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The trio—Moriarty, Lilith, and Jericho—entered the Transfiguration classroom to find a curious sight: a tabby cat grooming itself atop the podium.
Wait—no, no, no!
It was Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form!
One cat. Three students. Four pairs of eyes locked in an awkward stare. Big human eyes versus small feline ones.
"Meow~" The tabby cat gave a startled jump, leapt down from the podium, and darted out of the classroom with an urgency befitting someone caught off-guard.
Lilith stood frozen, Jericho looked as if reality had betrayed him, and Moriarty sighed. "Someone once told me the first student to enter the classroom always risks seeing something... unintended. Should've listened. Next time, we arrive late."
"That was Professor McGonagall!" Jericho cried in despair. "It's over, it's all over! She saw us see her! Wait—based on cat behavior... was she bathing?"
Lilith stared at Jericho as though witnessing an alien species, her expression riddled with disbelief at his wildly inventive logic. Moriarty imagined her brain filled with exclamation marks.
Bang!
The door slammed open, making the trio jump. For a second, they feared Professor Snape had stormed in.
But it was Professor McGonagall's cold, clipped voice that cut through the air: "Moriarty! Piliwick! Blanche! Do you intend to stand there for the entire lesson?"
The three scrambled into the third row and took their seats without protest. A wooden box floated beside Professor McGonagall, resting silently at her feet. No one dared ask about its contents. Best to keep quiet.
Jericho passed a note: Merlin help me. Please let today be the day I'm not her target. I think she heard what I said! What do you think?
Lilith scribbled back: Save yourself. She looks ready to hex someone. That door slam almost gave me a heart attack—I thought only Snape entered like that!
Moriarty noticed McGonagall's sharp gaze flicking their way. He discreetly tucked his note away and drew his cedar wand. A flick and a whisper turned the parchment into a koi-shaped paper fish. It twitched its tail and floated lazily through the air.
McGonagall's expression softened—minutely—before turning back to the door.
Jericho and Lilith let out silent sighs of relief. Then, Moriarty's system pinged a random task: "Feed Professor McGonagall dried fish or groom her fur while she's in Animagus form! Reward: 500 points. Punishment: None."
"System, are you actively trying to get me killed?" Moriarty muttered. "Do you think dying repeatedly makes someone a behind-the-scenes villain?"
Lately, the system had developed a taste for embarrassing missions, and Moriarty was losing patience.
"And why can't a frequently-killed wizard become a mastermind?" the system argued. "Imagine if Neville Longbottom were Voldemort. Would anyone suspect him? Exactly—no one!"
"You've been reading too much fanfiction," Moriarty retorted, chuckling.
At that moment, the Gryffindors arrived, led by Percy Weasley. He greeted Moriarty politely, but McGonagall barked, "Weasley! Is your seat on fire?"
Looking stunned, Percy dropped into his seat. The other Gryffindors followed, subdued by McGonagall's stormy presence.
Minutes later, the Slytherins entered and took their usual places behind Moriarty's group.
McGonagall strode to the center of the classroom, drew her wand, and pointed to the wooden box.
"Second-years," she announced, "you will now learn to transform a living creature into an inanimate object."
The box vanished, revealing a swarm of live beetles crawling over one another. The sudden disappearance of their confinement sent them into a confused frenzy.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
McGonagall's spell lifted the beetles into the air, one hovering before each student. Moriarty caught a whiff of soil and maple from the red beetle before him. Its legs kicked frantically, but it could not escape.
"Today's lesson is to transfigure your beetle into a button."
McGonagall's tone was clipped and no-nonsense.
Without delay, Moriarty pointed his cedar wand and smoothly transformed his beetle into a red button with four neat buttonholes. The beetle's legs had become thin black threads woven through the holes.
Lilith murmured that with a shirt, Moriarty could sew it on instantly.
"Perfect transformation," McGonagall said, impressed. "Ten points to Slytherin."
"Nice," Lilith praised, smiling wide—perhaps too wide.
Moriarty quickly realized why: Lilith had raised her wand with dramatic flair. McGonagall adjusted her spectacles warily as Lilith brought the wand down sharply onto her target beetle.
With a pop, it became a black button with four twitching legs. It promptly scuttled in place on her desk, unable to find its bearings.
The students gathered excitedly to see. Jericho poked it gently with one finger, watching its legs flail.
"Haha, it's adorable!" Jericho laughed.
Lilith snatched her animated button back with a frown. "Why did this happen?"
McGonagall approached, inspecting it. "An old-school transfiguration, Miss Piliwick. Well done. But you overlooked one detail—activity."
"Activity?" Lilith echoed, transforming her button back into a beetle, which resumed running wildly.
Moriarty also reversed his spell. His beetle sat perfectly still, as if unsure whether it was still a button.
"See the difference?" Moriarty told Lilith. "My transfiguration altered its shape and suppressed its sentience. Yours retained its life."
"That's... cruel," came a dreamy voice from the back.
All eyes turned to Keith, whose distant stare turned sheepish. "Kidding, just kidding! Don't mind me."
Jericho elbowed him. "Please don't tell anyone you're in Slytherin."
"Yes, yes," Keith groaned, rubbing his forehead. "I spaced out."
"Mr. Blanche," McGonagall's glare pinned Jericho, "if you're not seated in three seconds, I will deduct three points."
Jericho zipped back to his seat and pointed his wand at his beetle. His first attempt turned it round like a ball. The second made it flat.
"Oh no..." he sighed, fearing point deductions. But McGonagall moved on. Compared to the chaos among the others, Jericho's progress wasn't bad.
Percy had decapitated his beetle, while Ralbo had somehow made his leap in panic.
Moriarty heard Ralbo grumble, "Bloody stupid class—this beetle's vomiting!"
"Stupid class? My class?" McGonagall's eyes blazed. "Ten points from Slytherin, Mr. Ralbo!"
Ralbo jerked up, stammering apologies.
Jericho winced. "That used to be me," he whispered. "At least Moriarty fixed me. Ralbo's still lost."
"Sir, I'll talk to them after class," Jericho offered. But then Lilith tugged on Moriarty's sleeve.
"See? I just can't make it inactive. Is it because I subconsciously want to kill it?"
"In essence, yes," Moriarty nodded. "But you don't need to kill it. Just imagine it as something lifeless."
"Alright~www.readwn.com," Lilith replied sweetly, then focused. She waved her wand with intent, channeling a controlled spell.
Moriarty sensed the transfiguration unfolding in proper sequence. The beetle transformed cleanly into a black button—no legs twitching this time.
"It still has four legs!" Lilith pouted.
"But this time, it's motionless," Moriarty noted. "You've removed its vitality. Now just work on the coordination. Keep practicing—you're close."
Moriarty wasn't exaggerating. Most of the class was still struggling at Jericho's level, attempting to flatten or round the beetles with mixed results.
Eventually, the bell rang. McGonagall waved her wand, vanishing the box.
"Class dismissed. Take your beetles. For homework, write a fifteen-inch essay on today's transfiguration. Due next lesson."
The students groaned in unison.
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