Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 106 New Semester

The next morning, the storm that had raged all night had subsided, and with the Thunderbird "Momo" no longer frolicking in the sky, the ceiling of Hogwarts Great Hall was finally no longer gloomy and desolate.

Ron barely slept a wink all night. Although he wasn't the first to throw his name into the Goblet of Fire in front of everyone, the thought of having a very high chance of becoming a Hogwarts champion made him start to fantasize about the enthusiastic looks the girls would give him.

Why do you look so tired? Didn't you sleep well last night?

Noticing Ron's heavy dark circles under his red bangs, Harry, who had just served himself eight fried eggs, offered Ron two more.

"It's nothing, I just ate too much last night and have indigestion. What classes do I have today?"

"Let me see......"

Harry ate his bacon and fried eggs while pulling out his timetable and reading aloud:

"Oh? We're having pretty good luck today. We've been outdoors all morning. First, we had a herbalism class, then a magical creature conservation class, and two fortune-telling sessions in the afternoon."

"Are you two still taking Divination class? I thought at least Harry would drop it like me."

As Hermione spoke, she spread butter and jam on a slice of toast.

"Why give up? Professor Trelawney is one of the few professors who is willing to give me good grades."

"That's because you always make up stories about impending disaster and Harry being doomed when you do your homework and take tests!"

Ron blushed instantly after Hermione revealed his secret to getting high scores. He looked around and, after confirming that Krum and Fleur were not there, retorted:

“I’m not making this up. Since we started school, Harry has encountered one thing or another every year. Besides, if I really had the ability to predict the future, Harry should thank me. I’ve written down that Harry will be safe from all danger at the end of every assignment and exam.”

The daily bickering between the two friends did not disrupt Harry's breakfast routine. In fact, looking back over the past three years, even during the days when Voldemort caused trouble at Hogwarts, Harry never forgot Moran's teachings—to consume plenty of protein every day.

Eight fried eggs, bacon, grilled sausage, fried mushrooms, croissants, and nut cereal made with milk.

The young wizards at the Gryffindor table were already used to Harry's gluttonous eating, but for the other houses and the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students who were visiting Hogwarts for the first time, Harry's eating style, which could be described as "performance art," was still a bit too ahead of its time.

Twenty minutes later, as George, Fred, and Lee Jordan hurried down the stairs, causing a commotion, Harry finally finished all the food on his plate.

"What's making you so happy?"

Harry wiped his mouth and asked.

"We've launched a three-way battle for supremacy prediction contest!"

"The Big Guessing Game?"

"That's right! This event, like the Triwizard Tournament, will last for a whole year!"

As Fred spoke, he pulled Lee Jordan from behind him in front of Harry.

"Look! We've written everything down: the list, the odds, the draw time, and the leaderboard we'll be using later."

Fred's words made Harry feel uneasy. When he looked closely at the small board in Lee Jordan's arms, he found what he least wanted to see.

"you......"

"This isn't a contest! This is gambling! How can you let something like this happen at Hogwarts!"

A furious voice interrupted Harry, who was about to speak to the Weasley twins. He turned around and, for a moment, mistook Hermione for Professor McGonagall.

"Calm down, Granger, don't get so worked up."

George came up and comforted him:

"This is just a little game to liven things up. If you don't like it, you don't have to participate, okay?"

"This is not a game! Oh my god! It's one thing if you want to play, but to open a casino in Hogwarts? This is an insult to the school! How could the professors allow you to do such a thing?"

"We don't need the professors' approval at all!"

Fred said smugly:

"According to the Ministry of Magic's regulations, gambling requires at least three people to organize and a minimum of 500 Galleons in commission. We can't make that much money with our petty gambling at Hogwarts."

Hermione's chest heaved with anger. She glared at Fred and said:

"What does this have to do with money? Under Muggle law, instigating minors to gamble is already a crime!"

"But we're not Muggles..."

"Does that mean you can do whatever you want?"

Hermione interrupted, clearly annoyed:

"Children already have poor self-control. If you instill in them the idea of ​​getting something for nothing through luck, and distort their values, their lives will be ruined! I'm going to tell Professor Dumbledore! You just wait and see!"

After saying that, she turned and stormed off, leaving the Weasley twins staring at each other, bewildered after being given a stern lecture.

Why is she always like this?

"Who knows... Oh right, Harry, we've set your odds at 0.2, but to make things a little more interesting, George and I are thinking of signing up for the Goblet of Fire as well."

Harry didn't care whether anyone else had enrolled at Hogwarts; what he really cared about was the Weasley twins' dangerous behavior of dancing on the edge of the law.

"Um... I have to remind you that what Hermione said earlier makes some sense. In any case, making money through business and making money through gambling are two completely different things."

George and Fred were taken aback by what Harry said.

As the financial backer of the Weasleys Wizarding Arts, Harry could very well have spent 500 Galleons to send them both to Azkaban.

After a brief silence, Fred put on a grin and walked over to Harry.

He said:

"Actually, we're not really trying to make money off the students. Think about it, this three-way competition only recently resumed after centuries; we just want to add a little fun for everyone~"

"But what if someone actually gets addicted? Are you going to use a forgetting spell on them?"

"But we still have you, don't we?"

"what......"

Harry covered his head, shook his head, sighed, and said:

"Alright, I'll let it go for now, but if you cause any trouble later, I'll deduct lost wages from your wages after the Weasley Magic Tricks Studio opens."

"Then it's settled, Harry!"

"Don't worry, we won't make things difficult for you."

Fred and George said happily.

......

The little commotion at breakfast in the Great Hall quickly came to an end, and Hermione didn't actually go to Dumbledore to tattle. Although she was furious when she learned that the Weasley brothers hadn't stopped after her threats, she ultimately didn't go to the headmaster to complain.

Mo Ran approved of Harry's handling of the Weasley brothers, but what shocked him even more was Hermione's sensitivity to the wrong behavior of gambling.

Gambling is gambling, there are no limits. If participating in gambling is dangerous, foolish, and despicable enough, then organizing others to gamble is an even greater crime.

The only problem is that those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things more clearly.

Unless the Weasley brothers realize their mistake, no amount of persuasion or intervention from professors will be of any use.

To make the Hogwarts champions prediction even more suspenseful, George and Fred took the lead by throwing their names into the Goblet of Fire. Following their example, all the young wizards at Hogwarts followed suit. Suddenly, the number of parchments thrown into the Goblet of Fire skyrocketed, with even some younger students joining in the fun.

......

"Babbo tuber, students, does anyone know the characteristics of this plant?"

In the fourth-year Herbalism class, Professor Sprout's voice received almost no response from the students. Apart from those who were preoccupied with the Triwizard Tournament, even Hermione Granger was preoccupied with the Weasley twins and didn't raise her hand to answer.

As the class was about to fall silent, Harry slowly raised his hand. Just when he thought he would be called on to answer a question, an unexpected name suddenly came out of his mouth.

"Mr. Longbottom!"

“Yes…yes, Professor. Babo tubers are a highly valuable herb, but many people find them extremely ugly, even mistaking them for large, slimy, black slugs, especially when they emerge straight from the soil; some wizards even stomp on them…”

"Ahem, Mr. Longbottom, please mainly describe the medicinal effects of the Bapau tuber."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Professor. The most valuable medicinal effect of babo tubers is their ability to treat stubborn acne, but it is worth noting that the pus squeezed directly from the babo tubers should not be used directly, otherwise the undiluted pus will cause extraordinary damage to the skin."

Snap, snap, snap...

Professor Sprout clapped his hands, gloved with dragon skin, and exclaimed in praise:

“Very good, Neville. With your current level, you could easily handle the Herbology exam in the OWL right now. Logically, I should give Gryffindor 10 points for your performance, but since there's no House Cup this year, the reward for answering questions in my class won't be points anymore. Please stay in the classroom for a while after class today; I have some things you might find interesting. Oh, Harry, remember to remind Mr. Longbottom not to forget.”

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter from the young wizards could be heard coming from Greenhouse Number Three.

With just this one move, Professor Sprout, who had many years of teaching experience, brought the students' attention back to the classroom. She continued, following Neville's words:

"Alright, students, what we're going to do today is extract pus from the tubers of the acne treatment medicine. Everyone, put on your dragon skin gloves like I do."

"Pus?"

“Yes, Mr. Finnigan, concentrated juice. As Neville just said, the Babo tuber is a highly valuable herb, so for your own sake and for the efficiency of our juice collection, please watch carefully as I puncture the Babo tuber pustules.”

puff!

"Alas......"

The thick sap from the Babo tuber had a pungent smell very much like gasoline. After Professor Sprout punctured the abscess and collected the first bottle of yellowish-green viscous liquid, all the students had already put on nasal plugs.

The process of popping the abscesses was disgusting, yet it also produced a strange sense of satisfaction. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor fourth-year students, with disdain and contempt, completed their task of collecting 20 pints of baboon tuber extract with remarkable efficiency.

The herbalism class ended with a deep, ancient chime coming from the castle's clock tower.

Harry reminded Neville to collect his reward as Professor Sprout had instructed, and then he and the other Gryffindor students walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest to Hagrid's hut.

Crackle!

Crackling and popping!

The faint, strange explosion instantly drew Harry's attention. As Newt Scamander's last disciple, he naturally noticed what was in the wooden box placed by Hagrid's door.