Slytherin Star

Wednesday morning, Herbology.

As expected, George once again won ten points for Slytherin.

This body had already known quite a bit about herbs and Potions after spending years selling Potions with the old wizard, and with his main body's computer assistance on top of that, First Year questions could not stump him at all.

That afternoon, George left the castle alone and followed a small path leading toward the Forbidden Forest, making his way to Hagrid's hut.

It was early July now, the most comfortable time of year—not cold, not hot. The little path outside the castle was lined with all kinds of wildflowers, and emerald grass stretched all the way to the edge of the Black Lake.

If one walked a little farther across the grass toward the Black Lake, one might even find a few pairs of older students whispering sweet nothings on the slope.

Children abroad matured early to begin with, and the wizards at Hogwarts matured even earlier. Many began dating in their second or third year; ones like Ron and Harry, who only started showing signs of it in their fourth or fifth year, were in the minority.

Without disturbing those little lovebirds, he walked on, crossing the Quidditch Pitch and then a long stone bridge.

Finally, at the edge of an endless forest, he saw a wooden hut enlarged two or three times over, along with the big pumpkins planted in front of it.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

He had only just reached the hut's door when a large black dog suddenly leaped out from the side and barked at him in warning.

George fixed his eyes on the big black dog and activated his Psychic Abilities. The big black dog froze for a moment, then began wagging its tail.

"Fang, stop!"

At that moment, the door of the wooden hut was pushed open as well, and Hagrid revealed his enormous frame.

"It's you, little boss. Welcome, come on in. I just made Rock cakes, so you can have some with this little friend here."

"That would be my honor."

A look of surprise appeared on George's face. He had not expected Hagrid to have another guest here today besides him.

"Ginny, what are you doing here? Don't you have class this afternoon?"

After entering the wooden hut, he saw Ginny sitting on a stool taller than he was.

As far as he knew, Gryffindor only had Friday afternoons off with no classes, and today was Wednesday.

"George, you... you were right. I need to go get ready for class."

Ginny jumped down from the stool in a bit of a panic and hurried out of the hut.

Hagrid set the Rock cakes he had just made on the table and said with a smile:

"The little lass wanted to ask me when Harry usually comes by, but you scared her off. So you can help finish her share too."

"Mm, such fragrant Rock cakes. What a shame I just finished lunch in the Great Hall before coming here, so I really am... what a pity."

George patted his round, bulging stomach, his face full of regret as he pushed the Rock cakes in front of him back.

Hagrid's Rock cakes were made according to his own teeth; they were so hard they could be used as bricks. George did not want to chip a tooth.

Seeing that George's stomach was indeed quite round and that he had obviously eaten a lot, Hagrid also showed a regretful expression, then picked up the Rock cakes and wolfed them down in a few bites.

"Next time, then. Next time you come, make sure to save room."

"Hagrid, I'm very interested in magical creatures, and I've read some books on the subject. There are a few questions I'd like to ask you."

The corner of George's mouth twitched, and then he stated the purpose of this visit.

He could use his Psychic Abilities to communicate with magical creatures, but that did not mean he could definitely tame them for his own use. It only gave him a greater advantage compared with ordinary wizards.

Just like the Magizoologist Newt Scamander, who was said to have been born able to communicate with magical creatures as well.

But the main reason Newt could subdue so many powerful magical creatures was that he understood their habits well enough to use the right approach.

"You're interested in magical creatures? That's wonderful. As long as I know it, I can tell you."

Hagrid had a simple personality. Hearing that George shared the same interest as him, he immediately began talking nonstop.

George listened here, while his main body simultaneously started taking notes on the other side.

Studying knowledge about magical creatures was partly to tame powerful magical creatures for his own use, and partly because he valued the resources of the Forbidden Forest.

Many precious magical creatures were treasures from head to toe, essential materials for making magical items and Potions, and there were quite a few of these precious magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest.

For example, the venom of an Acromantula was worth 100 Galleons per pint, and there were at least over a hundred Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.

When it came to making money, Potion masters, who were said to be the most profitable, actually did not earn as much as masters of magical creatures.

It was just that most masters of magical creatures loved magical creatures and would not deliberately use them to make money. Besides, becoming a master of magical creatures was no simple matter; without a certain level of strength, it was easy to get eaten by magical creatures.

Newt was born able to communicate with magical creatures, while Hagrid had half-giant blood.

In fact, it was not only for money. Sometimes, there were things money could not buy, but rare magical creatures could be exchanged for them. They symbolized an important kind of exchange resource.

Thursday: Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the morning, Charms Class in the afternoon, and History of Magic in the evening.

George earned another forty points for Slytherin, sending Slytherin's score far ahead and leaving the other three houses far behind, proving with his ability that what he had said that morning had not been empty boasting.

Because of this, he gradually gained the flattering title of Slytherin Star at school—a rising new star of Slytherin.

In fact, Slytherin's overall score was never weak each year, and with Snape's favoritism on top of that, they had been able to win the House Cup year after year.

It was just that Hermione, that academic overachiever, had arrived last year and farmed points heavily. Even with Harry and Ron dragging her down and Snape deducting points, the final gap had not been too large, allowing Dumbledore to use the Philosopher's Stone incident to award points and make a successful comeback.

And this year, George was even better at farming points than Hermione. He farmed them not only in other subjects, but even in History of Magic, and he did not have Snape as a point-deducting factor either. Even if Dumbledore was biased, a gap of one or two hundred points could be explained away, but if the gap was several hundred points, surely it would not be easy to make up again.

Sharing the same thought was Slytherin's head of house, Professor Snape.

"Does anyone know what ingredients are needed for a potion to cure boils? George, you answer."

In Potions class on Friday morning, when George stood up for the fifth time to answer a question, even he felt a little embarrassed.

"Daffodil powder, Wolfsbane, and Porcupine quills, Professor."

"It seems not everyone here is an idiot. Five points to Slytherin."

Snape swept his gaze over the entire classroom. Aside from George, all the other young wizards lowered their heads.

"Next, we will try brewing this potion. I hope you can manage to be slightly less imbecilic."

As he followed the steps one by one to brew the potion, George could not help sighing inwardly that Snape really was completely different from Professor McGonagall.

In truth, the questions Snape had just asked were all somewhat beyond the syllabus. Apart from someone like George, who could pull out his Herbology and Magical Potions textbooks at any time, it was very hard for the other young wizards to answer them.

You could say he was biased, and indeed, only George had been able to raise his hand and answer. If one wanted to be strict about it, even Dumbledore would have nothing to say.

But George was certain that Snape simply wanted him to drive the points up. Otherwise, he would not have asked him questions five times in a single class. Once George brewed the potion next, Snape would probably award more points.

Sure enough, once he was the first to finish brewing the potion, Snape came to his side like a great bat.

"An excellent potion. Five points to Slytherin."