After a boring and tedious hour, the bell finally rang.
Not only were the young wizards listening to the lecture relieved, but even Quirrell let out a long sigh of relief.
After packing his things, Quirrell hurried out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
This kind of hurried departure, as if he didn’t dare stay for a second longer, made it seem like he was off to complete some task for his master.
Observing Quirrell’s performance, Lucien was speechless.
Quirrell’s act of playing the fool was a bit too much.
Someone who could become a Hogwarts professor couldn’t possibly be a total incompetent!
Although I can learn some Defense Against the Dark Arts by reading books, having a teacher’s guidance would definitely allow me to progress faster.
Who wouldn’t want to improve?
Who’s going to make up for the missing teacher part for me!
Lucien looked down at the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook; it mostly contained theory.
A real battle is decided in an instant.
The decisiveness and response skills required simply cannot be fully grasped by rote learning.
At the thought of an entire year of Quirrell’s half-hearted teaching, Lucien couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
If it weren’t for Old Dumbledore suspecting Quirrell and guarding against Lord Voldemort’s return to Hogwarts—Dumbledore’s personality leaned more towards keeping problems where he could see them for easier supervision—he probably would have fired Quirrell for such a performance long ago.
Eh, wait.
Fire the professor?
Thinking of this, a plan suddenly formed in Lucien’s mind.
Since he’s my teacher, he has to teach me something, right?
Let’s see if I can squeeze some value out of Quirrell.
Hmm, maybe I can even squeeze some out of Tom!
— Saying goodbye to Harry and the other two, Lucien picked up his books and quickly left the classroom.
He had finished all his classes for today; it was time to get down to business.
Off to the library!
As soon as he entered the library, the entire atmosphere became quiet.
This wasn’t to say all the young wizards were so well-behaved that they were naturally quiet.
Rather, it was because of a thin, elderly woman carrying a feather duster, constantly pacing the library like a lion patrolling its territory.
If any young wizard made noise or damaged a book, she would brandish her feather duster and drive them out.
Lucien scanned the room and quickly found her.
“Madam Pince?” In response to Lucien’s quiet inquiry, the lady nodded.
Lucien then took out Professor Flitwick’s book list and handed it to Pince.
Scanning the contents of the list quickly, Madam Pince frowned.
She looked Lucien up and down again and suddenly asked: “What year are you in?” “First year.” Lucien’s answer made Madam Pince’s frown deepen.
Mainly because of the titles listed: “Achievements in Charming,” “Development of Non-verbal Spells,” “Application of Combined Spells”…
These were books that only upper-year students preparing for their N.E.W.T.s would attempt to borrow, and even then, they’d only borrow one or two at a time to study.
Looking at the more than ten books on the list, Madam Pince highly suspected that the first-year wizard before her was playing some kind of prank.
But it bore Professor Flitwick’s personal signature, along with a magical mark that was difficult to forge.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Madam Pince said flatly: “Wait a moment.” The lady turned and walked toward the shelves without hesitation.
She moved between the rows of bookshelves, appearing to locate the exact position of each book without needing to think.
Watching Madam Pince find them one by one instead of using a spell like Accio, Lucien felt that she must cherish books deeply, choosing to do it by hand rather than summon them crudely.
As for the idea that Madam Pince might be a Squib who couldn’t use magic, Lucien thought about it and felt it was unlikely.
There were plenty of precious collections in the library’s Restricted Section; how could they appoint someone who didn’t understand magic to guard it?
Wouldn’t that just let students use magic to sneak in for self-service?
Madam Pince quickly gathered all the books and handed them to Lucien: “You must not damage the books.
Violators will be punished!
The loan period is one month.
If you want to renew, come back to register with me.” Lucien nodded and thanked her.
Afterward, he found a few additional magic books in the fields of Transfiguration and Potions.
After registering them with Madam Pince, Lucien prepared to leave the library.
Just as he left the library and passed a corner, Lucien’s vision was blocked by the high stack of books, and he didn’t notice someone walking out.
“Ouch!” A cry of surprise rang out.
At the same time, Lucien was knocked off balance, and his books were about to scatter all over the floor.
“Wingardium Leviosa.” Lucien reacted even faster, pulling out his wand and casting the Levitation Charm.
The scattered books floated steadily in the air and stacked up once more.
“Sorry, are you okay?” Lucien was about to reach out to pull the other person up.
“You are…
Lucien!” Looking at the blonde girl sitting on the ground rubbing her wrist, Lucien confirmed he didn’t know her.
However, she had already grasped his palm and stood up.
“I’m Daphne Greengrass.
The eldest daughter of the Greengrass family.” Hearing Daphne’s introduction, Lucien raised an eyebrow but responded politely: “Hello, I’m Lucien Greenwood.” “Yes, I know your name.
You were quite outstanding at the Opening Ceremony.
Didn’t we also attend History of Magic Class together this afternoon?” He glanced at the house crest on Daphne’s robes—Slytherin.
Noticing that she was still rubbing her wrist, it seemed she had strained it when she fell.
Lucien felt that bumping into her was partly his fault, so he raised his wand.
“Episkey.” A wisp of white light wrapped around Daphne’s wrist, and she immediately felt the pain vanish.
“A Healing Spell?
Thank you!” Daphne expressed her thanks gracefully.
She felt her judgment was correct; being able to use magic so easily right after the start of school, Lucien was indeed an extraordinary person worth befriending.
“You’re welcome.” Lucien just gave a soft hum and started to leave.
He planned to pack dinner from the Great Hall and go straight back to his dormitory to start reading.
Finally being able to access advanced magical knowledge, no longer limited to the magic books easily bought outside, filled Lucien with anticipation and joy.
Learning non-verbal spells, attempting Potion brewing—today was going to be another productive night!
“Lucien, would you like to have dinner with me?” Seeing that Lucien was actually about to leave, Daphne quickly extended an invitation.
As she spoke, an elegant and proper smile played on her lips, and she tilted her chin slightly, revealing her slender, fair neck.
As if receiving an invitation from her was an honor.
Looking at the young girl’s expression and posture, Lucien found it strangely familiar.
How did she make going to the school cafeteria for dinner sound so sophisticated?
Greengrass…
ah, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, a Pure-blood family.
No wonder it looked familiar; the noble young ladies I talked to when I attended banquets with Aunt Penelope were all like this.
Ugh, a young lady from a Pure-blood family and a Slytherin—what a stack of buffs.
Lucien suddenly had an intuition that this girl would probably be quite a handful.
With so many books to read and so much knowledge waiting for me, I don’t have time to waste on her.
“Thank you for your kindness, but I’m sorry, I have some things to do today.” After saying that, Lucien walked away, bypassing Daphne directly.
The latter’s smile froze; it felt like she hadn’t even processed it yet—had she just been rejected?