Chen Yu and Hermione arrived very early.
When the two of them walked into the Transfiguration Class classroom, they found that the entire classroom seemed to contain only the two of them.
Besides them, a lazy tabby cat was sprawled on the podium.
Seeing Chen Yu and Hermione enter, the tabby cat opened its eyes, gently wagged its tail, glanced at them, and then continued to lie down, feigning sleep.
Chen Yu found a seat near the front and sat down, and to his surprise, Hermione followed him.
"Aren't you going to sit with your roommate?"
Chen Yu asked, somewhat surprised, when he saw Hermione follow him.
Hermione pouted, opened her Transfiguration Class textbook, and did not answer Chen Yu's question.
Hermione was undoubtedly a very confident person, to the point where she seemed a bit arrogant and self-satisfied.
He remembered their first meeting, when she proudly "showed off" her knowledge to Harry and Ron, which led to Ron having no good impression of her, even saying after Hermione left that he didn't want to be in the same house as her.
Looking at Hermione's expression, Chen Yu recalled that in the original story, Hermione had very few friends at Hogwarts, besides Harry and Ron, as few could tolerate her confidence and pride.
This meant that Hermione had not gotten along well with her roommate last night.
Chen Yu also opened "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration"; the Transfiguration spells within it were among the few spells in the first-year textbooks that Chen Yu had not yet mastered.
Although Transfiguration is very similar to spellcraft, Chen Yu believed that the Transfiguration Charm was more difficult.
Other spells add a certain attribute to a substance, while the Transfiguration Charm transforms one substance into another.
The fact that it could stand out from spellcraft and become a separate discipline shows its profoundness.
He decided to take advantage of having a professor teach the class and strive to get an introduction to the Transfiguration Charm in the first lesson.
This way, he could use the system to level up his Transfiguration Charm.
The first Transfiguration Class was a joint class for Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Chen Yu, who was concentrating on his book, noticed a shadow blocking the light on his page.
He looked up to see a pale-faced, blond boy with meticulously combed hair, accompanied by his two burly henchmen, standing in front of him.
Chen Yu frowned; he didn't want to get involved in the love-hate relationship between Harry and Draco Malfoy, so he asked, "Is there something you need?"
Draco Malfoy asked haughtily, "Hey, you oaf, I saw you standing next to Harry yesterday. You're Harry's lackey, aren't you! Where's Harry? Why isn't he here for class with that blood-traitor Weasley boy?"
Looking at Draco with his nose in the air, Chen Yu rolled his eyes, not wanting to answer his question, and continued to look down at his book.
If Draco had spoken nicely, he might have been interested in answering, but his 'I'm the boss, you're nobody' attitude was indeed quite annoying.
"You dare ignore me! Do you know who I am? I come from the most reputable House of Malfoy among the twenty-eight pure-bloods! My father is a Hogwarts governor! I am a noble Malfoy! How dare you ignore a noble Malfoy!"
Draco Malfoy continued to shout, like a brainless villain in a novel.
He was a child spoiled by his family, arrogant and conceited.
Chen Yu was getting annoyed by his shouting and wondered how to make the brat shut up.
He looked up at the tabby cat on the podium and saw it open its eyes, watching with interest.
With Professor McGonagall watching, Avada Kedavra was definitely out of the question, and the Imperio and Crucio also couldn't be cast in front of a professor.
If he cast any of the three Unforgivable Curses in front of a professor today, he could report to Azkaban tomorrow.
Perhaps Dumbledore himself would even escort him!
Forget the three Unforgivable Curses; other spells couldn't be cast either, as it would ruin his good impression with Professor McGonagall.
He still wanted to ask Professor McGonagall questions about the Transfiguration Charm, so he couldn't leave a bad impression on her.
Listening to Draco's continued incessant chatter, Chen Yu put down his textbook and posed a soul-searching question to Draco: "You say you come from a noble House of Malfoy. How exactly is it noble? Do you think the House of Malfoy is superior to other wizards, or is the blood flowing in your House of Malfoy more noble, or has the House of Malfoy's ancestors produced some extraordinary figures that make you smug and consider yourself noble?"
Malfoy hadn't expected Chen Yu to ask such a question; he was momentarily speechless, thought for a moment, and was about to answer. He had just said the word "we" when Chen Yu interrupted him again.
As a young man who had lived in the real world for twenty or thirty years, he naturally knew that in a situation where he couldn't resort to physical action, the best way to win an argument was to strike first, firmly seize the initiative, and attack the opponent's mind with a series of unexpected words, leaving them speechless.
"You what? Speaking of nobility, do you know my surname? My surname is Chen! According to 'Tongzhi, Clans,' it is recorded that I am a descendant of Emperor Shun! Do you know Yao, Shun, and Yu? You don't! They are among the Five Heavenly Emperors of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of the mysterious ancient Eastern country. As a descendant of Shun, am I proud? No! Your House of Malfoy only has a few thousand years of history, but the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors lived tens of thousands of years ago! I don't know how many times earlier than you!"
"Furthermore, a truly noble person is not someone with immense wealth and luxurious living, nor someone with immense power and a large entourage, surrounded by wealth and prominent status, which can certainly give you temporary boundless glory, but that is merely a castle in the air. A truly noble person is someone with a noble spirit, capable of self-respect, compassion, without flattery or subservience, and finding new life in adversity. I'll give you a saying: 'A truly noble person, even in adversity, can avoid complaining, becoming despondent, or falling down, and through tenacious will and firm faith, achieve rebirth!' Not by relying on family bloodline and claiming nobility!"
"Strip away your family, strip away your father who is a school governor, strip away the bloodline in you, what do you have left? What else can you call noble?"
"I'm different; I have no choice but to succeed!"
Chen Yu stood up, pointed at Draco's nose, and shouted loudly.
Draco's face turned red with anger, his usually pale complexion now flushed.
"You... you... I... I..."
Draco wanted to retort but didn't know how.
Looking at Chen Yu's Eastern features, he couldn't tell if what he said was true or false, unable to gauge his true nature.
His father had told him that there was indeed a mysterious and powerful ancient Eastern country in the far East.
It had a brilliant wizarding culture entirely different from Europe, ancient and secluded, powerful yet extremely xenophobic.
European wizards couldn't gather much useful information, only knowing that the mysterious ancient Eastern country was ancient, mysterious, and not to be underestimated.
Finally, he uttered a face-saving remark: "You just wait! Goyle, Crabbe, let's go!"
And so, he led his two henchmen back to their seats, looking crestfallen.
After Malfoy left, Hermione whispered to Chen Yu, "True nobility is nobility of spirit; what you just said was brilliant! And are you really a descendant of Emperor Shun from the mysterious ancient Eastern country?"
Chen Yu shrugged, "Which famous person with a surname hasn't had a prosperous ancestor? This is all just to fool Malfoy."
Hermione continued, "Then you should be careful. I've read 'The Pure-Blood Directory,' and the House of Malfoy is one of the so-called 28 pure-blood families, holding considerable sway in the wizarding world. Especially his father, who is a school governor. What if his father finds out...?"
Chen Yu waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, adults won't care about children's squabbles. Malfoy wouldn't want to lose face either; he wouldn't want to disappoint his father. Just relax."
Hermione asked curiously, "You seem to know Malfoy very well?"
Chen Yu held up one hand, making a pinching gesture with his thumb and forefinger.
"I know him, but not much, just a little bit."
With Malfoy's interruption, Hermione no longer had the heart to read.
She looked around and found that most of the Gryffindor and Slytherin students had arrived, but there was no sign of Professor McGonagall, Harry, or Ron. She couldn't help but say, "Surely the professor and Harry aren't both late?"
Chen Yu gestured for Hermione to look at the podium and whispered to her, "I say, is there a possibility that our professor arrived long ago?"
Hermione looked around again and said, "I still don't see the professor."
"Have you read 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration'?"
"I've memorized it all."
"Then, according to 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration,' what are the branches of Transfiguration?"
"There are many branches of Transfiguration, including cross-species Transfiguration and human Transfiguration."
"What is the spell for transforming oneself into an animal called?"
"It's called Animagus."
"Guess why there's a cat on the podium where we have class? Look at the markings around that cat's eyes; aren't they somewhat similar to Professor McGonagall's glasses?"
With Chen Yu's hint, Hermione covered her mouth, looking at the podium in disbelief: "Oh my goodness, are you saying that the silver-grey tabby cat lying on the podium is our professor? Our professor is an Animagus? That's incredible!"