Hogwarts: Transmigrated as the Top Student

While silently criticizing the Animagus spell, Jon noticed that the first-year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students had already arrived.

"Hello, Jon."

"Hello, Steven."

"Good morning, Jon."

"Good morning, Eloise."

He greeted his Hufflepuff classmates one by one... but they didn't realize that the tabby cat on the podium was actually Professor McGonagall, so they chatted and played freely without any concern.

Steven Lucas even tried to go up and pet the cat, but Jon quickly pulled him back.

Ginny Weasley arrived as well and sat alone near the front, just a few seats to Jon's right.

By 8:30, everyone had arrived... No one wanted to be late for the first class on the first day.

"Good morning, everyone!" Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly rang out from the podium, startling most of the students. "Please quiet down!"

The room fell instantly silent.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, your Transfiguration teacher..." she introduced herself briefly.

"Transforming an object—or a person—into something else is an extremely dangerous process!" Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a powerful authority. "There have been many incidents throughout Hogwarts' history where careless students turned themselves, or others, into pigs, sheep, or worse!"

"If you're lucky, the transformation isn't permanent..." She paused. "But if it is—then it's a disaster."

"There are sixteen known magical creatures that originated from failed transfiguration spells, including the infamous Quintaped. And throughout the history of Britain, at least 300 wizards have died due to their own failed transfigurations, while nearly 900 have been permanently disabled!"

"I sincerely hope none of you end up among them," she added, sweeping her gaze meaningfully across the room.

The classroom was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The young witches and wizards exchanged nervous glances.

"Now that you understand the risks, let me show you the complexity and wonder of Transfiguration!"

With that, Professor McGonagall gave her wand a wave.

In an instant, the podium before her transformed into a massive lion.

"Roar!" the lion growled, leaping toward Colin Creevey's seat and nearly scaring the small Gryffindor boy off his chair.

Several nearby students quickly backed away.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand again.

The lion took two steps forward, then turned into a small badger that darted between the desks... It even leapt onto Jon's desk, leaving a paw print on the surface.

"Squeak... squeak..."

Finally, the badger returned to McGonagall's side and transformed back into the podium.

The class, previously filled with dread over Transfiguration, was now captivated—eager to learn how to do something like that themselves.

"Of course... transforming furniture into animals is something you'll only learn in the upper years," McGonagall said, gesturing for silence. "We'll begin with the basics—turning a matchstick into a needle."

She handed each student several matchsticks.

"Picture a needle clearly in your mind. Hold that image there—don't let it shift or change... Now, try to superimpose the matchstick in front of you onto the needle in your imagination..."

"The incantation is 'Acus.' Emphasis on the second syllable... Now, raise your wands—"

"Acus!" Jon lifted his wand and called out confidently.

But the matchstick in front of him didn't change at all.

"Very nice, Miss Weasley!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out from Jon's right. "A fine first attempt—one point to Gryffindor!"

The entire class turned to look at Ginny Weasley.

The tip of her matchstick had already started to transform.

"Wait… could it be that Voldemort's diary comes with a built-in mentor effect?" Jon muttered, staring at his unchanged matchstick and scratching his head.

...

By the end of class, four students had managed to alter their matchsticks. Jon Hart was the fourth.

He had only managed to make the tip a little sharper, while Ginny Weasley's matchstick had taken on the full shape of a needle. Pleased with her progress, Professor McGonagall awarded Gryffindor another point.

This left Jon a little frustrated—not because he hadn't earned points or attention, but because he had memorized the entire Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, while most of his classmates hadn't even opened their textbooks before school started.

He fully understood the theory behind the "Acus" spell. The real issue was that he struggled to clearly visualize a needle in his mind and match it with the object before him.

But there was no time to dwell on it—Charm class was about to begin.

The Charms classroom was located on the left side of the fourth-floor corridor. When Jon arrived with the Hufflepuffs, he found it already filled with Ravenclaw students.

Professor Filius Flitwick, a short man, had to stand atop a stack of books to reach the lectern. Before beginning class, he took out a roll and started calling names.

This year's students didn't include anyone famous like Harry Potter, so nothing stood out to him.

Just like Professor McGonagall, Flitwick spent the first half of class stressing the importance of Charms. He then gave demonstrations of the Reductor Curse, the Mending Charm, and the Summoning Charm.

Afterward, he began teaching the Hover Charm—a spell that allowed objects to remain suspended in the air for a few seconds.

Flitwick also promised that once most students could cast this spell, he would teach them the more advanced, profound, and highly useful Levitation Charm— Wingardium Leviosa!

After half a period of practice, not a single student from either house had successfully cast the Hover Charm—not even Jon.

Though Flitwick offered reassurance, saying the spell required lots of practice and that only a handful of students had ever mastered it on the first try...

Jon was still quite disappointed as he made his way to the dining hall.

Just like in Transfiguration, he had already mastered the theory behind the Hover Charm—and even the Levitation Charm—but putting it into practice was another story entirely...

The first morning at Hogwarts had clearly been a rough start for him.