Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 67 Potions Class Attack

The following days were peaceful. No new attacks occurred throughout November.

Comrade Xiao Fu must have been badly beaten by Ike; he was almost completely wiped out and will obviously need a long time to recover.

In this situation, blindly searching is useless. Ike thinks that even Dumbledore couldn't find a small snake in the vast Hogwarts.

So, after being discharged from the hospital, he only searched for Ike for about half a month before giving up.

Ike's return to studies was more like a waste of time; aside from Transfiguration and Potions, he already knew all the other subjects. He still needed to put in a lot of effort in Herbology during his first year, but after earning the title "Walking Plant," the little darlings in Professor Sprout's greenhouse lost their mystique.

As soon as Ike touches a herb, he can sense what it needs and what the right thing to do is. Moreover, even the ferocious Rafflesia or the rapidly growing Mandrake will not harm Ike on its own.

Since I got this useless notepad system, this is the first time I've felt that it's not so useless.

The rapid progress in herbalism meant that slacking off in Professor Flitwick's class was no longer an option. The deans of the four houses placed great importance on their students' performance in their classes.

Slytherins have the highest average grades in Potions, with very few mistakes. Gryffindor's Transfiguration is also above average. Hufflepuffs, perhaps due to their personality or Professor Sprout's frequent assignment of the badgers to tend the greenhouse plants, excel in Herbology, surpassing all others at Hogwarts. Ravenclaws, on the other hand, consistently rank highly in every subject, with Charms being the most popular for years.

In fact, Ravenclaws have consistently occupied six to seven of the top ten spots in their year.

As for first place, forget about it. Even before Hermione entered Gryffindor, that was a reserved spot.

To put it in the immediate future, there's Percy; to go further back, there's the academic genius Bill Weasley. Those who pass all twelve OWL exams are an achievement attained by only a select few in the entire history of Hogwarts.

So, with no flying lessons this year, even if the hawks don't say it, they all hope that Ike can beat Hermione and take the top spot in the grade.

With seven grades, there should be at least one Ravenclaw student who is number one in their grade; otherwise, how can they be considered "intelligent"?

Under this subtle pressure, Ike's days were naturally less leisurely, mainly because he no longer had time to sneak into the Room of Requirement to practice spells outside of class.

It wasn't until the end of November that Ike finally mastered the Unseen Stretching Spell.

Compared to last year's progress, it is undoubtedly much slower.

During the second week of December, Professor Flitwick routinely collected the list of students staying on campus for Christmas. Compared to last year, far fewer students were staying.

The presence of Percy, Penelope, Madam Lorris, and Sir Nicholas, still lying in the school hospital, serves as a constant reminder to the young wizards that the threat of the Chamber of Secrets heirs remains, and Hogwarts is no longer as safe as they imagined.

In fact, the day after Percy and Penelope were attacked, the young wizards searched for many amulets, talismans, and other strange items that were supposedly able to protect them. Some were sent from home, and others were obtained through trade.

This trend first appeared in Gryffindor, but quickly spread throughout the school. Stuart got a silver cross, while Terry wore a red crystal, which he supposedly traded with Gryffindor's Navi Longbottom. Even the usually arrogant Malfoy got a protective silver bracelet; Ike once saw Malfoy showing it off in the Great Hall—it had six glittering gems on it, definitely in the Malfoy family style.

In this situation, those who choose to stay on campus during the holidays, besides those like Ike who have nowhere else to go, are left with ulterior motives.

For example, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The little witch's Polyjuice Potion wasn't ready yet. As a potion regulated by the Ministry of Magic, the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion were difficult to obtain, requiring a two-horned beast horn and an African tree snake's skin. The latter, in particular, was nowhere to be found in Diagon Alley. After searching for a long time, she finally discovered that it could only be found in Snape's private storeroom.

"We'll use a feint!" Hermione said in the bathroom. "You two will act as cover and distract Snape, while I sneak into his office and get what we want!"

"I'll handle this! You two have already received demerits for damaging the 'Hit-and-Run Willow,' and you were also involved in that massive brawl between the three academies. If you cause any more trouble, you'll definitely be expelled!"

"I have no criminal record. All you have to do is disrupt the class and buy me five minutes!"

Harry gave a wry smile, exchanged a glance with Ron who was also smiling wryly, and they both nodded in agreement.

Disrupting Snape's class is terrible, but arguing with Hermione when she's giving orders has even worse consequences.

Gryffindor Potions class was held together with Slytherin class. As usual, Snape patrolled among the students, unleashing his most venomous words upon the lion cubs, while the snake cubs snickered gloating. This had happened many times before, but today, Harry suddenly found Malfoy's smug face not so hateful after all.

While Snape was causing trouble for Neville, Harry took out the Felix Pyrotechnic he had hidden in his robes, quickly lit it with his wand, and then accurately tossed it into Goyle's cauldron.

"Bang!"

Two seconds later, Goyle's cauldron exploded, and the unfinished potion inside poured over everyone around him. Malfoy was very close and got drenched in the face; his nose swelled up like a balloon, and his face was covered in ugly, festering pustules.

"Quiet! Stop running around!" Snape waved his wand and shouted, trying to stop the group of young wizards who were running around in circles. "Students who got splashed, come here and get some anti-swelling potion!"

Snape had to call out several times before the chaotic classroom finally calmed down. After all the swollen things that had been splashed had subsided, Snape, with a cold face, finally picked out the twisted, laboriously pulled firework from Goyle's cauldron.

"Don't let me find out who did it. If I find out, I will fire him!" Snape's eyes were fixed on Harry, his tone unusually cold.

Harry delivered an Oscar-worthy performance, his expression of confusion perfectly conveyed, leaving Snape unable to discern anything even after staring at him for a long time.

Fortunately, get out of class ended soon afterward, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly ran out of the Potions classroom and headed straight back to Myrtle's bathroom.

"Snape definitely knew it was me," Harry said with a bitter face. "He was watching me the whole time until get out of class ended."

"Don't worry, he has no evidence," Ron said, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Your acting was superb!"

"I hope so. But I don't think he'll let this go easily." Harry shook his dejected head and turned to look at Hermione, only to find that her expression was a little strange.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Didn't we already get the materials?"

"Huh?" Hermione snapped out of her reverie, tossing the ingredients into the crucible with a somewhat absent-minded look. "It'll be ready in two weeks, probably before Christmas."

Harry nodded, then asked, "What were you thinking about just now? I called you several times before you answered."

"It's nothing..." Hermione patted her face, trying to cheer herself up.

As Harry and Ron's friend, the little witch knew very well that there were some things she couldn't tell those two.

They simply couldn't keep a secret.

I got so engrossed in the game that it got too late.

(End of this chapter)