleaming silver needle.
"Seriously, mate? How did you do that?" Ron, sitting next to Kane, looked at Kane's completed work in surprise, then glanced at his own unchanged matchstick.
"Maybe you should consider getting a new wand? I'm being serious," Kane said quietly.
"Don't even mention it. Where would I get the money?" Ron said miserably, sighing deeply.
Harry Potter beside them was itching to help. He really needed to convert his cold Galleons into warm friendship!
But he quickly settled down again, because Professor McGonagall came walking over with purposeful steps. She looked at the silver needle on Kane's desk, nodded with satisfaction, and reached out to pat his head.
"Mr. Kane Heath of Gryffindor has completed the transformation first. Five points to Gryffindor."
Kane raised an eyebrow. Points deducted first, then points added—they'd only netted one point in the end. Classic Professor McGonagall.
Compared to the Ravenclaw student next door who'd also successfully transformed their match, even though they didn't get the first-place bonus, they still earned four points. All told, Gryffindor was down three points.
"Honestly, Professor McGonagall is completely impartial, but maybe she's a bit too impartial?" Ron complained quietly to Kane and Harry, slumped over his desk.
"Perhaps, Mr. Weasley, you should not only get a new wand, but also a mouth that can actually stay shut," Professor McGonagall said, having somehow appeared behind Ron, staring at him intently.
"Oh, yes, Professor," Ron said, immediately sitting up straight. He carefully aimed his wand at the match and cast the spell, and the match burst into flames.
Professor McGonagall extinguished the fire in an instant, then gave Ron a new match. "Two points from Gryffindor."
Immediately, more complaints erupted from the Gryffindor students.
They'd found a reasonable and appropriate outlet for their frustration. Sighs, groans, and complaints piled onto Ron with perfect legitimacy.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, cutting off the pressure. After surveying the room once more, she saw that those who could successfully transform had already succeeded.
Those who couldn't would still struggle even if given a full day and night. In the end, they would need her, their professor, to guide and enlighten them.
Kane finally sat up straight. The real lesson he'd been waiting for was about to begin.