Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 179 Malfoy is so afraid of you, it can't just be because you're good at scolding him, right?
Professor McGonagall finished speaking.

The students present couldn't help but turn their attention to Harry.

However, no one responded.

Seeing this, Hermione, who was sitting in the first row in the upper left corner, raised her hand to Professor McGonagall.

"I think everyone was affected by the divination class just now—when interpreting tea leaves, the professor cursed Harry."

"A curse?!" Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

Dylan shook his head: "No, Professor, it's a prophecy by Professor Trelawney."

Professor McGonagall frowned: "She's made another prophecy?"

Hermione immediately added, "Yes! I think her prophecy is utter nonsense!"

Professor McGonagall's expression softened: "Did she say that Harry might be dying?"

Hermione paused, then nodded. "Professor, how did you know? She said Harry is about to encounter an ominous sign of death!"

Harry's expression remained quite normal—he had already heard a new interpretation from Dylan.

"Okay, I think you don't need to put too much thought and energy into this."

Professor McGonagall began, “Especially you—Potter. Don’t be afraid. Ever since that divination professor came to the school, I’ve heard some of her predictions almost every year.”

“Death—ominous sign—unlucky… It’s always like this, I’ve never seen a student die in any class.”

"But she always greets each new face she encounters with these completely unrealistic dark omens—this year it's your turn."

Professor McGonagall paused, her serious expression revealing a hint of helplessness.

"I really don't like talking badly about my colleagues behind their backs—"

At this point, seeing that the other students were looking at her, Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, but then held back what she was about to say.

Complaining to students about a colleague's bizarre behavior is not something an elegant lady should do.

Therefore, Professor McGonagall simply took a small breath, and then her expression returned to calm.

"In short, I don't think divination has a place in the vast ocean of magical knowledge—at least not for me. I have no patience for it, nor am I willing to dabble in divination among a pile of cards and crystal balls."

"As for your divination professor—don't waste too much energy trying to decipher her words—in fact, there's nothing to say at all."

“Children, remember this: true prophets don’t make many prophecies; they only say the most crucial ones—and sometimes even the most crucial ones are concealed.”

When Professor McGonagall started talking about divination, her tone towards the students became more patient.

Clearly, she really disliked Professor Trelawney.

Her behavior actually reveals how the other professors viewed Professor Trelawney.

—If even Professor McGonagall, who is the most tolerant of others, treats everyone this way, then it goes without saying that the other professors treat everyone else this way.

"Regarding divination, you only need to remember one thing—this was told to me by someone who truly has the ability to divine."

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall also turned her gaze to Dylan.

"If you see an auspicious divination, accept it with joy; if you see an inauspicious sign, consider it inaccurate and don't let worry take over your mind."

Dylan fluttered his eyelashes and chuckled.

Was what he said really that poetic?
How can he not remember?
“You look very relaxed, Potter. It seems you’ve already received some guidance—but I’ll say it again, your body is in the best of my ability.”

"Therefore, I will not exempt you from your homework because of a divination—unless one day you actually encounter that non-existent ominous sign, then I will exempt you from your homework."

Harry paused, then blinked.

Why does this sound so familiar?

Harry also turned his gaze to Dylan.

Suddenly, he couldn't help but grin, feeling a sense of relief.

Perhaps Professor Trelawney's predictions about him were not actually accurate.

After all, Dylan had already said that he would be fine.

Isn't Dylan a true prophet with precognitive abilities?
As for the black dog he saw earlier...

It could just be a coincidence.

How could a dog bring him misfortune?
After the transformation lesson ended.

Dylan and Hermione did not leave.

Instead, it went back to the time before the start of the class.

The two went to another classroom and continued their lesson.

Using a time converter to travel through time, Dylan senses the changes in the surrounding space.

—It's a very magical feeling.

He could even see the surrounding scenery receding.

Time really does seem to be turning back quickly.

Until he was led back to the second period of class.

"Dylan, let's hurry up and get to class," Hermione said, looking at Dylan.

Dylan didn't immediately explore the power and workings of the Time-Turner—there would be plenty of time to do so later.

He nodded and followed Hermione to the new classroom to begin the next lesson on arithmetic and divination.

After arriving at the classroom.

Professor Victor didn't explain much before having the students start writing.

—Her attitude and teaching methods seemed even stricter than Professor McGonagall's.

Before we'd even explained anything, they were already asking the students to do arithmetic.

Hermione was sitting next to Dylan at that moment.

She couldn't see a single person she knew in this elective class, so it was impossible for her not to sit with Dylan.

Hermione paused, watching Dylan's lightning-fast hand movements.

In the end, he couldn't help but lower his voice and speak softly.

“Dylan, you are a truly gifted prophet, so I will not mince words and ask you.”

Dylan didn't look up, but said while writing, "What?"

"Is that person in the divination class really a prophet? I mean—could she be a fraud? You know, she doesn't act like a prophet in class; she's more like a charlatan."

"So do you think I'm a prophet?"

Hermione paused for a moment, then nodded: "Of course, as I just said, you are a truly gifted prophet!"

Dylan raised his head slightly: "So do you think it's possible that I'm also lying? Or rather, if I were to lie to you now, would you trust me or not?"

Hermione was stumped by Dylan's question.

—In fact, she didn't understand what Dylan meant at all.

When Dylan saw that she didn't reply, he lowered his head again and looked at the notebook in front of him.

He had actually dabbled in arithmetic and divination before the course even started—he had read books about the subject.

At that time, however, he mistakenly believed that arithmetic divination was actually probability. But Professor Victor immediately refuted this answer.

It has to be said, he truly lives up to his reputation as a professor whose name is similar to that of the guy who ascended to mechanical flight.

The explanation was quite incisive.

Dylan gained a profound understanding of arithmetic and divination simply by calculating the questions given to him.

Compared to probability, this subject is actually more associated with its name—arithmetic.

In other words, it involves calculations, or things related to constellations.

In Professor Victor's words, it's about using numbers to predict the future.

They don't need to observe some strange tea leaves to calculate a person's character and destiny.

There is no need to use crystal balls, tarot cards, or the like.

Instead, it's about assessing a person's psychology.

It only requires using a method to convert letters into numbers and performing mathematical operations on information such as names.

This allows us to derive personality numbers, psychological numbers, and social numbers.

By interpreting these numbers using a series of interpretive theories, one can analyze a person's personality, destiny, and so on.

As for whether the results obtained through calculation are accurate or not...
It can only be said that prophets with true prophetic talent don't need to do these things.

For someone without prophetic talent, trying to perform divination and calculate numbers is obviously better than staring at a cup of tea leaves.

"Are you saying that Professor Trelawney isn't actually a fraud?"

"No, what I'm trying to say is, whether a person has any so-called prophetic ability or not, all they can give is information about the future. And since the future hasn't happened yet, how can you tell whether they're just giving you a perfunctory answer or revealing real information about the future?"

Hermione frowned.

"This is easy to verify."

"Of course, but the other party is also free to not tell you the truth—or only tell you half of it."

Dylan shrugged: "Why should a prophet necessarily tell you the true prophecy?"

Hermione pursed her lips.

"Besides, can you tell whether the prophet doesn't tell you the truth because he can't tell the truth to avoid the future going astray, or because he deliberately doesn't tell the truth in an attempt to change the future?"

Hermione looked thoughtful.

She lowered her head and looked at the parchment in her hand.

This arithmetic and divination class made her feel much more comfortable than staring blankly at some tea leaves.

She quickly calculated the answer to the question.

Dylan immediately compared his results with Hermione's.

The answers are consistent.

"It seems you actually have a real talent for divination, just in a slightly different form," Dylan chuckled.

Hermione, however, kept a straight face and remained somewhat serious.

“I understand what you mean, Dylan, but—I still don’t think that professor has any real talent.”

Dylan blinked: "You've already defined it, so just accept it."

Hermione turned around, her eyes lighting up as if she had just thought of something.

"Professor McGonagall's statement, that must have been yours, right? I've heard you say something like that before—'Believe good fortune, don't believe bad fortune'—that's just a bad possibility."

"Your attitude is exactly what a true prophet should have!"

Hermione suddenly seemed to have figured everything out, and her expression became excited.

—It's like discovering a new continent.

Because Professor Victor approved of their calculations, they were exceptionally praised.

Professor Victor even allowed them to chat for a limited time in class.

—As long as it doesn't affect other students' calculations.

Therefore, Hermione had no reservations and said to Dylan with shining eyes, "The future that others describe may be deceptive—but the future will definitely come!"

"Therefore, we only need to wait for the future to arrive to find out whether the person who made the prophecy is a fraud!"

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious, so what?" Dylan clicked his tongue.

Hermione was not discouraged at all, and continued, "A true prophet doesn't emphasize making others believe their prophecies!—Whether others believe it or not is up to them!"

"But this professor always tries to get others to accept her predictions, so I conclude that she is a fraud!"

“Very unique perspective.” Dylan opened his mouth, “Since you think so, then like I said, I’ll accept your conclusion.”

Hermione's high spirits suddenly faltered, and she slumped down again.

"Regardless of whether that professor is a fraud or not, I must admit one thing—she was right about one thing: I'm afraid I'll find it hard to enjoy the pleasure of seeing the future."

Hermione sighed, "I have absolutely no talent for divination!"

Dylan chuckled: "Most people don't—just like many Muggles can't become wizards, otherwise why would our school have so few students?"

"Short?" Hermione looked at Dylan in surprise. "Where is it short? I almost couldn't get a seat on the train."

Dylan: “.”

He glanced at Hermione: "So you want to drop the course? There are very few people with a talent for divination, but people still get perfect scores in divination every year, don't they? So you..."

“No!” Hermione shook her head firmly.

"If I have to give up my self-respect and deliberately flatter and please a professor who already has a problem with me in order to get a perfect score."

"If I spend my time making so-called predictions about a pile of tea leaves and end up with a bad omen, then I'd rather not get a perfect score—I mean, I'd rather drop the course!"

Dylan shrugged: "Having a strong sense of self is a good thing. But like I said, once you've made a decision, don't regret it and move forward."

By this time, other students had begun showing their answers to Professor Victor.

Some people are right, some are wrong.

Professor Victor doesn't criticize students who make calculation errors; instead, he patiently explains the reasons to them.

Hermione looked over, then looked away.

"I think I'll get a perfect score in this subject—at least the professor is much more normal now."

"No matter when, I don't think it's a good thing to say that someone is abnormal."

Hermione's expression immediately turned strange.

() Yo yo yo~
It's never a good thing to say someone is abnormal, no matter the time.
"Then why did you scold Malfoy so badly that he even cried last time, and the time before that, and the time before that?"

Dylan paused, then gave an awkward smile: "Isn't it because he bullied the other students first? Although I'm too lazy to teach him a lesson, it doesn't mean I'll ignore his rude behavior if I see it."

“As you know, students are not allowed to fight, and especially not to use curses on each other, so I naturally had the intention of earnestly instructing Malfoy and trying to guide him toward the light.”

Hermione's lips twitched: "He's so afraid of you, I don't think it's just because you're good at yelling at him."

"No way! Don't talk nonsense, I didn't!"

(End of this chapter)