Ch49 Transfiguration Class

Hadrian entered the first class of Transfiguration, observing the Hufflepuffs sitting on the left side while Gryffindors sat on the right.

Everybody was excited to finally learn some magic.

Hadrian found an empty seat in the middle of the classroom and sat behind a bunch of girls giggling and pointing at the cat calmly observing the class. He looked forward and realized the only girl in the group who was looking out of place, quietly playing with her fingers was sitting right in front of him. She was throwing timid glances at the pigtailed blonde sitting next to her, Hannah Abbott, Hadrian noted. It was clear that the girl and Hannah were not yet as close friends as he thought because Hannah wasn't really paying attention to her while the girl was too shy to join the group.

Susan Bones.

The other... target of the ol' Twinkles. Hadrian's lips twitched upward. Maybe, just maybe he might be able to prevent it? Or at least make manipulating her as hard as possible.

He poked the girl in the back, making her meekly turn around. As she faced Hadrian, her unsure restless brown eyes met with Hadrian's emerald gaze for a second. Hadrian noted the thick Occlumency shields behind those big cute eyes but not even an ounce of emotion control.

Amelia probably wanted Susan's mind to be protected but didn't teach her how to use it for quieting down her emotions, fearing it would stunt her emotional growth. Well, there was a reason why the skill was not taught to kids... mostly.

Susan quickly diverted her gaze downward as her round cheeks pinked, highlighting her numerous freckles. She lowered her head with practiced ease as her red hair slid down, covering her face from sight.

"Yes?" She asked so quietly Hadrian had to strain his ears to hear her.

'Bad in a new environment and quite anti-social, I see.' He concluded. 'Maybe this was what the hat meant by sorting people who need a friend into the Hufflepuff... Sigh, it's always the quiet ones, isn't it?'

"Hello, I am Harry." He whispered to her and enthusiastically reached his hand forward.

Susan looked his hand like a deer into the headlights, almost breathless.

'This is it. Auntie told me to make friends!' Her gaze gained resolve as she timidly reached forward and weakly grabbed his fingers instead of his entire hand. She shook it ever so slightly as she introduced herself in an unsure tone.

"Susan Bones. Pleasure."

Hadrian nodded at her while putting his best reassuring smile on his face.

"Any experience with Transfiguration? I heard many people already tried it with their friends." He asked, breaching the topic he wanted to know about.

The girl shuffled uncomfortably as she fought her urge to run but still answered.

"Wouldn't know, I wasn't allowed outside the house." She muttered unconsciously with a pout but then realized the words actually came out of her mouth rather than staying in her mind and her cheeks reddened even more.

"I-, no, I have no experience." Her voice got progressively weaker and Hadrian could see her biting her lower lip in embarrassment.

'So... lonely, insecure, and seeking positive attention.' He concluded Susan's current state. 'Oh, the horrors Dumbledore would be able to do with somebody like this!'

"I see." Hadrian stated plainly and noted her awkward upturned gaze, his mind running through probable paths he could take with her. In a split of a second, his mind was made as he tilted his head. "Say, Sue," Her mouth slightly opened in bafflement at hearing such an affectionate nickname but Hadrian pretended to not notice. "wanna be friends?"

Susan stared at him for a while until for the first time a big sweet smile spread through her face.

"Yes." She exclaimed and started nodding enthusiastically.

"Well, we can..." He stopped himself when he realized the previously giggling girls were now looking at him and Susan with stars in their expectant eyes. He blinked, completely speechless when Susan also noticed and yelped, unconsciously pulling her body away from Hannah.

Fortunately for the duo, the bell rang and their observers just turned around with a pout.

"Great Hall?" Susan asked Hadrian with a hopeful stare, conveying her intentions.

Hadrian nodded at her, getting another bashful smile in return as she too turned around, not wanting to be caught talking when the Professor came.

Hadrian looked at the cat that was now pointedly staring at him and Susan. He averted his gaze and looked down at his desk in a feign shyness.

The next few minutes were excruciatingly boring as he just sat there, looking in front of him in silence.

For the first two minutes of staring ahead, Hadrian watched the form of happily fidgeting Susan and found her quite adorable.

He drummed his finger onto the table as he eventually slowly strayed his gaze to the cat in a curious manner but inside he was mentally deadpanning at McGonagall for wasting time just to catch some idiot who is late.

Hadrian, fed up, opened his coursebook, and started reading, not impressed at all. He offhandedly noticed Susan slightly turning her head towards him as she heard the flipping of pages and when she saw his opened book she also opened hers, starting to read.

McGonagall observed the children as she performed her yearly ritual, happy that no catnip appeared nowhere in her classroom due to a certain... Weasley duo.

In the entire classroom, only Granger, Potter, and Bones actually had the wits to open their books while the Professor was 'away'. It was kind of a pitiful sight for her, looking at the bored faces of the children, so excited to learn about magic yet having no will to open the books.

Every year, she repeated this, and every year she found only a minuscule amount of children sensible enough to strive for their own studies without being led by their hands. For McGonagall, these dedicated first years were her reason for teaching, her resolve.

Just as she was about to transform into her human form and start the lesson, the doors flew wide open as Weasley, judging by his carrot-like head, and Longbottom boy entered the classroom, huffing and puffing in exertion.

"... imagine McGonagall's face if she found out we were late?" She heard, gaining a protruding vein on her cat-ish forehead. It was time to give them some much needed verbal lashing!

The class was quite interesting for Hadrian as McGonagall explained the workings of Transfiguration. In the last ten minutes, she handed over matchsticks and told them what to do.

Hadrian tried it the old-fashioned wizardry way but... nothing happened. Annoyed, he raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall approached him, curious.

"Professor, may I ask you to show me the demonstration again, please?"

McGonagall was taken aback. It has been years since a first year asked her for a second demonstration. Shrugging it off, she relented as she slowly transfigured the matchstick in front of Mr. Potter to an intricate needle, watching him intently staring at it.

"Thank you, Professor." He beamed at her as she went to help other students.

Hadrian used his perception to its fullest as he watched the second demonstration and couldn't help but be enamored at it. He barely quipped thanks to McGonagall and waited until she left as he gripped his wand and pointed at his matchstick.

His magic invaded the wood and slowly flipped the inner structure off. What really made Hadrian astonished was that it did not use an ounce of science known to him. No molecular interaction, no restructuration of atomical set-up in order to enforce a change as he previously guessed.

No, the wood was directly changed to metal and then shaped according to the intent of the user. What distinguished Transfiguration from other magics was the process itself. The magic was literally imbued into the object, seeping it in itself before twisting its structure according to the imagination.

Hadrian was completely enamored with it, the world around himself lost all color as his interest mixed with curiosity peaked, his excitement and wonder forcing his mind to completely disregard his surroundings. He didn't even notice the looks of the class and McGonagall as he casually started to flip the color of the needle from metallic to blue, green, red, yellow, purple.

He was about to change the needle to a spiky star when his ears heard a sharp gasp of awe in front of him. Lifting his eyes, he met Susan's admiring look head-on and realized.

He fucked up.

He let himself be too focused on the marvelous use of magic in front of him that he showed his skill! Such a childish mistake, he chided himself angrily.

Only thanks to the sweet girl in front of him he stopped before he showed too much. Changing colors at high speed was... advanced. Third-year stuff. But if he started to change shapes as fast as eye blinks? Ugh, he doesn't really want to think about the problems that would cause.

He gave Susan a grateful smile. He will have to return the unintentional favor sometimes!

"That was marvelous, Mr. Potter. You read quite a bit ahead, I see. Twenty points to Hufflepuff." McGonagall appreciatively nodded, her eyes showing happiness at the conclusion her mind reached as she stood before Granger's desk, appraising her work as the girl was scowling at Hadrian because she got only ten for being first.

The class continued and Hadrian deemed it unsafe to practice in a place with so many 'witnesses'. He relocated himself next to flushing Susan, telling her to try it. She flicked her wand and Hadrian's brows furrowed. She had the same problem as him at the start. She had no idea what to do. Neither of the kids in the class did. Even Granger only did it due to extraordinary focus and intent. They had, however, no flunking idea what the heck it was they were doing.

During the short interaction Hadrian had with the redhead next to him, he quite came to like her. Albeit increasingly shy, she was very friendly. Her reactions were amusing to say the least too.

With a calming smile, he gently grabbed her wrist, making her squeak.

"Sue, will you keep a secret for me?" He whispered to her, getting a bashful nod in return as she nibbled her lower lip. "In that case focus on what I do, okay?"

Seeing another nod, Hadrian pointed Susan's wand at the matchstick and guided his magic, intertwining it with hers so she could feel what he did as he changed it.

Susan widened her eyes. She felt it. Harry just changed the matchstick and he did it wandlessly!

"Try it." He told her but she was too shaken up to give him a reply.

Her Aunt always told her wandless Transfiguration is impossible! Yet, here it was. Did her Aunt lie to her? Surely not, she probably didn't know! But... she promised to keep it a secret for Harry. Uuuu, she will have to keep it quiet.

After her mind finally cleared up, she did not want to disappoint her new friend and tried to imitate what he did. The results were... ugh. She transfigured the matchstick into a metallic shape with blunt ends but when she expected a disappointed look from Harry, he just patiently told her to try again.

Susan wasn't about to give up when he trusted her! She tried, and tried, and tried again but IT... JUST... DIDN'T... WORK!

She sadly looked at her new friend trying to keep her tears and sobs inside.

Hadrian didn't understand what she did wrong. He looked at her hand, desperately clutching her wand and... her wand... wait, her wand!

He let Susan's wrist go, hearing her whimper, and reached for her wand. The girl quickly let go of her wand, giving it to him as he put it on the table. He pointed his wand on the matchstick with his left hand as his right yet again gently grabbed Susan's wrist.

"Try now. Exactly as I did." He whispered to her calmingly, getting a jerky nod in return.

Susan pushed her magic and her eyes widened when a perfect, intricate iron needle appeared in front of her. She mutely looked at her hand, noting the soft, gentle hold Harry had on it, her face flushed deep red as the bell rang, signifying the end of the class.

Susan looked at Harry's satisfied expression. She was happy! He just taught her a wandless spell! She leaned closer, pecking his cheek but then realized what she just did.

"See you in the Great Hall!" She barely squeaked as she abruptly stood up and ran away.

Hadrian raised his eyebrow, ignoring the girlish giggles from Hannah and co.

'Cute.' he mused, internally rolling his eyes at the giggles, amused at Susan's beet-red face.