Hoare's first magic class at Hogwarts was Transfiguration.
He had been looking forward to this class for a long time.
"Why are you smiling so strangely?" Zabini, sitting next to Hoare, noticed his peculiar grin.
To be honest, it was a bit... creepy...
"Last night during dinner, I overheard the ghosts chatting. They said there's a cat in the Transfiguration class," Hoare explained.
As someone who was obsessed with cats, he had been longing for this moment.
Years ago, Arthur's dad once took Hoare and Ron to visit Cedric's house on the neighboring hill, and that family had several pets.
The moment Hoare stepped through the door, those adorable little animals started to flee frantically.
They even preferred climbing onto Ron rather than letting Hoare get close.
In the end, it was Diggory who saved the trembling little animals.
Later, Diggory wrote to George, complaining that their pets were so nervous they woke up in fright every night, and even the chickens stopped laying eggs.
But!
Hoare thought, the cats at Hogwarts, especially the one in the Transfiguration class, must be different from other cats.
After all, this cat was transformed by Professor McGonagall.
It wouldn't run away at the sight of him.
"Really?!"
Now, both Slytherin and Gryffindor boys and girls around him were excited.
Who wouldn't love a cute cat?
Hoare's smile grew even more mischievous.
"Here, these are for you."
He kindly took out the things he had brought, making a significant contribution to the interaction between the two houses.
"Thank you so much," Granger said, taking what Hoare handed over and sharing it with a few other girls.
"I've always wanted a cat," Granger waved the cute wand in her hand, "I wonder if it would like to come back to Gryffindor with me. I'd give it the best care."
Slytherin girl Pansy protested, "We have everything in Slytherin. If it comes, it should come to us."
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What started as a dispute between two girls soon escalated into a competition between the two houses, with Hoare acting as a witness to a bet on who the cat would choose to go with!
Hoare...
Hoped they still wanted to keep it after knowing the truth.
As they entered the classroom, they indeed saw a cute cat sitting on the podium, staring at them with a serious expression.
She was a spotted cat, with markings around her eyes resembling glasses, looking like an old scholar.
Gryffindor and Slytherin students swarmed over.
"She looks so serious."
"Really cute."
Granger, with lightning speed, reached out and petted the soft fur of the spotted cat.
The cat seemed surprised that someone dared to touch her, her round cat eyes widening to almost half her face.
"So cute!"
"Feels amazing!" Pansy, not to be outdone, also reached out to pet the cat.
Hoare, taking advantage of the chaos, also stroked the spotted cat's smooth fur, enjoying the wonderful texture.
After petting, he leisurely returned to his seat.
Meanwhile, Pansy and Granger, the main contenders in this bet, each took out a cat toy and a ball of yarn.
They held them up in front of the cat.
"Cat, cat, come with me, we'll go to Slytherin."
"Cat, come to Gryffindor, we even have a slide."
Hoare saw that the spotted cat was completely frozen, unsure of what to do next.
He stifled his laughter.
At this moment, his "good brother" Ron held out his hand in front of the cat, filled with catnip, though Hoare had no idea where he got it from.
"Hey, kitty, come with me. I'll prepare lots and lots of delicious food for you," Ron mumbled.
"I promise, if you come home with me, you'll live better than you do now. Look how thin you are."
The catnip was placed right under the cat's nose.
Hoare noticed a look of utter despair in the cat's eyes.
"Ron? Do you like cats too?" Harry, who was beside them, asked.
"Hoare likes them. He's always wanted a cat, but we can't afford another one," Ron explained.
"Hoare is the twin brother you mentioned?"
Hoare noticed Ron talking about him and raised an eyebrow, surprised that "Little Ronnie" had grown up.
"Did she just roll her eyes at me?" Ron pointed at the spotted cat in disbelief, "I kindly brought her catnip, and she rolled her eyes at me!?"
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
The bell rang, and everyone stopped teasing the cat and hurried back to their seats.
But the teacher still hadn't appeared.
Just as everyone started to murmur, the spotted cat on the table lightly leaped to the ground and transformed into the teacher right in front of everyone.
The air was filled with awkwardness and tension.
Granger looked devastated, muttering, "I actually petted Professor McGonagall, I even wanted to keep Professor McGonagall, she's definitely going to deduct points from me."
Normally, Ron would have expressed disdain for Granger, but now he was too preoccupied, shaking Harry incessantly.
"Harry, what do we do, what do we do, will Professor McGonagall write to my mom? Will I get expelled? Mom will definitely send me a Howler!"
Harry was equally despairing, unable to offer Ron any comfort, because he had just petted her from head to tail.
Realizing that the cat was Professor McGonagall, he now wanted to chop off his own hands!
Why was he so quick!
Gryffindor was in chaos, and Slytherin next door wasn't much better.
"Ahhh, Blaise, what should I do! Will Professor McGonagall give me a hard time, will she deduct points, the head of the house will definitely kill me!" Pansy was nearly in tears.
Blaise Zabini, who was being pulled by her, remained calm. He preferred majestic werewolves over cats, so he hadn't joined the commotion earlier.
He sighed, "The head of the house won't kill students, especially not from his own house."
"What! Will I be expelled from Slytherin?" Pansy's mind seemed to have a special extractor, only picking up key words.
"Draco, help her out," Zabini, unable to handle the panicking Pansy, turned to Draco for help.
Then he noticed that Draco, who seemed to be sitting properly, was actually about to have his soul leave his body.
"Draco!" Zabini quickly stuffed his soul back in!
These people were hopeless!
Couldn't they learn to be as composed as Henry William?
Zabini was exhausted.
Professor McGonagall ignored the chaotic scene, cleared her throat, and the noisy classroom fell silent, with even the sound of breathing barely audible.
Just as everyone was about to break into a cold sweat.
Professor McGonagall nonchalantly said, "Let's begin the class."