"Ah," Adrian said as a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth, his tone tinged with pride as he rambled on, "Harry is a good child. I taught him some simple spells before he started school, and he remembered all of them. And do you know, the first time he cast the Wand-Lighting Charm..."
Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout exchanged odd glances as they watched Adrian talking about Harry like a parent showing off their child.
Perhaps the relationship between Adrian and Harry was much closer than they had imagined.
The displeasure in Snape's eyes toward Adrian became even more apparent.
Meanwhile, the students below had already filled their stomachs.
The dishes on the table in front of Harry had transformed into desserts, and the Gryffindor students around him began chatting about their families.
Seamus's father was a Muggle, Neville was raised by his grandmother, Hermione's father was a dentist...
Of course, no one asked Harry about his family.
Everyone knew that Harry's parents had died at the hands of Voldemort.
Bringing it up now would only make Harry uncomfortable.
Harry glanced at Adrian at the professors' table, then looked at Percy Weasley sitting across from him.
"Prefect Weasley," Harry hesitated before asking, "What does Care of Magical Creatures teach?"
Upon hearing this, Percy immediately put down his syrup-covered pancake, straightened his back, and put on a serious yet proud expression. "Just call me Percy, Harry."
"Alright, Prefect Percy."
Hearing Harry's form of address, Percy's smile widened as he asked, "Did you have a question?"
"What I just asked—what is Care of Magical Creatures?" Harry repeated.
Percy cleared his throat, adopting a formal explanatory posture: "Care of Magical Creatures is an elective course that only third-year students and above can choose. In this course, you'll learn about the habits of various magical creatures, how to feed them, and how to interact with them properly."
"Only third-years can take it?" Harry furrowed his brow in disappointment. "So, I can't take this course this year?"
"That's right." Percy nodded. "It's probably because the professors think it's too dangerous for lower-year students to interact with magical creatures. After all, they can barely hold their wands properly, and you should know that most magical creatures have a certain level of danger."
"There weren't any textbooks about magical creatures on the list we received before school started," Hermione added. "Are you interested in magical creatures, Harry?"
"I suppose so," Harry answered absent-mindedly, glancing toward Adrian again.
Percy followed Harry's gaze toward the professors' table and thoughtfully commented, "Come to think of it, this year is quite special, with two new professors at once. Of course, Defense Against the Dark Arts was expected, but Care of Magical Creatures—I always thought Professor Kettleburn would teach for at least two more years."
When Harry followed Percy's gaze toward Professor Quirrell, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, causing him to instinctively clutch his forehead.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked.
Harry took a deep breath, shook his head, and tried to make his expression appear as relaxed as possible.
Then, he pulled out a small pouch from inside his robe, deftly searched through it, and took out a small bottle of light blue potion. He removed the stopper and drank it all in one go.
"What's that?" Percy asked curiously, noticing Harry's actions.
"Medicine for headaches," Harry quickly tucked the small bottle back into the pouch, answering in as calm a voice as possible: "I have a bit of a headache."
Percy nodded, harboring no suspicions, merely assuming that Harry had brought some medicine from the Muggle world.
In fact, what Harry had just consumed was a Calming Draught.
Before Harry started school, Adrian had given him a small pouch enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
It contained various potions: Calming Draught, Blood-Replenishing Potion, Burn-Healing Paste, Essence of Dittany...
It covered almost everything for daily use.
There was even a bottle of Beautification Potion!
Of course, Harry felt he would never need to use that one and didn't understand why Adrian had prepared it for him.
Was it to charm the other female students?
Although Harry didn't understand why looking at the professor with the purple turban caused him pain, after drinking the Calming Draught, the pain quickly disappeared, and he thought no more of it.
Of course, Harry had tried looking at Quirrell again, but the previous pain didn't return.
'It was probably because I was too nervous', Harry thought.
After the feast ended, Dumbledore announced some reminders for the new term.
He could understand prohibitions like not entering the Forbidden Forest and not casting spells in the corridors.
But the subsequent warning that "anyone who does not wish to suffer a painful death should avoid the right-hand side corridor on the fourth floor" seemed a bit too strange.
Harry felt this statement was aimed at adventure-seeking students.
It was practically saying, "The right-hand corridor on the fourth floor is exciting and thrilling!"
In any case, Harry felt the warning had no real deterrent effect.
Finally, they reached the last part of the opening feast—singing the school song.
Why did everyone sing to a different tune?
But when he saw Adrian also singing with an expression of utter resignation, he found it amusing after all.
When everything was over, Harry wanted to run over to the professors' table to greet Adrian, but he didn't get the chance—under Percy's guidance, all the Gryffindor first-years were lined up in a row.
"Everyone follow me," Percy called out. "I'll take you to the Gryffindor common room."
Harry had no choice but to follow along with the group.
But he quickly understood the necessity of this arrangement.
The moving staircases and shifting panels tirelessly obstructed their progress.
Harry felt that without Percy, he would certainly get lost.
After walking for what seemed like forever, the line finally stopped.
Just as he thought they had reached their destination...
A short, plump middle-aged man floated in the air in front of them, blocking their way.
The man wore bright formal attire, a small blue top hat, and had a mischievous grin.
"That's Peeves," Percy whispered. "A poltergeist who specializes in pranks."
Harry thought he didn't seem much different from the other ghosts, except that he was uglier.
"Welcome!" Peeves' voice echoed in the corridor, tinged with mockery.
He cackled as he lunged at Percy, moving too fast to see clearly.
When he reappeared before everyone, he was holding a small, shining object in his hand.