If a thug can't fight, it's okay, but if a thug is educated… watch out.
The general meaning of this saying is simple: if mischievous kids cause trouble, it's usually manageable. But if they know something, then the havoc they can wreak is nothing short of terrifying.
Do the Hufflepuffs get it?
Of course they do. Otherwise, they'd be letting down Professor Sprout herself.
A herbology student claiming ignorance of herbs is a tragedy in itself. Even if they couldn't identify the plants in front of them, by examining leaf shape, vein patterns, magical aura, and how the plant reacts to humans, they could at least make a solid guess. Not perfect, but good enough.
Whether Professor Sprout knew about this or felt proud or silently sighed… who knows.
Anyway, taking advantage of the crowd and without the lead professor noticing, the Hufflepuffs quickly gathered the ingredients they needed, then, with a destroy-evidence attitude, promptly consumed them.
Because they all had a solid foundation, this harvesting mission skillfully avoided rare single plants or those that disappear once picked, leaving the greenhouse looking as if it had been carefully maintained by a responsible caretaker.
This caused quite a surprise later when the Mahoutokoro professor arrived, he mistakenly thought he had harvested the herbs himself that morning and spent time looking for where he'd stored them.
The class itself was fun, the professor praised Sprout's academic level, and in turn delivered a vivid, engaging lesson.
The only regret? The professor noticed something unusual about the greenhouse and skipped hands-on activities.
The Hufflepuffs, of course, felt zero responsibility.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
"I swear, during the next class I'm actually going to sleep properly. Only then will my life feel worth it!"
At the end of class, Marshall loudly swore this oath, after all, sleep is the best cure for drowsiness. Anything else only works temporarily.
"Allen, what's next class again? I didn't bring my schedule, my brain is completely mush. I can't remember a thing."
Lazily digging the schedule out of his bag, Allen suddenly smiled.
The smile did not go unnoticed.
"Haha, is the second period History of Magic? Or do we not have class today?"
Allen shook his head.
"Oh, neither. It's a Divination class."
The response? A chorus of raised middle fingers.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
Fifteen minutes later, Mahoutokoro campus.
A building, likely the most expensive on campus, came into view. It was an astronomy tower, not particularly grand, but tall. While its height matched normal towers, its width was narrow, the cost of construction materials clearly a factor.
Oddly, the interior didn't feel cramped; it seemed spacious. Without doubt, the building had strong protective magic outside and internal expansion spells.
Understandable, jade is highly resistant to magic, but ordinary people couldn't build such extravagant structures.
Allen rolled his eyes, yes, he didn't need Divination class, yet here he was.
Accompanying him were his friends, who clearly had been provoked by his earlier smile and forcefully dragged him along.
Before entering the classroom, Allen had briefly thought he might slip past in the narrow hallway for a cheeky escape, but that plan failed.
Amid groans from the group, a reluctant young wizard arrived at the astronomy tower for class.
Surprisingly, a lot of students had come, including some from other grades.
What's going on? This class really that popular?
Some students Allen knew had other classes today.
"Hey, what's the deal? Are you skipping your other classes?"
"Ah, Allen, you're here too? Haha, of course, the school news travels fast. Didn't expect you to know about this hidden class."
Hidden class? Allen blinked.
"Stop pretending! Everyone knows you had friction with the Divination professor. How could you possibly take Divination?"
"Who's joking? Really, tell me, or I'll report this to your head of house."
"Seriously, you don't know?"
The others, tired of his stalling, explained. The student Allen spoke with added:
"You're lucky, you happened to run into this. I had to use special methods just to get a leave. Not easy, I tell you. Don't report it."
"Hurry, stop dawdling, "
"Fine, fine. Just wait, you'll see soon enough. The only thing I can say: her Divination is really accurate!"
"Accurate?"
"Yes, extremely precise. But it costs money. And it's not cheap."
"What?!"
The group gasped. Professors charging students? This was unheard of, even Lockhart collected only under the guise of textbooks. Directly asking for money? Preposterous.
"Hehe, believe it or not, paying doesn't even guarantee a reading," said the student, as if amazed the group hadn't seen the world.
"This professor isn't ordinary. She doesn't just casually do Divination, she has a lineage. And your money? It's all an offering to the gods!!!"
This student was practically a believer.
Allen, of course, had no intention of interfering, he decided to nap. If anyone complained, he could report them later.
Divination? He wasn't skeptical, but it didn't apply to him.
He chose a corner, leaned against the wall, and prepared to snooze. With so many students around, who would notice?
Unfortunately, he underestimated the situation. Soon, the highly praised professor appeared, dressed in red and white, and immediately fixed her gaze on him.••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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