After the temporary teaching arrangements were settled, Hogwarts finally managed to get back on track.
Malfoy taught Defence Against the Dark Arts, Tonks taught Potions, and Sirius taught Transfiguration.
On the surface, Hogwarts itself had not changed. Internally, however, it was like a broken machine with a few replacement parts barely keeping it running, dragging its dying shell forward.
For Malfoy, the daily routine of being a teacher was not particularly different.
Aside from the many teachers who gave him unfriendly looks, he was now quite unpopular.
Apart from that, there was one unusual thing about Hermione.
She often daydreamed in class.
"Excuse me, does anyone know what we should pay attention to during the transformation between living and non-living things?"
Tonks lectured with great enthusiasm, her hair changing repeatedly from elegant purple to playful pink and then to passionate red.
Most of the students were fascinated by her changing hair colour and clearly hadn't heard a word she said.
"It seems no one can answer this."
She shook her head in disappointment.
Someone had told her that if no one else knew the answer, she could call on Hermione.
"Miss Granger?"
She did so, trying to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
"Miss Granger?"
Tonks tapped the lectern with her wand, raising her voice.
"Hermione, Hermione?"
Ron kicked the leg of Hermione's desk.
She suddenly stood up, opened her eyes, and faced the teacher.
Her Animagus form was not yet under complete control. She had been feeling sleepy lately and had simply fallen asleep for a moment.
Spellcasters often became more closely attuned to the nature of animals, especially when they were first becoming familiar with their Animagus forms.
But to everyone else, Hermione sleeping in class seemed almost like the end of the world.
"What should we pay attention to when dealing with transformations between inanimate and living organisms?"
"If we're talking about temporarily transforming one living creature into another, you need to be extremely familiar with the structures of both."
"If we're talking about temporarily giving an inanimate object a certain degree of vitality and transforming it into a living thing, you need to reserve enough magical power to maintain the transformation."
"If you're turning a living thing into an inanimate object, then in addition to reserving magical power, you also need to leave a triggerable mark inside it."
"Otherwise, it will be very difficult to return it to its original state."
She stood up abruptly and gave her answer almost word for word.
Ron stared at the girl in shock.
She could answer questions even when she wasn't paying attention in class.
People were simply different.
This was merely a minor incident during the teaching process.
In reality, things were nowhere near as easy or pleasant as they appeared.
As time passed, bad news continued to arrive.
The final examinations were approaching, but no one was in the mood to take them.
Whether they would even live long enough to sit them was already a question.
Almost all the teachers taught their students various spells they had learned or developed themselves.
However, most of the "diarrhoea curses" and "sneezing curses" were useless spells.
One ordinary afternoon, after finishing the day's lessons…
Malfoy did not choose to dine with his colleagues and students in the Great Hall.
Instead, he returned to his office and leaned back in his wicker chair, his gaze unfocused.
However, his leisurely daydreaming did not last long.
After he had only just sat down, a gentle knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Mr. Malfoy, there's something I don't understand today!"
Pansy's voice came from outside the door.
"Please come in."
A helpless expression immediately appeared on his face.
He could already guess who it was from the voice alone.
Ever since Malfoy had become a teacher, Pansy had often found excuses to visit him.
The sixth-year class had just ended.
"Draco, what are you doing?"
When she was outside the door, Pansy's voice had still sounded quite normal.
But the moment she stepped across the threshold, the girl became lively.
It was worth mentioning that she had a kitten hidden in her arms.
It was an ordinary cat, no different from any other, with brown fur mixed with several other shades and shimmering amber eyes.
If one had to point out a difference, the brown fur on its head was somewhat fluffy and messy.
Pansy bent down slightly and gently placed the kitten on the floor.
The cat was extremely agile and darted onto the sofa in an instant.
"I don't want any furry pets in the office."
Malfoy frowned, staring at the cat displeasingly.
"Don't be so serious. Look at its head. All fluffy and messy. Isn't it cute?"
Pansy walked over, reached out, and stroked the cat, chuckling softly.
Her eyes sparkled with obvious affection.
"Where did it come from?" Malfoy asked casually.
He sat at his desk and continued organizing his lesson plans.
"I found her outside your office just now," Pansy replied. "She seemed a little cold, so I brought her inside."
"If you don't want it to die, you'd better take it out. The previous owner of this office left a lot of poison here, and I haven't completely cleaned everything yet. If it eats something poisonous, I won't have time to save it."
"It's not a big problem. I'll tell her."
Pansy spoke lightly.
"You won't eat random things, right?"
She squatted down, rubbed the kitten's head, and asked affectionately.
The kitten nodded and blinked, appearing remarkably intelligent and understanding.
"It's settled, then."
Pansy immediately sat down on the sofa.
It was so soft that she almost sank into it.
She even stretched out her legs and swung them around while sitting there.
There was no sense of restraint or fear between the teacher and student.
It was obvious that after nearly six years of knowing each other so well, the two could hardly have a conventional teacher-student relationship.
"Oh, and if this cat decides to stay here, you can consider it my pet."
"I'll be responsible for its food."
"Okay. It's settled, then."
Before Malfoy could refuse, Pansy had already made the decision herself.
"I didn't agree to that."
"I have nothing else to do. I'm going to get to work now."
"Don't bother me."
Malfoy deliberately adopted a cold tone.
However, if he didn't do this, given Pansy's increasingly demanding nature, he definitely wouldn't be able to work.
"When I was a student, all I did was study and study."
"Now that I'm a teacher, it's all work."
The girl complained.
"Answering students' questions is what teachers are supposed to do. Now I have a few questions to ask you."
"What potions can mistletoe berries be used to make? I forgot…"
"They're the white berries that grow on mistletoe. They can be used to make common antidotes and Forgetfulness Potions."
"What about lionfish?"
"A healing potion."
Malfoy answered while tidying his desk.
"That…"
"At this point, I think you might have asked the wrong person. I'm not the new Potions professor."
"I hope you can ask me some questions about Defence Against the Dark Arts instead."
"If there are no other problems, let's call it a day."
He simply ended the conversation.
"You should go back to your dormitory now."
"Okay."
Pansy lowered her head, looked at her toes, and reluctantly left.
She had only wanted to chat for a while.
That was all.
After finally seeing the girl off, Malfoy returned to his seat, brewed a pot of black tea, and discovered that trying to do two things at once was giving him a headache.
Just then, a soft meow from the cat interrupted his rest again, making him open his eyes.
"Oh, and you too."
Malfoy stood up from his seat and looked down at it for a few moments.
Then he half-crouched, preparing to pick it up.
Just as his hands were about to touch the kitten, he met its amber eyes.
His outstretched arm suddenly froze in mid-air.
"Never mind."
He suddenly stood upright.
"If you spill ink or something like that, I'll chop off your paws. I've never had cat stew before."
Malfoy suddenly issued the warning to the cat as he walked back toward his seat with his back turned to it.
In effect, this statement acknowledged its existence.
The cat lowered its raised tail and lazily slumped down.
Such human-like behaviour certainly did not belong to an ordinary cat.
This was Hermione's Animagus form.
Although the process had been difficult, she had managed to get through it without any major incidents.
This also meant that Hermione's Animagus surveillance operation had officially begun.