thefictionvixens Chapter 140: The Professor Offers Good Medicine and Advises Students to Change Jobs
Chapter 140: The Professor Offers Good Medicine and Advises Students to Change Jobs
Chapter 141: The Professor Offers Good Medicine and Advises Students to Change Jobs
It is said that Ron wanted to breed with Scabbers so that he could have many offspring and die a peaceful death.
Harry shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this, saying, "Brother, you're mistaken."
Both the man and the rat were taken aback upon hearing this and turned to look.
"Harry, is there a problem?"
"Ha! Brother, haven't you heard the saying, 'A single thread cannot make a line, and one hand cannot clap'? If you want your rat offspring to prosper, how can you achieve anything great by only finding one female rat?"
"We need at least three to five healthy female mice!"
These words immediately made Banban jump around excitedly, and Ron suddenly understood.
"You're right, I—hey! Look at this old lecher, he's so excited!"
Nagini hissed from Harry's shoulder, "Harry, if I really do turn into a beast, remember to keep those rutting snakes away from me."
"Of course, if I deliberately approach other snakes, you must stop me."
Harry laughed upon hearing this, "Don't worry, sister, I'll take good care of you."
The group returned to the castle after discussing their journey, and Nagini left first.
Once back in the lounge, Ron couldn't wait to head straight to the dormitory building to find the student who kept the rats.
Harry was about to part ways with Hermione when he noticed her staring intently at the mandrake in his robes, and hesitatingly said:
"Harry, can I train with you in Animagus?"
Harry cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said solemnly, "Elder sister, please understand. It's not that I'm refusing, but rather that you haven't yet mastered the art of hiding leaves in your mouth. If there's even the slightest mistake, I could never atone for it, even if my heart were torn apart."
"Let me first brave the dangers and hardships, and once I've mastered the methods, I'll come back to pass on the teachings to my elder sister and brothers."
Having said that, he took out James's notes on studying Animagus from his bosom and presented them to him.
"This is a record of my father's insights from studying Animagus. Elder sister, please keep it and study it carefully with your brothers."
Hermione saw his serious expression and didn't say anything more, so she could only nod in agreement.
"Um."
After a few days, Ron finally found a student willing to breed his pet rat with Spotted.
Do you think this person agreed?
It turned out that the student had taken a liking to the longevity-enhancing qualities of the spotted mouse and had already discussed it with Ron. Once the mouse gave birth to its offspring, they would each take one for themselves.
As the saying goes, "In a private school, even if you don't study books, everything is interesting." On this weekend, when the Gryffindor students heard that Ron was going to use mice for breeding, a dozen or so heads had already gathered in the common room, staring intently at the two mice in the box on the table.
However, after watching for a long time, everyone saw that the mother mouse was full of affection and trying to seduce him in every way, but Banban was like an old monk in meditation, unmoved.
"Hey Ron," Seamus said doubtfully, "are you impotent?"
Ron's face darkened. "It's my rat! What does it have to do with me!"
Fred stared until his neck ached and his heart was filled with anxiety. He took his wand and poked at it for a long time.
"Move? Why aren't you moving?"
Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Harry suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed to Ron, "Oh dear! It's not that I'm confused! Scabbers is already a rat on the verge of death, how could he possibly have the energy to be energetic?"
"We need to get some aphrodisiac powder for it to ingest!"
Upon hearing this, several witches who were watching blushed and turned their heads away.
Ron hurriedly called out, "George! Get me a bottle of love potion!"
"What?!"
Seeing everyone staring at him, George jumped to his feet and shouted, "Mr. Ron Weasley! Take back your slanderous words about your own brother! I didn't make such a thing!"
Ron was eager to breed with Scabbers, so he quickly pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, "I need you to get me a bottle."
"Don't you and Fred often sell prank toys to people?"
George's eyelids drooped. "Please, don't go too far. Can a love potion be considered a prank toy?"
"Doesn't that count? I've seen a lot of upperclassmen have it."
"You'd better be glad they didn't use this on you..."
As the two were arguing, a "snap" sound was heard, and a house-elf appeared out of nowhere in the lounge.
Ron glanced at it only once before calling out, "Harry, someone's looking for you."
The house-elf approached Harry respectfully and said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Harry Potter. Professor Dumbledore is looking for you."
Harry remained seated on the sofa, chuckling, "No rush, let me enjoy the view first."
"Oh, but... Professor Dumbledore said it's something very important." The house-elf hesitated, then said cautiously, "Then, should I go ask Professor Dumbledore again?"
Seeing the elf's earnestness, Harry assumed he had found Salazar's locket and immediately abandoned his playful mood, rising to say:
"Lead the way, and we'll return as soon as possible."
Having said that, he spread his five fingers and hooked them onto the scalp of the house-elf. With a "snap," the two disappeared without a trace.
When he revealed himself, he was already in the headmaster's office, where Dumbledore was eating a cockroach candy dipped in syrup.
The house-elf said respectfully, "Professor Dumbledore, I have brought Mr. Harry Potter here."
The old man and the young man stared at each other for a long time. Dumbledore ate the candy, put away the syrup, and sighed:
"Thank you for your hard work, but remember to knock next time."
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Professor Dumbledore! This is my fault!"
"Don't punish yourself, just add cherry pudding to your dinner tonight."
After the elf left the house, Harry pulled up a chair and sat down. "Professor, you're sipping your honey water so leisurely, it doesn't seem like you're in a dire situation. Is there really something urgent?"
"Oh, Harry, that's really hurtful. Does that mean I can't come to you unless it's something really important?"
Harry, knowing he'd missed the good show in the common room, was displeased and exclaimed, "Professor, you're busy with countless affairs, but I'm no idle fellow either. How can you expect a house-elf to pretend it's an emergency and fool me!"
Seeing that he was about to get angry, Dumbledore was afraid that his shouting would trigger his headache, so he quickly changed the subject.
"Of course, you're right, there is indeed something very important that I called you here today."
"How's your idealism holding up? Have you fully mastered your knife yet?"
Harry looked at him suspiciously and said, "I haven't heard from the professor for half a month since school started, why are you asking now? Is this some kind of excuse?"
"How could that be? I'm not the kind of person who likes to lie to children. It's just that the position of principal is not easy, and it's difficult for me to find the time."
Harry, hearing his sincerity, stopped arguing and simply shook his head, saying, "My progress in this path is exactly the same as it was during the summer vacation."
Dumbledore had just made up an excuse, but upon hearing Harry's words, he frowned.
"That's really strange, you're clearly very talented in this area. The phrase 'Nothing exists outside the mind, no principle exists outside the mind' is worthy of being written into textbooks."
Harry waved his hand and said, "What I'm saying is a matter of discussing the mind and comprehending the Tao. The spiritual principles I'm talking about are inherently elusive."
"But this knife is truly sharp enough to cut fingers; its edge is blatantly sharp. How can I treat it as nothing?"
Dumbledore stared blankly. So what he said that day was philosophical thinking? That didn't seem like something a child would consider.
He pondered for a moment, then replied, "The more knowledgeable and thoughtful one is, the easier it is to complicate magic. Clearly, this is the case for you..."
"Harry, do you believe in God?"
Upon hearing this, Harry quickly clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and said solemnly, "Of course I believe you."
"If that's the case, then things are much easier to discuss."
Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Please forgive me for what I'm about to say, as it may be rather presumptuous. You must treat your blade with the same faith you have in God. Faith doesn't exist—by the way, what God do you believe in?"
"Oh dear, if that's what you mean, Professor, I must explain in detail."
Before Dumbledore could ask any further questions, he rattled off a string of names as if reciting a menu. He rattled off titles like the Buddha of the Western Paradise, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, and the Three Pure Ones, among others.
Before he could finish speaking, his lips were parched and his tongue was dry, so he grabbed the teapot, poured himself a cup, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. After wiping his mouth, he continued:
"Last year, I heard about those two gentlemen, Jesus and Merlin. They are truly extraordinary people, and I have come to respect them to some extent."
When he finished speaking, Dumbledore was already stunned, speechless with astonishment.
"You... this... Harry, are your beliefs so mixed?"
"Ah, although my offerings are somewhat haphazard, they are truly sincere. Every year during festivals, I send someone to prepare sacrificial offerings of meat, wine, and incense, and the altar is never lacking in the slightest."
After saying that, Harry cupped his hands in greeting to Dumbledore and said with a smile, "Professor, don't think I'm not focused. You should know that the wizarding world is mysterious and unpredictable. To make a living in this world is to worship at every temple and burn incense at every Buddha statue."
Dumbledore was stunned for a moment before taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples.
Does this count as having faith?
Generally speaking, having two different beliefs is considered heresy—but what heretic would perform rituals to God every holiday?
The old headmaster pondered for a moment, recalling Harry's earlier words, and then asked strangely, "So, every Christmas you offer sacrifices to more than a dozen gods?"
Harry snorted, "But there aren't as many as before. A few bird gods accepted my incense offerings, but it was all for naught. Not a single thing worked. I took down those guys' altars long ago."
The words were still ringing in his ears when Dumbledore's headache flared up again.
It is:
During the New Year, many gods and Buddhas are worshipped, and only when their power is proven will the incense be put away.
If there is any who does not manifest divine power, their smiling face will instantly turn sour.
Dumbledore frowned, took out a potion for his headache from the drawer and swallowed it. It took him a long time to recover.
"...Harry, I need to correct you, you are actually an atheist."
"Secondly, I think you could focus on learning new spells instead of developing that sword..."
"You don't seem to be very good at deceiving yourself."
Harry, seeing that the professor spoke sincerely but was inwardly skeptical, scoffed, "Professor, you're too quick to judge! If I don't learn this thoroughly, what's the point of the Invisibility Cloak!"
Having said that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, picked up his knife and staff, and strode away.
As the footsteps faded and disappeared, Dumbledore sighed again and took out some cockroach candy to eat.
Every time I have a deep conversation with him, I always discover some little secrets, which makes my headache even worse.
The old principal, chewing on a cockroach candy and grumbling to himself, was trying to vent his frustrations when a portrait of the principal behind him couldn't contain himself any longer and spoke up:
"Dumbledore, what exactly do you want to ask young Potter?"
Upon hearing this, all the former principals on the wall chimed in in agreement.
"That's right, you haven't forgotten, have you?"
"I've been here for a full fifteen minutes just to hear what questions you have for Harry, and you've forgotten!"
"Please, Dumbledore, what exactly is your question?"
The headmasters chattered amongst themselves, and Dumbledore was stunned for a moment, forgetting to chew the cockroach candy in his mouth. After a few breaths, he took another one and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Ah, you're right. It seems I'll have to ask Harry again next time."
The former headmaster was yelling on the wall, "Merlin's beard! At least tell me what you want to ask!"
(End of this chapter)