Chapter 82: Determination

Another day,

Xiang Xien walked out of the dungeon.

He carefully cleaned up the traces left by his brewing, so that even after Jia Siting looked closely for a long time, he found no clues.

Not long after, lightning flashed,

and it was not hard to see that today at Hogwarts was another day of rumbling thunder.

It was raining outside the castle, and Xiang Xien was reading in the library.

The magical crystal ball emitted a soft, warm light, and Madam Pingsi was accustomed to glancing at Xiang Xien before passing by.

If Hemin spending six hours in the library every day was diligent enough,

then Xiang Xien, who opened the library doors with Madam Pingsi every day and closed the oak doors with her, could be called half a librarian.

At least for the books on this row of shelves, Xiang Xien would help organize them.

It wasn't because Xiang Xien liked to help others, but after roughly reading through all the books, tidying up was an easy task.

Occasionally, Madam Pingsi would tell Xiang Xien—

which books had real substance and which were just empty talk.

Xiang Xien was full of gratitude for this.

Madam Pingsi was not as the young wizards rumored; she was never amiable.

At least when she saw Xiang Xien's annotations on his History of Magic notes, she was willing to discuss them with him for a while,

and she was also willing to share desserts with Xiang Xien—though certainly not in the library, but at the times of opening in the morning and closing at night.

Those desserts from Jia Siting had been spreading widely recently.

It was unknown how he convinced the house-elves to let him enter the Hogwarts kitchen, but his craftsmanship was indeed top-notch.

Perhaps it was the Hufflepuff's innate talent for gourmet magic; the desserts Jia Siting improved from "Conjure a Feast!" had been receiving rave reviews lately.

Even Hemin would eat two daifuku in one go, puffing out her cheeks.

As for Xiang Xien, he was usually the first to taste them.

……

Outside the window,

the sound of rain fell on the fertile soil, and the Scottish Highlands were hazily covered in a layer of water vapor.

The nights here were always dim and warm. When the humid breeze carrying the scent of earth brushed against Xiang Xien's cheeks,

his emerald eyes would always flash with the halo of magic.

"Must be more firm, the arc of the left hand should be larger, the most important thing is to believe, believe that you can do it... get rid of gravity..."

Xiang Xien said softly, correcting Jia Siting's Levitation Charm once again.

Because he was diligent enough, in just over a week, Xiang Xien's progress in spells had far exceeded that of the other young wizards.

Even Hemin would stop and think carefully about his teaching.

Xiang Xien never minded sharing his experience.

He was very happy to share some insignificant knowledge about spells when practice ended and he was tired.

The only thing that bothered Xiang Xien slightly was that Professor Sineipu had been brewing potions too frequently lately.

For the past few days, Professor Sineipu and Xiang Xien had been in a strange state.

Entering the dungeon, if Professor Sineipu wasn't there, then Xiang Xien was;

if Xiang Xien wasn't there, then Professor Sineipu was.

Through this game of hide-and-seek,

Xiang Xien's potion title unlock had exceeded two-thirds.

Yet Xiang Xien still felt a sense of urgency; he had been enrolled for a week and a half,

and this progress was still too slow, so he made a decision.

Even without exact news about Professor Sineipu, he had to go brew potions.

At least before this week was over, he had to complete the unlocking of the potion title; this was the guarantee that Xiang Xien could go further on the path of potions.

In the talented Wizarding World, the differences between wizards with different talents were always significant.

Xiang Xien had a deep understanding of this.

……

Ravenclaw Common Room.

Ever since the flying lesson notice was posted, almost all the young wizards had been talking about Quidditch.

"Many people think the glorious era of the Chudley Cannons is over, but more people believe they will definitely recreate the glory of yesterday!

You know, the Chudley Cannons have won the League Cup twenty-one times!"

Michael held a poster in one hand and leaned on a chair with the other, bragging.

On the poster, the Chudley Cannons players wore bright orange team robes, decorated with a speeding cannonball and two black letters "C".

"Oh, alright, Michael, can you explain their slogan then?

Before 1972 it was 'We shall conquer all', how did it later become 'Let's all cross our fingers and hope for the best'?"

A tall, thin young wizard suddenly laughed and spoke up.

"That! That doesn't count!"

Michael looked as if he had been poked in a sore spot.

Then came some words like "slogan made by management", "has nothing to do with the team", "you don't know the glory of the Chudley Cannons at all", making everyone laugh until their faces turned red.

"Truly decadent..."

In the end, even Michael couldn't help but sigh, then helplessly spread his hands.

The warm fireplace was burning, and Xiang Xien happened to pass by with a pale face.

Behind him was Anthony, who was pretending to read but whose eyes had never left Xiang Xien.

—He always followed half a beat behind Xiang Xien.

"Oh! Xiang Xien, Anthony!"

The sharp-eyed Michael spotted the two and walked over enthusiastically with quick steps.

He inadvertently "hooked" Xiang Xien's arm, and the group sat together on the seats in the Ravenclaw Common Room.

The velvet chair surfaces above were slightly worn due to age, emitting a warm luster.

Scattered everywhere were star-patterned cushions and low stools, with deep purple, ink blue, or bronze silk cushions on them.

They were placed casually on Persian flying carpets or velvet rugs, like scattered constellations.

The sound of everyone's enthusiastic discussion mixed with the heavy rain outside, and Xiang Xien also took a breather in the common room.

The Ravenclaws were talking about various Quidditch teams in Britain and Ireland; they had forgotten the Quidditch skills they were bragging about earlier.

Xiang Xien also slowly took out "Fantastic Quidditch". It had to be said, this book was indeed very interesting.

For example: 【The Falmouth Falcons are known for their daring and fighting spirit; they have the world-famous beaters Kevin and Karl Broad.

The team's slogan is: "Let's win, but if we can't win, let's break some heads."】

It could be said to be quite intimidating.

Suddenly, Xiang Xien noticed that the surrounding discussion had stopped. He looked up inexplicably and found a full six or seven heads leaning in.

"Xiang Xien, you borrowed 'Fantastic Quidditch'?!"

Michael's exclamation broke the silence first.

"Xiang Xien, can I take a look?"

Xiang Xien heard Michael say somewhat embarrassedly.

The dark-haired wizard Anthony sighed in frustration.