Little Hall's Class Begins

Saturday was truly a day that lifted the spirits. Today, Hall's little class finally began.

Mornings were always relaxing, and an empty classroom at Hogwarts was filled with a harmonious atmosphere.

"Harry, can you read?"

Eli pointed at the textbook, and Harry's expression darkened slightly.

"The third instruction on this page tells you to add knotgrass juice. Did you do it?"

"No."

"Then why not? Did you think your method was better than the one in the book?"

"Oh, look at this, Ron. If you hadn't told me, I would've thought this cauldron was filled with troll dung."

For some reason, Eli seemed to have awakened an incredible talent the first time he taught anyone.

Early in the morning, he was practically possessed by Snape, his mouth fouler than a toilet.

Harry and Ron's faces turned frighteningly dark. They had thought that after leaving the old bat behind, they would have to hear less abuse.

They hadn't expected Eli to be no less ruthless.

But Eli, as the person involved, thought this felt absolutely fantastic!

He now truly understood the pleasure Snape got from tearing people apart in class.

He wondered who he had inherited this talent from.

His biological father?

No, that wasn't right. James Potter had mainly loved playing pranks and tormenting people when he was young. He had been rotten to the core.

His biological mother? Absolutely impossible!

If Snape knew what Eli was thinking, he would throw an Avada Kedavra at him without hesitation.

Could it be...

Pfft, pfft, pfft! His thoughts had gone astray again.

Snape's greasy long hair appeared in Eli's mind, and he shook his head in horror. Not alike at all!

After driving those strange thoughts from his mind, Eli turned around and resumed his merciless barrage against Harry and Ron.

Only the little witch beside them was spared Eli's poison.

But honestly, Hermione really gave him nothing to criticize.

She had memorized the entire textbook before school even began. It was downright insane.

Eli had also watched Hermione brew potions. Although she could not be said to have any insights of her own, at the very least, she followed the textbook without the slightest deviation.

Harry and Ron probably could not reach that level even if they rode a broomstick.

After all, those two could still make mistakes even when following the book step by step.

"Oh, my God, you definitely forgot the porcupine quills, didn't you? I wasn't wrong, was I?!"

Eli's roar came from nearby again.

The little witch, who was diligently brewing her potion, helplessly shook her head.

"Uh... yes."

Ron looked timid and submissive.

Meanwhile, the thick-skinned Harry was still snickering beside him.

"Harry, you have the nerve to laugh? I guarantee you don't even know what porcupine quills are!"

After being blasted again, Harry lowered his head sheepishly and stirred his potion with exaggerated seriousness.

Ron seemed to have completely broken down. He let go of everything and plopped down onto the floor.

With a miserable face, he said, "Eli, I think I want to give up. Potions and I just don't get along at all!"

"Yeah, no matter how hard I try, I feel like I can't compare to talented people like you."

Harry's little face fell as he echoed Ron. He had already lost all hope in Potions.

He could practically see the old bat grinning wickedly and beckoning him over.

"Are all talented people this sharp-tongued? For a moment, I thought I was in Snape's class!"

Ron looked at Eli resentfully. He had taken the worst of the verbal beating.

In the span of a single morning, these two first-year wizards had learned nearly every curse word they had never heard in their entire lives.

"I'd say you two simply have no interest in this subject at all!"

Hermione, who had barely spoken until now, suddenly declared righteously.

Ron shot her a glance. He had disliked Hermione from the start. Perhaps this was the traditional feud between poor students and top students.

"Yes, yes, our problem. Miss Know-It-All is interested in almost every subject."

Snape had given her that nickname in class because Hermione was so enthusiastic about raising her hand to answer every question.

"You!"

Naturally, Hermione did not like that nickname. When Ron brought it up mockingly, her face immediately flushed red.

"Alright, alright."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Eli hurriedly spoke up to stop them.

He then looked at them helplessly. The two of them seemed to be naturally incompatible.

Looking at the somewhat exhausted Harry and Ron, Eli knew that too much was as bad as too little.

"Let's stop here for today. We'll continue next week."

Harry and Ron looked utterly relieved when they heard that.

Watching the two of them act like salted fish, Eli let out a long sigh.

They probably had no idea what dangers they would face in the future. They did not have the slightest desire to grow stronger.

Perhaps they did, but it definitely could not compare to their desire to loaf around.

"Learning has to be done gradually. There's no such thing as talent deciding everything. The more you learn, the more you'll naturally understand."

Eli spoke earnestly.

"But we never see you studying, yet you're still better than us."

Eli looked at Ron and sighed. He was still too young.

"You just didn't see it! Before school started, I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a whole month and studied desperately every day."

Harry and Ron looked at Eli as if they had seen a ghost.

Even Hermione could not help glancing sideways at him.

This guy was even more ruthless than me.

Seeing that even Hermione was surprised, Eli could not help feeling smug.

Being able to show off in front of this academic powerhouse was truly no easy feat.

"So, there's an old saying in the East: where there's a will, there's a way. Nothing in this world is difficult..."

Before Eli could finish reciting it with a sway of his head, a voice that sent chills down his spine suddenly came from behind him.

"Indeed, that mysterious Eastern country has its own unique strengths in civilization."

"Professor Dumbledore!"

Harry and Ron hurriedly scrambled to their feet, and even the little witch Hermione stood a little straighter.

Eli suddenly felt his entire body stiffen.

Oh, no!

Why had Dumbledore suddenly come here? He had been trying to avoid him these days.

With Dumbledore's wisdom, it was only a matter of time before he discovered Eli's identity.

With Dumbledore's deep schemes and cunning calculations, he would definitely drag Eli into his plans to fight Voldemort.

When that happened, Dumbledore would probably lead him around by the nose.

He was only talented, after all. Even as someone reborn, the total years from both his lives still did not add up to how long Dumbledore had lived.

A thousand-year-old turtle, a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise.

The older a person got, the shrewder he became.

Eli turned around. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore!"

He bowed slightly. Did you think he was lowering his head before a powerful figure?

He was merely avoiding eye contact with Dumbledore!

Dumbledore was a master of Legilimency. As long as they made eye contact, he could peer into Eli's thoughts.

Dumbledore smiled and waved a hand. "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I was merely taking a walk and didn't expect to find a little class here. I must say, Mr. Hall's Potions lesson is quite excellent!"

What?!

Just how long had he been listening? He hadn't heard all the curse words, had he?!

"Youth is wonderful, and friendship is wonderful! Seeing you learn from one another makes me very happy. Five points each to Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

He looked at Eli again, his gaze impossible to read. "And for an excellent little teacher, another five points to Slytherin!"

Huh? What was going on?

Even if he tried to buy Eli off with points, Eli would not surrender!

"It seems I have interrupted you. I'll be going now."

Before any of them could react, Dumbledore turned to leave.

Just as Eli was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Dumbledore suddenly turned back. "However, Mr. Hall would do best not to learn other people's bad habits, even if that person is his professor."

Dumbledore gave Eli a sly wink and left the classroom.

Leaving Eli chilled to the bone.