Chapter 51 Reconciliation After Lunch
When Hodu brought everything he had acquired during this trip back to Hogwarts, he always felt that a very long time had passed outside.
But as soon as he returned, he discovered that it was not yet afternoon on the Castle side; it was right around lunchtime.
The dormitory was empty, and the others had obviously gone to the Great Hall long ago.
Hodu didn't stop much longer and turned to walk towards the Great Hall.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Harry and the others smiling very happily.
Ron was even more radiant, with his head held high, looking just like he had won some incredible competition.
Hodu sat down next to them and casually asked, "What good news did you guys run into?"
"Hodu, you came back much too late!" Ron said with an excited look, the food in his mouth not yet swallowed, his voice slurred, "If you had been there just now, you could have seen with your own eyes how magnificent Malfoy's face was."
Hodu hurriedly dodged to the side, almost getting sprayed on the face by the food he spat out.
After Ron made things clear, he finally understood that what everyone was laughing at was the incident from yesterday of scaring Malfoy.
The pathetic sight of Malfoy being dragged away by Crabbe and Goyle on his left and right had already been seen by people.
The news spread extremely fast, and almost the entire Hogwarts knew that this young master had made a fool of himself.
Just as Harry and the others mentioned this matter, Malfoy's expression sank.
He wanted to retort, but couldn't find any suitable words at all, so he could only hold back a bellyful of anger and leave the Great Hall before even finishing his lunch.
After listening, Hodu also began to laugh along.
Based solely on Ron's description, he could imagine how aggrieved Malfoy was at that time.
This guy who was usually arrogant wherever he went finally couldn't continue to put on that condescending attitude today.
After lunch ended, Harry had to go participate in Quidditchpractice.
Ron didn't have much to do anyway, so he simply followed along to join the fun, with no intention of going back to write his homework at all.
Only then did Hodu remember that he hadn't seen Hermione all this time just now.
Could she still be throwing a tantrum over the events of a few days ago?
Not long after returning to the Gryffindor Common Room, he saw Hermione walking down from the spiral staircase.
At this time, there was almost no one left in the Great Hall; could she have deliberately waited until they left before going over to eat?
Hermione saw Hodu as well.
She immediately let out a hum, turned her face to the side, and kept walking, making it clear that she was not prepared to talk to him.
Hodu was amused by her to the point of wanting to smile.
He hadn't expected Hermione to settle scores with him as well; this little temper actually looked quite cute.
Of course, it was impossible for him to bicker with a young girl, so he suppressed his smile, caught up in a few steps, and blocked Hermione's path.
"Haven't seen you in a few days, and now you don't even recognize me? Do you want me to send you to the Hospital Wing and let them check if something is wrong with your brain?" Hodu teased deliberately, "I can help lead the way."
Hermione was indeed angered, immediately glaring at him and saying, "You're the one with the problem!"
"Fine, fine, fine." Hodu put away his joke, his tone becoming slightly more serious, "If you still mind those words Ronsaid earlier, I apologize to you on his behalf. As for whether you accept it or not, that's another matter."
"Not accepting!"
Hermione answered crisply, sidestepped around him, and continued walking toward the Great Hall.
Hodu immediately followed up, walking side by side with her.
"I can understand. Ron really didn't say it very nicely that time."
Hermione didn't pick up the conversation, obviously not planning to calm down so quickly.
Hodu suddenly drew in a breath, deliberately putting on a look of sudden realization: "Wait, you aren't angry at me too, are you? The Hermione I know is not the kind of person who would pin other people's faults on bystanders."
Hermione's steps stopped abruptly.
She turned around, looked at Hodu seriously, and said, "I'm not losing my temper at you. I just... don't want you to think that I'm always meddling in other people's business."
"Those words are definitely not talking about me." Hodushook his head in denial, "I have never thought that way."
Hermione stared at him and asked, "Then in your opinion, does me stopping you guys from going to Hogsmeade Village count as unnecessary?"
"Of course not." Hodu answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Then in the future, will you still run off to Hogsmeade Village by yourself?" she pressed on.
Hodu blinked: "This question isn't asked rigorously. When have I ever sneaked out? Since you didn't see it with your own eyes, you can't pin this label on me directly."
"You..."
Hermione was choked speechless by his sophistry, and could only helplessly bypass Hodu and continue walking toward the Great Hall.
However, after this fuss, the rigid atmosphere between the two of them had loosened quite a bit.
At least when Hodu spoke again, Hermione no longer treated him like air.
After returning to the Great Hall, Hodu smoothly sat down next to Hermione.
He lowered his head slightly, reached his hand into his money pouch and rummaged for a while, and finally fished out a wooden box, placing it on the desktop.
"For you." Hodu looked at Hermione and said, "Earlier you helped me finish tutoring my homework, this counts as my token of gratitude."
Hermione's gaze immediately fell on the wooden box.
Ever since she was born, this was the first time she had received a gift sent by a Wizard.
"I didn't help you for the sake of a gift." She still refused to relent verbally, "I just didn't want Gryffindor to have points deducted because you guys didn't finish your homework."
"I know you have good intentions." Hodu smiled, "But this thing is something I specially picked for friends. Harry and Ron have a copy too, and it's especially suited for you. You really don't want it?"
Hearing that even Ron had one, Hermione glanced at the wooden box again.
Since that guy had one, why shouldn't she want it?
She immediately picked up the box and opened it; inside lay a fountain pen.
Hermione picked it up to take a look, and looked up at Hodu in puzzlement.
"It's different from ordinary fountain pens." Hoduexplained, "As long as you think of the content you want to write in your mind, it will write it down according to your thoughts."
Hermione's eyes lit up.
That way, when she took a lot of notes in the future, she wouldn't have to keep holding the pen and writing until her fingers grew sore.
"Of course, you still need to add ink yourself." Hodu added as a reminder, "You should know how to handle this."
Hermione had clearly grown fond of this gift.
She solemnly put the fountain pen back into the wooden box, then turned her head to look at Hodu, seriousness in her gaze: "I like it very much. Thank you."
Hodu smiled slightly and shrugged casually: "Then the afternoon—"
"Okay." Hermione immediately understood what he wanted to say and agreed ahead of time, "But I have a requirement. You cannot hand your homework over for Harry and Ron to copy, no matter what methods you use to bypass it. I know you guys have already sneaked around the rules before."
"No problem." Hodu agreed very readily.
Inside his heart, he was already worrying for Harry and Ron.
Having offended the only straight-A student in the house willing to lend them homework, instead of thinking about apologizing, the two of them went off to participate in training instead.
This time they were probably going to suffer quite a bit.
Just as Hodu was getting ready to leave, Hermionesuddenly spoke up: "You still say you didn't sneak out? This fountain pen must have been bought outside, right?"
Hodu looked at her blankly, not expecting Hermione to still cling to this matter and not let go.
Just as he was about to explain, Hermione had already straightened her little face and said earnestly: "However, I'm still very grateful to you. If you hadn't taken the initiative to make up with me, I would have one less sincere friend to associate with."
Hodu was slightly startled.
The next second, the smile on his face became genuine.
At this moment, Hermione seemed to have become a bit different from before.
Chapter 52: First Trial of the peach wood sword and Point Deduction in the Great Hall
After returning to the dormitory, Hodu immediately felt for his money bag.
That money bag was only the size of a palm, yet he took out a long wooden box from it and placed it on the only table in the room.
The box lid was lifted, and a delicately crafted peach wood sword, supported by yellow silk fabric, lay quietly inside.
Hodu took out the peach wood sword, placed it gently on the ground, and then stared at it, shouting in a low voice: "Rise!"
The sword body immediately left the ground, suspended in mid-air, rising about five or six centimeters.
This was similar to the operating principle of a flying broomstick; it was not because there was anything special about the spoken language, but rather the combined effect of the Wizard's emotions and magic, allowing the peach wood sword to receive his thoughts.
Seeing this scene, Hodu's eyes instantly lit up.
He walked around to the side of the sword body, first lifting his right foot to step on it, and the peach wood sword sank downward slightly as a result, yet it stubbornly and steadily supported his body.
He immediately used the force to push off, and his left foot also stepped onto the sword surface, and the whole person stood like that on the hovering peach wood sword.
For his first time practicing sword-riding, Hodusubconsciously swayed his body, wanting to stand firm by adjusting his center of gravity.
But after trying a few times, he found that his feet seemed to be sucked by the sword body, and standing on it was no different from stepping on flat ground.
The first stage, successful.
Before the excitement had passed, Hodu began trying to control the peach wood sword.
As soon as his mind stirred, the sword body suddenly rushed forward, as fast as a car suddenly stepping on the accelerator.
The next second, a "thump" sound rang out in the dormitory.
When looking again, Hodu had already hit the wall, and his whole body fell down under the base of the wall.
He couldn't care about rubbing himself, quickly sitting up first and putting his attention on the peach wood sword on the ground.
Confirming that the sword body was not broken and left no damage, he finally put his mind at ease.
As for Hodu himself who hit the wall, on the contrary, he didn't feel much pain; obviously this hit didn't cause him any problems.
If his family had ever owned a flying broomstick, he probably would have understood a principle in advance: this kind of thing cannot be tried indiscriminately indoors.
The peach wood sword was naturally the same.
The dormitory space was too small, not suitable for continued practice at all.
Hodu looked around and could only temporarily put the matter of sword-riding aside, waiting until he found a suitable place in the future.
The peach wood sword could not be seen by others yet.
Hodu reached out his hand, and the sword body immediately flew back into his palm, then under his gaze rapidly shortened, finally turning into a small sword only four or five centimeters long.
At first glance, it really looked like a toy for children to play with.
He put away the peach wood sword again, and his gaze fell back on the fan at his waist, hidden under the Wizardrobe.
Having an extra wand like this by his side was never a bad thing, and it could be taken out for emergencies at critical moments; even if it couldn't be considered a real wand, there was no problem using it as a decoration.
Sure enough, the aesthetics of his hometown suited his taste better; the style of the British Magical World was really a bit too far off.
After packing up his things, Hodu took his homework and left the dormitory, finding Hermione.
Under Hermione's guidance, he quickly completed more than half of the homework.
With the magic fountain pen, even writing saved a lot of effort; one could only say that magic truly could change life.
By dinner time, all homework had been dealt with.
Hodu returned to the dormitory with a sense of satisfaction after completing his homework, and upon going inside, he saw that Harry and Ron and the others had also returned.
His appearance instantly attracted the attention of several people.
Harry stared at the stack of parchment covered with words in his hands, and couldn't help asking: "Hodu, you even finished your homework?"
They had played wildly all day, and only suddenly remembered upon returning to the dormitory that there was still homework they hadn't touched.
Several people were worrying about this matter, when Hodu came back with the written parchment.
"Finished." Hodu nodded, then spread his hands again, "But don't you guys even think about it. Hermione's anger hasn't subsided yet, and she specifically said when tutoring me that I cannot lend my homework to you guys by any means, so..."
When the words reached this point, he shrugged, putting on a look of truly being unable to help.
The light in the eyes of several people instantly went out.
Even Ron didn't continue shouting to see the homework; after all, this trouble had originally been brought about by him.
Hodu thought for a moment and still reminded them: "If you guys go and apologize properly now, Hermione might loosen up. Before curfew, there should still be time to rush out the homework."
He did this also for their consideration.
Otherwise, when it came to Potion Class, the entire Gryffindor would have to listen to Snape's sarcasm.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, feeling that these words indeed made sense, and immediately prepared to go out to find Hermione.
Before leaving, Hodu handed those magic fountain pens to them.
At least with these things helping, rushing through homework could be much faster.
When dinner time arrived, Hodu went to the Great Hallalone.
Harry and the others hadn't appeared for a long time, presumably still staying together with Hermione.
The Great Hall was full of students everywhere, but the seats where Professors should usually sit were empty and desolate, without a single Professor, and who knew where they had gone.
Hodu glanced at the empty Professor seats, then looked at the noisy Great Hall, and an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.
The exclusive mission of fusing the Boggart required a progress requirement of a full two thousand.
Usually, if he just played pranks on a few people, who knew when he would drag it out to complete the mission.
Since that was the case, of course he should pick the place with the most people to start.
Once there were many people, the people affected would naturally increase, and the mission progress could be much faster.
Adding all the Hogwarts students together, there were probably around three hundred people, and every day for the three meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the students would gather in the Great Hall.
Calculated by this number of people, as long as he played pranks six to ten times in the Great Hall, the exclusive mission could be almost completed.
Looked at this way, it didn't seem as difficult as imagined.
As for how to specifically play the prank, Hodu already had a general answer in his mind.
The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, and without eating a few bites of food, he left the Great Hall.
Anyway, he still had to go back to the magic Capital to eat mutton later, so he wasn't in a hurry to fill his stomach here.
Not long after Hodu left, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in together.
The appearances of the three looked like they had returned to normal as before, obviously having made up again.
After another while, Snape also stepped into the Great Hall.
He still wore that gloomy face, first sweeping a glance towards the location where Harry and them were, instantly making several people feel very unlucky.
Snape walked to the Professor seats and sat down, yet he didn't touch the food on the table, only observing the students in the Great Hall with a cold face.
After that gaze fell down, the originally noisy atmosphere seemed to be lowered by a few points, and everyone felt like they were being watched by a venomous snake eyeing its prey, as if waiting for them to eat fatter before being willing to open its mouth.
"What kind of fit is he throwing again?" Harry lowered his voice, complaining to Ron and Hermione beside him.
He was too familiar with Snape's gaze, always feeling that the other party had been sizing up their side.
As soon as his voice fell, Snape rose from the Professorseats and walked straight toward the Gryffindor long table.
Harry's expression changed: "Oh no, he didn't hear that, did he?"
Ron and Hermione's expressions also grew nervous along with it.
After coming to the table, Snape unceremoniously spoke to the entire Gryffindor: "Is this how your Dean usually teaches you? You can quarrel like this even just eating a meal. Could it be that you guys grew an extra mouth compared to others? One mouth used for eating, and another specifically for speaking useless nonsense?"
Students from other houses immediately stopped their actions to watch the fun, and the Slytherin side laughed even more exceptionally happily, the gloating on their faces almost unable to be hidden.
Snape was frequently discussed by students in private, but his dignity as a Professor was placed right there.
Facing this reprimand, unexpectedly not a single person from Gryffindor stood out to talk back.
Seeing that none of them spoke, Snape's expression instead became even uglier.
He announced coldly: "Gryffindor, fifty points deducted!"
The entire Great Hall instantly fell silent.
So quiet that it felt as if even a needle dropping to the ground could be heard.
Gryffindor students all opened their eyes wide looking at Snape, their faces full of disbelief, for a moment even doubting whether they had heard wrong.
Chapter 53: Snape's Unexpected Point Deduction
Students from the other three houses were no better off than Gryffindor. They looked at each other, none of them daring to believe the numbers they had just heard.
Fifty points?
Gryffindor was completely dumbfounded. Many people had their mouths wide open, almost wide enough to stuff an egg inside. No matter how you looked at it, this punishment was simply too harsh.
The upperclassmen who had previously held back and dared not speak up finally couldn't sit still anymore. Just as they were about to get up to argue, Snape had already shifted his gaze to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff long tables.
"The same goes for you two houses. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, fifty points deducted from each!"
The Gryffindor upperclassmen, who had just been suppressing their anger, froze in place once again. They couldn't figure out what on earth had provoked Snapetoday for him to strike down three houses in one go.
Has he lost his mind?
Even if he wanted to favor Slytherin, he shouldn't be this blatantly biased!
Meanwhile, the Slytherin students who had originally prepared to watch a joke couldn't laugh anymore. Things had progressed to this point, and no matter how one looked at it, something felt wrong—it didn't even look like a Dean protecting his own house.
Yet Snape showed no intention of stopping.
He turned around and expressionlessly looked toward the Slytherin long table. At that instant, the hearts of the Slytherin students tightened simultaneously, inexplicably feeling a bad premonition.
"And you. As students of Slytherin, you actually joined the other houses in making a ruckus in the Great Hall. You have utterly disgraced Slytherin and brought shame upon me, your Dean!"
Even his own house failed to escape Snape's cold reprimand.
By now, the students from the other houses who had just been furious grew quiet instead. They temporarily put their anger aside and stared at Snape with great interest, wanting to see what startling decision he would make next.
"Slytherin, one hundred points deducted."
As the words fell, someone on the Slytherin side immediately stood up, clearly intending to retort. However, when Snape's gaze swept over, cold as a viper eyeing its prey, that student's momentum deflated on the spot, and in the end, they could only sit back down dejectedly.
A Professor's majesty clearly made no distinction between houses.
Snape let out a cold snort and left the Great Hall with a dark face.
Until his figure disappeared, the Great Hall was as if suddenly released from a silencing charm, instantly becoming noisy again. Students whispered to each other, repeatedly guessing whether Snape had run into some kind of problem while brewing a Potion.
The Gryffindor students, however, were happy once again, the anger on their faces completely vanishing, wishing they could raise a glass to celebrate right on the spot.
All four houses had points deducted, which in the end meant no one was at a disadvantage. More importantly, Slytherin had a full hundred points deducted, which meant each of the other three houses lost nothing, while only Slytherin was left fifty points behind for nothing.
And the one who did the point-deducting was Snapehimself.
This joy was even more exhilarating than winning a Quidditch match.
"For the first time, I feel that being scolded by Snape can be this happy!" Harry said excitedly, his face glowing as he turned to look at Ron and Hermione.
Although Hermione was also smiling, her brow wasn't completely smoothed out: "Don't you guys think he's very abnormal today?"
"I know!" Ron rushed to answer, almost bouncing right out of his chair. "He must have boiled his brains while brewing a Potion. But it doesn't matter, I like this Snape much better!"
On the other side, Snape had only taken a few steps out of the Great Hall when his figure vanished without warning. The next moment, he appeared in a dormitory of the Gryffindor Common Room.
That figure quickly shrank, transforming in the blink of an eye into an Asian boy with a buzz cut.
This "Snape" was naturally disguised by Hodu; the real Snape was still on the underground floor of the Castle at this moment, continuing to search for the traces left behind by the Acromantula.
Watching the progress of the fusion shape-shifter shoot up by over two hundred points, Hodu was in a great mood. The effect of this performance was even more ideal than he had anticipated.
In fact, he had already been very restrained. After all, it was his first attempt, so he had to leave himself some leeway. He had even thought of more exaggerated ways to play, like doing a striptease right in the Great Hall. Of course, that was just a thought in his head.
Changing into a set of women's clothing and doing a runway show in the Great Hall wasn't completely out of the question either. That definitely would have refreshed the students' impression of Snape, and once he returned to normal, Snape's malicious image would probably deepen by another layer.
This kind of prank would be discovered sooner or later, but as long as he wasn't caught in the act, it wouldn't count as a big deal.
Hodu wasn't satisfied with just the one teasing from earlier. He activated Self-Transformation, changing his body once again. A moment later, he had turned into Professor McGonagall with a stern face, wearing that pair of old-fashioned reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
Afterwards, he cast Apparition, reappearing outside the Great Hall.
The noisy sounds from inside drifted out. Hodu's mouth just revealed a hint of a smile before he immediately suppressed it, replacing it with Professor McGonagall's customary stern expression.
He slowly walked into the Great Hall, stopped by the doorway for a moment, and silently watched the situation inside.
A student noticed her figure first and hurriedly tugged at the clothes of the companion beside them, whispering a reminder. The news spread quickly, and the Great Hall, which had just been arguing into a mess, gradually quieted down.
Only then did Hodu stride toward the Professor table, putting on an expression as if he had no idea what had happened just now.
When he reached the end of the long table, the red-haired Fred and George stood up together, impatiently recounting everything Snape had done just moments ago.
"Nonsense! Severus is simply going too far! House points are not something to be joked about. All the point deduction decisions he made just now are completely invalid!"
Professor McGonagall flew into a rare rage, her voice echoing in the Great Hall to ensure every student heard it clearly.
Harry and the others instantly showed looks of regret, though they had long anticipated this outcome. After all, that kind of point deduction looked abnormal no matter how you saw it, and it was simply impossible for it to be truly recognized by the school.
"Hogwarts doesn't need a Professor who acts so foolishly either. I will tell Dumbledore about this matter, have him fire Snape, and select a new Dean for Slytherin!"
As soon as these words came out, the Great Hall plunged into dead silence once again.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, none of them expecting the matter to escalate to the point of firing a Professor. But for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, this was simply good news falling from the sky, and quite a few students were so dizzy with this surprise that their heads spun right on the spot.
Professor McGonagall didn't linger any longer and hurried out of the Great Hall, looking as if she were truly prepared to go find Dumbledore to handle this matter.
"Am I not dreaming?" Harry looked in the direction she left, still wearing an incredulous expression.
"It's real!" Ron jumped straight up from his seat, shouting out in excitement.
After leaving the Great Hall, Hodu heard cheers erupting from inside that almost threatened to blow off the roof, and the corners of his mouth curled up as well.
Just as he was preparing to use Apparition to leave, his expression suddenly changed. At the corner of the corridor, Snape's figure had already appeared and was walking towards him.
Hodu immediately put away his smile, re-adopting Professor McGonagall's solemn and dignified demeanor. The Snape walking towards him was naturally not disguised by himself; this time it was the real deal.
Although he felt that his Self-Transformation had almost no flaws, impersonating a person after all wasn't just as simple as having the same appearance. Because of this, he had chosen to make his move when there were no other Professors in the Great Hall, minimizing the possibility of being exposed on the spot.
If he suddenly vanished right now, it would instead make it much easier to give the game away.
Hodu abandoned the thought of casting a spell to leave, stopped in his tracks, and nodded at the approaching Snape.
"Severus."
Snape nodded back at him. Hodu then continued walking forward. As he passed by Snape, his internal vigilance had been raised to the maximum, guarding against the other party suddenly whipping out a jinx at any moment.
"Professor McGonagall."
Snape suddenly stopped in his tracks and called out to him.
Hodu's footsteps stopped accordingly, and he had no choice but to turn around to look at him.
"I haven't found the traces of the Acromantula yet. Tonight, Filch and I will continue searching."
Even facing the Deputy Headmistress, Snape still kept a rigid face, as if the whole world owed him money.
"You've worked hard."
Saying less meant making fewer mistakes, and this unsmiling reaction fit Professor McGonagall's personality to begin with. Snape didn't detect any abnormality from those three words, turned around, and walked back toward the Great Hall.
Hodu stood in place, watching his back for a few seconds, then also turned and left.
After passing the corner, he immediately cast Apparition, returning to his own dormitory.
He originally wanted to transform into Dumbledore and go to the Great Hall to announce the dismissal of Snape once more, by the way continuing to farm a wave of progress points.
But since the real Snape had already appeared, this plan could only be shelved for now.
After two rounds of operations, the progress in the system had increased by over five hundred points, leaving about three-quarters remaining until the fusion was completely finished.
Hodu walked over to the table and put away the wand placed on top.
To avoid accidents, he did not carry his wand with him today; after all, he was very well aware of the existence of the Trace.
The Trace was a means used by the Ministry of Magic to monitor whether young Wizards were casting spells outside of school.
Hodu could not be certain whether it was cast inside the wizarding village, but according to his speculation, the Trace was very likely magic attached directly to the wand itself.
He had never seen people from the Ministry of Magic, nor did he believe he could be spelled by them without noticing.
Therefore, the only place where the Trace could truly be left behind was the wand.
Almost all new students had to purchase wands before starting school.
It was impossible for a Wizard to have no wand; as long as the Ministry of Magic had Ollivander's wand shop cooperate to cast the Trace on every wand, they could achieve monitoring all young Wizards without directly contacting the students.
Of course, Ron's wand was an exception.
The wand he used was not newly bought from the wand shop, but such situations were rare after all.
Normal families would not skimp on the money for their child's wand; after all, something like a wand had very high requirements for compatibility.
Yet back in Hodu's hometown, there did not seem to be that kind of talk from Ollivander.
At least when he bought fans in the past, no one lectured him about any superstitious compatibility theories, and he could only attribute this difference to the varying craftsmanship of different places.
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Hodu who was disguised as McGonagall, Snape walked straight toward the Great Hall.
This time was naturally dining time, and of course he would not miss it.
Before he even got close to the door, the deafening commotion inside drifted out, sounding vividly like some sort of celebration was being held.
His expression immediately turned gloomy.
"What on earth are you all making a noise about?!"
Snape silently cast a Sonorus charm, and his voice instantly spread throughout the entire Great Hall.
All the students turned their heads to look at the door, the excitement still hanging on their faces, yet the Great Hallhad already grown so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
"Potter, who taught you to shout and holler while eating? Five points from Gryffindor!"
As soon as the real Snape spoke, he directly pointed the spearhead at Harry, as if he were the only person in the Great Hall.
Harry's expression instantly froze.
The news that Snape was about to be dismissed caused his accumulated anger to burst out all at once, and he raised his head, staring unflinchingly at Snape.
"You do not have this authority, Professor Snape!"
This sentence made Snape visibly pause for a moment, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Harry Potter actually dared to talk back to him to his face?
Who on earth gave this kid such huge guts?
"Very well, Harry Potter." Snape gritted his teeth, the anger in his tone growing heavier and heavier, "It seems that compared to your useless father, you are even braver, actually daring to speak to a Professor like this."
"You are not allowed to talk about my father like that!"
Harry immediately talked back loudly.
A rare trace of flush rose on Snape's face, clearly having been angered quite a bit.
He said in a deep voice, "Because of Mr. Potter's behavior, another ten points from Gryffindor. For the next month, you will report to my office for detention every day after class, until you learn to respect a Professor!"
The amplified voice of the Sonorus charm echoed in the Great Hall like a bell, but Harry did not realize how serious the matter was at all, instead continuing to stand his ground stubbornly.
"No! You have no qualification to do this at all."
Professor McGonagall has already said that she will have Dumbledore dismiss you.
You won't be a Professor at Hogwarts much longer, why should I respect someone who slanders my father?"
After hearing these words, Snape's anger withdrew all at once instead.
He knitted his brows, as if doubting whether he had misheard just now, and then turned his head, sweeping his gaze across the Great Hall.
Finally, those eyes landed on Malfoy.
Stared at by Snape with that chilling gaze, Malfoyshuddered instantly, springing up from his chair almost like a conditioned reflex.
"Pr—Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall really did say that."
Malfoy could not display his usual arrogance in front of him at all. "She also said that all previous point deductions for the four houses are cancelled. She just left the Great Hall a moment ago, seemingly preparing to go find Professor Dumbledore."
Snape's expression turned ugly.
Point deductions, dismissal?
He had clearly just run into Professor McGonagall a moment ago.
If such a big thing had really happened, how could the two of them still calmly converse as if nothing were wrong?
He abruptly looked at Harry.
Harry still wore an unconvinced look, yet Snape suddenly sneered.
"Heh, it seems I was indeed mistaken, Mr. Potter."
Harry was stunned at first, then revealed an incredulous expression.
Snape actually admitted he was wrong?
Before this joy had time to emerge, Snape went on to say, "You are just as useless as your father, unable to even distinguish a fake Professor."
Having said that, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Harry anymore, turning around and hastily walking out of the Great Hall.
One hand had already reached into his Wizard robes, gripping his wand.
Just then, so many students hadn't noticed the Professorwas fake, yet the only one who truly bore the consequences was none other than Harry.
Watching the direction Snape left in, Harry opened his mouth wide, completely dumbfounded.
"No way?"
Was the Snape who appeared at the very beginning fake, or was Professor McGonagall who appeared later fake?
If Professor McGonagall was the fake one...
Harry suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
He turned his head to look at Ron and Hermione, discovering that the two of them were also staring right at him; besides shock, their eyes seemed to carry a hint of sympathy as well.
Meanwhile, the culprit Hodu took advantage of the empty dormitory to sneak off to the magic City side.
He quickly ate the two hundred catties of mutton prepared in the villa, though the mutton at the Beijing villa would probably have to wait until tomorrow.
Anyway, today's homework was already finished, and Hodu wasn't in a rush to go back.
He went to the Beijing villa again, turned on the outdoor electric lights, and then jumped right into the swimming pool to swim.
After swimming to his heart's content, he returned to Hogwarts, materialized inside a stall of the lavatory, and pushed the door open to walk back to the dormitory.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw that Hermione was also there, while Harry was in a dejected state of having suffered a huge blow.
"What is wrong?" Hodu asked in puzzlement, looking at the state of the few.
Ron quickly recounted what happened after he left.
After listening, Hodu looked at Harry, his gaze holding both admiration and hiding a tiny, insignificant bit of guilt.
This truly left people not knowing what to say.
Hodu hadn't expected Harry to dare be so brave; although this partly involved elements of his misleading, this boldness was truly exaggerated.
No wonder Harry was the protagonist; when it mattered most, he truly dared to charge forward.
"Perhaps what Professor McGonagall said was true." Hodufeigned comfort.
"Impossible." Harry's face was full of frustration, "Professor McGonagall already came by earlier..."
The matter was clearly already certain.
The Snape from earlier was disguised, and Professor McGonagall who appeared later was likewise fake.
Hodu could only shake his head helplessly; under this circumstance, he had no good way to comfort Harry either.
"You guys tell me, who on earth is that person impersonating the Professors? Why would he pretend to be the two Professors?" Hermione asked, frowning in thought.
She had been wondering what magic the opponent actually used to be able to imitate the two Professors so vividly, to the extent that not a single person noticed any abnormality on the spot.
The level of the imposter was clearly very high, but the problem was, what kind of magic could possibly achieve this extent?
Transfiguration?
Hermione was the first to rule out this possibility.
It was not to say that Transfiguration couldn't accomplish it entirely, but rather that the vast majority of Wizards simply couldn't do it.
Chapter 54: Polyjuice Potion and the Dragon's New Characteristics
Transfiguration is usually used to alter other objects or change the form of other living beings; very few people would use it on themselves. Doing so is too dangerous; with even a slight mistake, the transfigurer could be left permanently stuck in some bizarre form.
Even someone as highly accomplished in Transfigurationas Professor McGonagall admitted that she could only make minor adjustments to her facial features at most, and the changes would not be very noticeable. This showed that Transfiguration could indeed alter one's appearance, but the difficulty was so high that even Professor McGonagall found it hard to achieve.
However, just because she couldn't do it didn't mean no one could.
Hermione knew of a Wizard who could achieve this level of mastery, and that was Merlin. The legendary Merlincould even use Transfiguration to alter his body and appearance at will, which showed people that Transfiguration was far from as simple as they imagined.
Aside from Transfiguration, Hermione couldn't think of any other magic that could achieve the same effect for the moment.
"Polyjuice Potion!"
The sudden voice broke the silence in the Great Hall.
Dumbledore turned to look at Snape and then nodded gently. Obviously, he had also considered this possibility. Someone had drunk Polyjuice Potion in Hogwarts and then caused a scene in the Great Hall, but they couldn't understand for the time being what the person's motive was.
Snape furrowed his brow, as if suddenly thinking of something. "Could they be after *that* object?"
As soon as he spoke, his expression changed instantly, and he turned to walk toward the Principal's office.
Dumbledore did not speak to stop him, only watching Snape's departing back through his spectacles, a faint glint flashing in his eyes.
"Could it just be some mischievous upper-year students who brewed Polyjuice Potion specifically for a prank?" Professor McGonagall proposed another theory. "They might not have any other motive at all."
She was, of course, aware that Dumbledore had hidden a certain object in Hogwarts, but judging by the current situation, this seemed more like trouble caused by the students.
"A very bold assumption, Minerva," Dumbledore said, rubbing his temples. "However, it is not entirely impossible. Recently, the Gryffindor students have indeed become quite a headache. I've already noticed some students trying to recite passwords outside my office, wanting to get in and take the sword of gryffindor from the Sorting Hat."
Ever since the sword of gryffindor inside the Sorting Hatbecame known, Gryffindor students had always thought of sneaking into the Principal's office to prove they were true Gryffindors. Unfortunately, up until now, not a single person had succeeded.
"I failed to manage them properly, Albus," McGonagall said apologetically. After all, she was the Dean of Gryffindor.
"Don't say that, Minerva, I don't mean to blame you," Dumbledore smiled. "That's just how Gryffindor children are. If I had heard that the sword of gryffindor was hidden inside the Sorting Hat when I was in school, I think I would have been even more eager than they are."
Saying this, he seemed to recall his own school days, and a bit more of a smile appeared on his lips.
Professor McGonagall did not smile along, but instead continued to ask, "If we keep failing to find that impostor, should we have the students gather in the Great Hall first and stay there for the night? That would also ensure their safety."
Dumbledore thought for a moment and slowly shook his head.
"There's no need for now. The situation hasn't gotten that serious yet."
The other party might also be a Wizard who sneaked in from the outside, but judging solely by the actions he had actively exposed so far, the school could cope for the time being.
"Tonight, we will stick to the original plan and have Snapein charge of night patrol," Dumbledore said.
"Alright, then I'll go see if I can find any traces first."
McGonagall nodded, accepting Dumbledore's decision.
Hodu didn't know exactly what conclusion these Professors had reached, but he could guess the general idea. If this tossing and turning continued, Snape would likely be the unluckiest one.
Although Snape was still young now, he was someone Dumbledore trusted deeply. As for causing him some trouble, Hodu didn't feel much guilt; he even felt that this way, he could sleep more soundly at night.
Of course, he couldn't completely ignore the reactions of others in the school. Especially Professor Quirrell, and Lord Voldemort who was possessing Quirrell.
If this commotion provoked them and made them make a move on the Philosopher's Stone ahead of schedule, it would be a bit troublesome. Hodu had even wondered if he should get his hands on the Philosopher's Stone first, just in case.
But on second thought, Dumbledore had already set up layers of measures around the Philosopher's Stone. If Lord Voldemort acted rashly, the likelihood of him suffering a loss was actually greater.
Thinking of this, Hodu stopped worrying. He slept exceptionally soundly that night.
The next day arrived quickly, and Hodu began his studies as usual.
Judging from the reactions of the Professors in the Great Hall in the morning, last night's events didn't seem to have caused too much of an impact. Except for Snape, whose two noticeably darkened under-eye circles couldn't be hidden no matter what.
And the only truly unlucky person this time was still Harry Potter.
Because of the trouble caused by the impostor, Harry had talked back to the Professor. Professor McGonagall later discussed it with Snape, wanting to cancel Harry's punishment; Snape did indeed show her some respect, but only to a certain extent.
Originally, fifteen points were to be deducted from Gryffindor House, but in the end, only five points were deducted; the one-month detention was also shortened to one week.
Even so, Harry's mood remained absolutely terrible.
To this, Hodu could only express his inability to help. He had even already begun to ponder how to arrange the next prank.
This kind of prank wasn't completely foolproof. If it happened too many times, and he was never present at the scene whenever something went wrong, sooner or later people would notice something was off. Therefore, it was best to resolve it in one go and completely finish the task of fusing the Boggart.
As for the scapegoat, he had already reserved a spot in his mind.
Last night, his progress points had suddenly jumped by over five hundred. Hodu felt that his Self-Transformationwas much smoother than before, and the changes were more complete. Looking at his appearance alone, it would be very difficult for an ordinary person to see through it directly.
After dinner, he used the opportunity of going to the bathroom to cast Apparition as usual, first going to Modu to continue eating mutton.
Today, the mutton in Jingcheng had also been delivered. Hodu cast Apparition again to arrive at the Jingcheng villa. As soon as he appeared, he saw the floor filled with various utensils. There were simply too many things; in addition to iron and wooden basins, even wooden buckets were used.
He didn't care about the differences in the containers and directly began to eat.
Under the effects of Accio and Devour, five hundred catties of mutton were quickly broken down and consumed completely. At the same time, a layer of powder precipitated onto the surface of his skin.
His progress in fusing with the Dragon finally broke through two thousand.
Hodu's eyes widened slightly as he stared intently at the system interface. As the progress crossed two thousand, the system extracted another trait from the Dragon, but this time, the trait looked a bit strange.
[All Things Spiritual Material: Every part of the body possesses specific magical effects.]
Hodu blinked.
In other words, he was now just like a Dragon, with treasures all over his body?
Most parts of a Dragon possessed powerful magical effects and could be used to craft various magical items. By this logic, would the organs in his body also become more valuable?
But added all together, how was he still just a single wretched life? He couldn't very well dig out his own organs to sell, could he?
Thinking of this, Hodu couldn't help but be somewhat speechless. This trait sounded way too useless; at most, it just turned him into a walking warehouse of materials.
However, it couldn't be said to be completely useless.
For example, hair and nails could continue to grow after being cut. According to the effect of All Things Spiritual Material, these things should also be considered treasures. Occasionally drawing some blood might also allow him to test if his blood had the same effect as Dragon's blood.
Thinking of this, Hodu was suddenly taken aback.
No! This trait wasn't nearly as useless as it seemed!
If it were just All Things Spiritual Material, he would at most be as valuable as a Dragon. But the upper limit of his traits could reach a full ten-thousand-fold!
Wouldn't that mean that after a ten-thousand-fold enhancement, the effects of the materials in his body would also far exceed those from a Dragon?
Hodu sucked in a breath of cold air.
Under the ten-thousand-fold trait, how could this still be called All Things Spiritual Material? It was clearly a mobile mountain of gold!
Of course, he had not yet completely fused with the Dragon, and was still far from reaching the ten-thousand-fold trait level, so there was no need to rejoice too early just yet.
Even so, Hodu's mood instantly brightened. He conjured up a swimsuit, took a few strides forward, and with a splash, plunged into the swimming pool.
As he swam, he also began to think about how to utilize these materials in the future.
Maybe he could study Potions later. After all, most materials from a Dragon were used to brew Potions.
But as soon as he thought of who the Potions Professorwas, most of the idea that had just arisen in Hodu's mind instantly vanished.
He didn't like studying to begin with, and Potions class was dry and boring. If he didn't learn it well, he could completely push the blame onto Snape, and presumably, others would think so too.
But thinking about it carefully, he didn't actually need to personally research the uses of these materials; he could completely let professional people do professional things.
Hodu quickly thought of the Bai family's shop. Didn't the Bai family always like to collect magical materials? He wondered how their research in this area actually was.
The only problem was that even if the Bai family researched any results, they might not necessarily be willing to tell him.
But as long as they needed the materials in his hands, wouldn't he have the final say?
Hodu immediately made arrangements in his mind. He had originally planned to take some time the next day to visit the Old Capital Ruins.
No, it would be better to go find his dear nephew first.
Hodu floated on the water surface, his feet kicking gently as splashes of water rippled out one after another. He looked up at the night sky, not expecting to see many stars in the Jingcheng of this era anyway. To be able to see the moon was enough to be content.
The next morning, Hodu got up and left before anyone else, but in reality, he Apparated directly to Jingcheng.
This time, he had grown smarter, first transforming himself into the appearance of a young man. He wore a gray long robe, and between the slits on both sides of the hem, a hanging folding fan could be seen.
It was already around afternoon in Jingcheng. Hodu used Treasure Perception to lock onto Huo Yunqi's location, and then walked into the United Academy.
He had heard from Huo Yunqi last time that there were many students in the United Academy, and the number of Professors wasn't as stingy as at Hogwarts. Unless one was exceptionally unlucky, the possibility of being recognized while walking in the academy was not high.
The academy's students all wore a jade plaque on their bodies to identify themselves, though usually, no one would casually check the jade plaques.
Hodu walked openly in the United Academy like this, enjoying the surrounding scenery while walking in the direction of Huo Yunqi.
In his perception, Huo Yunqi was moving rapidly in the air, looking as if he was flying on a sword.
Strangely, the other party was not moving in a straight line, but was darting left and right in the air. Hodu suddenly recalled what Huo Yunqi had mentioned last time—that the academy seemed to hold some sword-riding competitions.
Could it be...
Chapter 55 Stone Tower, Sword Flight, and DragonCharacteristics
Hodu didn't spend much time before reaching where Huo Yunqi was.
But as soon as he got close, he found people everywhere.
A rough glance showed there were at least several hundred Wizards, with everyone standing scattered around, yet their gazes were all focused on the hollowed-out stone tower ahead.
Huo Yunqi was right inside the stone tower.
Though called a stone tower, it wasn't actually a real tower.
It was more like annular passages stacked from many stones, one layer nested inside another, and one could even clearly see the internal structure from the outside.
Entering from the lower entrance, the first section was a slightly narrow path.
Front, back, left, right, and even overhead and underfoot, giant boulders lay across the way, chopping the original passage into pieces.
In some places, one could only squeeze through by hugging the narrow gap on the right, while in others, one had to detour from below; and this was merely the lower-difficulty part.
Hodu quickly saw even more absurd passages.
In places like that, one probably had to lie down just to barely crawl through.
The entire path wound upwards all the way, like a spiraling coil, finally stacking layer upon layer to form this stone tower that could be seen through from the outside.
At the highest point at the end of the passage, a bronze ancient bell was also suspended.
At this moment, Huo Yunqi was stepping on a peach wood sword and swiftly shuttling through the stone tower.
The speed was shockingly fast, and with the slightest error, it was possible to crash headfirst into the spanning boulders.
Judging by the way he was charging, getting his head smashed open was entirely possible.
Hodu watched with great interest, and even began to worry for him.
"Whohoo!"
The next moment, cheers suddenly erupted all around.
Of course, Huo Yunqi didn't crash into them.
He completed maneuvers at several seemingly perilous locations, his movements so smooth that the surrounding girls cheered repeatedly, and the cheers from the boys were equally loud.
Finally, he rushed out of the passage, skimming past the ancient bell at the top of the stone tower.
That bell seemed to be pulled by something, emitting a deep, resonant chime on its own, and the sound spread nearby.
Steering the peach wood sword, Huo Yunqi slowly descended from the air, greeted face-to-face by the crowd's applause and shouts.
There were also a few bold girls who directly rushed up and hugged him.
This scene stunned Hodu for a moment.
The girls here seemed even more open than those in the West.
But upon second thought, people back home regarded bloodline continuation with utmost importance, and this concept had not changed because of the changes in the Muggle world.
Compared to the West, this was clearly a much more important tradition.
Of course, this stone tower could not possibly be just for Huo Yunqi to play with alone.
Soon, another Wizard entered it riding a flying sword.
He also moved forward quickly in the passage, but his performance was obviously inferior to Huo Yunqi's, occasionally having to actively lower his speed to ensure he could pass smoothly.
Yet at one spot, he still failed to slow down in time, crashing straight into the stone wall ahead.
Hodu originally thought he would see some tragic scene, but instead, that person sank directly into the boulder, leaving only a human-shaped depression on the stone's surface.
No one nearby panicked.
Moments later, that Wizard crawled out of the stone, showing not the slightest trace of injury on his body.
Even the pit created by the collision recovered to its original state in a very short time.
Regaining his footing on the flying sword, the person entered the passage once again.
Watching this scene, Hodu nodded gently.
So this place had safety guarantees; no wonder they dared let people play like this.
Afterwards, quite a few people entered the stone tower.
When someone operated brilliantly, Hodu would join the crowd in cheering; when someone constantly reduced speed to move forward safely, he would also cooperate by making a few jeering sounds.
After watching for a while, he realized that he had become somewhat absorbed in watching.
If it weren't for other things to attend to, he felt that watching here for a whole day would be no problem at all.
Of course, if there were no people around, he wouldn't mind going in and trying it himself.
It wasn't that he worried about his identity being exposed, simply that he was afraid of losing face after going in.
Hodu withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look for Huo Yunqi.
At this time, Huo Yunqi was already sitting aside to rest, surrounded by several Wizards of similar age, both male and female.
Judging from the positions where they gathered, Huo Yunqiwas clearly the center of this group, and very likely the leader.
Thinking of his identity, this situation wasn't strange.
Hodu walked toward that group of people.
Before he even got close, someone inside noticed him.
That person immediately swept a cold glance over, their gaze unceremoniously pinning onto Hodu's body.
Several people nearby saw this scene, merely smiled without making a sound, and put their attention back on the stone tower.
As for Huo Yunqi sitting at the center, he hadn't glanced over this way even once from beginning to end.
Hodu clicked his tongue.
The atmosphere of United Academy was indeed a bit different from Hogwarts.
But if Malfoy were given such an environment, he would probably only become even more arrogant.
"This is not a place for you to come, get lost!"
Seeing that Hodu was still walking forward, that boy's face immediately sank.
He lifted his nose, his tone cold and aggressive, acting just like the gatekeeper at the prime minister's mansion, making anyone passing by feel like an eyesore to him.
Hodu stopped his steps and narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
Now there was no need to guess anymore.
Earlier he felt Huo Yunqi was somewhat similar to Malfoy, and now it seemed there were indeed some similarities.
That plebeian Dean had done far too little.
Hodu even felt that they should be grateful they weren't studying at United Academy.
Otherwise, given his temper, wanting to do nothing would probably be quite difficult indeed.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a change occurred.
The ground beneath the feet of the boy who had just been glaring at Hodu suddenly collapsed.
He fell into the ground off guard, and the surrounding soil immediately surged upward, wrapping around him like a tide.
This time, Hodu didn't even leave his head behind.
That person was buried alive on the spot.
The sudden scene frightened the small group nearby quite a bit, and Huo Yunqi, who was sitting there resting, also drastically changed his expression.
The scene before him was too familiar, immediately reminding him of that unforgettable experience.
"Ah!"
Someone screamed, and someone frantically drew their wand, trying to rescue the buried person.
The gazes of others near the stone tower were also drawn over, but when they looked toward this side, that boy had completely submerged into the soil, and they could only see a group of people crowding anxiously around, having no idea what had happened.
Even less did anyone think of Hodu.
In their view, Hodu had been standing there from start to finish, neither making any obvious moves nor drawing his wand.
Only Huo Yunqi, who had experienced the same ordeal, was searching nearby for the figure of the person who made a move.
But Hodu had changed his appearance this time and looked completely different from last time, so naturally Huo Yunqi couldn't find him, and in the end could only let his gaze fall on Hodu who was closest to them.
Hodu quietly watched them carry out the rescue.
Needless to say, these Wizards still had some skills.
Several people cast spells together, quickly causing the ground to split open and beginning to separate the soil pressing down on the boy.
However, one of them clearly hadn't mastered their skills well, unexpectedly using an offensive spell while saving someone.
With a loud bang, a large pit was blasted out of the ground.
But this explosion also happened to work out by fluke, finally exposing the boy's head.
Only his face had already been scratched with bloodstains, looking quite disheveled.
Hodu really only intended to give the other party a lesson, and didn't genuinely want his life.
Otherwise, relying on his ability to control soil and dig stones, he could entirely pour the soil directly into the other's nostrils.
By that time, even if the person was dug out, it would already be meaningless.
After the boy was hauled out of the dirt by everyone, he immediately coughed violently.
He gasped for breath heavily, tears kept falling uncontrollably, and his face was extremely pale, evidently having suffered unprecedented fright.
"Who did this? Step out if you have the guts!"
Seeing that the person was finally rescued, one of the boys shouted angrily at the surroundings.
His gaze swept back and forth across the nearby Wizards, as if wanting to find the person who struck from the shadows out of the crowd.
Yet he happened to miss Hodu, who was the closest.
You couldn't entirely blame him.
Hodu was too close; the other person could see his every move at a glance, so they wouldn't consider such a person as the target who attacked secretly instead.
Except for Hodu, no one stepped forward to admit to this matter.
That group of people could only leave in a hurry with the injured boy, looking like they were preparing to send him to the United Academy's Hospital Wing.
As for whether this place was actually called a hospital or a medical clinic, Hodu had no way of knowing.
After the crowd dispersed, only Huo Yunqi was left in place shortly.
Hodu continued walking forward, and this time no one stopped him again.
Huo Yunqi stared closely at his face, obviously having developed suspicions.
"I originally thought that what you inherited was only family wealth, power, and privileges."
Hodu sat down beside him, his gaze still lingering on the figures shuttling through the stone tower, "I didn't expect that even that arrogant temper of looking down on everyone would be inherited as well."
Huo Yunqi's pupils shrank slightly, not taking up the conversation, only continuing to observe Hodu.
In his heart, he had basically concluded that the person before him who looked even younger than himself was that biological uncle.
"What relation is that person to you?" Hodu asked casually, "Even more arrogant than you, could he be your own elder brother?"
Huo Yunqi sighed, answering somewhat helplessly: "A collateral branch of the Huo Clan, considered a distant relative."
Hearing this answer, Hodu let out a chuckle: "Put that way, me, an elder, disciplining him can also be considered fully justified?"
"If you say it's justified, then it's justified." Huo Yunqipaused, and then explained for that person, "Actually, his basic nature isn't bad."
"Is that so?" Hodu shrugged, "Perhaps he's just so bad that he doesn't even know it himself."
When making a move just now, Hodu did indeed feel a flash of genuine anger for a moment.
That was not because the other party looked down on it, nor because it was blocked outside, but because that condescending attitude reminded it of some things that should have been left in the past.
After encountering it personally, an impulse of "are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to be such?" unexpectedly arose in its heart.
This feeling was quite strange.
At Hogwarts, Hodu conversely did not have such a strong feeling.
Those self-righteous pure-blood families had not actually truly nurtured this kind of aura.
Their foundation seemed still insufficient to support that taken-for-granted arrogance.
Lucius, the father of Malfoy, might possibly have some, but Hodu had not seen the other party.
As for those young Wizards in the school, given their age, it was also very difficult to display such a thing.
But here at United Academy, it was different.
At that moment just now, it felt it clearly, so its body reacted faster than its brain.
"I have a drop of blood in my hand and want to find someone to study its function."
Hodu did not continue this topic, but instead took out a small glass bottle from its money pouch, with a drop of blood inside, "Among the Five Great Families, who is best at this kind of research?"
Huo Yunqi thought almost without hesitation: "Yu Family.
In the Magical World, most Potions are produced by their family."
"Do you know people from the Yu Family?"
Hodu handed the bottle over: "Help me pass it on to them.
This thing is very precious, and its value is at least a thousand times higher than Dragon blood."
The value of this drop of blood was right there, and Hodudid not believe they would not be tempted at all.
Others it might not trust, but could the things given by the system possibly be wrong?
Since it was called All Things Spiritual Material, it would definitely not be ordinary goods.
Huo Yunqi reached out to take the glass bottle: "I know them.
Among the Five Great Families, there are usually interactions."
This was considered agreeing.
Hodu nodded, saying nothing more, and looked toward the stone tower again.
After a while longer, it stood up.
Having stayed here long enough, it was time to leave.
Before leaving, Hodu glanced back at the still-seated Huo Yunqi, and its tone suddenly became earnest: "This set of playstyle should be broken up.
If I couldn't see others, so be it, but you are my dear nephew.
I see you the most times, and I'm really afraid that one day I won't be able to hold back and make a move against you too."
After speaking, it leisurely left this area.
When walking to a place where there was no one else around, Hodu used Apparition and directly returned to Hogwarts.
Holding the glass bottle, Huo Yunqi watched Hodu's receding figure, and an indescribable emotion arose in his heart.
Why should he listen to it?
That was an uncle who had already been expelled from the family, even younger in age than himself, and might still wet the bed at night.
Yet precisely such a person left an extremely deep impression at the bottom of his heart.
The other party's arbitrary ability, the means to bury people alive easily, and the skill to break through United Academy's anti-Apparition magic and come and go freely all made him feel unfathomable.
Huo Yunqi had once asked the Professor whether Apparition cast in other places could cross the school's restrictions because of different principles.
The answer obtained was negative.
Although East and West were different, many pieces of knowledge were actually interconnected with each other.
Some were transmitted from this side over, while others flowed over from that side, constantly influencing each other.
After returning to Hogwarts, Huo Yunqi continued classes as usual.
For him, this matter was originally just an episode... Well, to really speak of it, its impact on him was actually quite large, and he had already secretly kept it in his heart.
In the following days, Hodu was much more well-behaved, attending classes on time every day.
As for academic performance, a poor student was still a poor student most of the time.
Without a cheat plugin helping, such a thing would not change just because it wanted it to.
It no longer used Self-Transformation to pull pranks, and the previous storm seemed to have passed.
However, Harry would still be recalled by it.
After all, a week of detention was really not a pleasant experience for Hodu, especially since that was a detention arranged by Snape.
After school, not only did it have to help Snape process those troublesome magic materials, but it also had to listen to the other party's sarcasm sentence after sentence.
Heaven knows how it managed to get through that week.
However, Harry was not without gains either.
On a certain day during that week of detention, Harrysecretly told them a heaven-shaking big event.
"I saw Snape treating a wound!"
Harry lowered his voice, but could not conceal the excitement in his tone, "He is injured, and I also heard him mention Cerberus.
That is the Cerberus we encountered in the fourth-floor corridor before!"
"I guess he definitely wants to steal the thing guarded by the Cerberus!"
"That impostor might also be connected to him.
He found someone to impersonate himself so he could carve out time to steal things.
Only I don't know what went wrong, and in the end, that impostor completely messed up everything!"
Harry finished his deduction in one breath.
Hodu listened in dumbfounded amazement.
At first glance, it indeed seemed to make a little sense.
But as long as one thought about it carefully, one would find countless problems within it.
However, this also illustrated a fact.
Once suspicion began, it was very hard to stop again.
To prove that Snape had a problem, they had already begun proactively searching for various matching pieces of evidence.
Hodu did not step forward to correct them.
It could not produce enough conclusive evidence, and since there was no way to completely dispel their suspicions, it couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
Time quickly entered October.
During these days, Hodu had been honestly completing the exclusive task of fusing with the Dragon.
A few days after entering October, it finally completely fused with the Dragon.
From then on, it no longer needed to continue eating goat meat, and the procurement from the Modu and Beijing sides was stopped by it at the first instance.
While completing the fusion, it also extracted new characteristics from the Dragon.
[ Dragon Breath: Can spew flames from the mouth and nose. ]
At this point, the three characteristics Hodu obtained from the Dragon—Tough Skin, All Things Spiritual Material, and Dragon Breath—had all reached ten-thousand-fold characteristics.
Dragon Breath, it had tried privately once.
Hodu deliberately controlled its power and spewed a wisp of flame from its mouth.
That heat was frighteningly high, almost igniting the air itself, directly startling it.
It even doubted whether, if control failed, it would be vaporized by this flame first.
Afterwards, it could only try bit by bit, slowly suppressing the power of the flame to a degree it could control, so as to avoid causing problems every time it used it.
Under normal circumstances, Hodu naturally would not display the true power of the ten-thousand-fold characteristics.
It only used Dragon Breath as an ordinary characteristic, which was enough to cope with daily situations.
In comparison, Tough Skin was the ability it truly cared about.
To confirm to what extent it could actually do, Hodu once again regarded itself as experimental material.
It opened the firearm box previously dug out from the underground of Modu, loaded the bullets, chambered a round, and then aimed the muzzle at its palm.
It actually had a lot of confidence in blocking this single bullet.
After all, this was a characteristic extracted from the Dragon, and it had already been upgraded to ten thousand times.
If it couldn't even defend against a mere bullet, then it felt it could completely jump off a building together with the system.
But when actually pulling the trigger, Hodu still inevitably felt a little nervous.
Guns, after all, were not something to joke about.
The gunshot rang out.
The result was long expected.
Hodu's palm did not leave any traces; let alone a wound, not even a single mark was left.
The strength of Tough Skin was evident from this.
Its upper limit was temporarily unclear, but just looking at this lower limit, it was already ridiculously high.
Moreover, this characteristic was not just used to defend against physical attacks; even magical attacks could be resisted.
Hodu was confident it could block most spells, but for some special magic, it dared not be certain, and it was even less likely to use its life to verify it.
For example, the Imperio, Crucio, and Killing Curse among the Unforgivable Curses.
In Hodu's view, since souls existed in this world, these three curses were very likely directly targeting the soul, not acting solely on the body like ordinary spells.
The Killing Curse was the most obvious example.
After it was cast, it would not leave a wound on the victim, yet the person would die directly.
This was enough to explain that what it attacked was not the flesh.
The name Tough Skin instead made Hodu somewhat uncertain.
Could it ultimately block magical attacks on the soul level?
There was currently no answer.
Perhaps it could resist, perhaps it wouldn't work at all, but no matter which possibility, Hodu would not use its little life to test it.
Of course, even if it could only defend against most spells, it was already strong enough for it now.
As long as it didn't run into Wizards who treated Unforgivable Curses like meals, it could basically remain undefeated.
After completely fusing with the Dragon, Hodu prepared to start fusing with the Boggart.
The reason why it hadn't acted until now was just waiting for Tough Skin to rise to the ten-thousand-fold characteristic and...