"Hurry up… we'll… we'll be late!"
Harry and Ron panted heavily, sprinting desperately toward the Transfiguration classroom.
"You two are really something else. How could you manage to get lost just going back to the dormitory?" Ethan, who was running ahead to lead the way, scolded without even looking back.
"If I hadn't happened to return to the dorm to fetch my textbook, you two would've spent the entire day spinning around on the staircases."
"Don't… don't talk now… get to… classroom first…"
"No choice then." Ethan slowed down his pace, fell back between them, and grabbed each boy with one arm, hoisting them up easily. He then picked up speed again and bolted toward the Transfiguration classroom.
Bang!
The door to the classroom was violently slammed open. Ethan burst inside, Harry slung casually over his left shoulder and Ron tucked securely under his right arm.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion as everyone turned to see what the noise was, Ethan quickly tossed the two boys into empty seats in the back row, then calmly found himself a seat toward the side.
"When did you two get here?" Hermione, sitting just in front of them, turned around and whispered.
"Just arrived with Ethan," Harry replied, hurriedly straightening his robes and placing his textbook on the desk.
"Thank Merlin we made it in time, otherwise Professor McGonagall's glare would've killed us—wait, where is she anyway? Don't tell me she's late herself?" Ron craned his neck around, looking all over the room.
"Professor McGonagall arrived ages ago," Hermione said, pointing at the tabby cat sitting quietly on the teacher's desk.
The tabby cat leaped off the desk and instantly transformed into Professor McGonagall herself.
She surveyed the class and began, "I'm pleased to see that no one was late for the first lesson. However, I expect you all to arrive earlier next time, leaving yourselves adequate time to organize your textbooks."
As she said this, Professor McGonagall's eyes lingered briefly in Ethan's direction.
"Now then, let's begin." She tapped the blackboard with her wand, causing white chalk words to appear automatically.
"Transfiguration is among the most complex and dangerous magic you'll study at Hogwarts. Let me make myself clear: anyone who dares to misbehave in my class will be asked to leave and will never be allowed to return."
To demonstrate her point, she tapped the desk three times with her wand. With a soft "pop," the teacher's desk transformed into a squealing, creamy-white pig.
"Wow! Bloody brilliant!" Ron couldn't help exclaiming.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall replied dryly, waving her wand again to turn the pig back into a desk.
It had to be said that this combination of intimidation and demonstration was incredibly effective.
The students, initially cowed into silence, were now entirely captivated by her Transfiguration magic. They sat up straight, wide-eyed and attentive, afraid to miss a single detail.
"As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day," Professor McGonagall continued. "Although you're currently not ready for such complex transformations as turning desks into pigs, if you pay close attention to my lessons and complete your assignments diligently, every one of you will eventually master this skill."
After this brief motivational speech, Professor McGonagall instructed, "Today, we'll start with turning matches into needles. Open your copies of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' to page seven…"
Following a long, complex explanation of Transfiguration theory, Professor McGonagall handed each student a red-headed matchstick and had them begin practicing.
"As I explained, visualize the needle clearly in your mind before you wave your wand. Also, you must pronounce the incantation very clearly; otherwise, partial transformations may occur. Only fully correct transformations count as successful."
Professor McGonagall paced between desks, closely observing everyone's progress and occasionally offering guidance to struggling students.
"Vera Verto," Ethan pointed his wand at the matchstick, successfully transforming it into a shiny silver needle.
He casually waved his wand again, repeating the process—turning the needle back into a match and vice versa.
After a few repetitions, he was so proficient that he no longer needed to say the incantation aloud.
Quickly bored, he set down his wand and began flipping lazily through the textbook, checking out the more advanced Transfiguration spells in later chapters.
[Hmm, seems like the principles behind Transfiguration are similar across the board, just differing in complexity. In that case…]
Ethan picked up his wand and pointed it tentatively at the desk, whispering half-jokingly, "Quick, turn into a pig."
Poof—
The desk immediately became a small, white pig, snorting and emitting faint wisps of smoke.
Ethan jumped in alarm. Before anyone else noticed, he quickly turned the pig back into a desk, glancing anxiously toward Professor McGonagall. Fortunately, she was still occupied, helping a Ravenclaw student at the front.
"What's up, Ethan?" Seamus Finnigan, seated directly in front of Ethan, felt something soft bump his back and turned around with a teasing grin. "Did you actually just turn your desk into a pig?"
"Mind your own business, Seamus," Ethan retorted, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Better worry about your own matchstick."
Feeling guilty, Ethan didn't dare try any more unauthorized transformations. Instead, he rested his chin on his hand and watched Professor McGonagall patiently assisting the other students.
Bang!
Seamus had somehow managed to cause his matchstick to explode spectacularly. The explosion sent a cloud of soot straight into Harry's face, blackening half his face and glasses. Seamus himself wasn't any better off—his entire face was evenly coated in soot, and the poor matchstick was now nothing but a charred, sparking lump of wood.
"Impressive, Seamus. You've already learned advanced transfigurations. Mind teaching me how to turn a matchstick into charcoal too?" Ethan snickered, poking Seamus's back teasingly.
"Shut it," Seamus snapped back irritably, raising his hand sheepishly. "Professor McGonagall, could I have another matchstick, please?"
This little explosion was merely a small interruption during the lesson. By the end of class, Hermione Granger had successfully made noticeable progress with her matchstick.
Professor McGonagall invited her up front to demonstrate for the class, rewarding Hermione with a rare smile.
"Mr. Ethan, please remember to stay behind," Professor McGonagall reminded Ethan as he started packing his things.
"Don't worry, Professor. I remembered."
Quickly gathering up his textbook and notes, Ethan approached Professor McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall, how should we go about my extra lessons?"
"Extra lessons? I don't think you need those anymore," Professor McGonagall replied, removing her glasses and cleaning them calmly. She fixed Ethan with a half-smile.
"You've made remarkable progress, Mr. Ethan—achieving complex live transformations in your very first class."
"Whatever do you mean, Professor? I'm afraid I don't quite follow," Ethan said innocently, trying to play dumb and cute his way out of trouble.
"Don't try that with me—I saw it very clearly," Professor McGonagall said firmly, though her eyes were smiling. "Not bad at all—silent casting too."
"Waaah, stop scolding me, Professor, please! I won't dare do it again, have mercy!" Ethan wailed dramatically, clutching his head and crouching down in exaggerated despair, begging pitifully for forgiveness.
"Alright, alright, get up now. Stop fooling around," Professor McGonagall scolded gently, amused despite herself. "I wasn't scolding you. Now, show me your transfiguration again—I want to see if you've truly mastered it."
"Right away!" Ethan immediately perked up, stood straight, and aimed his wand confidently at the teacher's desk.
"Vera Verto."
In an instant, the desk transformed into a black-and-white spotted pig, snorting loudly.
"Hmm, excellent—a complete transfiguration," Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly, eyeing the pig carefully and pointing at its black patterns. "Did you intentionally add those spots, or was it an accident?"
"Entirely intentional," Ethan replied proudly, puffing out his chest. "I added my own personal touch to demonstrate my full mastery of the spell."
"Very good. Now, transform it back without saying the incantation."
"You got it." Ethan flicked his wand again, effortlessly returning the black-and-white pig to its original form as a desk.
"Excellent, very impressive indeed. You've already caught up completely with the fourth-year level, and you surpass even some fifth-years," Professor McGonagall praised warmly.
"Next week, you can start attending classes directly with the fourth-year students. Remember to bring your copy of Intermediate Transfiguration."
"And… what about homework?" Ethan asked carefully.
"Oh, yes—homework! If you hadn't reminded me, I'd have nearly forgotten," Professor McGonagall smiled kindly. "First-year assignments certainly aren't challenging enough for you. Let me set you some homework more suited to your actual level."
"No, Professor, please don't—!" Ethan's wails echoed pitifully throughout the Transfiguration classroom, lingering for quite some time.
---
A/N (You can skip) :- It's not that I'm deliberately making Ethan overly OP. I'm sure you've noticed by now, Ethan is essentially following the protagonist script from the game Hogwarts Legacy. And the original protagonist from the game is exactly this absurdly powerful.
For those unfamiliar, here's a quick rundown of how overpowered the Hogwarts Legacy protagonist is:
The protagonist initially wasn't recognized as having Ancient Magic talent. Instead, because of their exceptional magical aptitude, the Ministry of Magic strongly recommended their enrollment directly into Hogwarts as a fifth-year student. Headmaster Black (an ancestor of Sirius Black) was deeply opposed to the Ministry meddling in school admissions, but it was practically an order rather than a suggestion. The Ministry even requested the headmaster himself escort the protagonist to Hogwarts. Black, irritated by the interference, passed the task off to Professor Fig instead. All this indirectly demonstrates the protagonist's absurdly OP status.
Before enrolling, the protagonist had zero magical experience, yet immediately began fifth-year classes. However, this absolute monster learned everything instantly, surpassing peers within mere lessons (to put it modestly—in reality, most adult wizards can't even compare).
Sebastian from Slytherin, the school's dueling champion, was defeated instantly by the protagonist mere seconds after they first learned a spell.
In the very first Potions class, the professor saw the protagonist's brewing skills and immediately allowed them free access to his private potion ingredients to craft advanced potions.
In their first Flying lesson, while other students struggled with brooms refusing to cooperate, the protagonist effortlessly soared through the skies like a legendary swordmaster.
In the Hufflepuff storyline, the protagonist visited Azkaban, and despite Dementors swarming around them—though accompanied by a retired Auror—the protagonist felt virtually no negative emotions, only mild disgust, as if thinking, "Ew, gross creatures. Let me get a closer look…"
Victor Rookwood, a notorious dark wizard gang leader whose influence spread across Britain and even around Hogwarts, personally set up an ambush with his elite followers to kill the protagonist—who had barely just enrolled—and ended up being utterly annihilated by the protagonist alone.
And that's just the protagonist's first school year…
Not to mention the game's core mechanic, "Ancient Magic," which can be compared to cultivating immortality in a martial arts world. The protagonist is literally the only living person capable of wielding Ancient Magic. By the end, the protagonist even absorbs centuries-old sealed magical energy to enhance their power. Characters like young Grindelwald, young Dumbledore, and young Tom Riddle don't even come close.
Moreover, the protagonist is extremely cunning, able to charm or deceive anyone with ease. Ruthless and utterly unfazed by killing, the protagonist dispatches dark wizards without hesitation, often commenting afterward something like, "You deserved this," or "Your boss brought this upon you," or "That's what you get for following the villain."
Meanwhile, this same protagonist monopolizes the Room of Requirement to store "rescued" magical creatures they captured, claiming that "the creatures prefer living in my magical bag rather than their natural habitats," then sells their byproducts to a suspicious shop that doesn't sell live animals, insisting, "The shopkeeper will find good homes for the creatures I've rescued."
But rest assured, dear readers: Ethan won't be quite this outrageously OP. After all, how could our sweet little Ethan possibly have any bad intentions?