Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Ron had never been confident in his ability to draw the tracking runes.

Startled by Neville's exclamation, his hand trembled, causing the mithril pen in his hand to veer off course, and the magic rune array was instantly destroyed.

Seeing this, Neville looked very uneasy and stammered:
"Ron... I'm sorry, did I bother you? I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to..."

His dark eyes were filled with panic. Ron looked over and saw that his face, illuminated by the candlelight, was as pale as paper, and sweat was pouring down his forehead.

Ron shook his head: "No, it's not your fault, it's because I wasn't focused enough. If I had been focused enough, your exclamation wouldn't have scared me at all."

He muttered to himself, "Besides, I didn't expect to succeed on my first try."

But having just been startled by Neville's exclamation, he suddenly understood why Lin Xia had told them not to make a sound when Neville was focused on the experiment.

Because sudden talking can really disrupt the flow of things.

Ron put down his mithril pen and said to Harry, "Lin Xia only asked me to go back to the dormitory to draw the tracking rune array, not to finish it tonight. I'll draw it tomorrow."

Harry nodded.

Although there was no patrol tonight, Lin Xia had kept them in the lab earlier, where they learned many ancient demonic scripts.

He felt a throbbing in his head and a sense of dizziness, so he decided to rest as soon as possible.

After Harry finished washing up, he found Ron and Neville huddled together, touching the snail-like creature here and there.

They were playing with the one Ron brought back, while the one Harry brought was lying quietly on his bed.

Harry thought, "It really does look like a cute little dog."

Mikel wasn't interested in the squishy, ​​goat-like creature, even if it was a magical being.

He went to Harry's bedside and quietly asked him about the patrol arrangements.

"Tomorrow night is my first patrol, Harry. Should I bring something for self-defense?"

Harry: "You mean going to the general store to buy some trinkets for exorcising evil spirits? I bought a lot on my first patrol."

He shrugged. "Although I later found that those gadgets didn't work, they at least gave me a lot of psychological comfort at the time."

Mikel's lips twitched. "Then I'd better not buy it."

He pressed further, "If those little exorcism trinkets in the general store don't work, then what do I need to buy to make them effective? Something like a magical candle?"

Harry scratched his head: "Radiant candles do work, but they can't be bought privately; they can only be distributed by the school. Besides that, the school also gives out some things that can ward off the whispers of evil gods, but the quantities are very small."

As the two were talking, a system notification suddenly popped up in front of Mikel's eyes.

[Do you want to trigger the side quest to craft a potion to resist the evil god's whispers?]

Mikel silently replied in his mind without hesitation: Yes.

1. Own your own laboratory

After the system displayed this clue, there were no other prompts.

Mikel couldn't help but ask himself, "Besides that, are there any other reminders?"

The system still hasn't sent any more messages.

Mikel understood that having his own laboratory was a prerequisite for triggering the mission.

Without a laboratory, we would be stuck at this step indefinitely.

For a moment, Mikel felt a bit tricky, and his expression became slightly serious.

As required by Hogwarts.

To have your own private laboratory, you must first become an outstanding student in the research field recognized by the school.

Lin Xia, Draco, and Hermione were all first recognized by the school before receiving the relevant subsidies and obtaining their own laboratories.

However, the three of them chose to combine the laboratories together, expanding the experimental building complex to ensure that all kinds of experimental materials and data could be shared.

Therefore, their research results came out very quickly.

Because they weren't just doing the research alone, but a group of very intelligent people working together.

When intelligent people are united and work together towards a common goal, many problems can be quickly overcome.

If he accepts Draco's invitation and decides to join Lin Xia's lab, he should be able to be assigned a lab of his own without having to go through the school's channels.

Of course, such a laboratory is relatively rudimentary and lacks proper justification.

This is taking a shortcut: first, build the laboratory, and then publish the research results.

Once the results are recognized, the university will provide relevant resources to improve the equipment in the laboratory.

only……

Mikel felt somewhat resentful.

He triggered a side quest from the system, which meant that as long as he followed the steps, he could develop a potion to resist the evil god's whispers.

Once you join Lin Xia's lab, this achievement will definitely have to be shared.

He could easily do the research himself.

However, if you want to conduct research independently, you must first produce research results.

However, without a laboratory, the subsequent conditions cannot be met in order to produce research results, creating a vicious cycle.

Mikel lowered his eyes slightly; he needed to carefully consider whether to take on this side project.

"Mikel, Mikel?"

He was gently shaken, and when he looked up, Harry was looking at him with a worried expression.

“If you are really worried, I have some things that can ward off the evil god’s ramblings, and I can share some with you.”

Mikel snapped out of his daze and shook his head, saying, "No, Harry, I can buy it from you."

Harry: "I don't need the money, you can take it. Actually, patrolling isn't as dangerous as you think. Many strange phenomena just appear, but they won't cause any other harm."

Meanwhile, Ron and Neville had shifted their discussion from the goat creature to potions.

Their conversation jumped around, sometimes mentioning potions, sometimes mentioning transfiguration.

At that moment, both of them were deep in thought and remained silent.

Upon hearing Harry's words, Ron suddenly remembered something and said, "Neville, I signed you up for night patrol, but I forgot to tell you."

Neville was somewhat stunned: "What did you say?"

Ron: "I said I signed you up for night patrol."

Before Neville could speak, he launched into a long explanation: "Didn't you want to study with us? Me, Harry, Hermione, and even Mikel will all be participating in the night patrols."

If you're going to be with us, then you can't fall behind; you have to participate as well.

Don't worry, night patrols aren't as dangerous as you might think. My magic level isn't high, but I've been participating in night patrols since last semester, and I've done a pretty good job.

At first, Ron participated in night patrols, living in constant fear.

But the longer he participated and the more he saw, the less afraid he became of strange phenomena.

Many strange phenomena are non-aggressive.

As long as the wizard stands still and closes his eyes, the strange phenomena won't harm him much.

Some wizards are afflicted by strange phenomena because they have done something wrong or acted inappropriately, angering the artifact that creates the phenomenon, and thus becoming possessed by it. However, normally, the power of such artifacts is limited.

Not every strange object can fool all the patrol personnel at the same time.

As long as there are enough companions around, the power of the strange object will be distributed very weakly and will not cause any harm.

Neville understood, his face turned pale again, and he became restless.

He kept muttering, "No, Ron, I don't want to go on patrol. I can't do it. I'll be a hindrance... If we encounter any danger, I'll definitely be eaten by those weird phenomena!"

"Nawi? You don't need to worry so much, you're really alright, Nawi?"

Ron shook Neville and found him lost in his own thoughts, seemingly possessed.

Mikel and Harry noticed and looked over, both speechless.

Mikel said in a low voice, "Harry, it's good that Ron wants to help Neville, but we need to take it step by step. His approach is too radical for Neville."

Harry sighed silently.

He had advised Ron against it when Ron enrolled Neville.

But Ron wouldn't listen. He thought Neville was too timid, so he wanted Neville to participate in patrols even more to toughen him up.

This is trouble Ron created, and Mikel doesn't want to get involved.

However, at that moment, a system notification popped up in his mind—

[Comfort Neville, calm him down, and help him accept the facts. Experience points +100]

Mikel stared at the message, resignedly got out of bed, and went to comfort Neville.

Experience points are not as easy to obtain as they used to be, but once they do appear, the increase is relatively large.

Even a small mosquito bite is still meat, so Mikel decided to take it.

Moreover, Neville's positive feelings towards him should increase during the process of comforting him.

Mikel didn't know exactly how the system calculated the favorability rating.

The system no longer specifies the exact amount to be added, but instead uses vague terms like "a little" or "a bit".

It took a lot of effort to comfort Neville until midnight before he could finally muster up some energy. He didn't dare to sleep alone that night and insisted on squeezing in with Mikel.

Mikel: ...

Two people can squeeze in, but Ron, why did you have to squeeze in too?
Little did Ron know that seeing Neville so frightened made him feel guilty, so he also comforted Neville on his bed, telling him not to be afraid.

But because Mikel was so eloquent, Ron just sat there listening.

As he listened, he began to doze off and naturally lay down.

The lesson the next morning was Transfiguration.

The young wizards continued their struggle with the teapot, trying to transform it into a lifelike turtle.

The transformation course this semester is designed to teach all students how to transform a teapot into a turtle.

Students who had mastered this technique began to try transforming glass beads into the compound eyes of beetles.

If they could even identify the compound eyes of a beetle, Professor McGonagall would leave the students to their own devices and let them study on their own in class.

As long as it's related to Transfiguration, they can do whatever they want.

Students like Lin Xia, whose transformation skills far surpass those of their peers, can freely conduct research in transformation classes, and the professors have never interfered with her in the past.

But during this class, Lin Xia could clearly feel that Professor McGonagall kept looking at her and paying close attention to her every move.

Lin Xia felt that Professor McGonagall paid more attention to her than Draco and Hermione.

A thoughtful look flashed across her eyes.

Professor McGonagall was indeed suspicious of her!

Professor McGonagall, as the vice-principal, wields considerable power at the university. Once someone sets their sights on you, life at the university won't be as comfortable as it used to be.

She lowered her head slightly.

We need to find a way to get rid of suspicion as soon as possible.

The school has searched so many strange objects, but haven't they found any that are related to the aura of the evil god?
Even if you can't find any evil gods among these strange objects, aren't there at least one or two that are related to Voldemort?
Time flew by, and get out of class was over.

Lin Xia and the others quickly got ready and waited for Harry and the others at the door. They were going to an outdoor magical creatures class together later.

Haig will still be the professor for this course.

Thank goodness, this semester his classes are not as stressful as last semester, and he has gradually settled into the role of professor.

Neville used to walk with Mikel, but this time he excitedly ran behind Lin Xia.

Neville felt safer with Lin Xia than with Mikel and Ron.

He had an idea: he hoped to team up with Lin Xia during night patrols.

Just then, Professor McGonagall's voice came: "Neville, stay here for a moment."

The others looked at each other, puzzled, and decided to leave the classroom and wait for Neville at the castle gate.

In the classroom, Professor McGonagall looked at him with a serious expression.

I was looking for him not for anything else, but just about the night patrol.

“Navie, I saw your name on the volunteer list for night patrols. Did you volunteer for this?”

Neville lowered his head, meekly avoiding looking at the professor.

After a long while, he spoke in a faint, almost inaudible voice: "Yes."

As soon as he spoke, he realized his voice was too soft, so he mustered his courage and replied in a louder voice, "Yes, Professor, I volunteered to go!"

Neville was very scared before, and he even thought about asking the professor to cross out his name.

But after being comforted by Mikel last night, Neville felt he needed to bravely take the first step.

He can do anything his friends can do.

Ron signed him up without his permission, and although Neville was unhappy, he was actually a little eager to do so.

This means that in Ron's mind, he is not a burden, but someone who can keep up!

McGonagall gave Neville a deep look and said seriously, "Neville, night patrols are not for fun. They involve a lot of danger. The school only requires outstanding students to patrol, not ordinary students."

"While you are very courageous, I must remind you that night patrols cannot be accomplished by courage alone; they also require wisdom and strategy."

Neville swallowed hard and replied in an even louder voice, "Professor, I want to give it a try!"

McGonagall stared at him for a while, and as Neville's expression grew increasingly tense, she suddenly smiled softly.

She reached out and patted Neville on the shoulder.

"Well done, then go!"

Even after Neville left the castle and reunited with Lin Xia and the others, his head was still a little dizzy.

"Neville, why did the professor keep you here?" Ron nudged Neville and asked curiously.

Neville grinned. "The professor was encouraging me, saying I'm becoming more and more like a Gryffindor. Oh, and he told me to study and memorize more, and not to be reckless." (End of Chapter)