Malfoy's Passive Talent, Knowledge, and Happiness

"Daphne, were you also in the library this morning?"

Lucien's sudden question caught Daphne off guard, and she could not help remembering the embarrassing experience of being thrown out by Madam Pince.

So Daphne absolutely could not admit it. If she did, wouldn't that be letting Lucien know that the embarrassing person had been her?

"Ahem, no. Absolutely not."

"I woke up feeling unwell this morning, went to the Hospital Wing to get some medicine and treatment, then went back to the Slytherin common room and stayed there."

Daphne deliberately clenched her fist and coughed lightly a few times, as if to show that she was still ill.

Actually, what she said was not wrong. Daphne really had been sick this morning, and she really had gone to the Hospital Wing.

But Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing had been so brilliant at healing that she had more or less cured Daphne in no time.

Yet Daphne felt that since she had already had her roommate help her ask for sick leave, there was no need to rush off to class, right?

So, with nothing to do, she had wandered over to the library, and that was how she had happened to run into Lucien.

A student finally managed to get sick leave—if she did not take the chance to slack off a little, how could that be justified?

Lucien, however, looked at Daphne suspiciously.

It was not a question of whether he was willing to believe her or not. The main thing was that the little girl's face had gone this red; surely it could not be a relapse of an old illness? Besides, hadn't she seemed perfectly energetic in Transfiguration just now?

Tap, tap, tap—

Malfoy finally caught up, leaning on his cane.

"Grafton, I—"

Malfoy had been about to speak to Lucien, but when he saw that the young lady of the Greengrass family was there too, he shut his mouth.

But once Daphne saw clearly who had arrived, her eyes lit up. A witness had delivered himself right to her door.

"Malfoy, tell him. Didn't I take sick leave from Flying Class this morning and not go?"

"Ah, oh, right. Your roommate asked for leave for you."

Malfoy could not make head or tail of it under his bandages and had no idea why Daphne was suddenly asking this.

"Malfoy, when I went back to the Slytherin common room later, I happened to run into you. You remember, right?"

This question left Malfoy even more confused. He really wanted to say, Big sister, I went off all excited for Flying Class this morning. How would I have noticed you?

"I don't—"

Malfoy had only gotten out the word "don't" when Daphne gave him a subtle glare, as if her eyes were saying, Hurry up and nod!

For some reason, Malfoy suddenly remembered his father's teaching: do not oppose people stronger than yourself.

Unlike certain families that had to bend over backward to survive, the Greengrass family was powerful and had a firm grasp on both money and influence. For example, the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation had always been controlled by the Greengrasses.

Passive talent: Wind-Swaying, activate!

Malfoy nodded.

"That's right. I saw you when I was heading out. I hope you recover soon, Daphne."

Lucien felt that the scene before him was extremely bizarre.

A person with bandages wrapped around his head and plaster on his leg was wishing a "rosy-cheeked" person a speedy recovery?

Slytherin people really were magical. These pure-blood nobles really were strange.

If he interacted with them too much, would he become strange too?

"It's been lovely chatting with you, but Professor McGonagall still needs me for something, so I'll be going now."

Inside Professor McGonagall's office.

After Professor McGonagall led Lucien through the door, he briefly looked around.

The bookshelves along one wall were crammed full of books, most of them related to Transfiguration. There were both advanced spellbooks and research papers by wizards.

On the shelves along the other wall were many small objects: delicate metal crafts, complex mechanical devices, ores of various colors...

Lucien guessed that these were probably aids for practicing Transfiguration, meant to broaden the applications of Transfiguration by analyzing the properties of matter.

Tsk, tsk. The term had only started a few days ago, and how many professors' offices had he already visited?

A check-in enthusiast would be overjoyed.

"How is it, Lucien? Have you settled in since coming to Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall was no longer as stern as she was in class, and instead asked in quite a gentle tone.

Lucien replied with a sincere smile.

"Thank you for your concern. I think Hogwarts is wonderful. There's magic here, and so much knowledge I've never encountered before."

"My classmates are friendly, the teachers are learned, and I feel like I can learn something new every day."

Hearing Lucien sound so happy, Professor McGonagall nodded in relief.

"Heh, that's good. I originally thought you might not be very used to it, suddenly entering an unfamiliar magical world."

"Have you had any questions about Transfiguration lately?"

Lucien thought it over. There were far too many, honestly—but as for his most immediate goal...

He should first prepare for the Transfiguration Pocket Watch loan and study semi-permanent fixed Transfiguration.

Mm, he had no classes after this anyway. He would find somewhere to test the effects of that pocket watch.

He would go to Hagrid's place and check on his cabbages while he was at it.

"Professor, I'm very interested in semi-permanent fixed Transfiguration, but I don't know where to start."

Professor McGonagall beckoned with her hand.

Several books and a paper flew down from that row of shelves.

Lucien quickly glanced over the books in front of him. They all involved fixed Transfiguration.

But the authors named on that paper were rather interesting:

Albus Dumbledore & Nicolas Flamel

That surprised Lucien a little. It was actually a paper coauthored by Dumbledore and the creator of the Sorcerer's Stone.

It seemed this paper would not only involve Transfiguration, but Alchemy as well.

Lucien wondered if this paper might even be a by-product of developing the Sorcerer's Stone.

"Professor, Nicolas Flamel should be that legendary alchemist who created the Sorcerer's Stone, right? Then this paper...?"

"That's right, that legend himself. This paper focuses on fixed Transfiguration within Transfiguration, with alchemical knowledge and techniques used to assist and perfect it."

Hearing Professor McGonagall's explanation, Lucien grew a little excited. He had been worried precisely because he had no reference materials on Alchemy.

At Hogwarts, Alchemy was an elective only available to senior students.

There were very few books about alchemy in the library, either. Lucien suspected some might be hidden in the Restricted Section, and not being able to read them for now left him unbearably tempted.

"Of course, Professor. I'll study it carefully."

The two chatted for a while longer. When Lucien was about to rise and take his leave, Professor McGonagall suddenly smiled with a teasing look and said:

"Lucien, studying hard is certainly a good thing."

"But you can also relax with your classmates now and then. For instance, take a walk by the Black Lake?"

Lucien felt a little awkward. So Professor McGonagall had heard.

Actually, he did go out to have fun—taking walks and such. It was just that he took his walks in the Forbidden Forest.

"Lucien, you'll be staying at Hogwarts for seven years. You won't only study here; you'll grow here as well."

"I hope every young wizard can gain both knowledge and happiness at this school."