Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Ron kept an eye on Mibumi, carefully collecting the items while wearing gloves.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in his ear: "Your technique is wrong. Don't touch it directly with your hands. You have to tap it first."

Ron frowned, his mind reeling from the shock.

At this moment, he finally understood what Lin Xia had said.

When people are concentrating on doing something, they should not make a sudden sound, otherwise they may be easily startled and make mistakes.

He felt that his collection attempt had completely failed because he was frightened by the sound and made a mistake.

He knew, of course, that he had made a mistake.

However, he felt that the subsequent data collection could be corrected, and just as he was about to put his ideas into action, the voice suddenly came, disrupting his plans.

Ron looked toward the source of the sound with displeasure and complained, "Why did you scare me?"

Mikel was speechless, unable to utter a word.

The two stared at each other silently for a long time.

Ron belatedly realized what was happening and called out, "Mikel, what are you doing in the classroom?"

He walked around Mick, scrutinizing him several times, and muttered to himself:

“You’re out now, so everything’s alright, right? If you hadn’t shown up, I was thinking of going with Harry to ask Professor McGonagall when you were going to come out.”

More and more eyes gathered around, and Mikel quickly said, "I'm fine, it went very smoothly."

He quickly changed the subject, "Ron, I noticed your collection technique was a bit off, so I offered some pointers. I didn't expect it to startle you. Let me do the collection with you. I did some special training for Mibumi during my testing."

Ron immediately put aside his doubts about his appearance and said happily, "Okay, come with me."

He seemed to have thought of something and added, "Neville and Harry are in a group; they'll go somewhere else to discuss things with the other group members."

Mick was right; he was very experienced in collecting Mibumibo, and he noticed Ron's mistake from the very first step, giving Ron some pointers.

Ron was also eager to learn, and after being honed by the knowledge-sharing games during the winter break, he got into the zone very quickly.

As the two began collecting the materials, the gazes that had been fixed on Mikel gradually dispersed.

Mikel breathed a sigh of relief.

He doesn't want to attract too much attention right now.

If it were him in the past, he would have preferred to be as high-profile as possible.

But after learning many advanced spells from the forbidden book, he wanted to keep a low profile. He felt that his previous boastful behavior was like that of a nouveau riche who had just received a huge sum of money.

His proud demeanor seemed as if he was afraid others wouldn't know he possessed enormous wealth.

At this moment, he finally understood why Lin Xia and Draco, despite their noble family backgrounds and outstanding abilities, were so low-key at school.

They won't do anything unless the professor asks them directly, or these top students will only stand up to answer questions if no other students respond.

Except for Hermione.

But Mikel also knew that Hermione Granger's competitiveness was innate and had nothing to do with her family background.

Even if she doesn't rush to answer questions, everyone who sees her thinks she's very smart.

On the other side, the moment Mikel entered the greenhouse.

Not far away, Lin Xia, who was instructing other students, seemed to sense something.

She looked up, glanced at the doorway, and saw Mikel's figure.

She glanced at it casually, then looked away without any emotion.

Because the movement was so fast, Mikel didn't notice at all.

Draco appeared in front of her without her noticing and whispered, "Lin Xia, I just saw Mikel, and I feel like his demeanor has changed."

Lin Xia nodded gently: "You've become much calmer and more composed; you used to be very impatient."

Draco said thoughtfully, "On the train to school the day before yesterday, I overheard Harry and Ron talking a lot about Mikel, and he seemed a little different than before."

If his abilities are truly as outstanding as Ron and Harry claim, should we recruit him into the lab?

Draco did not forget Lin Xia's original intention in establishing the laboratory.

She not only wants to set up her own personal laboratory, but also a large-scale experimental group.

Bringing together the labs of talented students with research abilities not only enhances security but also fosters inspiration and mutual support through exchange.

The final products and profits generated will enable the laboratory to become increasingly powerful and complete.

They were students of Hogwarts, and with Hogwarts' backing, Watts didn't need to interact with any nobles.

The laboratory's products can be sold by relying solely on the school's resources. Although the school receives a small share of the profits, it also takes care of other miscellaneous tasks.

They could conduct so many experimental experiments and still attend classes at school with ease, all because Hogwarts took care of most of their troubles outside of experiments.

Of course, thanks to the Malfoy family's influence, he was also a member of Lin Xia's laboratory.

Their experimental products can also be handled entirely by the Malfoy family, who will be responsible for their sales and promotion without requiring any intervention from them.

But Draco knew that the nobility was a complex matter.

It becomes even more complicated when interests are involved.

Even though Lin Xia is also an aristocrat, and her family has cooperated with the Malfoy family many times, if she were to truly entrust the entire product distribution to the Malfoy family, the interests between them would be incalculable, even with contractual obligations.

It's quite possible that they split the profits 30/70 with the Malfoy family, with the Malfoys taking 30% and them taking 70%, but the final annual dividends they received were still less than what they would have received from the school's 50/50 split.

Out of care for the students, there aren't many troublemakers in schools.

But it's different for aristocratic families.

They always manage to spend money that doesn't need to be spent in all sorts of ways.

Lin Xia raised an eyebrow, glanced at Draco, and said calmly, "It's difficult."

Draco looked puzzled. "What?"

Lin Xia: "It's difficult for you to recruit him into our laboratory; he probably has other ideas."

"But if you want to give it a try, you can approach him; perhaps you can discover something from him." Upon hearing this, Draco glanced carefully at Mikel in the distance, then quickly looked away, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

"He has a secret, a secret that prevents him from joining our lab. Is this something your talent can sense?" Draco asked.

Otherwise, he really couldn't understand why Mikel, who was also a junior student, didn't join Lin Xia's laboratory if he had research talent.

Her laboratory produced so many excellent products that it was synonymous with sophistication and mystery in the minds of every young wizard.

Lin Xia neither admitted nor denied it, but simply said, "You should get to know him first, and then tell me what kind of person you think he is."

Mikel had no idea that Lin Xia had seen right through him.

She had no idea that Draco, because of Lin Xia's words, would test her with a probing mind.

He teamed up with Ron to collect Mibumibao and discovered that there was much to learn in the area of ​​"guidance".

During the winter break, everyone studied on their own.

Even though they were tested together, the tests were independent and did not require teamwork, so Mikel did not realize that Ron's personality was so terrible and stubborn!

I clearly told him not to do that, but he seemed to ignore me, making the same mistake twice and three times.

By the end, he was getting annoyed, and his tone became irritable.

Ron, however, turned the tables and said, "It's because you're always nagging in my ear that I'm so annoyed, which is why I keep getting data collection errors!"

This made Mikel quite upset, and he kept trying to comfort himself.

Never mind, he'd read the original book and watched the movie; Ron's personality was like that in the early stages.

No, he was like that from beginning to end!

Besides being Harry's best friend, he had the lowest magical talent among Harry's companions, relying solely on his complete trust and loyalty to Harry.

So why was someone with such an ordinary personality able to marry the intelligent Hermione in the original story?
Can stupidity and intelligence really complement each other in a marital relationship?!

If the bell hadn't rung, Mikel felt that any friendship he and Ron had built up over the winter break would have been completely destroyed in this one class if they continued to team up like this.

Professor Sprout clapped his hands: "Alright, little wizards, get out of class is over, but before we begin, we need to deal with Mibumibo properly and seal them away."

If we just leave them in the classroom, they'll grow wildly and multiply into a huge swarm the next day. The greenhouse climate is perfect for their growth, and cleaning them up will be a real hassle.

You wouldn't want to have other herbal medicine classes in a smelly place, would you?

The little wizards who originally wanted to leave laughed and obediently stayed. Following the professor's instructions, they sealed Mibu and Mibu in a transparent bag and then put them in the box.

Now that everything is done, get out of class is officially over!

Mikel went to the Great Hall with Ron for dinner, where they met up with Harry, Neville, Lin Xia, and others who had already left the classroom.

He tried his best to keep his emotions calm, unlike in the past when he would feel a surge of sourness and jealousy whenever he saw outstanding students like Lin Xia.

"I became an outstanding student, I entered the restricted reading area, and I gained two very important benefits from it. I am no worse than them. I have caught up with them, and from today onwards, I stand on the same starting line as them!"

Mikel immediately thought about it repeatedly in his mind, and his tense mood gradually relaxed.

"Mikel, you're back. Are you alright?"

Harry was quite surprised to see Mikel; he had expected to see him in the dormitory, but instead, he saw him in the classroom.

Mikel smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing, everything went smoothly. I'll tell you about my experience when I get back to the dorm."

Ron and Harry's eyes lit up.

That's the mysterious forbidden book zone!
Lin Xia, Draco, and Hermione never told them about the forbidden book section, saying they would find out when they received their honor badges.

Ron asked mysteriously, "Will Professor McGonagall let you tell me? Won't that be a breach of contract?"

Mikel said, "I signed a confidentiality agreement. You won't hear any information that can't be leaked. The information you can know is within your authorized scope."

Neville was somewhat annoyed by their mysterious demeanor.

In his eyes, these people's lips were moving, but no sound came out, so he couldn't help but ask:
Are you whispering in front of me?

Ron didn't react immediately: "No, we were having a public discussion."

Harry suddenly remembered something. "Neville, can't you hear anything?"

Neville nodded: "I see your mouths moving, but no sound is coming out."

Harry: "Neville, you don't have permission, so you can't hear what we're talking about."

Once you become an outstanding student, or participate in night patrols, and sign a confidentiality agreement, you'll know what we're discussing.

Ordinary students are unaware that the restricted book section in the school library is just a smokescreen; the real restricted book section is located in another space.

They didn't know that the so-called forbidden books not only represented profound knowledge, but also meant that they could be learned instantly, saving them the trouble of years of accumulation.

Lin Xia suddenly spoke up: "You guys go to the cafeteria first. I need to discuss some things with the dean. Don't wait for me."

As she left, she could still hear Neville's hesitant gasps.

"I can't do either being an outstanding student or participating in patrols; it's too difficult."

It wasn't Ron or Harry who spoke, but Mikel, who said with absolute certainty:
"No, Neville, you have a lot of potential that you don't even know you have. Once you unlock it, you're no worse than anyone else, and you might even be stronger than most of us!"

Lin Xia kept walking, but a question arose in her mind.

Why is he so sure?
Does Mikel also possess prophetic abilities, knowing something from the future in advance?
Or does he have another way of seeing Neville's potential?
A faint smile played at the corners of Lin Xia's lips. This person was becoming more and more interesting.

At this point, there were no students left in the greenhouse classroom, only Professor Sprout was left to handle the final tasks.

Seeing Lin Xia walk in, she asked with some surprise, "Lin Xia, is there something you need?"

Lin Xia said, "Professor, Professor McGonagall mentioned the patrol to us yesterday and asked us to submit a list. I have some ideas."

Upon hearing that it was related to "night patrols," Dean Sprout's expression turned serious. "Go on," he said.

Lin Xia: "Professor, first of all, there is the issue of patrol time. The interval between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning is too late. The young wizards' physical strength and mental state have not reached their peak. I do not recommend that lower-grade students participate at this time."

Sprout took out a pen. "Any other ideas? Please share them."

Lin Xia: "There's also the issue of student safety. Professor McGonagall said the school will purchase a batch of self-defense items for us. I'm wondering if I could also research a batch of amazing items like the Radiant Candle to help everyone protect themselves."

Upon hearing this, Dean Sprout looked up and gave Lin Xia a meaningful glance. (End of Chapter)