Chapter 76: The Bai Family's Deal and Dragon TurtleHomework
After waiting a moment, the bronze finch that had flown away earlier fluttered back, turned back into a bronze sculpture, and settled firmly on the knocker.
A dull thud sounded from within as the double doors slowly swung inward.
The person opening the door was a young woman wearing coarse linen clothes, her head lowered as she pulled open the heavy doors with effort.
"Honored guests, please follow me inside."
She didn't raise her face as she spoke, keeping her eyes fixed on the spot right before her toes. Once done speaking, she turned around and quietly led the way.
Hodu looked at her, his brows knitting slightly. Next to him, Huo Yunqi had already stepped forward to follow, and sensing his confusion, lowered his voice to speak.
"She is a Squib. I mentioned to you before that some children born as Squibs aren't sent off to live among non-magicals, but stay in the family to serve Wizards. Those who remain in the main lineage's courtyard usually share at least a bit of bloodline with the main house."
Hodu narrowed his eyes, staring at the girl's back. For a brief second just now, he had almost mistaken her for a House-elf.
"Don't judge by her crude clothes; this kind of life is already considered good," Huo Yunqi continued. "Compared to other Squibs in the Magical World, their status isn't low."
Hodu didn't reply, merely scanning their surroundings.
Behind the gates stood a flowerbed occupying the center, dividing the path into left and right. They walked further in, passing through several courtyards before finally being led into an exquisitely maintained courtyard.
A building stood beside the courtyard, looking less like a traditional mansion and more like a modern villa decorated in a vintage style—quite a novel design.
A man with long hair in white robes was already seated by a stone table. The fabric of his white robes was soft and fine; one could tell at a glance that money was no issue for him.
But looking at his face, he had a large head, thick eyebrows, and ordinary features that really didn't match his refined attire.
Before the man could speak, Huo Yunqi chimed in with a laugh, "Brother Bai Chen, it's been a long time."
Listening to his tone, Hodu briefly wondered if he had traveled back to ancient times. Fortunately, Huo Yunqididn't actually cup his fists in salute, or Hodu would have felt thoroughly uncomfortable standing beside him.
"Little Brother Yunqi," Bai Chen spoke in a loud, rough voice, teasing immediately, "I heard you want to discuss a big deal with me. I'm quite curious. What, planning to steal your eldest brother's position? That would cost quite a fortune."
Huo Yunqi's expression changed instantly. He felt a jolt in his heart and couldn't help but reflect.
Had he really exposed such thoughts? Otherwise, why did everyone love joking about this?
"Haha, just teasing you," Bai Chen chortled upon seeing his reaction.
"Brother Yuan is indeed witty," Huo Yunqi could only force a smile and respond, taking the opportunity to adopt a closer form of address.
The smile didn't leave Bai Chen's face, but his words held little courtesy: "Though seriously, which part of the Huo Family business did they leave for you to manage? Otherwise, how could even you come up with a big deal?"
These words were harsh to hear.
Hodu saw through it clearly: Bai Chen had never respected Huo Yunqi from the start. On the surface he was joking, but every sentence was stepping on him.
Huo Yunqi naturally heard it too, but given his standing, he couldn't openly lose his temper.
"The Huo Family hasn't handed anything to me," his smile tightened, "but what I'm here to discuss today definitely counts as a big deal."
"Is that so?" Bai Chen's smile faded somewhat. "Little Brother Yunqi, I don't handle jokes well. Don't make fun of me."
What big business could someone without family resources backing him possibly discuss? Bai Chen clearly thought so.
Sensing the sudden chill in the other party's attitude, Huo Yunqi's expression shifted slightly, and he glanced sideways at Hodu.
Hodu immediately gave him a meaningful wink.
As for what that wink specifically meant, he couldn't say himself; he just blinked first anyway.
Huo Yunqi, however, seemed to derive immense encouragement from it, his spine straightening inexplicably. Hodu blinked twice more, completely clueless about what on earth the guy had derived from it.
"It seems Brother Yuan isn't interested," Huo Yunqi gave a soft smile with a trace of mockery. "Then there's no need for me to waste time here. The Yu Family has been bugging me lately. The eldest of the Yu Family wanted to see me, and I just turned him down. Might as well go find him now."
Saying that, he stood up to leave, putting on quite a show.
"Yu Bufan?" Bai Chen's eyes shifted, and he asked immediately.
"Who else could it be?" Huo Yunqi said coldly. "Surely someone from a side branch wouldn't dare call themselves the eldest."
"Hahaha, my apologies for the poor hospitality," Bai Chen's face instantly turned warm and welcoming, and he raised his voice to call outside, "Someone bring the best tea! I will brew a pot for Little Brother Huo myself!"
Hodu stared at Huo Yunqi, who had suddenly perked up, feeling quite dazed.
Could that random wink of his just now have actually offered some brilliant advice?
"No need to bother, let's talk business first," Huo Yunqiraised a hand to stop him, his expression turning solemn.
"I recently acquired a magic material—a drop of blood. It can enhance the effect of any Potion. Would Brother Yuanlike to take a look?"
He didn't beat around the bush and laid his cards straight on the table. That was indeed the most straightforward way.
"If it really has that effect, of course I'm interested," Bai Chen raised an eyebrow. "But how much can it actually increase the Potion's efficacy? That determines how much it's worth."
"It boosts it a lot—more than you can imagine," Huo Yunqicould only play the enigmatic riddler, since he didn't know the exact extent himself.
Bai Chen frowned. Businessmen were most wary of such vague statements; the fuzzier the words, the more likely a trap was buried within.
"Little Brother Yunqi, that's not how business is done," he shook his head. "Give me something concrete."
Huo Yunqi's expression remained unchanged. He reached into his pocket, took out a small glass vial, pinched its mouth, and set it on the stone table, though his palm remained pressed over it.
Inside the transparent vial was a bright, translucent drop of blood, precisely the one Hodu had handed him earlier.
Of course, this was merely a sample. Compared to the drop sent to the Yu Family, its effect was far weaker—at most a hundredfold stack.
"You've seen the item, but don't rush to talk about it yet," Huo Yunqi looked at Bai Chen. "Let's first discuss what I want in exchange."
Bai Chen's eyes rested on the drop of blood for a moment before looking up again, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.
"Let's hear it."
"I heard the Bai Family possesses the remains of a True Dragon?"
As soon as those words were spoken, Bai Chen's face instantly darkened.
His smile vanished completely. His eyelids drooped, his gaze nailing Huo Yunqi like a blade.
"Huo Yunqi, do you know what you're talking about?"
His voice was kept extremely low, yet the anger within could not be concealed at all.
Bai Chen truly hadn't expected Huo Yunqi to dare make such a request. Using a drop of blood of unknown origin to exchange for the Bai Family's True Dragon remains—had this kid's courage suddenly grown to the heavens?
"Of course I know," Huo Yunqi said, as if emboldened by Hodu standing beside him. Facing the rage of the eldest son of the Bai Family's direct line, he showed no fear at all. "The True Dragon remains you talk about—isn't it just the leftover residue from true dragon shedding? Don't act like you actually have a dragon carcass. Exchanging it for this drop of blood is a guaranteed bargain for you."
His sneer was quite direct, making him seem like a completely different person compared to when he first walked in.
Bai Chen continued to glare at him dead-on, as if he might cast a jinx at any second to keep Huo Yunqi there permanently.
Yet inside, a storm had already crested in Bai Chen's mind.
How did he know?
This was one of the Bai Family's most critical secrets; only core figures of the direct lineage were privy to it. Had he not been the eldest son of the family, even he might not have encountered such information.
The True Dragon remains the Bai Family always claimed to possess were actually fake.
Just as Huo Yunqi said, it was merely leftover residue after shedding. Even the Bai Family themselves couldn't be certain whether it was skin shed by a dragon or left behind by some giant snake.
For such a secret to be casually exposed by an unappreciated fifth son of the Huo Clan, Bai Chen instantly even suspected someone in his family had leaked the news.
But he suppressed the thought in the next breath. Those who knew the truth were among the most loyal and highest-ranking individuals in the clan, making a leak virtually impossible.
"That's the situation," Huo Yunqi ignored his gaze, his tone flat. "Whether to trade or not is up to your Bai Family. Leave this bottle of blood for you to test out first. Of course, this isn't the drop I intend to trade. The real one's effect is dozens of times greater, so take your time to think it over."
Saying that, he left the glass bottle on the stone table and stood up.
Huo Yunqi turned and left without looking back once. Hodufollowed closely behind him, deliberately shielding his back lest Bai Chen hit him with a jinx in a fit of rage.
But that precaution proved unnecessary.
No one stopped them all the way until they walked out of the Bai Family mansion.
The moment they stepped out of the residence, most of Huo Yunqi's earlier imposing demeanor collapsed; his face showed lingering fear mixed with uncontrollable excitement.
"That's the first time I've ever stood up so tough against someone on my eldest brother's level," he let out a breath. "Just now, I almost thought I wouldn't walk out alive."
Such an experience was indeed exceedingly rare for him.
Normally, as the fifth-born, if he made even the slightest breach of etiquette in front of his eldest brother, it wouldn't do. Even if he misspoke a single sentence and was punished, others wouldn't find anything wrong with it.
"You did decent," Hodu praised casually.
As long as the Bai Family agreed to study that drop of blood, they would likely be tempted in the end. All he had to do was wait for news to see if they really possessed the residue of true dragon shedding.
The two walked out of Bai Family Village. Just as they left the village, Hodu placed a hand on Huo Yunqi's shoulder, cast Apparition, and arrived at the Huo Clan ancestral land in an instant.
Before parting, Hodu specifically instructed, "If the Bai Family sends someone to find you, delay them first and keep them at bay."
Afterwards, he returned to the villa in Kyoto. Having nothing to do, he sat down to watch television.
After watching for a while, Hodu suddenly remembered his homework and turned his gaze to the Dragon Turtle lying on the sofa.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be knowledgeable?
Hodu immediately ran back to Hogwarts, carried back stacks of homework, and brought along a Magic Fountain Pen as well.
After all, he couldn't actually expect a Dragon Turtle to grip a quill with its turtle claws to write.
The Dragon Turtle stared blankly at the parchment placed before it, its whole body seemingly frozen.
Making it do someone else's homework—was that something a human would do?
The arrangement quickly ended in failure because it couldn't understand English at all.
Yet it wasn't entirely useless either.
Hodu translated the questions line by line for it to hear and had it give the answers. Truth be told, the Dragon Turtlewas quite capable. Indeed, few books collected in the Liu Clan's vault were subpar.
In Hodu's view, this Dragon Turtle's knowledge base was probably enough to go toe-to-toe with several HogwartsProfessors.
Coupled with the Magic Fountain Pen doing the work, Hodu didn't need to exert any effort on his homework; the nib zipped across the pages, quickly filling up a stack of parchment.
Among them were many bizarre yet effective insights, which sounded quite novel even to a young Wizard of Hodu's level.
Free from the weight of homework, Hodu naturally began enjoying a rare weekend. He even found time to visit a department store and bought the latest Famicom console.
After studying it for a good while, he finally set up the console properly.
With no one else around, he could only drag the Dragon Turtle into playing together.
The Dragon Turtle took it quite seriously too, using its claw to press the controller on the floor, intensely competitive.
The outcome held no suspense; Hodu soundly defeated it from start to finish, leaving it unable to win in any aspect.
Yet the Dragon Turtle refused to admit defeat, so one human and one turtle played from daytime until dark.
With his stomach growling, Hodu tossed aside the controller, stretched, and switched the TV back to a regular channel.
Next, he returned to Hogwarts. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Hermione with a stern face, looking like she was possessed by Professor McGonagall, watching Harryand Ron do their homework.
The two were red-faced, looking as if they were battling the homework with their faces rather than writing, all while having to endure Hermione's occasional reprimands.
"Hodu, you're back?"
When Harry and Ron saw him, it was as if they had spotted a savior, their voices filled with pleasant surprise.
They obviously felt Hodu had a better relationship with Hermione. At least if they did homework together, Hermione might tone it down a bit.
Hodu saw through their scheme at a glance. Waving the thick stack of parchment in his hand, he said casually, "Mine is already all done."
Harry and Ron looked completely incredulous, staring at him as if Hodu had betrayed their comrade code.
"Keep writing," Hermione said coldly.
That aura really did carry a hint of Professor McGonagall.
However, the next day, Hodu was directly scolded.
His History of Magic homework was a total mess. Only then did he suddenly remember: what did an Eastern Dragon Turtle know about the History of Magic?
That fellow had sounded so convincing yesterday, and since History of Magic was the last assignment he worked on, Hodu hadn't doubted it at all, copying down the translated answers word for word.
Looking back at that assignment now, it was absurd enough to make one's head throb.
The question asked approximately how many years ago the earliest recorded Wizard appeared in history.
The Dragon Turtle's answer was surprisingly tens of thousands of years ago!
"Damn it!"
Hodu cursed in his mind as he looked over the pages of nonsense. This Dragon Turtle was way too unreliable.
History of Magic wasn't the only casualty.
His Herbology homework was similarly criticized by Pomona Sprout. She said Hodu's writing was completely chaotic and incomprehensible, and even stated outright that she would inform Professor McGonagall so McGonagall could have a serious talk with him about whether he should take his homework seriously.
Harry and the others looked at Hodu with strange expressions, clearly dying to laugh but forcing themselves not to, turning red in the process.
Every time Hodu looked over, they quickly averted their gaze, likely afraid they wouldn't be able to hold it in if they saw his pathetic state.
Damned Dragon Turtle!
Hodu cursed through gritted teeth. Yesterday he had felt those points made sense, but now it turned out he had been thoroughly tricked.
But he couldn't blame it all on the Dragon Turtle; most of the fault lay with himself. He had believed whatever it said without questioning it at all.
During lunch break, Hodu made a special trip back to the villa.
He wasn't mad enough to roast the Dragon Turtle directly, but he switched the TV from the drama channel to the international news channel and stuffed the remote into his pouch.
The Dragon Turtle looked at him bewildered and aggrieved, completely clueless as to what had happened.
Yet Hodu offered no explanation at all.
But returning to the villa that evening, he found the TV switched back to the original channel. The Dragon Turtlestill wore that innocent expression, having surprisingly learned how to change channels without the remote.
Thinking carefully, the Dragon Turtle couldn't really be blamed for this.
It hadn't made things up out of thin air; the knowledge it acquired was originally like that.
Only then did Hodu realize that the knowledge the Dragon Turtle possessed was actually stuff handed down two thousand years ago.
Over two thousand years, the Magical World hadn't stood still. Many theories that seemed logical back then had long been overturned and rendered incorrect answers today.
This didn't mean Eastern magic had major flaws. The real problem was that the Liu Clan had vanished. Had the Liu Clan still existed, they too would have continuously revised old theories and phased out past errors over those two thousand years.
But they were gone.
Thus, this antique knowledge sealed away for two millennia turned out to be outdated today, practically becoming a pile of useless trash.
Hodu had to take the blame for this himself. Ultimately, it was all his own doing.
Even more unluckily, at noon the next day in the Great Hall, Snape specifically paused as he passed the Gryffindortable.
Harry had thought he was about to be targeted again, but unexpectedly, the victim this time turned out to be Hodu.
Snape opened by praising Hodu, saying he was fully qualified to break free from the existing Potions system and establish a brand new branch of Potions himself; he added that his position as Potions Professor should be handed over for Hodu to sit in.
Of course, every single word was filled with sarcasm.
Snape practically exerted his full lifetime of skill to demean Hodu's homework as utterly worthless, and Hodu couldn't refute a single word.
After this lesson, Hodu had made up his mind: the next magical creature he would fuse with was the Soft-claw Land Shrimp.
Chapter 77: Hodu Completes the Hunting of Soft-claw Land Shrimp at Sea
This wasn't just a casual remark.
When night fell, Hodu directly changed his appearance and sneaked off to Diagon Alley.
Soft-claw Land Shrimp were not hard to find.
Their appearance was similar to crayfish, and their tails were Potion materials, making them quite common normally.
Hodu didn't spend much money and quickly bought a large bag of tails for just one Galleon.
He put the items away, quickly returned to the Kyoto villa, and his figure reappeared in the second-floor bedroom.
Immediately after, a section of a Soft-claw Land Shrimp's tail popped out from inside his body, and the fusion began.
[Fusable item detected, parsing program initiated.]
[Fusion Target: Soft-claw Land Shrimp]
[Parsing Level: D-Rank]
[Parsing Progress: 1/500]
[Extracted Trait: 1. Bad Luck Venom Sac]
[Bad Luck Venom Sac: Capable of secreting venom that causes people to encounter misfortune.]
[Note: Trait strength increases with parsing progress, and can be enhanced ten thousand times after parsing is complete.]
Hodu raised his eyebrows slightly; the results given by the system were basically consistent with what he had grasped before.
After a Soft-claw Land Shrimp bites its prey, the target will be plagued by bad luck.
What caused this effect was precisely the mucus it secreted.
At first glance, this was somewhat similar to venomous snakes, both delivering venom when biting prey, except that the venom effect of the Soft-claw Land Shrimp was even more bizarre.
The D-Rank parsing difficulty was also within Hodu's expectations.
He glanced at the trait and immediately shifted his attention to the exclusive quest attached to this fusion.
[Exclusive Quest: Hunting]
[Each time a valid hunt is completed, parsing progress increases by one point.]
[The quest can be repeated, and the progress gained only applies to the Soft-claw Land Shrimp.]
"Hunting?"
A thoughtful look flashed through Hodu's eyes.
This quest sounded completely without difficulty, but he never expected that a mere crayfish could trigger such a thing.
The so-called hunting obviously did not equal eating the prey; the key should lie in the act of hunting itself.
But five hundred times was ultimately not a small number.
Hodu thought for a moment, and already had an arrangement in mind.
The next instant, his figure disappeared out of thin air, and in the blink of an eye, he landed on a small island in the vast ocean.
Speaking of natural hunting grounds, what place could be more suitable than the boundless ocean?
Hodu stepped across the beach barefoot, then lunged towards the sea surface.
While in mid-air, his body began to change, finally turning into a seagull, flapping its wings and flying towards the boundless sea area.
After flying a certain distance, the seagull's body suddenly expanded rapidly.
The next moment, a huge great white shark fell from the sky, crashing heavily into the water.
Plop!
Hodu sank into the sea.
After truly transforming into a great white shark, he discovered that things were not quite as he had imagined.
The great white shark's breathing method made him very awkward; his chest felt blocked, and breathing was exceptionally uncomfortable.
He could only constantly swing his body and tail, reluctantly pushing himself forward in the water.
He swam sluggishly at first, but as his body gradually adapted, his breathing gradually smoothed out, and the feeling of freely shuttling through the sea became peculiar.
Upon seeing this great white shark, almost all the fish schools in the sea could only scurry away in panic.
However, Hodu was ultimately just a newborn great white shark.
Although his size was not small, when it came to swimming skills, he was far behind.
After swimming for just a while, his body began to ache, and his strength rapidly declined.
He tried to chase and bite small fish passing before his eyes, but his flexibility was simply too poor.
That huge body swayed back and forth in the water, looking like a dried fish thrown into the water. Not to mention catching small fish, even adjusting direction was difficult, and any small fish could easily slip away from his mouth.
But he was not completely without gains.
Hodu opened his mouth wide, his mouthful of sharp teeth exposed to the seawater.
Some small fish, not knowing whether they mistook this mouth for some safe hiding place, actually took the initiative to swim in.
The result naturally went without saying; as soon as they entered his mouth, they were completely digested by the Devouring Trait.
Hodu specifically checked the system and found that this way of waiting for prey to deliver itself could also count as hunting, and the exclusive quest would also give corresponding progress.
"Turns out I don't even need to exert effort myself, the fish will actively deliver themselves."
This unexpected discovery instantly gave him a sense of full harvest.
As time passed, the sense of fatigue became more and more obvious.
If he were to resume human form at this moment, his muscles would definitely be sore beyond endurance.
It seemed that for the next fusion, he must find a magical creature that could enhance strength.
Relying on the body of an eleven-year-old young Wizard, many things were far too strenuous to do.
However, lacking strength didn't mean he was completely out of options.
Just as Hodu was swimming slowly in the sea, a current suddenly surged from behind, pushing his body forward like a warm current.
He only needed to gently twist his body to quickly accelerate with the current, hardly needing to exert any effort himself.
This was precisely the change brought about by the Handyman trait.
As his mastery of magic became increasingly proficient, Hodu discovered that magic originally intended merely for daily convenience could also undergo some simple modifications.
The current pushing from behind right now was the effect he had casually adjusted.
Without expending much physical strength, he felt the speed of the great white shark as the overlord of the ocean.
That feeling was even more exhilarating than sword-racing.
Every time Hodu swept through the seawater, large swaths of currents would ripple behind him.
The nearby small fish sensed the commotion and immediately fled in all directions.
He then wrapped the surrounding small fish with Aguamenti, gathered them into a school of fish supported by the current, and then sent them directly into his mouth.
The parsing progress of the Soft-claw Land Shrimp also rapidly increased under this operation.
Just at this moment, Hodu suddenly sensed an abnormal flow in the seawater.
That feeling was very much like the great white shark's innate hunting intuition; some creature was approaching at an extremely fast speed.
What was even more worse was that his instinct suddenly sounded the alarm, as if he had been treated as prey by something.
Of course, this was just a reaction brought by bodily instinct.
Hodu had always kept the Tough Skin trait active, and didn't think that a great white shark staying at the bottom of the sea could completely have no natural enemies.
Soon, one dark shadow after another swept across beneath the deep, dark seawater.
The nearby school of fish had long sensed trouble and fled completely clean in advance.
Those shadows looked no smaller than Hodu in size, and their numbers were frighteningly large.
In just a short while, he saw more than a dozen shadows passing through the surroundings, their speed obviously faster than his own, and in the blink of an eye, they seemed to have surrounded him in the middle.
Even with Hodu accelerating via the current, they still followed nearby, swimming back and forth without a single one being shaken off.
Hodu did not panic; instead, he felt a wave of excitement welling up from the bottom of his heart.
That was like the ferocity lurking in the great white shark's blood, craving for the enemy to initiate the attack, and also craving to tear whatever approached him to pieces with a mouthful of sharp teeth.
The seabed was too dark; before the shadows truly approached, their appearance couldn't be seen clearly at all.
At this very moment, a dazzling light suddenly lit up, as if a sun had risen from the seabed, and the nearby sea area instantly illuminated brightly.
The true forms of those shadows also appeared accordingly.
Their upper bodies were black, mixed with scattered white spots, while their abdomens were snow-white.
Compared to Hodu's current great white shark appearance, their looks were obviously much cuter.
Killer whales!
The sudden bright light startled this group of killer whales, and they immediately fled in all directions.
But after fleeing for a certain distance, they didn't truly leave; instead, as if they had locked onto Hodu, they constantly lingered nearby.
Judging by size, Hodu didn't have the slightest advantage.
Among this group of killer whales, quite a few were even more massive than him.
What was even more outrageous was that not only were they big enough, but they also liked to act in groups.
Based on size alone, they were enough to become the ocean overlords, and now they were even launching a joint siege together—it was simply unreasonable.
If it were replaced by a real great white shark, at this moment it probably wouldn't even be able to run away and could only tremble in the water.
Hodu could actually leave directly, but he didn't do so.
The expectation deep in his eyes grew thicker and thicker, and the ferocity in his chest also welled up accordingly.
This was the marine hunting ground.
I don't know how much time passed, but the killer whales that had been lingering around finally began to take action.
A killer whale swam over slowly. Hodu thought the other party was preparing to fight him one-on-one, but he didn't expect that fellow to suddenly turn away after swimming close, as if temporarily giving up the attack.
Just as Hodu was feeling strange, the current beneath him suddenly changed.
Before he had time to adjust his direction, his body was lifted from below by a huge force, rushing straight out of the sea surface.
If someone were nearby, they would definitely see a rare scene: a great white shark being bumped into mid-air by a killer whale, and that killer whale closely following up by biting into his flank, its terrifying bite force seemingly wanting to forcibly tear open a bloody wound on his body.
But the result completely exceeded the killer whales' expectations.
Although that bite didn't tear open a wound, it successfully grabbed the flesh on Hodu's body, and locked onto it tightly, without the slightest intention of letting go.
Anger suddenly surged in Hodu's heart.
He understood now; that killer whale just now wasn't going to attack at all, but was deliberately attracting attention.
The real fatal move was this faster guy.
He had actually been played by a killer whale.
Hodu abruptly turned his massive head, his gaze revealing ferocity, opened his bloody mouth wide, and viciously bit towards the killer whale at his side.
With a click, his teeth closed steadily, but he bit nothing at all.
Only then did he discover that the position where the opponent was stuck was too tricky, just avoiding his attack angle, making it impossible for him to touch that killer whale at all.
Plop!
The shark and the whale smashed back down into the sea surface, a large splash burst open around them, and then they simultaneously sank underwater.
After the killer whale's sneak attack succeeded, the other companions seemed to determine that the prey had been controlled, and immediately rushed over from all directions.
More than a dozen killer whales gathered around together, obviously preparing to share Hodu's flesh and blood.
But they were also very smart; not a single one charged in from the front head-on, and all circled around to the rear, intending to bite from behind Hodu.
Of course Hodu couldn't let a group of male creatures circle behind him, and immediately wanted to turn around to meet the battle.
However, the killer whale biting his flank erupted with terrifying strength, forcibly clamping his body firmly, slowing down even his swimming speed and direction.
If it were replaced by a genuine great white shark, dragged like this, I'm afraid before that group of killer whales could circle around to the back, it would already be too late to turn.
But Hodu was not an ordinary great white shark.
He was an eleven-year-old young Wizard, and his physical strength was far inferior to a real great white shark to begin with.
As a result, after being bitten, the situation became even more miserable; the entire shark directly turned into a toy in the opponent's mouth.
The strength coming from that killer whale's mouth was like a hand pressing tightly on his vital spot.
Wherever he wanted to go, his body could only be dragged toward; if the opponent wanted his butt facing the killer whale group, he was forced to maintain this posture.
Hodu was filled with grief and indignation, but had to admit that this group of killer whales' cooperation was truly formidable.
They seemed to truly be able to complete the hunt with almost no injuries, and finally enjoy the prey together.
Such awareness was enough to let them rampage through the ocean.
What a pity, Hodu was not a real great white shark.
He suffered losses in both strength and instinct; it seemed he could only cheat.
The next instant, the two massive figures entangled together suddenly disappeared.
Behind the killer whale group, a solitary juvenile killer whale suddenly began to twist wildly.
Hodu had somehow appeared at its side, opened his big mouth, and bit down unceremoniously.
A terrifying bloody wound instantly appeared on the juvenile killer whale's body, with dense tooth marks remaining at the edge of the wound.
That bite almost penetrated half of its body, and its internal organs and bones were digested together under the Devouring power.
This juvenile killer whale only struggled a few times before completely losing all movement.
The blood mist diffused from near the wound quickly expanded in the seawater.
Without guessing, one would know that Hodu used Devouring.
In front of this trait, the bite force of the killer whales present was simply not worth mentioning.
Every bite he took would surely reap gains, and he didn't need to compare whose teeth were stronger with them at all.
After their companion died, the other killer whales were obviously enraged.
They crazily charged towards Hodu, and the killer whale clinging to his flank also increased its tearing force; that strength clearly transmitted their anger.
But Hodu once again disappeared with the killer whale by his side.
Every time he reappeared, he would open his mouth and bite down without hesitation.
As long as a transfer was completed, it would inevitably take away a certain part of a killer whale's body, or even directly take the opponent's life.
Not long after, this sea area was dyed by blood water, also attracting quite a few extremely bold fish.
One time, Hodu directly bit a killer whale's head, forcibly swallowing half of its face.
In a short while, the originally swarming killer whales were reduced by half, and the remaining ones also turned into corpses floating in the sea, completely losing signs of life.
This time, the killer whale group was finally afraid.
They dropped their companion's corpses and turned to flee in all directions.
The killer whale that had been biting Hodu relentlessly also seemed to have received a retreat order; although obviously unwilling, it still let loose its mouth and quickly swam away following its companions.
The change before and after was startlingly fast.
The moment before, this group of killer whales was still excitedly preparing to share Hodu, and the next moment they dropped their companions and fled the sea area in panic.
Hodu looked at the direction the killer whale fled, and didn't chase after it.
He turned around, his gaze falling on the nearby killer whale corpses.
The heavy blood stench soon became a natural bait, attracting a large number of fish schools around.
Those fish that couldn't resist the temptation had just approached when they were swept up by a current, rushing along the water momentum into Hodu's wide-open giant mouth.
The parsing progress of the Soft-claw Land Shrimpskyrocketed accordingly, and before long, the progress bar was completely filled.
Hodu didn't continue staying here.
The fish schools still gnawing on the killer whale corpses were left behind him; he resumed human form, cast Apparition to leave the sea surface.
When returning to the Kyoto villa, his whole body was full of water, so he first went to take a satisfying hot shower.
If you asked what taste devouring flesh and blood had just now, there was actually no taste to speak of.
As soon as those meats entered the mouth, they were completely processed by the Devouring Trait, and wouldn't pass through the stomach at all.
To really describe it, it at most counted as eating a meal of fresh sashimi.
Hodu rubbed his damp hair with a towel, lifting his eyes to look at himself in the mirror.
Of course there were no eight-pack abs, but his appearance did have a bit of capital to deceive young girls.
It couldn't be called very handsome, but it came with a special vibe of its own, especially those azure-blue eyes.
Water droplets fell along the tips of his hair, and the wet hair hung in front of his forehead, almost covering his eyes.
Hodu stared at his hair, suddenly feeling that this length should already be usable for making a wand.
He had always had this thought.
Wands were nothing more than being divided into wood and core.
Most cores did not need to be hard; Phoenix feathers, Unicorn hair, and dragon heartstrings could all be used.
And his hair would definitely be stronger than these things.
And he didn't know how strong it could actually be after making a wand with it.
Chapter 78: Another Form of the Bad Luck Venom Sac
Hodu carefully experienced the new trait that appeared after ten-thousand-fold stacking—the bad luck venom sac.
The so-called venom sac did not actually create an extra organ in his body. Whenever he needed it, the bad luck venom would appear along with his saliva, coming without any warning and requiring no extra preparation.
Its mode of operation was similar to oblivion venom, its concentration could be adjusted by itself, and it could even spread out through the air.
oblivion venom was still quite obedient. As long as Hodudid not actively influence it, even if it was inhaled into the body by irrelevant people, it would not cause any bad consequences. But bad luck venom was completely different; once it dispersed into the air, it would turn into a wide-range attack that made no distinction between friend and foe.
Except for Hodu himself who possessed resistance, everyone else who inhaled it would start having bad luck.
This thing had to be used with caution.
As for how to make only Snape have bad luck, Hodutemporarily had no clue. After thinking for a long time, he simply returned to Hogwarts first, preparing to secretly observe Snape's daily actions to see if he could find an opportunity to strike.
The next morning, the Great Hall ushered in a group of owls as usual. Bringing letters, gifts, and freshly delivered newspapers, they circled above the students' heads and landed one after another.
"Professor Quirrell?!"
It was unknown who shouted out first.
Those students who subscribed to The Daily Prophet were quickly attracted by the contents of the newspaper. As the sound spread, the attention of more than half the people in the Great Hall turned over. After all, not many students were willing to spend money to subscribe to newspapers, and even fewer could take them out to show off at the first opportunity.
Malfoy happened to belong to the latter.
He usually liked to use subscribing to newspapers to show his concern for social news, and at this moment he unceremoniously spread out the newspaper. The big headline on the front page was very eye-catching, and there was no need to look for it at all.
Malfoy cleared his throat and immediately read it out in a voice that everyone could hear:
"The Wizard Quirinus Quirrell, who has been affected by the Dark Arts and whose spirit has become deranged, has been confirmed guilty after trial and will currently be imprisoned in Azkaban. It is understood that Quirinus Quirrell once served as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor at Hogwarts and attempted to carry out destructive actions within the school, fortunately discovered in time."
He turned to the next paragraph, his tone clearly carrying a bit of gloating.
"This newspaper hereby reminds certain schools to be highly vigilant when recruiting faculty and staff, and must never let those malicious and deranged Wizards sneak into the campus."
Hodu looked toward the Professor seat accordingly.
Dumbledore seemed not to have heard Malfoy's reading at all, still eating breakfast with a calm demeanor, and the expression on his face did not change at all.
But the last sentence of the newspaper was clearly firing at Dumbledore.
Hodu pondered silently. With the ability of an Auror, it shouldn't be impossible to find out what really happened to Quirrell. That guy was possessed by Lord Voldemort, but in the reports of The Daily Prophet, only four words remained: "mental madness".
This was obviously the Ministry of Magic unwilling to admit that Lord Voldemort still existed.
According to their narrative, Quirrell only had severe delusions, and the so-called Lord Voldemort was just a soul he imagined. As for Lord Voldemort himself? What ghost, what remnant soul, he had long been dead beyond death.
Fudge probably thought so too.
In the eyes of this politician, Dumbledore probably found a mentally problematic Wizard from somewhere, and through some means made the other party firmly believe that he was possessed by Lord Voldemort, and then personally sent the person into the Ministry of Magic.
Wasn't the purpose of doing this obvious enough?
Putting the name Lord Voldemort back in front of everyone, and then casually mentioning Dumbledore's past achievements. As long as his presence was farmed a few times more, the public would not easily forget this former hero.
As a politician, Fudge was too familiar with this kind of tactic.
Hearing this, Harry and the others couldn't help but let out exclamations. They first borrowed a newspaper from the people next to them, and then huddled their heads together and read it carefully.
Hodu naturally followed over as well.
He quickly discovered that other sections of The Daily Prophet did not let Hogwarts off either. Almost the entire newspaper was making a fuss around this matter, and even listed two particularly dazzling headlines.
"What on earth went wrong when Hogwarts selected Professors, and how should parents trust it?"
"Should Professors be entirely left to Hogwarts to hire on its own? Holding people accountable after problems arise, where is the supervision of the Ministry of Magic?"
Hodu raised an eyebrow.
Hearing Malfoy read only the front page just now, he hadn't expected things to blow up so big. Looking at it now, this newspaper was not just criticizing Quirrell; between the lines, it was entirely mocking Dumbledore's vision in choosing people.
And that aggressiveness didn't look like a temporary whim of an ordinary reporter no matter how you looked at it.
Obviously, The Daily Prophet received instructions from the Ministry of Magic behind the scenes.
This time, Dumbledore probably really made Fudge feel threatened. In Fudge's view, Dumbledore was no longer satisfied with being a respected Principal, and even began to show signs of vying for influence.
Since Dumbledore wanted to use Quirrell's matter to elevate his own prestige, Fudge could naturally use this matter in reverse to strike at him.
However, the two sides had not truly torn their faces apart yet. Fudge was just using the newspaper to beat Dumbledore, and did not directly point at his nose and curse him to his heart's content.
"Are they crazy? This matter clearly cannot be blamed on Dumbledore!" Harry stood up for Dumbledore.
Hermione also frowned tightly: "When recruiting Professors, Veritaserum is not allowed to be used anyway. Besides, the Ministry of Magic has had no shortage of black sheep over the years, what right do they have to stare only at Hogwarts?"
Hodu blinked and did not participate in the argument.
Although Hermione's words made sense, judging from the results of Dumbledore choosing the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor, the accusations in the newspaper could not be said to be complete nonsense. Old Deng's vision in judging people was indeed more and more outrageous each time.
He was a Legilimency master after all, and shouldn't not notice anything. But he happened to be able to select problematic figures for several consecutive years, which was very worth pondering.
If Quirrell was put into the school on purpose for fishing, it could still make sense, but how should Gilderoy Lockhartbe explained? That guy didn't look like a target worth observing no matter how you looked at it.
Perhaps Dumbledore hadn't officially met these candidates at all and had selected them early on. It was also possible that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class had suffered from the curse left behind by Lord Voldemort, changing a Professor every year, and over time no one was willing to take it over at all.
Anyway, they couldn't stay long, so who the Professoractually was didn't seem that important.
Coupled with the fact that this class was inherently Lord Voldemort's obsession, it wasn't impossible that an obvious loophole was intentionally left in the curse to use for fishing.
After thinking for a while, Hodu tossed these thoughts to the back of his mind.
After breakfast, they headed to the classroom together. The first class of this morning happened to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
After Quirrell was taken away, this class had been in a state of self-study, and no new Professor had filled in for a long time. Along the way, Hodu and Harry and the others were all guessing who would substitute for the class next.
Of course, in their view, having no Professor was actually the best arrangement. Not having to listen to lectures, not having to write homework—such a good thing could not be encountered at any time.
But after walking into the classroom, Hodu immediately realized they had thought too early.
Standing beside the podium was a figure that obviously didn't belong to a first-year student. The other party had a white beard hanging down to his waist, which was excessively eye-catching.
Who else could it be besides Dumbledore?
Harry and Ron cried out in surprise on the spot, and then their eyes filled with joy. With Dumbledore personally teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, the situation would definitely be different from before.
Hodu's eyes narrowed slightly, just colliding with the gaze cast by Dumbledore.
That gaze lingered for only a split second, like a casual sweep, and did not reveal any special meaning. Hoduwasn't nervous either; his soul, memories, and true thoughts had always been hidden very well, and there was nothing to worry about.
Facts proved that Harry was still happy too early.
He originally thought that after changing to Dumbledore's teaching, he would definitely listen carefully. As a result, when class actually started, Harry was still too sleepy to open his eyes, and even Ron was dozing off beside him.
Hodu, on the other hand, listened very attentively.
The theories Dumbledore talked about were obviously more than a level higher than Quirrell's, and as for practical combat, there was even less comparison. That was experience Dumbledore had accumulated personally; leaving it unlistened to would truly be a waste.
A class quickly passed, and Hodu was still listening with unexhausted interest.
Just as he was about to leave with the crowd, Dumbledore's voice came from behind.
"Mr. Hodu, please stay for a moment."
Quite a few students stopped and looked at Hodudoubtfully. Harry and the others were no exception, their eyes full of inquiry, clearly not understanding why Dumbledore called him aside alone.
Hodu himself knew the reason though.
Sure enough, after the others left, Dumbledore brought up the matter of lethe river water.
"I have already asked an old friend at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to help count. At present, there are a total of twenty-six patients whose minds have suffered severe trauma and who need this Potion." Dumbledore looked at him, "Can you help contact that Potion merchant?"
"I will try my best." Hodu put on an earnest look, "However, wanting to contact that Potion merchant will probably take some time. I also don't know if he will check the letter I sent over."
Dumbledore expressed understanding of this: "Those patients have waited for a very long time. If they can really be cured, waiting a few more days is nothing."
Speaking of this, he added: "I have also asked Fudge's opinion. He is very willing to pay a sum of Galleons for these patients. You can let that Potion merchant quote a price in the letter; after all, Potions that can cure this kind of illness are not ordinary, and are worthy of a reward commensurate with its value."
When Dumbledore said this, a flash of craftiness crossed his eyes.
The meaning was already very obvious.
Since the Ministry of Magic was paying, don't be polite; if you could ask for more, naturally you should ask for more.
Hodu immediately followed up with the question: "Then what price do you think is more appropriate? If a reference price can be attached to the letter, the other party might take this matter more seriously."
Dumbledore pondered for a moment before slowly saying: "Around five to six hundred Galleons. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion."
Hodu directly ignored the preceding five hundred.
Six hundred Galleons per person, twenty-six people added up to about fifteen thousand. This amount was indeed not small, but for a unique Potion in the world, it couldn't be considered exaggerated.
Moreover, converting six hundred Galleons into pounds was only about three thousand pounds. Placed in the Muggle world, it was probably an ordinary person's monthly salary.
Hodu immediately decided that when actually providing the lethe river water, the portion must be appropriately reduced. One portion per person was almost enough, and the Ministry of Magic must absolutely not be allowed to take too much advantage.
"Okay, Professor."
He nodded with an earnest face.
After the matter was settled, Hodu left the classroom. As soon as he walked out the door, he saw Harry and the others still waiting outside, and then hurried to the next classroom with them.
The curiosity in the eyes of several people was almost overflowing, and Hodu didn't intend to hide it either, directly telling them the contents of the conversation just now.
"Hiss—so many Galleons?"
Ron gasped, and then began to calculate with his fingers bent. Although he didn't figure it out in the end, he already knew that it was an astonishing fortune, and his eyes were almost glowing with gold.
Hermione couldn't help glaring at him: "Stop dreaming, this money isn't Hodu's anyway."
"Can Potions really earn this much?" Ron had already started fantasizing, "Then I'll go make Potions in the future too, and earn a huge sum of money. By then I'll buy whatever I want!"
Hodu and the others tacitly treated this sentence as wind past their ears.
Ron should first figure out a way to make his Potion Classgrades pass. Although there was no official exam yet, under the current level, with the teaching Professor being Snape, wanting to pass the assessment was simply no different from dreaming.
Even Hermione, no matter how perfect her Potion Classperformance was, shouldn't expect to get any good evaluation from Snape. As long as the person grading was Snape, full marks was something that could only be thought about.
Time blinked and arrived at Friday.
Having two consecutive Potion Classes in the morning, both Hodu and Harry looked a bit exhausted. Harry was usually like this, which wasn't strange, but for Hodu, it was the first time experiencing being targeted and given a hard time by Snape for two consecutive classes.
This feeling, Harry was probably long used to it.
During the two classes, Hodu's assignment was picked out by Snape again, the comments written were a complete mess, and ten points were deducted from Gryffindor along the way.
Hodu made up his mind on the spot.
The bad luck venom had to be tried on Snape no matter what.
He had already thought of several methods. The most direct plan was to sneak into Snape's lounge late at night and forcibly pour the bad luck venom into the other party's mouth. Even if discovered midway, at worst he would use oblivion venom to wipe away that memory.
However, this was only the worst choice.
A safer method was still to start from Snape's usual diet.
The reason why the food made by the Hogwarts kitchen could directly appear on the dining table of the Great Hallwas because of the special structure between the kitchen and the Great Hall. The kitchen was right below the Great Hall, and the layout of the tables and chairs placed inside was exactly the same as the upper one.
House-elves only needed to put the food on the desktop at the corresponding position in the kitchen, and things would automatically appear at the same position above in the Great Hall.
In other words, as long as he confirmed in advance where Snape would sit, Hodu could find a way to put the bad luck venom into his food.
The only problem was that Snape was a Potion master after all.
Hodu wasn't sure if he could detect that something had been tampered with before eating the things. If the matter blew up, even if he still had oblivion venom, he might not necessarily be able to end it peacefully.
He had also considered asking Harry for help. Given Harry's resentment toward Snape, he would definitely be very interested in this. But upon second thought, Harrycouldn't block Snape's Legilimency at all, so this thought could only be abandoned.
Just at this moment, Hodu suddenly remembered that he actually had another ability in his hands.
Like lethe river water, it was also due to the blessing of the whole-body-is-treasure trait that caused a qualitative change in the original venom. Only this time, the product no longer maintained a liquid state.
Once that liquid was secreted, it would directly disperse into gas and spread toward the surroundings.
Strictly speaking, it was also spreading bad luck, except that this kind of bad luck was actually beneficial to Hoduhimself.
People around him might become even more unlucky because of this, but it would also make the hidden dangers nearby exposed in advance, and then let those people bear the consequences for Hodu.
Listening to it, he was simply like a deity specializing in bringing bad luck.
However, essentially, this ability really did harm oneself to benefit others.
Chapter 79: The Group Photo in Snape's Office
"Professor Snape is getting more and more out of line. He doesn't look like a Professor at all anymore!"
No sooner had Snape left than Hermione began to complain with a straight face. Half of her words were to vent Hodu's anger, and the other half was because she felt it was completely unfair for Harry and Hodu to lose house points for no reason.
Hermione could never get high grades in Snape's class, not because her academic performance wasn't good enough, but simply because Snape was entirely unwilling to award points to Gryffindor. Even when he occasionally called on her, he would at most symbolically award a point or two, only to take them back with interest from Harry shortly thereafter.
Now that Hodu had been added as a target in Potion Class, Gryffindor had already lost more than a dozen points in just two classes. In Hermione's eyes, this had practically become a regular routine for the Slytherin Deanto suppress Gryffindor.
Hodu nodded along: "It's a good thing Dumbledore is substitute teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts Classright now. Otherwise, Snape would be able to deduct points twice a week religiously."
Of course, he didn't really care about those house points; he just felt that it was already something to be glad about that Snape had one less opportunity to disgust people each week.
Carrying their textbooks, the group walked toward the Great Hall. After the final class of the morning ended, they would usually go have lunch first before returning to their dormitories to rest.
Halfway there, Hodu suddenly stopped.
"You guys go on ahead, I need to go to the bathroom."
"Hurry up then, we'll wait for you," Harry answered feebly. The previous Potion Class had worn him out so much that even walking exuded exhaustion.
Hodu shook his head: "No need to wait, I might take a while this time."
"Alright."
Seeing that he insisted, Harry and the others didn't ask any further and continued on toward the Great Hall. After walking some distance away, they were still enthusiastically discussing Snape, their words full of complaints about him.
Hodu turned into a nearby corner, pushed open a washroom, and casually locked the stall door. Immediately afterward, he activated his Stealth trait, setting all living creatures in Hogwarts as specific targets.
The next moment, his figure vanished into thin air.
When Hodu reappeared, he was already in the kitchen on the basement level. As soon as he steadied himself, a House-elf bumped right into him, passing directly through his body, and then, without noticing a thing, turned around and plunged back into its busy work.
Hodu glanced around; the kitchen was filled with House-elves everywhere. Like a colony of worker ants with clear divisions of labor, some were processing ingredients, some were preparing dinner plates, and others were busy delivering the prepared food to different places, keeping the entire kitchen in orderly fashion.
He didn't linger for long and walked straight to a long table at the very front.
The seats on this table corresponded exactly to the Professors' table in the Great Hall. Some spots had meals placed on them, while others were completely empty. According to Hodu's previous observations, the spots without food meant that the respective Professor had already taken their seat in the Great Hall, and their meal had already been sent up.
Snape's usual seat was among them.
Hodu stood in front of that seat, looking down at the cream of mushroom soup on the table. He glanced left and right first; even though he knew the House-elves couldn't possibly detect him while he was invisible, he still subconsciously confirmed it once.
None of the House-elves in the kitchen paid attention to this side.
Thus, Hodu bent down and spat a mouthful of Doom Venom into the soup bowl.
The transparent venom quickly dispersed into the soup, having neither color nor taste, at least showing no visible changes to the naked eye.
Hodu raised his eyebrows.
How could this be called spitting in the soup? He was clearly poisoning it.
Of course, this time it was just a small test. He deliberately controlled the concentration of the Doom Venom he secreted to a very low level, only twice the trait. It wasn't because he was afraid of poisoning Snape to death, but rather because he worried that too large a dose would be detected as abnormal by that old bat.
Having finished the task, Hodu immediately left the kitchen, returned to the washroom, and then hurried back toward the Great Hall.
When he entered the Great Hall, Snape was already sitting at the Professors' table.
Hodu picked up some food, eating while secretly observing Snape. Before long, Snape sensed that feeling of being watched and coldly turned his head to look over. Hoduquickly averted his gaze before the other's line of sight landed on him.
Snape frowned, swept a glance around following the feeling, and finally saw Harry.
He seemed to find the answer instantly, his gloomy gaze nailing firmly onto Harry, making Harry inexplicably chilled until Harry felt entirely uncomfortable, and only then did he finally withdraw his gaze.
Hodu had no choice but to continue watching out of the corner of his eye.
At this moment, Snape picked up the soup spoon, scooped a spoonful of the cream of mushroom soup from before him, and put it into his mouth.
Seeing him swallow the first bite, Hodu noticed his movements suddenly pause for a moment.
Could he really have been discovered?
Hodu's heart tightened, and his hand movements stopped as well. Did it have to be this exaggerated? He could taste even twice the trait?
Fortunately, after a brief pause, Snape didn't make any other moves, but instead continued to lower his head and drink the soup. Spoonful after spoonful, he drank it quite naturally.
The corners of Hodu's mouth couldn't help curling up.
Regardless of what happened just now, at least the soup had been drunk down. Next, all he had to do was see what kind of effect the Doom Venom would bring.
Right at this moment, he thought of another possibility.
The Malignancy Mist could make dangers lurking around erupt prematurely; thus, would someone who drank Doom Venom be even more likely to become the target of those unlucky events?
Thinking of this, Hodu immediately began his experiment. He activated the Misfortune Fog, and special gases diffused from his pores, enveloping the surroundings in the blink of an eye.
Hodu waited for a while, but waited for nothing at all.
This was also quite normal. The so-called Misfortune Fog, when all was said and done, simply made unlucky people step on mines that already existed nearby. If there was no danger around to begin with, naturally no accidents would materialize out of thin air.
Since there was no movement, Hodu wasn't anxious either, lowering his head to continue eating.
Time passed bit by bit. Just as Hodu was almost finished eating, Snape had already finished his meal, stood up, and walked toward the Great Hall doors.
Right at that moment, Peeves drifted in from outside the doors.
He was clearly carrying out his daily prank once again. Holding a ball of waste paper in his hand, he casually flicked it, and the paper ball flew out, striking a Slytherinstudent right on the head.
That student immediately glared angrily at Peeves.
Peeves, however, didn't care in the least; instead, he grinned and made a face at the student, calling out provocatively: "Bleh bleh bleh~"
How could the Slytherin student stomach this attitude? He immediately bent down, picked up the paper ball, and hurled it fiercely back at Peeves in mid-air. He knew very well that doing this was completely impossible to hit the incorporeal Peeves, but besides venting this way, there was no other option.
It was just that his aim was truly not very good; the paper ball flew off course and collided with the hanging chandelier above the Great Hall.
The rope used to suspend the chandelier hadn't been replaced for who knows how long, and problems had long since arisen. Hit by the paper ball like that, the rope actually snapped on the spot, and the heavy chandelier instantly plummeted downward.
That student widened his eyes, freezing entirely. It wasn't until he saw Snape happening to walk right beneath the chandelier that his expression abruptly changed.
"Watch out!"
His shout reached into the Great Hall, but was mostly drowned out by the surrounding commotion.
However, Hodu still heard it. The moment he raised his head, he saw that the chandelier had already accurately smashed into Snape, who was currently spacing out.
The matter did not end there.
The candles on the chandelier were knocked scattering in all directions, and one of them happened to land right on top of Snape's head, its flame instantly igniting his greasy hair. The fire was outrageously large; if it had been anyone else, they might not have burned like that.
In the blink of an eye, Snape already had a ball of flickering flames atop his head. At the same time, he was knocked to the ground by the chandelier, lying face down, and passed out cold.
"Ah!"
The students in the Great Hall instantly fell into chaos. Usually, Snape was always scolding them for having Trollbrains, but who would have thought that when a real moment like this arrived, apart from panicking, not a single person could think of what to do.
In the end, Professor McGonagall stepped forward.
"Aguamenti!"
A stream of water gushed from the tip of her wand, drenching Snape's head, and the flames on his hair were quickly extinguished. Yet at this moment, Snape was still in an utterly wretched state, lying flat on the floor with not a shred of a Professor's dignity left.
The Great Hall grew quiet accordingly.
The students looked strangely at Snape on the ground, yet no one stepped forward to help up this unconscious Professor.
Hodu widened his eyes.
He truly hadn't expected the effects of the Doom Venom to be this strong. If this thing were taken out to be sold, it would definitely receive unanimous praise, with effects that worked right on the spot.
Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindor students were all holding back until their faces turned bright red. They bit down hard on their teeth, the corners of their mouths twitching uncontrollably, and the expressions on their faces were almost distorted. If they hadn't been desperately holding it in, they probably would have laughed out loud long ago.
Even Hermione curved the corners of her mouth upward.
This scene was simply too satisfying for her.
Hodu likewise wore a smile. As the mastermind behind everything, the surprise he received was obviously greater than Harry and the others.
Combined together, the Misfortune Fog and Doom Venom had an unexpectedly fantastic effect, almost like a chain of accidents specially prepared for Snape. Especially the grease on Professor Snape's hair, which added even more fuel to the fire.
Hodu could already see that the murky toxic fog definitely had a hand in this.
The rope hanging the chandelier already had problems to begin with, and it might have suddenly snapped any day now.
It was just that the mist of bad luck made it act up early, and Snape, who happened to be standing underneath, became the one to bear the consequences.
It seemed that Snape, having drunk the venom of ill fortune, was instead recognized by the murky toxic fog as the most suitable target.
The grievance accumulated during Potion Class was vented out all at once, and Hodu felt a lot more comfortable all over.
Facts proved that keeping it in and sulking by oneself was completely useless; it was much more satisfying to let Snape experience bad luck firsthand.
After Professor McGonagall left, the suppressed laughter in the Great Hall finally burst out completely.
"Fred, George, take Professor Snape to the Hospital Wing!"
McGonagall instructed with a gloomy face before leaving.
"Yes, Professor!"
Fred and George stepped forward almost simultaneously, their voices much louder than usual.
They simply couldn't hide the smiles on their faces, and eagerly lifted the unconscious Snape.
Getting closer, they saw clearly Snape's hair, which was charred and curled by burning, and the smiles on their faces instantly became even more obvious.
Once Professor McGonagall led them away, no one in the Great Hall suppressed their laughter anymore.
Harry and Ron clutched their stomachs, slumped over the tables and pounded hard, laughing so hard their bodies slid downwards, almost falling off their chairs.
Hermione also smiled so widely her mouth curved.
She felt this was definitely the most satisfying thing to happen recently.
Hodu watched all this quietly, the smile on his face never disappearing.
This result was even more wonderful than he had originally anticipated; Snape simply pushed the concept of bad luck to its absolute limit.
After lunch ended, Ron routinely asked about the arrangements for next.
But Harry lowered his voice and said, "How about we take this opportunity to go check out Snape's office? He definitely isn't there right now, and this is a rare chance. Maybe the Philosopher's Stone is hidden right in his office drawer."
After hearing this, Hodu's eyes widened.
Truly deserving of Gryffindor, daring to barge straight into Snape's office.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Hermione spoke with a frown, her tone carrying hesitation.
Usually, if she heard this kind of proposal, she would have already started lecturing Harry.
Now she only said "not quite right", which already showed that she was actually somewhat tempted.
Although Ron was equally hesitant, in the end he still nodded and agreed.
The gazes of the three people then simultaneously fell onto Hodu.
Hodu was somewhat conflicted.
He was very clear that the Philosopher's Stone couldn't possibly be in Snape's office, but if he refused at this time, it seemed to make him look too unsociable.
"But it's still daytime..."
Before he finished speaking, Harry immediately chimed in, "Who would expect us to sneak in during the day?"
Hodu was speechless for a moment.
Only now did he realize that all of Harry's talent might have been poured into adventuring.
Seeing that the few of them had already reached a consensus, Hodu could only agree.
Thus, the four of them quietly left the Great Hall and crept toward Snape's office.
Catching the break time, most of the students had returned to their dormitories, and the corridor leading to the office was empty, with not even a ghost appearing.
Harry first looked left and right, and after confirming no one was passing by, he reached out and tried to push open the office door.
The door didn't budge at all.
"It's locked."
"I'll do it!" Hermione took the initiative to step forward, her face still carrying obvious excitement.
She pulled her wand out from her Wizard robes, aimed it at the door lock, waved it gently, and chanted the spell at the same time.
"Alohomora!"
The door lock popped open in response, and the heavy door panel sprung inward to reveal a crack.
The few of them looked around the surroundings once more, and only after confirming no one noticed the commotion here did they carefully push the door open and slip into the office one after another.
Hodu brought up the rear, casually closing the door after entering, and quietly added a locking charm.
Harry and the others were already looking around everywhere in the office, not letting drawers, cabinets, and desktops pass by.
After a short while, Harry suddenly made a sound: "What is this?!"
Hodu turned his head to look, only to see Harry holding a photo in his hand, his face full of disbelief.
The others also crowded around.
In the photo were Snape and a woman.
That was an image preserved through a moving photograph; Snape still maintained his cold expression, while the woman beside him smiled extremely happily.
"She's my mother." Harry stared at the photo, his voice full of shock, "How could she take a picture with Snape?"
No matter what, he couldn't connect his own mother with Snape, let alone the fact that the two people in the photo looked quite familiar with each other, and that person happened to be Snape.
Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Maybe Snapeknew your mother before."
"If they knew each other, why would he still target me like this?" Harry retorted immediately, obviously unable to accept this explanation.
No one answered him.
Hodu didn't chime in either, instead turning around to continue checking other places in the office.
The arrangement in the room didn't have anything particularly special, but it fit his impression of a Dark Wizard's office very well—gloomy and making people feel uncomfortable just looking at it.
Soon, Hodu discovered a hidden side door in an inconspicuous place.
He pushed the door open and went in, and inside turned out to be yet another space.
The room behind the side door was filled with jars and bottles, each container holding different materials, with an astonishing variety.
Hodu clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked, feeling that Snape probably collected materials of most corrupted magic creatures here.
It was a pity his current knowledge wasn't enough yet; for most of the things inside, he couldn't determine what magical creature they actually came from.
After taking a brief look around, Hodu retreated from the material room.
At this time, Harry was still standing in place, his gaze falling on that photo, not moving away for a long time.
"I'm going to take it with me." Harry suddenly said.
He really had no way to believe that Snape could become friends with his own mother.
Ordinarily, Snape's attitude towards him was even worse than the Dursley family's towards him, and his disgust towards Snape was also genuine.
More importantly, when Snape was being sarcastic on usual days, he often ended up sneering at his father along the way.
In Harry's view, such a person simply didn't have the qualification to keep this photo.
Hermione's brows immediately furrowed tightly.
She obviously felt that stealing a Professor's things wasn't quite appropriate, but the other person in the photo was Harry's mother after all.
She opened her mouth, wanting to dissuade him, but for a moment didn't know whether she should.
Hodu also raised his eyebrows.
To be honest, he likewise felt that Snape didn't have the qualification to own this photo.
After all, Lily's death was more or less inseparable from Snape.
But if Harry really took the photo away, the consequences would also be very easy to guess.
Snape would definitely go crazy; this photo was very likely an untouchable taboo in his heart.
Hodu didn't stop him directly, but just shrugged and said, "My mother was also a Slytherin student back then, so I know a little bit. Snape and your mother used to be very good friends."
Harry suddenly looked towards Hodu.
The photo was already placed before his eyes, plus the news spoken personally by Hodu, yet he still found it hard to accept.
"You can take it with you if you want." Hodu paused, "But you have to think clearly about whether you can bear the cost."
"What price?" Harry asked uncomprehendingly.
"Snape might go crazy directly. If he finds out you took it, he might demand Dumbledore to expel you. Even if expulsion doesn't work out in the end, detention will probably keep you locked up for at least a month." Hoduspread his hands, "If he doesn't find out who took it, then his anger will probably be directed entirely at you."
No matter which kind of situation it was, Harry wouldn't have an easy time in the end.
Harry's expression changed a bit, obviously realizing that what Hodu said made sense.
He stared at the photo and struggled for a while, finally gritting his teeth and putting the photo back to its original place.
Bringing even bigger trouble to himself for this photo was indeed unnecessary.
The few of them subsequently put their attention back onto the business at hand, rummaging thoroughly around the office.
They looked through cabinets, drawers, and places where things could be hidden almost everywhere, yet they still never discovered the Philosopher's Stone.
Harry pushed his glasses up and analyzed earnestly, "It seems the Philosopher's Stone has already been hidden by Snape somewhere else."
"Then let's go." Hodu was not surprised at all by this and said immediately.
However, just as they were preparing to leave, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
The sound approached step by step from afar.
The expressions of the few changed instantly, the office fell silent in an instant, and all gazes concentrated onto the door.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, finally stopping outside the door.
Harry and the others' expressions stiffened completely, their breathing seemed to halt for a beat, and they stared nervously at that office door, the sound of their heartbeats in their chests seeming like it was about to burst out.
Hodu frowned slightly.
Previously, in order to prevent being caught on the spot by Snape, he had always been sensing Snape's location with the help of Treasure Perception.