Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

[Letter from the British Ministry of Magic:

Dear recipient of the Wizengamot Youth Medal - Lin Xia, the application you submitted for renting a venue will be held in half a month after internal discussion within the Ministry of Magic.

You will be given the exhibition hall on the first floor of the Ministry of Magic as the venue for holding a press conference. The British Ministry of Magic will help you and work with other magical ministries to promote it.

The Ministry would compile a list of arrivals, which would be sent to Hogwarts for review, but many people would arrive that day.

Regarding this press conference, the Ministry of Magic is open-minded and will not conduct strict screening on the people coming...】

After reading it, Lin Xia roughly summarized the meaning.

First, the British Ministry of Magic was very supportive of her renting a venue and holding a press conference.

Second, the Ministry of Magic was very optimistic about her two research projects, and one of them was very likely to win this year's Best Invention Award.

Thirdly, the Ministry of Magic also wanted to use this press conference to "make friends" and would not conduct strict screening of visitors.

They will only work hard on security and hope to reach a consensus with Hogwarts.

At present, it seems that the Ministry of Magic and the school have not discussed the specific regulations.

But Lin Xia knew that Professor McGonagall would spare no effort to ensure the smooth progress of this matter.

Although it's unclear why she's so concerned about this, it's not a bad thing for her.

Anyway, all she had to do was sit and wait.

Lin Xia finished reading the two letters, put them away and walked over to Hermione.

She suddenly thought of something and said to Hermione specifically, "I'm afraid Professor Trelawney's prediction about me today will come true."

Hermione was startled, and quickly responded, "She said three big things would happen to you. Have they happened now?"

Lin Xia shook her head: "No, but two major things have happened."

She paused and said thoughtfully, "These two things have greatly affected my personal fortune. If the third thing is equally important, then I really can't guess what it is."

Lin Xia couldn't help but smile, "I'm looking forward to it."

Hermione's eyes were filled with suspicion, but she still said, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. There are only two major events, and no third one."

Lin Xia said noncommittally: "I hope so."

After she walked into the exclusive laboratory, Ron suddenly reacted and couldn't wait to pull Harry out.

"Let's buy some amulets!"

Harry was almost pushed by him and said hurriedly: "Wait, wait... Ron, don't be so anxious!"

Ron said anxiously: "Professor Trelawney's prediction about Lin Xia has gradually come true, proving that Professor Trelawney was right.

You have seen ominous things and faced the threat of death. I think this is very likely to happen. We must be prepared in advance!"

Hermione stood up and said, "It's been half a month since Trelawney said Harry saw something ominous, but nothing has happened. Ron, you're too nervous!"

Ron said righteously: "Hermione, there is an old Chinese saying that goes 'It is better to believe it than not to believe it'. Draco told me this.

You have never encountered anything ominous, so you are not nervous at all, but there are always dangers around Harry, so it is right for us to be prepared in advance."

Hermione stopped talking.

Even though she didn't like Trelawney and always thought she was a charlatan, she had to admit that Ron's forethought was correct.

If it were her, she would also leave a way out for herself.

Thinking of this, Hermione couldn't help but look at Ron again.

Suddenly I felt that Ron seemed to have become a little smarter after spending so much time with Draco.

Lin Xia returned to the exclusive laboratory.

She had a brief conversation with Draco and then immersed herself in the experiment.

They have recently been studying the devil's ivy's response to external stimuli, hoping to find out its deeper habits.

As for the relatively rare raw material such as devil's vine, everything was provided by Dean Sprout.

They have repeatedly sliced ​​the devil's ivy for research and have already obtained some data.

Lin Xia believed that there must be some special substance in the devil vine, which was why it could support its ability to strangle its struggling prey more tightly the more it struggled.

On the other side, Ron, who had already left the laboratory, became very generous because of the personal safety of his friend.

He took Harry to the school grocery store first and bought a lot of small gadgets that could protect their safety.

There was no one in the grocery store, and the man in the picture frame with a handsome face was still in charge.

The young man in the picture frame, after knowing that Ron bought it for Harry, did not introduce it to Harry, but instead talked to Ron.

"This is a little gadget from the East, a peach wood sword. I strongly recommend you use it, it has a strong effect in exorcising evil spirits.

Rumor has it that even vampires and mummies are a little afraid of the peach wood sword, and the peach wood sword infused with magic is so sharp that it can pierce through the fur of a werewolf!"

Ron grabbed the mahogany sword, which was the same size as an ordinary iron sword.

The whole body is made of wood, which looks harder than steel.

There were some magic runes engraved on the surface of the sword. Having studied magic runes, he knew that this added to the sword's sharpness.

The reason why the peach wood sword can become as hard as steel is probably the effect after being blessed with magic words.

And the outstanding student Lin Xia next to him is from the East.

This led him to be very interested in these little oriental gadgets. After just a moment of observation, he said without hesitation:

"Buy! Harry, I'll give you one!"

Ron chattered on: "I just don't have enough gold galleons, otherwise I would definitely give one to Lin Xia and let her study it carefully. Maybe our laboratory can also sell this product."

Ron was browsing the other merchandise, so Harry picked up both swords.

Not to mention, it was quite heavy, and his arm felt slightly heavy.

Hermione was also looking around.

She hasn't been to the grocery store for some time.

I still remember that last school year, the protective gear and other items sold in grocery stores were very mediocre and there were not as many as the products their laboratory was researching.

Now she saw that there were more goods inside, and she also saw protective items brought from France.

Hermione's eyes lit up, "What is this?"

The handsome man in the frame turned into a well-spoken businessman, talking nonstop: "This is a lucky perfume from France. It is said that this perfume has 1/10 the effect of a lucky spirit and can bring people good luck.

If you are lucky enough that day and then spray some good luck perfume, it will trigger your wishes to come true.

The price is not as high as that of Fuling, but the effect is similar to that of Fuling. You can consider it as a substitute for Fuling."

Hermione waved her hand and said, "Buy it!"

The price was cheap enough that she bought not just one bottle, but five, so she could give one to everyone. Ron pointed at the pendant and asked, "What's this?"

The man in the frame just glanced at it and said, "This thing has a great origin. If you open the small box in the pendant, you will see a portrait of a great man.

There are many kinds of great people in it, including Dumbledore and some who have passed away... These great people will communicate with you, say hello to you, and answer some simple questions.

When you are in danger, quickly open the small box to reveal the portrait of the great man.

Once those demons and ghosts see the great wizard, they dare not act rashly. This scares them off on a physical level..."

Ron asked doubtfully, "But those weird things are so scary, will they be scared by a small portrait?"

The man in the picture frame immediately said, "Of course!"

These two words were said with great confidence, as if if you didn't believe them, you would be insulting his profession and even insulting the great man.

"Great men are called great men not only because they are great enough when they are alive, but also because they will be remembered by the wizarding world when they die.

They retain some of their great power, and once a dark creature or something strange sees the portrait of a great man, the wizarding world will be warned.

The general meaning is: This little wizard is under my protection, if you want to cause trouble, go and cause trouble to others..."

Ron thought this made sense, and with a wave of his hand, he bought the portrait of the great man.

Because the price was cheap enough, he also bought 5 pieces.

He thought that if the others didn't want to wear them, then he would wear two and let Harry wear three.

If one great man is not enough, then get several great men together!
Soon, Harry's body, hands and neck were covered with many small protective gadgets.

He was wearing five necklaces of different shapes around his neck, and the bracelets on his left and right hands were also of different styles. He had two peach wood swords hanging around his waist, and a strange smell lingered around his body.

Hermione had sprayed him with her good luck perfume.

Ron was still looking at the anklet. The shopkeeper in the picture frame said that the anklet with the copper bell also had the effect of exorcising evil spirits and giving reminders.

It is rumored that as long as something unclean comes, the copper bell will automatically swing and make a crisp tinkling sound.

Normally, the copper bell does not ring.

Harry felt as if he had turned into a Barbie doll. Ron and Hermione were competing with each other to stuff things into him, regardless of whether he accepted them or not.

For a moment, Harry thought of Mrs. Norris.

During the time when Mrs. Norris woke up from petrification and Filch was lost and recovered, he became panic-stricken and tried hard to stuff things into Mrs. Norris.

Every time Loris appeared, she had a lot of things hanging on her body, and those things seemed to suffocate her frail body.

Now, Harry felt that he had the same thought.

"Well...you've bought enough things, isn't it time to go back?" Harry finally couldn't help but speak.

"Besides, should we ask Lin Xia about these things? In this regard, Lin Xia has more say, right?"

Ron and Hermione nodded and continued looking around. They searched almost the entire store from beginning to end before leaving satisfied.

As they left, Ron and Hermione were still talking to each other animatedly.

Ron: "Things in the grocery store seem to have gotten cheaper. I thought it would cost a lot of Galleons to buy so many, but it only cost 10. It's a great value."

Hermione agreed, "If it really works, 10 Galleons isn't expensive."

Harry:…

He just felt suffocated.

When they returned to the laboratory, Lin Xia and Draco just came out. They were surprised to see so many things hanging on Harry.

After hearing their comments on the grocery store, Draco chuckled and said, "You've definitely been cheated. How can a rare item with a protective effect be so cheap?"

Ron didn't believe it and looked at Lin Xia eagerly. Lin Xia nodded, agreeing with Draco's statement.

But before making a real review, she carefully checked every item she bought, and finally said:

“These little gadgets actually have no effect.

The person in the frame didn't lie to you. The words he used were "allegedly", "rumor", "should"...

There is no specific effect given, so these are all scams.”

Ron and Hermione's faces immediately fell.

Anyone who happily buys a lot of useful things, but turns out to be useless, will feel angry and disappointed.

However, the next second, Lin Xia changed her topic, "But it's not completely ineffective. At least you bought psychological comfort, right? This is better than being frightened."

Ron said unwillingly, "Is it really useless?"

Lin Xia thought for a while and suddenly pointed to the pendant they bought.

“Combining your statements, I think the person in the frame’s description of the pendant is the most truthful.

Portraits of great men may not have any effect, but they may have a great effect in some aspects. It depends on the thing that is haunting you and whether you recognize this great man.

There are some great wizards whose achievements were not obtained through research, but through conquering one battlefield after another.

The wizarding world is huge, and Hogwarts where we are is just a small corner of it."

Harry said immediately, "Then I will only wear these lockets, and I won't touch the others."

Lin Xia reminded him, "Harry, you should bring the peach wood sword with you. Although the peach wood sword does not have the effect of warding off evil spirits, it is very hard and can be used to chop things at critical moments.

Of the gold galleons you spent, the mahogany sword was the most expensive. The picture frame did not deceive you in this respect and is worth the price."

Ron said angrily: "I'm going to complain to the grocery store, saying that they sell fake goods."

Lin Xia smiled but said nothing.

Such complaints are doomed to failure.

Anyone who can open a grocery store inside a school must have some connection with the school.

It’s better not to say it, maybe it was opened by a professor of the school, or a relative of the principal.

In the evening, they went to the auditorium to have dinner together.

Harry wore four pendants around his neck and a mahogany sword on his waist. He felt uncomfortable, as if all the little wizards passing by were looking at him.

Okay, his outfit was a little strange, but that was not his intention.

Even Mikkel couldn't help asking when he saw Harry: "Harry, are you... changing your style to Professor Trelawney's?"

Neville added quietly, "Luna likes this look too."

Harry tried to keep a calm expression. "No, I just wore it casually. Ron and Hermione wore it too. Why didn't you tell them?"

Mikel thought for a moment and said, "Maybe you are more popular than them." (End of this chapter)