Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Ron and Harry's premonitions seemed to have been confirmed.

Professor McGonagall did not teach them Occlumency very often, only once every two or three days, and it was all about laying the foundation.

Ron and Harry discovered that every time they finished learning Occlumency and came out of Professor McGonagall's office, they would run into Snape on the street.

Professor Snape's appearances were also quite varied.

At first, he hid in the shadows, sometimes making noises to scare them, and sometimes remaining silent.

After they had passed by, Snape suddenly came out, startling Harry and Ron, who screamed several times.

After that, every time Harry and Ron came out of the office, they would look around warily to see if anything was amiss, thus seeing through Snape's disguise in advance, and their emotions gradually became calm and composed.

When Snape realized that hiding was no longer enough to scare them, he appeared in a different form.

He would blend his body into the wall and suddenly reach out a hand to grab their arm as they passed by.

Just like in horror movies, a ghost has come seeking revenge!

The scene immediately terrified Ron and Harry, who screamed at the top of their lungs, shouting that there was a ghost.

Because the two were making such a loud noise, they attracted the attention of the patrolling wizards again. They then realized that this was Snape testing their courage, and were speechless.

The test terrified Ron and Harry, and they both had nightmares when they went to sleep that night.

What they don't know is.

Some wizards, upon learning that this was a test of courage for young wizards, actually ignored Snape's unapproachable old face and went over to offer advice with great interest.

“Snape, I think your courage test could be improved. You could disguise yourself as a picture frame and use it to scare them, or you could create some illusions so that blood flows out of the picture frame…”

When the other wizards heard the suggestions these wizards made to Snape, they couldn't help but feel a little worried for Harry and Ron.

Although it's unclear why Snape would give these two young wizards a separate test of courage, the other wizards, who seemed to enjoy the spectacle, really didn't take the young wizards' frights seriously, throwing out all sorts of terrifying scenarios!
Some wizards, with a sudden inspiration, suggested incorporating courage tests into learning games:
"This kind of test can help them learn Occlumency and can be used as an auxiliary means to learn this magic. However, I think this method does not need to be limited to Occlumency. It can be used as a punishment mechanism for those who do not study seriously."

A wizard, his mind sparking with inspiration, waved his hands and spoke with great passion.

Upon hearing this, the other wizards asked curiously, "What do you intend to do?"

The wizard said, "We can use the test scores on the mini-games to check whether students are studying hard. I believe that any wizard who studies hard will not fail every test."

“Yes!” The other professors nodded in agreement.

"Then we can set up a penalty mechanism in the mini-game. If the test is failed three times in a row, the penalty mechanism of the mini-game will be triggered, pulling the little wizard into a terrifying fantasy."

"In that fantasy, they had to survive by doing problems, not only quickly but also correctly."

The young wizards pulled into the illusion are eliminated, starting with the last one standing. Each eliminated wizard experiences the feeling of death, experiencing various forms of death.

"The remaining young wizards must witness the deaths of other young wizards as a warning to themselves: never, ever be eliminated!"

"Of course, we don't necessarily have to design all of these punishment mechanisms. We can design several and let the young wizards choose randomly. Whichever one they choose, that's the one we use. What do you think?"

Everyone initially thought it wasn't very good.

But if the stimulation of terror can inspire a young wizard's thirst for knowledge, that would be great.

One professor said, "We need to set a terror level. I don't want young wizards to get sick from the intense emotional fluctuations during these fantasies."

"That's easy. We can do a milder version. It's a bit cruel for students to see their peers die, so we can make it so that eliminated wizards are turned into sheep or chickens and then eaten by Muggles!"

"That's a good idea; it's certainly much gentler."

……

Diagon Alley.

The sound of wind chimes jingling rang out.

This is the last day Hermione will test Isaac.

Isaac went from distrusting Hermione at the beginning to now being a firm believer in her beliefs.

Hermione doesn't come to Diagon Alley every day, but every time she does, Isaac excitedly reports his achievements to her.

"Hermione, I feel that the evil god's whispers on my body have been suppressed a lot. Whenever I concentrate on thinking about something or doing something, even if it is disturbing me in my ear, I can ignore its influence on me."

I believe that my focused state allowed me to automatically block out the incessant ramblings of the evil god; your method worked.

Herman asked with interest, "So what were you thinking about, and what were you going to do?"

At first, Hermione still planned to have Isaac follow the old path, find a student to teach with all her heart and soul.

When people focus their attention on others, they tend to overlook the abnormalities in themselves.

Isaac only tried to leave Diagon Alley and stayed outside for a day before locking himself back in his cabin and refusing to go out again.

After Hermione's visit, Isaac suggested to Hermione that they try a different approach.

He also wanted to do research and experiments.

Hermione thought this method could also improve concentration, so she suggested he switch to another study.

She later learned that it wasn't that Isaac didn't want to teach students, but rather that every wizard around him was wary of him after he left the cabin.

Forget about finding a promising child to teach him, even adult wizards avoid him altogether.

This upset Isaac, who felt discriminated against, but he also understood what these people were thinking, so he simply stopped going out.

He locked himself in for two days before he came up with the idea of ​​conducting research experiments.

Isaac was thinking that Hermione was so young, yet she could already do research.

He was older, more experienced, and more capable of inventing many things that wizards wanted, which is why he decided to develop in this direction.

Isaac saw Hermione and exclaimed excitedly, "I've designed a weapon that can be used in the world of evil gods!"

Hermione was somewhat surprised.

After breaking the time loop, she would often come to Diagon Alley to see Isaac.

Isaac is actually a very kind-hearted wizard. After they got to know each other, he would often talk to Hermione about things in the world of evil gods.

After all, as an Auror with decent combat ability, he only spent three years in the wizarding world after graduating from magic school before being conscripted to the battlefield of another world.

Hermione asked curiously, "What kind of weapon? Does it require magic to fire?"

Isaac shook his head: "No, although there are magical elements in the world of evil gods, they are scarce, and only high-level spells can have some effect."

However, wizards have limited magical power, and they often run out of magic power after using only a few high-level spells. When they do, they will be at a disadvantage when facing various super-strong mutants who come to attack them.

The weapon I'm researching doesn't require magic to propel arrows; it relies purely on physical mechanics. Since mutants are generally physically stronger than wizards, arrows alone might not be effective, but we can coat the arrowheads with a poison specifically targeting mutants…”

Hermione's expression turned strange upon hearing Isaac's idea. But when she saw the weapon sketches Isaac had drawn, she exclaimed, "Isn't that a crossbow?!"

"Crossbow?" Isaac asked doubtfully. "What's that? The name sounds pretty cool."

Hermione: "I saw it in a book in the Muggle world. It's a kind of cold weapon. Thousands of years ago, the Muggle world used these cold weapons to fight wars."

Isaac was stunned. "Is the Muggle world really this advanced?"

Hermione shook her head: "It's not advanced, because the Muggle world doesn't have magic, so they can only focus on developing machinery and mining all kinds of energy that they can utilize."

Isaac looked at Hermione with some anticipation: "My weapon is very rough, and I have no clue about many of the ideas and concepts. Can I take a look at those cold weapons you mentioned?"

Hermione smiled and said, "Of course."

"But I'm going back to Hogwarts tomorrow. Can I have my parents give it to you? They know how to get to Diagon Alley, and you can meet them at the entrance."

Oh, by the way, they're very interested in you and said they'd like to chat with you sometime.

Isaac was a little nervous and stammered, "That wouldn't be good, would it? I... I'm a low-level infected person, what if I infect them..."

Hermione: "Low-level raucous pronouncements have no effect on Muggles. Muggles are far too weak in their senses to be as perceptive as wizards. You pose no threat to them."

If you're really worried, you can bring a glow candle to see them. I'll also give my parents some supplies to prevent infection, so please don't worry.

Isaac: ...

This isn't a matter of feeling at ease or not.

Is it that Hermione trusts him so much, and has such confidence in her parents, that she absolutely won't get infected?

Isaac thought Hermione was amazing!
Unbeknownst to him, this was also part of Hermione's plan.

Through comparative observations over the past few days, she discovered that low-level infected individuals, with the help of medication, were able to control the demonic ramblings within their bodies quite well.

However, due to fear and anxiety, coupled with the lack of understanding from the outside world, these wizards only dared to live alone or live together with other low-level infected individuals.

This is not a good sign.

Anything that is closed off will only make things worse.

She had to let more people know that being infected by the delusions of the evil god was not terrible, and that low-level infected people could walk openly on the street.

Only when everyone is no longer afraid of the ravings of evil gods will more methods of restraint be invented.

Currently, many wizards in the wizarding world are still too afraid of the ravings of evil gods.

Hermione not only planned to bring in her parents, but also to show all the wizards in Diagon Alley that Isaac, a low-level infected, posed no danger to anyone.

She also wrote to the Ministry of Magic, hoping that the Ministry would adopt her suggestions to bring more low-level infected out of their dark and closed circles and allow more people to join the research.

Hermione felt that lower-level infected individuals were also the best researchers, as no one understood their own bodies better than them.

Some clever wizards probably already found ways to counteract this, but out of fear, they didn't tell anyone.
-
"it is finally over!"

After finishing the last day's knowledge assessment, Harry and Ron stretched lazily.

The professors were still conducting the final tests, but they no longer needed the students' help. The evaluators left the lab after completing the final tests.

Ron said, "School starts the day after tomorrow. I wonder if I'll be able to use it in the new semester. I'm kind of looking forward to it."

He has taken tests in almost every subject.

Much of the material in the higher grades is learned hastily, with the sole aim of passing the exams rather than pursuing quality.

But he learned all the material for the lower grades and mastered it completely.

He learned all the spells, especially in the second semester of third grade.

Ron was looking forward to the moment when he would make a name for himself.

Harry had the same idea, but he was more reserved about it.

He already has plenty of fame; he just wants to become even better.

Ron muttered, "I wonder if Mikell will make it to the opening ceremony. Will the principal be there to give a speech in the auditorium? Probably not... The start of the new semester isn't as important as the enrollment of new students every year."

Harry suddenly remembered something and said, "We'll find out by asking Hagrid. We've been at Hogwarts for so long and haven't visited Hagrid yet. We wonder how he is."

Ron's eyes lit up: "Great! We'll be there in a bit!"

With the new term about to begin, the rules at Hogwarts are becoming increasingly relaxed.

There have been no patrols these past few nights, and the professors have been turning a blind eye, letting the students staying on campus party all night.

After all, if we don't celebrate now, school will start again soon, bringing with it a busy period of studying.

On the other side, Draco was also packing his luggage.

He plans to go to Hogwarts tomorrow, as the day after tomorrow is the day when most students will officially return. As an outstanding student, he needs to arrive at the school early to see if he can help with some preparations.

As he tidied up, the picture frames seemed to be muttering to themselves.

Draco has been unusually excited these past few days because he doesn't know if it's the picture frame that he can take out of Malfoy Manor.

Even through the picture frame, he could hear the excitement in his voice.

"You may not know this, but Hogwarts' teaching ability is actually not good. It was not originally established to cultivate talents. The four leaders just wanted to cultivate some wizards who could discuss and explore the most fundamental power in the world."

Draco suddenly stopped tidying up: "The most primal power?"

Picture frame: "Is this the first question for today?"

Draco: "No, never mind."

He could only ask three questions a day for free, and he had to offset the cost himself. He preferred to leave the questions to the study of occult medicine because the cost he had to offset was the least.

It's not surprising that the frame was rejected. He continued, "I never imagined that after so many years, it would become one of the best magic schools in Europe, and even have some schools modeled after the Four Great Magicians."

“No other magic school has a real historical foundation, only Hogwarts does. I recommend that everyone in the world go to Hogwarts. There are still many secrets in the school that have not been discovered. It hides the treasures left behind by the four great masters.”

Draco suddenly asked, "Is the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin the treasure left behind by Slytherin?"

He added, "This is the first question of the day."

The picture frame quickly replied, "Of course not. The Chamber of Secrets is just Slytherin's laboratory. Only you descendants don't understand and treat the laboratory as a treasure."

But if we look at it another way, it wouldn't be surprising if it were a treasure, since Slytherin's research is very sophisticated and ordinary wizards simply can't understand it.

Even a skilled wizard who can understand just a little of this will benefit from it for a lifetime. (End of Chapter)