Miss Otter, The Outcast (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Reads)

Professor McGonagall's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

To see someone use the hat like that for the first time, and it was the Sorting Hat—an ancient relic that had witnessed the entire history of Hogwarts.

She forced herself to act as if she hadn't seen it, took Harry's wand, and then raised her own, tapping them together: "Priori Incantatem!"

Magic surged from the tip of Harry's wand, striking a book on the table and causing it to levitate.

Professor McGonagall was taken aback.

This was the magic of a Levitation Charm; had he used a Levitation Charm to clean up the battlefield after the fight?

She increased her magical output, and the point where the wands met began to emit a bright luster.

This was the Lumos charm.

Professor McGonagall frowned.

This... this wasn't right.

How could a fight possibly require a Lumos charm?

Priori Incantatem could investigate the spells previously cast by a wand, but... what kind of chaotic mess was this? Even if it wasn't the Imperius Curse, it should have been that Charm of Bewitchment Harry had mentioned.

"Is this reviewing the spells I've used before?" Harry realized why Professor McGonagall had asked for his wand—when a Witcher was under investigation, their weapons were always confiscated first; he assumed it was the same here.

Professor McGonagall's expression was stern: "Yes, Mr. Potter, I think you should explain?"

"I don't need a wand for that little spell." Harry waved his hand, "If it's alright, may I demonstrate it for you, Professor?"

McGonagall returned the wand to Harry and, with a casual flick of her own, transformed a book on the table into a hamster: "Please, Mr. Potter."

Harry raised his hand and cast the Axii Sign.

The hamster stood up, looking dazed.

"Little guy, come and spin in a circle." Harry teased the hamster, which remained muddled and obedient.

Professor McGonagall leaned back, her gaze remaining serious; the effect of this spell was indeed very similar to the Imperius Curse.

"This should be a type of charm for bewitchment." Harry explained simply, "It works exceptionally well on creatures with little intelligence, but for highly intelligent beings, it's not as useful."

The lower the intelligence, the longer the duration of the stupor. Back during his dream trial—where he had to survive an entire night in a swamp—he had relied on this Sign to survive under the claws of a Drowner.

Professor McGonagall pondered for a long while before looking at Professor Hooch: "Mr. Potter, perhaps you could use it on me..."

She hadn't even finished her sentence.

"Axii!"

Harry immediately raised his hand—he had been wanting to try this for a long time.

The Sign worked very well on ordinary people; at least, that was certainly the case with his aunt's family.

But he wasn't sure how it would affect a witch or wizard.

Malfoy didn't count; he was just a first-year student—just as no one would mistake an apprentice for a Witcher.

Almost immediately, Professor McGonagall regained her senses. Harry frowned slightly; the effect was very weak. The magic within the professor began to resist instantly, dispelling the power of the Sign.

She shook her head, her expression relaxing completely, and explained to Professor Hooch at her side: "It's similar to a Confundus Charm."

Professor Hooch also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Confundus Charm?" Harry was stunned; this was beyond his current knowledge base.

Professor McGonagall waved her hand, restoring the hamster that was squeaking in Harry's hand to its original form: "A powerful, dangerous spell. You will encounter it when you reach your fifth year."

"Did you research this spell yourself?"

Harry nodded without speaking, his attitude serving as an admission.

"Inspired by that group repulsion spell of yours?" A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Professor McGonagall's eyes, "A very excellent spell; it managed to make me briefly lose my train of thought and even feel a bit of fondness for you."

"Using only gestures, it will be very useful in a duel. Filius will certainly love it."

"You call it the Charm of Bewitchment?"

"That is indeed a very appropriate name."

"Mr. Potter, you are truly excellent."

Harry straightened his expression and stood obediently—he understood that at times like this, the conversation always took a turn.

"However!" Sure enough, just as Harry had expected, Professor McGonagall continued, "An excellent spell cannot cover up the mistakes you've made, especially fighting with a Slytherin."

"Let me see..."

Professor McGonagall flicked her wand, and a class schedule flew before her: "Every Wednesday and Friday evening, come to my office for detention. One month."

"I understand, Professor." Harry nodded in acknowledgment.

Professor Hooch led Harry back to the Quidditch Pitch in a hurry, and the rest of the lesson proceeded without further incident.

Although a lot of time had been wasted, they finally managed to get some flight time in the air.

Harry loved the feeling. Setting aside the physical enhancements brought by being a Witcher, he could sense that he was naturally gifted at flying.

Flying lessons ended.

The ravenous young wizards surged toward the Great Hall.

"Harry, what happened when the professor called you over?" Hermione asked, deeply worried. "After you left, Malfoy kept going on about how you were going to be expelled. If I hadn't held Ron back, he would have nearly fought Malfoy again."

Ron scoffed, "You shouldn't have held me back..."

"No, Hermione did the right thing," Harry interrupted.

With someone backing him up, Hermione immediately felt justified.

"You wouldn't necessarily be able to beat Malfoy," Harry added as a reason.

Ron's eyes widened. "No, Harry, how can you say that? You saw it yourself—I beat Malfoy until his eyes were bruised."

"That was a sneak attack," Harry shook his head. "And he bruised his own eyes when he fell."

"He's physically stronger than you, and he's more proficient with spells. Of course, the main thing is the wand..."

Hermione cut off their discussion: "No, that's not the point!"

"Stop talking about fighting!"

"Harry, what punishment did Professor McGonagall give you?"

Harry waved a hand. "It's nothing of consequence. Just another twenty points deducted and a month of detention."

"Another twenty!" Hermione raised her voice. "That's forty points in total. We won't be able to earn that many back all month."

Ron said, "Don't worry, you'll definitely earn them back..."

"No, we won't!" Hermione emphasized. "And don't forget the points Professor Snape deducted."

Harry offered comfort: "Hermione, it is a good thing to value house points, but I suggest you don't obsess over it."

Hermione gritted her teeth: "If you could actually think that way, that would be truly wonderful!"

"But you don't!"

"If you had listened to my advice and not fought with the Slytherins, we wouldn't have had so many points taken away."

Harry sighed and said nothing more.

Ron curled his lip and followed behind Harry.

Hermione was still muttering, counting the points on her fingers.

It was only the beginning of the school year, and losing forty house points at once was an incredible figure—Gryffindor, which had been slightly in the lead thanks to Harry and Hermione, saw its gems bottom out instantly.

This shocked quite a few of the older students.

Professors were usually very cautious about adding or deducting points, typically doing so by one or two at a time. A five-point deduction was a treatment Harry usually only received in front of Snape.

They speculated whether the two troublemakers from the Weasley family had finally put their ideas into practice—blowing up a toilet in one of the bathrooms.

Or perhaps some senior student, under the pressure of the grade exams, hadn't been able to resist beating up Professor Quirrell—Defense Against the Dark Arts was a crucial metric; to get into Gringotts or the Ministry of Magic, one needed at least an "E," the second-highest grade.

It had been a long time since they'd had an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

By dinner, they learned it was neither.

It was that Harry, during flying lessons, had led Gryffindor in beating up Slytherin, which cost Harry forty points and a month of detention—the other young wizards hadn't received any punishment at all.

That night.

A grand party was held in the Gryffindor common room.

George and Fred swiped a pile of food from the kitchen and even managed to procure a few bottles of Butterbeer from somewhere.

"To our great Lion King!" George held his glass high, gesturing toward Harry. "Well deserved!"

Percy was displeased and tried to intervene: "No, George, Harry cannot drink alcohol. He is only eleven."

"I am George, my dear brother," Fred said, wrapping his arms around Percy's waist to hold him back. "Today is a day for celebration, don't worry about such things."

"Besides, Harry grew up in the Muggle world; he must have already had some."

Great Britain was the only country that allowed children to legally drink alcohol with their parents' supervision once they reached the age of five.

Harry took the glass and sipped it, enjoying the smooth, buttery texture and the refreshing crispness unique to the beer. "Not bad, though it would be better if there were a bottle of Vodka."

Witchers rarely drank, but he was not averse to alcohol.

George's eyes lit up: "Yes, if only there were Vodka."

"Wood, did you hear our Lion King's command?"

"In your dreams!" The tall Quidditch team captain stood up and spat at George. "There's class tomorrow, and I recall Harry has Potions."

George looked disappointed: "Oh, alright."

Hermione couldn't understand this at all. She looked blankly at the rowdy crowd—including Percy, the prefect she thought would be on her side. Instead of caring about the lost points, he was obsessed with Harry drinking less and forbidding Ron from drinking.

"But we lost forty points, and Harry has a month of detention," Hermione found Percy, looking deeply troubled. "Why is it like this?"

Fred leaned in, looking indifferent: "So what?"

"We beat Slytherin!"

George was a bit tipsy as he clamped Fred's head under his arm: "Under the leadership of the Lion King, it wasn't just a win, it was a sweep, an unstoppable force!"

Percy chuckled happily: "This is honor, an honor even greater than the House Cup."

Slytherin had monopolized the House Cup for seven years.

Gryffindor had always felt indignant—not because they were particularly covetous of the House Cup; in the thousand years since Hogwarts was founded, which house hadn't won it hundreds of times?

What they hated was being constantly suppressed by Slytherin.

Harry's arrival had given them hope for a counterattack, and Harry had not failed their expectations; it had only been a month!

The lion had pounced on the snake, and it was a total victory!

Hermione remained bewildered; this clashed violently with her short eleven years of life experience, and it also clashed with her schooling in the Muggle world.

When the next day arrived.

A more terrifying fact was discovered by Hermione—she seemed to have been isolated.

Originally, because of Harry, even though she was chatty, forbade copying homework, and tried to stir up a wave of academic competition, these "flaws" were all within the tolerance range of the little lions.

But that scene yesterday at the Quidditch Pitch.

Everyone was going at it hot and heavy with Slytherin, while she stood on the sidelines and even tried to persuade them not to fight.

She had chosen not to join the group, so naturally, the group did not welcome her.

Aside from Harry, only Ron could barely manage to say a few words to her.

Everyone, please show your support and leave plenty of comments~

When things get lively, I have more motivation to write! (hands on hips)

By the way, I have a question: how do people usually handle bonus chapters? Since I'm in the new book period and need to follow the recommendation schedule, it's not easy to add them. Is it okay to save them up?

Also, wow.

Please invest! Only 19 people have invested so far QAQ