A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 256 The Bravest Man at Hogwarts

Professor McGonagall walked away.

Ron sat there blankly, his face looking as if it had just been washed by the sea.

The other students at the Gryffindor table laughed, and their voices gradually rose again.

Hermione glanced sideways at Ron. "You shouldn't have said that about Professor McGonagall. She's so kind and approachable."

"That's for you!" Ron said, his face turning red.

"Would Professor McGonagall be angry if you didn't speak ill of her behind her back? Ron, you know you—"

"Don't tell me I deserved it," Ron said irritably.

"You deserve it!" Hermione snorted, then turned her gaze back and began scribbling on the magazine.

Harry, feeling a bit of a headache and fearing a fight between the two, quickly changed the subject, asking, "Hermione, what are you writing?"

Ron joined in, looking on curiously. He asked in surprise, "Why did you circle William's name with hearts?"

Hermione slammed the magazine shut, her face flushed with anger.

Not far away, Annie, who was chatting with Ginny, looked up, tilted her head, and tried her best to eavesdrop.

Hermione glanced at her and stammered, "That wasn't mine...it was my Bowtruckle...it was too naughty...probably..."

Annie looked at her with suspicion. She had felt that their relationship was not quite normal during the summer vacation.

She just hadn't found any fault with her, otherwise she would have already written to Lyanna.

"Goodbye! I'm going to the library!" She glared at Ron, hurriedly packed her books, and left.

Once Hermione was out of sight, Harry said speechlessly, "Ron, you've offended two of the most powerful witches in Gryffindor all at once."

"I was just asking out of curiosity," Ron said, pursing his lips.

"Don't you think Hermione and Professor McGonagall both have problems? Or are all women this annoying?"

Look, we usually have so much fun together, we never argue at all.

Harry sighed; he thought Ron was the one with the bigger problem.

He even wrote the word "Halach" on the top of his bed!

Isn't this the most normal thing to do?

Ron clicked his tongue and said nonchalantly, "So what if we offend her? Anyway, we're not allowed to copy Hermione's homework."

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again, shrugging helplessly.

You can't copy homework, but Hermione's notes are still very useful when it comes to final exam review!

Have you forgotten how you passed your first-grade exams?

Don't you have any self-awareness?

Harry sighed and pulled a copy of "Transfiguration Today" from his bag.

"Seriously, Harry? You even read this magazine?"

"I just suddenly realized that I'm still quite interested in Transfiguration."

The reasons, of course, are not as simple as Harry made them out to be.

That day he saw William, Autumn, and Cedric discussing the magazine together, chatting and laughing.

It seems that Qiu really likes this magazine.

If he can understand even a little bit, the two of them will probably have a lot more to talk about next time they meet.

There's no need for awkward small talk there.

When it comes to being a simp, how could Harry possibly let Cedric leave him in the dust?

He also started overtaking on curves and climbed the ranks like crazy at the beginning of the season.

Ron forked a piece of sausage, put it in his mouth, and said enviously, "I heard from George and Fred that William will receive the International Wizarding Youth Scholarship, which is two thousand Galleons!"

If I also learn Animagus, will I be able to get two thousand Galleons?

Harry wasn't particularly interested in money. He casually remarked, "Probably, don't overthink it, bro. We can't even understand this paper."

"Not understanding it doesn't mean we can't learn this magic. Professor McGonagall must have given William some private guidance. We just don't have a teacher to help us," Ron muttered.

"If you could transform into an animal, what would you want to be?"

"I want to become the Golden Flying Man!" Harry exclaimed excitedly.

The Golden Snitch is an extremely rare bird. Before the Golden Snitch was created, Seekers hunted down the Golden Snitch.

This magical creature is as fast as the Golden Snitch; if Harry were to transform into a bird, he could secretly follow Cho without her noticing.

"Don't be ridiculous, Golden Flying Man is a magical creature. Animagus can't become magical creatures," Ron grinned.

"How did you know?" Harry asked curiously.

Ron was even worse at Transfiguration than him, yet he knew about these things?

"I heard it from someone else... well, from Percy." Ron rolled his eyes and quickly explained.

Harry nodded, not paying much attention.

"If I had that ability, I'd turn Malfoy into a rat and put him next to my Scabbers," Ron thought to himself, a smile playing on his lips.

"Don't overthink it, Ron. We can't even fix the buttons in the first class. Professor McGonagall will definitely give us a hard time next class."

"Harry!" Ron snapped his eyes open, huffing and puffing, "You've ruined the happiest fantasy of my life!"

Harry shook his head and continued looking at the magazine he couldn't understand, ignoring Ron's daydreaming.

……

……

On Wednesday afternoon, William had his first lesson on protecting magical animals.

They took the course together with the Hufflepuff students.

When William and Cho arrived at a paddock near the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, an old man was already waiting there.

Professor Kettleburn was probably the strangest teacher besides Professor Binns.

He was very old, with a white beard that reached his waist, and most notably, he only had one hand and one leg.

Because of his limited mobility, he leaned on a cane... floating in mid-air, like Venus.

What a cool entrance!

That's so classy!

"Children, come here quickly!" he called out. "I have something good to show you today! We're about to have a wonderful lesson! Is everyone here?"

Okay, follow me!

Professor Kettleburn floated like a ghost, slowly moving toward the paddock.

Everyone stared at the professor with curiosity.

"Professor, how are you floating in mid-air?" Shabby from Hufflepuff asked.

"Oh, nobody knows?" Professor Kettleburn looked around, somewhat disappointed.

William raised his hand.

"Please speak!"

"It's a Billywig bug. They have a long, thin stinger at the bottom of their bodies. Once stung by a Billywig bug, you'll feel dizzy and then float up unsteadily."

"That's right! Child, who are you?" Professor Kettleborn asked happily.

"William Stark".

"Oh, Mr. Stark, yes, I've heard Newt mention you. Very good, Ravenclaw, ten points."

"As everyone has noticed, my leg isn't very mobile, so I can only use this method to teach each time. How about it? Anyone want to give it a try?"

With a wave of his hand, Kettleburn was covered in a dense swarm of Billywig bugs.

The insect was about an inch long, entirely blue, and had a bright, jewel-like sheen.

William got goosebumps and his trypophobia kicked in instantly.

"Come on, don't be shy! Give it a try, it'll earn you extra college points!" Professor Kettleburn grinned.

Even though he said that, everyone gasped and backed away.

If there was any debate before about "who is the bravest man at Hogwarts"?

Now everything has vanished.

There is no further controversy.

"It's okay. Using this slightly cool toxin will numb your nerves and give you a little bit of pleasure."

Your mind will feel light and airy, drifting into that ethereal state…

Professor Kettleburn, while promoting the idea, manipulated the little bug and gave it a few tries.

"Is the professor crazy?" Qiu asked in a low voice.

"Haha, I'm not crazy, not crazy! Really, I can still do it, look at me, aren't I great?"

Everyone stared at Professor Kettleburn, who was missing an arm and a leg... His words were completely unconvincing!

William strongly suspected that the professor lost his legs and arms because of his reckless behavior.

Sure enough, it proved that saying true once again:

Hogwarts is a strange place. The Headmaster of Gryffindor loves gambling, the Potions Professor is afraid of going bald, the Key Keeper loves petting dragons, and the Master of Magical Creatures is always courting death.

……

……

(Thanks to "Dao You Qing Liu Bu You", "LIEbe", "Book Friend 20191007135339681", and "Feng Ling Shiwu" for their donations.)

(End of this chapter)