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*****
After the History of Magic class ended, George was no longer sitting alone. Instead, a crowd of young wizards surrounded him.
"Did you really memorize that many magical books?"
"Yes, my memory is pretty decent," George responded.
"I heard you plan to help Slytherin win the House Cup?"
"Naturally," he replied.
On the way back, George handled the questions from his fellow first-year Slytherins with ease, always maintaining an air of confidence without appearing arrogant. Before long, he had blended right in with them.
Even the three roommates he had beaten up earlier now looked at him with a hint of admiration.
That was how it worked in Slytherin—if you were a Slytherin and you were good enough, able to bring them honor and benefits, the others would naturally gravitate toward you.
As a first-year student, George earning an impressive fifty points for Slytherin in his very first class was a matter of pride for all the first-year Slytherins.
Of course, if George truly wanted to become a leading figure in Slytherin, this achievement alone wouldn't be enough. But at least it was a promising start.
Word of George earning fifty points for Slytherin during Professor Binns' History of Magic class quickly spread across the school, reaching most of the teachers and students.
Under normal circumstances, the news wouldn't have spread so fast, but the fact that Professor Binns was infamous for never awarding points, combined with the lingering buzz from George's bold speech that morning, caused the two events to collide perfectly.
That evening, as George sat reading in the Slytherin common room, older Slytherins would occasionally come over to greet him and introduce themselves.
Even Malfoy, who had initially wanted to cause him trouble, was stopped by the prefects.
The next day, the morning schedule had two periods of Transfiguration, which was a shared class with the Hufflepuff first-years.
As soon as George entered the classroom, the Hufflepuff students turned their eyes toward him, clearly having heard about how he earned fifty points for Slytherin the previous day.
However, they didn't challenge him—most Hufflepuffs were known for their good-natured and kind dispositions; they were simply curious.
"Meow!"
Just before the Transfiguration class began, a tabby cat walked into the room. To the students' amazement, it transformed into Professor McGonagall, dressed in her deep green robes.
"Animagus transformation," George's eyes lit up as he watched Professor McGonagall change from a cat into a person.
This was a very advanced form of Transfiguration, allowing a wizard to transform into a specific animal at will. While the transformation couldn't be into a magical creature, and only one animal form was possible, George still found it incredibly useful.
No matter what kind of animal it was, as long as it wasn't too conspicuous, it could serve as an excellent disguise.
Such a disguise would be incredibly valuable, whether for gathering intelligence, escaping, or tracking someone.
Imagine being chased by a group of highly trained agents, monitored by satellites, with sniper rifles aimed at you from afar, leaving no escape.
But if you could perform an Animagus transformation, you could slip into a building and transform into a common animal, hiding in plain sight.
While becoming a cat might arouse some suspicion, transforming into a fly, a mosquito, or a ladybug would allow you to escape entirely unnoticed.
"Transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous branches of magic you will study at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began sternly as she stepped onto the podium.
"Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave, and they will never be allowed back. Consider yourselves warned!"
She then waved her wand, effortlessly transforming the lecture desk into a pig and back again.
The students were instantly captivated, wishing they could begin learning such a magical skill right away.
However, after Professor McGonagall's lecture on the theory, they quickly realized just how difficult it was to transform something as large as a desk into a pig.
"Truly, a master makes all the difference," George thought, filled with admiration after the theory class.
Transfiguration was singled out from all other spells as its own subject, a clear indication of its complexity compared to other branches of magic.
Although George had spent time studying it himself—going as far as memorizing the entire textbook (thanks to using a computer for shortcuts in History of Magic)—there were still many things he didn't fully understand.
Even after asking Tonks for help a few times, he still struggled to grasp it. It was like studying advanced calculus: memorizing the entire textbook wouldn't guarantee a good grade.
But Professor McGonagall, a Transfiguration master with years of teaching experience, made it all clear. Under her instruction, George's understanding of Transfiguration experienced a breakthrough.
"Slytherin, five points!"
Before the first class ended, there was a question-and-answer session, and George didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity, earning five points.
With his exceptional memory—enhanced by dual-brain power—and his habit of taking computer notes, he recorded not only the crucial information but even McGonagall's admonishments word for word.
Moreover, unlike Professor Snape, McGonagall prided herself on fairness. She treated all students equally and never withheld points out of bias against Slytherins.
On the contrary, seeing George answer so perfectly—complete with his own insights into Transfiguration—she allowed herself a rare smile.
The second lesson that day was a practical session.
McGonagall handed each student a matchstick, instructing them to use a basic Transfiguration spell to turn it into a needle.
For most of the young wizards, however, this task proved challenging. Over and over, they recited the incantation, waved their wands, but the matchstick stubbornly remained unchanged. Only a few gifted students managed to alter the matchstick slightly, though they were far from producing a proper needle.
"Don't give up! Keep practicing. Remember the key points I taught you in the previous lesson: the speed and rhythm of the incantation, the angle of the wand movement, and most importantly, your mind. You must firmly believe you can turn it into a needle," McGonagall said as she moved around the classroom, correcting students' mistakes as they cast spells.
When she reached George's desk, however, her eyes lit up:
"Slytherin, five more points!"
What she saw was a perfect needle—not only was the tip sharp, but even the eye of the needle was flawless.
Hearing McGonagall award points, the other students turned their eyes to George's desk. Seeing the impeccable needle, they couldn't help but show expressions of admiration and envy.
George, on the other hand, smiled quietly, choosing not to boast this time.
By the end of the first class, George had already grasped a crucial principle of Transfiguration—or rather, a principle that applied to most spells: the power of belief.
When learning a new spell, the incantation and wand were merely tools. Otherwise, wizards wouldn't be able to perform non-verbal and wandless magic.
The most important factor was the mind—mental strength. This was the true foundation for completing any magic.
People often said that magic in the Harry Potter world was highly idealistic, and there was some truth to that.
In this regard, George had a significant advantage. Besides being a wizard, he also had the mental powers of a level-two mutant.
After learning the theoretical knowledge from McGonagall, it didn't take him long to transform his matchstick into a needle.
In fact, he suspected his mental power could do even more.
Maybe he couldn't transform an entire desk into a pig just yet, but something larger—perhaps the size of a fist—should be within his current ability.
(End of chapter)