Karl, that rascal, was running around the house in his Cougar form.
Professor McGonagall didn't mind him; after all, it was normal for a Kitten to react this way when arriving in a new territory.
Besides, there was no need for them to clean up; the House-elf from Hogwarts had already come to tidy up last night.
She just wanted Karl to purchase the furniture and arrange the layout himself, since it was his own room after all.
Professor McGonagall's residence in Hogsmeade Village was a two-story building; although it wasn't large, it was exquisite.
Karl saw a photograph on the wall of a young Professor McGonagall and her late husband, Elphinstone Urquart.
However, this wasn't one of those living portraits, so Karl couldn't greet or converse with him.
After taking a rough tour of the house, Karl leaped down the stairs and transformed back into his human form in the living room.
"Have you seen everything?" Professor McGonagall, who was reading on the sofa, stood up. "Then let's go shopping."
"Alright!"
By the time Karl finished tidying up his little nook, it was already noon.
Having nothing to do, he leaned against the kitchen doorway, keeping Professor McGonagall company while she cooked.
Professor McGonagall elegantly flicked her wand, and the prepared ingredients began to move on their own, cooking themselves.
"Are you very bored? Why not use this time to do some summer homework?"
"Please, Minerva! It's only the first day of vacation! I promise I'll finish the homework!"
Karl rolled his eyes; the attitude of parents around the world toward children doing homework was truly consistent.
Professor McGonagall turned and walked over, gently tapping him on the head. "Doing homework is much easier than working."
"Perhaps."
In any case, Karl had never worked in either of his two lifetimes; he had finally finished the college entrance exam, only to end up not in college, but back in middle school.
"If you don't believe me, you can go ask Charlie and Tonks. I'm sure they would prefer doing homework."
"Huh? Charlie and Tonks?"
Karl's eyes widened suddenly; he knew what he had forgotten!
He immediately bolted, heading straight for the fireplace.
"Minerva! Is the Floo Network still working?"
Professor McGonagall looked bewildered. "Yes, but where are you going? It's almost time to eat."
"I forgot to see Tonks and the others off!"
Karl grabbed a handful of Floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and dived in.
Professor McGonagall: (◎_◎) She couldn't help but sigh. It was already this late; she hoped he wouldn't get beaten up.
It seemed she would need to prepare more food to entertain those hungry, resentful friends of Karl's.
By the time Karl ran to the main entrance of Hogwarts, all the Thestral carriages had already left.
The empty entrance had only seven people standing in a row, silent and looking utterly hopeless.
The moment they saw Karl appear, they were stunned for a second, then roared and lunged at him.
"Karl O'Laughlin!"
"Where the hell have you been, you rascal? Why are you only coming now?"
"Don't tell me you got lost in the Castle! We've been waiting here for hours!"
"Because of you, you jerk! We even missed the Hogwarts Express!"
"You really deserve to die! I want to kill you a thousand times! And that wouldn't be enough!"
Karl: \（°Д°）/ Oh no! He had thought they would be angry, but he hadn't expected them to be this angry!
They were so angry they had turned into Aatrox!
Seeing he was about to be mobbed, Karl decisively turned and ran, shouting as he did so:
"Wait! Don't get excited! Let me quibble—wait, let me explain!"
Charlie chased after Karl with a grimace. "You better make up a good one! We'll listen to your nonsense after we've vented our anger!"
He signaled for George, Fred, Cedric, and Summers to join in. "Beat him up for me!"
Judy didn't care about maintaining a ladylike image at this point; she rolled up her sleeves, drew her wand, and prepared to join Tonks in the fray.
"Levicorpus!"
"Ah!" × 5
A panting Karl stopped, patting his chest with lingering fear; he had almost gotten beaten up.
Thanks to Professor Snape, thanks to him for inventing this spell and teaching it to him.
"Karl! Let us down!"
"You guy actually ambushed us!"
Charlie and the other four were hung upside down in mid-air, which startled Judy and Tonks, who simultaneously covered their skirts and moved away from Karl, looking very wary.
Karl: ·.· Don't look at me like that! I'm really not a pervert!
"Big brothers and sisters! I deeply repent for missing our appointment! But it really wasn't intentional!"
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