Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already!

"Professor, could you give me some Biting Cabbage seeds?" Wayne looked at his Head of House expectantly. "I want to brew a batch of Steel Potion."

Biting Cabbage seeds were also a medicinal ingredient.

Steel Potion could make a wizard's body as hard as steel for a certain period of time.

Biting Cabbage was one of its main ingredients.

"Really?" Sprout looked somewhat suspicious. "You can brew Steel Potion already? Don't tell me you want to grow Biting Cabbage yourself." There was precedent for this sort of thing.

Hufflepuff students were all Little Badgers with farming talents maxed out, often growing all sorts of strange potted plants in their dormitories.

Back when she had been a student, someone had kept a man-eating flower in the dormitory. That roommate climbed into its bud to sleep every day, and every morning everyone worried whether she would come out alive.

"Professor, how could you think that?" Wayne shook his head like a rattle drum. "What I brewed last night was Potion of Hatred. Steel Potion isn't difficult at all." "And even if I wanted to grow Biting Cabbage, there isn't enough sunlight in the dormitory."

Sprout nodded in agreement. Biting Cabbage needed sunlight and sufficient humidity most of all, and the Hufflepuff dormitories indeed lacked those conditions.

After Wayne promised not to grow Biting Cabbage himself, Sprout still gave him a bag of seeds.

She believed in Hufflepuff honesty.

The moment he left the greenhouse, Wayne split the Biting Cabbage seeds into two portions.

One portion was for brewing Steel Potion, while the other was naturally for planting. But he was an honest Hufflepuff. Since he had promised the professor, he would never break his word.

So Wayne decided to find Hagrid.

Hagrid's Biting Cabbage had nothing to do with Lawrence. Inside the cabin.

After hearing Wayne's request, Hagrid waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, that thing's too dangerous. What are you planting it for?"

"You're the one planting it," Wayne corrected. "I'm just giving you the seeds, and then you'll give me the mature Biting Cabbage."

The Half-Giant stared at him blankly. "What's the difference?"

"Of course there's a difference." Wayne explained earnestly. "I won't be involved in the planting process at all, so I won't be breaking school rules." Hagrid was thoroughly confused, but he still refused to agree.

Wayne could only play his trump card. "Hagrid, you don't want to never see Ho-Oh again, do you?"

"Then I won't see it." Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then held his ground. His favorite Fantastic Beasts were mighty types like Fire Dragons. Phoenixes? They were not enough to move him.

If Wayne could really produce a Fire Dragon, let alone grow Biting Cabbage, Hagrid would even plant another Whomping Willow.

Wayne thought for a moment, then delivered the finishing blow. "Hagrid, you don't want me to beat up Fluffy every day from now on, do you?"

The Half-Giant was shocked. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"Isn't he on the Third Floor Corridor? I've talked to him twice. We got along pretty well." Wayne blinked. "If you don't help me, don't blame me if the dog gets lured away someday."

This time, Hagrid was finally afraid.

He knew Wayne had a deadly affinity with animals. Whenever his hunting dog Fang saw Wayne, Fang forgot all about his owner and only wagged his tail around Wayne.

Just thinking of Wayne petting his dog, with Fluffy wearing a blissful expression while ignoring him completely...

Hagrid let out a whimper. "No!"

In the end, he agreed to Wayne's request and planted Biting Cabbage at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

If it were planted in the vegetable patch, once the Biting Cabbage grew up, all the other vegetables would probably be ravaged. Those steel-like teeth were not just for show.

Fortunately, Hagrid also had a small plot of farmland in the Forbidden Forest. It was enough for a dozen or so Biting Cabbage seeds.

After burying the seeds, Hagrid wiped the sweat from his brow.

"I still don't know what you're growing this stuff for. It tastes awful."

Wayne looked at the fertile soil that had been freshly turned over and nodded with satisfaction. The season was not quite right, but that was fine. The wizarding world did not believe in science; it believed in magic. With the help of Potions, this batch of Biting Cabbage would mature around March or April next year. He would also gain a group of thugs.

Hearing Hagrid's question, Wayne answered without looking back, "I'm a Hufflepuff. What's wrong with liking to farm?"

Over the next few days, Wayne brewed plenty of growth-accelerating Potions and came to the edge of the Forbidden Forest whenever he had free time in the afternoon to pour them into the soil.

Hagrid turned a blind eye to Wayne entering the Forbidden Forest.

The two of them were practically accomplices now.

Wayne also asked Hagrid if he could get a batch of Mooncalf droppings for fertilizer, and Hagrid agreed.

There was indeed a Mooncalf herd in the Forbidden Forest. A little manure was no trouble for him.

In the blink of an eye, Friday arrived again.

Quirrell entered the classroom right as the bell rang.

Not a single student sat in the first three rows, because no one could stand the smell of garlic on Quirrell.

Quirrell did not care. He silently opened his book and said in a stutter, "T-today... we're learning about the... classification of Charms." "Charms are divided into... Charms, Curses, Jinxs, a-and Hexes."

Thanks to REEN for the thousand-point tip. Thanks for the support, boss.

Chapter 63: The Rise of the Devil, the Little Badgers Rebel!

Quirrell struggled to read the contents of the book.

The young wizards had long since grown accustomed to his terrible performance.

According to Quirrell himself, he had been afflicted by several Curses from dark creatures at once, so he had to devote a great deal of energy to resisting them.

Although everyone expressed sympathy, they still felt helpless. Defense Against the Dark Arts should have been the most exciting class, but it had become this.

Quite a few students had already started slacking off, reading extracurricular books or catching up on homework from other subjects.

Quirrell ignored them. As long as no one interrupted him, the professor would keep reading from the textbook by himself until the dismissal bell rang.

Perhaps the only advantage was that he never checked homework. Wayne rested his arm on the desk and propped up his chin, looking troubled.

Perhaps Quirrell no longer cared about Wayne's provocations, or perhaps the same stunt had been repeated too many times.

Recently, Wayne had been earning fewer and fewer points from deliberately making things difficult for Quirrell in class.

He got even more from sneaking out for a nighttime stroll.

But with such a wonderful point-farming machine right in front of him, Wayne would feel awful if he did not make proper use of it.

Looking at the classroom where not a single person was listening seriously, Wayne let out a long breath and made up his mind. "Professor."

Without raising his hand, Wayne spoke directly.

That was actually quite rude, but if he raised his hand, Quirrell would only pretend not to see it. "Professor."

Wayne called out again before Quirrell reluctantly stopped reading. "W-what is it this time, M-Mr. Lawrence?" All the students perked up. Something entertaining was about to happen.

"Do you remember our agreement?" Wayne asked politely. "As long as you teach me one powerful spell in this class, I'll give you a small vial of Phoenix Tears."

The young wizards cried out in surprise. Phoenix Tears!

That was good stuff. It could sell for a whole lot of money. "Th-this..."

Quirrell was tempted. He still remembered Voldemort's demand. "Don't agree to him. It'll expose you, idiot!" Voldemort's cold snort rang out in Quirrell's mind.

Once Wayne's offer succeeded, what would the other young wizards think?

No good things, no spells taught? They would explode in outrage.

Even if he wanted Phoenix Tears, he could not get them this way. Hearing his master's command, Quirrell immediately changed his tune.

"Y-you're still at the age where you need to build your foundations. Learning powerful Charms too early won't do you any good."

Wayne refused to let it go. "But I heard from senior students that you don't teach much magic in their classes either."

"You just read from books. You only switch to a different one."

Quirrell flushed red. "T-teaching is a professor's business. How can it be called reading?" What followed was a string of incomprehensible words about the dangers of Charms, building solid foundations, and so on.

The students burst into laughter, and the classroom was filled with cheerful air. Wayne finally mocked, "Professor, did you buy this position? No wonder Cedric told me Hogwarts' meals have gotten much better this year."

Cedric, who was weeding Devil's Snare in the greenhouse, sneezed. The Devil's Snare instantly woke up, and vines wrapped around him from all directions.

It took him quite a while to break free. Cedric was utterly baffled.

"Strange. Why did I suddenly feel like sneezing?"

Meanwhile, in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Quirrell got angry for the first time and deducted five points from Hufflepuff.

Wayne had achieved his goal and did not press any further.

After class, his roommate Norman found Wayne amid the crowd in confusion. "Why do I feel like you're in a bad mood today?"

"Not really." Wayne shook his head. "I just think having a professor like that is such a waste of time."

"What do you think we'll learn this year?"

Hearing Wayne's words, Norman felt the same. So far, he had only learned a Banishing Charm through self-study. What they taught in class was completely useless.

It was not just Norman. Quite a few young wizards nearby showed agreement. A Ravenclaw girl comforted him, "Wayne, you don't need to worry too much. I heard the Defense Against the Dark Arts post is cursed. No one has ever lasted a full year in it."

"One year..." Wayne shook his head regretfully. "Hogwarts only lasts seven years in total. Now one year will be wasted for nothing."

"We'll be fine, but how great must the losses be for those fifth-year and seventh-year senior students?"

With that, he walked away dejectedly.

Wayne's words quickly spread through several Houses.

Just as he had said, the fifth-year and seventh-year students were indeed miserable. OWLs and NEWTs examiners would not care what their professors were like. They would only assess students according to Ministry of Magic requirements, so the senior students were now running around like headless chickens, relying only on self-study and talent.

But what could they do?

They could only curse a few times in private, then continue studying miserably.

Night fell.

Tomorrow was the weekend, so the Hufflepuff common room was particularly lively. "Ahem! Everyone!"

Wayne pressed his wand to his throat and cast an Amplifying Charm. At once, the entire common room turned to look at him.

"Wayne, what's gotten into you?" Cedric asked strangely, unable to understand why he was acting crazy.

"Don't interrupt."

Wayne glared at him and took out a piece of parchment from his robe.

"Do you know how much it costs to buy a loaf of bread? Sorry, wrong parchment." Thunderous laughter erupted in the common room. His two roommates were laughing so hard they were doubled over.

But that only made more people curious about what Wayne was trying to do.

So when he took out the second piece of parchment, the common room fell silent.

Everyone watched him.

"Fellow Hufflepuff students, senior students."

"I believe everyone knows just how important Defense Against the Dark Arts is."

"We have the greatest headmaster in the world, the strongest white wizard of this century."

"We have the strictest yet most competent Transfiguration professor."

"We have the kindest and gentlest Herbology master as our Herbology professor." "We also have a Charms professor who has won several consecutive dueling championships and possesses endless patience."

"Of course, we also have a Potions professor who is sharp-tongued, neglects personal hygiene, shows excessive favoritism toward one House, but whose own ability is beyond question." "Yet we alone lack a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who is willing to teach us real magic."

The smiles gradually vanished from the Little Badgers' faces. Cedric's eyes widened as he tried to stop Wayne from continuing, but one look from the boy forced him back into his seat.

Wayne continued his impassioned speech.

"Right now, this is the darkest period in Hogwarts history. We are about to waste an entire year."

"Throughout this year, we won't be able to learn anything useful from Defense Against the Dark Arts class, nor will it effectively help us pass our graduation exams."

"I know that professors deserve respect." "But our needs should also be taken seriously!"

"It has already been a month since school began. I cannot imagine how much magic everyone will have learned to protect themselves by the end of first year."