Ted gave Professor McGonagall a bright smile as he stepped out of her office. "Goodbye, Professor McGonagall~!" he chirped, already looking forward to tomorrow's "detention"—or, as he saw it, his private tutoring session.
Because it was experience!
And a lot of it!
Ted had spent the past two hours summarizing Transfiguration Today magazines.
Even though he had worried that Professor McGonagall might think he was cutting corners, he had managed to complete three-quarters of the work she had assigned—work that she had originally expected to take a full week!
On top of that, he had earned nearly 200 experience points!
Was there anything better than this?
He was practically begging McGonagall to throw more detentions his way.
Who said punishment couldn't be rewarding?
Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, having reviewed Ted's summaries, was left speechless.
The quality was exceptional, the key points were captured perfectly, and the effort was undeniable.
She was so impressed that she found herself contemplating what she should assign Ted tomorrow.
At the same time, a small part of her began to wonder—was two weeks of detention too much?
She had unknowingly given herself a dilemma!
Later, in Potions class, Jerry found himself on the receiving end of Snape's notorious ire.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape said coldly, his dark eyes narrowing.
"Laughing during my lesson? Do you find this subject amusing, Mr. Jerry?"
Jerry had been unable to stop himself.
One second he was stirring his potion, the next he was giggling uncontrollably.
Ted wasn't sure what Jerry was laughing at, but then Snape's gaze flickered over to him.
"And you," Snape sneered, voice dripping with disdain,
"I suppose you must have put him up to this, Mr. Epifani?"
Ted blinked. "Professor, I—"
Snape cut him off.
"Detention tomorrow. Perhaps a quiet evening of cleaning cauldrons will remind you that my class is not a joke."
Ted groaned inwardly.
Great. More detentions.
At this rate, he'd be rolling in experience points before the month was out.
After class, the group gathered around Jerry, trying to figure out why he had been laughing in the first place.
Ron frowned. "Mate, why did you laugh so loudly? Did you actually want Snape to take points?"
Jerry grinned mischievously. "Did you know Ted gave Snape a Christmas present?"
Harley nearly dropped her books. "What?!"
Ron's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! Ted, have you lost it? You gave Snape a gift? That's mental!"
Hermione and Neville stared at Ted in disbelief.
Ted simply shrugged. "He's our professor. I figured a little goodwill wouldn't hurt."
Hermione folded her arms. "What kind of gift?"
Ted smirked. "Muggle shampoo."
For a second, there was silence.
Then Harley burst out laughing. "No way—"
The realization hit them like a Bludger.
Snape had looked different today.
His normally greasy hair had seemed... well, less greasy.
Ron clutched his sides. "You absolute legend! You actually got Snape to wash his hair!"
The whole group dissolved into laughter, struggling to stay standing.
Unfortunately, their laughter drew the wrong kind of attention.
"Five points from each of you." Snape's voice was like a bucket of ice water.
They all froze, slowly turning to see the professor looming over them, his robes billowing dramatically as always.
Ron groaned. "Great. Another five points gone."
"Worth it," Jerry muttered between chuckles.
Hermione, however, looked like she might actually cry over the lost points. "This is a disaster!"
Ted, on the other hand, was distracted.
A familiar chime echoed in his head.
_____________________
Ding! Mission [A student career without losing points is incomplete (Blue)] complete.
Reward: 300 experience, random card.
_____________________
Wait... what?
He had a mission for losing 100 points? And it was already done?!
He totally forgot about this quest!
Suddenly, the shampoo didn't seem so expensive after all.
During lunch, Ted wasted no time drawing his rewards.
The first card depicted a floating kettle with a mischievous expression, steam hissing from its spout.
It was green.
Ted's heart sank.
________________
[Crazy Spraying Kettle (Green)]
Summons a kettle that automatically sprays boiling water at targets.
Lasts 10 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours.
Warning: This item is banned due to excessive scalding incidents.
________________
Ted frowned. "What kind of green card is this?!"
The second card was more promising—a blue-bordered image of a Furbolg holding a short wand.
________________
Furbolg Transformation (Blue)
Transforms you into a Furbolg for 10 minutes. Grants +3 Strength, +2 Constitution, and Magic Resistance Lv1.
Cooldown: 10 hours.
Warning: You may be mistaken for a monster and attacked on sight.
________________
Ted considered it. Fun, but not practical.
Then he drew the third card—another blue border. The card depicted a pair of glowing gloves resting on a cluttered alchemy table.
________________
[Apothecary Gloves (Blue)]
+1 Potion Brewing Skill when worn.
Note: Does not work on Potions Lv5 and above.
________________
Ted smirked. "Easy choice. I pick the Apothecary Gloves."
It had been a productive day, indeed.
...
January brought the much-anticipated Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
Although Gryffindor often struggled against the cutthroat tactics of Slytherin, they were far stronger than the generally unremarkable Hufflepuff team. Victory was practically guaranteed.
And indeed, Gryffindor won without much suspense.
However, the real action took place after the match, when Harley and Malfoy once again found themselves locked in a duel.
By now, after months of study and practice, even first-years could throw around a few playful jinxes.
The rivalry had escalated to a whole new level.
Neville, standing his ground like never before, faced off against Malfoy—only to be hit with a Leg-Locker Curse.
He toppled over, but before Malfoy could even smirk, Neville launched himself forward like a human missile, tackling both Goyle and Crabbe to the ground!
Ted's months of extra physical training had clearly paid off—his friends were stronger, faster, and much braver than before.
Malfoy, seeing Neville's sheer determination, took a step back—only to be disarmed by Ted's well-placed spell.
Just as he regained his footing, Harley struck with a perfectly aimed Hair-Growth Jinx, causing Malfoy's signature platinum locks to erupt into a wild golden mane.
He now looked like a furious, oversized Fawkes in mid-molt!
The fight ended in another victory for Ted's team.
Ron clapped Ted on the back, laughing.
"You know, I think you're right—Malfoy must be into this stuff. We ought to make sure he gets his fix!"
Unfortunately, Snape caught wind of the commotion and swiftly dished out point deductions and detentions.
The reason?
"Using dark magic."
"Good grief," Ted muttered. "You'd think we were on trial or something."
The rules surrounding what counted as dark magic were, at best, vague.
Jinxes were included, of course, but the scale of their severity varied wildly.
For instance, the Hair-Growth Jinx was harmless compared to, say, the Entrail-Expelling Curse.
Ironically, the Entrail-Expelling Curse had found a second life as a bizarre medical treatment for severe constipation.
The wizard who invented it was even honored with a portrait at St. Mungo's, celebrated as a pioneer in magical anorectal medicine.
Meanwhile, Ted continued his daily "detentions" with Professor McGonagall—gaining experience points faster than a speedrunner breaking a game.
Before he knew it, February had arrived.
By now, he had stockpiled over 6,000 experience points.
And then, on the morning of February 1st—
Ding! A notification appeared in his mind.
_________________
[Knowledge of Other Worlds (Gold)] has activated.
New knowledge detected: [Zirty Mu's Shameless Thought-Stealing Investigation Case (Green)].
_________________
Ted frowned. "What in Merlin's beard is that?"
The details unfolded in his mind.
The document chronicled the experiences of a mage who had been mentally harassed by a priest skilled in mind-reading magic.
The record was a full-blown accusation of mind theft—a phenomenon Ted recognized from both Azeroth and Hearthstone Tavern.
For an average wizard, this kind of knowledge might seem useless.
But for Ted, a wizard and a psion? This was huge.
This was everything.
For months, he had been wondering how to unlock more of his psionic abilities.
Now, as if the universe itself had listened, the answer had practically fallen into his lap.
"Only 200 experience points to unlock? Done!" Ted didn't hesitate.
As soon as he confirmed the purchase, his mind flooded with knowledge about mind-stealing magic from Azeroth.
What made it even better was that this knowledge came from the perspective of the victim—meaning it contained detailed personal accounts of how the spells worked and their effects on the target's psyche.
Ted's eyes widened. "This is basically Azeroth's version of the Imperius Curse—but better."
Unlike the Imperius Curse, which required eye contact and close range, Mind Steal could work from a distance.
Not only that, but it could erase the stolen memory from the victim's mind—combining elements of Legilimency and the Obliviate spell.
It wasn't permanent, but the implications were staggering.
"This month's knowledge drop might be weaker than before, but this… this is gold."
And this was just the beginning. Ted still had plenty of Azeroth spells and D&D-style magic to explore.
He wasn't going to sit around and wait for knowledge to fall into his lap—he was going to seek it out.
His gaze drifted back to his experience pool. Over 6,000 points waiting to be spent.
Time to level up.
He grinned. "System, upgrade my wizard class."
Ding!
_______________________________
Word count: 1533
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