Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Hermione was already very unhappy with the Divination class.

She was eager to learn about the subject, but Trelawney's early assessment that she lacked talent brought her to rock bottom.

So every time she attended a divination class, she felt a bit irritable.

Now that the professor's speaking style is so similar to that of the Weasley twins, Hermione's face was black the entire time during Divination class.

But only Hermione was very impatient.

Lin Xia, Harry, Ron, and even Draco listened with great interest.

Lin Xia, in particular, discovered that she was actually able to understand what Trelawney meant!

Previously, all her talents were sealed within the Compass of Destiny, and she could only wait for a random trigger to provide information and prompts from the Compass of Destiny.

Because her abilities were sealed, she used to feel like she was being shrouded in a thick fog when she attended divination classes.

Every time we make a discovery, it gets obscured by a thick fog, and we can never find the right path.

But now that the Compass of Destiny has disappeared, her divination and fortune-telling talents are gradually recovering, and she has a different understanding of divination in this world.

By combining the divination methods of this world with the calculations she learned in her previous life, Lin Xia was surprised to find that the two actually had many similarities.

"Ring ring—" The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Hermione was the first to stand up, ignoring Trelawney who was still speaking in the center, and walked out of the Divination classroom.

Trelawney ignored Hermione's rambling and went overtime for more than 10 minutes until she herself couldn't take it anymore and her stomach started growling, before letting the students leave.

Yes, she ran out of the classroom, faster than the students.

The students, hungry and exhausted, finished up and swarmed out of the classroom. Soon, only Lin Xia and a few others remained.

This morning we had two classes in a row. Each class was a bit boring, but they also involved a lot of advanced knowledge, so they had to stay focused and listen. They were tired, sleepy, and hungry after listening to the lectures.

Mikel also felt hungry and wanted to rush out immediately.

But when he saw out of the corner of his eye that Neville and the others were not moving, he turned his eyes and stopped as well.

Now that he has joined Lin Xia's laboratory, he will go with them.

This wasn't just about having a large group of people to embolden them; it was also about telling other students, including professors, that he had infiltrated Lin Xia's research team and become a member of it.

Although his application form wasn't filled out yet...

The thought of applying for those papers, each no less than 800 words, gave Mikel a headache again.

Lin Xia took out some delicious food from her seamless retractable ring and offered it to them to fill their stomachs.

"We might not be able to get any hot food at this hour in the auditorium. How about we go to the lab first and have the house-elves deliver our food?" Lin Xia asked.

Harry and Ron nodded immediately, especially Ron, who asked with great enthusiasm, "Can we order food?"

Lin Xia smiled and said, "Of course, just write down what you want to eat and I'll go to the kitchen in a bit."

Ron shouted happily, "Long live Lin Xia!"

As they walked out, Mikel and Neville lagged a few steps behind and naturally joined each other, while Ron and Harry were in front of them.

Mikel asked curiously, "Ron, I remember that house-elves don't offer delivery services; they have to go to the Great Hall to eat. How come you can order food?"

Ron shrugged and said helplessly, "It's not that I can order food, but that Lin Xia can order food. All the students in Hufflepuff can order food from the elves."

Nawei suddenly realized something, "Is it because of the special catering donation provided by Lin Xia?"

Ron said slowly, "Yes and no, before Lin Xia donated money, the house-elves treated Hufflepuff students very well."

Haven't you noticed that on the tables in the Great Hall, only Hufflepuff's table is the most lavish, and the food looks the most delicious?

The same food looked more appealing and delicious on Hufflepuff's side, but back then, house-elves weren't so obviously biased.

If they encounter students from other colleges, they can make a deal with them, and the supplies will be sent over.

He then changed the subject: "But ever since Lin Xia donated money specifically to Hufflepuff for food subsidies, these elves have become completely devoted to the school. They are happy to serve the students of Hufflepuff and are very loyal to the students of this house."

Mikel understood, and seeing that Neville was still somewhat confused, he said:

"The reason why our school has house-elves is because one of the four founders of the school, Hufflepuff, liberated and took in these house-elves, so that they would not become slaves and playthings of nobles, but could be paid simply by doing labor."

They used to serve Hufflepuff students out of respect for the founder.

Now, serving the students of this academy earns them even more money, making house-elves even more eager to interact with them.

Ron suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Hermione is also highly respected by the house-elves. If she goes to the kitchen to order food, the house-elves won't refuse her."

Neville asked, "Why is she so special?"

Ron said in a casual tone, "Because she respects house-elves more than we do, genuinely wants to help them achieve a higher status, and takes action to do so."

He countered, "How could a house-elves not respect a student like that?"

Neville and Mikel were speechless.

Neville simply thought Hermione's behavior was cool, while Mikel had more to say.

When he was reading the book before, he thought Hermione's behavior was very fair, and that this was the behavior of a normal person.

But when he actually arrived in the world of Hogwarts and enjoyed the meticulous care of the house-elves, he had a different thought.

Why liberate them? Why reward them? They are born to serve others!

Mikel also knew that his thinking was selfish and narrow-minded.

But when you become a beneficiary, wanting to give up those benefits and give them fairer treatment is like bleeding yourself dry.

Perhaps this is why, for thousands of years, wizards have long been aware that the plight of house-elves is not right, but have never thought of changing it.

But he greatly admired Hermione's determination to change.

It's like, "I can't be the light, but someone else will be the light in my place."

Lin Xia led everyone to the laboratory.

As soon as the door was opened, everyone smelled the aroma of food.

Lin Xia was somewhat surprised that Hermione was actually having a meal in the common area with the Weasley twins.

Needless to say, Hermione must have ordered these meals from the kitchen.

Judging from the size of the food on the table, she must have ordered food for everyone.

Ron immediately ran over and sat down next to Hermione, exclaiming with delight, "Hermione, you ordered all my favorite dishes!"

George and Fred across from them chimed in, "Yes, that's what we love to eat too!"

Ron: "Hermione, I have some more food I'd like to eat. Could you go to the kitchen again? Or I can go with you, and we can order some more from the house-elves."

Hermione, expressionless, shoved a sausage into Ron's mouth and snapped, "Shut up! Aren't all these foods enough to shut you up?" Ron: ?
Seeing this, Lin Xia's eyes flashed with a thoughtful expression.

She smiled faintly, but anyone with eyes could see that Hermione was in a bad mood.

She guessed that Hermione must have forgotten about the Weasley twins in the lab when she ordered food, so she only ordered for the other people.

Unexpectedly, the two people smelled the aroma of the food, shamelessly sat down and ate, and even ate faster than the others.

She shook her head. More outstanding students will join the lab in the future, so this is just a period of adjustment and adaptation.

Since Hermione had already ordered the food, Lin Xia didn't go to the kitchen again, but sat down to eat.

While she was eating, a thought struck her, and the magic rune array set on the snail-sheep beast was triggered again.

Lin Xia quickly finished her meal and then went into her laboratory.

She raised her wand and drew connecting runes in the air. Soon, the image of the snail-sheep beast appeared in the air.

Ron and Harry, the two snail-like creatures, are hunting.

The two snail-like creatures looked shiny and healthy, and their hunting speed had increased significantly compared to before.

They have a clear division of labor: one disguises itself as a mouse, while the other lies in wait to hunt.

Called by their kind, many mice of different colors emerged from the crooked, haphazard passage.

Lin Xia raised an eyebrow.

These two snail-goat creatures were clearly quite clever; they chose to hunt mice directly below various pipe openings.

The sound was projected outside through these pipes, and the rats outside, hearing the calls, ran down through the interconnected pipes.

Lin Xia also noticed that many of the rats lured there by the sound were shaking their heads and swaying when they arrived at the area where the snail-sheep beast was, as if they were drunk.

It seems this sound wave is quite interesting. The snail-sheep beast added something to it; the last time she watched it, the rats were quite active.

The snail-like creature's sonic waves don't work on all mice.

Some rats crawled into their area through the pipes, but their faces changed drastically upon seeing the snail-like creature, and they quickly crawled out through other pipes.

But some mice, dazed and confused, walked toward the snail-sheep beasts, only to have their tails stepped on and be swallowed whole.

Just as Lin Xia was about to look away, she suddenly spotted a mouse with dull, messy fur. She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer.

This mouse... isn't that Peter Pettigrew?!

Banban looked very unwell; its fur was sparse and dull, and a tuft of fur on its head had been pulled out, apparently from a fight.

At this moment, Banban was in the same state as those drunken rats, staggering about as if it had been bewitched.

Lin Xia stared at this scene, watching Banban slowly walk towards the gaping maw of the snail-sheep beast, about to be swallowed up—

Suddenly, Banban leaped out of the snail-sheep beast's mouth again.

With a leap to the left and right, it displayed an astonishing jumping ability under the thrill of life and death, and in a short while it darted several meters away.

The snail-sheep beast reacted quickly and chased after Banban.

But Banban had already reached the pipe opening, then darted into the pipe and disappeared.

The snail-sheep beast probably realized that the rat that had just jumped out was somewhat strange, so it reached out and scratched the pipe opening, making a sharp "sizzle" sound.

Lin Xia withdrew her gaze, waved her wand, and dispersed the water curtain in the air.

Recalling how emaciated Banban looked just now, his recent situation must not be good either.

Suddenly, she realized that if Peter Pettigrew was the culprit behind the Potters' deaths, then he had been colluding with the Death Eaters for many years.

Now that Hogwarts is so vigilant in investigating any trace of evil gods, Peter Pettigrew is probably worried about being exposed.

However, since he could be fooled by the snail-sheep beast once, if he continues in this state, he might be attracted to the snail-sheep beast again.

Lin Xia thought to herself that perhaps she needed to put more effort into understanding the snail-like beast.

Obtaining the pattern's trajectory from them seems much more reliable than drawing tracking runes from Ron.

On the other side, the Weasley twins...

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to the public laboratory that had temporarily served as their lab, and began a new round of their exploration of materials.

The twins said they used divination to find suitable ingredients, and that's not a lie; they're using this method to test the compatibility of the ingredients with the candy.

George held a crystal ball in his hand and muttered to himself.

"Crystal ball, oh crystal ball, by the power of the great ancestors of the Trelawney family, please tell us which material is more suitable for our research. Come forth, my material!"

Fred stood to the side and solemnly swung his maracas, making a "salad" sound.

The next second, the crystal ball emitted a red light, then turned blue, and finally disappeared.

A blurry image of material appeared in the crystal ball and flashed by.

George: "This looks a lot like a hoe. Does the Candy of Tricks need a hoe to dissolve it?"

Fred: "The hoe contains mostly iron, so it's probably because a lot of iron is needed?"

George asked, "What do candies need so much iron for?"

Fred: "That's a good question, but it's guided by the great Trelawney lineage. Why don't you go ask Professor Trelawney?"

George: "The professor would just say: Yes, that's it, my ancestors must have been right!"

Fred: "Then let's add iron. Let's get a hoe and try dissolving it."

Thankfully, Hermione didn't know how the Weasley twins tested the material; otherwise, seeing their childish testing methods would have made her want to vomit.

Unreliable researchers, unreliable research methods, unreliable divination!
In the laboratory's common lounge.

Neville was looking down at the magic book, which contained rather dry content, but he was engrossed in it because it was about cultivating magical plants.

While filling out the form, Mikel would occasionally look up at Neville, thinking it was quite remarkable that he could read so quietly without falling asleep.

He had taught Neville for a while before and knew that he was easily distracted, had difficulty concentrating, and would fall asleep if he wasn't careful.

At that time, there was no indication that I would awaken in the future.

But now, looking at him, he seems to have changed a lot.

Mikel thought to himself: No wonder he is a chosen one favored by fate.

After filling out the forms for about two hours, Mikel's hand was sore from writing, and finally only three questions remained.

But to his dismay, the answers to the last three questions each had a minimum requirement of 800 words. (End of Chapter)