Chapter 11: Hodu Steps onto the Hogwarts Express
The next day, Hodu slept until noon.
Still half-asleep and lost in a dream, his nose was first awakened by a rich aroma.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, the fragrance instantly grew stronger, and his stomach uncooperatively let out a growl.
Hodu hurriedly ran over to the dining table and looked up to find six dishes already neatly arranged on it.
The colors were vibrant, and wisps of steam curled upward.
He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring as the rich aroma drilled straight into his chest.
Stewed beef with potatoes, meatballs, fish-flavored eggplant...
"What a feast!"
Hodu couldn't help but swallow hard.
Meals of this caliber weren't usually common at home; truly gathering all these ingredients would require a special trip into Muggle society.
Hannah walked out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of rice, and seeing his gluttonous look, she immediately burst into laughter.
"Today is the day you go to school, so of course I have to give you a good nourishment.
Go wash up first, hurry."
Hearing this, Hodu turned around and dashed into the washroom.
In less than a minute, he came running back out and bolted straight onto his chair to sit down.
"Delicious!"
While shouting, he stuffed food into his mouth in huge bites.
His chopsticks flew back and forth among the dishes, his mouth hardly stopping, while his eyes remained fixed on the food he hadn't eaten yet.
Naturally, he didn't use his devouring trait for this meal.
If he even cheated when eating, that would be completely breaking the code of martial ethics.
"After you get into Slytherin, remember to keep your wits about you."
Watching him wolf down his food, Hannah still couldn't help but advise, "Those young Wizards aren't like us; some of them are extremely malicious.
Don't go messing around blindly with them."
Hannah herself was a pure-blood Wizard, yet she had never thought much of that bunch in Slytherin.
Back when she was in school, she held this exact attitude.
Later, upon learning that most of those former classmates had followed Lord Voldemort to become Death Eaters, she held even more disdain toward them.
Of course, her situation back then was also inseparable from her family's assets and status.
Although she had likewise entered Slytherin, her family fell far short of other pure-blood Wizards, making it natural for her to be ostracized.
Fortunately, back then there was still that group from Gryffindor drawing the fire, so this kind of exclusion was never brought out into the open.
"Got it..."
With rice still stuffed in his mouth, Hodu gave a vague response.
Time flashed by to the afternoon.
Hodu changed into a suit; though small in stature, he wore it with absolute solemnity, looking quite precocious.
Dragging his suitcase with one hand, Gili stood steadily atop the case.
Hannah brought him to King's Cross Station in Mugglesociety.
She was also looking around, her gaze carrying a hint of nostalgia from a long-awaited reunion.
"Let me find it... It should be Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Yes, right here."
Hannah looked at the station in front of her, her face full of surprise, "More than ten years have passed, and yet there hasn't been the slightest change.
Could it be that they also want to learn from Hogwarts and turn this place directly into a thousand-year-old castle?"
Familiar memories surfaced once again, and the scene before her matched her memories one by one.
She brought Hodu in front of the platform nine and three-quarters barrier, raising her hand to point at that pillar wall.
"The entrance is right over there.
Just charge straight through, don't hesitate halfway."
Hannah ruffled Hodu's hair, unusually adopting a gentle tone, "I won't accompany you inside; you'll be fine by yourself, right?"
"No problem."
Hodu answered very cleanly.
The slight reluctance to part in his heart also slowly dissipated after these words.
After saying goodbye to Hannah, he looked at the wall before him, pulled up his suitcase, and charged straight into it with Gili.
This matter wasn't actually scary at all.
Hodu could feel that there was no real wall there at all; it was merely enchanted with powerful magic cast by Wizards.
Ordinary Wizards would find it hard to see through, but he was different, because there wasn't a single wall in that place that could be controlled by him.
The moment he passed through the barrier, the scene before him suddenly opened up.
Hodu was already standing on another platform.
Parked ahead was a rather primitive steam train whose appearance looked quite aged.
All around the platform were young Wizards, some even wearing strangely oversized clothes that clearly looked like they were thrown on temporarily just to cope with Muggles.
Some of those clothes even had Chinese characters printed on them.
It seemed that goods from the East had already begun circulating over to Britain here.
Following the instructions on the platform, Hodu found the carriage dedicated to first-year students.
He casually picked an empty compartment and shoved his suitcase into the gap beneath the seat.
As for Gili, it had already been sent into the cat cattery on the train and would later head to the Hogwarts owlery together with other owls.
Hodu gazed out the window, feeling somewhat emotional inside.
A new life was truly about to begin.
There was no one else in the compartment yet, so he closed the door, took off his suit, and took out his Wizardrobes from the suitcase to put on.
Changing after reaching Hogwarts would be somewhat troublesome, so it was much easier to prepare in advance.
Furthermore, compared to the suit, wearing these robes was indeed much more comfortable.
As time ticked by bit by bit, the students on the train gradually increased in number.
When a girl passed by the compartment door, her gaze swept inside and finally stopped on Hodu.
Her steps paused, and then she walked in pulling her suitcase.
"Felix Felicis is a lucky Potion, and brewing it takes at least half a year.
Some people also believe that everyone has misunderstood its effect; what it truly enhances is actually a Wizard's ability to cast spells, not so-called luck.
Besides, the production of this Potion is extremely complicated and its value is very high, so it was completely impossible for you to have drunk Felix Felicis at that time."
The person who arrived was none other than Hermione Granger.
Without even giving Hodu a chance to speak, she kept a straight face and recited the knowledge about Felix Felicisfrom beginning to end.
"Is that so?"
Hodu curved the corners of his mouth, "Yet what I asked at the time was only whether you had heard of Felix Felicis, and I didn't say I had drunk it myself.
Having heard of it and having drunk it shouldn't be the same thing, right?"
Hermione's brows instantly knitted together.
She carefully recalled the conversation at that time and quickly discovered that what Hodu said was indeed correct.
He only said he had good luck and asked her if she knew about Felix Felicis, never admitting from start to finish that he had drunk it.
This guy had clearly put the two matters together on purpose, digging a linguistic trap waiting for her to jump in.
Yet she had actually jumped right into it.
"Hmph!"
Unable to refute, Hermione could only let out a reluctant hmph.
She glanced around the compartment, and finding that Hodu was the only one inside, she put her luggage on the floor and sat down opposite him.
A pair of brown eyes then began to size Hodu up and down.
"My name is Hermione Granger."
Since she took the initiative to introduce herself, Hodu also stated his name.
"Hodu."
Having just suffered a small defeat, Hermione immediately changed the topic, attempting to win back her face through her own knowledge.
"You come from the East?
That name sounds like a name from over in the East."
"You could also understand it that way."
Hodu did not deny it.
Strictly speaking, this statement did indeed touch upon his roots.
Just at this moment, a voice came from outside the compartment.
"Is there still any room inside?"
Hodu turned his head to look, his brows lifting slightly.
The person standing at the doorway turned out to be Harry Potter.
And as Harry walked in, Ron also appeared outside the compartment.
Looking at these three childish young Wizards before him, Hodu raised a hand to rub his chin and fell into thought.
Could this be the destiny of the trio?
Wouldn't that make him the extra one?
Chapter 12: House Topics on the Train
As soon as Harry said his name, Ron looked as if he had been struck by something, his eyes widening.
"You are Harry Potter? The boy who survived Lord Voldemort?"
His voice was quite loud, and even Hermione showed a look of surprise.
She hadn't been in the Magical World for long, but she had obviously heard of the name Harry Potter long ago.
The weight of this name in the Magical World of Britainwas probably even more exaggerated than Hodu had imagined before.
Ron quickly recovered his usual carefree manner and began to ask Harry all sorts of questions.
Hermione didn't chime in, just listening quietly and occasionally looking over at Harry along with them.
Hodu wasn't very interested in this.
He rested his head on one hand, his gaze falling outside the carriage window.
At this moment, the train was still parked there, and there was nothing worth looking at outside the window, at most just a motionless scenery.
After waiting for a while longer, the train finally started moving forward.
Accompanied by a long whistle, the things outside slowly retreated backward.
Ron's voice continued to ring in his ears, but Hodu turned his head toward the window, starting to calculate his upcoming campus life.
Logically speaking, the next period should be a relaxing time.
Going to classes every day, wandering around after school, borrowing homework from classmates for reference if he didn't know how to do it, and slowly learning magicaccording to his own interests.
When the fifth grade arrived, he would concentrate on preparing for the Wizard examinations.
Passing would naturally be best, failing meant a retake, and if worst came to worst, he could just be held back a year.
In the sixth grade, he could continue to relax for another year.
By that time, a person's mind and body would have fully developed, and yet there wouldn't be any academic exams, making it most suitable for dating.
In the seventh grade, he would have to consider post-graduation work, starting to look for positions and write resumes.
After leaving Hogwarts, he would work for a year or two before considering getting married and having children.
The path of life could almost be seen to the end at a glance, but such a steady and smooth life itself wasn't bad either.
Thinking of this, Hodu couldn't help feeling a bit emotional in his heart.
As long as there was no Lord Voldemort, such an arrangement could completely become a reality.
Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort happened to exist.
Moreover, besides that Dark Lord, there was another matter destined to drag him out of an ordinary life.
Who could blame him for having a cheat?
Since he was holding such a system, wanting to keep a low profile and coast by was probably what was truly unrealistic.
As they were talking, an elderly Witch suddenly passed outside the compartment.
She was pushing a cart full of snacks and stopped at the door for a moment.
"Would you like to buy something to eat?"
Ron and Hermione's attention was immediately drawn over, and Harry directly pulled out a handful of golden Galleons.
Hodu followed by taking out two, just not as exaggeratedly as Harry.
After asking about the price, Harry very simply put the money away.
"I'll pay for this."
Hodu didn't refuse, reaching out to take a Chocolate Frog from the table.
He tore open the packaging, and as soon as he shoved the wriggling chocolate into his mouth, the frog began to struggle desperately inside his mouth.
This experience was indeed a bit strange, but Hodu had been eating them since he was a child and hadn't found it strange for a long time.
In the past, he had even specially collected the cards for a period of time.
With a bite of his teeth, the Chocolate Frog was bitten off on the spot, and then turned into chocolate in his mouth.
Ron beside him was eating with chocolate all over his mouth, staring at Hodu and asking, "Hodu, are you from the East?"
"Pretty much, my father is from the East."
Hodu replied casually, and blinked at Hermione.
Even Ron could see his origin, so Hermione's previous probing naturally seemed superfluous.
Receiving his meaning, Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly, but didn't voice any rebuttal.
She was also busy eating herself and had no time to continue arguing.
Actually, Hodu's identity wasn't hard to guess.
His appearance was obviously different from the few people present, and it wouldn't be very easy to pretend to be a native of Britain.
Strangely enough, his face in this lifetime didn't have much change from his previous life, but due to Hannah's bloodline, there were still slight differences.
The bridge of his nose was much higher than in his memory, his eye sockets appeared deeper, and the most obvious change was that pair of blue eyes.
Right at this moment, a few figures appeared at the door of the compartment.
Leading them was a blond boy with slicked-back hair, followed by two henchmen.
He lifted his chin slightly, the arrogance on his face hardly concealed.
"Harry Potter, I still have vacant seats on my side. Do you want to come over and sit?"
Harry glanced at him and immediately shook his head.
"No need, I've already sat down."
Malfoy obviously hadn't expected to be rejected, stunned for a moment, and then let out a cold sneer.
"So you plan to stay with the red-headed Weasleys. That whole family is full of Gryffindors, a bunch of foolish lions."
This sentence cursed Ron's family along with Gryffindor, opening an area-of-effect attack quite thoroughly.
Harry's expression immediately sank.
"Who I sit with doesn't need your arrangement. Now please leave, you are not welcome here."
Malfoy's expression changed slightly.
He stared at Harry for a few seconds before coldly dropping a sentence: "We'll see about that."
With that, he turned and left the compartment with his two henchmen.
Ron's gaze looking at Harry immediately gained a bit more gratitude, and then he brought up the matter of the Houses again.
"What's so good about joining Slytherin? My two brothers said the guys there are cold-blooded reptiles. I should be going to Gryffindor. Harry, what about you?"
"Gryffindor."
Harry answered very firmly.
As for the reason, it was because he had heard that his parents had also been Gryffindor students back then.
Then, he threw the question back to Hodu.
"Which House do you want to go to?"
"Any of them is fine."
Hodu said casually.
He didn't have the final say on the House, and in the end, the Sorting Hat would have to make the decision.
However, according to his own judgment, the possibility of entering Slytherin was probably higher.
Ron lowered his voice again, bringing up the news he had heard from his brothers.
"Do you guys know? I heard the sorting is very dangerous, and every year people get hurt because of it."
Hodu just smiled and didn't continue discussing this topic.
He continued looking out the window, occasionally seeing tall buildings flash by in the distance.
The snacks in his hand were still being eaten, but his thoughts had already turned to his subsequent arrangements.
The fusion of the Crup had already been completed, and a new fusion slot had reappeared on the system panel.
In other words, he could now choose his next fusion target.
This time, he didn't need to rush to make a decision.
Compared to before, he had a larger room for choice, and no longer needed to limit his targets to those magical creatures with lower fusion difficulty.
Because the Devouring Soul talent had been confirmed, the matter of fusing with the Ukrainian Ironbelly no longer required waiting for an exaggerated twenty-plus years.
As long as the goat problem could be handled well, ten thousand goats would sooner or later be gathered, and all that remained was time.
Of course, he hadn't truly tried the Devouring Soul talent yet, so no one could say for sure how long it would specifically take at present.
Galleons were also a trouble.
Hodu currently had more than two thousand Galleons in his hands, which could be considered quite wealthy among students.
But his goal was ten thousand sheep, and even calculating it at one Galleon per sheep, he would still need to prepare ten thousand Galleons.
And reality obviously wouldn't be that cheap; a sheep couldn't possibly be worth just one Galleon.
Therefore, the money problem also had to be solved somehow.
As for specifically how to do it, he could only arrange it slowly after arriving at Hogwarts.
Fortunately, he possessed Spirit Treasure Perception, so Galleons themselves certainly weren't an unsolvable problem, it was just that the process might be a bit troublesome.
Chapter 13 The sword of gryffindor in the Sorting Hat
Anyway, the fusion of the Dragon had officially been scheduled into Hodu's plan.
Because of this, a fusion slot would open up again, so this time the difficulty of the target could be raised a bit.
As for what exactly to fuse, Hodu hadn't decided yet.
Once he reached Hogwarts, he still had to get enough magic creature materials first.
Hodu already had an answer in mind for the place with the most materials.
Compared to those Professor offices, Hagrid's hut was clearly more worth a visit.
Moreover, Hagrid himself was quite a rare genius.
Afterward, the matter of the Blast-Ended Skrewt would still rely on him to handle, so no matter from which angle, building a relationship with Hagrid was very necessary.
Hodu raised his chin, his mind beginning to ponder another matter.
Should he prepare a gift in advance?
But what would be appropriate to give?
Time passed bit by bit, and the bright light outside the train window gradually receded.
It was getting dark, and the train was likewise about to reach its destination.
The young Wizards in the compartment tidied up one after another, preparing to get off the train.
However, they didn't need to take their trunks with them; the House-elf would be responsible for sending the trunks to their respective dormitories.
After the train stopped, as soon as Hodu got off, he saw Hagrid standing there.
The other person's figure was truly too exaggerated; looking from afar, he was simply as tall as a story of a building.
The first-years then got into small boats, crossed the water, and arrived at the gates of Hogwarts.
After entering, everyone was led to the front of the Great Hall.
The surroundings were full of the voices of young Wizards talking.
Some of them were full of excitement, while others couldn't hide their apprehension about the Sorting ceremony, making the scene as lively as a pot of newly boiled water.
Hodu didn't have any special reaction, only raising his eyes to look at the Castle before him that had existed for a thousand years.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years into the entrance of the Great Hall, and the view suddenly broadened.
This place was even more spacious than Hodu had originally imagined, and although so many new students had come, there was completely no feeling of crowding.
Aside from them, the other students were already sitting by their respective long tables.
After the first-years appeared, gazes were immediately cast over, and many people were obviously looking for that boy who lived.
At the Professor table in front, a group of Professors were already sitting.
Professor McGonagall came over to a chair, holding the list of first-years in one hand.
Placed on the chair's seat was a shabby hat, covered in patches and looking dirty.
Things could be covered in dust just sitting for a month, let alone this hat that had existed for over a thousand years.
Hodu couldn't even help guessing whether he could find some traces left from a thousand years ago on it.
After the Sorting ceremony officially began, his attention fell onto the Sorting Hat.
Treasure Perception activated.
Judging from the fluorescence emerging from the hat, this was already a very precious treasure.
But deep within that layer of light, there was an even brighter light.
That was a sword.
The shape of the sword of gryffindor clearly reflected in Hodu's eyes.
It was hidden inside the Sorting Hat, and it was hidden quite brazenly.
"Harry Potter!"
I don't know when, but Professor McGonagall had already read this name.
The result had no changes; Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, and the Gryffindor long table immediately burst into enthusiastic applause.
Immediately following, Professor McGonagall shouted again: "Hodu!"
Under the gaze of everyone in the Great Hall, Hoduwalked up to the Sorting Hat.
When this moment truly arrived, he actually still felt a bit nervous, the corners of his mouth couldn't help curving up, and his heart held a few more points of anticipation.
He picked up the hat, placed it on his head, and then sat down on the chair.
Because the heads of young Wizards were ultimately different from adult Wizards, the hat directly covered half of his head downwards.
"Let this Sorting Hat see, which house are you actually suited for?!"
The Sorting Hat's voice immediately sounded in Hodu's ear, with a tone so exaggerated it was like hosting some large-scale show.
Once it opened its mouth, it had no intention of stopping, and even if no one answered, it could probably talk alone for a whole day.
That mouth was truly too noisy, already on par with the surrounding young Wizards.
Listening and listening, Hodu drifted off, not seriously discerning what it was muttering about at all, and instead refocused his attention on the sword of gryffindor.
Sensing that sword was not difficult.
It was hidden straight inside the hat, with the tip pointing upwards and the hilt located below.
Hodu felt that he really should be grateful for this point.
If the sword tip pointed backward toward his head, he wouldn't put this hat on even if he died.
In that case, it shouldn't be called a Sorting Hat; it would be more like an executioner's hat or a decapitation hat.
Hodu slightly raised his head, and right above the top of his head was that sword.
He even had the feeling that as long as he went up just a little bit more, he could touch the hilt.
The thought had just popped up when a heavy feeling actually came from the top of his head, as if something had been touched by him.
Hodu was stunned for a moment, still not quite believing it, and immediately shook his head.
With this shake, the hilt originally stuck on his buzz cut tilted to one side, and then smoothly slid down.
The sharp blade brushed past his cheek, so close it was almost pressed against his skin, causing Hodu's heart to tighten abruptly and a chill to well up on his back.
Clatter!
The sword with rubies embedded on the hilt smashed onto the chair first, and then dropped to the ground.
The Great Hall instantly fell into pin-drop silence.
Everyone's gazes were concentrated on that sword, and even quite a few people hadn't reacted to what had happened.
In all the past Sorting ceremonies, this kind of situation had never occurred, and the students had never heard elders at home mention anything similar.
After a brief quiet, the entire Great Hall exploded into a commotion.
The students whispered to each other one after another, guessing what on earth was going on with this sword on the ground.
Dumbledore at the Professor table lowered his head to look at the sword, his gaze shifting slightly, clearly revealing a look of surprise.
The reactions of the other Professors were all different.
Some people recognized it, while others were seeing this item for the very first time, the bewilderment on their faces no different from the students.
Professor McGonagall was right beside Hodu.
Through her lenses, her gaze also brightened a bit.
As the Dean of Gryffindor, she of course knew the origin of this sword.
Yet even though she had taught for so many years, she had never seen such a Sorting scene, nor had she ever heard of the same thing happening before.
This was the sword left behind by the founder of Gryffindor, yet it happened to fall out of the hat when a first-year student participated in the Sorting.
Such an abnormal matter could no matter how one looked at it be without meaning.
"Oh! The sword of gryffindor! You actually managed to bring it out! Without a doubt, you are a born Gryffindor!"
The Sorting Hat's voice suddenly heightened, like someone directly turning a phone's volume to the maximum, jarring Hodu's head numb.
He almost tore the hat off on the spot and casually threw it onto the ground.
"Gryffindor!"
The Sorting Hat loudly announced the result.
The students over at the Gryffindor long table temporarily didn't have time to study the sword, and immediately followed up with applause.
As soon as Hodu heard the result, he immediately took the Sorting Hat off his head.
"Pick up the sword of gryffindor from the ground, and put it back into the Sorting Hat, Mr. Hodu. It appeared because of you, and it should also be returned by your own hands."
When Professor McGonagall spoke, the expression on her face was extremely kind.
This expression instead made the Gryffindor students feel surprised, after all, the Dean they usually saw wore a stern face most of the time.
Of course, this couldn't be blamed on Professor McGonagall either.
The students of Gryffindor were each like mischievous monkeys; if she didn't put on a serious appearance at all times, she simply couldn't keep these people down.
Hodu didn't say much more, bending over to pick up the sword of gryffindor from the ground.
After getting the sword in his hand, it was a bit heavier than he had thought.
Engraved on the sword body was a clear line of names.
Godric Gryffindor!
Chapter 14: sword of gryffindor and New Dormitory
Hodu held the sword of gryffindor and, in front of everyone in the Great Hall, thrust the tip of the sword back toward the bottom of the Sorting Hat.
No matter how one looked at it, the scene looked like a murder.
After finishing this matter, he placed the Sorting Hat back on the chair and turned to walk toward the Gryffindor long table.
" Professor McGonagall, what on earth is the origin of that sword? "
The red-haired Fred Weasley was the first to blurt out the question.
The surrounding students all looked over as well, obviously no one intended to miss the answer.
Professor McGonagall did not speak immediately.
She first glanced at Dumbledore, then met his gaze, before explaining in a solemn tone: " That is the sword left behind by Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts. Legend has it that only someone who truly belongs to Gryffindor can take it out from the Sorting Hat. "
Hearing this sounded practically like praising Hodupublicly.
After hearing this, Hodu simply shrugged, wondering what kind of expression Hannah would wear after learning about this matter.
" So my son is a true Gryffindor. "
Students from other houses didn't react much, but the Gryffindor side visibly stalled for a moment.
Immediately after, pairs of eyes fell on Hodu, as if wanting to see what was so special about this freshman whom Professor McGonagall had deemed a true Gryffindor.
As they looked, their gazes slowly drifted back to the Sorting Hat.
That look grew increasingly intense, as if the moment the Professors left, they would rush up to grab the hat and pull out the sword to prove that they too were true Gryffindors.
Seeing this scene, Professor McGonagall felt her temples start to ache.
She could almost predict that next, this group of mischievous little lions would set their sights entirely on the Sorting Hat.
Usually, the Sorting Hat was kept in the Principal's office; surely they couldn't just break directly into Dumbledore's office?
But as soon as this thought popped up, Professor McGonagall felt it might not be impossible.
For these Gryffindors, the temptation to prove themselves as true Gryffindors was simply too great.
" In addition, the sword of gryffindor only appears when it is truly needed. Mr. Hodu was just a special case. "
Professor McGonagall quickly added another sentence.
However, this bit of explanation did not calm the students down.
Who couldn't claim to be a special case?
After the Sorting ceremony ended, Dumbledore stood up and said a few words, and the banquet began accordingly.
The food on the table was not as appetizing as Chinese cuisine, but fortunately, the portions were sufficient and the variety was quite rich.
Hodu originally just wanted to eat quietly, but soon found that he had become another celebrity among the freshmen.
Quite a few upper-class Gryffindors proactively came over to get to know him, forcing him to squeeze out a few words of response even while eating.
As for the other celebrity, it was naturally Harry Potter.
The fame of this Savior who rumoredly defeated Lord Voldemort was obviously not something that the four words " true Gryffindor " could compare with.
Precisely because of this, most people's attention was drawn away by Harry Potter, and Hodu was finally able to finish this meal smoothly.
While feeding food into his mouth, he re-evaluated what had just happened.
He didn't think he was any true Gryffindor.
The main reason he was able to take the sword of gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat was mostly due to the effect of the Spiritual Treasure Insight Technique.
As long as one sensed a treasure, could one get hold of it?
If that were truly the case, then the effect of this ability was simply too absurd.
It actually managed to bypass the magic set by the Sorting Hat and directly allowed him to retrieve the sword inside.
And in this Castle that had existed for a thousand years, there was still something that attracted him like the blazing sun.
The Philosopher's Stone!
Hodu was naturally interested in this thing.
Whether turning ordinary items into gold or refining the elixir of life, either was enough to prove its preciousness.
Not to mention he also had the myriad things fusion system on him.
Right now, this system could only fuse living creatures, but since the name was called myriad things fusion, who could guarantee that it couldn't process non-living objects in the future?
Just looking at the abilities possessed by the Philosopher's Stone itself, Hodu could guess that if the fusion succeeded, the traits obtained definitely wouldn't be ordinary.
Would it be turning stone into gold, or eternal life?
Just thinking about it made one's heart flutter.
Heart fluttering aside, if he really wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone right under Dumbledore's nose, the difficulty was anything but ordinary.
Hodu had the Spiritual Treasure Insight Technique, so he was able to directly perceive the location of the Philosopher's Stone, saving himself from the layers of checkpoints set up by those Professors.
Moreover, digging a tunnel with the Earth-Splitting Stone-Cracking Technique straight to where the Philosopher's Stone was located wouldn't be a difficult task for him either.
The truly troublesome thing was the mirror of erised.
The Philosopher's Stone was hidden inside that mirror.
To take it out, one must desire to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, yet not intend to use it.
This condition actually tested a person's inner self; facing such a treasure, who could have not even a shred of greed?
At least Hodu couldn't do it.
In his mind, once the Philosopher's Stone fell into his hands, it would be equivalent to mastering a place that could continuously print money.
By then, wouldn't money be however much he wanted?
However, looking at it now, he might truly have a chance to bypass the mirror of erised and take the Philosopher's Stone out.
As soon as this thought was settled, Hodu's heart accelerated uncontrollably, and a bit of light lit up in the depths of his eyes.
He had already made up his mind; since the possibility of success existed, it was worth a try.
Take a gamble, and a bicycle turns into a motorcycle!
Only this matter couldn't be rushed.
Hodu slowly exhaled a breath, pushing down the evil thoughts that had just popped up.
The Philosopher's Stone was currently resting safely inside the mirror of erised, and shouldn't change in a short time.
Even if there really was a situation, he could perceive it through his senses.
Since he was going to take a risk, of course he had to wait until his grasp was a bit greater, so as to avoid sudden problems midway.
After all, he wasn't the only one eyeing the Philosopher's Stone.
Thinking of this, Hodu raised his head and looked toward Professor Quirrell at the staff table.
Professor Quirrell's head was wrapped in a purple turban, and no matter how one looked at it, his appearance was somewhat odd.
But Hodu knew very well that hidden beneath that turban was the lingering soul of Lord Voldemort.
Since the Philosopher's Stone wasn't urgent for the time being, why not first figure out a way to recklessly bash out a new trait.
Even if it was just raising the multiplier of Tough Skin a bit more, actions afterward would be much safer.
Time passed bit by bit, and the welcome banquet finally ended.
The freshmen led by the prefect left the Great Hall and headed towards the seventh floor along the stairs.
Not long after, Hodu saw the Gryffindor gatekeeper, the Fat Lady.
After the prefect spoke the password, the door to the Gryffindor Common Room slowly opened, and the students walked in one after another.
Inside was a somewhat cozy room, with two spiral staircases standing next to it, leading separately to the boys' dormitory and girls' dormitory.
Hodu followed the prefect to the boys' dormitory, and as soon as he entered, he discovered that he was actually assigned to the same room as Harry and the others.
Each dormitory accommodated four people; besides him and Harry Potter, the other two were Ron and Neville Longbottom respectively.
There weren't many freshmen in this batch to begin with, so being assigned together was completely normal.
Hodu initially just treated it as a coincidence.
Until he truly walked into the dormitory did he discover that another guest had come inside.
That was a short-statured creature, bald, with pointed ears, exaggeratedly large eyes, and wearing a dirty piece of clothing.
Hodu recognized it; that was a House-elf.
The House-elf walked up to him, with an obvious expression of guilt and unease on its face.
" I'm sorry, Mr. Hodu, I sent your trunk to the wrong place. "
Chapter 15 Hodu Decides to Fuse with a House-elf
Hodu asked a few questions before finding out from the House-elf that his luggage had been mixed up with the belongings of another Gryffindor first-year.
Yet, after listening to the explanation, he instead did not immediately let go of his suspicions.
Throughout Hogwarts, of all places, only the luggage of the two of them had issues?
No matter how you looked at it, this was a bit too coincidental.
Perhaps the so-called "wrong delivery" was not just a simple mix-up of locations, but rather his dormitory had been temporarily switched?
Before the first-years were sorted, their luggage was kept in advance by House-elves.
Once the sorting concluded, they would hurriedly deliver the items to the various dormitories.
Hodu's gaze swept across the other three people in the room, and a guess quickly popped into his mind.
Leaving Harry aside for the moment, Ron was a genuine Weasley, with his background and origins right there.
Neville's parents were both Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix, thoroughly belonging to a Dumbledore-faction second-generation.
If this dormitory assignment was not a coincidence at all, but rather roommates specially picked out by Dumbledorefor Harry, then everything made sense.
Would Dumbledore arrange such a thing?
It really wasn't necessarily that he wouldn't.
Perhaps the person originally moving into this dormitory wasn't Hodu; it was just that he mistakenly and by a stroke of luck became a true Gryffindor, which was why he was transferred here.
The more he thought about this notion, the more it seemed like the real deal, but unfortunately there was no evidence, and no one could prove it.
"It doesn't matter. First, tell me, what is your name?"
Hodu waved his hand casually, indicating that he didn't mind, and then asked for the House-elf's name.
This question clearly caught Bitun by surprise.
He was stunned for a moment, stammered for a long time, and almost couldn't even remember his own name.
"Mr. Hodu, my name is... Bitun."
"Thank you, Mr. Bitun. You certainly saved me a lot of trouble."
Hodu smiled at him, and his tone was also very polite.
For a moment, Bitun didn't know where to put his hands and feet, but happiness could not be hidden in his eyes.
Being recognized by a master was clearly a joyful thing for a House-elf.
Unfortunately, before Hodu had time to ask a couple more questions, Bitun used work as an excuse and hurried away.
This left Hodu somewhat disappointed.
In rumors, Hogwarts had hundreds of House-elves.
The school's ability to operate stably all this time was inseparable from their contributions, and many affairs including the kitchens were handled by these little fellows.
Hodu had originally intended to find an opportunity to establish a connection with them.
In the future, he would inevitably need to have meals prepared specially for him, and getting to know one in advance was ultimately not a bad thing.
Even though Bitun had already run off, at least his name was left behind.
Over the next three days, Hodu lived quite orderly.
He went to class on time and didn't stir up any commotion.
In his spare time, he hung out with Harry and the others.
At first, he still felt he was the kind of good seedling who studied hard and made progress every day, but after only three days of classes, he was knocked back to his original form by reality.
magic was not nearly as easy as imagined; the knowledge points within it were so numerous that they gave one a headache.
To cast a spell, the incantation had to be spoken accurately, and even being wrong by a single syllable was not allowed; the wand in hand also had to be waved according to requirements, and if there was the slightest deviation in the movement, the magic might fail directly.
Wanting to practice a spell to proficiency relied even more on long-term practice over and over again.
This wasn't even the end of it.
Besides incantations and gestures, casting spells also relied on the "heart".
To put it bluntly, one's emotional state would also affect the outcome.
If the emotions were wrong, the magic likewise couldn't be released, yet the caster didn't even clearly know where they went wrong, making it metaphysical in an unreasonable way.
Hodu's talent could only be considered ordinary, and he couldn't be said to be particularly hardworking either; at most, he listened attentively in class and forgot everything in a flash after class.
Asking him to spend time reviewing after class was even more out of the question.
In his view, this method of learning had no difference from going to school in the past, except that the content was changed to magic.
Yet it couldn't immediately give obvious feedback, so his interest naturally dropped section by section.
Aside from Charms Class, the school had quite a few other courses.
Among them, the ones that could least raise Hodu's spirits were Herbology and History of Magic.
The Herbology classroom was stuffed with knowledge, and looking out, almost everything required memorization.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about memorizing carefully, but as he listened, it was easy to get distracted, and his brain would drift off to who knows where.
History of Magic had even less to be said about it.
Professor Sbin taught in the state of a ghost, and the content sounded simply like heavenly books.
His voice was like a Buddha chanting scriptures repeatedly beside one's ear, and the hypnotic effect was surprisingly good.
On the contrary, Defense Against the Dark Arts Class in charge of Professor Quirrell gave Hodu a surprise.
This course turned out to be one of the few he could listen to.
The weird smell on Quirrell really made people uncomfortable, but his teaching style was quite humorous, appearing quite rare among all the Professors.
Perhaps because he was still young, Professor Quirrellwould talk about things he encountered when traveling everywhere, and weave in knowledge on dealing with evil magical creatures.
Those contents sounded very vivid, and at least wouldn't make Hodu daydream on the spot.
Of course, Hodu hadn't forgotten that Defense Against the Dark Arts Class was essentially a course requiring hands-on action.
If he truly encountered danger, he certainly couldn't just rely on hearing a few interesting stories to rush up and duel with evil magical creatures.
But on this point, Professor Quirrell didn't seem to have any intention of supplementing it at all.
Whether this was instructed by Lord Voldemort or not, Hodu couldn't say for sure either.
In short, in a mere three days, he had confirmed one thing: time-traveling wouldn't change a person's essence, and his identity as a poor student remained very stable.
Since he himself wasn't up to it, he could only count on the system.
During these past few days, Hodu had actually been thinking about his next fusion target.
Originally he was still somewhat hesitant, but the frustration in learning quickly made the choice for him.
House-elf.
The status of these Wizard servants was indeed humble, but their magical talent was outrageously strong.
Basically every single one could achieve wandless magic, and they also mastered superb Apparition, even being able to break through the anti-Apparition magic set up by Hogwarts.
This matter itself was not simple at all.
Hogwarts had always been thinking of ways to prevent other Wizards from entering easily.
There was anti-Apparition magic in the school grounds, and the school did not have Floo networks.
Students clearly could scatter a handful of Floo powder to arrive directly at Hogwarts, yet they still had to take risks to go to a Muggle society station to ride the magical train.
Arranging it this way was partly for the safety of the students, and partly to prevent external Wizards from casually breaking into the school.
However, no matter how the school authorities guarded against it, they couldn't stop the secret passages passed down through this ancient castle.
The whole of Hogwarts was like a leaky sieve; patch here, and it would still leak there.
Therefore, Hodu judged that the magical talent of House-elves probably wouldn't be bad.
Only he had also considered another possibility: these elves had lived long enough to accumulate this kind of ability; as for their ability to cross anti-Apparition, it might also be because the target of that magic was only human Wizards.
Regardless of which truth it was, Hodu was prepared to take a gamble.
Anyway, there was a ten-thousand-fold drop rate backing him up.
No matter how trashy a trait was, placed in front of a ten-thousand-fold drop rate, it had the opportunity to turn into a divine skill.