As Clever as I Am

As Clever as I Am

Once the lid was removed, the baseboard was revealed.

Lines were printed on the baseboard, forming a Chinese chessboard. A pile of stone figures lay atop it: soldiers holding spears, the pawns and soldiers; cannons with round muzzles and two large wheels; advisors standing beside the generals, broadswords at their waists; powerful, magnificent horses; chariots that conquered cities and territory...

As expected of Chinese chess. Just looking at these statues gave one the feeling of a battlefield.

Wizard Chess was one of the most popular strategy games in the wizarding world. From eighty-year-old wizards to eight-year-old brats, students could be seen playing Wizard Chess almost anywhere in Hogwarts—the Great Hall, the library, the common rooms—at any time.

When Harry was bored, he had played Wizard Chess with Seamus and Neville a few times, but it always felt uncomfortable. Perhaps it was due to the cultural differences between East and West.

He had only thought of it by chance: creating a magical chess set based on Chinese chess. Of course, not the flat kind with words printed on it, but one like the set before him.

Looking at the lifelike stone figures, Harry was satisfied beyond measure.

Harry smiled. "Very good. Better than I imagined."

Hagrid burst into laughter when he heard that.

For simple-minded Hagrid, being praised by others was an incredibly happy thing.

"Well then, Hagrid, we'll be going." Harry closed the box, picked it up, and prepared to return to school.

"Goodbye, Hagrid." Hermione waved as she bid Hagrid farewell as well.

"Goodbye, Harry. Don't forget to come see me often."

"Got it."

Harry was about to walk out the door when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, right, Hagrid. Do you know a lot about magical creatures?"

"What is it, Harry?" Hagrid stuffed the last cake into his mouth.

"I saw a strange creature in the library. I went through every book on magical creatures, but I still couldn't find any information on it, so I wanted to ask whether you knew about it," Harry said.

Hagrid instantly stiffened, his eyes lighting up.

Magical creatures were his dream, his hobby. What he loved most was learning about and coming into contact with all kinds of strange creatures. The moment he heard Harry mention a creature with no records whatsoever, his adrenaline surged.

He asked eagerly, "What kind of creature is it?"

Hermione felt that Harry was not telling the truth. If such a creature existed, he would definitely have dragged her along to search through books, and she had not seen Harry constantly running toward the library at any point.

Hermione truly could not guess what Harry meant. Just as she was about to ask what exactly he was talking about, Harry suddenly tugged her hand and winked at her.

This...

Harry glanced at Hagrid, showing a hint of disbelief. "Forget it. I guess even you definitely wouldn't know. If I told you, it would only leave you unable to eat or sleep properly. I'd be a terrible sinner then."

As he spoke, Harry pretended to leave.

Hagrid was left itching with curiosity by Harry's words. He was far too curious about the creature Harry had mentioned and hurriedly said, "Impossible! There isn't a magical creature I don't know!"

"Really? What if you don't know it?" Harry's fox tail showed itself.

Hagrid did not notice anything amiss. He said confidently, "If I haven't seen the creature you describe, I'll give you a precious pet."

"Forget the pet. If you don't know, then promise me... hmm... what should I make you promise?" Harry looked Hagrid up and down.

Hagrid felt his scalp tingle under Harry's gaze.

"I've got it. Promise me you'll take a bath."

Hagrid and Hermione were both stunned. What kind of request was that? Yet Hagrid immediately wore a troubled expression. A bath? Wasn't that far too troublesome?

"Fine. Tell me what creature it is first." In the end, curiosity overcame everything else.

Then Harry gave him a riddle that even the Muggle world knew. "Ahem. In a magic book I read, there was a creature described like this: when it is born, it has four legs; when it grows up, it has two legs; and when it grows old, it has three legs."

Harry looked at Hagrid with an eager gaze. "Well? Do you know it?"

Hagrid thought deeply, raising his head one moment and lowering it the next. After humming and hawing for a long while, he scratched his head awkwardly. "I really don't know this one."

If you were going to act, you had to see it through.

Harry looked disappointed. "See? You don't know either. Don't forget what you promised about taking a bath."

Hagrid was thinking about how to ask Harry not to make him bathe, but when he saw the disappointment in Harry's eyes, he could not bring himself to say it.

Hagrid swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "All right."

Success! Harry excitedly flashed a V sign in his heart. Convincing Hagrid to take a bath really was not easy.

Good thing I'm exceptionally intelligent!

"Then we'll be off." Harry beamed.

"If you find out the answer, you have to tell me, all right?" Hagrid said. The question clearly bothered him greatly.

"Got it. Bye-bye."

Hermione curled her lips upward as she looked at Harry.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Hermione smiled. "What do you think? You went to so much trouble just to make Hagrid take a bath. At first, I thought you wanted Hagrid to give you a Dragon Egg."

Harry said helplessly, "Without this method, do you think Hagrid would agree to take a bath? If you knew how long it had been since Hagrid last bathed... No, I feel itchy all over just thinking about it..."

"But... maybe after a while, some idiot really will give Hagrid a Dragon Egg." Harry leaned close to Hermione's ear and whispered.

Mentioning a Dragon Egg reminded Harry of something. Someone had traded a Dragon Egg for information on how to subdue the Three-Headed Dog on the fourth floor.

Originally, Malfoy had challenged Harry, leading Harry, Ron, and Hermione to discover the Three-Headed Dog and the Philosopher's Stone it was guarding, which then set off everything that followed.

But today, there had been no grand midair duel between Harry and Malfoy, so Malfoy naturally would not challenge Harry.

It seemed he would have to take the initiative himself!!

"What did you say? Someone is going to give Hagrid a Dragon Egg? How is that possible? Dragon Eggs are so precious—you know that," Hermione said, startled by Harry's words.

"We'll find out soon enough, and..." Harry did not finish what came after that, because an idea had suddenly occurred to him. But it was only an idea for now.

If he truly wanted to make it happen, Harry would have to consider whether it was actually feasible. But without a doubt, it was crazy.

"Come on, let's hurry back to school. I can't wait to try out this wizard chess set." Harry shook the box in his hand.

Hermione said embarrassedly, "But I don't know how to play."

"It's fine. I'll teach you. It's very simple," Harry said.

Hermione's smile returned. "Mm!"

At that moment, neither Harry nor Hermione knew that someone who could truly play Wizard Chess with Harry was about to appear. (Luo Bei: Hahaha, everything is under my control! Harry: Hello, emergency services? There's a mental patient here. It looks like he's having an episode. Hurry over. Luo Bei: (⊙o⊙)...)

Luo Bei: This chapter is rather important, because starting from this chapter, the most important part of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is about to appear.

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