Chapter 134: Heartless Journalists

Professor McGonagall walked into the classroom on time, but her anger levels were off the charts.

This morning, another shocking prank incident had occurred at the Slytherin table.

However, she couldn't catch the culprits... though she had her suspicions, particularly about two or three individuals, most notably the Weasley twins. Yet, without evidence, she couldn't act.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a bottle filled with beetles. Today's first lesson was about transfiguring these beetles into gnats.

Many of the students began to grumble softly. 

They had forgotten everything from last semester, and most had assumed that the first class of the new term would be an easy, laid-back chat about summer vacations.

"You are second-year students now. Next year, you'll be choosing electives, and before you know it, the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams in fifth year will be upon us. 

"You must take your studies seriously!" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "At the end of last semester, many of you failed miserably!"

William and Cho exchanged a glance. It seemed that their little side business with the answers needed to wrap up sooner rather than later. If things went south and they were discovered, it wouldn't be pretty.

Each student received a beetle and placed it on their desk to begin the transformation.

Professor McGonagall continued to explain the key points, but many students were still staring at her in confusion.

They recognized every word she said but couldn't make sense of the instructions when strung together.

Cho waved her wand, poking the beetle over and over, but all she accomplished was giving the beetle some good exercise. 

The beetle scurried around the desk, dodging her attempts to transfigure it.

Marietta had an even worse time. She squeezed the beetle with her fingers, trying to make it stay still.

But she underestimated her strength and overestimated the beetle's defense, crushing it flat.

She had to go ask for another beetle, and Professor McGonagall was clearly displeased.

The professor walked around the classroom, the low-pressure atmosphere resembling Severus Snape's presence. Many of the students shuddered.

The professors at Hogwarts had apparently exchanged notes on how to keep students on edge. 

They were experts in psychology, microexpressions, and sarcasm, knowing how to use the simplest gestures and words to make students fear them.

"Mason, gnats don't just crawl around."

"Cassandra, you've killed fifteen beetles. Do you plan to string them up and roast them?"

"Bach, gnats don't have that many legs!"

Professor McGonagall scolded the students who couldn't get it right.

Soon, Hufflepuff's Chabi managed to turn a beetle into a gnat, drawing exclamations from the class.

But he had simply taken out a gnat he had prepared earlier and pretended it was a successful transformation. 

Professor McGonagall saw through him immediately and deducted fifteen points, instructing him to write an essay about honesty and beetles.

William flicked his wand lazily, and the beetle on his desk immediately transformed into a perfect gnat that looked indistinguishable from a real one.

The class gasped.

Professor McGonagall was very pleased and gave him a nod but still only awarded Ravenclaw one point.

She was stingy with her points for William. This had become a common understanding among the professors.

If any other student had done what William had just done, they would have earned ten points in an instant.

The house points system was meant to encourage participation, not to give one student a free pass to rack up points.

Given William's ability to rack up points, other students were simply no match for him, so they had to limit his point gains to avoid handing Ravenclaw an unfair advantage.

After a long and grueling lesson, the bell finally rang. Professor McGonagall assigned a lengthy essay about transfiguring animals into objects. It had to be two full parchment sheets.

The students groaned, but luckily, there were no Word processors in the wizarding world, so McGonagall couldn't demand they use small font sizes. They could still adjust the font size to make their essays look fuller.

William was excused from the assignment. Professor McGonagall thought he shouldn't waste his time on such simple tasks and deserved to focus on more challenging material.

His transfiguration skills had mysteriously been elevated in an odd way. 

McGonagall didn't know about the time loops and assumed his abilities had simply awakened.

After class, Professor McGonagall kept William behind.

"I've heard from Headmaster Dumbledore that you wish to study to become an Animagus?"

Professor McGonagall led William toward her office.

On the way, they encountered an unexpected traffic jam. It was the boy who lived—Harry Potter had just woken up and was on his way to the Great Hall for lunch.

However, Harry had clearly underestimated his own influence. From the moment he stepped out of the dormitory, whispers had followed him.

By the time they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, the way was completely blocked, with students standing on tiptoe, trying to get a glimpse of him.

McGonagall pursed her lips, her face grim, and after a moment, she barked, "Everyone move aside! If I catch anyone blocking the way, points will be deducted!"

Professor McGonagall rarely resorted to deducting points as a punishment. That was more of Professor Snape's style. 

McGonagall preferred to make students realize their mistakes with just a look.

But at times like this, she had to make herself clear.

Under McGonagall's orders, the crowd reluctantly parted.

Ron squeezed in next to Harry, looking a little too excited. 

It was his first time experiencing something like this, especially being part of a spectacle with so many eyes on him.

Normally, no one paid him much attention.

He held up a Hogwarts map, loudly proclaiming, "The Great Hall is on the first floor. We should take the stairs over there. This map is great, Harry. You should get one!"

McGonagall frowned and stopped walking. "Weasley, wait a moment."

"What is it, Professor?" Ron asked, nervously stepping back.

"Let me see that map."

"Oh, okay." Ron was a bit lost but carefully handed it over.

McGonagall examined the map, and at the top, in bold letters, it read: Akali's Mystery Shop.

The map revealed the complex layout of Hogwarts, with a dot marked, indicating Ron Weasley's location.

She tapped the map with her wand, and soon, an invisible hand seemed to write a message on it.

"Warning! This map is sold by Akali's Mystery Shop. Any further attempt to pry into commercial secrets or violate intellectual property will trigger self-destruct mode."

McGonagall looked up in surprise. "Mr.Weasley, where did you get this map?"

"Fred gave it to me. What's wrong, Professor? Is there a problem?" Ron stepped back nervously, thinking it might be a restricted item.

"No problem, but... this map doesn't look like something a young wizard would make."

"That's because it's one of our best-selling items at Akali's mystery Shop!" William immediately saw an opportunity and chimed in loudly.

"It's also a product developed by our team!"

"Oh, really?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

The students who had started to disperse gathered around again, forming a tight circle around them.

"What do you think of this map, Professor?" William asked.

"Not bad," McGonagall said, giving it another look. She continued to praise it.

Curious, McGonagall held the map in her hands and offered some professional feedback.

"William, your transfiguration skills are quite impressive, but the details are still lacking. For example, these staircases are severely distorted."

"And as for its security, any wizard skilled in Confundus Charms could probably break the map's control."

"Of course, I suspect you also have a master map, which monitors these sub-maps remotely. Quite the genius idea…"

With a flick of his wand, William made a piece of parchment and a feathered quill float into the air.

The quill swiftly began writing on the parchment.

Harry, who had been straining to look at the parchment, widened his eyes as he read the text.

"Professor McGonagall and Akali's mystery Shop held a productive discussion and exchanged valuable insights. Overall, this is a map that even Professor McGonagall praises.

She evaluated Hogwarts' current educational quality, pointing out that too many students waste valuable time getting lost. This was one of the key reasons for last semester's poor grades.

Professor McGonagall recommends that every student have a map of Hogwarts.

Get the Hogwarts Magic Map — Love Life, Love Maps, Wizards deserve to treat themselves better…"

Harry was left stunned.

Did Professor McGonagall really say all that? Had he spaced out and missed part of it?

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