I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 112 Only One Cloud Can Rise Above Slytherin

To demonstrate his fairness, Professor Sprout decided to draw a random number.

With her eyes closed, she randomly pointed to Crabbe's name on the roster.

"Mr. Vincent Crabbe, please answer this question," Professor Sprout said.

He didn't think much of it when he called roll, but after the roll was taken, the usually kind and gentle Professor Sprout couldn't help but start to worry. What if the child couldn't answer the question and felt embarrassed? Would it affect his mentality?

However, there was no way to take back the reputation that had been given out. Professor Sprout could only secretly hope that the child had read at least a little bit of the book. She had already decided that even if Crabbe answered half of the questions correctly, no, even if he answered only one sentence correctly, she would still give Slytherin a point as a token of appreciation.

Hermione was initially nervous about having her speaking opportunity stolen, but upon hearing that it was Crabbe, that chubby little guy, she felt much more at ease.

If it were Draco, she might worry about whether he answered correctly and thus get the extra points, but Crabbe? Crabbe, that fat brother, only knows how to slack off in class and eat fried chicken every day. He doesn't know how to study, let alone answer such a high-level question as mandrake.

Thinking of this, Hermione leaned back strategically, looking at Crabbe with a confident air.

But Crabbe really opened her eyes.

"Mandragora, also known as mandrake root, is a powerful restorative agent," Crabbe answered fluently, as if he had eaten Doraemon's memory bread: "It is used to restore people who have been transformed or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent! Slytherin, ten points!" Professor Sprout was overjoyed. Such a pleasant surprise! Her usually dull student had finally grasped the concept. For a conscientious teacher, there was nothing more gratifying. A delighted smile spread across her plump face. "Mandelabra is a crucial component of most antidotes, but they are also dangerous. Can anyone tell me why?"

Crabbe raised his hand with the speed he usually uses when grabbing food.

"Hearing the cry of the mandrake can cause fainting, and in severe cases, death," he blurted out impatiently.

"Excellent, excellent!" Professor Sprout couldn't help but applaud. "It seems you really did your homework. Slytherin, another ten points."

Crabbe was overjoyed; it was the first time in his life he had received praise from his teacher.

"If you don't mind, could you share your learning experience with everyone, dear Mr. Crabbe?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Well, actually, it's all thanks to His Highness Louis." Crabbe was still a child after all, and immediately brought up Louis: "His Highness shared many learning methods with us, and we benefited a lot... For example, Gregory and I are roommates, and we would always quiz each other on our homework when we had nothing to do. For example, yesterday when we were washing up in bed, he asked me about the uses of mandrake."

He paused for a moment to rest, then continued, "To be honest, I didn't completely remember the answer, so I reinforced it before bed and reviewed it again while eating breakfast this morning, which is why I was able to answer your question fluently."

Crabbe's mindset has completely changed. The teacher's affirmation has given him a feeling he has never experienced before, an enjoyment that cannot be brought to him by slacking off or eating. He is even starting to like learning.

After all, no one wants to lose points for the college, and everyone wants to gain points for it.

"I'll add another point for your honesty. It seems Slytherin has really changed a lot under Mr. Mountbatten's management... So, is your entire house like this?" Professor Sprout finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

Probably, possibly, almost...

Hufflepuff has really fallen behind in every aspect.

Crabbe glanced nervously at Louis, then breathed a sigh of relief after seeing him nod, replying, "Yes, Professor Sprout." He added with a sheepish grin, "Learning is truly a fascinating thing."

That was such an absurd statement that the entire Gryffindor school stared at him as if he'd seen a ghost.

Come to think of it, imagine you have a classmate who's always been at the bottom of the class, always lazing around, playing on their phone in get out of class, sleeping after class, skipping evening self-study, and then suddenly one day they say they love studying, wearing glasses and holding a book in class, answering questions more enthusiastically than anyone else—

Think about it, don't you also think that some comet hit the Earth to make it look like this?

The Gryffindor students now felt the same way, and their gazes toward Lewis held a newfound reverence.

To be able to carve a piece of rotten wood into this shape, Louis is truly one of a kind.

"Very good, Mr. Mountbatten." Sprout gave a thumbs up, and then she said to her classmates, "Look, the mandrakes here are still very young."

She pointed to a row of dark-colored flowerpots, and everyone crowded forward, trying to get a better look. Professor Sprout told everyone to take one to their spot and gave each person a pair of earmuffs.

"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered!" Professor Sprout said. "I'll give you two thumbs up when it's safe to remove the earmuffs."

Everyone did as instructed, and Louis didn't dare to slack off either, so he quickly fastened his earmuffs.

The earmuffs provided excellent sound insulation, and Louis immediately realized that the outside sounds were completely blocked out. Watching Hermione and Ron from Gryffindor chatting across the street was almost comical, like watching a pantomime—because Hermione punched Ron in the chest three times.

It seems he must have said something he shouldn't have, which angered Hermione.

Professor Sprout put on a pair of earmuffs, rolled up his sleeves, and started pulling up a mandrake.

A strange thing happened: the earmuffs, which had excellent sound insulation, were completely useless at this moment. A very faint but extremely shrill scream instantly pierced through the earmuffs, making the eardrums feel a little painful.

The roots of mandrake are like those of a baby, but they are dry, rough, and not plump at all.

Professor Sprout pulled a large flowerpot from under the table, stuffed the mandrake doll into it, and buried it with damp, dark compost, leaving only the tufted leaves sticking out. She patted the soil off her hands, gave everyone two thumbs-ups, and then removed her earmuffs.

"Our mandrakes are still seedlings, and hearing their cries won't kill you." She spoke calmly, as if she were watering a cactus rather than transplanting dangerous plants. "However, it will make you unconscious for a few hours. I don't think any of you want to miss the first day of school, so make sure you wear earmuffs while you're working. When it's time to pack up, I'll try to get your attention."

Ron whispered to Harry, "Oh, God, I wish it were Snape's Potions class later, so I could deliberately hear the mandrake's call and miss Potions class."

"You still have to learn what you need to learn, Ron." Harry disagreed with his best friend's point of view: "You can only escape once, not forever."

"Okay, then I'll try my best to study hard." Ron was just saying it for the sake of it. His best friend Harry was so hardworking in his studies, so he was too embarrassed to slack off.

The principle of Mencius' mother choosing her neighbors is still applicable everywhere. Some people really are like that, becoming like the people around them.

At Sprout's signal, everyone put their ear covers back on and prepared to begin transplanting mandrakes.

Louis pinched the mandrake leaf, took a deep breath, and pulled hard, pulling out the doll and mud along with it.

It really looks ugly up close; it's not as pleasing to the eye as the ginseng fruit doll in the TV series.

The mandrake doll screamed and struggled, stretching its arms and kicking, in Louis's hands. Louis looked somewhat reluctant, and secretly added a small arc of electricity to his hand. The doll trembled, hurriedly broke free from Louis's hand, jumped into the basin, and pointed to its head with something that looked like a hand.

Louis dumped the compost into the flowerpot all at once, and the mandrake cleverly leveled it up to about neck height before leaving the rest to Louis.

"That's quite sensible," Louis thought to himself.

It seems that growing mandrakes isn't so difficult after all.

Turning around, I saw that Draco's finger had been bitten by a mandrake.

Louis shook his head, indicating that he couldn't bear to watch.

Why did you have to stick your finger near someone's mouth?

Neville didn't faint like in the movie. The way he picked up the mandrake and skillfully put it back in showed that he was quite adept at it.

Louis even saw a faint orange aura flashing around him, serving as a warning.

"(Low-level talents have been hidden), Herbalism (15), Swordsmanship (18)"

Louis's body stiffened. "That's it! The mission objective has arrived! It's time to develop a path suitable for Neville!"

After finally getting through get out of class, the students from both colleges looked disheveled and exhausted, like potatoes just pulled from the ground.

Spudrow watched his Slytherin classmates walk away and began to carefully consider who should lead the way in bringing the new gospel to Hufflepuff.

The course is intensive, the workload is heavy, and the next class is scheduled to be extremely tight—it's another Transfiguration class with Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall was waiting in the classroom early on, but to Louis's disappointment, she did not turn into a cat.

Professor McGonagall had been wearing a stern face ever since the students entered the classroom, and her expression grew even more somber after Ron and Harry crushed the beetles they had been given—the lesson's objective was to turn the beetles into buttons.

After scolding the two foolish brothers, Louis heard another "bong" sound beside him. He saw that Professor McGonagall was clearly startled and turned around to see that Seamus had turned the beetle into a miniature bomb.

It must be said that this is actually a kind of innate talent.

Professor McGonagall, having deducted two points from Gryffindor, found the students increasingly unbearable to look at, so she strolled over to Slytherin's side.

As a result, every Slytherin student successfully and perfectly transformed the beetle into a button. Draco, who was usually not very attentive in Transfiguration class, even made the button perfectly—it even had a golden snake coiled around it.

Professor McGonagall was so pleased that she immediately gave Slytherin ten points—as a recognition of their collective performance.

Monday's classes were packed. I had just finished lunch and taken a short nap when the Defense Against the Dark Arts class started.

Louis was resentful; last semester he was a substitute professor, but this semester he's back to square one.

uncomfortable.

Harry seemed a little unhappy because he had been bothered by his junior, Colin Creevey, for half the day at noon.

He was a very good-tempered person, and he was too embarrassed to say anything to Krivie's persistent pestering.

Because of Lockhart's excessive narcissism, the reading list he gave his classmates consisted almost entirely of his own "works." Each student carried seven books, which was quite heavy for the young wizards—Lockhart's books were all thick-covered hardcover editions, and definitely not light.

After the class was seated, Lockhart arrived late. He cleared his throat to quiet everyone down, walked over to Neville, who was sitting in the first row, picked up the book "Walking with Trolls," and held it up to show the cover with a picture of himself winking.

"Me." He pointed to his photo, blinking greasyly just like his reflection: "Giddro Lockhart, Third Class of the Order of Merlin, Honorary Member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, five-time winner of the Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, but I won't wear that on my sleeve. I don't banish the Baron Ghost with a charming smile!"

He stood there chuckling, waiting for everyone to laugh with him, but only a few people responded.

Ron muttered to Harry, "But he's been talking about his little stunts all the time."

"I see you've all bought my complete works, that's great! But my sister Tifa won't arrive at Hogwarts until next week, so... I think we should do a little quiz today. Don't be afraid, it's just to see how much of Gilderoy Lockhart's work you've actually read and understood..."

He picked up a stack of exam papers, distributed them to the students one by one, and returned to the podium. "You have thirty minutes," he said. "So... let's begin!"

Louis looked at the test paper, which indeed contained all sorts of boring questions.

It was completely fan-oriented, asking him about his favorite color, secret ambitions, and greatest achievements, filling three pages in total.

The last question was an essay question: What is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday? What do you think his ideal birthday present would be? Please explain your reasoning.

Louis frowned; he already had a problem with Lockhart, and now he found him even more displeasing.

He cleared his throat, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair.

Upon seeing his actions, the Slytherin students uniformly put down their exam papers and Louis's custom-made Slytherin silver serpent pens. Everyone adopted a non-violent, non-cooperative attitude, either crossing their arms or leaning on the table; in short, no one paid any attention to Lockhart's exam papers anymore.

(End of this chapter)