The days at Hogwarts

Loren patted the little witch's shoulder and comforted her: "Don't worry, this is Hogwarts."

This is Hogwarts, catching a cold is no big deal.

Harry, who was happy to train, would sit in front of the fireplace when he came back at night, staring blankly at the fire, distracted.

The friends noticed Harry's abnormality and sat around him.

Ron asked, "What's wrong with you? You look horrible."

"Don't talk to me yet." Harry needed to calm himself down.

Later, Harry told the others that Snape had been the referee of the next Quidditch match with ill intentions.

Hermione and Ron immediately thought of the previous Quidditch match when Snape cast a curse on Harry. If Hermione hadn't set his robe on fire in time, Harry would have fallen off his broom.

This time Snape was the referee, and he was able to curse Harry from a closer distance.

"He wants to use his position as referee to murder you!" Hermione immediately came to this horrifying conclusion.

Loren looked strange, not knowing whether to laugh or not, "Maybe this time you can set his robe on fire in front of the whole school."

"That would be cool." Ron was led astray by Loren and imagined that scene.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hermione slapped Loren on the back. It was already so late.

She turned to look at Harry, "Don't participate in the competition."

Ron said, "Just say you're sick."

Hermione thought of a more specific suggestion, "Pretend to break your leg."

Loren also gave advice, "I can really break your leg, quickly, and it won't hurt at all."

Hermione looked at Loren, her brown eyes examining his face, unable to tell if he was teasing or actually suggesting something.

Harry rejected the suggestions. "I can't do that. There's no backup Seeker on the team. If I quit, Gryffindor won't be able to play."

"Ah~"

Except for Loren, several people sighed and worried about how to deal with Snape.

Just then, Neville stumbled into the common room, his legs glued together.

Several familiar young wizards noticed this situation and thought that Neville had fallen into some magic trap or drank some potion.

There were magic traps set up in some places in the castle, and young wizards in the lower grades would fall into them from time to time. As for the potions, they might be Snape's punishment.

Everyone started laughing, wondering how Neville managed to hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower like a rabbit.

Realizing that it was a leg-locking curse, Loren took out his wand and lifted the spell.

Neville's legs spread apart, and he stood up tremblingly, wiping the liquid from his eyes and nose with his hands in a panic. He tried his best not to cry.

"What's going on?" Loren helped him sit down in front of a few people and asked.

Hearing this question, the ridicule from others on the road and the hardship of climbing up the tower all turned into grievances that burst out from Neville's heart. He could no longer hold back his tears, "It's Malfoy... Malfoy and his two uncles, Crabbe and..."

Neville's words were intermittent and a little unclear, "They said they have been looking for someone to practice that spell..."

Before he finished speaking, several people thought about what would happen next based on Neville's expression.

"That's too much!" Hermione's face flushed with anger. She urged Neville, "Go find Professor McGonagall and report them."

Ron and Harry echoed the idea.

Neville shook his head and choked up, "I don't want to cause trouble..."

Several people tried to persuade him again and again, hoping that he would muster up the courage to teach Malfoy and his followers a lesson.

"I don't have the courage. I don't deserve to be a Gryffindor. I don't have the courage..." Neville kept repeating this sentence.

Chapter 91 Spiritual Guide

Compared to his peers, Neville has a larger and more sturdy body, but this does not give him any courage.

The former glory of his parents and the constant expectations of his grandmother have led to long-term repressed emotions in such a family environment, making his magic more dull than that of his peers.

He was the slowest learner of magic, always forgetting things, and always losing marks in Potions class. All these things combined made Neville feel a little inferior.

Neville felt very lucky to be able to go to Hogwarts, and being sorted into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat was the only thing he could be proud of. Going to school allowed him to stay away from his grandmother's stressful eyes and made him a group of friends.

But today, Malfoy's teasing and the ridicule of others shattered Neville's inner shelter.

"I don't have the courage, I don't deserve to be a Gryffindor..." Neville kept repeating this sentence.

The slightly fat body made a childish posture, which made Loren and the others feel even more uncomfortable.

Harry and Ron looked at the crying Neville, at a loss as to how to comfort him. Hermione's hands unconsciously tugged at the corner of her clothes.

Loren walked forward and squatted in front of Neville, "Neville, listen to me..."

Neville was immersed in twisted emotions, "I'm not worthy of being a-"

"listen to me!"

Loren's voice became a little louder, with a hint of intimidation. Harry and the others nearby were a little frightened by Loren's serious look.

Neville stopped moving his lips, put down his hands that were covering his face, and stared at Loren in a daze.

"Your parents are Aurors, did you know that?" Loren took out his handkerchief from Neville's robes, handed it to Neville, and motioned for him to wipe it.

Neville took the handkerchief and held it in his hands.

"Your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom, escaped Voldemort's pursuit three times. They once stood up to Voldemort and bravely resisted him."

Neville knew all this, and his grandmother always encouraged him with stories about his parents, but it was different. He wasn't as brave or talented in magic as his parents.

He looked at Loren, wondering why he was talking about this at this time.

"Harry's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, had the same experience as your parents. They escaped three times but died at the hands of Voldemort. Harry eventually grew up in his evil aunt's house."

"He was locked up in a storage room since he was young. When he stood up, his head would hit the ceiling. He was treated like a servant."

Loren stared at Neville and raised his finger to point at Harry, "Do you think this has any effect on him? Has he lost his courage?"

Neville followed the finger and looked at Harry blankly.

Loren turned his head and asked Harry, "Does this affect you?"

"This……"

Harry opened his mouth, he wanted to say that the storage room was not that small, and a child could not touch the ceiling when jumping, and Harry felt that these had an impact on him.

But in the end, Harry shook his head in agreement and said, "If there is no such thing, then there is no such thing."

"Look, after he entered Hogwarts, he broke Malfoy's hands, feet and several ribs in the second week, and killed a troll on Halloween. Has he ever been afraid of anything?" Loren said passionately.

In front of the fireplace, Neville felt that Loren's blue eyes reflecting the firelight were so dazzling. In response to his question, Neville shook his head.

Harry was upset when he heard this. What do you mean by breaking Malfoy's arms and legs and ribs? It's as if I broke Malfoy's arms and legs. I'm not someone like Dudley. And the troll thing was clearly done by us together.

"Your parents are so similar to Harry's parents, and your birthday is only one day earlier than Harry's. You are actually very similar to Harry." Loren's voice calmed down.

These words went into Neville's mind like the devil's whisper, and he could feel his heart beating uncontrollably.

But he quickly realized, "Harry's magic is better than mine, and he's also good at Quidditch. We're different, and we have different talents."

"No, you have similar talents."

Loren's voice became more bewitching. He reached out and pulled out an old wand from Neville. "I guess this isn't your wand, is it?"

"No, it's not," Neville replied. This was his father Frank Longbottom's wand, and his grandmother hoped that this wand would give him power.

"Each wand has its own wizard. If you start with an inappropriate wand, of course your magic won't work."

"Ron is an example. If you think about it carefully, isn't he much more powerful after he changed his wand?"

Loren's words made Neville's eyes widen and his heart beat faster again. Ron did become more powerful after changing his wand, and he always taught them how to cast spells for a while.

"Let's talk about Quidditch again. Don't forget that you are the first little wizard to fly in the flying class. This does not mean you have no talent."

"The ones who really don't have talent are people like me and Hermione. It took us a long time to get the broom to have even the slightest reaction."

Neville's thoughts followed Loren's words involuntarily. He felt a heat rushing up from his left chest to his brain. His breathing became heavier unconsciously. "Is that so?"

"Yes, you were flying slowly and at a low speed because you were afraid. Your talent in both magic and Quidditch is almost the same as Harry's. Change to a wand that suits you, control your emotions, and show the courage of a Gryffindor."

Loren paused, his voice becoming barely audible, "You can be the savior, too."

Neville couldn't bear it any longer and climbed up using his hands and feet. "I'll write to grandma and get a new wand."

Hermione, Harry and Ron stared in amazement as Neville trotted away from their sight.

What is a spiritual mentor? Loren clapped his hands, very satisfied with his words, "Problem solved."

"Are you serious?" Ron looked at Loren with some admiration.

"The Gryffindor team will have an extra seeker? That's great!" Harry said excitedly. His thoughts were still on Quidditch. Maybe this way he could avoid Snape's persecution.

"Wake up Harry, even if he joins the team now, it will be too late for training." Loren said.

"Ah~" Harry sighed, "Yes."

He pulled Ron aside to continue discussing what to do.

Hermione leaned over and whispered in Lauren's ear, "You just acted like a door-to-door sales liar."

The girl's breath hit Loren's cheek, making it a little hot. Loren argued, "What do you mean by liar? Is there anything wrong with what I said? The wand did have an effect, and Neville was indeed the first one to fly."

Then there was a burst of mumbling, "I just did some processing and speculation, how can I be considered a liar..."

In the basement of Hogwarts, the lights are still on.

Loren was on his way to Snape's office. It had been almost a week since school started, and it was Friday night again. Grandpa Bates's wolfsbane potion was probably going to run out.

He was still thinking about Neville. Neville was indeed not weak in the later period, and his talent was not bad either. Maybe if he changed his wand, he could really take off.

Gradually walked to the end of the corridor and stopped in front of the office door.

dong dong dong.

"Come in." Snape's voice was a little vague, and it sounded like it came from the storage room.

Loren pushed the door open and saw that there was indeed no one in the office area. He walked a little further inside and entered the storage room.

Snape, dressed in a black robe, was waiting for him, still expressionless, looking like he was mocking him.

Seeing the four boxes next to him, Loren froze in his tracks, but then he relaxed, remembering that the snakes were probably still hibernating.

"Good evening, Professor Snape."

Snape sneered, "I thought you were going to call me a thief who was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone."

It seems that Dumbledore did discuss this issue with Snape.

Loren didn't reply, secretly complaining in his heart, I don't think so. Why are you teasing me? Go tease Harry.

Snape got no response and turned his eyes to the box, "Come with me on these herbs. You have to keep up with my pace."

After saying that, he waved his hand and four boxes flew onto the operating table. Two of them slid to the side, obviously containing herbs for Loren.

After opening the lid, the box was filled with many kinds of herbs from different categories and origins. They all looked very fresh, with white frost on the crisp and tender leaves.

The box must have been cast with a special preservation magic. Loren discovered that there were some flowing lines on the inner wall of the box. This box might be an alchemical item specially used to preserve herbs.

Loren had never seen many herbs before, but he was not too panicked. He had learned the processing procedures for most herbs before, and he could infer some of them by looking at the categories of herbs. What's more, he just had to follow Snape's instructions.

Snape didn't say much, he took out the herbs and started processing them.

Loren hurried to follow.

At first, they were processing some stems and leaves of flowers and plants. Snape was a little faster, but Loren could barely keep up.

There were fewer and fewer herbs to be processed in the box, and the processed herbs were piled up in another empty box, getting higher and higher.

When we got to a piece of black tuberous herb, things changed a little.

Placing the tuber on the operating table, Snape swiped his wand and quickly and easily cut off the black skin of the tuber. The flesh of the tuber was dark purple with a hint of red, and exuded black and red mucus with a strange smell.

Then Snape carefully used a levitation spell to stop the tuber in the air, waiting for the mucus on the surface of the tuber to solidify into a thick film, and looked at Loren on the side.

Loren was dumbfounded. Seeing Snape's cautious operation, not daring to touch the slime and using magic when cutting it, he knew that the slime was not a good thing.

He couldn't just be so stupid as to cut it with a knife. Who knows what the consequences would be if it touched the mucus.

He looked at Snape, and the two stared at each other for a long time. After confirming that Snape really would not help, Loren turned to look at the herbs.