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

"It would be even better with some cumin."

Lowe swallowed the last bite of pumpkin pie, then quickly turned his gaze to the huge roasted turkey in front of him.

Hufflepuff's long table was piled high with food: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, steaks, boiled potatoes, baked potatoes, potato chips, Yorkshire pudding, pea shoots, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some reason, some hard mints.

For Luo Wei, who had just experienced "crossing the sea" and "spiritual trial," this was not a banquet, but a supply station.

[Quest Update: The Charlemagne Feast]

[Description: As a new recruit who has just joined the "Charles" faction, you need to replenish your physical strength as soon as possible and stockpile supplies for the long winter that is about to begin.]

[Recommendation: Consume as many high-calorie foods as possible.]

Without any hesitation, Lowe picked up a chicken leg with his left hand and a steak with his right, and began to eat at an astonishing speed.

"Slow down, bro." Justin Finley, sitting across from him, stared in disbelief. "Nobody's going to take it from you. The kitchen's downstairs; we can have as many as we want."

"You don't understand," Rowe mumbled, stuffing two pieces of bread into the inside pocket of his robe. "Food is always the scarcest resource, especially when you have to cross the wasteland."

"Crossing the wasteland?" Justin looked around the warm, brightly lit auditorium, puzzled. "Where are we going?"

"Who knows?" Lowe glanced around warily. "Maybe we'll have to go to Mount Doom to throw the rings away tomorrow."

Susan Burns sighed and forked the sausage from her plate at Rowe: "Eat it. I don't understand what you're talking about, but you look like you escaped from Azkaban."

"Thank you," Rowe said sincerely. "I will remember this kindness, Ms. Burns. If one day orcs surround this place, I will be the last one to eat you."

"If you're trying to express gratitude, this sentence is a bit redundant."

Just then, a sharp, intense pain suddenly struck Lowe's brain.

The sensation was like a red-hot iron needle piercing the back of his head, or like some kind of high-frequency sound wave bombarding his central nervous system.

[WARNING! High-risk gaze detected!]

[Source: Teachers' Seat]

Threat Level: SSS (Dark Lord Level)

The chicken leg in Luo Wei's hand fell onto the plate. He suddenly looked up at the teachers' table.

There sat various professors. Next to Dumbledore sat a young man wearing a large purple scarf. He looked nervous and was speaking to Snape sideways.

But Luo Wei's gaze didn't linger on his face; instead, it was fixed on the back of his head.

In the system's view, the purple scarf was burning.

An invisible plume of black smoke seeped out from the gaps in the scarf, twisting and swirling in the air before finally coalescing into a giant, burning single eye.

[Target locked: Quirrell]

[True Identity Determination: Gulu/Host]

[Back Attachment: Eye of Sauron]

[Status: Awakening. It is watching this place.]

The eye seemed to sense Luo Wei's prying eyes; its pupils contracted sharply, and a cold, evil intent swept over.

"Who?"

Lowe's scalp tingled, and his heart pounded. Almost instinctively, he raised his left hand—holding a medium-rare steak in it.

Snapped.

He slapped the steak firmly onto his face.

"Love?!" Susan exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Don't speak!" Rowe's muffled voice came from behind the steak. "That's a visual blockade! I'm severing its mental connection!"

The surrounding wizards all stopped what they were doing and stared at the new student who had steak stuck to his face as if he were a madman.

Professor Quirrell seemed to sense something. He turned his head and looked at the Hufflepuff table with a puzzled expression. But all he saw was a strange man hiding his face with a steak.

"Strange!" Quirrell shrank his neck, sensing that the owner of the back of his head seemed a little restless.

After a while, the terror of being watched slowly subsided.

Alert lifted. The Eye of Sauron has shifted its focus.

Lowe slowly removed the steak from his face. His face was covered in black pepper sauce, making him look both comical and disheveled.

"It's gone." Lowe breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed a napkin to wipe his face. "That was close. I almost got corrupted."

"Who left?" Justin asked cautiously. "You mean the soul of the steak?"

"No." Lowe pointed seriously to the teachers' table. "That guy with the purple scarf. Stay away from him. He has two souls inside him, one of which is very, very thirsty."

All eyes turned to Quirrell. At that moment, Quirrell was pouring wine into a glass, his hand trembling so badly that he spilled wine all over the table.

"Professor Quirrell?" Cedric interjected, having been chatting with the prefects. "He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts. I heard he encountered vampires in Albania and was terrified. But he's actually a nice guy, just a bit neurotic."

"Neurotic?" Rowe sneered. "That's a cover-up. Just like Gollum used to cover up his desire for the One Ring."

Cedric paused for a moment, then gave that warm smile.

"Well, your analogies are always a bit odd, but they're quite amusing." He poured Rowe a glass of pumpkin juice. "We haven't had a chance to properly meet yet. You're Baggins, right?"

Lowe looked at the glass of golden pumpkin juice, then at Cedric's untroubled face.

[Bio-scan verification]

[Target: Cedric Diggory]

[Mapping: Faramir]

[Note: A leader of Gondor, of noble blood, but destined to never gain the approval of his father (fate).]

"Yes, I am Rowe Baggins." Rowe took the pumpkin juice, but instead of drinking it, he held it in the air like the Holy Grail. "To survive."

Cedric's smile froze for a moment, but he still politely raised his glass: "To Hufflepuff."

The dinner continued.

After the final dessert (a variety of ice cream flavors) was finished, Dumbledore stood up again. Silence returned to the hall.

"Now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, I have a few more words to say." Dumbledore winked. "At the start of the term, I have a few points to make."

"Attention first-year students, students are strictly prohibited from entering the woods on campus. Some of our homeroom teachers should also remember this." (His gaze swept over the Weasley twins.)

Luo Wei quickly jotted down notes in his notebook:

[Restricted Area: Black Forest. Danger Level: High. Giant spiders are suspected to exist.]

"Furthermore, Mr. Filch, the administrator, also asked me to remind everyone not to cast spells in the hallways during breaks."

[Rule: The use of magic is prohibited in public areas. This is likely to prevent energy overflow from attracting strange enemies.]

"Finally, I must tell everyone that anyone who does not wish to encounter an accident and die a painful death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor."

Only a very few people laughed. Harry was laughing, but Rowe wasn't.

His pen tip left a deep mark on the parchment.

[WARNING: The corridor on the right side of the fourth floor leads to the Moria Mine.]

[Threat: Accidental, agonizing death.]

[Speculation: The Flame Demon is imprisoned there.]

"Is he joking?" Harry asked Percy in a low voice.

"I don't think so," Percy said, frowning.

"Of course not," Rowe's voice suddenly came from the Hufflepuff table behind Harry. "It's a death trap. The old man is recruiting a suicide squad."

Harry turned around and saw Rowe, his face covered in black pepper sauce and carrying several chicken legs in his pocket.

"Love?" Harry asked in surprise. "Are you...are you alright?"

"Not good." Rowe patted his bulging chest. "We still don't have enough supplies. Harry, take my advice. If you ever hear strange noises coming from the fourth floor..."

"How is it?"

"That's the Balrog snoring," Rowe said in a low voice, his eyes dark. "Don't go and check it out, you must run! You fool."

Dumbledore announced that the school song would be sung.

Then, various tunes of the Hogwarts school song filled the hall. The Weasley twins sang it the slowest, to the tune of "Funeral March."

Lowe didn't sing. He just covered his ears tightly, as if it were the howl of a banshee that would drive him to a mental breakdown.

[Passed the test for resistance to mental pollution.]

When the singing finally stopped, Dumbledore rubbed his eyes: "Ah, music! More enchanting than anything we've done here! It's time for bed. Everyone, go back to your dorms!"

"Come on, freshmen." Cedric stood up and called to the Hufflepuff first-year students. "Follow me, don't fall behind. Our dorms are underground, very close to the kitchen."

"Underground?" Rowe's eyes lit up. "You mean the Hobbiton?"

"Well, sort of," Cedric smiled. "You'll like it. It's the warmest place on campus."