The Appeal of History of Magic

The bell rang, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. They gathered around Vizet, wanting to say something.

"Are you planning to stay here and clean the classroom?" a cold voice said. Snape lowered his eyelids and spoke unhurriedly.

Like startled birds, everyone hurriedly packed up their textbooks and jostled their way out of the classroom.

Snape suddenly said, "Vizet, you stay behind and clean up."

Michael and the others wore expressions that said good luck, waving as they left the classroom.

Hanna spoke timidly, her face already flushed red. "Can I stay and help?"

"Heh!" Snape gave a cold laugh without answering directly.

Vizet waved his hand. "There isn't much to clean, really. I can handle it myself."

"If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have finished the Potion." Hanna offered no further explanation. She rolled up her sleeves and began wiping the desks.

"Thank you!" Vizet said softly. He picked up the broom and dustpan from the corner and swept up the fragments of Snake Fang and dried Nettle scattered across the floor.

Tok... tok... tok...

The sound of the Stone Pestle striking the Snake Fang echoed through the classroom. Snape paid no attention to anyone else as he processed the ingredients, preparing to brew the Pimple Healing Potion.

The cleaning was soon finished. Vizet stood before the teacher's desk, carefully observing Snape's brewing process.

Snape's movements were steady, without a single unnecessary motion. After no more than ten crushes, the Snake Fang had all been ground into incredibly fine powder.

When handling the slugs, he did not use tweezers. Instead, he pinched the slugs between his fingers before placing them into the steamer.

The entire brewing process flowed like water. With the skill and boldness of a master, Snape used a fierce flame, shortening the time needed to brew the Potion.

In no more than ten minutes, incredibly pure pink smoke blossomed like a flower, announcing the Potion's completion.

Snape looked up at Vizet and asked coldly, "What did you see?"

Vizet thought for a moment before answering clearly, "Familiarity with Potion Ingredients! Whether you were processing Snake Fang or dried Nettle, your precision was impeccable."

"It was the same when steaming the slugs. You used your fingers to knead them and judge the quality of the ingredients, so you didn't need to lift the lid to obtain slugs of the finest quality."

"Before adding the Porcupine Quill, you scraped away the impurities on its surface with a knife. That left the Potion completely flawless, and it was the point that benefited me the most."

"Not bad. It seems you aren't completely stupid," Snape said softly, his tone revealing neither anger nor joy. "Talent can raise your upper limit, but Potions is not a simple subject."

"Experience is just as important as talent. Only by using experience to judge the quality of ingredients can you go farther on the path of Potions... Ravenclaw, five points. You may leave."

Hanna wore an incredulous expression and even covered her mouth.

"Thank you, Professor Snape. Then we'll be leaving," Vizet said, looking at Snape. He thought he saw a hint of appreciation in Snape's eyes.

That hint of appreciation vanished in an instant, however, making him wonder if he had imagined it.

When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, Hanna was still a little dazed. "This is the first time I've known that Professor Snape can say so much. And he even gave you five points! Five points!"

"Doesn't he?" Vizet asked. "I remember Cho Chang telling me that every professor has the authority to award or deduct points."

"Professor Snape is different..." Hanna glanced behind her before lowering her voice to explain. "Professor Snape only awards points to Slytherin and deducts points from the other three houses."

"Is that so?" Vizet said with a faint smile. "Looks like I'm pretty lucky."

After a whole morning of Potions Class, Vizet had earned quite a bit of goodwill among Hufflepuff's New Students.

When he passed by the Hufflepuff table, those New Students even smiled at him.

Madam Pomfrey's medical advice had indeed worked. After meditating through lunch, he arrived at the History of Magic classroom full of energy.

The classroom was located on the castle's second floor. Its layout was orderly, with excellent ventilation and very good lighting.

In the afternoon, bright sunlight streamed into the classroom, creating a peaceful and cozy atmosphere.

As Hogwarts' only Ghost professor, Professor Binns had a particularly unusual way of entering the classroom.

When the class bell rang, Professor Binns came through the wall and floated to the teacher's desk.

"It's time. Let's begin class!"

He did not take attendance, nor did he even glance at the students before beginning his lecture in a rigid voice devoid of any fluctuation.

"Wizards and Muggles enjoyed a period of stable prosperity... Wizards lived in Muggle villages, trading Potions and Healing magic for the necessities of life..."

"Emeric the Evil rose to power in southern England, where he imposed a reign of terror... The appearance of this Dark Wizard sparked the Muggles' 'Witch Hunt'..."

"The relationship between Wizards and Muggles broke down, and Wizards began distancing themselves from Muggle villages... Although Muggles could not deal with adult Wizards, they could target young Wizard children..."

The bright, warm sunlight combined with the drawn-out voice was simply perfect for catching up on sleep.

Around Vizet, his dormmates who had intended to take notes seriously also succumbed to Professor Binns' voice, nodding off like pecking chicks.

Before long, only two sounds remained in the entire classroom—the sound of Professor Binns lecturing and the rustle of Vizet taking notes.

The book History of Magic was simply too thick. Even after Vizet had copied out the entire book, he still found it difficult to memorize every detail thoroughly.

Professor Binns did not simply read from the textbook while lecturing. He summarized and refined its contents, benefiting Vizet greatly.

Unfortunately, those insights were hidden within his drawn-out speech. One needed the patience of a gold prospector to discover the shining pearls of wisdom within.

Professor Binns continued lecturing. "Some Wizards gradually became extreme after their children were killed, taking the slaughter of Muggles as a means of revenge..."

"The appearance of these Dark Wizards intensified the Muggles' fear of Wizards. The 'Witch Hunt' grew increasingly fierce, resulting in even more Wizard children being brutally killed..."

"Wizards developed methods specifically targeting Muggles, such as the Muggle-Repelling Charm and Anti-Muggle Doorknobs. The emergence of these methods further reduced contact between Wizards and Muggles..."

History was a mirror through which one could understand the rise and fall of nations.

Through Professor Binns' lecture, Vizet gradually came to understand why Wizards had isolated themselves, eventually forming the "Magical World."

Wizards were beings who could cast magic by nature, and their ways of thinking differed greatly from those of Muggles.

For Wizards, whenever they encountered trouble in daily life, their first response was to use magic to solve it. That was also why the Muggle-Repelling Charm and Anti-Muggle Doorknobs had appeared.

Yet the two paths led to the same destination. Muggles created all kinds of tools for production, while Wizards invented various forms of magic to deal with trouble.

Thinking about it this way, Vizet felt the appeal of History of Magic even more deeply.

When the bell rang, his dormmates woke one after another, all instinctively wiping away the traces of drool at the corners of their mouths.

Terry rubbed his eyes and asked groggily, "Ah... Vizet, why do you look so energetic?"

"I was taking notes." Vizet spoke with lingering enthusiasm. "History of Magic is so interesting!"

Michael opened his mouth, then patted his own face. "Maybe this is what being a Ravenclaw is... Even History of Magic can be studied so diligently!"

Vizet smiled without comment and turned his gaze toward the scenery outside the window.

He suddenly felt that writing a letter would not be so difficult after all. There were so many interesting things he could talk about.