How did he view Transfiguration?
Ethan thought about it and said carefully, “Incredibly magical, yet incredibly rigorous.
I believe it is the magic that best represents a wizard.” Professor McGonagall did not answer directly.
Instead, she said in a solemn tone, “As you say, Transfiguration is the most complex, rigorous, and dangerous magic.
It leaves no room for the slightest mistake.
Even a minor error in wand movement could lead to very severe consequences.” “But equally, it is highly fascinating, capable of bringing about all kinds of incredible transformations.” Professor McGonagall glanced at the sky and said, “Do not forget to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
You cannot focus on your studies on an empty stomach.” “I’ll keep track of the time, Professor.” Professor McGonagall left.
An hour later, Ethan closed his book and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Young wizards were trickling in and out of the Great Hall, most of them looking rather sleepy.
Last night had been the start-of-term feast, and with new roommates to talk to, everyone had naturally stayed up chatting quite late.
While Ethan was working on a fruit tart, a blonde girl carrying a plate sat down across from him.
Her pale eyes fixed on him, and she spoke in a very airy voice: “Good morning, White.” Ethan swallowed his food first, then nodded.
“Good morning.
Did you sleep well?” “Quite well.
My father folded a little pennant out of the cover of *The Quibbler* for me.
I stuck it on my headboard, and I wasn’t bothered by Crumple-Horned Snorkacks all night.” Ethan was speechless.
“Actually…” Luna blinked, studying him with curiosity.
“I’m rather curious about something.
There are no Wrackspurts around you.
Everyone else I meet has Wrackspurts around them.
My father says they especially like to crowd around anxious first-years.” Ethan thought about it and said uncertainly, “Maybe because I don’t have anything to be anxious about?” Luna pondered this for a moment, looking a bit puzzled.
“If it were yesterday, that might be true.
But today there are quite a lot.
Did you run into some kind of trouble?” Ethan looked at her in surprise and said vaguely, “Nine times out of ten, things don’t go your way, I suppose.” It really was a pity this girl wasn’t studying Divination.
This was entirely thanks to that tattered hat, but he couldn’t talk about it.
If word got out that he didn’t like Gryffindor, it would draw hostility from his housemates.
“Nine times out of ten…
that actually makes a lot of sense.” Luna expressed a touch of surprise herself, then held out her hand, saying cheerfully, “Ethan, you can call me Luna.” “It’s an honor.” Ethan gave her hand a light shake.
Since Ravenclaw’s first class wasn’t Transfiguration, Luna only ate some fruit and tarts before taking her leave.
Just as Ethan finished his milk and prepared to leave, Hermione arrived, yawning.
She slid into the seat Luna had just vacated, set her Transfiguration textbook aside, and asked while spreading jam on her bread, “Are you and that Ravenclaw girl old friends?” Ethan had to sit back down.
He ordered another cup of tea and said pointedly, “Personally, I don’t think friendship can be equated with time.
Over the years, I’m sure you haven’t become friends with every single classmate you’ve interacted with, Miss Granger.” Hermione was left speechless.
She could only mumble, “I heard you call each other by your first names.” “If you would like, Miss Granger, we could call each other by our first names as well.” Hermione startled slightly, her cheeks turning a little pink.
She shook her head firmly.
“My father says you can’t tell if someone is good or bad in a short amount of time.
Only the passage of time can give you the true answer!” “So, I think if two people want to be friends, they need to know each other for at least six months.” She quickly added, “Of course, people like Malfoy are an exception!
They are far too arrogant and rude!
There’s no need to wait six months—I wouldn’t let him call me by my name if we lived to be a hundred!” Actually, back on the train yesterday, Malfoy and his two lackeys had had a small run-in with Harry, and they had nearly gotten into an argument in front of Professor McGonagall as well.
Hermione disliked them thoroughly.
Ethan remained noncommittal.
The young witch was a slow eater and talked quite a bit, though fortunately, she was well-mannered enough not to speak with her mouth full.
Once she finally finished eating, Ethan walked with her to the Transfiguration classroom.
By then, there were only ten minutes left before class started.
Hermione scanned the classroom.
The professor hadn’t arrived yet; there was only a tabby cat, likely belonging to someone at the school, perched on the teacher’s desk.
“White, did we not see Potter and Weasley?” Ethan thought for a moment and nodded.
Without another word, he found an empty seat, sat down, opened his book, and continued reading up on Transfiguration.
[Exchange XP: +3] [Random Exchange XP: 302/100] [Free Exchange XP: 302/300] Ethan rubbed his chin, considering where to allocate this point of free potential.
*Intelligence and Spirit are both rare attributes and won’t be randomly selected easily.
If 5 points of Magic are enough, then I’d prefer to use my free attribute point to choose between these two…* A moment later, he allocated the attribute point to Intelligence.
[Intelligence +1 (8)] Magic classes were highly profound; Intelligence would likely be of greater help to him than Spirit.
Besides, there were so many ghosts in the school.
Once he learned the Disillusionment Charm, he could go “lottery hunting” on them.
Last night, he had managed to leech a point of Spirit from Sir Nicholas, after all.
Ethan felt his mind grow even sharper.
Looking back down at the textbook, he quickly gained a few new insights and comprehensions.
Time ticked away.
The ten minutes before class seemed exceptionally long.
The professor had yet to arrive, and neither had Harry and Ron.
Hermione glanced back toward the door from time to time, looking extremely perplexed.
This class was shared between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Malfoy and his two cronies sat at the very front row of desks, closely watched by the tabby cat from its high vantage point.
Malfoy hadn’t found Harry and didn’t seem inclined to cause trouble, sitting obediently on his stool—though “obediently” wasn’t quite the word.
It was mostly because Professor McGonagall had warned everyone yesterday: “Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be escorted out and never allowed back in.” Transfiguration was also notoriously difficult.
The stern professor was known for being a woman of her word, so not even Malfoy dared to test her limits.
Just then, two young wizards finally rushed into the quiet classroom.
Hermione looked back to see Harry and Ron, both dripping with sweat.
Ron let out a sigh of relief.
“We made it!
Thank goodness the professor isn’t here yet!
If she found out we were late—” Before he could finish his sentence, the tabby cat on the desk suddenly leaped off and transformed into Professor McGonagall.
The two stood dumbfounded.
Ethan was also momentarily stunned, and immediately, a term surfaced in his mind: Animagus.
“That was bloody brilliant!” Ron muttered blankly.
“Thank you for the compliment,” Professor McGonagall said crossly.
“But perhaps I should transfigure one of you into a pocket watch.
That way, at least one of you might know the meaning of being on time!” Harry was startled and said nervously, “We’re really sorry, we got lost and then Mr.
Filch stopped us.” Filch had assumed they were heading to the third floor and refused to let them go, even threatening to lock them in the dungeons.
If Professor Quirrell hadn’t happened to pass by, they probably wouldn’t have made it to Transfiguration at all.
“Then perhaps I should transfigure you into a map?
I trust you do not need a map to find your seats?” The two shrank their necks and sat down without another word.
Everyone was finally present.
Professor McGonagall scanned the room.
Had she not been the Head of Gryffindor, she would have surely docked quite a few house points just now.
“Mr.
Ethan White?” Ethan, who had been pondering spells, stood up instinctively.
Professor McGonagall motioned for him to sit down, glanced to the side, and said, “If possible, I would like to ask you to wake Mr.
Weasley and Mr.
Potter when you get up.
That way, they should have ample time to find their classroom.” Harry and Ron looked at Ethan at the same time.
They knew Ethan was their roommate, but they hadn’t talked much last night, so they were still practically strangers.
Ethan blanked for a moment, then asked tentatively, “According to my sleep schedule?” Professor McGonagall nodded solemnly.
“Uh, I can try it tomorrow…”