Lesson Resume Ⅲ

The following day, Wednesday wasn't so bad except that they had transfiguration. Professor McGonagall had apparently caught a cold from being out in the cold and was forcefully resting in the infirmary under the watchful eye of Matron Pomfrey. Poppy wasn't about to let a patient escape under her watch even if the said patient was a professor!

None of the older years had the new assistant Professor teach a class, since Professor Norman Hopkins taught the younger years. (A muggleborn), Professor Hopkins was a meticulously dressed wizard with a strict demeanor. He had a cleft chin and heavily gelled hair.

Professor Hopkins sternly stared at the fifth-year Slytherin-filled classroom. "Professor McGonagall is out for the rest of the week," he sternly said. "I expect for my class to be taken seriously." Although something about his tone suggested that he would dock points and assign weeks of detention if otherwise.

The classroom is silent except that seemed to have rubbed Terry wrong, because Terry innocently smiled at their professor. "Uh oh!" Tiffany can be heard whispering as they all pale at spotting the seemingly innocent smile that hid a torrent of maliciousness.

Rowan instantly looks for an open seat to move away and Severus pointedly scoots as far as possible from Terry. Bethanie hugs Tiffany to her chest as if to protect her while Sylvia begins to nervously chew on her lip. Even Sylvia knew there was nothing she or anyone could do to stop Terry when he got that innocent gleam in his eyes.

Professor Hopkins points to the cages at the front of the classroom full of ferrets. "Today, we will be transforming ferrets into feather dusters as the reading from your textbook, Intermediate Transfiguration." he said to the classroom. "Everyone will take one for the duration of the class and I expect you all to keep an eye on the ferrets. The loss or the misplacement of a ferret will cause a loss of house points including detention."

Professor Hopkins grabs a squeaking white ferret with blue eyes from a cage by the neck. Rowan frowns at the rough treatment of the ferret. "Pluma Mygale!" He said and instantly the ferret vanished with a small puff and instead a white feather duster was now in his hand.

"Easy enough," Professor Hopkins matter-of-factly declared, before reverting the ferret back to its original form and returning it back to the cage. "Now everyone come up and grab a ferret."

Everyone warily went down, but Terry went down all along as his friends gave him a wide breach. The other Slytherin students picked up on the cue as even Gertrude Fowl and Hortense Sicca pointedly remained silent and ignored Terry. In fact, all the Slytherin eased away from the innocent-looking 5th-year student.

Everyone commences to practice back at their desks, but Rowan merely pets the silky soft ferret on her desk, who lays on its back to get a tummy rub. Sylvia is too distracted to properly concentrate, while Tiffany murmurs the defense charm under her breath. Only Severus and Bethanie attempt to cast the spell but have less than spectacular results. Severus's feather duster still has fur and can move on its own, while Bethanie's feather duster still has a tail.

"Prefect Prince why are you not practicing the spell-like the rest of your classmates?" Professor Hopkins sternly said.

Rowan is uncertain of how exactly to respond. It was a regular battle between her and Professor McGonagall arguing over the cruelty of transforming animals into inanimate existences. It was an argument that tended to give Professor McGonagall a pulsating twitch in her forehead, but Rowan never backed down either. They were regularly at an impasse.

However, this time Rowan was more worried about Terry than picking an argument with the transfiguration professor. Even more concerning, Terry had put his ferret down, who promptly scurried across the floor back to its cage. Trying not to sound rude, she merely replies, "I'm against the transfiguration of living things."

Professor Hopkins frowns before light dawned in his eyes. "So, you're that student," he pursed his lips. "Well, whether you believe in such a thing, I still expect for you to attempt the coursework, Miss Prince. Now, preferably."

Rowan coolly gazes back causing Professor Hopkin to furrow his brows. "Ten points from Slytherin for disrespect!" He said causing the other students to glance at Rowan.

Rowan didn't even bat an eyelash and stared calmy right back. "Twenty points from Slytherin for insubordination!" Yet nothing changed feeling his temper at an end. "Detention with Caretaker Filch this weekend!"

Maybe, Professor Hopkins would have continued except he noticed Rowan's eyes grow wide. "I am speaking-," he angrily said turning around, before the words die down in his mouth.

What had once been Terry's class desk now sported large, purple tentacles. Severus, Tiffany, Sylvia, and Bethanie had scooted hastily away from the purple monstrosity. The ferrets in the classroom nosily squeaked and fled back to their cages or out of the classroom.

"Mr. Greengrass!" Professor Hopkins said before a slimy purple tentacle wrapped his head shuts him up. In fact, various tentacles wrap around his body, before the lower tentacle legs stand up and scamper out of the classroom dragging the struggling transfiguration assistant professor right out of the classroom.

There is a stunned silence as everyone in the classroom just stares at the delicate-looking youth with floppy hair and innocent hazel eyes, Terry Greengrass. Instead of fear or panic, Terry ruefully remarks, "Did you know that female devilfish are semelparous animals and will typically kill and eat their mates."

"By Salazar's pointy beard," Sylvia can faintly be heard saying.

"Just kidding," Terry chuckled. "I only transfigured the legs."

Yet for some reason, none of them can get rid of the spinetingling feeling running down the back of their necks. A curly-haired boy with blue eyes is the first to bolt. "I'm getting a professor!" Felton Graham called out in panic. He had been on the wrong side of Terry Greengrass for far too long and even more so considering they were dormmates. He was not going down as an accessory to a crime!

The rest of the class quickly begins to pack as Sylvia seems to mumble to herself, "It was just a prank-," as if trying to futilely convince herself that was the case.

Bethanie glares at Terry and guides Sylvia out of the classroom with Tiffany close behind. Severus and Rowan remain behind both staring at Terry, who cheerfully strolls after his courting partner, Sylvia. Severus and Rowan are left alone staring at each other. They solemnly vowed at that instant that if they were stuck on an island, they'd kill Terry off first. And if anyone mysteriously vanished, they also knew who the responsible perpetrator was Terry Greengrass.

In the end, Professor Hopkins was safely found if not a bit traumatized. Terry never did end up losing any house points or having to serve any detentions. In fact, it was as though Professor Hopkins had forgotten all about it. But Rowan like the rest of the Slytherins was absolutely certain that Professor Hopkins was far too terrified of Terry to do so. Though that didn't stop the rumors from spreading while Professor Hopkins was in the infirmary and Professor Morticia Disick, the assistant Professor of Charms covered the Transfiguration class for the rest of the week.

(On a side note, Professor Disick was a pureblood witch with springy hair that was always escaping from being tied by a ribbon. Her crooked nose had been broken from her time as a chaser playing for Gryffindor. She was rather excitable and enjoyed interacting with her students.)