Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

Finally, Umbridge's course came to an end.

John stretched, feeling refreshed.

What a thoroughly enjoyable learning experience!

It seems that Professor Umbridge's classes aren't as useless as Hermione made them out to be.

After this lesson, John's attitude towards Umbridge changed drastically, and he no longer led the way in shouting and interrupting the class.

It seems like Umbridge is the same way; for some reason, they're incredibly kind and friendly to him.

After the class, the two seemed quite satisfied with each other.

As for the strange rules in the classroom, they felt as familiar as returning to his hometown, given his experience with traditional Chinese education.

It was so smooth to get used to!

But it wasn't so easy for the others.

"No, John, what's wrong with you today?"

"How come you're so enthusiastic about Professor Umbridge's boring classes?"

At this point, Titus, who had been holding back for the entire lesson, finally asked John.

He was so focused just now that, as his deskmate, I had to pretend to be focused too.

Ryan and Ethan also turned around and looked at him curiously.

"Huh? Bored?"

"The professor taught only the essentials!"

John was taken aback by their reaction and asked in return.

These words left the three of them completely bewildered.

Your attitude towards Umbridge wasn't like this before the course started.

"No, you deliberately yelled at her in the first place just to cause her some trouble, didn't you?"

Ethan countered.

Many of their classmates who knew them also gathered around to watch, nodding in agreement.

While I wouldn't say for sure about the whole school, at least among the third-year students, most generally considered John to be the senior student.

It has both strength and fame.

John is especially approachable and gets along well with everyone, so everyone is happy to hang out with him.

That's why they immediately understood John's meaning when he started the group chat and joined in the fun.

They just didn't expect that John would eventually defect to the enemy.

John scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Uh... I have to admit, at first I didn't realize Professor Umbridge's teaching level..."

She's utterly incompetent!

Before John could finish speaking, everyone was already internally criticizing him.

The reason people dislike Umbridge's classes is because they are boring.

Unlike the previous two years.

Professor Lupin introduced them to all sorts of strange and bizarre dark magic creatures, while Professor Moody taught them practical techniques for dealing with dark magic.

This was supposed to be a class where students would pick up their wands and practice—but instead, she made them put their wands away in their drawers and handed them a copy of "Defense of Magic Theory" to read aloud like a royal decree.

It seemed that he could tell that the crowd did not agree with John's words.

John scratched his head and said.

"If you don't like this class, just consider it a break for you."

"You can slack off, daydream, and relax without any psychological burden, treating textbooks as extracurricular reading and professors as storytellers."

"Although Professor Umbridge's lectures are indeed quite boring, at least the textbooks weren't written by the professor, and the content is still somewhat interesting."

Hearing John's words did not completely dispel their resistance to this purely theoretical course.

But at least it gave them some psychological comfort.

......

After a day of studying, it's dinner time.

Great Hall.

John and his friends sat at the long wooden table, chatting and eating.

"Ryan, our college's Quidditch team is recruiting. Didn't you say you wanted to sign up last year?"

Ethan suddenly asked Ryan, who was standing next to him.

Ryan was stuffing a large spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth when he heard this and almost choked.

"Cough, I was just kidding last year..."

Ryan scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said.

"No way! We're still waiting to see you on stage and cheer you on!"

Upon hearing this, Titus, who had come to their place for a free meal, became anxious and spoke to Ryan.

"What kind of support can you, a mere Badgerhouse student, offer to my Eaglehouse?"

Ryan muttered to himself, speechless.

"I'm a cold noodle person, that won't do."

"..."

Hearing Titus's confident words, the group was speechless for a moment.

"Why not give it a try? Our college's team is full of upperclassmen who will graduate in a couple of years."

"It's time to find someone to take over."

John also offered words of encouragement.

Ryan hesitated again, glanced at John, and then lowered his head.

"But my talent for riding flying broomsticks is just average, unlike you, John... You're smarter and work harder than me, so the team should probably prefer you to join, John."

Last year, he actually asked Roger, the captain of the Quidditch team.

Although the captain welcomed him to participate in the selection process, it was clear from his words that he seemed to be more looking forward to the addition of the exceptionally talented John to the team.

He didn't tell anyone about this, because he was afraid it would affect their friendship.

John was slightly taken aback, not expecting Ryan to say that, and at the same time noticed the slight change in Ryan's expression.

"Hmm... talent, indeed..."

Having been given a second chance at life, John truly experienced the advantages that come with his talent.

The ability to learn quickly and master tasks several times faster than the average person is truly captivating.

But talent is never the only hurdle.

What truly determines how far a person can go is the intensity of their practice, the courage to correct mistakes, and the determination to start over after falling down.

I've heard a joke about it.

"It's called—talented people all work hard, so what's the point of your hard work?"

John's words startled Ryan, who felt as if he were being mocked, but John wore a gentle smile.

"It sounds reasonable at first, but I actually really hate that statement..."

"Because hard work is never about chasing after talent, but about becoming the person you want to be."

"Everyone has their own race track, and you don't have to give up running because of others."

Even if it all comes to nothing in the end, at least you gave it your all and have no regrets.

John's tone was calm and gentle, yet it carried a faint hint of regret.

Because he had once been afraid of failure, afraid that his efforts would not yield results.

It wasn't until later, when he looked back time and time again, that he realized that his so-called "clear-headedness" was nothing more than a cowardly excuse for using the result to deduce the process.

Life paves the way for real possibilities through repeated futilities.

How can you know the outcome if you don't try your best?

"I'm working hard for the future I'm looking forward to, Ryan, though I don't know if it will actually come true."

"But at least for now, I'm standing on the road to it."

Even if it all comes to nothing in the end, I will have no regrets.

"So I hope you can come with me."

Ryan was stunned, his eyes welled up with tears, and he felt a pang of shame.

Being friends with John has always been a stressful experience, because John always manages to do things that they can't.

As long as John is around, everyone will focus on him and take him as their leader.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think that he, a pureblood, was no match for John, a Muggle.

He was startled every time the thought popped into his head.

But this thought was like a thorn, making him restless.

John's words struck him deeply, as if a ray of light had pierced through the long-standing gloom.

He suddenly realized that he had been using John as a benchmark to measure himself, but had forgotten that everyone is on a different track.

Everyone can strive to run on their own track, without looking up at the brilliance of others, simply by listening to the rhythm of their own heart.

After a long while, Ryan took a deep breath, then shook his head and chuckled as he complained.

"You're talking like my dad now."

"It's good that my eldest son understands his father's good intentions."

John responded with a smile.

"screw you!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"