Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Harry didn't hesitate for long before asking Professor McGonagall to teach him Occlumency.

He has no choice.

Professor McGonagall took back the ruby ​​liquid ring, intending to give it to Harry again after it was fully recharged.

She said in a deep voice, "Learning Occupation Technique may not be effective. Before that, you need to use other magical objects to ward off the damage caused by nightmares."

Since the glowing candles can help you ward off nightmares, continue to light them and go to sleep.

McGonagall waved her wand, and in no time, a large pile of glowing candles appeared on the table.

“These candles were all handmade by me. They were originally meant for the Ministry of Magic, but your matter is more important, so I’m giving them to you to use first.”

Harry looked at the pile of candles on the table, somewhat surprised: "Professor, isn't this too many?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow: "A lot? As long as I understand the ancient runes engraved on the candles, I can make this many in a day. The Ministry of Magic is currently working on mechanizing Radiant Candles, and perhaps mass production will be possible soon."

The effects of radiant candles are not obvious in the magical world, but in the world of evil gods, they can help wizards dispel shadows and darkness, making them very useful when exploring in the wild.

She then changed the subject, "But no matter what, even if it can be produced mechanically, there is still a big difference between it and something made by a wizard by hand. The effect of something made by a wizard himself will be much stronger."

You can take these candles for now. If you need more, just let me know. This is Hogwarts' way of nurturing you, so don't feel bad about it.

Harry was indeed a little embarrassed.

If McGonagall hadn't added that last sentence, he would have wanted to ask the professor to buy it.

With the immediate safety issue at hand, Harry couldn't help but ask, "Professor, when will we learn Occlumency?"

McGonagall thought for a moment: "It will take two days, and I won't be the one teaching you."

Harry asked, puzzled, "Who will teach me?"

McGonagall: "Professor Snape."

Harry's face instantly turned ugly.
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"It's Snape who's going to teach you, Harry. Looks like you can forget about learning Occlumency. Snape definitely won't put his heart into teaching you. He sees us Gryffindor students as nothing more than a lump of mud!"

During the lunch break, Ron said excitedly.

Harry's expression was also very unpleasant.

“This was arranged by Professor McGonagall. I saw that the professor was very busy when she came back this time. She only talked to me for a few minutes before she had to start working again. I felt embarrassed to ask her to change the candidate, and I didn’t want to keep bothering the professor because of my matter.”

"But that's Snape. It's not a question of whether you should learn or not, it's a question of whether he's willing to teach you. Snape will definitely curse you and make your life miserable!"

Ron said with absolute certainty.

Harry shared the same thought, but deep down he still held onto a sliver of hope.

This was arranged by Professor McGonagall; maybe Snape will listen to her.

Even he himself found it hard to believe when he said the idea aloud.

Mikel was also taking a lunch break, and since there was no magic to block or isolate their conversation, he overheard it as well.

His expression shifted several times, but he couldn't help but say a few words of justice for Snape:

"Harry, maybe Snape will genuinely teach you this time?"

Although he disliked Gryffindor and often deducted our House Cup points, he was dedicated to his students and would protect us if we were in danger.

Ron gave Mikel a strange look.

"How come you share the same thoughts as Hermione? But Hermione has already given up on Snape and only hopes that, for the sake of Hogwarts, he can teach each Hogwarts student a little more seriously."

He sensed something was wrong.

“Mikel, last semester you answered so many questions in Potions class, but he only called on you once and ignored you in front of all the students.”

You volunteered to answer, and he even deducted points from your score. And you're still defending the professor? Are you related to him?

Mikel forced a stiff smile. "If I were related to him, why would I go to Gryffindor? Wouldn't it be better to go to Slytherin?"

Ron nodded. "That's true."

Mikel silently wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling that Ron was quite sharp in some ways.

Being single-minded has its advantages; it allows you to quickly detect things that are different from what you've done before.

Through the original novel and the film adaptation, Snape is portrayed as a tragic figure. In the early stages, he was always Voldemort's scapegoat and endured humiliation to become an undercover agent.

Old Pu, your life is so hard!

Seeing that Ron and Harry still looked worried, a thought flashed through Mikel's mind, and he asked, "How about we all learn Occlumency together?"

Ron and Harry both looked over.

Mikel calmly said, "Since we're all going to have to study anyway, let's study together. The more people study, the more we can share the blame, which indirectly reduces the pressure."

Ron muttered to himself, "I feel like having more people learning doesn't lessen the amount of abuse I get, but rather increases Snape's ability to yell at me..."

Harry silently agreed with this statement, but he was also a little afraid to face Snape alone.

Harry would be happy if Ron studied with him.

The two discussed it in the common room and quickly decided to go to study together.

Harry looked at Ron with gratitude, feeling that Ron was too kind to him.

Ron said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I'm stupid, so it's normal that I can't learn it. I can learn something by studying with you."

He said this on the surface, but what he was really thinking was, "If I could learn Occlumency, I could chat with Hermione and the others after school starts. They haven't learned it, but I have. How awesome would that be!"

But Ron suddenly thought of Snape's sinister face, as if someone owed him millions of Galleons, and was also worried that he was swearing too harshly.

Snape could insult someone without using a single swear word, yet still make the person feel humiliated.

Then a thought flashed through his mind, and he suggested, "Why don't we bring Mikel along to study together?"

Harry asked, "Would Mikel be willing?"

Ron thought for a moment: "He's changed a lot this winter break. He's incredibly thirsty for knowledge. Although Occlumency is a rare and obscure spell, it's still a profound magical technique. He shouldn't refuse it. We'll talk to him about it when we get back to the dorm tonight."

He paused, then said, "Mick is very smart. If we can't learn it but he does, we can give him extra lessons so he won't always get scolded by Snape."

Harry nodded. "You're right."

Mikel was unaware of Harry and Ron's thoughts, and even less aware that he hadn't said anything yet, but the main characters had taken notice of him and were willing to take him along to help them achieve their goals.

In the afternoon, he took an hour off to go see Professor McGonagall.

The professor's office was as meticulous as ever, with a long bookshelf behind him, piled high with densely packed documents, yet orderly and without the slightest sign of disorder.

A red tapestry bearing the Gryffindor crest hangs above the fireplace; its color has faded slightly, but it doesn't look old, only solemn and dignified.

Professor McGonagall sat at the table, on which sat an ink bottle. Mikel noticed that there was only a little extra space where the ink was placed; the table itself was taken up by a large stack of documents.

When he arrived to see the professor, it was clearly during the professor's office hours. Professor McGonagall was wearing glasses, and several quill pens were floating around her as she worked diligently. McGonagall was not surprised to see Mikel arrive.

Mikel is an outstanding student, and after studying the honor badge, he'll probably start reading forbidden books.

This is something almost every student does after receiving the badge; no one can resist the allure of learning directly from reading forbidden books.

Banned books crammed all the knowledge into the brain, saving students the learning process.

McGonagall asked, "Mikel, what do you want to know?"

Mikel said with a serious expression, "Professor, I want to read banned books."

McGonagall said in a deep voice, "You've probably heard about the dangers of reading forbidden books from the badge, but I still want to remind you."

Reading forbidden books is not 100% safe; the more powerful the forbidden book, the more dangerous it is. Even if schools provide items to ward off the whispers of evil gods, wizards can still be injured on their first reading of a forbidden book.

Mikel said solemnly, "Professor, I am ready. I want to try reading forbidden books."

McGonagall stopped trying to stop her and asked, "When do you want to start reading?"

Mikel: "If I could, I'd like to go into the restricted section today."

McGonagall shook her head: "The school needs to prepare the necessary resistance materials for you. I'll apply for them for you. Once the materials arrive, you can go in. You should adjust your mindset."

Mikel's trip was simply to submit an application report; he had nothing else to do.

Upon entering the forbidden book zone for the first time, wizards must submit an application report to their guide.

Only wizards like Lin Xia, who have entered many times, do not need to notify the professor every time they enter.

In fact, as long as you submit your application through the back-end system, the school will receive a notification, so there is no need to communicate with the professor face-to-face.

However, since this is Mikel's first time reading, the school will pay more attention to it.

Just as Mikel was about to leave, McGonagall suddenly called out to him, "Mickle, you share a dorm with Harry, has he been having dreams these past few days?"

Mikel was taken aback. "Dreaming? Professor, I haven't paid much attention to Harry, so I don't know if he dreams at night."

McGonagall: "I mean, does he make a lot of noise at night that wakes you all up?"

Mikel shook his head: "No, Harry was very quiet. We wouldn't have known he was dreaming if he hadn't told us he was having a nightmare."

McGonagall muttered to herself, "Judging from this, his nightmare level isn't that high, so why is the ring's energy being depleted so quickly..."

Mikel thought to himself: Harry's dream is probably related to Voldemort, which explains why he's so exhausted.

That's Voldemort!

Even though Voldemort has been cut into pieces, he's like an unkillable cockroach, able to unleash astonishing power with just a little bit of mischief!
It was Harry's misfortune to be targeted by Voldemort.

McGonagall said, "Mikel, if Harry makes a lot of noise while sleeping at night, report it to me immediately when you wake up. Harry may be being targeted by an evil god, and I am very worried about his safety."

I hope this is just my speculation, not reality.

Mikel agreed without hesitation.

Honestly, if Harry really made a big commotion at night, his roommates would be the first to suffer, not anyone else.

Having successfully obtained permission to read the banned book, Mikel happily returned to the lab.

The busy work lasted until evening, and the testers dragged their exhausted bodies back to their dormitories.

When Mikel returned to the dormitory, Harry and Ron had already returned and lit more than a dozen Radiant Candles on the ground.

Seeing the candles cheered him up a bit.

In his eyes, these weren't candles, but rather stacks of experience points!
He wished he could sleep right there among those candles, if doing so would make his experience points increase faster.

Mikel remembered Ron saying that the candle stock was low, and now that he had brought out so many, he asked:
"Ron, if you use up this batch of candles today, will you run out of candles tomorrow?"

Ron said with a smile, "It will be useful. We mentioned it to Professor McGonagall, and she gave us a large batch, enough for us to use until the start of the semester."

If we run out, Professor McGonagall said to just ask her for more, and she'll refill them.

Mikel's eyes lit up: "Ron, does the professor have a lot of Radiant Candles? Can I buy some from her?"

Harry shook his head and said, "Radiant candles are not available on the market; they can only be purchased through special channels and are given priority to the world of evil gods."

"If my nightmare hadn't been so unusual, I wouldn't have received these Radiant Candles."

Ron asked curiously, "Why do you want to buy the Radiant Candle?"

Mikel said, "I think it works very well, and I want to buy some to store up, just in case I need it someday."

Ron understood: "That's easy. If you're not taking a large quantity, I can secretly make some for you."

Mikel: "Make?"

Ron's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a panic, "No, you misheard me. Um, I just said I can give you some. I have other ways to get it."

Seeing his reaction, Mikel stopped pressing the matter and instead said, "I'd like 20, is that alright? Three Galleons per one?"

Ron was about to agree when Harry interrupted, "Twenty is too many. Ron can only offer ten!"

Ron realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, 10!"

Mikel said happily, "Ten is fine too, but can I use them regularly? I always feel that I can concentrate better when I'm under the light of candles."

Ron thought to himself, "They must have so much money they don't know what to do with it."

"Of course, but there aren't many candles available, and it will take us a lot of effort to buy some!"

Ron emphasized this seriously.

Mikel was satisfied and didn't ask them to take more. Since Ron was willing to sell some, it proved that the Radiant Candles weren't in short supply for them.

"By the way, Mikel, would you like to learn Occlumency?"

Ron suddenly asked a new question.

Mikel instinctively replied, "Occupy Central? That sounds really advanced. Of course I want to learn it."

After saying that, he realized that Occlumency was Snape's signature spell. If he could learn it, that would be great, and he wouldn't have to worry about being Legilimency so often.

He can also better keep his secrets.

Ron said happily, "Then come with us tomorrow night to learn Occlumency. Professor McGonagall has Snape teach Harry, and Harry can let the two of us come along too."

Mikel: ?

Is it really that easy to get a place to study?

He firmly believed that he had gone astray.

Indeed, no matter what, sticking with the main characters is the most effective way to develop your character. (End of Chapter)