"Oh my God, how did she do that!" Draco couldn't help but exclaim in awe. Jack, who had been observing others, turned his attention to the podium, drawn by the voice.
Professor McGonagall had effortlessly transformed a table into a pig. Jack knew that the larger the object, the harder it was to transfigure.
The pig, now snorting on the podium, was undoubtedly a successful example.
It seemed that the Gryffindor headmaster was quite formidable, Jack thought, stroking his chin as he watched.
The pig wagged its tail and then, with a light tap of Professor McGonagall's wand, it turned back into a table.
Seeing all the students with eyes wide open in shock and admiration, Professor McGonagall nodded. "If you ever want to become an Auror—" (Ron to Harry: "My dream is to be an Auror!") "—then getting an 'O' in Transfiguration is essential."
"What's an Auror?" Frank, sitting beside Jack, asked. Coming from a Muggle family and unlike Jack, who had done his homework ahead of time, it was normal for Frank not to understand these specific terms.
The bushy-haired girl from Gryffindor turned around and said, "They are like police officers for the magic ministry. Sounds cool, I suppose boys would like that."
Frank smiled at her and said gratefully, "Thank you, I'm Frank. What's your name?"
"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione seemed somewhat excited, perhaps this was the first time she had been thanked since coming to Hogwarts.
Jack didn't pay attention to them, instead, he was focused on Professor McGonagall and making lengthy notes in his notebook.
Jack found that besides himself, Hermione and Draco were the only two students taking notes so earnestly.
"Today's task is simple," Professor McGonagall handed out matches to everyone. "Try turning a matchstick into a needle."
That simple? Jack held the match in his hand with a hint of hesitation.
He always understood the principle that it's the protruding nail that gets hammered down. If he hadn't turned an entire town into the undead, he might not have been pursued by the church.
After all, he was still a novice magician.
So, Jack clumsily used the transfiguration spell like the others, even intentionally mispronouncing a few words.
The bell for class end rang, and the best performance came from Hermione, followed closely by Draco.
With a hint of dissatisfaction mixed with boastfulness, Draco said to Jack, "That mudblood has some skills. Jack, how come you didn't react at all, just like Harry?"
Frank, as the only one here who knew Jack's true capabilities (or so he believed), looked disdainfully at Draco.
"Don't get me into trouble," Jack's mouth didn't move, but his voice clearly reached Frank's ears.
Thus, the impending drama was cut short by Jack's intervention.
"Next class is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Can we sit together?" Hermione ran over to Frank and asked.
Gryffindors did not need to share Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Slytherins, to the relief of students from both houses.
"Of course, Miss Granger," Frank said politely.
"Jack, your Gryffindor lackey is actually hanging out with a mudblood! Oh right, I almost forgot, he's a mudblood too. They are indeed a perfect match," Draco sometimes acted like a five- or six-year-old child, nagging in Jack's ear.
"Mr. Malfoy, you've complained about this topic many times now. What I want to say is, our next class is Herbology, and if we don't hurry, we'll be late to Professor Sprout's greenhouse," Jack said impatiently.
Draco fell silent; he always became much more serious whenever it came to classes.
In a way, this seems better than the savior. Jack couldn't help but think.
If Professor McGonagall was likened to a brave, intelligent cat, then Professor Sprout was definitely a gentle rabbit.
She was a plump witch, always wearing a smile.
She introduced various fascinating plants to these first-year freshmen.
"This is a Night-blooming Orchid; they are extremely rare. Make sure not to confuse them with Sage," Professor Sprout indicated towards a small clump of plants that looked very much like weeds.
"This, I believe you all know, it's called Mandrake," she pointed at a clump of very ordinary-looking plants.
The Hufflepuff class, sharing the lesson with Slytherin had a pimply student who exclaimed in surprise, "Mandrakes! I've heard that they scream when pulled out of the ground. In our world—I mean, the Muggle world—it's considered an evil creature."
Jack was interestedly observing the Mandrake; it was a plant filled with magical properties, he had to admit. A key ingredient in creating hallucinogens, if added to a corpse alongside griffin tears, unicorn blood from the neck, it's said one could concoct an extremely sinister Lamia Potion.
Professor Sprout watched her students affectionately, then unhesitatingly awarded Hufflepuff 2 points. (Yes, Professor Sprout was the head of Hufflepuff.)
"This also earns points? Hufflepuff really is pitiable," Draco couldn't help but mutter.
Perhaps concerned for the safety of these first-year students, Professor Sprout didn't fulfill their eager request to pull out a mandrake for demonstration.
Jack knew, indeed, Mandrakes do scream, but ordinary people are likely to be hypnotized upon hearing it.
Lunchtime followed the Herbology class.
"The thought of seeing a bunch of Gryffindors in the dining hall later makes me lose my appetite."
Jack did not need to look back to know whose lament that was, consoling himself with the fact that he was still a child.
At that moment, Carl Black, the prefect who had been absent all morning, took a seat beside Jack. If not for the school rules, Jack believed Frank would have taken this spot.
"Hello, Jack, do you mind if I sit here?" Carl asked with the grace of a true nobleman, every gesture suggesting purebred aristocracy.
Jack looked at him smilingly, toying with the steak on his plate and shook his head, "Of course not."
"You should have a Spells class this afternoon, don't look so surprised at me, I have your schedule here. You'll wait for me later; you need to follow me to a Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
A Slytherin tradition!
Jack always thought it was foolish for lower-year students to attend classes with their higher-year mentors. They'd only end up confused.
But for Jack himself, it was much more beneficial. If possible, he'd even apply to skip directly to the fifth year.
Since there is no contract, 120 chapters have been updated and posted on linktr.ee/freereadingus