The Truth? And Transfiguration

Edmund's attitude wasn't because the genie enjoyed humiliating his defeated opponents. His resentment stemmed directly from the real Edmund Soman.

Soman the Younger harbored resentment towards his father before his death, and upon closer examination, this turned out to be a complicated and messy affair.

As the little-known secret tells: Old Soman was once a trusted lieutenant of the Dark Lord Grindelwald. And Old Grindelwald was a shrewd and ruthless man who knew how to judge people and trusted his subordinates implicitly.

Before Grindelwald fell from power, old Mr. Soman was indeed loyal and thus qualified to know about Grindelwald's backup plans, and was sent to Romania to find the "Great Treasure".

Before old Mr. Soman could find the artifact, Grindelwald was defeated and imprisoned by Dumbledore; but he was also fortunate enough to dig open the mysterious tomb before the Aurors could settle scores with him, and barely survived the many traps to find the treasure that Grindelwald hoped to obtain:

A magic lamp.

It's very old and very traditional; it can grant you three wishes—but will take your soul as the price.

……

Since then, Mr. Soman has been winning, winning big, winning again, and winning big, turning the Soman family, which was originally just a declining noble family, into one of the most prestigious families in the German magical world. He himself has become the most prestigious of the newly rich, a powerful figure that even the Minister of Magic of Germany has to fawn over!

Therefore, he forgot that he did not deserve all that he had gained.

Forget that he is not Grindelwald; he doesn't have that talent or that ability.

He actually only had one more magic lamp than his master, and it was this very lamp that brought him disaster.

However, it was not old Mr. Soman who paid the price, but young Edmund, who was only 6 years old.

What was he thinking as he lay in the center of the carpet, gradually growing cold?

Oh, he wasn't thinking anything. Because the assailant's killing curse was so accurate and precise, he died instantly.

But the genie resurrected from within him had many thoughts. Due to some kind of "usage rule," the genie's thinking was very similar to Edmund's, which was the truth behind why he couldn't stand seeing old Mr. Soman comfortable.

Old Mr. Soman dared not disregard his request, and the next day he sent a strong long-eared owl to deliver the message.

Edmund hurried toward the Transfiguration classroom, reading the intelligence report in his hand. The weather was fine today, but the contents of the letter were sinister.

In short, Scrooge Barufeo, at the age of 19, suddenly went mad one midnight and decided to test the Summoning Charm on a few Muggles. He was curious to know if the charm could work on human organs.

The investigation report didn't specify whether he succeeded or not, but he was arrested on four counts of murdering Muggles.

If it weren't for Felix Flitwick, the headmaster of Hogwarts' Ravenclaw school, vouching for him with his reputation and saying that there was still a chance for him to reform, the sentence would probably have been a Dementor's kiss—but what difference is there between being sentenced to 37 years in Azkaban and being kissed?

Edmund frowned, his feelings a complex mix. The Summoning Charm wasn't difficult; even with his current magical power, he could certainly use it. Besides, it was ultimately just a prophecy from the Magic Lens; only God knew what he would do with the Summoning Charm in the future. What could a Killing Curse not solve, yet a Summoning Charm could?

Demoiselle was itching to learn: of all the books he had read, only the research of Barthéo aroused his interest, so learning from this man became the "best choice".

It would be too humiliating for Edmund to settle for a less desirable option when he knew there were better choices available; it wouldn't be in Edmund's character.

Fortunately, he no longer needed to dwell on this matter. The Transfiguration classroom was now in sight, and Edmund, having experienced the library's fluid curse incident, didn't want to offend this serious and earnest vice-principal. He quickly stepped forward and secured a good spot for himself.

"A cat?" Travers said, frowning. "Edmund, look!"

He pointed towards the lectern, where a fluffy tabby cat was lying, staring at them with its round eyes.

Edmund sat up straight immediately.

"Take your finger back!" He kicked Travers's foot. "Don't you know that Professor Minerva McGonagall was one of the seven recorded Animagus of the 20th century?"

Travers had no idea that not every family had an intelligence network like the Somans'.

Edmund didn't lower his voice, so the other students who arrived early also heard what he said. Judging from their expressions, they were also unaware of the matter.

Whether it was Edmund's imagination or not, the tabby cat seemed to glare at him sternly before leaping off the lectern.

After a series of transformations that are difficult to describe, the cat became Professor McGonagall.

Edmund wasn't sure if Travers had muttered "go back" under his breath. He gave Professor McGonagall an awkward smile, feeling he must have done something wrong: he had probably spoiled her fun, as she had intended to have a good joke with the students.

Fortunately, someone was very supportive. James, who had been drowsy and basically dragged to the classroom by Sirius and Lupin, perked up and cheered loudly:

"Incredible! Professor McGonagall! Is this all we have for today's lesson?"

Ah, dreaming.

Edmund pursed his lips and deliberately laughed out loud. This earned him a glare from James, and Professor McGonagall looked on helplessly.

"No. Mr. Potter, if you had even glanced at the 'Elementary Transformation Guide' beforehand, you would know that Animagus is not something a first-year student can learn."

The old witch stared at James seriously until the fearless lion chuckled and sat back down in his seat.

"I don't want to boast, but Animagus is indeed a very profound spell. It requires not only great magical power, but also patience and courage. If you are interested in this spell, Mr. Potter, I suggest you listen carefully and complete today's homework diligently."

James nodded instinctively; the scene was indeed hilarious. It was then that Edmund realized Minerva McGonagall was truly a Gryffindor—it seemed only a lioness could tame a lion. Because they understood these rascals in their own house better than anyone else:

Sometimes, yelling is more effective than reasoning when dealing with them.

By this time, everyone had gradually arrived. For some reason, Lily and Snape, who usually arrived earlier than others, were the last to appear. Both of them were out of breath, probably because they had gotten lost.

Edmund was somewhat pleased to see that he wasn't the only one who had suffered because of Hogwarts' complicated terrain.

Similar to the Charms classroom, the Transfiguration classroom requires students to sit facing each other across the aisle. Unfortunately, this time there's only one seat left on each side, meaning the two friends have to separate and can't sit together.

This was a perfectly ordinary matter, and Gryffindor quickly made room for Lily. However, in Slytherin, Travers harbored a long-standing grudge against Snape.

Although the latter didn't treat him as a human being at all... oh no, didn't consider him as an opponent, with Pollyanna having "joined forces" with Edmund, Snape had automatically been demoted and become an easy target in Travers' eyes.

"Why aren't you sitting with Evans? I think you look great in red—why don't you sit over there in Gryffindor? Are they not welcoming you?"

Travers affectedly suppressed his voice:

"Oh, Severus, aren't you going to continue helping your Muggle girlfriend?"