Chapter 54: Deducting Points

Sineipu's gaze tightened slightly, as if he hadn't expected Dali to answer so effortlessly.

"If I asked you to find me a dung stone, where would you look?"

Sineipu abruptly continued to ask.

"In a goat's belly."

Dali kept answering.

"What's the difference between boat-shaped Aconite and wolf-venom Aconite?"

"There is no difference."

Sineipu paused, his black eyes flickering faintly.

"If I were to brew a compound decoction, what ingredients are needed?"

Dali's brows twitched slightly.

"This isn't material covered for us first-year freshmen."

He was certain that first-year textbooks absolutely did not contain anything about compound decoctions.

"I'm asking a question; if you don't know, just say you don't know. No need for you to answer other nonsense."

"Gryffindor loses five points."

Sineipu glared at Dali and said,

"What are you all standing around doing? Why aren't you writing these things down?"

Sineipu glanced at the others.

A rustle of feather quills and parchment immediately filled the classroom.

"Harry Potter didn't answer my question, Gryffindor loses one point."

Seeming annoyed that only Dali was penalized, Sineipu deducted another point from Harry.

Hermione, standing nearby, winced and closed her eyes in pain.

How long will she have to work to earn those points back?

She knew Slytherin had won the House Cup for several years in a row, and she didn't want Slytherin to take it again this year.

"You've answered well enough; he's just targeting us."

Harry lowered his voice and said to Dali,

Harry felt a bit guilty about Dali's situation.

Anyone with eyes could see that Sineipu's real target was Harry; Dali was just an innocent bystander.

"It's nothing, just a point deduction."

Dali said casually.

The House Cup and such meant nothing to him.

"Five points isn't a small number; we have to work even harder!" Hermione, hearing Dali's words, immediately whispered, "Of Course, it's not your fault."

"Talking in class, Gryffindor loses five points."

Sineipu's voice rang out again.

Hermione's face turned pale; she dared not speak another word.

The points deducted this class might not be recoverable within a week.

The Magic Pill class continued.

No one dared speak out of turn in Sineipu's class, especially on the Gryffindor side, fearing even a breath might provoke him, making every breath cautious.

Only Dali remained unchanged, causing Hermione beside him to stay on edge, fearing Sineipu would find another reason to deduct their points.

Everyone was split into pairs.

Dali and Harry formed one pair, Luoen and Hermione the other, and under Sineipu's guidance they began brewing a simple potion to treat boils.

Throughout the process, only Ma Er Fu escaped Sineipu's criticism; no matter how others brewed, Sineipu always found a reason to berate them harshly.

During that time, Neville accidentally knocked over a Magic Pill, burning himself.

Meanwhile, Seamus blew up his own crucible, startling everyone in the classroom.

Sineipu couldn't help but happily deduct another five points from Gryffindor.

Finally.

Sineipu stood before Harry and Dali, carefully inspecting Dali's potion, trying to find flaws to deduct points or to humiliate Harry and Dali.

But unfortunately, Dali gave him no such opportunity.

The potion was simple to make, with only a few points to watch; as long as those were handled, the result would be fine.

In the end, Sineipu hummed softly and turned away.

After the class ended,

Everyone's mood was low; Hermione felt like giving up entirely.

She had originally thought that with her around, Gryffindor still had a decent chance of winning the House Cup this year.

But after Sineipu's class, she no longer dared to think so.

It was already a very daunting task.

"Listen, we must all preview the material thoroughly from now on; only then…"

Hermione, regaining her spirit, tried to reason with Luoen and Harry.

It seemed to her that only those two were holding her back.

"Enough, Hermione, you saw it too—Sineipu is just picking fights; it has nothing to do with us previewing the lesson, okay?"

"Dali has already shown that answering the question is useless."

Luoen said impatiently.

"But…"

Hermione still wanted to say something else, but Luoen cut her off directly.

"Alright, we still have time, let's not talk about it now."

Luoen grabbed Harry and ran toward the outside.

Dali shook his head helplessly and followed.

Hermione pressed her lips together, her eyes a little red.

The three left the castle, crossed the grounds, and headed toward Hagrid's dwelling.

"I really can't stand Hermione; are grades really that important to her?" Luoen said, unable to hold back.

"Forget it, she's doing it for Gryffindor."

Harry said weakly.

"It's not our fault; Sineipu is clearly trying to dock us points, no matter what we do it's useless, and she acts like everything is our fault."

Luoen continued.

Obviously, he had strong opinions about Hermione, practically venting about her the whole way with Harry and Dali.

A little past three o'clock, they finally reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's little cabin.

Dali didn't walk over immediately; instead, he glanced at the Forbidden Forest.

"So this is the Forbidden Forest Professor Dengbulido mentioned, I wonder what's inside?"

Dali asked.

"I don't know either, but it's said to be very dangerous."

Luoen cast a glance toward the Forbidden Forest.

The outer rim was tolerable; the vegetation wasn't lush, just a bit gloomy. Further inside lay utter darkness— even though the sun was shining now, the Forbidden Forest was shrouded in blackness, as if it were a human no‑go zone.

And the ever‑present mist made the Forbidden Forest seem even more mysterious and eerie.

"Eh~"

Luoen shivered, spotting a half‑palm‑sized spider hanging from a tree not far away.

"Let's go quickly."

Luoen said, his face pale.

"Let's go."

Harry and Luoen walked toward Hagrid's little cabin.

Dali fell behind, activated Spiritual Sight, and looked toward the Forbidden Forest.

"There should be many Extraordinary Creatures in there; I've heard of centaurs and even unicorns..."

Dali thought to himself.

Suddenly, his gaze tightened slightly.

Deep within the Forbidden Forest, amid the thick, impenetrable darkness, he seemed to see a pair of eyes staring at him intently.

It resembled a Hiding giant beast, peering at the outside world.