The person is at Hogwarts, but the system is in Middle-earth!

The little incident during the Defense Against the Dark Arts class did not affect Rowe's mood; rather, it made him even more certain of his training direction.

On Saturday morning, Rowe got up early because Harry had told him that the Gryffindor Quidditch team had an unusually early practice that day.

"I want to go take a look."

"I need to observe your aerial tactics. After all, our enemy might have flying mounts."

When he stepped out of the castle gate, he was surprised to find a crowd already gathered there.

"Love! Harry!"

Susan waved excitedly. She was wearing a thick yellow cloak, and her face was rosy from the cold, making her look like a cute little apple.

Behind Susan were members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and several second-year students. Cedric was among them, still the same sunny and cheerful young man, chatting with Justin beside him.

"What brings you here?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course we're here to gather intelligence," Cedric said with a wink. "We heard Wood got up really early today, so we wanted to see Gryffindor's secret tactics. And maybe give a shout-out to a certain 'Hufflepuff Light' while we're at it."

He patted Rowe on the shoulder as he spoke. The Hufflepuff team members let out a good-natured chuckle.

Rowe touched his nose somewhat sheepishly. He was exceptionally popular at Badger Manor. Although everyone still thought he was eccentric, his courage and culinary skills earned him everyone's respect.

"Welcome to observe, allies." Rowe nodded seriously. "We can discuss defense strategies against air attacks together."

A large group of people arrived at the Quidditch pitch.

Rowe stood at the edge of the field.

Harry and the other Gryffindors were circling in the air.

Susan stood beside him, watching curiously as he scribbled and drew in his notebook.

"What are you writing down, Lo Wei?"

"Captain Wood's tactics are somewhat like the Rohan cavalry's flanking maneuvers," Rowe explained, pointing to the red figure in the air. "But Fred and George's coordination is more like the dwarven catapult tactics—lacking a bit of elegance, but incredibly destructive."

Susan nodded as if she understood, though she didn't understand what Rohan or dwarves meant, but she thought Rowe looked very handsome when he was serious.

Just then, a group of figures wearing green robes strode into the stadium.

[Warning: Hostile forces approaching]

Target: Slytherin Combat Team

[Equipment Detection: Elite Dire Wolf Mount/Eisengard War Machine]

Threat Level: Medium

Lowe squinted. Each of the Slytherin members held a brand-new broom—a Nimbus 2001.

Wood landed and stormed angrily toward Marcus Flint, the captain of Slytherin.

"Flint! This is our training time! We got up especially early!"

"This has Professor Snape's special permission," Flint said smugly, waving a piece of parchment. "We're training our new Seekers."

Draco Malfoy emerged from behind the towering teammate, a haughty smile on his face.

"Malfoy?" Rowe walked over and stood next to Harry. The Hufflepuffs also gathered around, with Cedric standing behind Rowe, frowning.

"Your father bought these for you?" Rowe coldly examined the "warg" in Malfoy's hand. "It seems that in Eisengard, gold coins can indeed buy honor."

Malfoy instinctively took a step back. Although he was holding the latest model broom and surrounded by a group of tall Slytherins, a lingering shadow always loomed over him when facing Rowe Baggins.

After all, this madman is really capable of taking action.

In his first year, Malfoy once tried to trip Rowe in the hallway, but Rowe, under the pretext of "avoiding an orc ambush," slapped him across the face with a frying pan, leaving half his face swollen. That experience left Malfoy with a deep psychological scar—the fear of facing "crazy" people who couldn't be understood by common sense.

"At least my honor wasn't handed to me, unlike some people." Malfoy forced a defiant stance, glaring maliciously at Rowe, then glancing at the Hufflepuffs behind him. "Look who's here? A bunch of badgers who only know how to dig, followed by a mad scavenger. Have you Hufflepuffs nowhere else to go?"

"Watch your words, Malfoy," Cedric said in a low voice, placing his hand on Rowe's shoulder to signal him to calm down.

At that moment, Hermione and Ron also ran over.

"Is that the latest Nimbus 2001?" Ron asked, his mouth agape in envy.

"This is something your lousy family could never afford, Weasley," Malfoy scoffed.

"Nobody asked for your opinion, Malfoy," Hermione said sharply. "At least the Gryffindor players are selected based on merit, not by buying their way in."

Malfoy's face darkened. He took a step forward, his eyes flashing with genuine malice.

"Nobody asked for your opinion, you stinky little mud-blood."

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Hermione's face turned pale instantly, while Ron and Harry's faces erupted with rage.

Lowe frowned. The Hufflepuff classmates behind him also looked shocked and angry. Susan covered her mouth, and Cedric's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"And you, Baggins." Malfoy seemed to think that wasn't enough, turning to look at Rowe. "You're just like her, a lowly mudblood, a bastard who doesn't even know who her parents are."

At this moment, a blood-red translation box popped up on the system interface:

[The extremely racist term "Mudblood" was detected]

[Middle-earth context translation: Orcish hybrid/inferior creature/filthy blood]

[Explanation: This is the most vicious curse that the dark forces inflict on free races, meaning that they are not even worthy of possessing a soul.]

"What did you say?"

"You heard me, you madman. I said you're mud..."

"Eat slugs!" Ron roared, drawing his wand and shooting a beam of green light at Malfoy. But the wand exploded from behind, sending Ron flying and crashing to the grass, where he began to vomit.

At the same time, a chaotic battle broke out.

"Beat him up!" shouted one of the Hufflepuffs.

Luo Wei was the first to rush out. After a year of study and training, especially this semester's reflection on the "Battle Mage" role, his fighting style has evolved.

"Holy Light Impact!" Rowe shouted.

Of course, this was actually an improved version of [Flickering], but he turned the wand's output power to the maximum, and the burst of intense light exploded in front of Malfoy like a flashbang.

"Ah! My eyes!" Malfoy screamed, covering his eyes.

Without pausing, Lowe kept his wand pointed at Malfoy in his left hand to distract him, but his right hand suddenly shot out, grabbed Malfoy's collar, and then pulled him down, slamming his right knee into Malfoy's abdomen.

[Skill Combination: Gandalf's Close-Range Spells]

[Combo: Blindness + Knee Strike]

"Bang!"

Malfoy arched his back and let out a piercing scream.

"Protect Malfoy!" Flint roared, raising his broom to smash Rowe.

But Cedric was faster. The Hufflepuff prefect, usually so mild-mannered, displayed astonishing explosive power. He grabbed Flint's broom handle, twisted it sharply, and sent the big guy stumbling.

"Don't touch my players!" Cedric roared.

Immediately afterward, more Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors rushed forward. George and Fred excitedly shrieked as they pounced on the Slytherin members, while Susan, though frightened, bravely pointed her wand at Pansy Parkinson.

The situation spiraled out of control instantly. It was a true "three-army melee."

"I don't understand your wizarding dueling etiquette," Rowe said, holding Malfoy by the collar with one hand and scanning the chaotic battlefield with his wand flashing dangerously in the other. "But in Middle-earth, wizards never fear close combat. If you insult the blood of a lady, be prepared to have your bones shattered by a 'staff'."

"Stop it, all of you!!!"

A roar ripped through the sky.

Professor McGonagall strode in angrily, her lips pressed into a thin line, followed by a sullen-faced Snape.

...

Twenty minutes later, in Professor McGonagall's office.

Loewy, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Cedric, Flint... a whole bunch of people crammed the office full.

"This is one of the worst brawls in Hogwarts history!" Professor McGonagall trembled with rage. "Three houses! Dozens of students! Fighting like Muggle street thugs on the Quidditch pitch!"

"Malfoy insulted them first!" Ron continued, spitting out a slug every now and then, but he persisted, "He called Hermione and Lowe 'Mudbloods'!"

Professor McGonagall paused. She glanced at Hermione and Lowe, her anger subsiding slightly, but her stern expression remained unchanged.

She turned to look at Malfoy: "Is it true, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy grumbled and covered his nose, avoiding Professor McGonagall's eyes. Snape gave a cold snort beside him, but said nothing.

"But that's no excuse for your violence!" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Especially you, Mr. Baggins! To beat a classmate like this? That's utterly barbaric!"

"This is Gandalf's art of combat, Professor." Rowe straightened his back. "The staff is not only a tool for casting spells, but also a melee weapon."

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, seemingly struggling to avoid deducting five hundred points from Gryffindor. Looking at Lowe's self-righteous demeanor, she suddenly recalled a student from many years ago who also liked to solve problems using physics (though that student later became a legendary Auror).

"Given Mr. Malfoy's extremely offensive language," Professor McGonagall announced finally, "Slytherin will lose 50 points. Mr. Malfoy will be confined for one week."

“But,” she turned to the others, “it’s also true that you participated in the fight. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff will each lose 30 points. Everyone who did it will be in the trophy room tonight polishing the trophies—no magic allowed!”

"Mr. Baggins," Professor McGonagall stared at Rowe, "as for you... given that you are the first offender, and for certain reasons, you will go and help Mr. Filch organize the archives."

As everyone left the office, the atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed, even though they still faced punishment.

"It's worth it." Cedric rubbed his slightly bruised wrist and said to Rowe with a smile, "Seeing Malfoy's pig-headed face, it's worth deducting points no matter how many."

"That's for honor." Lowe nodded solemnly.

Susan came over, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped away a bit of blood from Rowe's forehead.

"You scared me to death, Rowe," she whispered, her eyes filled with worry. "There were so many people just now..."

"Don't worry, ma'am." Lowe let her wipe him, his tone softening. "Rangers are used to taking the heads of generals in the midst of chaos."

Susan blushed slightly, then she noticed Hermione standing beside her, head bowed and eyes red-rimmed. She went over and gently hugged Hermione.

"Don't listen to that scoundrel, Hermione," Susan said gently. "You're the smartest witch, everyone knows that. That word is just an excuse they use to cover up their incompetence."

Hermione looked up and gave Susan a grateful look. Although tears were still welling up in her eyes, she felt much better with the support of her companion.

"Alright, we should head back now." Cedric clapped his hands. "We still have to polish the trophies tonight. Rowe, Harry, Ron, see you later."

The Hufflepuff classmates left. Harry helped Ron, who was still spitting out snot, and the others exchanged smiles.

"Let's go," Harry said, "let's take Ron to Hagrid first. He's throwing up terribly."

...

In Hagrid's cottage, the warm fire in the fireplace dispelled the chill of late autumn.

Ron kept vomiting into a large copper basin, while Hagrid busied himself pouring him tea.

"Mudblood..." Hagrid said angrily, "Did he really say that? That little bastard!"

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"That's the worst term for a Muggle-born wizard," Hermione explained in a low voice, her voice trembling slightly. "It means filthy blood. Only the most perverse purebloods would say that. But... he wasn't wrong, I really don't..."

A hand patted her shoulder heavily.

Lowe crouched down, looking directly into Hermione's eyes with an extremely serious expression.

"Look at me, Miss Granger."

Hermione looked up and saw a determined flame burning in Rowe's eyes.

"In Middle-earth, the elves are the oldest and noblest race. But did you know that some elves have never seen the glory of Valinor and are called 'dark elves,' but that does not diminish their greatness? And some Númenor people who held high positions, of pure blood, ultimately fell and became Sauron's lackeys."

"And you, Hermione, your intelligence and talent are enough to put any so-called 'pureblood' to shame."

"Ignore the orcs' barking, Elf Princess."

"In Rivendell, we value only the brilliance of the soul, not the color of blood. Your magical talent is a gift from Ilúvatar, which no filthy word can taint."

Hermione was stunned. After a while, she burst into laughter through her tears, though tears were still flowing, most of the gloom in her eyes had dissipated.

"Thank you, Rowe... although I don't understand a word you're saying about 'Rivendell' and 'Ilúvatar'."

"You'll understand," Rowe said, standing up. "As long as you keep reading those books."

Hagrid blew his nose loudly, deeply moved: "Well said! Rowe! That's more like it!"

Ron lifted his head from the basin, weakly raising a thumb: "Although...uh...I didn't understand either...but that knee strike...was so cool...ugh..."

[Mission Completion: Upholding the Glory of Comrades]

[Defeat targets: Draco Malfoy (spell blind + physical knockdown), Marcus Flint (suppression)]

[Evaluation: You have successfully put Gandalf's combat philosophy into practice—a mage's body is the last line of defense.]

[Reward: Strength +1, Melee Combat Experience +50]

[Reputation Changes: Hermione Granger's favorability has greatly increased (Tag: Loyal Knight); Slytherin's hatred level +50]