Hogsmeade in Peril

During the Christmas holidays, with no classes to attend, Eli spent each day either teaching Harry and the others magic or locking himself in the Room of Requirement to study Transfiguration and potions.

The books Mr. and Mrs. Hall had bought had arrived long ago, all highly authoritative anatomy texts.

Eli spent every day surrounded by page after page of anatomical diagrams.

Now, whenever he saw Harry and the others, anatomical illustrations involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

"Come on, flex your biceps."

Eli was guiding Harry through wand gestures for a spell.

"What?"

"Uh... sorry, I got sidetracked... raise your hand."

Eli rubbed his brow. He was probably getting a little too obsessed with studying.

But the results proved that this kind of learning greatly improved his Transfiguration.

The study report he submitted to Professor McGonagall included the anatomy he had recently learned.

"Eli, I have to say, this absolutely counts as an outstanding Transfiguration paper!"

Professor McGonagall wore her glasses as she looked over Eli's report, lavish in her praise, her face nearly blooming with delight.

Eli had rarely seen Professor McGonagall this excited.

The last time seemed to have been when Harry helped Gryffindor win a Quidditch match.

"It's all thanks to the book you gave me, Professor."

Eli wisely slipped in a bit of flattery. No compliment ever hurt anyone.

"Oh, Eli, you needn't be so modest. Even if I gave that book to someone else, they could never write a paper like this. This is your own achievement!"

Professor McGonagall had no intention of taking credit at all, and she did not stint on her praise for Eli.

Eli blushed. Were Wizards all this noble?

"The discussion of the connection between human anatomy and Transfiguration is simply brilliant. This is an excellent line of thought."

Professor McGonagall carefully put the paper away.

"Eli, I wonder whether you would be interested in publishing your article in a Transfiguration journal. I happen to be an academic adviser for Transfiguration Today."

Professor McGonagall looked deeply expectant, a rare expression for someone usually so restrained.

Professor McGonagall had published articles in that highly authoritative academic periodical when she was young.

She had even won the Most Promising Newcomer Award.

It was worth mentioning that Dumbledore had also successfully published several excellent articles while still a student, at least one of which involved cross-species Transfiguration.

It could be said that publishing in that journal during one's student years was an incredibly impressive accomplishment.

Not to mention that Eli was only a first-year student.

Eli did not hesitate. He did not want to disappoint Professor McGonagall, and he understood the feelings of such a respected scholar upon seeing an outstanding work, especially one written by her own student.

"It would be my honor, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall was overjoyed.

Eli felt immensely accomplished as well. How many people could receive such an honor?

Damn, I'm awesome. Better put my hands on my hips first.

After bidding Professor McGonagall farewell,

Eli had barely stepped out of the office before he nearly threw his head back and laughed.

Why only nearly?

Because just as he was about to laugh, Harry suddenly appeared.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Startled before he could laugh, Eli coughed so hard his eyes rolled back.

"Oh, Eli, what's wrong with you?"

Eli's face was red, and he had even coughed up tears. He shot Harry a glare. "Isn't it because of you?"

"Me?" Harry looked utterly bewildered.

Eli could not be bothered to explain. "Why did you suddenly come here?"

"We haven't started practicing magic today. They said they saw you heading this way, so I came to find you."

It had to be said that Harry had changed a great deal. Though he still did not particularly enjoy reading, he had at least developed a considerable interest in spells and dueling.

And now, he had even taken the initiative to come find Eli to study.

Ever since Harry heard Ron Weasley mention the profession of Auror, he had told Eli more than once that he wanted to become one.

Aurors were essentially the equivalent of police officers, except there were very few of them and the requirements were extremely high.

If Harry had continued developing as he had before, then without a professor's help, becoming an Auror would have been out of the question.

But things had changed now.

Eli taught him seriously as well. Harry himself was highly gifted, so he improved very quickly.

Eli had felt it before: Harry possessed considerably more magic power than other young Wizards. After all, he was a descendant of a pure-blood family.

Otherwise, how could he fight Voldemort later on?

The two arrived at the Room of Requirement, where Ron Weasley and the twins had already come.

"Hello, Professor Hall!"

The twins were being cheeky again.

Eli had practically grown used to it.

"Come on, today I'll teach you Transfiguration!"

"Transfiguration?"

"Yeah! Let me demonstrate first. Watch closely, I'm transforming..."

That evening, after finishing a day of studying, Eli was about to begin exploring the Forbidden Forest.

But not today.

The air rippled slightly. It was Eli, maintaining a Disguise Charm.

He arrived before the statue of the hunchbacked one-eyed witch.

"Dissendium!"

The statue slowly split apart, revealing a secret passage.

The twins had told Eli about it. Its destination was Honeydukes Sweetshop in Hogsmeade.

Eli brought along his Undetectable Extension Bag, which contained quite a few materials taken from Acromantulas.

Today, he intended to sell some of those materials in exchange for Galleons.

This was not his first time doing it. Every month, he came once to sell off a portion.

Why sell them in batches?

Naturally, because scarcity drove up the price!

If he dumped out an entire snakeskin bag at once, how could they possibly offer him a high price?

Even if he wanted to sell, they might not want to buy!

This was actually to accumulate funds for establishing a potions factory. What was this called? This was primitive capital accumulation!

Only those poor Acromantulas suffered.

Ever since Eli's arrival, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest had been living much better, because the Acromantulas posed far less of a threat.

He really ought to thank Aragog sometime. His descendants had not only strengthened Eli's soul, but also fattened his purse.

Hehe...

"More top-quality materials?"

The shop owner had become familiar with Eli, that short figure in black robes.

At first, he had thought Eli was a Hogwarts student and sternly warned him not to recklessly confront Acromantulas.

Eli had drunk a potion, making his voice sound completely like that of an old man, so the owner no longer concerned himself with it.

"Of course, Barclay. When have my materials ever been poor?"

The owner led Eli into the back room. Eli took out all the materials, and the owner began counting them.

"Mm, not bad. All good stuff."

The owner took out a money bag and handed it to Eli. "There are 5,000 Galleons here. Count them."

Eli accepted the bag. "No need. I trust your reputation."

He turned to leave.

Barclay suddenly called out to him. "Hey, wait."

Eli turned back in confusion. Barclay looked around cautiously, seeming extremely wary.

Eli had no idea why the shop owner was so nervous even inside his own store.

Barclay whispered to Eli, "You'd better not come here again. Leave quickly. Someone has their eye on you, and they mean trouble!"

After saying that, Barclay walked toward the counter as if nothing had happened.

Eli also walked straight out.

"Someone has their eye on me? Who would target me? Why?"

As Eli walked down the road, he kept thinking about what had happened.

He had a guess. Perhaps it was because of those materials.

But Acromantulas were not particularly rare, nor were they illegal items. Why would anyone target him over them?

He was thoroughly confused.

Suddenly, Eli, who had been walking along the main road, turned into the woods.

This was not the way back to school.

"Stupefy!"

A spell suddenly struck from behind. Just as it was about to hit Eli, it was blocked by a silver barrier that appeared around him.

Eli turned around with interest. He wanted to see who had been targeting him!

"Still not coming out?"

Eli swept his gaze around, finding no one, but magic power could not be hidden!

"Sectumsempra!"

An invisible blade slashed toward a tree without making the slightest sound, cutting it cleanly in half.

A figure stumbled and rolled out from behind the tree.

"Who are you?"

Eli pointed his wand at him. He had not even used a Disillusionment Charm, so he definitely was not an Auror.

The man rose awkwardly to his feet and glared at Eli resentfully. "You sneaky bastard, you've provoked someone you shouldn't have!"

Eli sneered. He even wanted to scheme against Voldemort. Was there anyone he could not provoke?

"You'd better tell me quickly. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to kill you first and search your brain afterward!"

Gray light shone from the tip of his pale wand, making the man's heart tremble.

Yet he still glared at Eli without saying a word.

"Expelliarmus!"

A red flash knocked away the wand the man had secretly drawn.

"So there's no room for negotiation at all? Let me guess. I've been getting in the way of your profits, haven't I?"

Empty-handed, the man had completely lost his ability to resist.

His expression changed when he heard Eli's words.

Eli keenly caught that fleeting change. "Looks like I guessed right? Tell me who's behind you, and you can leave with some dignity. Refuse, and I'll have to help you keep your dignity!"

The murderous words startled the man, but having lost all ability to resist, he soon roared in despair.

"You bastard, keep dreaming! You'll die! You'll definitely die! Hahaha..."

"Stupefy!"

Eli did not want to hear his nonsense. He stepped forward, and his wand emitted silver light.

"Legilimency."

A silver chain of light appeared at the man's temples, and Eli drew it out.

It was the man's memory, extracted by Eli through Legilimency.

If it were old Dumbledore, he could simply look into someone's eyes. Eli, on the other hand, still needed a wand and an incantation.

Sigh, he was still far behind those truly powerful Wizards.

Right now, he could not defeat even an Auror. At most, he could hold one off.

This man was far inferior to a trained elite Wizard, barely any better than a seventh-year student. Eli could crush him.

Eli stored the man's memory away. He would examine it after returning.

After all, he did not have a Pensieve and could not view memories directly.

If only he had checked the memory before knocking him unconscious.

Eli looked at the unconscious man. "Ultimate Death!"

Gray light took his life.

"Soul Devouring."

Mm, a Wizard's soul was indeed better than a spider's.

The moment this man dared attack him, his death had been decided. Eli did not like letting a tiger return to the mountains.

Voldemort wanted to kill Harry because he feared him. Now Eli feared someone too!

Eli looked at the corpse on the ground. "Perhaps it might still be useful?"

Did that even sound like something a human being would say?