Chapter 140: The Fountain of Good Fortune

The next day was Sunday.

Early in the morning, the Hogwarts grounds were blanketed in tranquility.

With the summer holidays just behind them and only yesterday marking their first official day of classes, most young wizards viewed yesterday's lessons as virtually non-existent. Consequently, many of them still clung to their habit of staying up late and sleeping in. On weekends, very few diligent students rose with the dawn; the majority were still fast asleep.

Of course, this did not include Xivan, who was accustomed to early-morning physical training.

By this time, Xivan had already made his familiar way to the lawn northwest of the castle and commenced his daily morning routine.

Hogwarts remained shrouded in a peaceful and serene atmosphere, with only the rustle of the wind through the grass and the crisp, melodious chirping of birds occasionally echoing between the Forbidden Forest and the lawn...

However, the castle's quiet did not last long.

A harsh, screeching sound of sawing erupted from the edge of the Forbidden Forest, startling several forest birds and sending them fluttering anxiously into the air.

Having nearly finished his morning exercises, Xivan curiously headed toward the Forbidden Forest. He discovered that the source of the noise was near Professor Kettleburn's hut.

Sure enough, the culprit who had shattered the peaceful ambiance around the castle was none other than Professor Kettleburn!

Using his only sound arm, he was gripping a saw, awkwardly dragging it back and forth across a tree trunk about the thickness of a washbowl, producing a grating, abrasive noise.

"Professor, what on earth are you doing?" Xivan asked, unable to help himself as he looked at Professor Kettleburn's movements with a wry smile. "Why on earth aren't you using magic for something like felling a tree?"

"That just shows how much you have to learn! This is what we call the sustainable utilization of arboricultural resources!" Professor Kettleburn paused upon seeing Xivan, wedging the saw into the tree trunk to free his good right hand, and reached up with his sleeve to wipe away the sweat.

As he stopped sawing, the harsh sound in the Forbidden Forest instantly ceased, but the tranquil atmosphere around the castle was difficult to restore.

"So, what exactly is the sustainable utilization of arboricultural resources?" Xivan asked, curious. It was the first time he had ever heard such a novel term.

"Let me ask you, do you know what kind of effects appear on objects that have been acted upon by magic?" Professor Kettleburn countered.

"What kind of effects? Isn't it just altering the object's form or something similar?" Xivan asked, looking somewhat bewildered and perplexed.

"Of course I'm not asking about that!" the professor said smugly. "During my years working in the Forbidden Forest, I've noticed a very interesting phenomenon—trees chopped down with magic are extremely difficult to regenerate, whereas trees sawed down with a hand saw sprout new buds very easily after the next rain."

"You mean... the place where magic takes effect causes damage to the original structure of the material, so much so that the tree loses its ability to regenerate?" Xivan asked.

"You're half right!" Professor Kettleburn flashed an encouraging look and continued to explain to Xivan.

"In fact, it should be that the location where the magic acts produces a residual magical charge, and this magical residue hinders the sprouting of new buds. Under normal circumstances, you can simply wait a few more days until the magic at the cut thoroughly dissipates over time, and the new shoots will still grow."

"Are you trying to tell me, then, that when we use magic, we are mostly unable to control it perfectly, which leads to excess, useless magic lingering on other objects?" Xivan said thoughtfully.

"Therefore, if we can perfectly control our own magic, we won't produce unnecessary waste, which allows us to better conserve the magic within our bodies. Because of that, we might be able to cast a few extra spells and gain a slight edge in battle."

"Professor, that is truly a remarkable discovery!" Xivan said happily to Professor Kettleburn, wearing the expression of someone who had gained a profound insight.

"Er..." Hearing Xivan's words, the professor froze, blinking blankly. "I suppose... that's sort of what I meant..."

Professor Kettleburn was completely dazed.

Who could have guessed that he had simply wanted to admonish Xivan to follow the laws of nature and use natural resources reasonably? Yet this fellow Xivan had actually imagined all these profound theories on his own...

However, the thick skin the professor had cultivated through years of wrangling with the Headmaster was not for nothing. He quickly recovered and declared righteously, "Splendid! Just as one would expect from the top of the class, grasping what I intended to teach you so quickly!"

"Little Xivan, I haven't shared this knowledge with anyone else yet, told you first. You mustn't let down my expectations!" Professor Kettleburn said earnestly.

Xivan looked skeptically at the professor's exaggerated performance and immediately saw through the truth.

"Professor, tell me honestly, did you not think about this magical utilization aspect at all, did you?" Xivan asked, fixing Professor Kettleburn with a sharp gaze.

"Ah, haha... How could that be?" Professor Kettleburn laughed awkwardly, brushing it off. "Little Xivan, we may be close, but if you slander me like this, I'm going to get angry!"

"Fine, then make sure you tell Professor Wuffling about this academic research so he can help you publish it in *Magical Theory Weekly*." Xivan inwardly curled his lip and said.

After Professor Kettleburn nodded smugly, Xivan nonchalantly changed the subject and asked, "By the way, why on earth did you get up to chop wood so early?"

Hearing this question, Professor Kettleburn ground his teeth fiercely.

"Speaking of this makes my blood boil!" the professor said angrily. "Little Xivan, do you remember that old codger Herbert promising to let me star in his play? Right after we came back from the Forbidden Forest last year, while we were recovering in the hospital wing."

Xivan thought for a moment and then silently nodded.

"As long as you remember. Let me tell you, that old fellow Herbert is no good! He made all sorts of promises, but during last term's theatrical production, he kept using the excuse that I hadn't fully recovered and missed the first rehearsal to bar me from participating."

"As if that wasn't enough, this term I made sure to schedule the first rehearsal with him bright and early. Seeing he couldn't stall any longer, he assigned me a spot on the prop crew. That made me furious!"

"So you're chopping wood to make props for the stage play?" Xivan asked, looking somewhat speechlessly at the tree sawn halfway through.

"Precisely," Professor Kettleburn said viciously. "Since he won't let me act in the play, I'm going to make the props the most perfect ones imaginable, just to see if he has the nerve to refuse my participation next time!"

Regardless of whether Professor Bilton Quirke had the nerve to refuse Professor Kettleburn a role, Xivan certainly didn't have the stomach to meddle in the dispute between the two professors, so he hurriedly took his leave of Professor Kettleburn.

"Wait a minute, Xivan!" Just as Xivan had already turned to walk away, Professor Kettleburn suddenly called out to him from behind. "Remember to come see my play during the Christmas feast!"

Xivan harbored grave doubts about what Professor Kettleburn—a mere member of the prop crew—referred to as "his play," but he nodded resignedly all the same.

"Professor, what is the name of the play you're performing?" Xivan asked.

"The Fountain of Fair Fortune!"