Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Professor McGonagall acted swiftly.

One early morning, in the auditorium, before class was even starting.

McGonagall then found Neville and asked him to come over so they could talk privately.

Neville was deathly pale, his lips dry as he pursed them, and he walked out with a tragic air.

Ron and Harry exchanged a glance, a hint of worry flashing in their eyes.

Neville wasn't in a good mood when he woke up in the morning.

Ron wanted to say something, but seeing Neville's state of mind, he kept quiet.

He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, Neville would break down and cry first.

Mikel remained calm, knowing that given Neville's performance last night, the professor would definitely come knocking on his door.

The captain who was leading the new recruits was furious after Navee ran away last night.

He knew then that Neville was in danger.

After Neville left, Mikel said, "He'll have to go through this sooner or later. He needs to know that many things don't yield results just by trying, and his character is indeed very weak."

Recognizing one's weaknesses isn't scary; as long as you address them specifically, it's fine. I think this is a great experience for Neville.

Ron said in a low voice, "But Mikel, not everyone can bear their failure, especially when someone has given you so much hope, only to have that hope shattered after just one experience. It's so painful."

Harry also said, "I know Neville has many shortcomings, but I hope he can have more time to adapt. It's too fast to decide someone's life or death in a day."

Mikel glanced at Ron and Neville, thinking to himself: That's because you haven't experienced any setbacks yet. Everything you do goes smoothly, and you can accomplish things in one go.

Based on his experience in his previous life, he believed in natural selection and survival of the fittest.

Many life-changing opportunities only have one chance to be tried and failed; once you miss the first one, there will never be a second.

He missed many opportunities in his previous life, and there was no second chance.

Therefore, in this life, whenever there is an opportunity, he will treat it as his last chance and try his best to seize it.

He had been doing this ever since he enrolled at Hogwarts.

Many people may think he is opportunistic, only going where there are benefits.

But Mikel felt that he was simply more insightful and realistic than others.
-
Professor McGonagall led Neville down the corridor, glanced around to see that there weren't many young wizards, and then spoke:

“Navie, I heard from the patrol captain that you encountered strange phenomena on your first patrol yesterday, you—”

Before Professor McGonagall could finish speaking, Neville nervously interrupted, "Professor, I... I have something I want to tell you..."

He took a deep breath, somewhat afraid to meet the professor's gaze, closed his eyes, and, summoning sudden courage, spoke loudly:

"Professor, I know I have many shortcomings, but I don't want to give up yet. I want to try again!"
I swear, I was terrified when I first encountered it, but after experiencing it, I realized it wasn't scary at all!
If I encountered them a second time, I would never turn and run away; instead, I would pick up my wand and fight them! Professor, please give me another chance!

Neville blurted out his thoughts in one breath.

His heart was pounding. It was so quiet around him that he could hear his own heartbeat.

After waiting for a while, the surroundings remained quiet, and Neville gradually became uneasy.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind:
Does the professor dislike me and think I'm overestimating myself?
Is the professor still thinking about how to politely reject me? But I don't want to give up this opportunity.

Is the professor still considering it, or perhaps willing to give me another chance?
His mind was a jumble of thoughts, and he finally couldn't keep his eyes closed any longer, cautiously opening one of his eyes.

What came into view was Professor McGonagall's usually stern face, which surprisingly revealed a slight smile.

Neville opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at the professor.

McGonagall smiled faintly, then her smile faded, and she resumed her usual aloof demeanor, calmly saying:

“Nawi, the patrol captain told me that you are too afraid of the supernatural. If you continue to have such strong emotions when you encounter them in the future, you will become nourishment for these supernatural phenomena.”

These strange phenomena change according to the emotional fluctuations of the surrounding wizards; the greater the emotional fluctuations, the more powerful the strange phenomena become.

“But,” she added, “if you don’t take them seriously, they won’t take you seriously either.”

"So next time you encounter strange phenomena, be sure to stay calm and don't give them a chance."

Neville murmured, "Professor, from what you're saying, I have a second chance to patrol. You didn't come here specifically to try and dissuade me?"

McGonagall shook her head: "I'm not here for that. It's because you applied to join Lin Xia's lab. The school has already received Lin Xia's application, and I'm just here to ask you why you want to join."

Neville breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Under the previous pressure, his mind was very active.

Now that he has no worries, he is more talkative than usual, and his speech is clear without the drawn-out tones that he used to have due to a lack of confidence.

He said, "I want to stay around outstanding students like Lin Xia and learn more, just like Harry and Ron."

After joining Lin Xia's laboratory, they all studied ancient magic runes and other magical knowledge on their own, making a much faster pace than ordinary students.

Even if I don't get personal instruction from outstanding students like Lin Xia, I can learn from Harry and Ron; they are my role models.

Professor McGonagall asked, "But have you ever thought that once you join the lab, the pressure on you will only increase?"

I once heard Lin Xia mention her lab, where once you join, you won't be left idle; everyone will be assigned some research topics.

Even those with weak practical skills will be assigned tasks such as researching and conducting theoretical studies. Neville, are you confident you can do it well?

Neville actually lacked confidence.

He had no idea that joining Lin Xia's lab would involve being assigned tasks; he thought it would only involve studying.

However, he thought that if he answered that he lacked confidence, the professor might reject his application.

Nawei has always admired outstanding students like Lin Xia and wanted to learn from them.

He hadn't dared to bring it up before, but now that Ron had kindly introduced him, Neville thought: I can't let this opportunity slip by!

Whether or not you can join, you should give it a try!
So he took a deep breath and said decisively, "I have confidence, Professor, I have confidence that I can do it!"

Neville emphasized confidently, "Even if it takes a hundred or a thousand times longer than the average person, I will still get things done."

McGonagall saw the burning fighting spirit in Neville's eyes.

She thought for a moment and said, "Nawei, Lin Xia's lab has a one-month evaluation period. Whether you can stay after that depends on Lin Xia."

Neville breathed a sigh of relief again.

He was confident he could stay on, as long as the school didn't assign him an assessment.

“As for the night patrols—” McGonagall paused, and Neville’s expression immediately tensed up.

Seeing his anxious look, Professor McGonagall said, "You only have a week to adapt. If you still can't adapt by then, you'll have to quit night patrols."

The professor emphasized the risks that might occur during patrols, saying, "We organize students to participate in patrols not to toughen them up, but to identify and address any gaps in their knowledge and to deal with any strange phenomena promptly."

"Therefore, patrolling is a very dangerous task and a great challenge to a wizard's abilities. Neville, there are many ways to hone your skills; you don't necessarily have to do dangerous things." Neville nodded and said cautiously, "I understand, Professor."

Soon, Neville returned to the Great Hall.

Ron nudged Neville's elbow and whispered, "What does the professor want with you? Does he not want you to join the patrol anymore?"

Neville shook his head: "No, the professor contacted me because I wanted to apply to join Lin Xia's lab. She asked me why, and I truthfully said that I wanted to learn from them and become better."

Mikel's expression shifted, and he interjected, "Navie, are you also joining Lin Xia's lab?"

Neville nodded, then asked in return, "You didn't know?"

After he finished speaking, he remembered something and said embarrassedly, "Oh, you hadn't returned to school when I applied to join."

Mikel looked unusually conflicted.

He hadn't expected that before he could even decide whether to join Lin Xia's lab, Neville had already applied and gotten in first.

Even Neville is joining, so does he have to join too?

Well, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are the main characters, and Neville will also awaken later. The laboratory, which gathers so many chosen ones, will definitely trigger many missions.

With these thoughts in mind, Mikel had already made a decision.

While he was thinking, he missed Neville's subsequent proclamation of good news.

"Professor McGonagall didn't let me leave immediately. Instead, she said I would have a week to evaluate my performance. I think if I perform well, I should be able to stay."

Ron and Harry exclaimed happily, "That's wonderful!"

The commotion in Gryffindor had nothing to do with Hufflepuff on the other side.

But this doesn't mean Hufflepuff isn't lively; on the contrary, it's overly lively.

This "excitement" is somewhat abnormal.

The Hufflepuff dining table differs significantly from that of the three houses in that their breakfasts look more appetizing and are arranged more neatly.

Not only are there common Western dishes, but also many hot Chinese dishes, and you can also find some Southeast Asian cuisine.

Hufflepuff's dining table is like a testing ground for house-elves in the kitchen. Whenever something new and interesting comes along, it's the first thing to be served to the Hufflepuffs for the little badgers to try.

This made the other three academies quite envious, and some prefects even went to the kitchen to find the head of the house-elves, hoping that they would treat everyone equally.

But all the house-elves refused.

“The great Lady Hufflepuff adopted us when we were down on our luck, and this is a small token of our appreciation to her.”

"The food provided to Hufflepuff is all experimental; the methods are not yet mature enough to be widely adopted."

When some prefects went to find house-elves, they happened to encounter the elves serving Hufflepuff students cups of milk tea, hot cocoa, coffee, fruit tea, and herbal tea.

Damn it, those uniform milk tea cups in Hufflepuff are so cute! They want one too, so they can put their own house badge on it!
The prefect couldn't help but ask, "Can't I ask to have the same tea as Hufflepuff? Why don't you serve us milk tea?"

The house-elf said haughtily, "These tea recipes are all thanks to Ms. Lin Xia's generous contribution. Hogwarts sells these teas; you can buy them at the convenience store."

"But we want a one-of-a-kind cup..."

"I'm sorry, but that was also the design provided by Lin Xia, and the labor cost for making the cup was also paid by Hufflepuff Academy."

The others were taken aback. "What reward?"

The house-elves looked at the prefects with a pitiful expression. "When Lin Xia provided the tea recipe, she extracted 2% of the gross profit margin from the sales to Hufflepuff Academy as operating funds."

Therefore, the kitchen always gives a tip when it makes refreshments for the Hufflepuff students, which is deducted from this activity fund.

To be honest, we charge a fee for every service we provide to Hufflepuff students. If you want the same treatment as Hufflepuff, you should focus on developing more research-oriented talents.

You could also do what Lin Xia did and use a portion of your earnings to improve the food and living conditions of the students at the academy.

The class leaders choked on their words, looked at each other, and blushed slightly.

If they had such great research talent, they would have done it long ago.

But the problem is, there isn't!

The house-elves' intention is clear: they want the same service and quality as Hufflepuff. In short:

Need more money! !

The prefects slunk back home.

When a student asked, the class monitor didn't hide anything and told him.

Before long, the students were whispering among themselves, looking at the Hufflepuff students with a hint of envy.

Meanwhile, Hufflepuff students proudly puffed out their chests, leisurely enjoying their unique refreshments, and picking up their textbooks early in the morning to discuss unfamiliar topics with their friends.

At first glance, if it weren't for the bright yellow badges on their bodies, one might almost think they were possessed by Ravenclaws, each one thirsting for knowledge!

Ravenclaw: ...

What can we do?
We can only be even curlier than Hufflepuff!
Otherwise, he might lose his title of "intelligent and wise".

With Ravenclaws getting increasingly competitive, Slytherins, who are always quick to gauge public opinion, are starting to get restless.

"What's going on today? It's one thing for Ravenclaw to work hard normally, but why is Hufflepuff showing some of Ravenclaw's traits? Who is the real Ravenclaw here?"

"No, Hufflepuff is still Hufflepuff. Have you noticed? They like to transform into all sorts of plants and decorate the dining table with lush greenery. Ravenclaws look like ascetics in comparison."

"I heard that Lin Xia allocated a special fund to improve the dining experience at Hufflepuff, and the kitchen has added a lot of tea snacks that require payment."

"Why can't our outstanding students learn from Lin Xia?"

"I'm sorry, the best students in our house are all combat talents. Only Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have produced some research talents. I've heard that Harry and Ron from Gryffindor also have some research talent."

A certain Slytherin prefect, pampered and spoiled, resented not being able to enjoy his privileges.

He arrogantly said, "It's just money, my family has plenty of money. I'll sponsor it!"

"No way, I want sponsorship too!"

"I also want!"

"Alright, stop fighting. Each of you nobles should contribute a sum of money each month, and we can divide it equally. That's the fairest way."

One of the top Slytherin students said, then suddenly remembered something and added, "There's more research to it."

He said cryptically, "If we really can't figure it out, then we'll start with other methods. We can't fall too far behind."

The subtext is that if you can't produce your own research, then buy other people's research.

The Slytherins understood, but now it was the Gryffindors' turn to be confused.

They had nothing... wait, they still had Harry and Ron! (End of Chapter)