Hogwarts: I will never become the Dark Lord

Chapter 15 Hogwarts Library

"Remember the duration of a polymorph spell; it depends on the caster's concentration, mana strength, and the size of the object being transformed, among other things..."

During his summer vacation at the orphanage, Jerry tried Transformation. He wanted to turn a small stick into a needle. He tried for several days, but only the two ends of the stick showed a metallic sheen. Moreover, the transformation did not last long before it turned back.

Jerry asked, "Professor McGonagall, what if I turned something else, like poison, into food?"

Hearing Jerry's words, McGonagall looked at him with some surprise and replied, "There is a basic principle of transmutation in the magical world, the Gump Basic Transmutation Law. Wizards can transform objects, but there are five exceptions, one of which is food. Transmutation cannot turn anything other than edible into food, not even Professor Dumbledore."

"Professor McGonagall, what if a person is transformed into an animal? Will they have consciousness? What's the difference between transfiguration turning a person into an animal and Animagus?"

"Turning a person into an animal means they have no intelligence or consciousness. Unless you control them with magic, they will only act according to animal instincts. This is the biggest difference between them and Animagus."

After hearing Professor McGonagall's answer, Jerry nodded and sat back down.

"Listen up, students, please do not use shapeshifting unless you are absolutely sure of the results, especially experiments that turn people into animals, if you don't want to be expelled."

Professor McGonagall looked at the students who were whispering and discussing amongst themselves, and gave them another warning.

“Now, I’m giving each of you a match. Your task is to try your best to turn the match into a needle before the end of class.” With that, Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a match appeared on each of the seats.

"From now on, remember what I said. You must concentrate. Imagine the shape of the needle in your mind. Don't swing your wand at too wide an angle." Professor McGonagall stepped down from the podium and moved between the desks to check on the students.

Jerry did the same, trying hard to visualize the shape of a needle in his mind—a needle without any patterns. Then he waved his wand at the match, and in an instant, Jerry felt a strange magical power appear, just like when he practiced before, only this time he felt it more clearly.

Under the magic wand, Jerry Matchstick's appearance slowly changed, its entire body gradually turning silver-white, and one end becoming sharp.

After finishing, Jerry held it in his hand and looked at it. It was the same size and thickness as a matchstick, with one end sharp and the whole thing had a silvery-white metallic luster.

Looking at the match in his hand, Jerry thought that although it was a bit ugly, it should, maybe, probably count as a success!

“Mr. Grimm, you’re not swinging your wand the right way. You need to lift it up a little. Don’t let your mind wander when you’re transforming it. Here’s another match. Try it again.”

McGonagall looked at the object that resembled a needle in Jerry's hand with some surprise. She hadn't expected Jerry to have such a talent for transformation. Although he hadn't turned the match into a needle, it wasn't far off.

After getting the match back, Jerry continued his previous actions, only this time he was more focused.

The match transformed much faster under the wand's touch than before. The matchstick quickly turned silvery-white, its shape thinned, and one end became sharper, eventually turning into a needle.

"Phew~" Jerry breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time heard the system notification: "Transformation Lv.1, 3.9%".

Seeing the needle on Jerry's table, McGonagall strode over, picked it up, glanced at it, then held it up and exclaimed, "Look, everyone, Mr. Green has finished! Slytherin gets five points!"

“Jerry, your talent for Transfiguration is truly remarkable. If you are interested in Transfiguration, you can come to my office to find me if you have any questions in the future.” Professor McGonagall, unlike her usual serious demeanor, spoke to Jerry with a smile.

"Of course, Professor McGonagall, I am very interested in Transfiguration. I even tried to practice it during the summer vacation, but I was unsuccessful. I will definitely ask you for advice if I have any questions in the future."

After hearing Jerry's words, McGonagall nodded with some appreciation, then resumed her serious demeanor and went to check on the other students.

Before leaving, Professor McGonagall told Jerry that he could try adding some patterns to the needle. Jerry tried it, and some patterns did appear on the smooth surface of the needle, but none of them were what Jerry wanted. It wasn't until the end of get out of class that Jerry reluctantly added a snake pattern to the needle.

As soon as get out of class ended, Hermione strode over, sat down next to Jerry, picked up the patterned needle, and said to Jerry, "Jerry, you're amazing!"

“You’re great too, Hermione. Professor McGonagall gave you extra points too!”

Hermione was a little embarrassed. Throughout the entire Transfiguration class, only one end of her matchstick had become slightly rounded, far less impressive than Jerry's Transfiguration.

Seeing that she was still worried about the Transfiguration class, Jerry pulled Hermione up and said, "Let's go, we can practice Transfiguration slowly. Didn't we agree to go to the library?"

After hearing this, Hermione stopped thinking about Transfiguration and left the classroom with Jerry.

……

Hogwarts' library is located on the second floor of the castle, with walls made up of thousands of bookshelves, each filled with all kinds of books. They are arranged in an orderly manner according to themes and subjects, forming a huge grid of knowledge.

Narrow aisles meander between the bookshelves, creating a labyrinthine effect.

At the center of the library is a huge reading table, its soft yet bright lights illuminating the entire space.

Surrounding the reading table are some old wooden chairs, carved with magical runes, providing students with a comfortable and conducive reading environment for concentration.

Deep within the library lies a large door leading to a mysterious restricted section. There, books deemed too dangerous or too precious are kept, and only select students and professors are permitted entry.

As soon as the two entered the library, Hermione was drawn to the enormous stone archway, which was carved with various intricate magical symbols and ancient incantations.

"Jerry, do you know what this script is?"

Jerry examined the characters on the door carefully, shook his head, and said, "I'm not quite sure either. They seem to be runes. We can check them at the library later."

"Gentlemen, this is the library. No loud noises allowed. Please watch your voices."

Jerry and Hermione quickly apologized.

"I am the librarian of Hogwarts Library. You can call me Mrs. Pince. In addition to no fighting, it is strictly forbidden to graffiti or damage books in the library. If I find you doing so, I will definitely hand you over to Filch. Also, please note that the library closes at eight o'clock in the evening, so be mindful of your reading time."

Chapter 16 Agreement

"Let's find a seat first!"

After Hermione and Jerry walked around for a while, they found two empty seats and sat down. Hermione took out the Transfiguration homework that McGonagall had assigned and started writing.

Jerry was now somewhat distracted; he planned to first wander around the deeper parts of the library, around the outer edge of the restricted book section.

Arriving at the iron gate of the forbidden book area, Jerry felt a cold wind blow as he approached the door, as if warning him. He tried, but the gate was locked. He wondered if the unlocking spell could open it.

"What are you doing here? This is the restricted area. Students are not allowed to enter without a professor's permission." Before Jerry could even try, Mrs. Pince's stern warning rang out.

“Madam, I was looking for a book and accidentally wandered over here. I saw that the gate was locked, so I came out of curiosity to take a look,” Jerry explained.

"What book are you looking for?"

“Basic Alchemy, Madam.”

"It's on the third shelf from the left, the second shelf from the left," Mrs. Pince told Jerry after a moment's thought.

"Understood, thank you, Mrs. Pince." After thanking her, Jerry turned and left.

On the way back, Jerry pondered how to get into the forbidden library. During the day, with Mrs. Pince around, he couldn't possibly get in, and the door was locked. The unlocking spell might not be able to open it. Even if it were, Jerry didn't believe Dumbledore wouldn't have taken other precautions. Maybe Dumbledore would appear as soon as he went in and catch him red-handed.

Harry was able to enter the forbidden section entirely on Dumbledore's part; he was even afraid Harry wouldn't know how to use the Lock Charm, so he didn't even lock the door to the forbidden section.

Jerry decided to sneak into the library tonight and try. If that didn't work, Jerry would wait for Harry to have the Invisibility Cloak so he could bring him in.

If none of that works, then the only option is to try and get the warrant from the professor.

Snape is definitely out of the question. Jerry just offended him, and Jerry is even a little worried about Potions class. If he dares to ask Snape for a warrant, Snape will probably send it to the headmaster's office right away. Not to mention the other professors. But Lockhart should have a chance next year.

After finding "Basic Alchemy," Jerry took the book back to Hermione and began reading.

"Let's go, Hermione. It's lunchtime. Let's go eat first. We have class this afternoon, so let's come back in the evening."

Hermione nodded, packed her things, and left with Jerry.

……

"Password"

"Cockroach Heap"

"Albus, what's going on with that child?" Snape asked Dumbledore in a hoarse voice as soon as he entered the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore slowly turned around, saw Snape, and said, "Severus, welcome to my place. Would you like a toffee?"

"Answer my question, Albus!"

The portraits of past headmasters hanging on the wall, hearing the commotion, all leaned closer to listen. "Child? What child? Is it Dumbledore's child? Is it a bastard? Does Grindelwald know about this?"

"Which child are you talking about? Harry? Don't worry, Severus, Harry will be very safe at Hogwarts."

Snape sneered and said, "You know who I'm talking about, Albus. You were the one who brought that child back from the orphanage yourself. Don't tell me you two have nothing to do with each other."

Upon hearing Snape's words, Dumbledore sighed and replied, "Jerry is different from Harry, Snape."

"Do you know what he did last night? He severely injured three upperclassmen. Even Voldemort wasn't this ruthless when he first enrolled. Dumbledore, do you want to raise another Dark Lord?"

“Severus, Jerry is not like Tom was back then, you can’t be prejudiced against him.”

Snape said coldly, "I will not be prejudiced against any student."

Dumbledore nodded and said, "I cannot interfere with Jerry's choices, I can only guide him. The same goes for you, Severus, who is also your student."

"Then why send him to Slytherin? Wouldn't Gryffindor or Hufflepuff be better?"

Dumbledore shook his head and said, "I've said it before, I can't interfere with Jerry's choice. He's different from Harry. Although he was sorted into his house by the Sorting Hat, if Jerry disagreed, he would definitely go to the professors to explain the situation and ask for a re-sorting. But he never did."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape looked at the Sorting Hat and asked, "What exactly happened during the Sorting?"

The Sorting Hat said somewhat flusteredly, "Well, it's nothing, I just chatted with that kid for a while."

Snape snorted and looked at Dumbledore.

"Tell Severus, he'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Upon hearing this, the Sorting Hat seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "That little bastard took advantage of the Sorting to trick me into revealing information, using sweet talk to deceive me and launch a sneak attack. I, an old hat over a thousand years old, have absolutely no sense of martial ethics."

"What exactly did you say to him?"

"Well, I didn't reveal anything major. I just accidentally mentioned that 'Forbidden Human Alchemy' was in the library's restricted section. Uh, I accidentally let it slip. Don't blame me, folks, that kid was just too cunning."

Upon hearing the Sorting Hat's words, Snape said to Dumbledore, "So, you want me to watch over him and prevent him from entering the forbidden section?"

"No, Jerry went there once this morning, but he didn't go in."

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Snape asked, somewhat puzzled, "What if he goes in and gets his hands on forbidden alchemy?"

Faced with Snape's questioning, Dumbledore got up, went to the window, looked at the scenery outside, pondered for a while, and then replied, "I will not stop him. As I said before, if he really decides to do so, I will not interfere."

"Why? Aren't you afraid that another Voldemort will appear, or even more terrifying than him?"

"Because of an agreement, a ridiculous agreement, but some things have forced me to keep it," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

Snape, still unwilling to give up, warned, "You'll regret this, Dumbledore. Don't forget your age; people are only afraid of your former power!"

“No, Severus, there are some things I know better than anyone else, and Jerry is different from Tom. He grew up in a loving environment and he knows what love is. As long as we guide him properly, he will not become the Dark Lord.”

"Hmph, I hope you're right." With that, he turned and was about to leave the principal's office.

"Wait, Severus, when you get back to Slytherin, keep an eye out for anyone who gets too close to Jerry, and find out who they are."

Snape asked, somewhat surprised, "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore, still the riddle teller, said, "The world is no longer what we used to know!"

And so, Snape left the headmaster's office with a head full of questions.