Chapter 101: Harry

Xi En felt that Harry and Ron were a bit too sincere.

“Yes.”

For the sake of having Assignments to copy, Ron’s complexion flushed red, as if he had thrown caution to the wind.

Harry also lowered his head nervously.

“Mm.”

Xi En nodded.

Professor Snape was still waiting for him in the Dungeon. Although Harry and Ron had indeed surprised him, he was not prepared to waste too much time here.

“He is completely different from what we imagined,”

After a brief reaction, Ron’s joy was written all over his face,

“Mr. Green is… oh, at least he is not Percy, and not Hermione. And I have the Green Notes to read. Merlin, this is brilliant…”

Just as Xi En was leaving, Harry remembered Wood’s words—telling him to sound out whether Xi En had joined the Quidditch team.

But he really could not bring himself to ask. For the sake of Gryffindor’s Quidditch Cup, he had to say something.

So—

“Xi En, you—”

Harry suddenly said. Xi En turned his head.

At that moment Harry’s mind went blank. He felt he definitely would not manage to ask.

He had just been forgiven, and now he was supposed to pry into Ravenclaw’s Quidditch tactics; he felt he could not do such a thing.

But he now had to say something, so when he saw Neville and Justin in the distance, he blurted out:

“Can you teach us some spells? Like Neville.”

Although it was spoken subconsciously, it was not complete nonsense—he had already been distressed about Assignments for a long time.

After all, Wood wanted them to devote every minute and every second to Quidditch training; he really had no idea how to finish so much homework.

What he did not expect even more was that, after a brief moment of thought, Xi En actually nodded.

On the way back to the Great Hall,

Harry and Ron were silent for quite a while.

The two of them stared in amazement at those few Notes, as if they were looking at some rare treasure.

“Harry… I was wrong, I was ridiculously wrong. Xi En is simply a copy of Professor Sprout. Oh—Merlin, how did we not find him earlier.”

Ron said in annoyance,

“From now on, I do not want to hear any bad words about Xi En…”

Seeing that Ron had been completely won over, Harry nodded in strong agreement.

…

At the end of the Corridor, Xi En walked on in thought.

Harry had exceeded his expectations many times. Although somewhat surprised, Xi En was very willing to help him.

When Xi En, in the Corridor, looked at that thin boy wearing broken Glasses with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, he suddenly realized something.

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived—he seemed to have never chosen to become “the savior” himself, yet as a baby he lost his parents because of Voldemort’s Curse.

He grew up in a corner of the Dursley house, where even a proper Birthday Gift was a luxury.

His scar—the Wizarding World regarded it as a glorious Medal, but Xi En saw in it the brand of attempted murder.

Harry’s Fate had never truly belonged to him.

Trelawney’s Prophecy might have destined his bond with Voldemort, but what truly made Harry a “hero” were his own active Choices, again and again:

In his First Year, he faced Voldemort directly and chose to protect the Philosopher’s Stone; in the Chamber of Secrets, he risked his life to save Ginny; in the arena of the Goblet of Fire, he insisted on bringing Cedric’s body back to Hogwarts…

The measure of a person’s Value has never been how much glory they can bring, but whether they deserve to be treated fairly.

Harry Potter was not only the orphan of martyrs; more importantly, he inherently deserved some favor.

Once he understood this, Xi En found it hard to calmly regard Harry’s sacrifices as taken for granted. Wherever Xi En could do something, he was very willing to offer Harry some Help.

He knew this was only a trivial Help, hardly worth mentioning compared with Harry’s long and struggle-filled life at Hogwarts.

However, Xi En did not mind that.

Dungeon.

Professor Snape had already been waiting for quite a while.

He always stayed in dark corners, and Xi En could not see his face clearly.

If Xi En made any wrong move, he would mock him mercilessly; if it was more serious, like yesterday, it would be a veritable storm.

Handling Ingredients, lighting the Cauldron, controlling the Fire Control…

The Beginner-level Proficiency with the Anti-swelling Potion made Xi En’s movements smooth and precise. After finishing this Cauldron of Potion, Xi En would start brewing the Swelling Potion.

Among the three kinds of Potions he had learned, only the Swelling Potion had yet to reach Beginner.

Once the Swelling Potion reached Beginner, a new Potions Title would immediately be unlocked.

Xi En could not help feeling a bit of anticipation.

Apprentice-level Titles usually slightly enhance Perception and direct Talent in a certain Magical Branch. Once at Beginner, Perception would increase significantly.

Perception is like Observation and measuring Ability. Taking Potions as an example, Perception could help Xi En record a Potion’s state and quality more precisely, in order to adjust his Technique and methods.

White mist once again rose in the Dungeon, and something complicated flashed in Professor Snape’s gloomy eyes.

He was certain the quality of the Potions had changed, but Mr. Green’s Technique felt completely unfamiliar to him.

He disdained to learn about it, but that did not mean he would tolerate the Young Wizard in front of him opening up the Potions Field recklessly.

Did he think Potions were like that stupid Quidditch? That foolish sport whose tactics had not updated for decades!

Therefore he stared closely at the Young Wizard:

Hmph—just do not turn the Dungeon into a complete mess.

【With Beginner-level skill, you brewed a Cauldron of Anti-swelling Potion. Proficiency +3】

The brewing of the Anti-swelling Potion was already effortless. Although he did not use the Improved Ritual or Guidance Method, Xi En still produced a 【Beginner】-level Potion and was already very close to 【Proficient】.

The Progress was slow, but firm and strong.

After extinguishing the Cauldron and storing the Potion in the Glass Cabinet, in a compartment reserved for Xi En alone—Professor Snape had said his Trash only deserved to be placed there—Xi En took out his Notebook.

“The Stirring range is too large. When adding the second Ingredient, you should turn the Flame up high… Xi En Green, hmph—with such Talent, you dare to casually tamper with Potion Rituals?!”

Professor Snape’s daily mocking sarcasm.

Xi En ignored the latter half of the words and wrote the first half into his Notes.

His emerald-green eyes shone slightly—seemed he had found the final piece of the puzzle to reach Proficient.

The biggest difference between Proficient and Beginner is that Proficient-level Potions have reached the standard for Selling.

That would be another stable source of income,

Xi En thought.

He put the Notes on the Wooden Table in the Dungeon and turned to the Glass Cabinet to collect Ingredients.

Dried Nettle, pufferfish eyes, and Bat Spleen were all on the left side of the second row…

Time slipped away in the wind of the Dungeon,

When Xi En had tidied everything on the table, he silently stepped forward into the darkness of his own accord.