Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Without looking up, Nicholson said, "No, I have other things to study and don't have time to take on school assignments."

McGonagall frowned slightly. Seeing that Nicholson's gaze remained fixed on the quill, she couldn't help but emphasize, "Nicholson, I gave you the Slytherin quill so that you could study it in your spare time."

Instead of having you devote most of your energy to it, if your research on mutants falls behind during this period, I will take this quill back on behalf of the school.

Nicholson then raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and dark circles under them, indicating that he hadn't had a proper rest for some time.

Because of the mutants, McGonagall had been keeping track of his progress and would come over from time to time.

But no matter how much pressure they put on him before, Nicholson never showed this expression; he always kept himself clean and tidy, and seemed completely at ease.

This was the first time she had seen him in such a disheveled and unkempt state; Slytherin's quill seemed to have driven him to the brink of despair.

"I haven't fallen behind in my research on mutants," Nicholson said in a hoarse voice. "I've completed every assignment the school has given me."

McGonagall: "I know."

Nicholson said, "My main task in coming to Hogwarts is to complete the tasks assigned to me by the Ministry of Magic. I will not accept any other tasks besides those assigned by the Ministry of Magic."

If you want me to research matters related to Hogwarts, then you need to submit an application to the Ministry of Magic. My time is precious and I don't have time to waste on trivial matters.

McGonagall frowned.

She knew this trip wouldn't go smoothly.

Nicholson was very intelligent, but he was also too aloof. He never cared about feelings and only cared about interests.

If you want him to study other living rooms besides those provided by the Ministry of Magic, you have to give him enough benefits.

For example, Slytherin's quill; if studied carefully, it might reveal Slytherin's secrets and grant him some intrigue or even dangerous abilities, which is why he is so enthusiastic about it.

She knew Nicholson's personality and had prepared a price for him, but he refused without even asking. McGonagall understood his attitude.

He would not accept any conditions Hogwarts offered.

unless……

McGonagall looked at the petrified quill pen. Only if Hogwarts could produce an artifact of the same caliber would he be interested in working overtime.

But even if Hogwarts had such a rare item, they wouldn't give it to him, let alone have it.

This Slytherin quill was an unexpected accident that even the school had not anticipated.

McGonagall pondered for a moment and said, “Nicholson, you’ve been studying Slytherin’s quill for some time now, but you haven’t been able to figure out its function.”

Many professors at the university are very interested in it, and I need to give them an explanation.

The implication is that she has to take Slytherin's quill back.

These implicitly threatening words caused Nicholson's expression to change.

After a long pause, he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Tell me, what does Hogwarts want me to study? I hope it will be an interesting subject."

McGonagall: "There are two directions. One is to relieve the dizziness caused by the exploitation of mental energy, and the other is to improve the mental energy of young wizards. This improvement can be temporary."

Although Lin Xia had not reported the direction of the lab's research to McGonagall, the desire to eliminate the side effects of the Alchemy Glasses and to enable more young wizards to use them naturally led her to these two directions.

Finding a solution basically boils down to these two directions.

After all, permanently increasing mental strength is too difficult. No matter how many resources the wizarding world has, it is impossible to directly and permanently increase someone's mental strength.

Those magical plants that can directly enhance mental power are basically extinct. Even if there are still a few, they can only be used by a few wizards and cannot be popularized.

Nicholson thought for a moment and said, "They're all related to mental strength. What interesting experiments has Hogwarts been doing lately that urgently require improving mental strength?"

Nicholson has always stayed in a closed space, isolated from the outside world.

No news came out, nor could any news be sent out; information could only be obtained from those who came in.

McGonagall did not answer.

Nicholson wasn't surprised; he was used to information asymmetry.

He said, "Any research related to mental power, no matter how small the problem, is very difficult. Give me six months, and perhaps I'll see some progress in the first area."

As for the second direction, I'm not sure about the timeline. It depends on inspiration. If inspiration strikes, it might be solved in a month or two. If I don't get inspiration, it could take several years.

McGonagall's expression was cold and she didn't ask again if she could speed things up.

Before she came to Nicholson, all the professors at Hogwarts who were researching mental powers had held a meeting and reached a consensus that researching mental powers was extremely difficult, so they were unsure whether it was even possible to research them.

She asked so many people, but only Nicholson could give a specific timeframe.

In this respect alone, he has already surpassed all the professors at Hogwarts who study this subject.

After a long pause, McGonagall said, “Nicholson, the Slytherin quill is very important. I can only try to buy you some more time, but it’s impossible for it to stay with you indefinitely, especially without any progress.”

Regardless, you need to speed things up. You need to produce results in every direction before I can convince them.

Nicholson lowered his head again, staring at Slytherin's quill, and murmured:
"It'll be soon. I feel like I'll be able to unveil its mystery very soon. Just give me a little more time..."
-
The next day, McGonagall sent Lin Xia a large amount of information related to mental power.

In addition to these easily readable materials, the professor also gave her several books related to mental power that he had brought out from the restricted book section.

This surprised Lin Xia a little.

She gently stroked the covers of the books and pondered, "Professor, our research on mental power is still in its early stages. I'm afraid we'll be frequently flipping through these books, and I'm worried they won't last long enough for us to thoroughly understand the content."

Although the books in the restricted book section are special, once you read them, you can firmly remember the knowledge.

But with so many people in the lab, Draco and Hermione would definitely need to look through it too.

If possible, she would also have Harry and other assistants look through these books; perhaps they could provide a fleeting inspiration.

She worried that there wouldn't be enough books for them to read, and that some books would become blank before they were even finished. Of course, whether Harry and the others had a chance to read them was a minor matter, but it would still be quite troublesome if the books became blank.

McGonagall said, "Don't worry, the books I brought you all have at least 10 reading privileges."

Lin Xia's brows relaxed, and she nodded, saying, "That's enough."

McGonagall: "If you need anything else, including valuable materials, you can ask the school for it."

Lin Xia thought for a moment and said, "Professor, if possible, I would like to be able to frequently enter the restricted book area to look for information."

A hint of inquiry flashed in McGonagall's eyes: "Frequent entry?"

Lin Xia, frequenting the forbidden book area can easily cause you mental confusion, making you more susceptible to being bewitched by the ravings of evil spirits, and putting you in greater danger.

Lin Xia said frankly, "But I will find it easier to find research materials on mental potions. Professor, you also said that the forbidden book area actually understands our thinking very well and will always give us what we want or what is most suitable for us."

I also hope to develop a relevant mental energy potion as soon as possible, but I'm afraid that entering once or twice won't solve the problem, which is why I want to apply for a period of access.

McGonagall said she couldn't agree immediately, only saying, "I'll think about it. In the meantime, you should thoroughly study the materials the school gave you."

The fact that she didn't refuse immediately was a very good sign for Lin Xia.

She sensed that Professor McGonagall wasn't as wary of her as before.

The professors before her were all very cautious when they saw her gaze.

McGonagall seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, the school has held a meeting and the decision on how to handle this group of outstanding students has been made."

After talking with McGonagall, Lin Xia returned to the lab carrying a large pile of documents.

She brought two pieces of news. The first was that everyone should put aside their current research and focus all their efforts on developing the mental potion.

This was expected by everyone, so it's not surprising.

To their surprise, the school was very supportive of their research on potions for mental power, providing them with a great deal of resources and even bringing them relevant banned books.

It is conceivable that if they absorb all this material but still can't find a clue or get a direction, then the school will increase its efforts to provide them with another batch of books.

From this perspective, the school is already specifically training these researchers. These materials are not something ordinary students, no, even outstanding students, can access.

If this news surprised everyone, then the next news will excite many, especially Hermione.

Lin Xia said, "Professor McGonagall also brought us another piece of news: the school's training program for outstanding students has been released."

Starting with my year, the number of outstanding students gradually increased, and they were more outstanding than in previous years. Many young wizards had already learned the knowledge of higher grades on their own, and the knowledge of the same grade was no longer enough for us.

Professor McGonagall said that from now on we will not have to attend classes according to the schedule arranged for our own grade. We can go to the classroom freely and attend classes not only for our own grade, but for the entire grade.

In other words, starting tomorrow, we can go to the older students' classrooms to sit in on their lessons. But one thing to note is that we need to make sure we can understand what they're saying, instead of stubbornly staying there pretending to understand.

Hermione exclaimed excitedly, "Really? I always have questions in Charms class that I can't figure out. The professor said there's a special course on it in sixth grade, so I'll have to wait until I'm in sixth grade to understand it!"

Draco happily added, "The fourth and fifth grade curriculum is not difficult for me, and I can also audit the sixth grade curriculum."

Compared to the two's excitement, Harry and the others were envious.

I'm sorry, but sometimes they don't even understand the curriculum for their own grade.

Harry and Ron, in particular, wouldn't have been so successful this semester if the knowledge quiz games hadn't been added to the winter break.

Even so, they cannot guarantee that they have a thorough understanding of all the knowledge in their grade, so they still need to attend classes regularly.

At least for now, they don't dare to skip the third-grade curriculum and go straight to the fourth grade, even though they are currently using fourth-grade textbooks.

Neville said enviously, "That's great! You'll have more freedom to manage your time. If you learn all the courses and pass all the exams ahead of time, won't you be able to move around freely in Hogwarts?"

Lin Xia said, "We don't need to wait until later. We can move around freely now. Even if we don't attend classes, as long as our exam scores at the end of each semester remain high, the school won't care which grade we attend classes in or whether we attend classes at all."

Draco said incredulously, "You mean it's okay if I skip class tomorrow and stay in the lab doing experiments?"

Lin Xia nodded without hesitation: "Yes!"

At this moment, the Weasley twins, who were also very excited while listening nearby, couldn't help but interject.

George asked, "Lin Xia, what about us? Even if we're not top students at school, can we apply for the same treatment as you?"

Fred enthusiastically recommended himself: "Although we are not top students, I guarantee that we are better than the top students!"

George chimed in, "Exactly! I think we could go sit in on seventh graders' classes now!"

Lin Xia looked at them with a half-smile: "If you want to attend seventh grade classes, that's fine, but did you pass your Potions class?"

Before you can audit classes at the upper-level classes, you need to pass an assessment by the four deans. They must all agree that you are qualified to attend classes at that level before you are granted the right to audit classes freely.

The Weasley twins immediately wilted.

Do we still need to pass an assessment?
Then they won't be interested.

They might not be able to pass the exams for higher grades, but they can skip classes in their own grade and still maintain their grades.

Harry and the others realized that even outstanding students weren't truly free, and they thought the school's arrangement was actually a good one.

While outstanding students won't slack off, there's still a concern that some might take this opportunity to act recklessly.

Lin Xia didn't want everyone to immediately jump into the busy experiments, especially since the upcoming research on mental energy potions might be too stressful for them. So she sent them all out today to rest and recharge.

The school has granted many privileges to outstanding students this time. Even if they don't participate in the assessment for the right to audit classes in higher grades, they can simply skip classes in their own grade.

With no classes, I suddenly had a lot more free time, and I felt less rushed. (End of Chapter)