Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

"Miss Granger, I must say, you have truly surprised me."

Sitting in Professor McGonagall's office, Hermione faced the old lady who was suffering from a terrible headache.

"Through these past few days of learning, I think you already understand Malfoy Castle's current status in the wizarding world." She sighed. "Aren't you afraid he might actually do something outrageous?"

The remaining elite of half of the European magical world is gathered in Malfoy Castle. Even if not everyone obeys the Malfoy family's orders, they have countless ways to mess with a Muggle wizard.

"Just a cowardly blusterer," Hermione said nonchalantly. But in reality, she was already prepared to unleash a Broom Star by exhausting her life force. But as it turned out, she was right; old Malfoy was even more of a coward than Draco.

Professor McGonagall seemed amused by Hermione's words, but she managed to suppress it: "Perhaps life in the Muggle community has given you a unique perspective."

"But I must emphasize again, at Hogwarts, you cannot be rude to other professors!" the old lady said righteously.

Other professors might not be allowed, implying that it's fine for Malfoy.

"Of course." Hermione never hesitates to repay kindness tenfold.

"Now let's talk about our confinement. If we can use this time to learn something more useful, it will be much better than physical labor..." Professor McGonagall took the "Elementary Transfiguration Guide" but was interrupted by Hermione.

"Professor, I have a small request," Hermione said, blinking slightly, a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

Hermione lightly tapped the teacup on the table, and the cup, still filled with tea, instantly changed material, transforming into a delicate revolver.

Hermione deftly opened the magazine, showing McGonagall the bright yellow bullets inside, then closed it, covered her ear with one hand, held the gun in the other, and fired a shot at the ceiling.

With a "thud," a bullet became embedded in the stone brick, and dust fell down.

Hermione placed the revolver back on the table and gently tapped it with her hand. The revolver transformed back into a teacup, but the tea inside had decreased slightly, and a drop of tea dripped precisely from the spot where the bullet was embedded in the ceiling.

"You've mastered the first-year curriculum?" Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione in surprise. The transformation of inorganic matter, multiple nested changes, secondary reactions of the transformed matter, maintenance of changes during the reaction process of the transformed matter, and reversal of the transformed matter are no longer just first-year knowledge.

Some of this knowledge is not taught until the third grade, but it is clear that she tried it based on her own understanding.

Although using shapeshifting to conjure a pistol is redundant in combat—it would be much more convenient to simply change objects around the enemy—the technique involved is a testament to skill.

"I've almost finished reading the first-grade textbook," Hermione said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Could I ask if I can learn second-grade material ahead of time?"

"It's only been less than a week since school started!" Professor McGonagall was both amused and shocked.

"You've read them all?"

Hermione thought for a moment: "I've finished reading 'Basic Magic Theory,' 'Elementary Transfiguration Guide,' 'Standard Spells - Elementary,' and 'Countering Dangers - Wasteland Survival Guide.' I've only read the beginning of 'History of Magic,' 'A Thousand Magical Plants and Fungi,' 'Potions and Elixirs,' and 'Introduction to the Zodiac,' but I'll be able to finish them all next week."

McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief, but in just four days, he had finished reading four core course books, and not just skimmed through them, but actually mastered their contents. This kind of learning ability was terrifying.

The old witch thought for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, my child, the textbooks change every year, so I can't give you next year's textbooks right now. But I think I can help you borrow some used books from older students."

"That's enough!" Hermione was overjoyed, as this would greatly increase her speed of acquiring knowledge.

"But you'll have to give me some time; not many children can preserve old books so well," Professor McGonagall said. "Now, we can provide you with some more in-depth guidance on your Transfiguration."

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Hermione became famous. Not only in the first year, but all the children in all seven years of the school knew that there was a freshman named Hermione who not only almost killed Professor Malfoy's only son on the first day of school, but also threatened the professor in the first Anti-Witchcraft Defense class and threatened to beat Draco into an Obscurial. The most outrageous thing was that in the end, nothing happened to her, and she didn't even lose any points.

Ron’s two older brothers, Fred and George, set off fireworks in the common room and crowned their Gryffindor queen.

"The brown-haired lioness, the sweeper of the long table, the one who crushes snakes, the protector of children and the weak—Hermione Granger! Our Queen!"

Ron boasted to others, "I was right there! Harry was terrified he almost peed his pants, but I was brave. If Hermione needed me, I'd be the first to beat Malfoy up!"

Harry retorted, "Hey Ron! I didn't wet my pants. I was just shocked by Hermione's audacity. If necessary, I could throw my Soviet aesthetics in Malfoy's face too!"

Hermione, holding a book, watched them revel in the common room, two dimples appearing on her lips. In this post-apocalyptic world, a moment of joy was a rare treat in the wasteland. Hogwarts had truly preserved the last embers of its spirit.

After that, life returned to the tranquility that Hogwarts should have been.

Hermione took an astronomy class in a dark, enclosed tower, taught by a centaur named Ferrenzer, who was said to be the only centaur from the Forbidden Forest who had ventured into the castle and survived when the original Hogwarts site was destroyed. He projected a fake night sky into the dark classroom to help the children, who had never seen the stars before, learn about celestial bodies and constellations.

Unfortunately, Hermione couldn't use this fake projection to experience the Pyroxene School's real stargazing.

Ferenze also warned the students that if they encountered centaurs in the wild, they must run away immediately, as they had been blinded by hatred, abandoned the tradition of not harming young foals, and had become depraved.

The professor for the History of Magic class was an older student named Quirrell, a Ravenclaw graduate. He was witty and humorous, had a thorough understanding of Muggles, and was able to weave together the history of magic and Muggle history in his lectures, giving Hermione a deeper understanding of the development of magical society in this world.

However, the professor was a bit timid. Whether it was the Dark Lord who set Paris on fire or Voldemort who ravaged the Albanian forests, he would shudder with fear.

Because Hermione always finished reading the textbook before class, she frequently raised her hand to answer questions in class, becoming a major contributor to Gryffindor's high score. Even though the heads of the houses intentionally favored her, Gryffindor's hourglass still showed a significant lead in the number of gems, which made Professor McGonagall smile every time she saw the girl.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gryffindor will likely win this year's College Cup.