26 First days at Hogwarts

The Morning had arrived and with it the first day of Hogwarts. I was accustomed to waking up early which made it easy to fit in my exercise before meeting Hermione. I got changed and went for a run around the school before doing my body-weight exercise. It was currently 6:45 am and I still had enough time to take a quick shower.

After having a refreshing shower, I found the lads still sleeping and did not disturb them. It would be up to them to learn their lesson and discipline themselves. I got changed into my grey uniform with my black cloak over the top before heading down to find Hermione already sitting down on our new favourite spot, the couch in the corner.

As I walked over, she soon saw me and indicated for me to sit next to her.

"I was just reading the timetable. It seems that the first three days are going to be tough if we don't have a guide. I say we go now and familiarise ourselves with the locations of the classes we have today so that we arrive on time." She said while looking at her timetable.

"What about waiting for Percy to guide us?" I asked with a smile.

"Oh please, I admit, he is as irresponsible as you said but there is no need to rub it in" she said indignantly while throwing a light punch to my arm.

We soon got up and exited the common room before making our way slowly, memorising the directions and landmarks that will make it easier to know where we are in the castle. We were much more productive than we thought, and we only took 1 and a half hours to figure out all the classroom locations, not only for today but for all of them.

The timetable said that we had transfiguration, potions, and herbology today which was ok.

We soon arrived back at our homeroom in order to get our books only to find a handful of first-years awake. Hermione was annoyed at our peers for being tardy. Ever since she heard about the point system, her need to gain points and minimise losses kicked in.

It was fun to watch and before long all the girls came out looking sleepy. As for the boys? I just said that I tried, and they ignored me. Fuck them, they need to learn through punishment. As for points? Who cares about those? They're only there for competition between the houses, there was no merit in winning.

The first three days went by just like this. Percy proved to be just how I described. A complete and utter waste of space, never helped the first years which lead to their tardiness and subsequent loss of points which infuriated Hermione.

I would calm her down by dragging her away as we continued to memorise the layout of the school. What we found the trickiest was the stairs and the doors. The stairs took a long time to figure out due to their moving pattern. Not only that but the traps on the stairs themselves. Sure, they won't kill you, but it'll hurt like a bitch.

Then there were the doors. I swear I almost used bombarda on the fucking doors. They were so tricky and shitty to deal with. Some had special ways to open, some looked like doors but weren't and some you needed to coerce to open. If it wasn't for Hermione, I would have already blown up half the doors in this place.

Hermione laughed at my angry expression which didn't help. The angrier I got the harder she laughed.

The classes were ok. Transfiguration is what as you would expect. Professor McGonagall was an incredibly strict but fair teacher. We went over theory work for the first day. On the second, we learned to transfigure a wooden toothpick into a metal pen.

I found it child's play as it was mostly dependant on visualisation and imagination. The clearer the image was in your head the easier it was to achieve the intended shape. I was able to make an intricate silver-white pen with a stylish yet simple design.

Professor McGonagall who was initially still angry at me, which could be seen on her face soon softened as she saw my talent in transfiguration. Hermione who saw me do this didn't want to be outdone and soon after produced a pen but with a much cruder design. While I got full points, Hermione got a little less.

The next day was much more interesting. Hermione and I were sitting in the front row waiting for the teacher to come in. Most other students had already arrived and only Potter and Weasley were missing.

Hermione looked at me and then at the grey cat sitting on the desk. "Do you think that this is the Professor's pet?" she asked me before continuing, "and why isn't the teacher here yet?"

I looked at her in amusement before staring at the cat.

"For your first question, you are incorrect that is not the professor's cat. As for your second question, who said she isn't here?" I said pretending to sound mysterious.

"What do you mea-" Hermione was cut off by the sound of panting as two kids came running in. It was of course Ron and Harry.

"Thank god we got here before Professor McGonagall otherwise we would be toast" said Ron as he wiped off the sweat building on his forehead.

Before he could say anything else the cat that was originally sitting on the desk leapt into the air. To the surprise of everyone present, the cat instantly turned into Professor McGonagall who walked forward before facing Ron and Harry.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed.

"Thank you for your assessment Mr Weasley, perhaps it would be more useful if I was to transfigure Mr Potter and yourself into a pocket watch? That way maybe one of you might be on time." She said while staring at the pair.

"We got lost," said Harry.

"Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats?" she asked rhetorically before walking towards me.

"Mr Knight, I am most intrigued as to how you knew I was the cat." She said curiously. I smiled before responding.

"The markings around the eyes in your cat form, they are made by your glasses, correct? I also saw that you were part of the seven registered Animagi," I said calmly. I did read about how to Identify an Animagus. Usually, they have a mark on their body when in animal form due to what they are wearing. In McGonagall's case, it was her glasses. I naturally also knew about the seven since they were the only ones to achieve transformation in the last century.

"Very observant Mr Knight" she said simply with a smile. She turned around and started her class for the day.