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Chapter 162: Club and Nature Companion
Chapter 162: Club and Nature Companion (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
The next day, after lunch, Liam and Hermione went to find Professor Sprout to register their club. At Hogwarts, there weren't many clubs of various kinds. Ravenclaw and Slytherin might have some research-oriented clubs, and the only club Liam knew of in Gryffindor was the Quidditch Team.
This was largely due to Hogwarts' strict management. Since Hogwarts students made up at least eighty percent of Britain's young wizards, any event here could potentially impact the future of the British Wizarding World.
This was why, when Harry formed an unauthorized club in his fifth year and was caught, Dumbledore had to pay the price of leaving the school to protect Harry's freedom.
Indeed, there was a conflict between the school and the Ministry of Magic, but it also highlighted the importance of forming clubs. Establishing an illegal club was considered more serious than ordinary rule violations.
Liam had always thought that such strictness was likely due to past incidents at Hogwarts. For example, more than half a century ago, a young wizard from an orphanage privately organized a group of followers. This fan club later evolved into the dreaded Death Eaters in the Wizarding World, and that young wizard became the second Dark Lord Voldemort.
After this lesson, Hogwarts naturally imposed strict control over all student organizations. The tragedy was so severe that, to exaggerate a bit, the formation of the Death Eaters cost the British Wizarding World an entire generation.
This made Liam and Hermione somewhat uneasy when they went to apply for their Study Group, especially since they planned to form an organization with a hidden agenda. If you ignored the different motivations, it looked very similar to the early Death Eaters.
After knocking on Professor Sprout's door, the professor, dressed in a house robe, opened it for them. Seeing Liam and Hermione, she asked curiously, "At this time of day, you're not taking a nap. What brings you here?"
"Professor, we want to apply to form a club", Hermione stepped forward and said.
"Oh? A club, what kind of club do you want to form, and what is your reason for forming it?" Professor Sprout immediately became serious upon hearing Hermione's words.
"We want to form a Study Group to exchange learning insights", Liam said, following their pre-planned script.
"During our trip to Castrobrusso, we encountered a lot of new knowledge, which led to many difficulties in our studies. However, these difficulties were gradually resolved through our discussions. So, we thought that if we could organize people willing to share and use everyone's wisdom to solve problems, it might improve our learning efficiency and allow us to learn more through interaction."
"Hmm, I see. I think your idea is excellent. From what I know, Ravenclaw has similar groups, but they never accept students from other houses. Your willingness to form a cross-house academic exchange group is commendable."
"I'll write you a recommendation letter now. After that, you can write down the details and reasons for forming your club and send it to Headmistress Mcgonagall. I believe, if there are no unforeseen issues, you should receive approval this week."
After leaving Professor Sprout's office, Liam and Hermione sent a letter to Professor Mcgonagall. Then they entered a long wait.
Fortunately, they received Professor Mcgonagall's approval for the club's formation in less than a week, which was far easier than they had expected.
“I thought the approval for the permit wouldn’t come through.” In the Library, Hermione held Professor Mcgonagall’s letter of agreement and said to Liam, “After all, we asked a few senior students, and they all said it’s quite difficult to establish these clubs.”
“We overcomplicated things. A club is just a group of people with similar interests coming together to exchange ideas. As the top two students in our year for the past two final exams, it’s perfectly normal for us to start a club related to studying. Moreover, such a club won’t involve anything negative. And Professor Mcgonagall, as the head of our house, is bound to be lenient with us.”
“Since we’ve already gotten the approval, you need to get the materials organized quickly, so we don’t end up scrambling at the last minute.” Hermione reminded Liam, a bit worried.
“Don’t worry, I’m on top of it. Everything will be fine.”
In the days that followed, Liam seemed much busier. Besides his regular studies and interactions in the Emerald Dream, he also had to compile a set of materials for the club. Fortunately, Liam could quickly recover from his fatigue through the Emerald Dream, which allowed him to keep up with the demanding schedule.
Inside the Emerald Dream, Liam had spent the last few sessions discussing and exchanging knowledge with his peers around the Totem Pole. The professor known as Old Bark had only appeared once, briefly, before disappearing again. A student who was close to him mentioned that the professor was busy with research and had no time to teach here.
The knowledge exchanged last time was indeed crucial for the professor, Liam thought to himself after learning about the professor’s current situation. The professor lacked long-term, large-scale observational records, something that could only be achieved through substantial investment of human resources, materials, and time. The knowledge exchanged last time was valuable, but beyond that, what Liam provided could save the professor a lot of money and time.
Headmaster Fernandez had assured Liam that he would receive benefits beyond just knowledge, ensuring he wouldn’t lose out. However, the promised compensation had not yet materialized, and Liam wasn’t sure what would happen in the end.
But for Liam, the most important knowledge was already in his hands, and he didn’t think the Headmaster would lie about something as trivial as money or honor. So, Liam took a rather laid-back attitude toward the compensation. This made the Headmaster a bit uncomfortable, and he had even reaffirmed his promise during the last gathering in the Emerald Dream.
As Liam entered the Emerald Dream this time, he was thinking about these matters when the six students began discussing Nature Companions. Suddenly, a girl wearing an openwork mask asked Liam, “Hey, do you have a Nature Companion?”
“Nature Companion? What’s that?” Liam asked, looking puzzled. “Sorry, I’m from Britain, and I’m not familiar with the term.”
“Ah, sorry. I forgot you’re from Britain because you speak Spanish so fluently.” The girl thought for a moment and then made a special gesture, opening a small green vortex. A small tree, about half a person’s height, emerged from it.
“See, this is a Nature Companion,” the girl said proudly. “It’s a pet that can accompany you into the Emerald Dream and play a special role here. For example, my Treant is usually just a potted plant in the real world, but in the Emerald Dream, it can transform into a several-meter-tall Treant and fight and adventure with me. Of course, some people’s Nature Companions are animals, which can interact more in the real world. However, in the Emerald Dream, plants have a higher affinity with the environment.”
“Oh, I see. I have one too.” Liam, having understood what a Nature Companion was after the girl’s demonstration, gave a positive response.
(End of Chapter)
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