Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 149 New Study Plan! That unlucky and hateful little beetle!

Hogwarts has five regular elective courses: Divination, Arithmetic Divination, Muggle Studies, Protection of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes Studies.

You need to be in the third grade before you can apply.

In addition, there is a Phantom Shift training course specifically for sixth and seventh grade students, which is held irregularly.

Among these, divination and arithmetic divination are both mysterious disciplines for predicting the future; in Chinese parlance, they are fortune telling.

One is a metaphysical form of fortune telling, and the other is a scientific form.

Dudley knew very well that fortune-telling and prophecy in this world was a talent that relied entirely on innate ability.

He currently does not possess any magical items with similar abilities, and naturally does not have the corresponding talent or ability.

Going to Professor Trelawney's divination class is nothing more than following a crazy, drunken woman, looking at a crystal ball, fiddling with tea leaves, and making up a couple of nonsensical stories.

He's busy right now and doesn't have the time or inclination for that.

As for Professor Setima Victor's arithmetic and divination classes, they do not particularly require a metaphysical talent for prophecy.

This course is somewhat similar to the Chinese classics like the I Ching, Bagua, and Plum Blossom Divination. It requires a quick and sharp mind, and involves working with numbers and charts, performing a lot of calculations and creating tables.

It takes a bit of effort, but Dali can learn it.

But he felt that learning it wouldn't be of much use.

Famous prophecies in the magical world were all spoken by gifted prophets like Trelawney and Grindelwald, who were practically born with divine inspiration.

By writing, drawing, calculating, and studying arithmetic and divination, one might waste more than ten years and only be able to predict what dishes will be served in the kitchen tomorrow or how many students at Hogwarts will skip class tomorrow—trivial matters that are not important.

Therefore, Dali doesn't plan to take the course, because the effort and reward are completely disproportionate.

And the Muggle Studies class...

Having been a Muggle for so many years in his two lifetimes, does he really need a half-baked wizard with only a superficial understanding of the Muggle world to tell him how to navigate the Muggle world and how to get along with Muggles?

Naturally, Pass!

The course on protecting magical creatures is interesting, but there's no need to go to Professor Kettleburn, who's missing an arm and a leg, to take it.

Dudley had already read Newt Scamander's book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and had gained some understanding of various magical creatures.

In his spare time, he would go for a stroll in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, experience the many magical creatures firsthand, and collect some magical materials along the way. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? How wonderful!

As for the Apparition training course, Dudley already knows Apparition, so there's no need for him to participate.

So, after careful consideration, he only wants to take Professor Buscida Baburin's Ancient Runes Studies course as an elective for the time being.

This course is the only one at Hogwarts that is related to alchemy, and it also covers some knowledge of ancient magical spells, which can be helpful for learning ancient magic.

In terms of what Dudley is currently doing, this course is even more important than the Charms and Transfiguration courses for older students.

Therefore, at the start of the new week, Dudley brought a large stack of books on alchemy and ancient magic borrowed from the library and moved into the Ancient Runes Studies classroom.

He listened attentively to Professor Basilda Baburin no matter which grade she was teaching.

When he wasn't in class, he used this classroom as a study room to continue studying alchemy and ancient magic.

Aside from eating, sleeping, and handling miscellaneous tasks, he would only temporarily leave the classroom when he had free time to attend spellcasting and transfiguration classes for older students.

In his spare time, Dali would pester Professor Babling to give him extra lessons to make up for the lessons he had missed.

Dudley comes up with a lot of quirky ideas and often asks some strange and unusual questions, which really gives Professor Barbling a hard time, leaving him speechless on several occasions.

This forced Professor Barbling to consult materials and write to more knowledgeable old wizards in order to answer Dudley's strange questions.

More than four days passed in this way.

Dudley, engrossed in theoretical studies during the day and diligently practicing at night, was unaware of a few minor events unfolding in the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts.

This Monday's Daily Prophet featured a front-page headline accusing Rita Skeeter of spreading false news that Master Ollivander was seeking fame and fortune, feigning humility while secretly plotting revenge and harm.

The accompanying image is a magical photo of Digg fleeing Ollivander's wand shop in a panic.

This news misled about half of the wizarding community in Britain, causing a minor but significant impact on the Ollivander family's good reputation, which had been built up since 382 BC.

Of course, the other half of the wizards, remembering the good deeds of the Ollivander family, simply couldn't believe that the current owner of Ollivander Wand Shop, Master Garrick Ollivander, would do such a despicable thing.

For a time, the magical world was once again embroiled in controversy.

Master Ollivander was busy writing his book and didn't take the matter to heart.

Their family has lived in Diagon Alley, England for nearly 2,400 years. In such a long time, what storms haven't they seen?

A mere piece of fake news without any evidence cannot shake their family's status.

Master Ollivander remained calm, but his son Gavin Ollivander, who disliked staffs but deeply respected his father, couldn't sit still.

Gavin was a man of action and ambition. He spent a day scouting the Daily Prophet's office, and on Wednesday morning, dressed in a black robe and masked, he cornered Rita Skeeter in an alley.

One shot to remove your weapon, one shot to petrify you, plus two shots to pierce your bones—it all happened so suddenly and unexpectedly, like lightning, that it instantly killed the stunned Rita Skeeter.

After Gavin succeeded, he turned and slipped away, keeping his accomplishments hidden.

Rita Skeeter was left unconscious on the ground, and was not discovered by other wizards for several hours before being taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Arts.

That same morning, an enraged Deago stormed into the Daily Prophet's office, vehemently rebuking the newspaper for publishing his photograph without his consent and for fabricating facts and using him to slander Master Ollivander.

At the same time, Digg also brought with him the official warning letter he had obtained from the Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry of Magic's letter sternly ordered the Daily Prophet to issue an apology to the wizarding world as quickly as possible and to reorganize its staff to prevent similar fake news incidents from happening again.

The editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet was sprayed with spittle by the angry Dee, but he could only bend over, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

In her heart, however, she was cursing Rita Skeeter, who hadn't come to work today, to the bone.

They completely forgot that it was he who agreed to publish that unverified news article that day in order to generate buzz.

They also forgot that the Ollivander family is deeply entrenched, and that Dugger is a member of the Order of the Phoenix, a henchman of Dumbledore, and in cahoots with the current Ministry of Magic.

Afterwards, the Daily Prophet spent another day on its front page clarifying the facts, apologizing to Master Ollivander and Mr. Digg, and shifting all the blame to Rita Skeeter, who was still receiving treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Arts.

Poor Rita Skeeter, still suffering from her injuries, was sacrificed and fired by the Daily Prophet to save her.

But after learning the news, Rita Skeeter didn't think she was wrong; instead, she hated Dugger, Ollivander, and... Dudley.

Among them, the mysterious Dali is the one Rita hates the most.

Because Ollivander and Duggle were at least slandered and manipulated by her, Dudley's reputation remained largely unaffected.

She even had the bizarre thought that the masked man in black who attacked her might have been sent by Dudley, or even Dudley himself.

To shut her up, so as not to affect Dali's own reputation.