Chapter Eleven

Professor McGonagall actually served tea and scones when students came by to ask for help. Professor Flitwick had dancing cupcakes, and she had warm tea and scones. I was never one to say no to free food, and so as I aptly sat down and graciously accepted the offer for them, I dimly realized I didn't know how to breach the argument without sounding off, or on drugs. Then I realized I was in the Wizardry world.

"Professor, I'm sorry to bother you," I said before taking the first sip of tea, "But...I wanted to write back home, but I never...well," I looked sideways, "I never memorized the address."

Professor McGonagall said nothing at first. Then she coughed, awkwardly, and I realized it was because she had barely hidden a smile. "I see," she said with a strangely fond look. "Well, even the wittiest of Ravens tend to have their oddities, Mister Umbrus." She pulled her wand out, flicked it a bit, and a parchment floated from a neat pile all the way to her front desk.

On it, an address was scribbled. It was both an answer, and yet a troublesome thing.

The address, written for completion's sake, was of an orphanage.

"Thank you, professor," I said with a smile. "I promised some of my friends I'd write to them, but..." I looked down, "I didn't remember until recently." I coughed, trying my best slightly nervous expression. "Guess that makes me a bad Ravenclaw, doesn't it?"

"Goodness gracious, no," professor McGonagall rolled her eyes. "The wonders of Hogwarts are such it would be preposterous to expect any differently. Do not let the fascination for your House take over the way you wish to be, Mister Umbrus. Not all Ravenclaws are intelligent and smart, and not all Gryffindors are brave and kind." She then straightened a bit, "Concerning your transfiguration work in the classroom, however, that is where you need to work on."

I winced. "I try, but I think I got it. I thought wood had a viciousness factor to it, so I inherently applied more power to the spell-maybe if I applied a bit less-"

"Then the spell wouldn't start," professor McGonagall mentioned. "Young man, it's not the amount of magic that matters. It's what you wish to achieve. What do you think transfiguration is? An explosive snap? You need to imagine the smooth transitions between states, think of them as pictures, one after the other..." as she said that, I blinked. I hadn't thought of it that way. It went by so fast, did it mean I had to be the one to imagine the transitioning between the states?

"That's...I'll try it," I said.

"Do so in the proximity of the infirmary, Mister Umbrus," professor McGonagall said.

I took a sip of the offered tea. "Concerning wandless magic instead..."

"The viciousness factor can be, indeed, compared to the perceived difficulty of transforming a material into another that is different from its origin..." as professor McGonagall answered my question with something completely different, I furrowed my brows. It wasn't that wandless magic was such a foreign thing, was it? However, had anyone ever mentioned it to me? Had I ever seen it?

The answer was no.

I nodded every now and then to McGonagall's words, doing my best to remain interested until I had the time to ask another question. "Professor, how did you manage to make the parchment float without speaking the words of a spell?"

"That," Professor McGonagall answered, "is something you will learn in your sixth year at Hogwarts, Mister Umbrus. A Nonverbal spell requires a great deal of concentration and mental discipline, as well as a good amount of practice, but they will rarely be as strong as their verbal counterpart, barring some exceptions. Professor Flitwick would be delighted to speak more of this, however." I nodded, finished the tea, munched on the scone, and then happily waved Professor McGonagall goodbye.

What other students dreaded doing during the weekend afternoons, I called having a snack.

My head peeked inside professor Flitwick's office, finding the small man correcting the homework assigned. Mine stood in a corner, the Outstanding on it quite visible. "Ah, Mister Umbrus!" the man said excitedly, beaming me a smile. "Another Outstanding, just like what I'd expect from one of my students."

Well, it wasn't that hard to get straight-A's when you literally were an adult stuck in the body of a child.

"Thank you professor, I was told to come to you to ask about nonverbal spells?" as soon as I said that, and took an offered seat, professor Flitwick stopped grading the homework.

"Oh, you heard some sixth year student speak about those?" Professor Flitwick had an amused twitch on his lips, "Well, that is quite the advanced charm work, and quite the difficult thing to master."

"But how does it work?" I asked. "I tried it with the Flipendo, but nothing happens."

"Well," Filius' amusement didn't seem to end, "If you had managed something, Mister Umbrus, I would have felt elated. Such mastery of magic in someone so young would be incredible. Attempting spells in non verbal, or even wandless forms are usually things all students try at first, but they are never prepared for the kind of mental discipline they need until they become older, and wiser." He flexed his index finger, and a dancing cupcake emerged from the drawer of his desk.

It began to happily bounce back and forth, rolling a bit, "I would rather you sought out enjoyment in your school life, Mister Umbrus. You are quite the conscientious boy, clearly wise beyond your years, but don't forget that these are the best years of your life," he grinned, and made his index finger do a circle. The cupcake did a back-flip jump in reply and landed flawlessly on the table's surface.

"I know that, professor," I replied with a smile as the cupcake came to a halt in front of me. "But...I love these sort of challenges," I added, taking a bite of the cupcake. "And it's magic professor. How could studying it not be wonderful by itself?"

Professor Flitwick laughed, "Ah, the wonder in the eyes of a first year student is something that I never tire of seeing." His smile remained on his face, even as he shook his head. "It's sad how a few years of Magical Theory will transform it into a chagrined expression. Try to keep that sense of wonderment tight, Mister Umbrus."

I nodded, and left with another cupcake in my hands.

Those were quite some tasty cupcakes to begin with.

I was going down the spiraling staircase, minding my own business, when something cold slithered down my spine.

I froze.

It was a literal slithering cold sensation that suddenly began to expand through my clothes.

My eyes widened as I saw worms, squirming, countless worms pour out from my robes and clothes as a cold shower of water hit me straight in the face.

"Got another ickle firsty with the Whizzing Worms!" the voice of one of the Weasley Twin echoed on the upper floor of the staircase.

I remained dutifully still. A few students passed me by, but none knew what to do, apparently, and so they did nothing.

I remained there, quite calm.

Then, I calmly walked my way up to the seventh floor, stepped into the Room of Requirement, and dropped all of my clothes into a nearby bin. There were hundreds of baths in the room now, all filled with hot water.

I scrubbed myself clean.

"First, I kill the Weasleys," I growled.

"Then, I conquer this world and make pranking a capital offense."