After personally demonstrating how to repot Mandrakes, Professor Sprout brushed the dirt off her hands and gave the young wizards two thumbs up—this was their agreed-upon signal to remove earmuffs after completing the repotting.
Once the young wizards removed their earmuffs, Professor Sprout emphasized some precautions. For instance, while young Mandrakes' cries wouldn't kill you, they were certainly enough to knock you unconscious for several hours, so earmuffs were essential during the procedure.
Also, they needed to be careful of other magical plants in the greenhouse during the operation. While Professor Sprout had been repotting, a nearby Venomous Tentacula had unsportingly attempted to ambush this elderly woman. Fortunately, she hadn't been careless and had dodged it.
After this came the most important and difficult part of the lesson: working in groups of four to repot Mandrakes.
The purpose of repotting was that as the Mandrakes grew, their bodies had completely filled the small pots and were about to overflow.
Naturally, Sherlock teamed up with Harry, Hermione, and Ron to share a pot. Seamus and Dean couldn't help but feel disappointed at this, especially Neville and Seamus, who usually paired with Sherlock and Hermione in Charms and Potions classes.
That feeling of being carried by the toppers was simply too wonderful! Unfortunately, this was the first lesson of the new term, and it was groups of four—Harry and Ron would never let Sherlock and Hermione slip away.
So, Neville, Seamus, and Dean formed a group with Hannah Abbott. Thanks to Sherlock, Abbott was very friendly, and the four quickly became acquainted.
However, this didn't help much with the upcoming practical lesson.
Though watching Professor Sprout repot the Mandrakes had seemed easy enough, actually doing it themselves was entirely different. You could understand it by watching, but when you tried to learn it, it became expensive.
Most of the young wizards ended up disheveled, sweating profusely, and sore all over.
The main problem was that the Mandrakes refused to cooperate. They neither wanted to be pulled from their old pots nor stuffed into new ones. Despite their small size, once they started struggling, they had considerable strength.
The young wizards finally understood why Professor Sprout had arranged for them to work in groups of four. Two or three people alone really couldn't handle these creatures.
Fortunately, after more than half an hour of effort, most young wizards successfully completed the task. The few who couldn't finish managed to clear it before class ended with Professor Sprout's help.
A sense of accomplishment began to spread among them.
Compared to the other young wizards, having the two masters Sherlock and Hermione made Harry and Ron's task considerably easier. Hermione had solid theoretical foundations, while Sherlock had rich practical experience.
Faced with desperately struggling Mandrakes that refused to submit, Sherlock simply gave them a slap, and the little plants immediately became obedient and quiet.
Seeing how effective this technique was, Dean tried to imitate it. However, after his slap, not only did he fail to cause damage, but the Mandrake grabbed hold of him tightly.
"What are you doing—ouch!"
The dark hand was firmly grasped by the green Mandrake, which refused to let go no matter what. At the critical moment, Professor Sprout intervened just in time, preventing Dean from getting bitten hard.
After witnessing this scene, the other young wizards didn't dare to act rashly and obediently followed the teacher's instructions.
"Sherlock, you're really strong," the nearby young wizards said admiringly after class, looking at Sherlock who appeared calm and composed, no different from before the lesson began.
This made them vaguely realize that while wizards made their living through magic, having a strong body was also quite beneficial.
"Yes, yes! Sherlock is particularly strong! Last year in Flying class, when he grabbed my broomstick, no matter how hard I struggled, it just wouldn't fly!" Neville happily promoted Sherlock's good deeds to others.
To enhance the credibility of his story, he even shared his experience from Flying class last year with everyone.
The atmosphere immediately filled with cheerful laughter.
"Haha, Sherlock, the way Neville tells it, it sounds like you did something to his broomstick," Ron laughed.
"Ron, I think only you would think that way," Sherlock replied.
"That's debatable! Harry can't read people's minds, so unless someone says it outright, who would know about such things—"
"No, my friend, based on my observational deductions, at least among those present just now, you were the only one thinking that way."
Since most of the young wizards were covered in dirt, they chose to return to the castle for a shower first.
An hour later, the Gryffindor students arrived at their Transfiguration classroom.
By second year, Professor McGonagall no longer transformed into a tabby cat to observe everyone. However, as she had said in last year's first lesson, Transfiguration was the most complex and dangerous spell in the Hogwarts curriculum.
By second year, this difficulty had increased exponentially.
Last year's first lesson had been turning matches into sharp needles. Second year's first lesson had evolved directly to turning beetles into buttons.
This was no longer just a matter of crossing species—this was turning living things into inanimate objects, animals into manufactured items.
The only common ground Sherlock could find between the two was probably that they were both organic matters.
Harry's talent for Transfiguration was limited. Despite studying seriously last year, when he started today, it was as if he had returned all of last year's learning to the teacher.
He struggled for a long time, but the result was like pointing to whatever he couldn't do. The beetle remained a beetle.
Ron's performance wasn't much better, despite having a brand-new wand. His spellcasting result was transformed, but not completely.
Looking at a button with six legs and Harry's original beetle crawling side by side on the desk, Harry and Ron exchanged glances and fell into deep thought.
Was this a walking button or a beetle whose body had become a button?
The others weren't doing much better. Some accidentally squashed their beetles with their wands, some had incomplete transformations like Ron, and others had no effect at all like Harry.
All of this made Professor McGonagall quite unhappy. But what could she do? Having taught Transfiguration for so many years, she was used to it.
Expecting everyone to grasp the essentials in the first lesson was like expecting Professor Dumbledore to stop eating sweets.
She turned her attention to Sherlock and Hermione, hoping these two young wizards, in whom she had placed high hopes, wouldn't disappoint her.
Indeed, they didn't let her down. Both Sherlock and Hermione succeeded on their first try, turning their beetles into buttons.
The buttons were beautifully shaped, almost lifelike. Of course, after the transfiguration, they were genuinely real.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Professor McGonagall was very satisfied with their work.
Even in the inflated second year, her judgment of house points remained different from other professors, appearing quite cautious. Despite Sherlock and Hermione's excellent performance, she still only gave each of them five points.
If it had been other professors, twenty points would have been awarded by now. Except for Professor Snape, of course—not deducting points would be a blessing. As for adding points? Don't even think about it!
Professor McGonagall's gaze swept around, confirming that no one else could succeed, then gently waved her wand.
The Levitation Charm brought the two buttons into the air. She tapped her wand again, and the buttons rapidly enlarged until they stopped when they reached the size of dinner plates.
"Everyone, pay attention. Mr. Holmes and Miss Granger have provided excellent demonstrations."
After the small buttons were enlarged, the details became clearly visible. Only then did the young wizards discover in surprise that Hermione's button actually bore a Gryffindor lion pattern—obviously something she had intentionally created.
In contrast, Sherlock's button appeared completely ordinary. However, the young wizards knew in their hearts that this didn't mean Sherlock's Transfiguration skills were inferior to Hermione's.
After all, this was the Transfiguration prodigy that even Professor McGonagall had personally acknowledged! In last year's first Transfiguration lesson, while Hermione had only changed one end of the match, Sherlock had completely transformed the match into a needle—sharp and pointed at one end.
The Lion King simply disdained such flourishes.
"I must emphasize again that Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous spell in your Hogwarts curriculum. Even successfully casting a Transfiguration spell doesn't mean everything is fine, because from that moment on, it represents a fundamental change in the object's nature!
"Here, I must again emphasize Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration—" Professor McGonagall paused, her gaze sweeping across the classroom. "Does anyone know Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?"
Predictably, Hermione was the first to raise her hand high. And the last.
Professor McGonagall couldn't help but frown. Although Hermione could always answer her questions correctly, relying on her alone wasn't enough.
This year's little lions were far too passive!
Professor McGonagall wasn't Professor Sprout—even with only Hermione raising her hand, she still decided to pressure the other young wizards.
Her gaze passed over Hermione's raised arm and finally settled on Neville, who wished he could lower his head beneath the desk: "Mr. Longbottom, answer my question."
Called upon by Professor McGonagall, Neville's round face flushed red. He tremblingly stood up, and due to his extreme nervousness, the corner of his robes knocked over an inkwell.
Now he could only frantically use his Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration to stem the flowing ink while stammering, "Gamp's Law—is—is that you can't transfigure dinner?"
Suppressed laughter immediately filled the classroom. Seamus's beetle took the opportunity to crawl into Neville's sleeve, causing a series of rustling sounds.
Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched slightly. Her wand lightly tapped to restore the ink to its original state, and the beetle obediently returned to Seamus's desk.
"Although—not quite accurate, it does touch on the first exception."
Seeing Neville's terrified appearance and that still no one else besides Hermione had raised their hand, Professor McGonagall sighed. After a moment's hesitation, she finally called on Hermione.
"Miss Granger."
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