Baixar aplicativo
21.05% The Essence of Being a Ravenclaw / Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Less-than-Polite Meeting

Capítulo 4: Chapter 4: The Less-than-Polite Meeting

When the door to his room was knocked on, Andrew was struggling through his reading.

Self-studying Latin without proper textbooks was an agony that would make anyone shed tears, but it was necessary. Even if it was a dead language, it was still useful.

"I'll be right there," he called, capping his fountain pen and getting up to open the door—he always locked his door, and it was something that had been tacitly allowed.

"Good morning, Mrs. Camille," he greeted the two people standing at the door (she stubbornly insisted that all the students call her Mrs. Camille instead of Director Camille). "And who is this?"

"This is Mrs. McGonagall. She's here to talk to you about enrolling in her school, called Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?"

Andrew paused; the name was strangely familiar.

"Yes, Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall nodded, then looked at Mrs. Camille, who showed no signs of leaving. "Excuse me, Mrs. Camille, may I speak with him privately for a moment?"

During that brief exchange, Andrew finally remembered what Hogwarts was.

A school of magic—a magical school specifically for wizards. He had even played a game called Hogwarts Legacy, and to be honest, it wasn't bad. Beyond that, his knowledge was limited to speedrun summaries of the movies. He'd wanted to read the original books a few times, but he could never find the time. They were just too long, and unlike modern web novels, traditional stories required more time to get into.

With these thoughts rushing through his mind, Andrew took advantage of the delay to assess Professor McGonagall, who was still talking to Mrs. Camille.

'Her appearance isn't quite as I imagined, but her demeanor fits...'

'Which means that my so-called mind power is actually magic?'

'The good news is that training for this magic—not "mind power"—can now be guided by the experiences of others, greatly reducing the chances of going down the wrong path. The bad news is that this once-unique power is now something mass-produced.'

'But none of that matters. What I need to do is pretend I know nothing and play along... because there's no reasonable way I could know anything about this school.'

As he quickly adjusted his mindset, Professor McGonagall had managed to convince Mrs. Camille to leave. She then turned her attention to Andrew, drawing her wand and giving it a gentle tap.

The chair between the two of them immediately transformed into a goat, which promptly pulled a piece of paper from the desk and began to chew on it leisurely.

However, the look of amazement Professor McGonagall had expected didn't come. After a brief moment of surprise, Andrew smacked the goat on the head, quickly reclaiming the half-written manuscript.

"Your power is indeed impressive," Andrew said, half laughing and half exasperated, "but I don't think it was necessary to use something I spent half the day working on as proof."

Fortunately, what he'd written at that time was about language learning—anything else, and it would have already been tucked away, not left lying on the desk.

He pushed the manuscript further behind him and, with his other hand, held down the now docile goat. "An incredible power. What do you call it? Oh, wait, more accurately, what is it called? Telekinesis, psionics, inner energy, magic, aether, or something else?"

Without waiting for McGonagall's response, he looked at the goat and added quickly, almost under his breath, "I've read about all sorts of fantasy powers. People call their unusual abilities by all sorts of names, so I'm pretty open to these things—especially since I have this power myself."

It was extremely impolite to talk this much upon first meeting someone. Instead of speaking, listening and providing timely feedback—like "oh," "is that so," "I see"—would typically facilitate better conversation.

But Andrew had no choice. He needed the continuous questioning to buy himself enough time to fully stabilize his emotions.

"Ah, sorry," Andrew quickly continued, pretending to be flustered but also expectant. "I got a bit carried away and asked too much."

"It's alright, that's perfectly natural," Professor McGonagall nodded. "Hogwarts, the school you'll be attending, is a school of magic. You'll be learning magic there along with many other children your age."

"A school to learn magic?" Andrew didn't even need to fake his excitement. He let it out freely. "That's amazing... but will I be able to afford the tuition?"

"You won't need to worry at all. Hogwarts does not charge tuition."

This question caught Professor McGonagall a little off guard, but only slightly.

"What about books, lodging, food, clothing?" Andrew asked earnestly—he genuinely didn't know. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Maybe I'm asking too much, but I truly might not be able to afford it."

"And also, ma'am, where is the school located? Which country's currency is used? What is the exchange rate? Is it a boarding school? Is there a pathway to further education?"

This wasn't an act—they were sincere questions. And sincerity was often the best disguise.

'Perhaps this kid could work in the office as an assistant...'

Professor McGonagall didn't feel offended at all.

She could already envision a trainee helping out at the school—and a very capable one at that.

Due to Dumbledore's lack of involvement, she handled most of the administrative affairs at Hogwarts. The chaotic workload desperately needed a helping hand. Typically, the only students capable of this level of work were fifth years, and she couldn't have them working in her office during their O.W.L.s year.

Sixth and seventh-year students usually engaged in external internships. During her time at the Ministry of Magic, many departments relied on seventh-year interns to handle some tasks.

Over the years, her office had seen its fair share of interns, but they usually moved on after about a year, either for internships or after graduation. Even those who stayed at Hogwarts became professors and couldn't be roped into office work forever.

A student who could assist with office duties from first year onward—someone well regarded by the elders, detail-oriented, and in need of a stipend—sounded ideal.

So, she happily answered Andrew's questions.

Unexpectedly, even more questions followed.

"Wonderful... but Professor, I actually have some specific questions about the magic you just used. For example, that goat—was it fully transformed into a goat? Is it a permanent transformation, or temporary? Or is it conditional? If a part of the body were to be separated during transformation, would it revert to its original form, or just partially revert?"

"I could feel warmth and a heartbeat—is it an exact replica of a goat, or does it just appear that way? If it moves around, does the heart rate or blood flow change?"

"And when the transformation ends, what happens to what it eats? Does it stay inside the chair, fall out, or simply vanish?"

Maybe the assistant idea wasn't so good after all...

Even the second-best Transfiguration professor in Britain felt a bit overwhelmed by the barrage of questions.

"You need to master the basics of Transfiguration first and read enough theoretical texts before you can even begin to think about these things," she replied.

"In magic, the real danger is not a lack of imagination, but exploring the unknown far beyond one's current grasp. The most tragic incidents in magic often stem from Transfiguration gone wrong."

"Come, I'll take you to Diagon Alley. We can discuss these things on the way. You've asked many questions, and I'll answer them as best I can, but there's one crucial point you must remember."

Professor McGonagall's expression grew serious.

"In magical study, experimenting with the unknown is extremely dangerous. Nothing in magic is to be taken for granted, and delving too deep into the unknown is something you must never attempt."


Load failed, please RETRY

Status de energia semanal

Capítulos de desbloqueio em lote

Índice

Opções de exibição

Fundo

Fonte

Tamanho

Comentários do capítulo

Escreva uma avaliação Status de leitura: C4
Falha ao postar. Tente novamente
  • Qualidade de Escrita
  • Estabilidade das atualizações
  • Desenvolvimento de Histórias
  • Design de Personagens
  • Antecedentes do mundo

O escore total 0.0

Resenha postada com sucesso! Leia mais resenhas
Vote com Power Stone
Rank 200+ Ranking de Potência
Stone 0 Pedra de Poder
Denunciar conteúdo impróprio
Dica de erro

Denunciar abuso

Comentários do parágrafo

Login

tip Comentário de parágrafo

O comentário de parágrafo agora está disponível na Web! Passe o mouse sobre qualquer parágrafo e clique no ícone para adicionar seu comentário.

Além disso, você sempre pode desativá-lo/ativá-lo em Configurações.

Entendi
" class="_close">

obter mais moedas