Upon hearing this, Chu Yang walked back to his seat and sat down. The next second, Hermione walked into the classroom from the doorway, her expression looking quite serious.
She had originally thought that the gap between herself and Chu Yang could be bridged with time and effort.
But during the test just now, her mind had already turned to mush starting from the third question, let alone the subsequent questions she couldn't even understand.
Seeing Hermione, Chu Yang even greeted her, but Hermione was facing her book, looking quite unhappy.
Students entered the classroom one after another, and as class was about to begin, many students were still absent, the vast majority of whom were first-year Slytherin students.
Chapter 37: Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration
Aside from Chu Yang, only a few Slytherin girls sat obediently in the classroom.
After a long wait, no first-year Slytherin students had arrived.
Professor McGonagall's face visibly darkened.
As the Deputy Headmistress of the school, teaching at Hogwarts for so many years, it was her first time encountering such a situation.
"Does anyone know what's going on with Slytherin? Where have all those boys gone?" Professor McGonagall's cold gaze swept across the entire classroom, and everyone immediately fell silent, quickly lowering their heads.
"Professor McGonagall, it seems those boys played all night in the common room yesterday, and they all caught colds this morning. They were sent to the infirmary by the older students."
Pansy Parkinson, with her short hair, stood up, a hint of schadenfreude on her lips. She was happy to see those arrogant boys make fools of themselves; besides, Malfoy, whom she liked, wasn't among them.
"Thank you for answering my question, Miss Parkinson, but even so, Slytherin will still lose 5 points." Professor McGonagall, knowing the reason, showed displeasure and motioned for Pansy Parkinson to sit down.
More sounds of schadenfreude came from all directions, making the self-defeating Pansy Parkinson's face flush red with anger.
"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall paced the classroom and said sternly, "Now, open your books to the first section on the first page..."
Professor McGonagall began to explain some basic knowledge about Transfiguration, mostly popular science information, to help students understand what Transfiguration is and its risks.
There were also some special sensations, for example, what it feels like when a person transfigures into an animal, and their clothes and worn items like glasses turn into animal skin?
This special sensation can only be experienced by an Animagus; for other wizards, it is a valuable experience.
In addition, Professor McGonagall briefly mentioned the Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.
Chu Yang summarized them: these five exceptions are—you cannot transfigure anything other than food into food, but you can transfigure one type of food into another, or enlarge the volume of food.
Secondly, you cannot transfigure inanimate objects into living beings, or living beings into inanimate objects. Transfiguration cannot change the life level or state of the target.
The third item is that you cannot cast Transfiguration on magical items; there will be strong conflicts between the two due to differences in spells and magic sources.
Furthermore, special Transfiguration like Animagus also has similar restrictions, which is that you cannot transfigure into a magical creature.
Chu Yang's understanding is that the conflict between Transfiguration and magical items (creatures) is similar to adding two unrelated or even conflicting programming codes to a program, which disrupts the normal operation of the original program.
The fourth item is quantity: you cannot use Transfiguration to change a single target into multiple ones. This act of replication or creating individuals is similar to the second item; it is not a realm achievable by human power.
The fifth item is creation ex nihilo: you cannot use Transfiguration to conjure any substance out of thin air, even if it's something you've seen and deeply understood.
These five special situations are all attempts to use magic to violate the laws of "reality"!
But interestingly, Chu Yang vaguely felt that the above five items were not impossible to achieve; they were more like a kind of "shackle." Once one of them was broken, magic would enter a whole new realm, undergoing a qualitative change.
For the first class of the first-year students, Professor McGonagall briefly touched upon some necessary precautions. Due to the widespread absence of first-year Slytherin students, she did not teach any spells.
"Familiarize yourselves with the content I just lectured on." Professor McGonagall finished speaking, transformed back into a tabby cat, and sat on the podium, a human-like weariness evident in her cat eyes.
After a brief silence, four figures burst into the classroom: the savior Harry and his companion Ron, along with Goyle and Crabbe, whose cheeks were badly swollen.
"Oh, good thing Professor McGonagall isn't here, otherwise we'd be in big trouble! She looks so serious, she can scare people to death when she's not talking!"
Ron grumbled while pulling Harry towards their seats. He hadn't noticed that Harry's expression had already changed.
Professor McGonagall transformed from a tabby cat back into human form, but merely walked past them. Professor McGonagall's target was the late Goyle and Crabbe.
"I heard you had a very enjoyable time last night, so much so that you didn't even want to come to Transfiguration class the next day? Should I tell Headmaster Dumbledore to let Slytherin self-study Transfiguration?"
Professor McGonagall's face was like frost, her voice not loud, but every word pierced Goyle and Crabbe's hearts. They now regretted not sleeping on the floor yesterday, otherwise they could have gone to the infirmary for treatment with everyone else.
"It's not like that, Professor McGonagall, let me explain." Goyle eagerly tried to defend himself, then felt someone gently tugging at the hem of his robe. He looked back and saw Crabbe, and also Chu Yang's playful smile.
In an instant, Goyle's hair stood on end, as if an electric current flowed through his body. He still remembered Chu Yang's feat of taking down the entire first-year boys' dormitory by himself last night.
How many punches could he take?
Not even one!
"We are very sorry, Professor McGonagall, we promise it won't happen again!" Goyle quickly admitted his mistake and then obediently shut his mouth.
Professor McGonagall was stunned for a moment; she was still waiting for his explanation...
"There won't be a next time!" Professor McGonagall glared and said loudly, "Sit down!"
Goyle and Crabbe sat down obediently but couldn't focus on the class at all, squirming in their seats as if there were nails on the bench.
The reason they were like this was because their seats were just one row in front of Chu Yang's. Even without looking back, they could clearly feel the substantial gaze from behind, sweeping over them.
Originally, the Slytherin girls had intended to ask Goyle and Crabbe for specific details, but the two of them were like statues in the hall, eyes downcast, completely still, until the next class.
The Potions classroom was in the dungeons, not far from the Slytherin common room entrance. The entire corridor leading to the Potions classroom was dark and damp, and most first-year students had frightened expressions on their faces.
The atmosphere here was simply too gloomy, imposing considerable psychological pressure on a group of 11-year-olds.
Hermione, who had originally planned not to speak to Chu Yang all day, couldn't help but quicken her pace and swiftly move closer to Chu Yang's side.
Hermione cleared her throat and said sarcastically, "Your housemates are really something, making Professor McGonagall so angry on the first day of school."
Chu Yang nodded noncommittally and said, "I think they're quite something too."
Chapter 38: Chu Yang VS Snape
Hermione suddenly tugged at Chu Yang's sleeve and whispered, "Can you tell me what really happened? I don't believe so many people would stay in the common room all night. What for?"
"I heard the Slytherin common room is at the bottom of the Black Lake, dark and cold. What's so fun about that?"
Hermione's thinking was more adult-like. In fact, even Professor McGonagall didn't quite believe that explanation, so as soon as class ended, she went to the infirmary to check on Malfoy.
Chu Yang was too lazy to make up any excuses; anyway, his act of hitting people couldn't be kept secret forever.
Those people were just knocked out by him, not suffering from amnesia.
Chu Yang simply recounted everything truthfully: "They blocked me at the dormitory door last night, saying I wasn't pure-blood and had no right to be in Slytherin. They planned to make things difficult for me. I was tired and sleepy at the time, only wanted to sleep, and had no time to mess around with them, so I could only 'invite' them all out."
Upon hearing this, Hermione paused, her mouth agape, and looked at Chu Yang in shock, asking, "The 'invite' you mentioned... is it the same 'invite' we usually use?"
Chu Yang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There's a slight difference."
"I'm afraid it's more than just a slight difference, isn't it?" Hermione took a deep breath, feeling the surrounding temperature suddenly drop a few degrees, and asked, "Assaulting classmates will lead to school disciplinary action. Aren't you afraid?"
"How could one person beat up so many people? It's more like they were beating me up. I was acting in self-defense." Chu Yang rolled his Byakugan, spread his hands helplessly and said, "Am I supposed to just stand there and let them bully me?"
"That's true. They were the ones who started it!" Hermione, thinking of Chu Yang being ostracized by other first-year Slytherin students because he wasn't pure-blood, immediately felt empathy and couldn't help but become indignant herself.
The two continued talking about last night's events as they walked into the classroom.
"Isn't Hermione from our Gryffindor? Why is she always hanging around Chu Yang!" Ron watched Hermione and Chu Yang chatting happily, and suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Everyone's classmates, there's no need to be so clear-cut, is there? Besides, they probably have more in common, since both of them are very smart and knowledgeable." Harry replied to Ron as a matter of course, not feeling there was any problem at all.
Having had the experience from the Transfiguration class earlier, the first-year students quickly took their seats upon entering the classroom, fearing Professor Snape's harshness.
Compared to Professor McGonagall's seriousness and meticulousness, Professor Snape gave off a very terrifying, dark, and eerie vibe. It felt as if anyone who angered him would suffer a very tragic punishment.
After all the students were seated, Professor Snape walked in from outside the classroom.
He walked with a flourish, his robes billowing in the wind.
He might have thought he looked cool, but Chu Yang thought he looked like a giant fluttering moth the moment he entered the door...
"This class does not require you to foolishly wave your wands, nor does it require you to blindly chant spells. I imagine not many of you appreciate the profound science and precise art of potion-making."
Professor Snape leaned against the podium, his face openly cold. He was about to continue speaking when his eyes swept across the room and he noticed many students missing.
"This doesn't seem to be the first class of the morning, does it? How can so many people be late?" Professor Snape looked at the absent seats, his voice filled with anger, "And they're Slytherin students?!"
Professor Snape slammed his palm heavily on the podium, making a "thump" that startled everyone.
Just then, a knock suddenly sounded from outside the room.
Professor Snape, who was about to continue scolding the students, frowned. Anyone whose speaking momentum is interrupted would feel uncomfortable.
Professor Snape tidied his clothes, then walked to the door like the wind, opened the classroom door, and outside stood Professor McGonagall, who had returned from the infirmary.
Professor McGonagall first peered into the classroom, showing a helpless expression upon seeing Chu Yang, then motioned for Professor Snape to step outside to talk.
Listening to Professor McGonagall recount the whole story of the first-year Slytherin students' absence, Snape was at first a little bewildered, then fell silent.
The students whispered among themselves, wondering why Professor McGonagall called Snape out while he was teaching.
This age is precisely the age where they are very curious about everything.
About 5 minutes later, Professor Snape returned to the classroom with a strange expression on his face.
He didn't walk to the podium, but instead walked directly in front of Chu Yang, looking at him coldly.
"Mr. Chu Yang, can you tell me how you managed to make several dormitories of classmates unable to attend class the next day with just a pair of fists?"
"I'm truly curious, but don't tell me that you, from an orphanage, also know Eastern kung fu. That would truly be a bit ridiculous!"
Snape mocked Chu Yang without restraint, and his words had already caused an uproar in the classroom!
The reason those Slytherin students couldn't come to class was because they were beaten by Chu Yang!
Immediately, the room was buzzing with noise!
Harry and Ron were so surprised their mouths hung open, looking at Chu Yang with admiration. Good heavens, so many people were actually taken down by him alone?
Yesterday, Ron was still telling Harry that a non-pure-blood wizard like Chu Yang would definitely not have a good outcome if he went to Slytherin.
Harry was also very worried about Chu Yang's situation.
When he saw Chu Yang safe and sound this morning, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As the only two orphans in the first year, if something happened to Chu Yang, Harry would inevitably feel a sense of shared sorrow.
Among the three giants of point deduction, the calmest was Hermione, who had already learned the truth from Chu Yang, but she was still very worried about Chu Yang, as Professor Snape looked very angry.