The improvement in complexion did not affect Quirrell's character, and he was always the most humble...... After greeting everyone with the most cowardly attitude, he hurried out of the Great Hall, as if fearing that his ruddy face would make the lurking vampire hungry.

Neil had intended to keep up, but it was not a good idea to be absent from the first class in the morning, and like hunting, one should not risk alarming the prey by narrowing the distance until the time was decided.

- No matter how much he hated the Headmaster's secrecy, he had no choice but to obey his position, and if Dumbledore thought it all had to be done in secret, let it be.

"Seriously, Miss Clearwatt, I sincerely think that the people who play tricks in reality are squeamish, paranoid, and highly intelligent antisocial personalities who have nothing left but self-expression. Humans invented language so that people could make sense of it, and if Father Lawrence's mouth worked like his poison, there would not be a Montague fool who could not listen to people and kill himself senselessly. ”

Penelope, who was pouring orange juice into the cup, was stunned for a moment.

"What do you say? What's the meter? ”

Neil sighed like a poor stand-up comedian who had to repeat his baggage on stage a second time because he failed to convey the joke to the audience.

"Have you read Million Pounds? Okay, I know it's a work of an American crude application of American culture to the British, but Mark Twain is a respectable gentleman who dared to say in the newspapers that 'some members of Congress are bitched bitches,' and he shouldn't be too harsh......"

In his mind, it seems that all those who have insulted or are willing to insult the US government are objects that can be united. This is an organic combination of racist ideas that flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and China's traditional utopian conception of a harmonious society.

It's a pity that Penelope, who is not interested in either, directly ignores the second half of his words.

"Million pounds?" She blinked with some nostalgia for the fact that since entering Hogwarts, the focus of her relationships had shifted from Muggle society, where she had been raised for 11 years, to wizarding and wizarding worlds. Even the famous books that were well-known among Muggles, he hadn't heard them mentioned in a long time, "Ah, yes, I remember...... You're saying 'The envelope contains something that will save you, but you are not allowed to open it until a certain time comes,' right? ”

"You see, here's the benefit of talking to smart people." Seeing that the meaning he wanted to convey this time was finally conveyed smoothly, Neil couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "If it were Mr. Kona, it would have been necessary to start with the question of what the pound is - no, I wasn't talking to you, Mr. Kona, you must have misheard...... Where did I just go, Miss Crivat? ”

"That's a clever idea."

"That's right! Ace in the hole! I really don't understand, what level of narcissism does it take for a guy to enjoy playing with other people so much? How about finding something better to look for? Raising a litter of Flober caterpillars sounds like a good fit for you! ”

His annoyed reaction made Penelope giggle, "Hey, someone can be so angry." What happened? ”

"Ah, nothing, just a little bit of a little vent - you know, there's always a lot of weird demands in this business." Neil shrugged his shoulders and said lightly. The attitude was natural, as if the complaint had made him vomit all the grievances that had accumulated in his heart, "I'm sorry for listening to this unpleasant stuff, Miss Crivat. I hadn't slept much last night and had been thinking about how to deal with a troublesome guest...... If only I could live as heartless as Mr. Kona—nothing, Mr. Kona! Really, I'm not talking to you, don't look back! ”

……

Hogwarts' greenhouses have changed a bit lately, and since Professor Sprout began to use magic fertilizers imported from the East in large quantities, the danger level has skyrocketed with the Forbidden Forest as a reference. In order to prevent a student from accidentally stepping on a cannibal lichen disguised as a velvet blanket and sucking out the blood before she could rush to the rescue, she had to separate the greenhouse twice, leaving a small safe area near the entrance for classes.

That being said, it was still difficult to concentrate the attention of the students when they looked up and saw several human-tall mandrakes playing bridge on the other side of the glass wall - they were ten times their size and could easily kill people with their screams, but after evolving from plants to magical creatures, these originally tubers seemed to have developed the wisdom to keep their mouths shut when they didn't have to, so as not to kill their keepers every time they unearthed them.

Professor Sprout was carefully assessing their danger, and if all went well, the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Creatures Management and Control would soon receive a letter from her, asking them to acknowledge the existence of a new magical creature with near-human intelligence - the centaurs were almost furious when they received this assessment, but Mandrake probably didn't care so much.

Even if they've proven themselves to be smarter than humans through poker.

…… Speaking of which, for all the mysteries surrounding these giant mandrakes, who are intelligent, can walk on their own, and can replace their hands with forked roots, what baffles Professor Sprout the most is the way they learn new things—she has never been able to figure out who taught the tan radishes how to play cards and use the leaves on their heads as bargaining chips...... Or dig a little deeper, where did they get their playing cards?

It seems that she has not yet noticed the set of oriental gambling equipment named "mahjong" that they secretly hide under the flower pots, otherwise the answer should be obvious.

However, it wasn't the cuties who were waving their beards and fighting outside the wall (as if someone had found someone using the dirt stuck to him) to keep Harry distracted today, but he was so happy that he hadn't slept well all night due to the ransacking of Snape's storeroom, but more importantly, he was nervous about the House Cup at hand.

The captain of the Gryffindor team, Oliver Wood, is usually a cheerful and enthusiastic man, but when it comes to Quidditch, his personality changes dramatically, and according to Fred and George's slightly exaggerated statement, he has no humanity on the training ground.

The Lion House was a devastation last year due to a lack of decent Seekers, which is the main reason why Harry was kicked off the shelves. Wood has high expectations for him, but he's also very demanding, and both are steadily raising his mental strain.

Thinking of this, Harry couldn't help but be a little distracted, the gardening scissors in his hand accidentally cut too deep, and the imitation sunflower in the flower pot twitched violently, and then retaliated with the flower tray against his stomach.

"You seem to have something on your mind, Mr. Potter."

Neil's elusive figure suddenly appeared behind him. He'd finished trimming his pot of imitation sunflowers, and was now wandering around with a handful of melon seeds in his hand - he seemed to be far better in the plant world than among humans, except for the cactus that had been beheaded in the first lesson, Harry hadn't seen any plants in the greenhouse show hostility towards him, and the mandrakes who were now gathering across the wall to beat his fellow human beings even waved in group when he entered the classroom.

"yes...... It's going to be a game and I might be a little nervous, but it's not a big deal, it's the first time everybody. Harry pretended to smile lightly, but the smile actually seemed a little reluctant, "Oh yes, Hermione told me that I borrowed the Amazing Quidditch Ball thanks to you, thank you, that helped!" ”

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter." Neil frowned as he munched on melon seeds, "But you'd better be careful when you're playing - it's not my forte, not all the time, but you look black...... This is a sign of bad luck, very unlucky. ”