Chapter 18
Professor McGonagall was waiting to welcome them. She stood firmly and seriously at the entrance. The moment Devero laid eyes on her, he was nearly taken aback!
He was eagerly anticipating the arrival of this charming and esteemed professor from the original tale.
What he struggled with the most was his lack of talent in Transfiguration.
He had previously inquired with the system: Why, despite being a magical prodigy, could he easily master various spells but found Transfiguration so challenging?
The system's response left Devero at a loss for words. It stated that his talent for Transfiguration was simply inadequate. Being a magical genius greatly enhanced his proficiency with spell-based magic because Devero possessed a fair amount of innate talent. However, entries couldn't resolve everything.
His ongoing difficulties with Transfiguration were already a result of his magical genius coming into play.
If he was dissatisfied, he should seek out more entries and intensify his efforts!
What?
A transmigrator like him could actually have such poor talent?
Devero felt somewhat disheartened.
In comparison to Harry, a remarkable child of destiny with golden entries everywhere, his own background seemed quite unimpressive. He was probably only at Ron's level. Or even worse, perhaps comparable to Neville.
Thus, Devero was extremely eager for high-quality entries!
But at last, Devero encountered the goddess of his dreams—Professor Minerva McGonagall!!
"First years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said to her. Clearly, even he felt a bit intimidated by this highly esteemed lady.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here." Professor McGonagall nodded, casting a stern look at the noisy first years.
This dignified professor had the power to silence everyone without uttering a word. Under her gaze, as no one dared to speak, Professor McGonagall turned around.
She swung the door wide open. Inside, the stone walls were illuminated by flickering torches. The ceiling was so high it was nearly impossible to see the top. In front was a magnificent marble staircase leading directly upstairs.
Devero was still a bit away from Professor McGonagall, unable to check her entries. He was so anxious he was practically bouncing. But there was no way around it—there were too many people.
Devero wished he could just pull out his wand and clear the little wizards obstructing his path. In the end, like everyone else, he followed Professor McGonagall along the stone-paved floor.
Just then, a familiar sound echoed.
[Ding!]
[Discovered Wizarding Secret Realm, Exploration Function Triggered!]
[Current Wizarding Secret Realm: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]
[Exploration Progress: 0.01%]
As anticipated, Hogwarts was a wizarding secret realm, just as Devero had predicted.
But what he hadn't expected was that Hogwarts was *this* enormous! A 0.01% exploration rate—what did that even signify?
All the walking he'd done so far only accounted for one ten-thousandth of the school? That was absurd!
When he had ascended from the cliffside staircase, Devero was already astonished by the sheer scale of the school.
But according to the system's assessment, this place was far larger than he could have envisioned.
No wonder the Weasley twins, over an entire school year, couldn't fully explore the school.
It was simply impossible to complete in one academic year!
Devero couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his own cleverness.
Fortunately, before arriving at the school, he had used the Silencing Charm as bait to recruit Fred and George, the infamous troublemakers of Hogwarts, to be his guides.
Otherwise, relying solely on himself, he'd probably only explore 30% in seven years. But even so, Devero still felt it wasn't sufficient.
Hogwarts had a long history, and there were likely many places, like the Room of Requirement, that even the twins hadn't discovered. Depending solely on them wouldn't yield progress quickly enough.
He'd still have to depend on himself.
Devero contemplated. As a first-year student, he was still limited in many ways.
There were numerous places he couldn't access, like the Forbidden Forest or the Restricted Section of the library.
In the original story, Harry's Invisibility Cloak was an incredible tool. With it, the entire castle would be his to explore! But, the Invisibility Cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, was surely closely guarded by Dumbledore.
Borrowing it would likely come with surveillance.
Devero frowned slightly. He didn't want to be monitored by Dumbledore—that would definitely restrict his freedom.
Ultimately, it all came down to relying on himself.
Devero had two options now. One was the Disillusionment Charm from the original story. The other was becoming an Animagus.
But for now, he had no leads on where to learn the Disillusionment Charm. So, his only option was to become an Animagus. Which meant—Professor McGonagall's entries were *essential*!
---
After walking for a while, the young wizards were led into a cramped stone chamber. The space was so small that many of the young wizards began to complain.
But for Devero, this was the ideal spot! He was finally within three meters of Professor McGonagall. He immediately checked her panel.
...
[Name: Minerva McGonagall]
[Age: 55]
[Spell Inventory: Animagus (Mastery), Various Transfiguration Spells (Mastery), ...]
[Entries: Transfiguration Prodigy (Gold), Magical Talent (Purple), Great Teacher (Purple)]
...
[Transfiguration Prodigy (Gold): An unmatched talent in Transfiguration, combined with extreme diligence and seriousness—the most crucial qualities for Transfiguration! Destined to achieve greatness in this field!]
[Magical Talent (Purple): Possesses magical talent beyond the average wizard, learns spells faster than most, and has a degree of creativity.]
[Great Teacher (Purple): Proficient at imparting knowledge and skills, capable of guiding students' moral growth, inspiring potential, and positively influencing their personal development. Likely to become a beloved teacher!]
...
Wow! Devero's eyes widened!
As expected of the future Headmistress of Hogwarts—her entries were on par with Snape's!
For Devero, they might even be more beneficial! He was practically bursting with excitement! Back at the train station, he had loaded one gold and one purple entry from Harry, and now they were on cooldown.
Seeing these entries right in front of him but being unable to load them—this was worse than death for Devero!
"Devero, what's wrong?" Neville, standing beside him, asked with concern. At this point, Harry and the other three had joined Devero, standing together.
"Have you ever felt like you were halfway through using the bathroom and got pulled out?" Devero said, his face pale.
Neville shook his head in horror.
"That's how I feel right now," Devero said listlessly.
Their whispering earned them a glare from Professor McGonagall. Neville immediately stood up straight. Devero, meanwhile, looked deflated, completely unmotivated.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said once the room quieted down.
"The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses."
She continued with a lengthy explanation about the importance of the Sorting. Devero wasn't really paying attention. Right now, he only wished time would move faster! Why was the cooldown period so long?!