Hogwarts, second floor. Ethan walked into the Transfiguration classroom.
The first thing he saw was a tabby cat napping on the podium. The cat had a circle of markings around its eyes, just like Professor McGonagall's glasses.
Ethan didn't dare look for long, quickly entering the classroom.
His roommates were sitting and chatting. Upon seeing Ethan, they greeted him.
“Ethan, we haven’t seen you since we woke up. Where were you all this time?”
“I was familiarizing myself with Hogwarts with a senior student.”
Ethan sat next to Michael, not concealing anything.
“Penelope?”
Terry immediately guessed the answer.
From yesterday's situation, it was obvious that Penelope treated Ethan differently from the other Ravenclaws.
“Yes!”
“You're so lucky!”
Terry was somewhat envious.
It was almost time for class, and all the Ravenclaws were present, with Ethan being the last.
Looking around, the classroom was almost full, while Hufflepuff and Gryffindor seemed to be missing a few students.
Ethan's eyes met Cassandra's, but she immediately looked away. He noticed that Cassandra was sitting alone among the Slytherin group, not choosing to sit with anyone else.
Hermione had a classmate, and they were chatting. They seemed harmonious now. It must be her roommate!
Ethan, who was chatting with his roommates, suddenly noticed a young witch acting strangely.
There's some fun going on here!
Ethan immediately straightened up, his eyes fixed on the podium.
A young Hufflepuff witch was carefully approaching the podium, her hand in her pocket, seemingly holding something. Ethan remembered her name was Croissant Pullman.
On the side of the podium, to avoid startling the tabby cat, Croissant slowly pulled out something from her pocket: a small piece of dried fish.
Carrying snacks with her, true Hufflepuff.
She slowly approached the tabby cat with the dried fish in one hand, her other hand hovering in the air, ready to pet it once it started eating.
She had a Maine Coon with some cat-like bloodline at home, raised from a young age. If Hogwarts allowed bringing cats, she would have brought her own cat.
She had been craving to pet a cat for two days, and now, seeing a cat with such a cool vibe, how could she miss it.
If she could lure it back to Hufflepuff with her own food, she would be able to openly keep a cat, after all, it's not her own cat, it's a Hogwarts native cat.
Just when the dried fish was about twenty centimeters from the cat's mouth, another group of Hufflepuff students walked in from outside.
One of the girls quickly stepped forward, grabbed Croissant's hand, and pulled her back.
She had just mentioned on the way that 'Professor McGonagall might turn into a cat to test us'. She was only a moment late, and her new friend almost fell for the trick.
When she was about nine years old, her sister entered Hogwarts as a Gryffindor, writing some fun things about Hogwarts at her request, and mentioned this incident: 'A group of little Hufflepuff witches tried to pet Professor McGonagall, who had turned into a cat, before the first Transfiguration class. One of them was so scared to death.'
Ethan could clearly see the tabby cat glancing at the young witch.
It's obvious that Old Cat Lady was deliberately trying to catch someone, and this young witch spoiled Professor McGonagall's fun.
Soon, the bell rang for class, but Professor McGonagall still didn't appear.
Although there was no teacher, no one dared to play around in the classroom. After all, the impression Professor McGonagall left on the young witches yesterday was strict and rigid.
If you dare to make trouble in her class, you'll surely face the consequences.
About ten minutes passed, and Professor McGonagall still hadn't arrived. Some of the young witches couldn't sit still anymore, and they started whispering among themselves.
They were all guessing why Professor McGonagall was late. Ethan even heard a few young witches discussing whether Professor McGonagall had forgotten about class because of a date.
Ethan was startled, these kids are bold enough to guess!
The classroom door suddenly creaked open, and the scene quieted down.
Ron and Harry made a grand entrance.
The two nervously scanned the classroom. When they found that Professor McGonagall was not there, they clearly relaxed.
Not caught, it doesn't count as being late.
Ron even excitedly said to Harry:
“Can you imagine how bad Old McGonagall's face would look if she knew we were late?”
Ethan, who clearly heard everything, just wanted to say, you're so bold!
No matter how old a woman is, she doesn’t like to hear the word "old."
As soon as Ron finished speaking, the tabby cat on the podium jumped down, its body began to twist and deform, and it had transformed into Professor McGonagall before landing.
Ron, who had just been relieved because Professor McGonagall wasn't there, immediately froze.
Professor McGonagall's face was indeed not pleasant, but she ultimately achieved her goal.
Every year, during the first Transfiguration class for new students, Professor McGonagall would use her Animagus form to catch them. This was also to highlight the power of Transfiguration, attract the interest of the young witches, and intimidate them.
“You're so amazing!”
Ron flattered, hoping to avoid punishment.
“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Weasley.”
“Perhaps transforming Mr. Potter and Mr. Lee into a pocket watch would be more effective, maybe you would then understand the meaning of punctuality.”
Obviously, Professor McGonagall still held a grudge about the phrase "Old McGonagall."
“We got lost!”
Being late for the first class, and for their own Head of House, made Harry a bit worried, and he quickly explained.
“Then transform yourselves into a map!”
After all, Professor McGonagall didn’t make things too difficult for them:
“Find your seats, you don’t need a map for that, do you!”