"Fuck me!" Ted blurted out, staring at the quest notification in disbelief.
Was the system trying to get him killed? This was Voldemort—well, technically, Quirrell—but still, the Dark Lord himself! No amount of XP was worth getting Avada Kedavra'd over!
He was just about to abandon all hope when he spotted the Weasley twins nearby, casually enchanting a snowball to hover menacingly in the air.
A devious grin spread across his face.
"Cough! Hermione, I need to go have a very important discussion about... uh, boys. You go ahead without me."
Hermione, who was still recovering from Ted's sudden outburst, narrowed her eyes. "What kind of discussion?"
But before she could pry further, Ted launched himself off the covered bridge.
Hermione gasped, her heart leaping into her throat. "Ted!"
Then, with a swift flick of his wand and a murmured incantation, Ted slowed his descent, landing gracefully in the snow below.
Hermione blinked in astonishment. "Since when did he master the Levitation Charm like that?"
Even though he still needed his wand and an incantation, his spellcasting was so smooth and refined that it put most adult wizards to shame.
Clearly, she needed to study harder.
By dinner time, the truth came out: Ted had lost 10 points on Ravenclaw, while Fred and George had lost Gryffindor 20 points.
Fred and George landed themselves a 2 weeks detention with Filch, while Ted landed himself two weeks of detention with Professor McGonagall.
"What did you do?" Hermione demanded, her voice sharp with irritation.
"I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble!"
"Relax, Hermione," Ted said with a sheepish grin. "We just played a little game with Professor Quirrell."
"A friendly bit of student-professor interaction!" Fred chimed in.
"You call chasing Quirrell around the courtyard with a cursed snowball 'friendly'?!" Hermione scowled.
Harley was laughing so hard she nearly fell off the bench. "Oh, you should've seen it! The snowball just kept following him!"
Ron, in between bites of his chicken leg, added, "Shame we weren't there to see it firsthand. Probably saved us a few weeks of detention, though."
Jerry, his ears twitching thoughtfully, muttered, "Professor McGonagall is scary when she wants to be."
The plan had gone smoothly—Ted had teamed up with the twins to cast a snowball-chasing charm.
Thanks to his quest reward, the spell worked better than expected.
The enchanted snowball hunted Quirrell across the courtyard, sending the nervous professor tripping straight into a snowbank.
Unfortunately, Ted had failed to account for one tiny detail: Professor McGonagall had been watching the whole thing from her office window.
And that's how he ended up serving detention alongside the Weasley twins.
Professor McGonagall had been particularly disappointed in Ted, given her initial good impression of him.
Unlike the twins, who were repeat offenders, Ted had always seemed like a rule-follower—well, mostly.
"Ted," she had sighed, "I expected better from you."
It stung a little, but the mission was worth it. After all, he'd gained a solid 300 XP and a brand-new card!
Later that night, as Ted made his way to McGonagall's office, he took a moment to check his new reward.
A flick of his wrist, and a brilliant image appeared before him—
A massive dragon made entirely of red fireworks, its wings stretching wide, fire blazing from its mouth. It was breathtaking.
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[Fire Dragon Fireworks (Green)]
Item Card
Effect: Summons a gigantic, animated firework dragon with limited intelligence. It will actively seek out and chase designated targets. Not affected by normal counterspells.
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 3 hours
Note: While impressive, this is still a firework. Don't expect it to do any actual damage.
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Ted whistled. "Now this is cool."
His previous card, [Wild Boar Smashing Cannon], had been fun, but a fire-breathing dragon?
This was next-level.
Too bad he'd have to wait until after detention to test it out.
Professor McGonagall's office was lined with towering bookshelves, filled to the brim with tomes and scrolls.
Papers were stacked in neat piles on her desk, evidence of the many administrative duties she handled as Deputy Headmistress.
A firm knock echoed through the room.
"Come in,"
Ted gently pushed the door open, slipping inside and shutting it carefully behind him.
He stood straight, hands clasped in front of him, exuding the kind of innocence that only someone in trouble could muster.
His expression was so practiced, so perfectly crafted, that Professor McGonagall almost felt a twinge of nostalgia.
Professor McGonagall glanced up from her desk, adjusting her glasses as she examined the boy before her.
For a fleeting moment, she saw not the mischievous student standing before her, but the young boy she had first met at the orphanage
—the one with the wide grin, singing a ridiculous song in the streets while slipping a few Knuts into a beggar's cup.
She remembered the words of encouragement she had written in the Transfiguration textbook she had gifted him and how hard he had worked at various jobs in Diagon Alley, earning praise from shopkeepers.
Even when he struggled in her class, she had admired his determination.
And then, of course, there had been the Christmas gift—a soft, woolen scarf in colors she found surprisingly tasteful.
At that moment, her sharp eyes landed on Ted's robes.
"Ted, don't the new robes fit you?" she asked, her tone neutral but curious.
Ted quickly shook his head. "No, no, they fit perfectly! Thank you, Professor. I just... wanted to save them for formal occasions."
Professor McGonagall gave him a knowing look.
"And you don't consider coming to my office for detention a formal occasion?"
Her eyebrows arched in mock severity.
Ted immediately straightened. "I—I'll wear them tomorrow!"
McGonagall turned her head slightly, suppressing a smile.
"Good. Now, sit down. Tell me what you did today."
Ted perched on the chair like a chastised first-year and launched into a perfectly structured explanation.
First, he admitted his wrongdoing, citing the undeniable fact that Professor Quirrell's lectures were mind-numbingly dull.
He explained, in meticulous detail, how he had teamed up with the Weasley twins to charm a snowball.
Then he proceeded with a dramatic self-examination, analyzing the moral and academic repercussions of his actions, swearing he had learned his lesson and that he would never, ever do such a thing again.
(Unless, of course, the opportunity was too good to pass up.)
He concluded by earnestly expressing his gratitude for Professor McGonagall's guidance, recalling the first time she had taken him under her wing.
"I just want to live up to your expectations, Professor."
It was a masterclass in damage control.
Professor McGonagall, who had taught for decades, had never encountered a student who could turn a detention into a heartfelt, Oscar-worthy performance.
She sat frozen for a few seconds, caught between amusement and exasperation.
Should she praise his reflection? Or call him out for his blatant smooth-talking?
Before she could decide, Ted, ever perceptive, pivoted the conversation.
"Professor, I had an interesting discussion with Professor Quirrell about the properties of magical creature blood. I think he'd make a fantastic professor for Care of Magical Creatures!"
McGonagall adjusted her glasses.
"Professor Quirrell was quite accomplished in that subject when he was a student. He was the only one in his year to achieve an 'Outstanding' on his N.E.W.T. in Care of Magical Creatures."
For a moment, the two of them chatted about Quirrell's past academic achievements, but McGonagall soon caught herself.
She cleared her throat. "Nice try, Mr. Epifani, but we're not here for a friendly discussion. Let's talk about your detention."
Ted sighed dramatically. "I was hoping you'd forgotten."
"I never forget," McGonagall said, unimpressed.
"I hear from Professor Flitwick that you have quite the talent for Charms. Why, then, do you put so little effort into Transfiguration?"
Ted hesitated.
Transfiguration was different.
Charms were straightforward—you cast the spell, and the effect was immediate.
But Transfiguration required patience, precision, and an almost meditative focus.
There were no instant results, no shortcuts to mastery.
McGonagall, keen as ever, pointed to the towering stack of magazines beside her.
"This is 'Transfiguration Today.' Since I occasionally review their manuscripts, I receive copies of every issue.
Your task is to extract the best articles, summarize them, and organize the information into a digestible format."
Ted blinked. "Wait… so my punishment is reading about Transfiguration?"
McGonagall gave him a thin smile. "Consider it an opportunity."
Ted leaned back slightly, rubbing his chin in thought. "Alright… I can work with this."
The detention was supposed to last two hours.
However, as McGonagall sorted through her various school-related duties, she glanced up and was surprised to find that Ted had already gone through more than half of the magazines.
Even more shocking, he had written out summaries on four full parchment scrolls without once slowing down.
McGonagall frowned slightly, glancing at the clock.
Only an hour and a half had passed.
She looked at Ted again, watching as he flipped through another magazine, scanning the contents, and immediately jotting down key points.
He didn't even stop to double-check his notes.
Her brow furrowed. "What in Merlin's name…?"
Something about this boy was decidedly unusual.
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Word count: 1531
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