Racing Against Time
"Verda Sparkle?" Weasley asked.
"That's right, it was the Verda Sparkle." Xiwen nodded with a smile and said, "It's probably because I like to add an interjection when I chant the incantation that the students misunderstood."
"So the spell you just recited was 'Ah, Verda' instead of 'Avada'?" Abraxas asked, nudging Sivan's arm with a blank Xiwen.
"Yes!" Xiwen nodded matter-of-factly and said to him, "I've told you all that Professor Lore's teachings are very useful, but you wouldn't listen. Now do you regret it?"
"But I don't think Professor Lore taught you to use the Spark Charm like that..." Mobley felt his worldview shattered, and he might never be able to look at the Killing Curse way again.
He silently imagined what it would be like to see a terrifying dark wizard raise his wand to unleash that dreaded Unforgivable Curses. He suddenly thought of the scene where Xiwen used the Verda Sparkle to frighten the young Gryffindor wizards...
"Pfft!" Mobley couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha--" Abu heard Mobley's laughter and was instantly infected, and he also burst into laughter.
Looking at their performance and then at the bewildered expressions on the faces of the young Gryffindor wizards, Weasley felt an urge to burst out laughing.
But he held back. With a very strange expression, he untied the four Gryffindor boys from their bonds, then said to the three boys from the Great Hall Xiwen the four boys from Moody's group, "Given your unauthorized fighting in the Great Hall, Gryffindor and Slytherin will each lose five points!"
Weasley then hurriedly left the crime scene and walked out of the Great Hall.
After he left, Xiwen and the others could clearly hear Weasley's loud laughter coming from the Entrance Courtyard...
After Weasley left, only seven first-year wizards remained in the Great Hall.
Moody's three roommates looked rather grim, but out of fear of Xiwen, they dared not cause any more trouble. They turned their faces away and hurriedly fled the Great Hall.
Moody, however, looked at Xiwen with a complicated expression, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
He then walked in the direction his three roommates had left, but as he passed Xiwen, he said "thank you" in a very low and stiff voice.
Xiwen chuckled softly and shook his head.
'Looks like Moody isn't stupid after all; playing the villain wasn't for nothing this time!' Xiwen thought with a touch of smugness. 'Hopefully, they'll be united against the same enemy again in the future.'
"Xiwen, why did Moody thank you?" Abu asked, puzzled, having also heard Moody's thanks.
"Ha, is he out of his mind? You beat him up and he's thanking you?" Mobley mocked mercilessly.
Xiwen looked at his two unsuspecting roommates and laughed heartily.
"Who knows? Maybe he really has some mental issues!"
A minute later, Xiwen's cheerful mood vanished.
The three of them Xiwen, were sitting at the long table in Slytherin. As usual, they tapped their plates and waited for the food to appear on their own.
However, nothing happened on the plate.
Unconvinced, Mobley banged on all the plates, bowls, and cups around him, but nothing changed.
"Mobley, stop knocking." Xiwen took out his pocket watch, saw that the minute hand had already passed the Roman numeral "six (VI)," and sighed. "Lunch service time has passed."
It turned out that they arrived at the Great Hall quite late, close to the kitchen's deadline for serving lunch. However, Xiwen, on a whim, interfered, causing them to completely miss lunch.
Abu and Mobley were stunned, and asked in horror, "So we're going to have to go hungry for our afternoon Herbology and History of Magic?"
Thinking of the targeted approach of the Herbology professor and the tediousness of the History of Magic, Xiwen swallowed hard.
"Looks like it's time to race against time!" He took a deep breath and said to his two roommates. "There are still twenty-seven minutes until Herbology. If we're fast enough, we should be able to run to the kitchen in three minutes, eat in five minutes, and then run to Greenhouse One in fifteen minutes. We'll have plenty of time!"
Then, Xiwen led Abu and Mobley to the kitchen on the basement level, scratched the pear on the portrait, and as soon as it turned into a doorknob, immediately pulled open the kitchen door, shouting impatiently, "Budi, we need you!"
The enthusiastic House-Elf Budi quickly prepared a convenient sandwich for each of the three young wizards, including Xiwen.
After quickly swallowing their sandwiches with milk, the three of them rushed out of the kitchen and hurried to Greenhouse One.
However, Xiwen ultimately overestimated Abu and Mobley's stamina. They were so Shang-Chi their breath and leaned against the wall, refusing to continue running.
"I... I can't go on, you can run if you want..." Abu said, panting heavily and resigned to his fate.
"Me too, my stomach hurts so much!" Mobley said, leaning against the wall and clutching his stomach.
"Alright, it's really a bit much to ask you two pampered young masters to do strenuous exercise after dinner..." Xiwen sighed helplessly.
He took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, silently calculated the time, and felt that they probably still had enough time. So he said, "How about this, we'll walk there. You can catch your breath as you walk, okay?"
Abu and Mobley then nodded in agreement and reluctantly left the wall they were leaning against.
Finally, the three arrived at Greenhouse One just as the school bell rang...
Professor Isad gave the three young wizards who had arrived on time for class a disapproving look, and then spotted an old acquaintance of his— Xiwen.
"What a coincidence, gentlemen!" she said with ill intent. "You've condescended to come to class so late; you must be very confident in your abilities?"
"So, does anyone want to tell us what to do if we encounter those plants in the wild?" she asked, pointing to a low-lying green plant with large yellow thorns in a flowerpot in the distance. Although she seemed to be asking to choose one of the three Xiwen to answer the question, her gaze was fixed on Xiwen's face.
"This brown-haired gentleman seems quite confident. Why don't you answer?" Professor Isad said.
Xiwen pursed his lips, not quite understanding why Professor Isad, who clearly already knew his name, preferred to refer to himself as "the brown-haired gentleman."
However, since I've already been asked the question, I can't not answer it, otherwise the professor might nag me for the entire class...
"These are Thorn Bush that will shoot these spikes at any human who gets close, but they can be destroyed with Fire-Making Spell," Xiwen replied. "However, it's best to try to get rid of them from a distance. Because when the plant is attacked, the spikes retaliate, and anyone nearby will have a hard time avoiding being hit."
Professor Isad pursed his lips, seemingly unable to find fault, and then gently waved for them to return to their respective positions.
"Why didn't you write these down?!" she said fiercely to the other young wizards.