Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 98 Professor McGonagall's Private Tutoring!

Night slowly enveloped Hogwarts Castle, twilight seeped completely through the windows, and the dinner bells rang precisely on time.

The auditorium was already brightly lit, with four huge chandeliers hanging from the dome, casting a warm yellow light that made the four long college dining tables exceptionally bright.

Students from various colleges sat in orderly rows, their silver platters filled with steaming hot food. The aroma of roast beef, the sweetness of pumpkin juice, and the students' laughter mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere that seemed to lift the roof off the auditorium.

Just as the commotion reached its peak, Professor Dumbledore on the platform slowly raised his hand and gently tapped the crystal glass in his hand on the table.

"when""

A crisp sound pierced through all the noise, like a gentle breeze, instantly quieting the bustling auditorium.

The students stopped eating, put down their knives and forks, and their smiles faded. They all turned their gazes toward the platform and onto the white-haired, gentle-faced old man.

Professor Dumbledore slowly stood up, his tall figure appearing even more dignified in the flickering candlelight. The glasses on his nose reflected a soft light, and his eyes held a gentle smile.

He didn't rush to speak, but instead slowly scanned every corner of the auditorium with his gaze, passing over the young faces filled with curiosity and anticipation, until the entire auditorium was completely silent. Only then did he slowly speak, his calm and gentle voice echoing throughout the auditorium: "Children, please be quiet. I have gathered you all here today to formally inform you of an important piece of news concerning the entire school."

The students below the stage immediately perked up. Some huddled together and whispered their guesses, while others straightened their backs and stared intently at Dumbledore, eagerly awaiting the contents of the message.

Dumbledore nodded slightly and continued, "This news concerns the Quidditch match. Quidditch is a long-standing tradition at Hogwarts and the most fervent expectation in the hearts of many wizarding students. It carries everyone's passion and the honor of each house. After joint preparations by the Ministry of Magic and the school, I can solemnly inform you today that this year's Quidditch match will officially begin next weekend."

As soon as he finished speaking, the once quiet auditorium was instantly shattered by a deafening cheer.

The students stood up one after another, waving their napkins, some cheering, some banging on the table, and some hugging each other.

and many more....

Puni saw the two Gryffindor guys almost biting each other.

What are you doing?!

Puni quickly looked away.

For Hogwarts students, Quidditch is more than just a simple sport.

It is a contest of speed and courage, a symbol of teamwork and honor.

Now that the competition is finally confirmed, all the pent-up anticipation and excitement exploded instantly.

Professor Dumbledore stood quietly on the high platform, a satisfied smile on his face.

Quidditch matches not only enrich students' campus life, but also unite the strength of different colleges, allowing children to learn perseverance and cooperation in the competition.

This is a great exercise.

Only after the cheers subsided and the students returned to their seats did Dumbledore speak again, his voice still gentle: "I know that all of you have never slacked off during this time, training diligently and sweating profusely. I believe you are all fully prepared, and I hope you will give your all on the field, living up to your training and the expectations of the House, fighting for honor. At the same time, I hope that every student will cheer for their team with fairness and enthusiasm, and enjoy this Quidditch feast that belongs to all of us!"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the Great Hall, lasting for a long time before gradually subsiding.

The students were once again engrossed in a lively discussion.

Some people are speculating which team will emerge victorious this year, while others have made plans with their classmates to go to the stadium next weekend to cheer for their favorite team.

After the cheers and discussions gradually subsided, the Quidditch draw began.

The four Quidditch captains from the four houses rose one by one from their respective tables and walked solemnly toward the platform.

On the table in front of Professor Dumbledore was an exquisite wooden box containing four small balls, two pure white and two jet black, without any decoration, yet quite eye-catching.

The rules for the draw had been communicated to the four team leaders in advance.

Balls are randomly drawn. The two teams that draw the same color will face off in the first match. The winner will advance to the final, while the two losing teams will compete in subsequent matches.

Ultimately, the teams are ranked according to their wins and losses, earning corresponding college points for their respective colleges.

The four team leaders stood around the wooden box, and all the students fell silent again, their eyes fixed on the box, eagerly awaiting the results of the draw.

The captain of Gryffindor reached out first, dipped his hand into the wooden box, fumbled for a moment, then tightly grasped a small ball and slowly pulled it out.

He raised his arm high, displaying the ball to all the teachers and students present.

"Gryffindor, you've drawn the white ball!"

The Gryffindor students below the stage erupted in cheers, waving their house scarves and shouting encouragement for their captain.

Immediately afterwards, the Hufflepuff captain stepped forward, took a deep breath, and slowly reached into the wooden box, quickly grasping a small ball.

He slowly withdrew his hand, opened his palm, and a small, pure black ball lay quietly in his palm.

"Hufflepuff, the black ball!"

At this moment, the entire auditorium fell into a deathly silence once again, quieter than ever before.

All the students held their breath, their eyes fixed on the wooden box.

Next, the balls drawn by the Ravenclaw and Slytherin captains will directly determine the other pair of opponents in the first match, and will also determine the outcome of the four-team showdown!

With the draw between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff finalized, all eyes in the audience were now on the remaining two captains.

Unaffected by the surrounding noise, the Ravenclaw captain remained calm as he slowly stepped forward, reached into the wooden box, fumbled for a moment, then clenched a small ball, slowly pulled it out, and opened his palm in front of all the teachers and students.

Upon seeing this, Professor Dumbledore immediately raised his voice and announced the result: "Ravenclaw, you've drawn the white ball!"

The result was immediately clear to everyone present.

With only one black ball remaining in the wooden box, there was no need to draw again, and Slytherin naturally determined the color of the ball to be drawn.

The Quidditch matches at Hogwarts have always had very distinct characteristics.

Gryffindor and Slytherin are natural rivals, almost always fighting whenever they meet. They give their all in matches, neither willing to back down, and the atmosphere is often tense and volatile.

The clash between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was more of an ideological one.

The Ravenclaw eagles love a challenge and always try to break through Hufflepuff's impenetrable "hedgehog" defense, using their agile skills to disrupt the opponent's steady rhythm.

As for Hufflepuff...

They're all in a pincer formation, so there's no need to elaborate.

After the lottery was completed, discussions resumed in the auditorium.

Cho Chang sat at the Ravenclaw dining table, his gaze fixed on the Ravenclaw Quidditch players exchanging tactics not far away. He murmured enviously, "I also wanted to sign up for the Quidditch trials, but Professor Flitwick explicitly told me that first-year students couldn't participate, saying they didn't meet the competition requirements. But you went straight into the team..."

""

Quidditch matches are extremely competitive, and collisions are inevitable during flight, placing high demands on the young wizards' physical fitness and flying skills.

Therefore, most team members are males who are relatively physically mature.

However, a few girls, with their outstanding flying talent and superb skills, successfully made it into the team and became a bright spot on the field.

Among them, the most popular positions among girls are "seeker" and "chaseer".

The Seeker's duty is to search for the tiny, incredibly fast Golden Snitch across the vast playing field. This requires the Seeker to possess extremely high levels of meticulousness and superb flying skills, as well as exceptional focus. Like a vigilant falcon, the Seeker must be constantly aware of every subtle movement on the field. Any slight rustling of the wind or any unusual light or shadow could be the key to finding the Golden Snitch.

It's important to know that once you find and catch the Golden Snitch, you can directly add 150 points to your school and end the game. Therefore, the Seeker plays a crucial role in the game and is a key player in determining the outcome.

The Chaser, on the other hand, needs to rely on his agile and varied flying skills and excellent dribbling ability to move freely on the field, skillfully avoiding the opponent's defense and interception, and rushing towards the opponent's goal at extremely high speed to throw the Quaffle into the goal and score.

Many Quidditch teams specifically recruit a female Chaser who combines speed and skill, using her agility to break through the opponent's defensive formation.

Ravenclaw has a considerable number of female students, most of whom are thoughtful and have outstanding flying talent, which makes the number of girls competing for the Seeker and Chaser positions extremely large every year.

Typically, every year, the team positions vacated due to graduating students leaving school or players getting injured attract dozens of times more female applicants to compete, making the selection process extremely rigorous.

Considering the intensity of Quidditch matches and the physical development of young wizards, Cho Chang, as a first-year student, is not yet fully developed. Even with his outstanding flying talent, he would probably have to wait until his second or even third year, when his physical condition and flying skills have reached a certain level, to have a chance to participate in the selection and pass successfully.

Puni shrugged: "There's nothing I can do, I'm tough and resilient, maybe Professor Flitwick prefers me that way."

Seeing Qiu Zhang's slightly disappointed look, he smiled gently and offered his advice: "I think you could try to apply for the selection again in your second year. Even if you don't pass, you can familiarize yourself with the selection process, understand your shortcomings, and accumulate experience for applying again in the future. It can't hurt."

In fact, even Mrs. Hooch, who was in charge of the flight course, publicly praised Cho Chang's flying talent in class. She even went out of her way to recommend several books on Quidditch tactics and flying skills to her, which shows how much she valued Cho Chang.

It must be said that Madam Hooch, as the Hogwarts flying professor, had a very thorough understanding of the characteristics of students from each house. She was clear about the strengths of Ravenclaw students and also saw Cho Chang's potential. This thoughtfulness and care made Cho Chang even more determined to participate in Quidditch.

"Okay." Qiu Zhang smiled sweetly.

Professor McGonagall was known for her strictness at Hogwarts.

Whether it's classroom teaching or after-school tutoring, she has extremely high standards and never easily lowers them.

That's why she rarely schedules extra classes on Puni's tutoring schedule.

After all, Puni had a solid foundation in Transfiguration for a long time.

This time, however, Professor McGonagall unusually arranged a Transfiguration lesson for Puni.

.

All of this stemmed from Professor McGonagall's recent surge in workload, leaving her overwhelmed with tasks.

Professor Dumbledore noticed this and offered to recommend a suitable person to help share some of her teaching and tutoring burden.

Professor McGonagall was initially reluctant. She had extremely high standards for teaching quality and worried that others would not be able to do the job and would instead affect the students' learning outcomes.

Faced with a mountain of tasks, she ultimately had no better choice and could only reluctantly agree to Dumbledore's suggestion.

However, she still had concerns in her heart. She had to personally test whether the recommended candidate was competent enough. Only if the candidate passed her assessment would she feel truly at ease handing over the tutoring work.

This person could actually be someone else, but the older students are too busy, and the younger students' learning progress is too poor.

After looking at it from all angles, Puni became the most suitable one.

As evening fell, Puni arrived at Professor McGonagall's office at the appointed time.

He knew Professor McGonagall was strict, but he remained calm and gently tapped on the door: "Professor, it's me, Puni."

Inside the office, Professor McGonagall sat behind her large desk, intently grading her students' holiday assignments.

On her desk, thick stacks of homework were piled up, the papers almost obscuring most of her face. On the floor next to her desk and under the desk legs, several stacks of homework were also neatly stacked. At a glance, they were densely packed, enough to show how much work she had accumulated over this period of time.

Hearing the knock and Puni's voice, she slowly raised her head and put down her pen.

Good evening, Mr. Puni.

Professor McGonagall's gaze fell on Puni standing in the doorway.

Without any pleasantries, she got straight to the point: "You've made great progress in Transfiguration lately and have acquired a lot of knowledge, which I'm very happy about. Now I'd like to have a private discussion with you, where you can demonstrate all the abilities you haven't directly shown in class."

As soon as she finished speaking, Professor McGonagall stood up, straightened her house robes, strode to the center of her office, raised her hand, and with a flick of her wand, a wooden table not far away slowly moved to the center of the room and came to a steady stop.

Then, she took three items out of her desk drawer and gently placed them on the table.

A small black beetle is quietly resting on the table, occasionally twitching its antennae.

A thin oak stick with a smooth surface, clearly meticulously polished.

There was also a clear, empty glass bottle, clean and without any stains.

Puni's gaze fell on these three things, and he instantly understood.

These are the most commonly used tools for first-year wizards when they first learn Transfiguration.

Their small size and relatively gentle magical fluctuations make it easier for young wizards to control the power of magic when casting spells, thus achieving transformation effects and minimizing the risk of magic going out of control and causing accidents.

Professor McGonagall stood by the table, her gaze returning to Puni, her eyes filled with a mixture of expectation and scrutiny. She slowly began to ask, "Let me test you first. What are the basic classifications of Transfiguration?"

This question, though seemingly simple, is the core of Transfiguration and Professor McGonagall's first test of Puni.

Puni quickly recalled the contents of the book in his mind: "Professor, strictly speaking, according to academic descriptions, the basic classification of Transfiguration is divided into four categories: summoning, presenting, transformation, and disappearance."

His answer was clear and logical, without any pauses.

Upon hearing this answer, Professor McGonagall's tense lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, indicating her great satisfaction with Puni's performance.

The classification she described in class was not like that; she used a different description to make it easier for students to understand.

Puni's accuracy suggests that he had indeed read the book carefully, perhaps even several times.

She nodded slightly and continued, "Your answer was excellent, Puni. It seems you have indeed studied diligently. I saw your Transfiguration demonstration in a previous class, and I can see that you are very talented. But I believe you have even more untapped potential."

"Now, I'd like to give you a chance to demonstrate the Transfiguration techniques you've taught yourself, so I can see your true skill level. Is that alright?"

Hearing Professor McGonagall's request, Puni was not intimidated. He nodded and stepped to the table.

He closed his eyes, calmed himself down, and then slowly opened them, drawing his wand from its sheath at his waist and holding it in his hand.

Puni aimed the tip of his wand at the black beetle on the table, his eyes focused, and clearly recited the transformation spell.

Swish!

The moment the spell was cast, a soft light emanated from the tip of the wand, enveloping the beetle.

Under the light, the small black beetle gradually shrank, its originally rough shell became smoother, and its color slowly faded, gradually revealing a silvery luster. Its originally slender antennae slowly contracted and eventually locked completely into its body.

A moment later, the light faded, and the beetle on the table disappeared. In its place was a small, exquisite silver button. On the surface of the button was a relief of a scarab beetle, a common feature in Egypt, with clear and exquisite details.

Professor McGonagall stood to the side, her eyes fixed on the entire transformation process. Seeing the final result, she nodded slightly again, her eyes filled with even greater approval.

Puni didn't stop. He then turned his wand to the oak stick on the table, chanted a transformation spell, and the stick, enveloped in light, gradually twisted and stretched, eventually turning into a small lizard, its body emerald green, its limbs agile, and it even crawled lightly on the table a few times.

Then, Puni chanted the restoration spell, and the light shone again. The little lizard slowly turned back into the original oak stick, completely unharmed.

Finally, he pointed his wand at the transparent empty glass bottle and cast a summoning spell.

A moment later, the glass bottle was filled with water. The surface of the water was calm and there were no ripples. The whole process was smooth and natural, without any mistakes.

Watching Puni smoothly complete all the transformation demonstrations, Professor McGonagall's face showed obvious approval, and her tone was much gentler than before as she slowly commented, "Excellent work, Puni. Both the precision of your transformations and your proficiency in your spells far surpass the level of wizards your age."

As soon as she finished speaking, she gently raised her wand and with a slight movement, a flash of light appeared, and the silver button, oak stick, and glass bottle on the table instantly returned to their original state.

The beetle remained still on the table, the wooden stick was straight and smooth, and the glass bottle was empty.

Putting away her wand, Professor McGonagall's expression turned serious again. She locked her gaze firmly on Puni and posed her next question, a deeper test of his understanding of Transfiguration theory: "Since you have such a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Transfiguration, tell me, what are the five exceptions to the basic principles of Gump's Transfiguration?"

This issue is also the core focus of learning Transfiguration, and it is a principle that every wizard learning Transfiguration must keep in mind, allowing no room for error.

After a moment's thought, Punilo answered clearly and logically: "First, it is impossible to conjure edible food through transformation; second, it is impossible to create items with magical properties using transformation; third, transformation cannot create something from nothing; there must be a corresponding original object as a basis; fourth, it does not have the ability to transform into multiple objects; the number of objects before and after transformation must correspond and cannot be increased or decreased arbitrarily; fifth, no matter how exquisite the transformation technique is, it cannot turn an object into a truly intelligent life with its own consciousness."

"Absolutely correct."

Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. "You must remember that there is no such thing as unlimited magic in this world, and Transfiguration is no exception. It has its own insurmountable rules and boundaries. It is precisely because the casting process of Transfiguration is extremely complex and requires a high level of skill, precise control of magic power, and concentration that many wizards are deterred by the difficulty in mastering this magic and ultimately give up on further study."

She paused, a growing sense of awe for the magic of Transfiguration emanating from her gaze, and continued slowly, "But it is precisely because of this difficulty that Transfiguration is so precious. Every wizard who truly masters Transfiguration is a top-tier spellcaster. They not only need powerful magic, but also extreme focus and precise control. Only in this way can they truly wield this powerful and dangerous magic and make it work for them."

"Here, I must emphasize again that the final effect of polymorphism depends entirely on the caster's concentration."

Professor McGonagall grew increasingly serious, "The moment you wave your wand and chant the spell to perform a transformation, you must concentrate all your attention on the object you wish to change. The slightest distraction could lead to a failed transformation or even cause danger. Moreover, the difficulty of transformation increases with the size and complexity of the object."

",