Hoare chuckled inwardly.
He knew that the cat was Professor McGonagall, and he was deliberately stirring things up.
Yes, he was.
Just now, while everyone was focused on Professor McGonagall, he had already collected all the data on Kitty McGonagall in detail.
For his future night strolls, he could use the form of Kitty McGonagall.
At Hogwarts, animals could sometimes go places people couldn't.
The subsequent classes went smoothly.
Hoare confirmed his hypothesis that increasing a bit of wit was a qualitative leap in learning magic.
Wit was useful for self-study, but for Hoare, this kind of learning was too slow. It was better to earn more Galleons and directly upgrade his talent.
Professor McGonagall's class assignment was to turn a matchstick into a needle, and Hoare could already transform it into other things without a teacher.
On Hoare's desk, the matchstick, needle, ruler, thousand paper cranes, and bicycle kept changing.
Finally, he turned the matchstick into a palm-sized mini robot, which was agile and could perform simple actions based on settings.
Even though Hoare wasted some time, he was still the first in the class to complete Professor McGonagall's task, taking one minute and thirty-eight seconds.
He spent a minute of that time polishing his wand.
"William, your work is perfect."
"Slytherin, ten points."
Professor McGonagall paused by Hoare's desk. It had been a long time since she'd seen a student use Transfiguration so skillfully.
The last one...
Professor McGonagall glanced over at Harry Potter.
What a pity.
Hoare sat idly, trying to transform the little robot in front of him into something else interesting.
He wondered if he could turn it into a Transformer.
Then he felt someone tugging at him from the side.
Turning his head, he saw Zabini and Malfoy staring at him.
"What?" Hoare was taken aback by their intense gazes.
"How did you do it?"
Malfoy answered eagerly, his eyes filled with excitement, fixed on Hoare's classwork on the desk.
It was a small metal dragon breathing fire.
"Just... like this."
Hoare transformed it again, and the metal dragon turned into a mad rabbit doing ballet.
"I want to learn too, teach me!" Malfoy's eyes were practically on fire.
The other boys nearby, though silent, had the same eager look as Malfoy.
Hoare shrugged, "I can teach you, but. It'll cost you."
As soon as Hoare finished speaking, several stacks of 20 Galleons appeared in front of him, roughly totaling around 100.
"Guaranteed to teach you."
As long as they weren't too dumb.
***
[Host: Hoare Weasley]
[Available Galleons: 1078 Galleons, 6 Sickles, 23 Knuts]
"Upgrade potion-making talent level, learn Anti-scabies Potion, Squib Treatment Potion."
[Ding]
[The Squib Treatment Potion is a research potion, requiring a deduction of 50 Galleons.]
[Would the host like to proceed with the deduction?]
"Yes."
[Ding]
[Panel updated]
[C-level abilities: Charms (Patronus Charm, Basic Transfiguration {self-taught})]
[B-level abilities: Potion-making (Anti-scabies Potion, Squib Treatment Potion)]
[Available Galleons: 28 Galleons, 6 Sickles, 23 Knuts]
Potions were a special existence in the wizarding world, even Muggles could use them.
Hoare knew that with his current magic power, he couldn't learn powerful spells yet.
But potions were different.
Whether for defense or attack, they were handy, didn't consume magic, and were essential for travel.
Moreover, Hoare could never forget those ten years as a Squib.
Though his family was kind, whenever he went out, everyone would look at him with pity.
To read the uncut version, go to ].
Look, there's the Squib from the Weasley family.
The word Squib completely replaced Hoare's name.
Even as an outsider, he felt sad and reduced his outings.
One could only imagine how difficult life was for Squibs from other families.
So, after the morning Transfiguration class, Hoare checked his little treasury. Seeing that he could upgrade his talent, he decisively upgraded his potion-making skills.
Turning a matchstick into a small fire dragon was actually very simple, but people's talents varied, and it couldn't be forced.
For those who didn't succeed, Hoare helped them transform it as a consolation.
And for those who did succeed, like Malfoy, he proudly held up his little fire dragon, saying he would send it home to show his father.
Hoare... now that's a real kid.
Before class ended, Professor McGonagall assigned written homework, but Hoare's pile of little fire dragons perfectly exempted him from homework for the entire year.
***
Hoare had been looking forward to this day, finally arriving at the Potions class he had long awaited.
The dim, damp potions room, Professor Snape strode in briskly, his cloak billowing behind him like dark wings.
He stopped and turned.
His black eyes scanned the room, finally resting on Harry Potter.
His gaze was cold and hollow, reminiscent of two dark, deep tunnels.
He really was like a bat in the night, not the DC kind.
"You are here to learn the precise science and exact art of potion-making," he began, his voice barely above a whisper, yet everyone heard every word.
"Since there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.
I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.
I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
After his brief opening, the class was silent.
After taunting Harry Potter, Professor Snape deducted a point from Gryffindor.
Hoare wasn't interested in any of that; he was eager to start making potions. When Snape allowed them to begin, he was the first to rush to the storage area for materials.
As Hoare's eyes scanned each material, their properties and quality appeared before him.
Like now, holding a hedgehog quill, it displayed:
Hedgehog Quill: Quills from a hedgehog, with various medicinal properties such as lowering blood pressure, relieving gas, and pain relief.
Quality: Flawed, unfortunately, this one is damaged, reducing its efficacy by half.
Picking up another, the quality displayed as perfect, so Hoare took it.
After selecting the materials, Hoare returned to his station.
Malfoy stood confidently at the workstation, waiting for Hoare to bring back the materials.
Two people per group, only one set of materials was needed.
Snape, dragging his long black cloak, walked around the classroom. He had already noticed when Henry William was selecting materials.
This child actually knew how to distinguish the quality of materials, but it remained to be seen how his potion-making talent would fare.
His gaze kept drifting towards William's group.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan