Chapter 144: The Definition of "Human"

Although he had forgotten to borrow the second-year notes from Miranda, thankfully, Monday's Herbology class did not cover any of that new material.

Professor Etheldred simply began squeezing the students' labor as usual, having them spend the entire period processing throbbing puff-shrooms.

Amidst the chorus of groans from the young wizards, Xivan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Drawing on his experience of processing throbbing puff-shrooms alongside the professor in the previous class, he managed to handle these magical fungi both quickly and skillfully.

Because of his outstanding performance and the stark contrast with the other young wizards who were merely going through the motions, Professor Etheldred was uncharacteristically generous and awarded Slytherin three points.

After finishing lunch and resting for a brief moment, the first class of the afternoon arrived.

This was also the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the semester.

Many young wizards held a favorable impression of, or were curious about, Professor Henrix with his lake-blue hair and striking features, and they were particularly eager to hear him lecture.

Consequently, at one o'clock in the afternoon—a time when collective drowsiness usually set in—the second-year young wizards were, uncharacteristically, sitting upright and full of energy at their respective desks.

It is worth mentioning that as Xivan’s cohort entered their second year, their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were no longer shared with Gryffindor; the accompanying house was now Ravenclaw.

Therefore, Abraxas finally no longer had to "condescend" to sit next to Moody from Gryffindor.

Right now, Abu was leisurely occupying an entire double desk all by himself, stretching his legs out with satisfaction and resting them on the chair opposite.

Abu's somewhat improper posture provoked strong dissatisfaction from the Ravenclaw young wizards, who glared at him with indignant expressions, all of which he completely ignored.

As the bell rang for class, the wooden office door on the front right of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was pushed open right on time.

Professor Henrix emerged from within, sporting his dazzling lake-blue hair.

"Good afternoon, students of Slytherin and Ravenclaw!" Upon reaching the podium, he greeted the class with a smile. "Before we begin, I'd like to take attendance, and it's also a chance for me to get to know all of you."

With that, he picked up a piece of parchment from the desk and began calling out names from the roster.

With every name called, he would raise his eyes to briefly appraise the face of the corresponding young wizard, as if trying to match every name with a face.

When he called the name Elcions, Professor Henrix's roll-call rhythm paused slightly, and he lingered a bit longer on the young Greengrass girl afflicted with the "Curse of Death."

After a slight pause, the professor resumed his previous rhythm and immediately moved on to the next young wizard's name. Soon, he had finished reading through the remaining names.

"Very good, everyone has shown great enthusiasm by attending the first class! I hope the students can maintain this attitude throughout the semester." Professor Henrix smiled with satisfaction and said to the class.

随后，他从讲桌里拿出一本书黑色封皮的书展示给大家，对同学们说道：“想必你们都有这本《黑魔法：自卫指南》对吧？现在把它翻到目录的位置。”

As the young wizards rustled through their books, Professor Henrix continued from the podium: "In today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, we won't be learning defensive spells. I want to introduce you to something new."

"Please direct your attention to the dark creatures listed in the table of contents, and focus particularly on these types—vampires, werewolves, hags, and giants."

"Can anyone tell me what they all have in common?"

"They are all classified as beings, Professor," a Ravenclaw boy immediately raised his hand and said.

"Very well, Mr. Hornby." Professor Henrix had indeed remembered the young wizard's name and called it out accurately. "Two points for Ravenclaw."

"Then who can tell me why they are all classified as 'beings'?" the professor continued to ask.

Penny Mannis, a young witch with a face full of freckles, raised her hand tremblingly. Upon receiving the professor's nod, she stood up and replied, "Professor, I believe it's because they all possess intelligence."

"Your point isn't actually wrong." Professor Henrix nodded, then shook his head. "However, many magical creatures also possess a high level of intelligence, such as Acromantulas, Sphinxes, and Manticore. Why can't they be classified as 'beings'?"

Mannis froze for a moment, then fell silent.

"Sit down for now, Miss Mannis," Professor Henrix said. "Is there anyone else who can answer this question?"

Following the professor's inquiry, the air in the classroom suddenly grew quiet; no one felt confident enough to give an accurate answer to such an obscure question.

Abraxas, Mobley, and Elcions subconsciously turned their gazes toward Xivan.

Seeing their looks, Xivan helplessly shrugged, indicating that he didn't know the answer either.

However, the sharp-eyed Professor Henrix immediately noticed the focused attention on Xivan and asked with a smile, "Mr. Rozier seems to have some thoughts. Why not share them with everyone?"

"Um, I actually don't have any thoughts..." Xivan resentfully glared at the little companions around him who were looking his way, and said to the professor.

There was no help for it; Xivan had never heard how the definition of "being" was divided, and Miranda's notes contained no record of this question either, so he genuinely did not know the answer.

"It's fine, just speak your mind casually," Professor Henrix kept his eyes fixed on Xivan, pursuing the matter relentlessly.

Knowing he couldn't escape, Xivan had no choice but to stand up silently.

He pondered for a moment, then thought: Although he had never seen a Sphinx or an Acromantula, he had come into close contact with a specially modified exclusive German version of a Manticore.

Needless to say, such gigantic creatures capable of spawning tens of thousands of offspring were probably something no one would ever associate with humans...

"Perhaps it's because those magical creatures' reproduction methods and appearances differ too drastically from humans?" Xivan said uncertainly.

"Well said, one of the points you mentioned is already close to the answer," Professor Henrix nodded approvingly.

"So it's because of the reproductive method?" Xivan frowned and asked.

No matter how he thought about it, the answer couldn't possibly be a superficial matter of appearance with zero difficulty, so the remaining point must be the reproductive method.

"To be precise, it's not just the reproductive method," Professor Henrix revealed the answer. "It's that their bloodline is different from humans!"

Hearing Professor Henrix's answer, Xivan slapped a hand to his forehead.

*So, the professor really did steer the topic back to bloodline magic, which he specializes in?*