On the very first morning of classes, Ethan gained a completely new understanding of how deeply human beings could sleep.
Harry and Ron were utterly impossible to wake.
Even shoving freezing hands beneath their blankets produced almost no reaction whatsoever.
They simply continued sleeping like enchanted princesses waiting for Hermione and Ginny to enter the boys' dormitory and kiss them awake.
"Still not getting up?" Ethan asked sympathetically while staring at the two future truants.
"Hooo…"
Ron even snored lightly in response.
"We already tried," Seamus said helplessly while shaking his head. "If we don't leave now, we'll miss breakfast."
Ethan shrugged.
"Fine. They'll probably wake before class eventually."
Then he glanced toward Earl's cage.
"Earl, try waking them later."
"Additional fees apply for owl alarm services," the owl mumbled lazily from beneath one wing.
Seamus froze.
"Merlin's trousers," he whispered. "Last night wasn't a dream?"
"Once you accept the fact that owls can talk," Ethan said thoughtfully while leaving the dormitory, "life becomes much easier."
Seamus hurried after him immediately.
"Where did you even buy that thing? Was it expensive? Was it from some secret owl shop? Could my mum—"
"You absolutely do not want a foul-mouthed owl," Ethan interrupted. "It spent half the summer insulting my entire extended family."
Seamus imagined Earl screaming profanity directly into his face and visibly shuddered.
"…Actually," he admitted weakly, "my owl's perfectly fine."
By the time they reached the Great Hall, breakfast was already halfway finished.
Ethan casually served himself porridge, sausages, and fried eggs before noticing Hermione Granger sitting opposite him with a textbook propped open beside her plate.
Even during breakfast, she was studying seriously.
Ethan instantly recalled traumatic memories from his previous life.
The king of overachievers truly made ordinary people feel guilty.
Fortunately, Ethan possessed no shame whatsoever.
Meal times existed for eating, not studying.
Unless homework remained unfinished.
That was different.
After finishing breakfast, Hermione suddenly noticed Ethan carefully wrapping two sausages inside greaseproof paper before stuffing them into his robe pocket.
"Ethan?" she asked in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Hogwarts randomly spawns animals," Ethan answered seriously. "Feeding them increases favourability. Sometimes you even receive bonus academic points."
Hermione stared at him.
"You're joking."
She lifted her chin confidently.
"I asked older students already. Professors only award points for academic performance."
"Think of it as a loving gesture, then," Ethan replied casually while standing up. "Besides, professors always prepare carefully for first-year classes."
With that, he headed toward Transfiguration.
As one of the earliest students to arrive, Hermione naturally seized a front-row seat immediately. She also noticed the quiet tabby cat resting atop the professor's desk.
Unlike Ethan, however, Hermione simply sat down and began reviewing the textbook obediently.
Ethan approached the cat directly.
Then he placed the wrapped sausages gently beside it.
[Ding! Goodwill Value +1]
Love rewarded kindness once again.
The cat gave Ethan a deeply approving look that seemed almost… human.
Then Ethan reached down and aggressively rubbed the cat's fur the wrong direction.
[Ding! Sin Value +1]
The cat instantly recoiled in outrage before leaping elegantly onto the podium further away from him.
"…I thought cats liked that," Ethan muttered thoughtfully.
"Ethan!" Hermione hissed urgently. "Come down before a professor sees you!"
Still, when he finally approached the seats, Hermione instinctively shifted sideways to make room beside her.
Unfortunately, Ethan already had other plans.
"The back row beside the window," he declared proudly, "belongs eternally to the kings."
Then he marched directly toward the very rear corner of the classroom and sat down happily.
Hermione looked visibly disappointed.
Students gradually filled the room one after another until Harry and Ron finally burst through the door moments before the bell rang.
"We're dead," Ron whispered desperately. "McGonagall's definitely going to kill us."
"Maybe she's late too," Harry suggested hopefully.
At that exact moment, the tabby cat atop the desk transformed instantly into Professor McGonagall.
Harry and Ron nearly died on the spot.
After receiving a brutal scolding, they shuffled miserably toward the only remaining empty seats.
Beside Ethan.
Apparently, every first-year student instinctively fought for front-row positions at the beginning of term. Ethan personally attributed this behaviour to youthful ignorance.
Soon enough, they'd all experience advanced magical theory and desperately migrate toward the back like exhausted university students fleeing mathematics.
"Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall announced sternly, "is among the most complex and dangerous forms of magic taught at Hogwarts."
Her sharp eyes swept across the classroom.
"Anyone fooling around in my lessons will leave immediately and never return."
Instant silence.
Strict teachers possessed magical powers beyond even Hogwarts.
Then McGonagall demonstrated advanced Transfiguration by transforming her desk into a pig before changing it back again.
Ethan's eyes lit up instantly.
Not because of the transformation itself.
Because of what he saw.
[ Soul Strength: 3 ]
The pig possessed a soul.
The moment it transformed back into a desk, the soul vanished completely.
Meaning—
McGonagall's Transfiguration literally created temporary souls for inanimate objects.
Was that true for all Transfiguration?
Or only advanced examples?
Ethan immediately decided he needed to investigate further.
For entirely academic reasons, obviously.
Then came the portion of class every child feared most.
Theory.
McGonagall's earlier warning proved completely accurate. Compared to Charms, Transfiguration theory looked horrifyingly complicated.
If basic Charms resembled:
y = a + bx + cx²…
Then Transfiguration resembled solving two impossible equations simultaneously while altering the magical input variables through structural analysis.
Even Ethan's soul nearly left his body.
Fortunately, first years didn't actually need advanced magic like the Revealing Charm yet. They only needed to follow existing formulas properly.
The first exercise involved transforming a matchstick into a needle.
Simple.
Most students failed spectacularly because they ignored the theoretical structure entirely and simply waved their wands while hoping miracles happened automatically.
Thankfully, none of them accidentally launched sharpened metal needles into classmates yet.
Ethan transformed his matchstick perfectly into a polished silver needle.
"Excellent, Mr Norton," McGonagall said with visible approval. "Five points to Gryffindor."
Moments later, Hermione also succeeded partially by changing the material structure of her matchstick.
McGonagall awarded additional points and praised her warmly.
Yet Hermione still looked dissatisfied.
The moment class ended, she rushed directly toward Ethan's desk.
"Ethan," she asked anxiously, "how did you do it?"
She clutched her notes tightly.
"I followed the exact same formulas from the textbook…"
....
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