"Professor, I'd like to borrow some books from the library," Xiwen said.
"What books do you want to borrow?" Professor Slughorn gave him a suspicious look. "At your age, you shouldn't be reading those dangerous books in the Restricted Section."
"I'm somewhat interested in alchemy and want to learn more about it," Xiwen said. He had been craving a Sling Ring for ages. Since this world did not have one, he would just make one himself!
"I advise you to... Oh, alchemy? Then there's no problem! You don't need to use this reward for that. Just tell me, and I'll sign the slip for you." Hearing that it was not about Dark Arts books, Professor Slughorn breathed a sigh of relief and spoke generously.
There were countless young Slytherin wizards curious about the Dark Arts, and most of them came from prominent families. To avoid offending them, Professor Slughorn usually found it difficult to refuse such students.
So when Xiwen mentioned borrowing books, his first instinct was that another Slytherin student wanted to dabble in the Dark Arts. Besides, Xiwen had only been at Hogwarts for a week and was just eleven years old. At that age, he absolutely should not be exposed to something as mind-corrupting as the Dark Arts.
He had been about to warn Xiwen about the dangers of the Dark Arts when Xiwen said he wanted books on alchemy instead. That made Professor Slughorn immensely pleased.
"Hogwarts once offered courses related to alchemy, but because of how difficult it is to get started and how rare alchemists are, alchemy classes never achieved much. Eventually, it became difficult even to hire a professor for the subject, so the course had to be cut..." Professor Slughorn gave Xiwen a detailed introduction to alchemy, making his scalp tingle.
"Is