"Ah—ha—"
The next morning, at the Hufflepuff table, Maca was yawning and bleary-eyed as he stuffed a slice of white bread into his mouth, forgetting even to spread jam on it. His school robes were haphazardly worn, clearly thrown on without much care, a far cry from his usual neat appearance.
"Hey, little first-year, why so tired? Didn't sleep well last night?" Charlotte, the cheerful senior, seemed unfazed by others' attire—though she herself was always immaculately dressed.
"Um... yeah, a bit." Maca nodded drowsily, eyelids drooping, as if he might fall asleep any moment.
"Thinking about some girl, are you?" Charlotte teased opportunistically.
"Well, I was thinking about you, ha—" Maca instinctively replied, then let out another yawn.
Charlotte Miss seemed caught off guard, not expecting this half-asleep first-year to come up with such a quick comeback. She couldn't help but give a look that said, "You've got me there."
"Alright! Wake up, we'll have classes soon." She raised her hand and playfully smacked Maca on the back, causing him to jump and drop the piece of bread from his mouth onto the table.
"Come on, senior, was that really necessary?" Maca grimaced, feeling there would be a bright red handprint on his back.
Just then, the owls arrived.
Maca looked up, watching the multitude of owls flying around the Great Hall, delivering packages and letters to their recipients' legs.
"By the way, my Marvalio spends all day in the dormitory (it doesn't even want to go to the owlery), sleeping and eating. It's hardly been useful for anything!" Maca suddenly realized, patting his thigh, "Why did I even get it? Seems like I need to find something for it to do..."
While Maca pondered about getting his owl some activity, a dark shadow swooped in from the entrance of the Great Hall, scattering the other owls.
"Huh?" Maca raised his head again and saw his owl, Marvalio, diving toward him. It dropped a large package in the empty space behind him with a resounding "thud," like a bomb dropping from a plane.
"Mrr." Marvalio hooted and then landed on the table, pecking at another slice of bread in Maca's plate.
"Is this your owl?" Senior Charlotte looked at Marvalio with curiosity, "It's quite strong. I'd like to have one like this. Where did you get it?"
"Knockturn Alley's 'Giant Spider'," Maca casually answered, pulling out a slip of paper from the package, "Oh, my books from Flourish and Blotts have arrived."
Maca had ordered some books about potion-making and herbology a few days before school started. While these books could be found in the library, they didn't allow you to scribble or draw on them.
Charlotte leaned in to take a look, then exclaimed, "First-year, are you planning to finish all of Hogwarts' courses in your first year?"
Stuffing the book list back into the package, Maca replied, "No way, how's that possible?" He lifted the large package and headed towards the common room—it was time to put these books back in his dormitory before class.
As he passed the Gryffindor table, Harry called out to Maca.
"Hey, Maca! Hagrid invited me for tea, are you coming?" He waved a note in his hand, asking Maca.
"When?" Maca asked.
"This afternoon, around three!" Harry answered.
"I have a class in the afternoon. Tell Hagrid I'll say hello and I'll find another time to visit him."
Harry nodded, then leaned on the table and wrote something on the back of the note before giving it to Hedwig to deliver.
This morning marked the first Transfiguration class for the Hufflepuffs.
Professor of Transfiguration, Minerva McGonagall, was just as strict as Severus Snape, a stern instructor.
But unlike Snape, Professor McGonagall treated all four houses equally. She was equally harsh on any student who broke the rules.
Consequently, though most students feared this always stern senior professor, they held her in true reverence.
Certainly, there were many students who genuinely respected her from the heart.
Professor McGonagall's teaching style was always succinct and effective. Just as the class started, she made her presence known to all the students.
"Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you'll learn at Hogwarts." She said, "Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and will never be allowed back in. I've said this to every new student, and I hope you take it as a warning."
With that, she transfigured her desk into a deer and then back again.
Most students were captivated by this magical form of sorcery, and naturally, Maca was no exception. In fact, Maca might be one of the students in the hall who could best appreciate the level of difficulty involved, as he had learned this from "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration."
Until now, Maca had already finished reading several of the required school textbooks. Among them, he considered the current subject, Transfiguration, to be the most challenging.
The difficulty of Transfiguration wasn't merely determined by a wizard's understanding of its principles; that was just the starting point. To truly master Transfiguration, the greatest challenge lay in a profound comprehension of the nature of objects before and after transformation.
Wizards learning Transfiguration not only needed to delve into the physical properties of objects but also needed to possess the highest possible understanding and control over an object's magical properties. This was highly intricate and profound, and one could say it was limitless.
For example, while a novice wizard might be able to turn a matchstick into something approximately the size of a sewing needle, a Transfiguration master could transform that matchstick into various models, materials, or even textures, and maintain it for hundreds of years!
Of course, beyond differences in precision and energy expenditure, the greatest distinction lay in their understanding of the subject.
This was a subject that demanded extensive and long-term study, and Maca realized that there were no shortcuts here. It all came down to daily learning and accumulation.
In class, Maca transfigured a feather assigned to him into a lump of metal. He didn't yet have full control over the object's form, but Professor McGonagall nodded in approval—causing an object to undergo a quality change was already quite impressive for a beginner.
In the afternoon, it was another mind-numbing History of Magic class. Professor Binns always spoke in his monotonous and dreary tone, droning on about the mundane historical events of the magical world. His emotionless way of teaching made nearly all the students disinterested in the subject.
However, Maca found it fascinating. He realized that Professor Binns' content wasn't just a regurgitation of the textbook; it was logically organized and occasionally contained details even the textbooks omitted. This respected and only ghostly professor at Hogwarts, it seemed, meticulously prepared his lessons every night.
Of course, this might be because ghosts didn't need to sleep, which left him with plenty of time. Otherwise, he would likely be bored enough to die all over again.
"I heard that Professor Binns was Hogwarts' History of Magic professor during his lifetime, until one day, he arrived for class and forgot to bring his body with him." Ernie whispered to Maca, sitting beside him.
"As you've said, Professor Binns not only devoted half of his life to teaching but continues to maintain this demanding dedication even after death." Maca nodded in agreement.
"Hearing you put it like that, it does seem that way!"
Ernie hesitated for a moment, realizing that it did indeed seem to be the case. He found himself sitting up straight and listening earnestly, but not too long after, he slumped down again—this class was just too dull.
While the History of Magic class might be extremely challenging for other students, Maca felt that time had flown by.
"Maca, where are you going? Skipping the common room for a bit of Wizard's Chess?" Ernie asked with some surprise.
The History of Magic classroom was on the second floor, and the little badgers from Hufflepuff were heading downstairs, exchanging gossip while the lone figure of Maca was ascending the stairs.
"Oh, I need to make a trip to the library. I have some information to look up." Maca replied, not slowing his pace as he added this remark and soon disappeared from Ernie's view as the stairs turned automatically.
The Hogwarts Library on the fifth floor was a massive repository of knowledge.
Here, you could find almost any magical book that had been published or was currently in circulation. Of course, there was a significant section known as the "Restricted Section," where you couldn't borrow books without a signature from the Headmaster or the Dark Arts Defense professor.
The librarian of the library was Madam Pince, a thin, elderly, easily irritated woman who seemed like a hungry, grumpy old vulture.
She regarded the books in the library as her life and would expel any student attempting to deface or damage the books. To her, these precious tomes were sacred, and if possible, nobody would be allowed inside.
Just a short while past the end of class, there were only a few Gryffindor first-year students in the library—there was no class scheduled for them this afternoon.
"Magical Creatures... Magical Creatures... Here it is!"
Maca tiptoed and pulled a book titled "Habits and Habitats of Humanoid Magical Creatures" from a high shelf. He stood there and began flipping through its pages.