Big Star

"Look, it's him!"

"Oh, Harry Potter! It really is him!"

"Did you see his scar?"

All along the way, whispers filled the air, and all sorts of gazes, some infatuated, some awestruck, were cast over, making Li Mu feel like his cheeks were being burned, frighteningly hot—even though he could at most be considered a bodyguard to a big star, a green leaf on the edge of a red flower.

The first Charms lesson didn't have any substantial content. Flitwick simply gave the first-year students from the four houses a brief introduction to the course arrangements and demonstrated a few basic spells.

And now, they were coming out of the Charms classroom, heading to their next class. Li Mu thoroughly understood what a celebrity effect was, what it meant to be "vulnerable to fame like a pig to fatness."

Perhaps it was because of Flitwick's excited scream that all the first-year students knew that was Harry Potter... even some upperclassmen who didn't have classes found out from somewhere and came specifically to see the novelty.

Of course, after all, it was Harry Potter... he was the savior, one of the most famous figures in modern magical history!

The Hogwarts students' current behavior was just like crazy fans chasing after a star. Standing by the corridor and pointing was just the gentlest expression. Students kept coming forward with notebooks, asking Harry Potter for autographs—there were even two bold and unrestrained upperclassmen who were preparing to hug Harry, scaring his face as pale as paper.

After a brief ideological struggle, Li Mu decided to show the results of his years of training once again. He pulled Harry and Ron, forcefully squeezed through the crowd, and ran away.

Just before, Hermione and Neville had wisely chosen to slip away silently. If the three of them didn't hurry, they would be late again.

In a moment of urgency, Li Mu's thin body burst out with great energy. With him pulling with both hands, Harry and Ron, although panting, quickly passed through the stairs and ran towards the classroom.

But their luck was obviously not very good.

As they were about to step on the last step, several balls of paper hit them on the head, and then they looked up and saw the person, or rather, the ghost, they least wanted to see at this time.

"Come on, come on~ Let's fight~! Raise your cannonballs and fight me!" Peeves sang a strange tune in a shrill voice, gesticulating wildly above them, dancing a strange dance, and holding paper balls in his hand, but obviously, he didn't intend to let the poor trio go.

Hermione was right, Peeves was very vengeful.

"Okay, Peeves, let's settle the score from last time!" Li Mu felt that he was also a very vengeful guy, the bruise from being hit by the cane just now... still hurt.

When enemies meet on a narrow road, the brave win. He decided to give Peeves a profound lesson.

While Peeves was making faces at them, Li Mu quickly took out a few yellow talismans from his pocket, with blood-red curse seals that Harry and Ron couldn't understand at all.

But Harry and Ron could understand Peeves' expression.

Peeves' face suddenly changed, revealing a fearful look that he only showed in front of the Bloody Baron. His body quickly floated backward. Just as Peeves was about to run away, Li Mu began to chant—

"Where do wandering souls exist? The sins of Fengdu are boundless. Now I invite the Five Paths Ghost General to bind the ghostly body and build the spirit."

Strangely enough, Peeves' flying speed suddenly slowed down, as if his whole body was frozen. And that obscure incantation finally reached the end.

"I respectfully obey Lord Lao's urgent order..." Li Mu shouted, "Ghost Binding!"

Four yellow talismans flew out of his hand and instantly stuck to Peeves' limbs. Then Peeves' short body was torn into a "big" shape and directly nailed to the ceiling, unable to move.

"Hehehe, scared now? You deserve it for fighting with this young master!" Li Mu stared at Peeves' pitiful expression above his head, triumphantly, and lifted his leg to leave.

"Careful!" Harry and Ron's voices came at the same time...

"Boom!"

Harry and Ron poked their heads out and looked down, only to see a cloud of smoke and dust.

Down the next flight of stairs came Li Mu's groans and curses, "Damn it! Where did that flight of stairs go? When did it fly away?... Ouch..."

Harry and Ron couldn't help but chuckle, and even Peeves, who was stuck to the ceiling, couldn't help but tremble all over, singing a self-composed song in a strange tune, "La la la, la la la~ Muscle man falls and becomes a little winter melon... Ugh ugh..."

The next second, his mouth was sealed by a flying piece of paper.

Unfortunately, the next class after Charms was Transfiguration. From her appearance, it was clear that Professor McGonagall was an extremely strict person. Li Mu knew even better that as the Head of Gryffindor House, she would only be doubly strict, even when dealing with students from her own house.

When they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, they were already about a minute late again. Being late for two classes in a row on the first day of school was probably rare in the entire history of Hogwarts.

But Harry felt lucky because Professor McGonagall hadn't arrived yet. Only a brown kitten was lazily lying on the desk, its cat eyes scanning the noisy students.

Harry patted his chest, "Phew! Professor McGonagall hasn't arrived yet, great!"

"What's that cat doing?" Ron asked.

At this moment, they were surprised to find that there were three empty seats in the front row. They hurriedly ran over happily, only to find that Hinata, Hermione, and Neville were sitting to the right of those three seats in order.

Hinata said softly with a blushing face, "Li Mu... I, I arrived first, so I saved... saved seats for you."

"Oh! Thank you, thank you so much!" Li Mu and the others thanked Hinata happily—although they couldn't figure out why Hinata, who was a Ravenclaw, would sit next to Hermione.

But wasn't Li Mu a Hufflepuff? Harry and Ron tacitly let Li Mu sit down first, next to Hinata.

Hinata's face turned even redder.

"That cat, maybe it's a prop for Transfiguration class?" Harry then returned to the discussion about the cat.

"But, don't you think its eyes are a little strange? Like... like..." Ron pondered for a word.

"Like Mrs. Norris?" Neville couldn't help but join the conversation. He started talking to Ron across Hermione, Hinata, and Li Mu.

"That's right, that's right!" Ron admired Neville's "wisdom" very much.

"Are all cats like Mrs. Norris?" Harry said with a smile, "That's not good."

"That's right, I heard that Fred and George have long wanted to catch Mrs. Norris and stew her into soup!" The round-faced little fatty seemed very bold at this time, and even made a rare joke, waving his fat fists in the sky.

Mrs. Norris was the loyal assistant of the caretaker Filch, and many students who violated the rules were caught with her help, so she was also notorious among the students. Even these freshmen on their first day of school hated and feared Mrs. Norris.

"Cats are also very vengeful. Stop talking, let's prepare for class seriously." Li Mu forcibly suppressed his laughter and reminded them.

"It's best to catch all the cats and stew them into soup!" Ron obviously didn't understand, "Then we can have cat soup every day."

So Neville's face turned pale.

In the exclamation of the whole class, no, the whole grade, the kitten on the desk jumped down and turned into Professor McGonagall in a moment. She stood in front of the podium and then said softly four names: "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom..."

She hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Well, and Li Mu!"

The four people petrified instantly...

(End of this chapter)