Quirrell's appearance was just a minor interlude; although he was somewhat unusual, Howl didn't possess such strong curiosity to uncover his secrets.
After arriving at the first-floor lobby and bidding farewell to Harry, Howl headed straight for the fifth floor.
Hogwarts has two common rooms located in towers: Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
Thus, along the way, his unique appearance drew frequent glances from many Little Wizards.
During this time, he encountered two memorable children.
"Mr. Jones!!"
Two red-haired children with a few freckles on their faces greeted him in unison.
Evidently, they were twins.
"Good morning, gentlemen." Howl smiled and nodded in greeting, "Is there something you need?"
The child on the left spoke first: "Good morning, sir, we mainly wanted to ask about your, uh... this... appearance! What kind of magic is it from? Sorry, we mean no harm."
"It's very cool, and it gave us some new inspiration," the other person on the right quickly added.
The one on the left quickly added again: "If you mind, we'll scram right away!"
After speaking, the two looked at Howl expectantly.
"No, of course, I don't mind." Howl nodded, then explained:
"Perhaps Dumbledore didn't make it clear enough yesterday. Actually, my current appearance isn't a common Transfiguration trick but rather a result of a mistake during Animagus training."
The two Little Wizards' faces showed apology: "Uh, we're really sorry, sir, we didn't mean to..."
"I said I don't mind." Howl smiled, "But I'm very curious, what is the inspiration you mentioned?"
"We're researching some joke products, and after seeing you at the opening feast last night, we had a new idea: a joke candy that can turn a person's head into a lion or something similar!"
"Or turn them into your handsome appearance."
"You two are quite glib-tongued." Howl thought for a moment: "Perhaps you can find inspiration from Polyjuice Potion."
"Isn't that a potion to turn into someone else?" they asked, confused.
Howl looked at the two with interest: "Do you want to try putting a cat hair in Polyjuice Potion?"
"This..."
Looking at Howl's confident demeanor, the two Little Wizards exchanged glances and fell into thought.
"Alright, I have to go to the library. I look forward to seeing your joke candies come out. Remember to save one for me then... a human one!" Howl bid farewell to the two and walked past them.
"Hiss... what he said... seems to make some sense."
"But George, you forgot a problem!"
"What?"
"We don't have money..."
...
Howl hadn't expected that right after finishing his conversation with the two Little Wizards, he would encounter another person.
The Dean of Gryffindor, Minerva McGonagall.
"Professor McGonagall, good morning!" Howl greeted her, "Do you have classes early today?"
Professor McGonagall nodded: "Yes, this morning is for Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years."
She also hadn't expected to run into Howl here and immediately asked curiously: "Mr. Jones, I've finally met you. A long time ago, Albus told me that an ancient-style Wizard would be coming to Hogwarts to hold a casual position.
At that time, I was already looking forward to meeting you.
Then, a few days ago, Pomona told me that you were a unique Animagus, and I was even more eager."
"You flatter me," Howl said with a smile.
"So, what is your current state?" McGonagall asked with some curiosity, then introduced herself: "No offense, I am also an Animagus."
"Of course. My current state is perfectly fine." Howl nodded: "Except for occasionally needing to cover my face when I go out. It's not like my head turns human after my body turns into a cat."
"I see." Professor McGonagall nodded: "We usually have afternoon tea on Friday afternoons, would you like to come? I think Professor Flitwick would also be very curious about ancient-style magic."
"Alright, I'll definitely be there on Friday. Is it in the staff common room?" Howl would not refuse a tea party with a Transfiguration master and a Charms master.
"Yes." Professor McGonagall nodded: "Welcome."
After speaking, McGonagall bid farewell and left.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, the library doors were already wide open. As soon as Pince saw Howl, her face lit up: "I didn't expect you to come so early."
Saying this, she led Howl into the library.
And on one of the tables, a mountain of books was piled high.
"These are the books I've organized during this time," she said eagerly, then asked with some uncertainty: "It's not too many, is it?"
Howl looked at the books, a little taken aback, but still nodded: "It's acceptable."
It's just...
"Do I work here?" Howl asked uncertainly, these books occupied at least half of the table.
"Won't it be too conspicuous?"
"If you want to go to the office, you can; just leave the library to me," Pince said.
"Won't it be too much trouble for you?"
"No." Pince shook her head: "As long as these books can be restored quickly. As for the library, I've been alone here for so many years anyway."
"Alright." Howl nodded, not refusing.
Then he raised his hand, thought for a moment, and still took out the wand he had previously confiscated from a Ministry of Magic person, waving it at the pile of books.
The mountain of books slowly floated up, following him into the office.
After roughly looking through all the books, Howl couldn't help but admire Madam Pince.
All the books that needed repair could roughly be divided into two categories. One category was basic damage beyond her capabilities, such as extensive loose pages, faded ancient text, and pages completely scribbled on by Little Wizards.
The other kind was on the magical level. Some books in this category were not damaged themselves, but the magic attached to them had gone awry.
Many books had various spells attached by their original owners to prevent their knowledge content from being easily accessed.
For example, in Howl's hand at this moment was "Cleveland's Transfiguration Overview," every page of which was blank.
On the book cover, there was a note from Pince, detailing the problem with this book.
The original owner of this Transfiguration overview had attached a unique invisibility spell to it, and only by opening it correctly could the contents of the book be seen.
However, due to an accident more than thirty years ago, the spell on this book went wrong, and its content has never reappeared.
There was also another book, which also had similar protective magic attached; without unlocking the spell, the book simply couldn't be opened.
And under the erosion of time, the logical chain of the spell attached to the book was damaged, causing the book to be permanently sealed and unopened for over a decade.