Chapter 436: Academic Burdens Are Always So Heavy

The cracked egg showed no sign of anything in the following months—no hatching, no rotting, and Bai Lang thought it would be best to just toss it somewhere and let it be. The coursework pressure was still relatively heavy—Bai Lang felt immense pressure in almost every class, probably except for Herbology…

In Spell Class Bai Lang's progress was extremely slow and his level was abysmal, because spells were almost ineffective for him; even the levitation charm—Hermione Granger could solve it in one lesson, while Bai Lang spent a month just getting a feather to barely float.

Bai Lang was also studying his own situation; first he concluded that spells and gestures might be a kind of self‑hypnosis, allowing his will to lever the so‑called magical power—otherwise how could magical power understand human speech? So he thought, "I can chant 'Mami Mami Red!' and that works too."

Thus Bai Lang kept practicing, albeit in secret; he did have a fair amount of similar stuff in his belly, but what could be both fleeting and deeply memorable than Old Man You's tattered clothes and broken fan, humming "Wong ma ni ma ni Hong, ma ni Hong…"? Those six words can accomplish all methods, encompassing all subtle truths.

In short, whatever Old Man You wants to do can be done by reciting those six words; compared with the myriad spells, Bai Lang thought this was the better option. However, if spoken aloud, the Spell Class teacher Professor Fu Li Wei would certainly reject it, so Bai Lang simply kept the chant hidden. At his current magical power level the effect was modest, but it still seemed better than the textbook spells.

Transfiguration was the same; Bai Lang relied on chants like 'Mami Mami Red' to turn a matchstick into a needle, then pin it onto a beetle‑turned‑button. Even though Professor McGonagall didn't deduct points to save the school's face, she still thought Bai Lang was probably hopeless at teaching—just like Neville.

Potions Class is another story; Professor Severus Snape has long regarded Bai Lang as a giant monster, the kind that explodes, openly stating that this person is undoubtedly a T in this year's exams—a giant monster… The good thing for Bai Lang is that his written assignments for all courses are still diligent, so on that front the Spell Class and Transfiguration teachers will probably give him an A, which is a passing grade…

Bai Lang has been researching the universal spell 'Wong ma mi ma mi Hong.' for a while, but still lacks a better clue. He spends his days shuttling between the library and the Forbidden Forest. The library is for book‑looking research—he's basically living a college life, actively studying by himself—while the Forbidden Forest offers a relaxed spirit.

He still can't collect large amounts of spider venom, because it spoils, and he has no way to sell the contraband; perhaps he could bribe Professor Severus Snape with spider venom to get an A?

The Potter trio kept running into him in the library; they were still looking for Nicolas Flamel.

"Research on magical circles." Bai Lang flipped through the book, but he wasn't really focused—what he needed was to merge his magical power into his Qi, and studying other kinds of magic was unnecessary—going to another world or even returning to his own would probably be useless.

As for the three Unforgivable Curses, Bai Lang has his own view: they're simply a gross malicious interference with reality. Avada Kedavra is meant to kill people; didn't the one‑eyed dragon say that a young wizard's malicious use of the killing curse only makes the victim nose‑bleed, showing it's purely a malicious effect. "Can it be blocked?" Bai Lang thought about it but didn't know; anyway the green light's speed is just that, and he can dodge it.

Gryffindor only needs to defeat Hufflepuff to win the Quidditch Cup, but this time Snape acted as the referee; Bai Lang is almost certain it's a rigged match, yet Harry probably won't lose—recently the trio seemed in high spirits, and by now they should have figured out who Nicolas Flamel is.

Sometimes Bai Lang would sneak to the room at the end of the hallway, but he never opened the door; he just stood there.

The match was about to start, and this time Bai Lang truly didn't go; he found a spot by the Black Lake to enjoy the late‑spring breeze while watching the huge squid swim back and forth. As for the roar from the Quidditch pitch, Bai Lang paid it no mind.

People like that are commonly called 'misfits,' yet Bai Lang really can't understand why a wizard born to Muggles would later become a Quidditch fan instead of a football or basketball fan. He clearly remembers that several of his classmates were football fans when they entered school.

"Hear that sound—did Harry catch the Golden Snitch again and win?" Bai Lang smiled faintly, planning to later check Hagrid's dragon egg—indeed, Bai Lang was actually the first wizard to know Hagrid had a dragon egg; Harry Potter and the others learned it later.

What are dragons like in this world? Bai Lang had already seen photos of them in the Fantastic Beasts book—those dragon entries are probably the most detailed in the book, and quite a few wizards love dragons, with dragon products indeed forming a major industry.

In Bai Lang's view, these are all bipedal wyverns rather than 'Dora‑gen' dragons; he recalled watching a movie long ago called Fire Dragon Empire, whose winged dragons could be compared to the ten types of dragons here, though the cinematic ones were unquestionably stronger.

Hagrid's dragon is probably about to hatch in the next few days, and Bai Lang planned to see what kind it was; Hagrid didn't avoid him because they shared the same hobby. When he slipped out at night and pushed open Hagrid's door, he found the trio there. "Oh, Harry, Ron Weasley, Hermione, you're also here to see Hagrid's dragon egg?"

The three were probably talking to Hagrid about something else; they looked at Bai Lang with a hint of awkwardness, and Hagrid had already lifted the dragon egg out of the bucket. The egg was trembling, and Harry Potter and the others seemed to pause their investigations, crowding around to look at the egg.

The shell cracked, and a black, wrinkled hatchling crawled out. It had a long snout with white nostrils, a head covered in little horns, and orange‑red eyes protruding outward. It sneezed, spitting a few sparks from its nose. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out, stroked the hatchling's head. The hatchling bit his finger, flashing sharp teeth. "Oh my, look, it recognizes its mother!"

Strictly speaking, Bai Lang thought Hagrid's IQ dropped to zero when he saw the dragon. "Norwegian Ridgeback…" Bai Lang said, looking at the hatchling, and Hagrid jumped up, "Who's outside?" Harry recognized the figure as Draco Malfoy, but Bai Lang didn't care, "Hagrid, keeping this dragon here isn't a good idea—its growth is too fast for you to house it indoors."

Bai Lang looked up, "You'll have to find a place in the Forbidden Forest to raise it, and no one must report it—maybe I can make Draco Malfoy lose his memory? Just a light tap with this wand…" Bai Lang laughed, and Harry and Ron Weasley showed approving expressions, while Hermione grabbed Bai Lang's arm, "Oh my. You can't do that! You…" She shivered at the sight of his wand, "That's murder! You'll spend the rest of your life in Azkaban—at least that's the best outcome!"