The next day was Thursday. After Kyle finished his breakfast, he walked out of the auditorium with Connor to prepare for the next Transfiguration class.

When they arrived at the classroom, Professor McGonagall was already waiting at the door and stopped the two people who were about to enter the classroom.

"Ms. Prince, could you please go in first?" she said to Connor.

"Okay, Professor McGonagall." Kanna didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and walked into the classroom.

Then Professor McGonagall took Kyle to the side corridor and asked with a smile: "Remember the paper you sent me a month ago?"

"The one who won the Most Promising Newcomer Award for Transfiguration Today?" Kyle asked, "The result came out so soon?"

"Not yet, but I got the inside scoop... good news."

Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a good mood and said with a smile: "Editor-in-Chief Hulls, who is in charge of selecting the Newcomer Award, is my friend. When we were corresponding a few days ago, I asked her about some information.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, she let me know that Mrs. Gesilda Marchbank admired your paper very much."

"Mrs. Marchbank..." Kyle thought for a moment and asked doubtfully, "Is it the Mrs. Marchbank from the Wizarding Examinations Administration?"

"I didn't expect you knew her."

Professor McGonagall was a little surprised. After all, Mrs. Marchbank was over 120 years old, which made her a person from the last century, and she seldom showed up in public.

She would only come to Hogwarts at the end of each semester to be in charge of the fifth and seventh year wizard level exams, also known as OWLs, and NEWTs.

So generally speaking, few young wizards below the fifth grade know her.

"Charlie mentioned it before." Kyle explained: "He said that after the OWLs exam, he saw Professor Dumbledore personally escorting an old lady out of the school."

"Then Mr. Weasley told us that it was Mrs. Marchbank, who had worked at the Ministry of Magic for a hundred years and was Professor Dumbledore's examiner when he graduated."

"That's true. Mrs. Marchbank has indeed been in charge of many people's exams...including Professor Dumbledore."

Then Professor McGonagall continued: "But she has more than just that identity."

"Mrs. Marchbank is best known for her influence in the academic world. Whether it's the magazine Transfiguration Today or the Extraordinary Pharmacist Association, she holds a pivotal position."

Kyle nodded.

This is not difficult to understand. Even Dumbledore respects someone, so the reason must be more than just because he is an examiner.

Moreover, the Wizarding Examinations Authority can be said to be one of the most boring jobs in the Ministry of Magic. It is tedious and monotonous... and the salary is also the lowest, only about half of that of employees in other departments.

For a normal person, three to five years is considered a long time to stay there. The only person who can stay in this position for a hundred years is Mrs. Marchbank.

"So you understand."

Professor McGonagall continued, "Her approval means your thesis is probably fine.

I guess, after Christmas, people from Transfiguration Today should come to school, and then they will ask you some questions, which will be the final test.

If you pass the test, your paper will appear in the next issue of the magazine... and on the front page, in the most prominent position. "

At this time, it was time for class.

Professor McGonagall spoke faster and walked towards the classroom, saying to Kyle in a hurry, "Be prepared. Their questions are not so easy to answer."

Before the bell rang, the two walked into the classroom at the same time.

Connor saved a seat for him, and Kyle walked over and sat next to her.

"It has nothing to do with that."

Kyle was about to tell her about his paper when Professor McGonagall spoke. He could only shake his head and said, "Let's talk about it after class..."

When they walked into the classroom, the smile on Professor McGonagall's face disappeared almost instantly, returning to her usual serious look.

"The fourth grade is very important. Next year will be the OWLs exam. I hope you can all focus and not be as unfocused as you were in the past two years."

"What we are going to learn today is interspecies transformation, which is also a question that will definitely appear in the OWLs exam. Remember, it is not possible, but it will definitely appear.

Because what we have learned before are the most basic contents. Only when we learn how to transform across species can we truly master the art of transformation. "

Professor McGonagall glanced around the classroom with her sharp eyes.

Everyone straightened their backs immediately, not daring to breathe.

"Very good, open the book, and let's start with the simple ones... Unlike static objects, when performing cross-species transformation, the Transfiguration Spell must be adjusted accordingly..."

After Professor McGonagall finished explaining what needed to be paid attention to, she took out a guinea fowl and turned it into a fat guinea pig.

"This is your assignment for this class. If there are still feathers on it, you will be considered a failure!"

The classroom was soon filled with the sound of guinea fowl flapping their wings, and occasionally one could hear someone screaming because their hands were pecked.

After the Transfiguration class, only three people had completed the requirements, and most of the guinea pigs they handed in still had thick feathers, which was obviously unqualified.

Professor McGonagall looked a little unhappy.

Kyle and Connor left the Transfiguration classroom and headed up the stairs.

On the way, Kyle briefly told her about the thesis.

Connor was surprised at first, but when she thought it was Kyle, it didn't seem so strange anymore.

Compared with the Order of Merlin, Second Class, and the three medals for special contributions to the school neatly displayed in the trophy display room, the Most Promising Newcomer Award for "Today's Transfiguration" seems to be just that simple.

"I knew it would be okay..."

Connor patted Kyle's shoulder as if to encourage him, and said with a smile: "When the journal comes out after the Christmas holiday, I will buy a few more copies. I think it's to support you."

"That's so embarrassing..." Kyle asked in a low voice, "How many do you want to order? Five hundred copies... I can ask Professor McGonagall to have them print more copies in advance."

"You wish. Five copies at most." Kanna said unhappily, "Transfiguration Today is very expensive. I don't have that much money."

Kyle thought about it and it seemed to be the case. This kind of academic magazine must be much more expensive than the Daily Prophet.

"Okay, but remember to give a copy to Professor Snape when the time comes," he said. "I don't mean anything else. I just want to hear what the professor thinks of the paper I wrote."

Connor turned her head and glanced at Kyle.

Her intuition told her that this guy had bad intentions, but when she thought about it carefully, it seemed that there was nothing wrong. Besides, even if Kyle didn't say it, she would show it to Professor Snape.

…

(End of this chapter)