My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 348, Section 345: Umaru-chan's Potions Class

"A perfectly shelled fig, it looks good, it must taste good too."

"If you can't resist eating it, we'll become the laughingstock of the entire class."

Tom stared with dead fish eyes as he stirred the thick potion in the crucible with a stirring stick, while glancing at Umaru, who was enthusiastically pondering how to eat figs the best way.

"You eat almost as much as a normal adult male every day, so why can't you gain weight?"

Umaru reluctantly placed the fig back on the materials table, and said triumphantly.

"Lynn said it's my talent, that's just how my body is. Some people can gain weight even if they drink water all day, while others can eat meat and fish every day and never gain weight. I'm the latter."

"But even so, you can't eat this much at every meal."

While waiting for the potion to boil, Tom nagged, "No matter how delicious the food is, you should only eat until you're 7% or 8% full. Overeating will put a lot of strain on your stomach, making it difficult to digest, and eventually causing problems. You're so young, you don't want to have to restrict your diet now, so I'm advising you."

Umaru covered her ears with a pained expression.

"I won't listen! I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Even after Tom became human, she didn't change her old habits. She liked to lecture others at length whenever she spoke, but she only did this to people she knew well. In the eyes of the freshmen in Gryffindor, "Betty Riddle" was a quiet girl who rarely took the initiative to communicate with others.

This is one of the reasons why Tom and Umaru were paired together in Potions class, which was combined by Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Snape, with a gloomy expression, walked past them, and Umaru and Tom immediately shut their mouths.

"Riddle, why don't you use this time to deal with the rat's spleen? Do you think that dead rat will just jump up and rip its spleen out for you if you just stand there like this?" Snape, as usual, mocked the Gryffindor students in his sarcastic tone, but ignored Umaru sitting to the side, who was also staring blankly.

"This is my professor, Betty is just in charge of watching the crucible," Umaru defended Tom. She wasn't afraid of Snape at all. Lynn was always calling him "shameless" behind his back, which made Umaru have almost no respect for Snape.

"Then why aren't you doing it now!" Snape said viciously.

Umaru immediately lowered her head, stuck out her tongue, picked up a knife, and began gesturing at the dead rat's belly, as if planning where to start.

Snape snorted and wandered off to another place, while Umaru finally hardened her heart and stabbed the rat in the stomach.

"Wouldn't this be considered cannibalism?"

Tom instinctively moved a few steps away from Umaru to avoid getting splattered with rat blood.

"If we consider your current behavior, it's completely in line with your hamster's habits. It's said that you shouldn't keep too many hamsters together, otherwise they'll do the same thing you're doing now."

"Ah! That hamster is truly the bully of the rodents."

"You're no better than me."

With Tom's help, Umaru successfully removed the spleen from the dead mouse's body, then washed it clean with water in preparation for putting it back in.

"Have you signed up for the sports meet, Tom?"

"There are too few girls in Gryffindor this year, so basically every first-year girl has to sign up for two sports, long jump and shot put."

"I signed up for shot put too! Then we'll be rivals!" Umaru said excitedly.

Tom didn't share her enthusiasm: "With my skinny arms and legs, and the fact that I only drink a glass of pumpkin juice at most per meal, how could I possibly be your opponent? You'd definitely be number one in shot put."

"I can tell from your voice that you didn't listen carefully to the rules the sports and arts department told you. Magic is allowed at this sports meet. For example, you can use the Flying Spell when you throw the shot put. It's a pity I haven't learned that spell yet."

Tom's eyes widened immediately.

"Can we use spells at the sports meet? Doesn't that turn it into a spell test? A flying spell to see who can throw the shot put the farthest, how is that a test of athletic ability?"

"There are limitations to the use of spells. Athletes must actually participate in the sport before they can use magic as an aid. For example, in shot put, the spell is only effective if the shot is thrown and the throw spell is used afterward. But the time between the shot's release and its landing is so short, who can seize the opportunity to use the spell?"

Tom pondered for a moment and said, "It doesn't necessarily have to be a flying spell; other spells might work too."

"That's why all those boys are going crazy. They run to the Quidditch pitch as soon as get out of class is over, trying to figure out what spells they can use to maximize their performance. I heard that the Weasley twins from your house even made bubble gum and slow-down bombs for running races, but before they could even promote their products and sell them, the Arts and Sports Department banned them."

The rules stated that magic could be used in the sports meet, but props were forbidden, and interfering with opponents was also prohibited. All the things they created were confiscated by Disciplinary Committee Chairman Percy, causing George and Fred to secretly curse their brother as a bad person.

Tom was stunned.

"Such a thing is true?"

Umaru looked at her suspiciously: "What have you been doing at school lately? Why do you seem so indifferent to everything?"

"I've just been studying magic in the lounge and haven't been paying much attention to what's happening at school," Tom said vaguely.

Umaru, being rather carefree, didn't bother to ask any further questions.

"So even those who aren't particularly athletic can have a chance to win a prize in this sports meet, but they need to be quick-witted and able to figure out how to improve themselves. After all, everyone is competing in the same grade, and everyone basically knows the same tricks."

"Have you finished talking?"

A sinister voice suddenly rang in their ears, startling Tom and Umaru so much that they both shuddered.

Snape stood behind them with a dark expression, as if he had been listening for quite some time.

"You're talking about things unrelated to the lesson during my class! Are your potions even well-prepared?!"

Tom hurriedly dripped the last drop of leech juice into the cauldron, then gently waved his wand, and the liquid in the cauldron turned a bright green.

"Alright, Professor, our rejuvenation potion is ready."

Snape remained silent with a dark expression, but instead used a spell to touch the potion in the cauldron. A drop flew out and landed on the frog that was being tested. Instantly, the frog turned into a young tadpole, demonstrating the remarkable effect of the potion.

"Five points deducted from Gryffindor! You are no longer allowed to discuss unrelated matters in my class!"

(End of this chapter)