Lamb Skewer Freedom
Albus Dumbledore and the heads of the houses initially planned to hold only one session per month.
Several college deans initially opposed the idea and had no intention of opening it.
In their view, the younger students hadn't even mastered the basic theories.
Frequently engaging in real combat duels is putting the cart before the horse; it will only distract students and make them playful, resulting in more harm than good.
Only Ross insisted that the Duelling Club was not just about practical training, but also a way to help these energetic young wizards release their excess energy.
This statement directly hit Professor McGonagall's sore spot.
Only Albus Dumbledore could keep these troublemakers in check; dealing with the energetic, unruly children in the yard was already giving McGonagall a major headache.
Ultimately, she was the first to relent and tacitly agreed to the current course arrangement.
At the dining table, Daphne elegantly wiped her mouth, finished the last piece of cod, and turned to look at Tom beside her.
Tom, what are you planning to do today?
"Doing absolutely nothing, just lazing around." Tom slumped in his chair, looking utterly lazy.
"Going to the Black Lake to sunbathe and clear my mind, I've been so busy this semester that I haven't had a moment to spare, like a perpetual motion top."
"Others spin the paper after they've already drawn it, but I spin it myself, so I need to take a break."
"Yay! I'll go with you!" Daphne's eyes lit up, and she nodded frantically.
"I asked my House-elf to prepare some desserts in advance, so we can eat them while we sunbathe!"
Astoria watched her sister silently, inwardly ranting and raving.
Still eating? If you keep piling on these desserts, you'll turn into a little fat cat sooner or later.
But she was very careful; she only dared to think these words in her heart and didn't dare to utter a single word.
If you dare to make such a sarcastic comment, you'll definitely be the one getting your face rubbed in the next second.
Oh well, gaining weight won't hurt me anyway, as long as my sister is happy.
The two also forcibly dragged Hermione away, who had originally planned to spend the whole day in the library.
The three of them walked out of the castle together and came to the open lawn by the Black Lake.
As the temperature drops in autumn, a cool breeze blows through Hogwarts.
Tom casually raised an invisible windbreak and summoned several wisps of floating, warm blue flames.
The warm and cozy atmosphere perfectly sets the stage for a relaxed and leisurely lifestyle.
Astoria curled up obediently beside him, and soon became sleepy and fell into a deep sleep.
Hermione and Daphne chatted in hushed tones, their conversation revolving entirely around last night's Duelling Club.
Hermione last night was undoubtedly the biggest dark horse of the night, crushing a host of Gryffindor girls with a winning streak.
In the end, it was only through the intervention of the fifth- Prefect that her winning streak was barely broken.
But Hermione had no desire to show off; she was only filled with silence and frustration.
"I really don't understand their logic," Hermione said, her face contorted with frustration.
"Instead of reflecting on their own spellcasting problems after losing due to inferior skill, they blame me for being too strong, as if I did something wrong by playing seriously and winning the match."
"In their eyes, younger students should obediently admit defeat and be at the bottom. If I win, it means I don't know the rules."
"This morning, everyone gave me the silent treatment, treating me like I wasn't there."
"This is just naked jealousy," Daphne said, cutting to the chase.
"My mother always said that Gryffindor are the type to envy those who have and laugh at those who don't."
"They have an insatiable sense of superiority and always feel like they are the chosen ones. Once someone is more outstanding or works harder than them, their mentality becomes unbalanced."
Hermione nodded vigorously in agreement.
She used to be enthusiastic about helping her classmates correct mistakes and fill in knowledge gaps, but instead of gratitude, she received angry complaints in return.
Even Ron often got angry because of her outspokenness.
It's ridiculous, but Ron apologized afterwards, which makes him seem like a normal person in Gryffindor compared to the others.
At that moment, Hermione truly regretted her actions.
When the Sorting Hat gave her the choice, she felt that Albus Dumbledore came from Gryffindor.
I was convinced this was the best college and resolutely chose it. Now it seems that I was just naive and made a huge mistake.
Unfortunately, there's no going back now; it's too late to regret it.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these upsetting things anymore," Hermione sighed softly.
"I don't care to be friends with them, I just feel speechless and exhausted."
"Don't think about unhappy things," Daphne immediately offered a dessert, thoughtfully changing the subject.
"Try this, it's a Basque cake that Parla just bought from Diagon Alley, it's super delicious!"
Tom lay on the lawn, looking up at the sky, seemingly idling and letting his mind wander, but his thoughts were already racing.
His recent research has hit a bottleneck one after another.
The research assistance provided by the Centaur groups with whom we had previously collaborated has become increasingly limited.
Some alchemical materials have been successfully improved, but there has been no breakthrough in the remaining core materials.
After all, Centaur specialize in astrology and Prophecy, and do not dabble in alchemy.
Many technical skills were completely outside their area of expertise, and they had to learn everything from scratch through trial and error.
Tom knew he couldn't let them work for free, and he was even more afraid that Firenze and Magorian would become dissatisfied and secretly cause trouble.
So he made a big bet, promising that if the Centaur tribe faced a survival crisis, he would have Usachi personally protect them.
At first, the Centaur tribe didn't care. Now that the Forbidden Forest's ecology is stable and Tom isn't causing trouble, that's the best outcome for them.
But Tom's second condition directly hit Magorian's weak spot.
He promised to help the herd introduce eligible Centaur to solve the critical problem of a severe gender imbalance in the new generation.
The single rate among the Centaur is now extremely high, and a large number of them are destined to grow old alone.
Unfulfilled primal desires have led to constant internal conflicts and severe internal strife within the community.
This promise hit the nail on the head, and Magorian couldn't resist the temptation.
For the sake of the tribe's survival, the aloof Centaur elder completely humbled himself, transforming into a diligent worker, and leading his people to fully cooperate with Tom's research.
With the manpower issue resolved, the problem of raw material shortages remains thorny.
Tom has thoroughly researched the properties of the Whomping Willow, and it can completely replace many rare alchemical materials, making it extremely cost-effective.
But there's only one tree in the entire Hogwarts, and the resources he can exploit are pitifully scarce, far from enough for his meddling.
To mass-produce finished alchemical products, new * Whomping Willow seedlings must be transplanted.
Furthermore, Aberforth has also been completely out of contact.
Tom strongly suspected that the old man had absconded with his advance payment and was planning to run away, while also ripping off Albus Dumbledore?
Every time I send a message to inquire about the progress, I always get only a perfunctory reply like, "It'll be soon, just wait a little longer."
Tom has calculated it all; he'll be patient until the end of the month.
If there's still no sign of anything happening after a month, he'll slaughter all of Aberforth's goats and barbecue them on the spot to make lamb skewers freely.
Tom completely relaxed over the weekend, spending Saturday relaxing and catching up on sleep, and Sunday morning walking his pet.