You're Not Only My Sister's Favorite Man, but Also Dumbledore's Favorite Student?
Harry, of course, would not refuse Old Parkinson's kindness, just as Mr. Septimus had taught him: having more friends means having more options.
As a young man carefully groomed by Mr. Malfoy, Harry's interpersonal skills are quite commendable.
However, to everyone's surprise, from then on, a Unicorn would always be listening in on the Hogwarts professors' classes.
Of course, she only audited classes with the second-year Gryffindor, and occasionally listened to a few classes with the Hufflepuff.
Veratia was certainly aware of the new school board member's movements, but she had neither the time nor the reason to care—after all, he was school board member, ostensibly "evaluating teaching quality," so what could she do?
However, what is admirable is that Veratia plans to complete three years of university courses within a year.
Yes, Britain are three years, except in Scotland, Scotland are four years.
However, this is also related to their education system. Scotland adopts a system of 7 years of primary school, 4 years of secondary school, and 1 year of pre-university, while the England system adopts a system of 6 years of primary school, 5 years of secondary school, and 2 years of pre-university. Therefore, Scotland secondary school graduates enter Scotland universities a year earlier than graduates from other parts of the Britain, and undergraduate degree courses in the region require four years of study.
In reality, it is essentially the same as other education systems around the world, requiring a fixed sixteen years from primary school to university graduation.
Of course, Veratia didn't see Pabbie as a threat—she was just a carefree Unicorn.
Pabbie also managed to strike the perfect balance, stopping just short of Veratia getting jealous.
Monday morning was Herbology class, and as usual, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff attended together.
Pabbie certainly wouldn't miss the lessons taught by the Hufflepuff Headmaster; no matter how she changes, she is still essentially a Hufflepuff.
Professor Sprout was clearly taken aback for a moment when he saw a Unicorn appear in the classroom.
However, she quickly realized that this "Unicorn Lady" was the newly appointed school board member.
I heard they're here to evaluate the quality of teaching.
Today, the Greenhouse not only houses Unicorn Lady, school board member, but also has tables covered with swaying mushrooms, creating a lively and joyful scene.
"What is this?" Justin asked curiously, reaching out to pick up a dry twig and poking at the pulsating mushroom.
This poke had no effect; the mushroom that was poked popped up and bounced up.
"Jumping Mushroom, a common mushroom," Ron replied from the side. "You can see them in many places—we'll be going to Hogsmeade next year, and if you look closely, there will be plenty of these along the road from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade."
"So that's how it is..." Justin, Muggle-born, looked interested.
A short while later, Professor Sprout came out carrying a large basin of mushrooms.
"Good morning, professor," the students said in unison.
"Good morning, students." Professor Sprout put down the pot of mushrooms and said to them, "What we'll be learning in today's Herbology class is something you've probably all seen before—so, who can tell me about the growing environment and uses of the Jumping Mushroom?"
You know what? Everyone knows this herb, but if you ask them to name a few specific examples, they're practically clueless.
Seeing that no classmates raised their hands, Pabbie raised his front hooves.
"Miss Pabbie," said Professor Sprout, "Why don't you tell me?"
Pabbie explained softly, "Jumping Mushroom need a humid environment to grow because they obtain nutrients by absorbing water—unlike regular mushrooms, Jumping Mushroom need some sunlight, not a completely dark and damp environment. In addition, they usually grow next to trees or shrubs."
"In addition, the fungal cap from the Jumping Mushroom can be used to make Potions, such as invisibility potions," Pabbie concluded.
"Excellent answer, Miss Pabbie." Professor Sprout smiled. "If you were Hufflepuff, I would certainly give you five points, Miss Pabbie."
"I can be Hufflepuff," Pabbie said, head tilted.
A burst of good-natured laughter erupted from the crowd. No one could dislike this optimistic and approachable school board member, Unicorn Lady.
"Next, I will teach you how to create an environment for artificially cultivating Jumping Mushroom," Professor Sprout said. "As Miss Pabbie mentioned earlier, Jumping Mushroom are usually found next to trees or bushes, which is something you need to remember. Jumping Mushroom need organic matter as a growth substrate, which can be soil, wood, straw, or other organic materials."
"Generally, the cultivation of parasitic Jumping Mushroom is similar to that of ordinary mushrooms, requiring the preparation of a culture medium, which is usually composed of livestock manure, cottonseed hulls, sawdust, etc. These substrates should be rich in nutrients to support their growth."
"Once we can simulate such an environment, we can cultivate Jumping Mushroom," Professor Sprout concluded. "Now, choose some materials from the ones in front of you that you think are suitable for simulating the growth environment of Jumping Mushroom... Here, you have ten minutes."
At Professor Sprout's command, the students began to get busy.
Sprout walked behind his classmates, checking each of them to see what materials they had used.
"I need to remind you, Mr. Finnegan," Professor Sprout said, standing behind Seamus with a complicated expression, "That generally speaking, very few plants like oils..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw a burst of intense flames rise in front of Seamus, followed by a loud bang.
The flowerpot exploded.
"I think you should have reminded him sooner, Professor," Neville said, his little face dark with embarrassment.
Professor Sprout shook his head helplessly and waved his wand to give the two unfortunate children a Clean-up.
The students didn't do anything dangerous, but they only chose the cottonseed hulls and sawdust that she had mentioned, and nothing else.
Some students even chose several stones to serve as the growing medium for their Jumping Mushroom.
"Good idea, Mr. Weasley." Professor Sprout looked at Ron's flowerpot with satisfaction. "Fallen leaves... You have a good understanding of the environment in which the Jumping Mushroom grow. Yes, it grows next to bushes and trees, which means they might like fallen leaves."
"Five points for Gryffindor," she added.
Ron's face was flushed; in fact, he was only guessing and not entirely certain.
His association of bushes and trees with fallen leaves was an instinctive reaction—or perhaps, a childhood memory.
Before he even started attending Hogwarts, Fred and George would often take him to collect fallen leaves, picking out the toughest stems and snapping them off one by one.
To make the leaves more resilient, they tried many methods, such as Fred and George liking to soak the leaf stems in their father's wine.
However, they were so careless that their father discovered it. Mr. Weasley was furious when he found out and confiscated the leaf stems that the two of them had soaked in alcohol—and then used those leaf stems to strangle all the leaf stems that the three children had collected, one by one.
"This is a lesson for you," Mr. Weasley said triumphantly after his victory.
The next class is Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Because Professor Rosier Vera Rozier had some personal matters to attend to, Professor Scamander ended up Defense Against the Dark Arts this time.
Oh, not Newt with social anxiety, but Gale.
Professor Snape has not yet commented on this. He has been coveting this position for a long time, and now it has suddenly been snatched away by someone else, without even being given the chance to fill in. In any case, his face is even more sour.
For this, Gryffindor lost fourteen points of their true love.
Although Gellert did not use his original appearance, he still dressed the same way, still dressed as that unruly cockatoo.
"Good morning, students." Gellert stood on the podium, smiling as he addressed the class. "I'm your substitute professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Before we begin, I'd like to ask you a question—who is Dumbledore's favorite student?"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the students from the four houses turned to look at Harry, who was secretly eating snacks.
Harry looked up blankly, still holding the snacks Veratia had brought him from the Muggle world in his mouth.
Gellert still had that same smiling face, but Harry could tell that Gellert wasn't in a very good mood.
You are not only my sister's favorite man, but also Dumbledore's favorite student?
Gellert suddenly found Scamander surprisingly pleasing to the eye compared to the Scarhead Spectacled Beast in front of him.
But when he caught a glimpse of Pabbie beside him out of the corner of his eye, he swallowed his anger.
I mustn't rush things, I absolutely mustn't rush things, I absolutely mustn't leave a bad impression on Miss Pabbie —I still have to try and matchmake Scarhead and Unicorn.
Haha, they really are a perfect match.
Meanwhile, Gellert was also wondering if he should take some small revenge on Dumbledore and Harry.
You all have favorite students, so I should have one too.
Of course, you can also pass on all the knowledge you have learned in your life to him.
Gellert looked around and saw Hermione.
Well... Hermione won't do, not because she's Muggle-born, but mainly because Gellert thinks Hermione is just Harry's friend, nothing more.
Moreover, being good friends with Hermione wouldn't make Harry feel so defensive and guarded.
What should we do?
Who should we choose?
Gellert quickly set his sights on Ron.
This kid's surname is Weasley, and he's a descendant of Gareth, Harry's good friend from a hundred years ago.
In this era, Ron was also Harry's best friend, without a doubt.
Gellert decided to observe the kid more closely to see if he was suitable to be his good friend.
It should be said that Ron is not the stupid guy that many people stereotype him to be; in fact, he is quite talented in Charms.
At least in Gellert's view, Ron has a lot of potential.
During class, Gellert gave Ron a few pointers.
Harry hadn't expected Gellert to be so fond of Ron, but he didn't think much of it, assuming that Gellert thought Ron had good talent and was worth nurturing.
When class ended, Ron was still a little reluctant to leave.
He had never received such attention before, and Ron was somewhat overwhelmed by the professor's praise.
Ron was still talking about this during dinner.
"I think Assistant Gale is really amazing; he actually managed to discover someone as talented as me," Ron said happily.
"I've always thought you could do it, Ron," Harry said with a smile.
But Ron's good mood was quickly ruined.
"Come on, Weasley, 2-16." Draco's voice rang out from behind him. "It's just that the professor is worried you'll lose interest in your studies. Do you really think it's because you're good with Charms? Surely not? You don't really believe that, do you?"
Ron's face immediately fell.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" he said angrily. "So what if I lost sixteen times? Go ahead and try me! You're probably no match for me..."
"You're such a terrible chess player..." Draco said with a look of disgust, "I think I could do it too."
"Why don't you two try a game, Malfoy?" Hermione suddenly switched to Ron's defense mode. "Didn't you think Ron wasn't good at Wizard Chess? Then you should try it and see who's better. That way, everyone can have a witness."
"Let's have a match then, who's afraid of who?" Draco sat down next to Ron. "So, Weasley, and Granger, when do we start the match?"
Hermione was about to speak when Ron grabbed her.
Despite not being very good at chess against professional players, he was still full of confidence when facing his classmates.
"Just playing games is no fun," he said. "How about we bet on something, Malfoy?"
"What are we betting on?" Draco laughed. "You're just a terrible player who lost 2-16 in the Wizard Chess Tournament. Do you really think you can beat me? Let me tell you, Weasley, I'll make sure you never touch Wizard Chess again!"
"You really dare to bet with me?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"Of course I dare! Stop hesitating, Weasley!" Draco shouted.
Meanwhile, the first and second year Slytherin students also gathered around, wanting to see what had happened.
"How about this, Malfoy?" Ron's eyes lit up with an idea. "We'll make a bet—whoever loses has to shout in Potions Class, 'I love you, Old Bat!' How about that?"
Draco's face stiffened upon hearing Ron's bet.
He couldn't imagine how Professor Snape would react if he shouted those words in Potions Class.
"Draco, you're not scared, are you?" Slytherin classmate chimed in, adding fuel to the fire. "Good heavens, this is the lousy Weasley! Are you really afraid of him?"
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