Professor McGonagall walked away.
Ron sat there in a daze, his face as if it had been washed over by a wave.
The other Gryffindor students at the table started laughing, and the chatter gradually resumed.
Hermione gave Ron a sidelong glance. "You shouldn't talk about Professor McGonagall like that. She's so kind and approachable."
"She's only like that with you!" Ron retorted, his face flushing red.
"She wouldn't get mad if you didn't badmouth her behind her back. Ron, you need to understand that—"
"Don't tell me I deserve it," Ron snapped irritably.
"But you do!" Hermione huffed, turning back to the magazine she was marking up with little notes and circles.
Harry, worried they might start arguing, quickly changed the subject. "Hermione, what are you working on?"
Ron leaned over curiously. "Why are you circling William's name with hearts?" he asked, surprised.
Hermione snapped the magazine shut, her face turning crimson with embarrassment.
Not far away, Anne, who had been chatting with Ginny, perked up her ears and tried hard to eavesdrop.
Hermione shot her a glance, stumbling over her words as she explained, "Those circles weren't mine… they were made by my Bowtruckle… It's really mischievous… probably…"
Anne looked skeptical. She'd already thought something was off about Hermione and William's relationship over the summer.
If she had any real evidence, she would have written to Leanna by now.
"Fine! I'm going to the library!" Hermione shot Ron a glare before hastily packing her things and leaving.
As she walked off, Harry sighed. "Ron, you've managed to offend the two most capable witches in Gryffindor."
"I was just curious!" Ron grumbled.
"Don't you think there's something wrong with both Hermione and Professor McGonagall? Or maybe… are all women just this difficult to deal with?
"Look at us! We have so much fun together, we never argue at all."
Harry sighed again, feeling that the real problem was Ron.
After all, hadn't Ron written Harry's name alongside Cho's in his own notes once?... That wasn't exactly unusual, was it?
Ron shrugged and said indifferently, "Well, it's not like Hermione lets us copy her homework anyway."
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it, shrugging helplessly.
Sure, she didn't let them copy her homework, but her notes were lifesavers during final exams!
Had Ron already forgotten how he managed to pass their first-year exams?
Some self-awareness wouldn't hurt.
With a sigh, Harry pulled out a copy of Today's Transfiguration from his bag.
"Wait, Harry, are you actually reading that magazine?"
"I just realized I'm really interested in Transfiguration," Harry replied casually.
Of course, that wasn't the real reason.
The other day, he'd seen William, Cho, and Cedric discussing the magazine together, laughing and talking animatedly.
It seemed Cho really liked that magazine.
If Harry could understand some of it, maybe the next time he and Cho talked, they'd have more to discuss.
He wouldn't have to suffer through awkward small talk.
There was no way Harry would let Cedric dominate in this area. When it came to being a hopeless romantic, Harry was determined to overtake him, one way or another.
Ron, meanwhile, forked a sausage into his mouth, saying enviously, "I heard from George and Fred that William's going to get the International Wizarding Youth Scholarship. It's two thousand Galleons!
"If I learned Animagus magic, would I get two thousand Galleons too?"
Harry, not particularly motivated by money, shrugged. "Maybe. But don't think too much about it, mate. We can't even understand this paper."
"Just because we can't understand it doesn't mean we can't learn the magic! Professor McGonagall probably tutored William privately. We just don't have anyone to teach us," Ron muttered.
"If you could transform into an animal, what would you become?"
"A Golden Snidget!" Harry said enthusiastically.
The Golden Snidget was a rare bird, once hunted by Seekers before the Golden Snitch was invented.
As fast as a Snitch, Harry figured that if he transformed into one, he could secretly follow Cho around without her noticing.
"Don't be ridiculous! The Golden Snidget is a magical creature. Animagi can't transform into magical creatures," Ron laughed.
"How do you know that?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Ron, usually even worse than Harry at Transfiguration, shouldn't have known something like that.
"Er… Percy mentioned it once," Ron said quickly, his eyes darting around.
Harry nodded, not dwelling on it.
"If I had that ability, I'd turn Malfoy into a rat and let him hang out with Scabbers," Ron said dreamily, a smile creeping onto his face.
"Don't get carried away, Ron. We couldn't even turn buttons into beetles in our first lesson. Professor McGonagall is bound to give us trouble in the next class."
"Harry!" Ron opened his eyes wide, exclaiming, "You're ruining the best daydream I've ever had!"
Shaking his head, Harry returned to the magazine, trying to make sense of its contents and ignoring Ron's fantasies.
…
On Wednesday afternoon, William attended his first Care of Magical Creatures class.
They were paired with the Hufflepuffs for this lesson.
When William and Cho arrived at a paddock near the Forbidden Forest, an elderly man was already waiting for them.
Professor Kettleburn, perhaps the oddest teacher aside from Professor Binns, was ancient, with a long white beard reaching his waist. Most notably, he had only one hand and one leg.
Due to his limited mobility, he used a cruth... floating to move around, appearing rather like a celestial being.
What an entrance!
Such style!
"Come on, children, hurry up!" Kettleburn called out loudly. "I've got something wonderful to show you today! This will be an exciting lesson! Is everyone here?
"Good, follow me!"
Professor Kettleburn floated ahead like a ghost, moving slowly toward the paddock.
The students curiously observed him.
"Professor, how are you floating like that?" asked Xabi from Hufflepuff.
"Oh, doesn't anyone know?" Kettleburn looked around, a bit disappointed.
William raised his hand.
"Yes, go ahead!"
"It's caused by Billywigs. They have long stingers at the base of their bodies, and if you're stung, you'll feel dizzy and start floating."
"Exactly! And you are?"
"William Stark."
"Ah, Mr. Stark! Very good. I've heard about you from Newt. Ten points to Ravenclaw."
"Now, as you may have noticed, my leg isn't in the best shape, so I use this method for classes. Would anyone like to give it a try?"
With a wave of his hand, Professor Kettleburn summoned a swarm of Billywigs.
The tiny blue insects, barely an inch long, shimmered like gemstones in the sunlight.
William shuddered, his skin crawling as his latent fear of clusters kicked in.
"Come now, don't be shy! Give it a go, it'll earn you house points!" Kettleburn grinned.
Despite his enthusiasm, the students collectively gasped and backed away.
If there had been any doubt about who was the bravest man at Hogwarts, it was gone now.
No contest.
"Don't worry! The venom only numbs the nerves a little and gives you a pleasant, floaty sensation…"
Professor Kettleburn eagerly demonstrated, letting the Billywigs sting him a few times.
"Is the professor insane?" Cho whispered to William.
"Hahaha, I'm not insane! Really, I'm perfectly fine! Look, I can do it again!"
But as the students stared at the professor, missing a limb and a hand, his words weren't exactly reassuring.
William strongly suspected that Kettleburn's missing limbs were the result of his reckless experiments.
It only confirmed the saying:
Hogwarts is a strange place, Gryffindor's Head loves gambling, the Potions Master fears baldness, the Groundskeeper raises dragons, and the Care of Magical Creatures professor is downright suicidal.