Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

While Lin Xia was thinking, there was a knock on the door of her private laboratory.

Lin Xia waved her wand and opened the door, where Hermione stood.

Lin Xia and she walked out together to the common lounge.

Hermione said, "I didn't disturb your experiment, did I?"

Lin Xia shook her head: "No, I was just about to rest anyway. What do you need me for?"

Hermione pondered for a moment and said, "While experimenting with the Shadowstone, I suddenly had an idea. Since Neville discovered the Shadowstone, could we have him join my lab to develop and research it together?"

Lin Xia thought about it and decided that she didn't think Neville was qualified.

However, some things need to be said first to avoid causing conflict.

“Navi is still learning the theoretical knowledge and is not clear about some of the operating procedures in the laboratory. If he enters your laboratory, he may cause some trouble because he is a novice.”

Hermione replied without hesitation, "I'm not afraid of the trouble he might cause. If he really has a knack for spiritual potions, the help he brings me will far outweigh the trouble."

Lin Xia looked at Hermione and said firmly, "I don't think it's that simple for you to want him to join the lab. You have other plans."

Hermione and Lin Xia stared at each other for a moment, and she finally conceded, "Okay, you guessed right."

"I wanted to invite Neville into the lab to observe just how uniquely connected he is to psychic research."

Lin Xia raised an eyebrow: "You want to study Neville's talent?"

Hermione shrugged: "You could say that. I'm just really curious about him."

I can guarantee that I've read that document related to mental power at least three times, and I remember every single detail of it clearly.

But I haven't seen the content that Neville pointed out; this has happened more than once.

I think he has—no, I should say his talent, or some other special connection that I don't understand—that has created a link between Neville and key data on mental power, and only he can see this part of the information.

If I can crack this connection, then some more hidden information will be completely revealed to me, and as someone who thirsts for knowledge, I don't want to miss this opportunity.

Lin Xia understood Hermione's thoughts; this talent was quite fascinating.

If Hermione had a special talent similar to Neville's, she would have an exceptional sensitivity in areas that are difficult to overcome, such as mental strength.

In addition, she is very good at analysis, induction, and experimentation.

Through her special talent, she is able to quickly identify key points and invent items that can change the wizarding world.

"But Hermione, a talent is called a talent because it is something you are born with."

There was no precedent in the wizarding world for such talent to be taken away and trained; it was a gift bestowed by Merlin.

Hermione: "I know, but I still want to try."

Her expression revealed a stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat.

Lin Xia: "It was through Nawei's reminder that we realized that the Shadow Stone was a very crucial material. He could have entered the laboratory and studied it with us."

However, he only has a superficial understanding of the theoretical basis, which is why I have been holding back from letting him conduct experiments. If you are willing to accept him, I would be more than happy to do so.

But similarly, you will also bear the responsibility of leading Neville.

A smile flickered across Hermione's face. "Okay!"

Hermione rushed out of the lab to find Neville in the classroom.

She bumped into Ron along the way, and Ron greeted her, "Hermione, I have something to ask you..."

Hermione nudged his arm and said without turning her head, "I have something to do. Come find me another time."

Seeing his expression, Ron couldn't help but mutter, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? Has her research made another breakthrough?"

Harry, who was next to him, also shook his head. Harry could never figure out what these high-achieving researchers were thinking.

The more you interact with them, the more you'll discover that they can take something very ordinary and expand upon it to include sophisticated concepts that many people can't understand.

Harry couldn't understand where these inspirations came from.

They walked into the lab together and saw Lin Xia sitting in the common room, which was a rare sight for her. Ron asked happily, "Lin Xia, what are your plans for this summer vacation?"

Lin Xia was somewhat dazed: "Is this semester already over?"

She smiled and said, "I've been so busy with research that I've lost track of time. It feels like just yesterday that several months passed."

Ron asked curiously, "So, has your research made any progress?"

Lin Xia nodded. "There has been some progress, but there is still a long way to go before we can make a breakthrough."

"And you?" she asked, taking the initiative. "What are your plans for this summer vacation?"

Ron glanced around instinctively. Although Sirius Black had been exonerated by the Ministry of Magic, people still discussed him with a certain ambiguity and did not talk about him loudly in public areas.

Like other young wizards, Ron was quite cautious.

"Harry has already contacted his godfather and decided to stay at his godfather's manor this summer. I've made plans to visit him and then travel to other places together."

So I was wondering if you guys want to go on a trip together this summer?

Although Ron didn't engage in the reselling business at school like his brothers, he still had plenty of ways to make money.

By selling trinkets on specific holidays, one can earn enough Galleons to support oneself.

He can easily afford to go on a trip.

In addition, there is a reward for doing odd jobs in Lin Xia's laboratory. Not to mention, if you assist researchers in doing experiments and need to observe data, the daily reward will be two or three times higher.

So let alone Ron, even Neville, who only joined this semester, has earned a lot of Galleons.

Lin Xia shook her head: "I have more important things to do this summer. I need to go to another place to continue my research, so I can't join your tour."

Ron and Harry had expected this and were not disappointed.

It is said that Lin Xia has been involved in research with the professor since last semester, and she is very busy every holiday.

Lin Xia said, "You can ask Hermione and Draco, maybe they're free." Ron shrugged: "I ran into Hermione when I came in just now, but I didn't know what she was up to, so she ran off without saying hello."

We've already asked Draco, and he said he'll be involved in some family matters during his vacation and might not have time to travel with us.

Lin Xia suddenly thought of something and said meaningfully, "You should also be mentally prepared. If you want to go on the trip, do it as soon as possible. You might have to go back to school to help out later."

Ron and Harry exchanged a glance. Did Lin Xia get some information?
Lin Xia noticed the expressions on their faces and couldn't help but smile: "No, I was just guessing."

You two have done very well this semester, whether it's patrolling the school late at night, helping out in the research lab, or going to Hagrid's place on weekends to help clean up the magical creatures' habitat.

In the eyes of some professors, you are already very reliable students, and your grades are also excellent. I think you will be asked to do some tasks.

Ron asked tentatively, "For example?"

Lin Xia recalled Professor McGonagall's earlier request for her to find a way to conceal her aura, and the tasks she would be asked to perform in the future, and said:
"For example, Hogwarts expands its enrollment every year when it comes to new student admissions."

Haven't you noticed that every year, the number of new students enrolling is several hundred more than the previous academic year? It's not just that the student body is expanding; the school also recruits several professors each year to fill vacancies, but even so, there is still a severe shortage of staff.

Especially regarding freshman enrollment, professors alone probably can't handle it all; perhaps some of the school's top students would need to help.

Ron was taken aback at first, then a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

"If it's for welcoming new students and issuing admission notices, then I'd really like it; it's like traveling!"

"Harry, what do you think?"

Harry didn't complain at all; on the contrary, he was equally happy and said:
"I still remember how happy I was when I first received my Hogwarts acceptance letter. If I could be like the professor and personally visit those students to tell them the good news, I feel it would be a kind of inheritance, passing on my joy from back then."

"Moreover, personally going door-to-door to notify people would definitely require visiting many places. If time were not so tight, we could also visit nearby places while notifying them."

Lin Xia said, "You two have always had very good grades in school. Why don't you try to get into the top student category first?"

Once you become an outstanding student, it will be more legitimate for you to represent the school in distributing admission notices and informing new students about enrollment procedures.

I can assure you that even if the school does send students to help, they will definitely prioritize selecting outstanding students. This way, it's more reassuring, and the professors won't have to worry too much about your safety.

Hearing this, both Ron and Harry hesitated.

That's an outstanding student!

When they first heard about the assessment of outstanding students from Mikel, they were all a little apprehensive.

Mikel encountered an unexpected situation during her assessment, meeting a highly pollutant. She barely survived before passing the assessment for outstanding students.

If unexpected events occur during their assessment, they are not sure if they have the ability to resolve them.

Even though Ron and Harry had mastered all the magic taught at school, battles often tested their crisis management skills rather than how much magic they knew or how proficient they were at using it.

They voiced their concerns, and Lin Xia, upon hearing this, calmly replied:

“I think the two of you are the least worrisome, especially you—Harry. Your identity is too special, and every move you make will affect the thoughts of countless people.”

If you're determined to participate in the combat-type elite assessment, the Ministry of Magic and the school will definitely inspect your assessment venue thoroughly, so don't worry about anything going wrong.

Harry frowned, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

From Lin Xia's words, he felt as if he were enjoying special privileges.

If Lin Xia knew what he was thinking, she would probably ask in return, "What's wrong with privileges?"

Some people enjoy privileges from childhood to adulthood, but that doesn't mean that having privileges makes one superior.

The more resources you invest in nurturing yourself, the more excellent you will become, and you will repay the efforts of others.

Therefore, privilege does not necessarily represent a class that simply enjoys privileges, but rather a class that is favored and then specifically cultivated.

Take the nobility, for example. Even among the nobility, not every family member can live a very comfortable life.

If someone discovers that a person's magical aptitude is insufficient during the awakening of magical power, then he will not enjoy any special privileges.

Nobles will only invest the most worthwhile resources in the most outstanding people; this is essentially a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Seeing that they were hesitant to make a decision, Lin Xia said, "If you don't want to be outstanding students in the combat category, then next semester, the lab will be launching Ghost Stories Candy, and we will hire you as assistants. You can then try to become outstanding students in the research category."

"It's easier to assess outstanding students in the research field, but if you can also assess outstanding students in the combat field, you can enjoy dual resources, which will be more beneficial."

Not only you, but I would also suggest that George and Fred participate in the assessment for outstanding combat-type students.

At this point, she suddenly remembered something.

She met the Weasley twins last week, and they told her the good news.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, George and Fred will be awarded the research excellence badge by the school before the end of this semester."

Ron snapped out of his daze and couldn't help but say, "So fast? No... why are they awarding it before the end of the semester?"
"Can't the school award them all at the beginning of the next school year? They've always been awarded them at the beginning and middle of the semester, never at the end of the semester."

Lin Xia smiled slightly: "It's also thanks to the Inspiration and Cleverness Potion. This potion has already been stocked at the school and is just waiting to be promoted this summer."

Both the school and the outside world have high expectations for this potion, predicting that it will become a hit as soon as it is released.

If the students who made this potion were not ranked as outstanding students in the Hogwarts research category, it would be suspicious.

Suspecting that the school is deliberately suppressing the two of them will also lead to many unnecessary speculations, such as whether the school is hiding even more talented students who have not been allowed to show their abilities.

Therefore, after discussion in a meeting, the school decided to make an exception and award them the Outstanding Student Badges ahead of schedule at the end of the semester.

These words greatly stimulated Ron.

Even his good-for-nothing twin brothers are being recognized as outstanding students by the school, while he is still anxious about his studies in the school year after next (Ron has already completed all the subjects for the next school year through the internal test).

Ron felt that he was better than his twin brother in terms of maintaining classroom order, character, and so on, except for research.

So after returning from the lab, Ron kept pestering Harry to accompany him to the honor student assessment.

Harry, unable to resist his persistent pestering, could only reluctantly nod in agreement.

Ron was, after all, his best friend at school, and he hoped Ron could become a better person. (End of Chapter)