Swinging The Great Sword At Hogwarts

Transfiguration Class and the Tabby Cat

Monday marked the day of Transfiguration class. When John woke up, he was greeted by Tom’s enthusiastic tongue.

Still groggy, he stumbled to the table and poured a generous scoop of dog food for Tom before heading off to brush his teeth and wash his face. Looking in the mirror, John suddenly realized he had forgotten something.

“Oh no, today is Transfiguration class!”

After staying out late the night before and then exercising upon returning, he had collapsed into bed without a second thought.

Hurrying out, he noticed the alarm clock on the floor, still wet with Tom’s drool. No wonder he hadn’t heard it go off—it had become a chew toy for Tom.

Dressed in his wizard robe, John found the Slytherin common room empty when he stepped outside.

As he walked down the corridor, he found himself envying the Weasley twins, who always seemed to find the quickest shortcuts. Luckily, John was in good shape and could keep up.

When he arrived at the Great Hall, there was still time for breakfast. Hermione was looking around when she spotted John and waved him over.

John sat down next to her and noticed she was still giving Harry and Ron the cold shoulder, but he decided not to say anything.

“Where’s Neville? Did he oversleep or get lost?” John asked, knowing Neville’s tendency to misplace things and get lost.

“His toad is missing, and he’s searching for it in the Gryffindor common room,” Hermione replied, chewing on a buttered roll with crumbs still clinging to the corners of her mouth.

She had slowed her pace to wait for John; otherwise, she would have been on her way to class by now.

Slicing a fried egg and popping it into his mouth, John sighed, “Well, I guess I know what to get Neville for Christmas—a cage to keep Trevor in properly.”

Noticing the crumbs at the corner of Hermione’s mouth, John pointed to his own face to alert her. When Hermione realized, her cheeks flushed as if she had just put on blush.

By the time John had nearly finished his breakfast, Neville finally made his way over, looking flustered. This was already the fourth time he had gotten lost, and John thought he might need to get him a Marauder’s Map.

After Neville sat down, he took out a memory ball, staring blankly at the red orb. The memory ball turned red when someone forgot something, but Neville always seemed clueless about what he had forgotten.

John looked him over and said, “Neville, you might miss breakfast this time.”

“Why?” Neville asked, feeling disheartened that he had finally made it to the Great Hall.

With a sympathetic look, John held up two fingers. “Two reasons: one, class is starting soon, and two, you need to go back to the dormitory.”

“Because you forgot to put on your jacket.”

Finally, Neville remembered what he had forgotten, and without a second thought for breakfast, he hurried off to the dizzying moving staircases.

John arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, feeling disappointed that he had missed the last class due to being in detention for fighting. He had a keen interest in Transfiguration but couldn’t recall the details very well.

Upon entering the classroom, the clear distinction between Slytherin’s green and Gryffindor’s red was striking. He separated from Hermione and found a seat. Regardless of whether in the magical world or the outside world, students always avoided the front rows.

Most of the remaining seats were at the front, and as John walked over to take a seat, he suddenly spotted a tabby cat on the podium.

The tabby had an unusual pattern on its face, resembling square glasses. As someone who loved fluffy creatures, John couldn’t help but feel charmed. Although he vaguely remembered that cats played a part in some story, his body moved before his mind could catch up.

Pulling out some cat treats he had for Mrs. Norris’s cat, John approached the tabby with a smile, reaching out. This action left the young witches and wizards from both houses stunned.

Even the tabby cat seemed taken aback.

“Would you like to try some cat treats?” John found it amusing that his tone sounded like that of an uncle trying to entice a child.

After his approach, he received a mix of awe and admiration from the onlookers. The cat finally snapped out of its daze, leaping down from the podium and transforming into a mature cat lady.

“Mr. Wick, I believe it’s time for you to find a seat instead of standing here like a wooden statue,” Professor McGonagall maintained her usual demeanor, and John finally understood the origin of the tabby’s patterns.

Feeling slightly dejected, John retracted his hand and walked back to his seat. He remembered the storyline involving the cat and realized he had just attempted to pet Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form—a peculiar tabby cat.

He returned to his desk, feeling a bit embarrassed, and silently vowed to be more cautious about whether he was petting a cat or an Animagus in the future.

If I ended up petting a greasy old man instead, that would be disastrous.

Hearing the chuckles, John turned to look, and as his gaze swept over them, the Slytherins fell silent. The Gryffindor students cast him admiring looks, and the savior Harry’s mouth hung open, as if he had just seen someone even more reckless than himself. Hermione lowered her head to stifle a laugh, but her trembling curly brown hair betrayed her, swaying like a little lion.

This little incident shifted the small wizards’ perception of John. It turned out that this boy also had an adorable side.

In Transfiguration class, they were learning to change objects. Looking at a box of paperclips, John attempted to transform it into a mouse. Unfortunately, the transformation was difficult to control. After several tries, he finally managed to cast the spell successfully before class ended.

Even though it was still a Level 1 spell, he had completed the transformation. Looking at the lifeless mouse in front of him, he thought it paled in comparison to the cup Professor McGonagall had transformed during her demonstration.

“Slytherin gets five points,” Professor McGonagall announced. As the first to finish, she rewarded John with points. What he saw as a poor result was satisfactory to Professor McGonagall. Given his status as a beginner and the fact that he had missed a class, it was quite impressive.

Due to the difficulty of Transfiguration, even know-it-all Hermione hadn’t completed it.

After class, as John was leaving, Hermione caught up to him, jogging slightly. “How did you do it?”

Her inquisitive nature kicked in, and she couldn’t help but ask. She was still upset about not completing her transformation. John couldn’t exactly say he had an advantage, so he mentioned that he had seen Professor McGonagoll’s demonstration before starting school. Luckily, Hermione didn’t press for too long.

While they were in the corridor, John’s gaze fell on a suit of armor.

“What are you looking at, John?” Hermione asked, stopping to inquire.

The enchanted portrait behind them also leaned in, curious about what John was observing.

John stroked his chin thoughtfully and said to himself, “This thing seems like a good weight.”

The portrait of the gentleman gasped, wondering what kind of young wizard would be thinking about weights.

John had always been someone who dared to take action, and he had set his sights on that medieval suit of armor, specifically the sword it held. While the armor itself was a decent choice for weight, it was too bulky and cumbersome to move around with. The sword, on the other hand, could be strapped to his back and used for training when not running.

“I’ll take the sword tonight,” he thought, excitement gleaming in his eyes, which made the armor a little anxious.

Aside from the Gryffindor common room, Hermione frequented the library the most. She was curious about everything, except for Divination. John was pulled along primarily to familiarize himself with the Restricted Section.

He picked up a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and pretended to read.

The library had strict rules. If anyone made noise, Madam Irma Pince would ensure they learned a lesson. Just earlier, John had seen Neville, having eaten too many beans for lunch, being chased by a broomstick. John felt sorry for him.

As evening fell, after cleaning the trophy room, John stealthily approached the suit of armor in the corridor.

Poor Sir Armor would wake up the next day to find his sword missing. This incident would become a mystery at Hogwarts. Only Argus Filch was adamant that it was the Weasley twins who had done it.