72. The Expanding Pumpkin, Hermione's Outbreak

Wayne was feeling quite emotional.

Before he knew it, he had been living in Hogwarts for nearly two months.

Once people become busy, time passes very quickly.

The two months he had spent at Hogwarts were the most fulfilling he had ever experienced, and it was far more interesting than attending a Muggle school.

Perhaps due to the upcoming holiday, starting this week, the professors' classes were more or less related to Halloween.

In Transfiguration class...

Professor McGonagall handed each student a mouse and instructed the young wizards to transform it into a pumpkin.

Wayne looked at his mouse, which appeared very wilted, and nudged Ronald, who was sitting in front of him, with his wand.

"Is something wrong, Wayne?" Ronald turned around in confusion.

"I feel like my mouse isn't very clever. Why don't you let me borrow Scabbers?"

"Scabbers is a pet, not a prop." Ronald immediately became anxious. "Plus, Scabbers is still in the dormitory. I didn't bring him along."

"I see." Wayne felt a little disappointed. "How about you lend him to me next time and let me rent him? One Sickle per day."

Ronald was truly tempted after hearing such a high price.

One day's worth of Sickle was nearly equivalent to two Galleons in a month.

Undoubtedly, this was a huge sum of money for him.

But after considering his affection for Scabbers, Ronald still declined, his face filled with sorrow.

Harry asked with doubt, "Wayne, why are you so interested in Scabbers?"

Wayne replied matter-of-factly, "The usual lifespan of a mouse is one to three years. Scabbers have lived for more than ten years. Of course, I want to study such a long-lived mouse."

Indeed.

Harry also noticed a blind spot.

Not only did Wayne fail to mention it, but he also didn't even realize it. How could Scabbers have survived so well?

Sensing the curiosity in his friend's eyes, Ronald quickly defended, "Scabbers is a wizard's pet. How can he be compared to an ordinary mouse?"

Harry shrugged, "But as you said, he is just an ordinary mouse without any magical blood."

"Well..." Ronald didn't know what to say.

"Perhaps Percy fed him some magical potion? You know, Scabbers used to be Percy's pet."

"Forget it, I won't push you if you don't want to." Wayne said casually. "But you can come to me if you ever need money in the future, and remember to bring your rat."

After saying that, he began playing with his wilted mouse.

...

Herbology class.

This week's herbology lesson was not held in the greenhouse.

Braving the cold wind, Professor Sprout led the young wizards to Hagrid's garden.

It was a pumpkin field. The pumpkins on the vines were ripe for picking. Each vine had two or three pumpkins, and they glistened golden.

The young wizards' task was not only to pick the pumpkins but also to make the already large pumpkins even bigger.

Professor Sprout retrieved bottles of potions from the large basket she had brought and instructed each young wizard to take one.

"This is a swelling potion that can change the size of pumpkins."

"It should be noted that it must be dropped in the center of the melon base so that it can expand evenly, and be sure not to drop too much."

"After adding one drop, wait until the swelling is over before adding another drop."

Professor Sprout warned, "In the last class, there was a little Gryffindor wizard who poured half a bottle of swelling potion on the pumpkin. The two little wizards were almost crushed to death. You must be careful."

There was a low laugh in the vegetable patch.

Anything in the hands of Gryffindor will always lead to strange developments, and they are used to it.

Wayne opened the bottle and put it between his nose to smell it. His face turned a little dark.

"What's wrong?" Hannah, who was drooling over the pumpkin, noticed Wayne's change and wiped the drool from her mouth, asking.

"Nothing, I just think the potion is of good quality." Wayne forced a smile.

Can it be bad? He did this with his own hands.

He wondered why Snape suddenly asked him to brew a very simple swelling potion that day. He was treating him as cheap labor.

Wayne silently made another note for Snape in the notebook.

He has always exploited others, but he didn't expect to be exploited by Snape.

Sooner or later, he will have to be hung up on the street lights.

As the class was about to end, the vegetable patch was already crowded with pumpkins. Each pumpkin was two or three times larger than before, as big as a millstone.

Although pumpkins that have been treated with swelling potion can still be eaten, the taste will be very poor and they will not be satisfying.

Fortunately, these pumpkins are only used as Halloween decorations and will not end up in the little wizard's belly.

Well, maybe Hannah can't help but try it.

Professor Sprout gave Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff five points each because no one was causing trouble in class.

That's the power of the control group.

With the Gryffindor jade in front, it becomes a plus.

"Mr. Lawrence, please stay for a while."

Sprout called out to Wayne in the crowd.

"Professor, is something wrong?"

"Help me send these pumpkins to the storage room." With that, Sprout controlled half of the pumpkins to float.

Wayne followed suit and controlled the other half of the pumpkins without even taking out his wand.

"Perfect levitation spell, plus ten points for Hufflepuff." Professor Sprout smiled very happily. "This is for Flitwick."

Recently, Wayne has stopped answering questions in class, or even if he does answer them, the professors will not give him extra points easily.

Because when professors see Wayne, they always feel like a graduate coming back to take first-year courses.

If you give him extra points, it will be weird.Professor Sprout also sought an opportunity to make it up to Wayne. There was no way she couldn't grow just a few pumpkins.

After placing the pumpkin in the storage room, Wayne bid farewell to his dean, had a casual lunch, and headed to the Potions classroom.

The previous good mood had vanished, and Snape seemed to always dampen everyone's spirits when they were at their happiest.

None of the professors had homework this Halloween weekend, and even Quidditch practice was canceled.

He was the only one who left three papers after class, corresponding to the main potions he had previously learned.

Although Wayne didn't have to write, Snape still assigned him a task - ensuring that all Hufflepuff wizards' papers passed with flying colors.

The moment Snape saw Wayne take out his wand, he swiftly floated away like a bat.

The last day of October was Halloween.

When Wayne woke up early in the morning, the smell of roasting pumpkins in the corridor was stronger, and the ghosts were more active than usual.

In the Hufflepuff common room, the fat monk gave an impromptu speech, urging the young wizards to join the church and have faith in the all-powerful God. Unfortunately, no one was interested.

In Charm's class, Professor Flitwick proposed that they could begin making objects fly.

After witnessing him levitate Neville's toads around the classroom, the students were eager to see more.

One student conjured a feather, and the young wizards waved their wands and muttered incantations.

"Wayne, what are you working on?" Hermione successfully controlled the feather, causing it to float in the air for a few seconds before contentedly putting it away and letting it slowly descend.

Only then did she notice that Wayne, who was seated next to her, wasn't practicing magic but writing a letter.

"Oh, my robes are a bit too small. I'm going to order two more sets from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions"

"Do you need help? If you're unsure of your size, the store can send you a set of magic measuring tools. Just send them back with the payment."

The ages of eleven and twelve are the years when growth spurts occur.

In the two months since starting school, Wayne had grown three centimeters, causing his robes to become too short.

"I don't need help," Wayne replied. Hermione lectured him like a responsible housekeeper, "You'll just need to buy new robes in two months, so why not order a larger size? It will save you money."

"Sigh." Wayne finished writing his final request, returned the letter to his pocket, and shook his head in regret.

"After all, I'm so poor that I only have money and no place to spend it here at Hogwarts. Are you trying to deprive me of even this bit of happiness?"

Hermione was momentarily speechless.

Only then did she remember Wayne's true identity.

This mischievous individual had only mentioned the death of his parents when they first met, failing to mention that he was a Earl!

If they were in the Muggle world, Hermione would respectfully refer to Wayne as "Lord" whenever she saw him."Just show off," the little witch snapped, ignoring Wayne with evident anger.

After hearing that Ronald kept chanting the wrong spell, he reminded him a little irritably, "It's wing-GAR-dee-um leh-vee-OH-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

After being pointed out numerous mistakes, Ronald became angry and said, "Since you're so smart, come and try it!"

Hermione, without any politeness, rolled up her sleeves, revealing her white wrists. She waved them as Flitwick had taught her and confidently exclaimed, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Her feathers rose from the table, steadily and quickly, hovering four inches above Hermione's head.

"Oh, well done," Professor Flitwick exclaimed happily. "Look, Miss Granger has succeeded! Five points for Gryffindor!"

Ronald remained silent for the rest of the class.

Ronald's mood was extremely bad when Seamus set his feathers on fire as a sign of the end of class.

"No wonder everyone can't stand her," Ronald complained to Harry. "She's a nightmare."

Harry noticed Hermione nearby from the corner of his eye, and Ronald quickly hushed him, saying, "Don't Hermione and Wayne have a good relationship? They're both geniuses."

"There's a difference between geniuses," Ronald continued, seeking an argument. "Wayne is more talented than Hermione, but he has never been as domineering as her."

"Look at Wayne's popularity. Even Malfoy would take the initiative to say hello to him!"

"But what about Hermione? She always looks down on me!"

Is it because you're too short? Harry silently thought to himself, but he had given up on trying to save Ronald.

There was no hope; he just had to wait for Ronald to calm down.

However, what Harry didn't expect was for Ronald to continue ranting nonsensically on their way to their next class.

"No wonder I rarely see Wayne and Hermione together recently. He's always with that second-year Ravenclaw."

"What's her name? Cho Chang, right?"

"She's so gentle."

Harry subconsciously nodded in agreement.

"Levicorpus!"

An angry voice reached their ears.

Ronald felt like the world was spinning as he suddenly flew up and was hung upside down on a pillar in the courtyard.

Hermione, with her hair flying, was seething with anger. "Ronald Weasley, is there any point in talking about others behind their backs? You should really learn from your three brothers! What are the most basic manners of a person?"

After saying that, Hermione stormed away angrily, and Harry was too frightened to move.

He had never seen Hermione so angry before.

The scene caused a major commotion in the garden between the buildings. Students passing by looked on in shock. But when they saw Ronald's embarrassed appearance, many people couldn't help laughing.

"It's actually a silent spell. Isn't that first-year Granger just now?"

"It's her. What kind of spell is this? I've never seen it before."

"Today's little wizards are really awesome. There's Lawrence in the first grade, and then there's Granger."

"Would you like to go to the library together? I also want to learn this spell and have some skills."

Ronald's face turned as red as a monkey's butt after so many people pointed and laughed at him.

Harry wanted to put him down but couldn't touch Ronald and couldn't counter the curse.

Three full minutes later, after the spell expired, Ronald fell down, and Harry hurriedly held him up.

"Ronald, are you okay?"

Ronald, who felt too embarrassed to face anyone, pushed Harry away and fled the garden in a panic.

Night soon arrived.

As darkness fell, the castle's decorations took on a new look.

The auditorium was filled with colorful Halloween items. The once starlit ceiling had been replaced with a ghostly smiling face, and thousands of bats fluttered on the walls and ceiling.

Countless dark clouds loomed over the dining table.

The brass candlesticks had been replaced with pumpkins enchanted to levitate. Dim candlelight flickered through the carved eyes and mouths of the pumpkins.

Instead of being scary, they actually looked quite cute.

Dumbledore waved his wand radiantly and without saying a word, the golden plate was filled with delicacies, as bountiful as the opening dinner.

All kinds of roast chicken, lamb chops, steaks, and pork knuckles were available.

Hufflepuff's little badgers cheered and eagerly grabbed at the plate.

Normally, the school never let anyone go hungry and provided plenty of meat and vegetables, but it was never as diverse as it is today.

Wayne also received a whole chicken, two large pieces of grilled ribs, and a generous serving of beans.

Before starting to eat, he glanced at the long Gryffindor table and noticed Hermione sitting there with a steak on her plate, so he paid it no mind.

Quirrell wanted to cause trouble tonight, but it had nothing to do with Wayne, so it was just for show.

As long as Hermione wasn't in danger.

As if understanding, Hermione also raised her head and met Wayne's eyes.

The boy flashed her a big smile, but the young witch rolled her eyes, leaving Wayne a little confused.

How had he annoyed Hermione again?

Cho also spotted Wayne at the nearby long table, smiled, and raised her wine glass filled with juice to toast. The two congratulated each other from a distance.

Hermione was even more irritated.

She struggled to cut her steak with her knife and fork, tearing it into small pieces.

Harry, who was not far away, swallowed his saliva and cautiously said, "Hey, Hermione."

"What!"

"Um... have you seen Ronald?" Harry hadn't been able to find Ronald all afternoon, not even in Herbology class."How do I know where he is?" Hermione sarcastically asked, "Maybe he's in the library, finally learning some basic manners."

Neville, mouth full of food, overheard their conversation and abruptly looked up. "I saw him in the second-floor bathroom not long ago," he said, "but he looked upset. Did something happen?"

"Nothing," Harry said with a dry laugh, deciding to find his good friend after dinner.

The atmosphere in the auditorium was full of harmony, with wizards' laughter echoing throughout.

Professor Flitwick had drawn a bat on his wizard hat, which was now flashing.

Professor Sprout had applied red camouflage to her face.

Even Professor McGonagall, in a rare moment, raised her wine glass and proposed a toast to Professor Barbling, the Ancient Runes professor.

The only person who seemed determined to spoil the atmosphere was Snape, who retained his cold expression and showed no interest in Halloween whatsoever.

Just as everyone was reveling in the festive spirit, the door swung open, and Quirrell rushed into the auditorium, his face filled with horror.