"Honestly, when I first saw that giant thing, I thought we were going to die!" Padma clung to Hermione's arm, genuinely saying, "Hermione, you were so brave."
Hermione blushed. "I wasn't thinking about anything else, just the Levitation Charm. I mean—it's really lucky, before that, the most I'd ever made float was a textbook!"
"Dude, your Sliding Charm was amazing!" Michael waved his wand, gesturing. "Sliding Charm: Smooth Surface! You have to teach me next time we study!"
"No problem," Wade replied, turning. "—Harry, don't mind Professor Snape's assessment; the bucket was a good idea. On the contrary, ordinary spells hitting a Troll are like a mosquito bite to it."
"No wonder Michael's Petrificus Totalus didn't work earlier—and none of you directly attacked the Troll with spells afterward," Harry mused. "But I don't think I saw those two spells you used in Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1."
"Wade has already self-studied his magic up to Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3," Michael said with pride. "And he spends all his time in the library and study rooms. He's learned more spells than all of us combined—even though it's only been two months since school started."
Harry suddenly felt a pang of shame and inferiority. If Ron, Michael, or even Malfoy knew more spells than him, he could comfort himself by saying it was because they had already learned them at home. But he knew that Wade and Hermione had never been exposed to magic before coming to Hogwarts, yet now they were the most outstanding students among the first-years.
He couldn't help but wonder—had he been too lax in his studies?
Watching the others chatting and laughing, with even Harry naturally joining the conversation, Ron wanted to say something but couldn't get a word in, trailing behind them, feeling quite awkward.
Soon they reached a fork in the path, and the group split up. Harry, Hermione, and Ron headed towards the Gryffindor Tower. Without Michael and the others' banter, the atmosphere between the three immediately grew tense. They avoided eye contact and quickened their pace, hurrying back to the common room.
...
On the way back to Ravenclaw Tower, Padma, feigning casualness, looked at the path ahead and said, "Wade, can I also learn that Sliding Charm: Smooth Surface? It sounds really interesting."
"Of course," Wade said. "I don't have classes tomorrow morning, so I can teach you all."
"Hmm—it might not be very convenient in the common room. I heard—" Padma quickly glanced at Michael and said, "You have a special place for practicing spells?"
After all, she was only eleven years old. Although she had tried to subtly make her request, she didn't want the implication to be too obvious.
Wade understood. He pondered for a moment and said, "I need to get opinions from the others, but I think they shouldn't refuse your joining."
"Of course—welcome!" Michael said with a grin.
"That's great!" Padma couldn't help but jump a little, then her face flushed. She composed herself, smoothing her clothes, and said, "I'm honored."
Outside the common room door, the eagle door knocker asked, "O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, N, what's the next letter?"
"Uh…" Michael was the kind of Ravenclaw who wasn't great at riddles. He propped his chin, pretending to think, and three seconds later, decisively gave up, asking, "What do you think it is, Wade?"
"It's 'T'," Padma said.
"Correct answer," the door knocker said in a chanting tone, then opened the door.
"Why 'T'?" As they entered, Michael was still asking, "Is it 'T' for Troll? Does this door knocker know we defeated a Troll today?"
He squinted and made exaggerated expressions, and Padma couldn't help but laugh. "It's the first letters of one to ten—One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten."
The common room was packed, as if all the Ravenclaws were there. Several long tables had been added by the fireplace, laden with food and drinks. The students were having their second Halloween celebration here, and it was even better than in the Great Hall—because there were no professors here watching to forbid this or that.
Wade saw that some usually reclusive students had also chosen to stay in the common room, just sitting in the corners. The common room had also been decorated for Halloween at some point. A huge skeleton walked around the common room, occasionally eliciting screams; and some students wore skeleton masks, which occasionally made ghostly sounds.
"Want a Bloody Lollipop?" Terry enthusiastically offered to Lisa.
Wade bypassed the crowded room and went straight back to his dormitory—the stench of the Troll seemed to still linger in his nostrils, and he wasn't in the mood to eat for now.
Padma watched his receding back, and with some trepidation, asked Michael, "Wade didn't eat dinner, did he? Why isn't he joining the feast?" She worried that it was because she had been annoying, making Wade prefer to go back to his dorm hungry rather than spend time with them.
"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. Wade just doesn't like overly lively places," Michael said casually, focusing on piling food onto his plate.
Padma breathed a sigh of relief and was also feeling a bit hungry. After they had filled their stomachs about seventy to eighty percent, they had the leisure to continue chatting.
"Oh, right, about your study group, when Wade asks for opinions tomorrow, remember to put in a good word for me!" Padma remembered this and couldn't help but repeatedly remind him.
"OK! OK! Mission accomplished, I promise!" Michael raised his hand and said with a smile.
—Ask for opinions?
Michael knew better than anyone that as long as Wade agreed, the others wouldn't have any objections.
Theo and Ryan were easygoing, it was impossible for them to refuse a candidate proposed by their friend; Neville was timid and indecisive, Michael thought he had no temper or strong opinions; the only one who might be a bit difficult was Hermione, and Padma had just established a reasonably good friendship with her.
Actually, when Michael first proposed that "new members must be approved by everyone," what he really meant was "if Wade doesn't agree, you can't bring anyone else in"—the restriction was on the other four.
He knew very well that the SSC appeared to be a mutually supportive group, but in reality, most of the time it was Wade helping them. Wade's organized notes made it easier for them to understand obscure expressions in books, Wade's method of writing essays allowed them to complete high-quality assignments in a short time, and Wade also helped them quickly and accurately master various spells.
Anyone who joined this group would quickly experience its benefits.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were both enthusiastic. If they thought this place was good, they might bring their other friends without asking—perhaps even thinking they were contributing to the group by bringing in more members! In reality, it would just be troublesome for Wade, and the SSC wouldn't last that way.
Wade wouldn't openly refuse, but as more and more people joined and it became noisier, he would eventually quietly disappear from the Umbrella Room, just like now, staying in a quiet and solitary place where he was alone.
That's why Michael had to set rules, and then use those rules to restrain people from those two houses from being too "enthusiastic." He could also use the rules to politely refuse those trying to join through him. The only exception could be Wade—because he was the center, and he could, of course, decide who he wanted to help.
Michael had never told anyone about these calculations. At that moment, facing Padma's request, he simply smiled and nodded, promising to try his best to convince the others.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read ***+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский
Or Translate for free at : https:// randomtranslator.com/translate
Join our Discord: https:// discord.com/invite/XXUR9nkjwa
-----------