Cassius jumped in fright, while Graham quickly pulled his head back.
Sean calmly watched the little snake slither from his desk onto Cassius's.
The snake opened its mouth and swallowed the green frog in one gulp.
Professor McGonagall hurried over from the back of the classroom and, without even speaking a spell, transfigured the snake back into a crystal goblet. The frog also reverted to its original form, becoming a cup again and standing beside Sean's goblet.
"Sean," Professor McGonagall said sternly, "next time you might consider transforming something a little cuter."
"Professor McGonagall, it's just a Transfiguration spell," Sean replied with a shrug. "You know it's harmless."
Her expression darkened immediately.
She glanced at Sean, then raised her voice so the entire class could hear.
"Transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous branches of magic you will study at Hogwarts. Anyone caught fooling around in my class will be asked to leave—and never allowed to return. I have warned you."
Clearly, she was displeased with Sean's attitude.
Sean might find magic easy to handle, but the other students had to learn step by step. His casual attitude could easily influence them.
Sean realized his mistake at once.
He had been too careless. If other students began to believe Transfiguration was harmless and injured themselves during practice, he would share some responsibility.
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall," Sean said sincerely. "I apologize for my careless attitude."
Seeing that he had recognized his mistake, McGonagall's expression softened slightly.
"Sean, this was only a basic Transfiguration spell," she said. "Perhaps it seems simple to you, but if you approach this complex discipline with such a casual mindset, you will eventually be hurt. Advanced transformations—such as Animagus transformation—are extremely complex and dangerous."
"I understand, Professor," Sean nodded.
Animagus transformation allowed a wizard to transform into an animal. The process involved intense pain and considerable danger.
Only a handful of witches and wizards had ever successfully mastered it.
After Transfiguration class ended, Cedric stopped Sean.
"Professor Sprout is planting a new magical herb in the greenhouse this afternoon," Cedric said. "Do you want to come take a look?"
"I'd love to," Sean replied helplessly, "but Professor Jovic assigned me detention."
"I heard Professor Sprout say the herb is used to make a magical energy recovery potion," Cedric added.
Yesterday, Sean had casually mentioned magical recovery potions while talking with Cedric. He hadn't expected it to lead anywhere.
Originally, Sean had planned to find some ingredients through Snape.
If Professor Sprout has the recipe, Sean thought, maybe I can get ingredients from her later and brew the potion myself.
The afternoon class was Astronomy.
Professor Sinistra, a dark-skinned woman, taught the class in the Astronomy Tower, the tallest structure in Hogwarts.
Sean paid close attention during the lesson, quietly staring at his book.
Cassius leaned over to look at what Sean was doing.
Only then did he realize something surprising.
Sean's quill was automatically copying the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook—Dark Magic: A Guide to Self-Defense—into his notebook.
"What spell is that?" Cassius asked curiously.
"Quick Record," Sean replied. "Very useful for students who often end up in detention."
"There's a spell that convenient?" Cassius exclaimed. "That's way better than a Quick-Quotes Quill!"
"You want to learn it?" Sean asked.
Cassius nodded eagerly.
"I'll teach you next time."
After class, most students returned to their common rooms.
Sean finished dinner before heading to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the third floor.
Professor Jovic was already sitting beside the podium, clearly waiting for him.
"Sean Grylls," Jovic said coldly. "Don't think your reputation allows you to act however you please at Hogwarts. As long as I remain a professor here, I won't allow your arrogance."
You won't be here long anyway, Sean muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing," Sean replied quickly. "I said I'll study hard under your guidance."
Sean sat in the front row and opened his notebook to begin copying.
He had already used Quick Record to copy the material seventy times.
Only thirty handwritten copies remained.
At first, Jovic occasionally checked Sean's work.
But after a while, he grew bored and began dozing beside the podium.
About an hour later, Jovic woke himself up with his own snoring.
Half-asleep, he glanced at Sean.
"How many left?"
"Three," Sean replied.
"So fast?" Jovic said, surprised.
While Jovic had been asleep, Sean had secretly used Quick Record again.
When he saw the professor starting to wake up, he quickly canceled the spell and began pretending to write by hand.
"When you're done, bring the notebooks to my office," Jovic said as he stood up.
Apparently, he had slept well and now felt hungry.
He wanted to find something to eat.
"Of course, Professor," Sean replied politely.
As soon as Jovic left, Sean used Quick Record again.
Within minutes, the full one hundred copies were finished.
Sean checked the time.
It was already nearly nine o'clock.
He had arrived around seven after dinner and spent almost two hours here.
Curfew would begin in about another hour.
Sean carried the two thick notebooks toward Jovic's office.
Normally, copying something a hundred times by hand would be impossible to finish in one night.
Jovic had clearly intended to make things difficult for him.
Unfortunately for him—
Sean had a workaround.
Sean knocked on the office door.
No response.
He tried the handle and found it unlocked.
"Professor?" he called.
No answer.
Jovic wasn't inside.
Sean placed the completed notebooks on the desk and left the office.
"What a waste of time."
Stretching his arms, Sean sighed.
Hogwarts was such a magical place, filled with countless interesting things waiting to be explored.
Yet his evening had been wasted copying textbooks.
Sean passed the corner of the second floor on his way back to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons.
Just then—
a shadow stretched out from the stairwell ahead.
Within the shadow was a long, pointed shape.
Sean knew immediately it wasn't a sword.
At Hogwarts, a wand was far more dangerous than any blade.
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus charm!"
Both of them cast spells at nearly the same moment.
The two spells collided midair, producing a flash of white light.
The attacker didn't hesitate.
Seeing the attack fail, the figure immediately turned and fled.
If Sean had been even half a second faster, the attacker would have been petrified.
Now the person had escaped.
Sean had no idea who had just tried to attack him.
An assault on a student inside Hogwarts was no small matter.
Sean decided to report the incident to the Head of Slytherin House, Professor Snape.
"Professor Snape."
Sean knocked on Snape's door.
A small sliding panel in the door opened, revealing a pair of deep, cold eyes.
"Grylls," Snape said. "What is it?"
"Professor," Sean said seriously, "I was attacked by someone in a cloak while walking back from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."
"Attacked by a shadow?" Snape opened the door fully. "Did you see what this person looked like?"
Sean shook his head.
"He was wearing a hood. I couldn't see his face."
That description was far too vague.
Snape motioned for Sean to come inside and recount the entire incident in detail.