Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Transfiguration and Potions
After the torturous History of Magic class, Eda finally enjoyed two days of peace.
On Wednesday evening, Eda had Astronomy class, which required using telescopes to observe the night sky. By the time Eda and the others, panting heavily, reached the top of the Astronomy Tower, Professor Sinistra was already waiting for them.
Under Professor Sinistra's guidance, the young wizards learned the names of different stars and the trajectories of planets. The night was clear, with the milky white band of the Milky Way stretching across the sky. At that time, Pluto was still considered a planet, making the total number of planets in the solar system nine.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was one that everyone eagerly anticipated. Known as the most dangerous position at Hogwarts, the students were also very curious about the newly appointed Professor Benedict Foley.
Professor Foley, the latest in a series of annual appointments, was handsome and stylishly dressed. He always wore a smile and looked like a frivolous playboy with no real substance. However, he was actually very knowledgeable and made his lessons lively and engaging, a stark contrast to the dry lectures of Professor Binns.
Furthermore, the empathetic Professor Foley promised that in the next class, he would lead the students in practical exercises. Such an outstanding professor was naturally welcomed by the students. Additionally, with his exceptional appearance, he quickly became the heartthrob of the Hogwarts girls.
On Friday morning, Eda and her friends were finally going to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class.
When Eda arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, everyone was quietly and obediently sitting in their seats, not daring to make a sound. It was a common understanding among the new students that Professor McGonagall was very strict, so no one wanted to get on her bad side in the first class.
George waved to Eda, signaling for her to sit next to him. Eda noticed that Aelia and Lee Jordan were sitting together, while Fred had abandoned his twin brother George and chosen to sit with Angelina.
After Eda took her seat, she began to take in the details of the classroom. The room was arranged with meticulous precision, reflecting Professor McGonagall's style. The only thing that seemed out of place was a tabby cat sitting on the desk.
When Eda first saw the tabby cat, her mind was filled with curiosity. She thought to herself, "Wait a minute, why does this cat look so familiar? Especially the markings around its eyes, which look like square glasses! Isn't this the stray cat I used to feed at the orphanage? How is it here? This doesn't seem magical at all!"
As the class bell rang, the tabby cat leaped off the desk. Just before it landed, it transformed into Professor McGonagall!
Wa Da Phuk..?
Eda felt as if a thousand trolls were stampeding through her mind.
The stray cat she had fed turned out to be Professor McGonagall! Who would have thought that the stern and respectable professor had such an unexpected side...
The first-year students, who had never seen anything like this, were stunned by Professor McGonagall's display of magic. They were so shocked that they forgot how to express their amazement.
Professor McGonagall, dressed in her emerald-green robes, nodded with satisfaction. The students' quiet behavior in the classroom clearly pleased her.
"Transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous forms of magic you will learn at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said as she walked back to the podium. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
After her stern warning, Professor McGonagall drew her wand and transformed her desk into a pig and then back again. The students were once more captivated by her impressive skills, longing to be able to do the same and turn furniture into animals for fun.
However, after taking down a pile of complicated notes and difficult theories, they quickly abandoned this unrealistic idea. Following the theory, Professor McGonagall handed out matches to each student and instructed them to try turning their match into a needle.
She demonstrated the process, stating it was a basic exercise. Compared to transforming a living animal into lifeless furniture, the students found turning a match into a needle much simpler, as the two objects at least shared a similar shape and were both non-living.
But while the theory seemed straightforward, the practical application was far more challenging. They could understand the concept easily enough, but when it came to actually doing it, their hands failed them.
Practical attempts were largely unsuccessful. Transfiguration, being a highly advanced form of magic, naturally made even the basics difficult to master.
Eda, watching George struggle with his match, was amused and didn't notice Professor McGonagall standing right behind her.
"Miss Twist, why are you staring at Mr. Weasley's matchstick? Where is yours?"
Startled, Eda quickly grabbed the needle she had already transformed and held it up for Professor McGonagall to see, indicating that she wasn't slacking off.
Professor McGonagall glanced at the needle in Eda's hand. She had to admit, Eda had done a good job. However, not wanting to encourage any pride, she continued, "So you don't intend to keep practicing and instead choose to idly watch Mr. Weasley struggle with his matchstick?"
Hearing the professor's words, a sense of dread washed over Eda, she had been stubborn and ended up being on bad terms with the headmistress in her previous life. She quickly admitted her mistake, hoping for leniency from Professor McGonagall.
The professor placed the remaining matchsticks on Eda's desk, insisting she continue practicing. She also took away the needle Eda had transformed.
Eda picked up her wand and started casting the spell again. Under the influence of the incantation, the matchstick gradually turned silver, its tip becoming sharper. As the spell completed, the matchstick assumed the shape of a needle.
Eda considered adding a pattern to the needle to make it more decorative but decided against it, feeling it unnecessary to show off.
"You did well, but you could have done better," Professor McGonagall remarked before returning to the podium without further praise.
Standing at the front of the class, Professor McGonagall held up the needle so all the students could see, "Miss Twist's Transfiguration has earned Gryffindor five points."
Seeing that they could get extra points, the blood in the bones of the freshmen who were originally a little discouraged was ignited again, and they began to continue to compete with the matches. But until the end of class, no one else succeeded in doing it.
The afternoon potion class was held in a basement classroom, which was much colder than the warm main castle building. There were many glass jars along the wall, with specimens of different animals soaked in them, which made people shiver.
Gryffindor and Slytherin collided again. Enemies are particularly jealous when they meet, but this time it was the other party's home court. In addition, Professor Snape was famous for protecting his children, so the little lions naturally fell into a disadvantage in the mutual bickering and staring.
Cody Avery was still as arrogant as ever, and his raised mouth corners made people want to punch him. Every time they bumped into each other in the past few days, Cody Avery was always the one who was most active in finding faults, obviously he had never been beaten by society.
When Severus Snape appeared at the door of the classroom, the potion classroom, which was just full of noise, suddenly became quiet, as if everyone was under a spell at the same time.
Snape walked from the door to the podium, his black robe swaying behind him, just like a bat flying in the air. Sallow skin, hooked nose, shoulder-length greasy black hair, his eyes were equally black, like a tunnel with no end in sight. Eda even felt that if she kept staring at those eyes, she would feel deep despair.
He began to call the roll, and he did so just for the sake of calling the roll. Snape didn't even want to look up. But when he called Eda, Snape unexpectedly looked up, but this look seemed to be filled with some disgust...?
"You are here to learn the precise art and strict craftsmanship of potion preparation." He began to speak, his voice was almost slightly higher than a whisper, but everyone heard every word he said. Like Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape also had the deterrent power to keep the classroom in order without any effort.
"Since there is no foolish waving of wands here, many of you will not believe that this is magic. I do not expect you to truly appreciate the beauty of the simmering crucible with white smoke and fragrance. You will not truly understand the magical power of the liquid flowing into people's blood vessels, which makes people excited and confused... I can teach you how to improve your reputation, brew glory, and even prevent death - but there must be one thing, that is, you are not the kind of stupid fools I often meet."
The whole class seemed to be infected by his words, and they were eager to prove to others that they were not stupid fools!
"Twist!" Professor Snape suddenly said, "If I need you to submit a bezoar as an assignment, where should you find it?"
Just when Snape called her name and looked up at her, Eda instinctively felt that something was wrong, and now the problem had indeed arisen. However, Eda was a bit confused about when and where she had offended Snape. With so many Gryffindors around, why did he specifically pick her?
(A/N: the Potions Classroom store cupboard! 🤬)
"In a goat's stomach, bezoars have detoxifying properties, Professor," Eda answered.
"Miss Know-it-all indeed," Snape said, but his tone carried a hint of sarcasm. The Slytherin students burst into laughter, while the little lions silently prayed to Merlin, hoping that the old man would bless Eda.
"Then, what ingredients do you need to make a cure for boils?" Snape pressed on.
"Dried nettles, crushed snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, and porcupine quills," Eda's tone had become much stiffer.
"It seems you've done your homework quite well," Snape said. "Powdered root of asphodel, infused with wormwood..."
"Draught of Living Death, a very powerful sleeping potion! Professor!" Eda interrupted Snape's question directly, rushing to answer. She was now extremely irritated. Snape's repeated questioning, coupled with his annoying tone, had pushed Eda to her limit!
Snape, however, completely ignored the furious Eda and continued calmly, "Interrupting and contradicting the teacher, Twist, Gryffindor will lose five points because of you."
Eda shot up, ready to confront Snape. She couldn't bear this grievance any longer! At worst, she'd get detention; this was Hogwarts, Snape wouldn't kill her!
Snape extended a finger and pointed downward, signaling Eda to sit down immediately. He then turned away from her and returned to the podium.
Fred and George quickly pulled Eda back down, urging her not to defy Snape. The twin brothers had never expected that the usually easygoing little girl could have such a temper!
"Write all of this down!" Snape commanded from the podium. He tapped the blackboard with his wand, and the method for concocting a simple medicinal potion appeared instantly.
"This is your task for today. Complete it before the end of class."
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