Hermione's eyes slowly widened as she apparently understood something. She stammered, "So, that's it then—"
"Exactly," Weide said. "It's Harry Potter."
"—Death Quota!" Hermione shouted at the same time.
They stared at each other.
"—Harry Potter?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"...I told you it was a joke," Weide said helplessly.
They stared at each other again.
Hermione frowned.
Hermione gradually understood.
"No wonder..." she murmured, "Percy—the Gryffindor prefect, a fifth-year Weasley—he said that Professor Dumbledore always explained why students weren't allowed in certain places before. But this time, he just said not to enter the corridor on the right of the fourth floor, without saying why."
"If he'd explicitly said there was a Three-headed Dog hidden there, even the Weasley twins wouldn't have gone looking for death, let alone a first-year like Potter," Weide said, unsurprised. "Vague warnings are meant to attract curious Gryffindors—Dumbledore probably left some kind of test there."
He remembered Harry Potter playing a real-life level-clearing game in his first year, where he and his friends solved a challenge each based on their wisdom and abilities, and Harry ultimately defeated the final boss, Voldemort, with "the magic of love."
The seven Harry Potter books grew thicker and darker with each installment, but the first one was still full of childlike wonder; even the schemes seemed innocent and charming. Voldemort practically served himself up for Harry Potter to gain experience.
"How could he do that!" Hermione's fear immediately turned to anger. "Someone could die! Is that okay? Or does he simply not care about Harry Potter's life?!"
"Then did you rush in unexpectedly and get hurt by the Three-headed Dog?" Weide countered.
"No, we didn't. But that's because it initially—ah—"
Hermione suddenly understood, feeling as if a mist had cleared to reveal the truth.
"I guess—it's just a guess—perhaps Dumbledore placed some restrictions on the Three-headed Dog so it wouldn't actually harm trespassing students, only scare them. But if someone tried to do more, the Three-headed Dog wouldn't just stand by," Weide mused.
"I saw it standing on a trapdoor," Hermione said. "It must be guarding something."
"If it's as we suspect," Weide finally said, "Harry Potter will definitely know what it's guarding."
...
The progress of events seemed to slow, perhaps because Hermione was angry with Harry and Ron and wasn't speaking to them much, so she didn't get any further news.
Weide, however, wasn't too concerned about these matters. He knew everything was under Dumbledore's watchful eye, so there was nothing to worry about. Compared to Harry Potter's adventures, Weide was more concerned about his progress in Charms.
During a recent practice, he accidentally discovered that he didn't only see the guiding arc for correct spell-casting when instructing others; he could also see his own guiding line when looking in a mirror. This significantly sped up his spell practice. So, Weide set aside more time to specifically practice Potions—the shelves behind the Potions Class classroom always held many common ingredients, free for students to practice with. However, due to Professor Snape, most students were unwilling to step into the dungeon classroom outside of class, even Slytherin students.
When Weide practiced Potions in his free time, Snape turned a blind eye, occasionally pointing out his mistakes in a sarcastic tone. Overall, as long as one wasn't too sensitive, there was much to learn from him.
At these times, Weide was glad he was a Ravenclaw—if he had been a Gryffindor lion, Snape might have thrown him out on the very first day he secretly entered the Potions classroom, right?
One afternoon, Weide successfully brewed a pot of Wound Cleanser, earning a "barely usable" evaluation from Professor Snape, who then told him to deliver it to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing—Quidditch season was about to begin, and at such times, the Hospital Wing would become very busy.
Returning to the Umbrella Room from the Hospital Wing, Weide found everyone incredibly excited. They were all gathered around Theo, and even Hermione had put down her book, contemplating, "I want three feet of parchment and five bottles of ink. I heard there's a very good quick-notes Quill; if so, I'd like to buy two."
Theo scribbled notes furiously. Beside him, Michael loudly exclaimed, "Oh, come on, Hermione. I know you love to study, but how boring would life be if it were only about studying! You should buy yourself something fun! The candies at Honeydukes are all super! I highly recommend the Super Bubblegum; it can fill the whole room with periwinkle-colored bubbles, pretty much a girl's favorite. Fizzing Whizbees are also bestsellers, and the Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks—almost no one can resist having a glass."
"Hmm—" Hermione hesitated for a while, then said, "Then get me another Galleon's worth of sweets! Nothing weird like Cockroach Clusters!"
Although it wasn't convenient for her to bring candy back to her dormitory—she would definitely be interrogated by other girls and might even hear some sour gossip—she could keep the candy in the Umbrella Room and share it with her SSC friends.
"What are you all talking about?" Weide asked curiously as he walked over.
"You're finally here, Weide! We've been waiting for you!" Neville said happily. "This week is the first Hogsmeade Weekend, and all third-years and above can go to Hogsmeade Village."
"I know that!" Weide said. "But what does that have to do with us first-years?"
Weide had, of course, heard of Hogsmeade Village. It was the only all-Wizard village in Britain, with no Muggles, said to be very unique and interesting, and it was right next to Hogwarts, within walking distance.
However, Hogwarts rules stipulated that only students in their third year and above could go there on specific Saturdays, and they also needed signed permission from a guardian. Therefore, Weide and his friends wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade for at least another two years.
"It wasn't supposed to," Michael said excitedly, "but Theo said—a third-year Hufflepuff student said he could help younger students buy things they want and even made a list of items available in Hogsmeade Village. Theo and Ryan said they could add our desired items to the list too."
Weide took the list, looking at it curiously as he asked, "Who's so kind? Doesn't he mind the trouble—or is he trying to make a profit?"
Ryan shook his head and said, "No, Cedric isn't helping for money."
Weide paused. "What did you say his name was?"
"Cedric," Ryan said. "Cedric Diggory, the top student in third year. Almost no Hufflepuff student dislikes him."
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