Professor McGonagall held the needle and examined it carefully. After a long while, she looked at Zhang Dong again and sized him up.
“It seems you have a great talent for Transfiguration, Mr. Dong Zhang. Of course, perhaps you have secretly learned Transfiguration beforehand, but I want to see where your limits lie.”
Professor McGonagall handed the needle to Zhang Dong and pointed to the podium next to it.
“If you can turn this needle into this podium, I can give you a passing grade for your Transfiguration exam this semester.”
Turning a needle into a podium was something that could only be achieved with intermediate-level Transfiguration.
What Professor McGonagall didn’t say was that, usually, first-year witches and wizards only need to be able to turn a matchstick into a needle to pass the final exam.
Turning a needle into a podium was already the standard for the final exam for third-year students.
However, Zhang Dong still nodded silently, and then he pointed his wand at the needle.
Swish!
The next second, a giant podium appeared in front of everyone!
“Ten points for Gryffindor!” Professor McGonagall’s face was full of joy. At this moment, she seemed to see a new Animagus about to be born!
The students around were all shocked, looking at Zhang Dong. They stared for a few seconds before cheers, admiration, and applause mixed together!
At this moment, even the usually proud Hermione looked at Zhang Dong beside her with admiration.
If someone was a little better than her, she might work harder to see if she could surpass them, but if someone was too much stronger than her, she could only choose to admire them.
They were all witches and wizards of the same age, how could he be so powerful?
After transforming the podium, Zhang Dong didn’t continue using advanced Transfiguration. It was uncommon for a first-year student to master intermediate-level Transfiguration, but it wasn’t unusual.
However, if a first-year student mastered advanced Transfiguration, even in the history of Hogwarts, there were only a handful of people who could compare to him.
As if inspired by Zhang Dong, everyone in the classroom became excited. It wasn’t until Professor McGonagall held up a silver needle and said, “Five points for Granger!” that the Transfiguration class came to an end.
As soon as class was over, Hermione ran to Zhang Dong’s side.
“Zhang Dong, wait!”
“What’s the matter, Miss Granger?” Zhang Dong stopped and looked at Hermione, who was rushing towards him.
What was this little girl going to do? Was she going to challenge him because she felt he had stolen her spotlight?
Zhang Dong knew Hermione very well. Although she always seemed arrogant, deep down she was more insecure than anyone else.
The term "Muggle-born" wasn't exactly flattering, so Hermione worked so hard to prove that Muggle-borns, or Mudbloods, were no worse than anyone else.
In fact, that was truly the case. Throughout Harry Potter, Hermione had firmly proven one thing to everyone: bloodlines don't define a person.
Looking at Zhang Dong, Hermione, who had just run over, took a deep breath to calm herself down before saying to Zhang Dong, “Just call me Hermione. How did you do it? The books mention the spells and methods of Transfiguration, but why can’t I turn a needle into a podium no matter how hard I try?”
Hermione looked at Zhang Dong with wide eyes, as if trying to find the answer on his face.
How could Zhang Dong possibly have an answer? He couldn’t say that his Transfiguration was a direct reward from the system. That would be the same as blowing his own trumpet.
“You can’t rely on textbooks alone. The knowledge in textbooks is all the most basic common sense. If you want to improve your Transfiguration skills, I recommend you go to Madam Pince.”
Irma Pince, the librarian of Hogwarts, wasn’t sure how strong her combat abilities were, but her knowledge was definitely the second strongest in all of Hogwarts.
“Hogwarts has the most complete library in the entire wizarding world. You can find some suitable books to study. I recommend "Principles of Basic Spellcasting Explained" and "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration." If you understand these two books, passing the second-year Transfiguration exam will be no problem.”
“Really? Thank you so much!” Hermione immediately got excited.
That’s right, she, a child from a Muggle family, didn't have the background of those pure-blood wizarding families, but hard work makes up for lack of talent! Besides, she wasn’t stupid, as long as she worked hard, she could catch up quickly!
Seeing that Zhang Dong could actually chat with Hermione enthusiastically, Ron put his arm around Harry’s shoulder and said:
“Alright, Harry, stop looking at Zhang Dong for now. Have you memorized all the answers I told you to? Potions class is about to start, it’s your turn to shine.”
Ron's words immediately brought Harry’s attention back. He adjusted his glasses and smiled confidently.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be getting some points for Gryffindor.”
He was joking. He had all the answers, how could he possibly get it wrong?
Those five points! He was going to get them!