Although these freshmen have all ridden broomsticks at home to some extent, it does not mean that they have truly mastered the essentials of flying.

In particular, Hogwarts' flying classes are often tasked with providing fresh blood for the Quidditch teams of various colleges.

Therefore, all bad habits and irregular movements must be corrected.

Otherwise, maybe it’s no big deal to just fly around without confrontation on a regular basis.

But if you get on the court and get involved in a fierce competition, you will fall off the broom in a minute.

Breaking an arm or a leg is no big deal, at worst you can just reattach it and it's all over.

But if the neck is broken or the head is smashed and the person dies on the spot, the consequences will be quite serious.

Therefore, whenever she saw something wrong with the movements, Madam Hooch would immediately criticize them in a very harsh tone.

As expected, both Ron and Malfoy were corrected repeatedly, which made them feel quite embarrassed.

In contrast, freshmen from Muggle families strictly followed the requirements and maintained the standard riding posture, so they were rarely reprimanded.

After making a circle of corrections, Madam Hooch returned to the open space and said, "Now, everyone listen to my whistle. When the whistle sounds, you push off the ground with force. Remember! Push hard! At the same time, hold the front end of the broom tightly, lean forward slightly, slowly rise a few feet, and then fall vertically back to the ground. Three - two -"

However, Neville, who was clumsy in everything he did, was obviously too nervous. Before the whistle sounded, he subconsciously stomped his feet on the ground, and the whole person soared into the air more than ten meters high.

"Come back! Come back soon!"

Madam Hooch screamed nervously, obviously frightened by the scene.

She didn't want any accidents to happen in her class.

But unfortunately, Neville obviously did not have the ability to control the flying broom. Instead, he was controlled by the broom to fly higher and higher.

Finally, when he reached about thirty meters, he could no longer suppress the fear in his heart. His face turned pale, he loosened his hands, and slammed heavily to the ground under the influence of gravity acceleration.

This height is equivalent to a nine-story building.

Not to mention a child, even if an adult fell down, it would be very dangerous.

Because it happened so suddenly, no one had time to react, and Madam Hooch couldn't even pull out her wand.

Just as poor Neville was about to have an intimate contact with the ground, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

moment!

Neville, who was probably only a few centimeters from the ground, suddenly stopped and did not actually hit it.

Some taller green grass even poked his nose and face.

I saw that Zuo Si had taken out his magic wand at some point, and I knew without asking that it was he who cast the levitation spell just now.

"A perfect levitation spell! Ten points to Slytherin!"

Seeing that Neville was fine, Madam Hooch breathed a sigh of relief, walked quickly over and carefully helped him up from the ground.

It turned out that although Neville's body did not directly collide with the ground, one of his arms was still hit hard due to being swung around when falling.

I don't know if it's a fracture, but my wrist is obviously quite swollen.

Although this is already a serious injury in the Muggle world, it is obviously nothing for wizards. Generally speaking, it can be cured with just a few healing spells.

But out of caution, Madam Hooch decided to take Neville for a check-up immediately.

But before leaving, she turned around and warned the freshmen: "I am going to send this child to see Madam Pomfrey now. None of you are allowed to move until I come back! Put the flying brooms back in place! Otherwise, I promise that you will be kicked out of Hogwarts before you can even see your first Quidditch game."

I have to say that this threat is still very deterrent.

After all, for a group of little kids, being expelled from school is like the end of the world, so they all look very honest.

At least during the time when Madam Hooch disappeared from sight, no one risked being fired by causing trouble.

But when the two of them walked away, Master Malfoy, who had been unable to hold back any longer, jumped out and sneered in his villainous tone, "Did you see the expression on that idiot's face just now? He couldn't even control his broomstick. He really brought shame to our pure-blood family. If I were him, I would have been too ashamed to continue staying in Hogwarts."

"Shut up! Malfoy!"

Parvati Patil, an Indian girl, shouted.

"Huh? What, you want to protect Longbottom? I didn't expect you would actually like a chubby little teardrop."

Pansy Parkinson, who was also from Slytherin house, also joined the battle, and just one sentence made her so angry that she was fuming.

When it comes to being sarcastic and confronting others, women are clearly born with an advantage over men.

Before long, the small-scale verbal dispute initiated by a few people turned into a tense confrontation between the two colleges.

Obviously, the scene described by Gustave Le Bon in his book "The Crowd" is happening among this group of little wizards.

No one knows what kind of magic potion the Hogwarts Sorting Hat put in their mouths, but in just a few days they turned themselves into members of their respective colleges and even developed a strong sense of identity.

"Hey! Soth! Aren't you going to take care of them?" Hermione couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Who? In what capacity?"

Zuo Si raised two key questions with a smile.

Hermione was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that the other party was not a prefect and seemed to be ostracized and isolated in Slytherin House.

But soon, she asked in an uncertain tone: "If a fight really breaks out later, who will you help?"

"I won't help anyone. I don't bother to care about such trivial matters. Anyway, the professors will come forward to solve them soon." Zuo Si acted indifferent.

"Even if the Slytherin students were beaten to a pulp?" Hermione's eyes were full of confusion and puzzlement.

Zuo Si nodded without hesitation: "That's right. The Slytherin students got beaten up because they asked for it. Does it have anything to do with me? I came to Hogwarts to learn magic and knowledge, not to play house games here, let others label me with an identity, and then act according to their designated rules.

In fact, it doesn't matter to me which college I join.

As for the college cup, college honors, college history, and the philosophy of the college founder, I don't care about any of that.

Even if someone stepped on the Slytherin House emblem and threw it into a cesspool in front of me, I would just stand aside and watch silently, and maybe even applaud.

In addition, I also suggest that you should not take the college too seriously, and don't change yourself to cater to the so-called correct views of the majority that are vulgar, short-sighted and stupid.

Because all people, thoughts, knowledge and books in this world are, without exception, full of arrogance and prejudice.

This is true for you and me, and for the four founders of Hogwarts.

They use the Sorting Hat to select students who are suitable to inherit their own ideas and will, and then strengthen these characteristics through competition between houses, and ultimately make the students of the house become as much like themselves as possible.

This is a kind of brainwashing, and also a kind of ideological assimilation, which makes you unconsciously agree with those boring ideas under the influence of group consciousness.

In other words, the four founders used this method to continue their competition after death, that is, who could teach better students.

A group of living people are being manipulated by four dead people. Don’t you think this is ridiculous and sad at the same time?”

As these words came out of her mouth, Hermione's face turned pale instantly.

Coming from a Muggle family, she can understand the meaning of left-wing thinking better than her classmates who come from wizarding families.

Simply put, whether it is the sorting ceremony or the competition between colleges, it is essentially a subtle influence and control on students' thoughts and consciousness.

At Hogwarts, all students are labeled Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

Through rewards and punishments such as bonus points, deduction points, the House Cup, Quidditch matches, etc., students are forced to develop a sense of collectiveness and identity, and gradually consciously integrate the iconic characteristics of the house into their own character.

As a girl with a strong opinion and a smart mind, Hermione recalled the changes in her classmates in the past few days. The more she thought about it, the more scared she became. She even felt that she almost became one of them. She immediately couldn't help but shiver.

By the time she came to her senses, Harry and Malfoy were already engaging in an aerial duel on their broomsticks.

In the blink of an eye, Professor McGonagall, who saw this scene, appeared on the lawn and pulled Harry towards the castle.

The Gryffindor students came forward to plead for mercy, while the Slytherin students stood aside and sneered.

The flying lesson ended in such a hasty manner.

When most of the other students returned to the first floor hall, Hermione immediately whispered, "How did you find out all this?"

"It's simple! If you want to be a truly smart person, never try to fit in with the group.

To integrate into the group is equivalent to forcibly lowering your IQ in exchange for a sense of belonging that makes you feel safe, and then slowly being smoothed out and becoming more and more mediocre.

Maintain independent thinking and never change because of anyone, even if the other person is a so-called friend.

Because anyone who tries to force you to change is definitely not a true friend.

remember!

For a wizard, nothing is more important than maintaining a strong sense of self.

Have you ever seen our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time, compromise with others?

Even his best friend, his closest lover, or his blood brother could not change the decision he made.

So if you can stick to doing these, then congratulations, you have acquired the most basic potential to become a great wizard.

Finally, let me tell you a little secret I discovered recently.

In fact, when casting magic, emotions and will can greatly enhance the power of the spell. "

After saying this, Zuo Si gave a meaningful smile, then turned and headed straight for the library.

Anyway, he has said everything he needs to say. Whether this girl can escape her original fate depends on her next choice.

Unlike Hermione who was shocked and fell into confusion and contemplation, the heartless Ron remained excited throughout the dinner.

Just now, he heard his good friend Harry talking about how he was recommended by Professor McGonagall and successfully joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a seeker, and he was completely ecstatic.

"Damn! I mean that's great! I remember the team usually doesn't accept first-year students. You must be the youngest seeker in the last few decades." Ron said incoherently.

"A century to be exact. Wood told me."

Harry added in a slightly excited tone, stuffing the pie in his hand into his mouth.

Maybe it was because of the thrilling aerial duel with Malfoy in the afternoon that he felt particularly hungry.

The two of them were eating while discussing the matter in a low voice. After about two or three minutes, the Weasley twin brothers suddenly appeared.

The two of them came to Harry and Ron, one on each side, patted the former on the shoulder and said some encouraging words.

As for poor Ron, he was glamorously ignored by his brothers.

After the twins left, Master Malfoy and his followers ran over and challenged him, "Are you having your last meal, Potter? When will you take the train back to the Muggles?"

"Draco, I noticed that you seemed to be much braver after returning to the ground. Was it the company of the two children behind you that gave you the courage?" Harry retorted bluntly.

Ever since he met Zuo Si, he has learned a lot of "little tricks" from him that can make people angry to death.

As expected, both Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle blushed instantly.

However, since the main guest seats were filled with professors, they did not dare to act rashly and could only try to intimidate them by snapping their fingers.

After a brief confrontation, Malfoy found that Harry Potter had no fear at all, and immediately became furious and proposed with gritted teeth: "I can fight you alone at any time. If you have no objection, how about we have a wizard duel tonight? Only use wands, no physical contact. You know what a wizard duel is, right?"

"Of course he knows." Ron took the initiative to take over the conversation. "I am his assistant. Who is your assistant?"

"Crabbe!" Malfoy chose between his two followers and finally chose the one with a bigger body and a bigger body. "The time is set at midnight, and the location is the trophy display room, because the door is never locked there."

"Okay! It's settled! Whoever doesn't come then is a coward."

Before Harry could react, Ron took the initiative to agree.

After Malfoy and the other two left, Hermione, who was reading a book, finally raised her head and couldn't help asking, "Are you really going to have a wizard duel with Malfoy?"

"Why not? You saw it, that guy was just bluffing." Ron shrugged indifferently.

"Uh...can anyone tell me what a wizard duel is? What is an assistant?" Harry asked weakly.

Ron answered without hesitation: "What assistant means is that if you die in the duel, then I will take your place. But don't worry, the real death is in the duel between adult wizards. With Malfoy's level, at best he can only spray sparks from the front of his wand, which is far from being able to hurt people."

"What if I wave my wand and there's no response?" Harry said, visibly worried.

Because from childhood to adulthood, he has never really fought with anyone and was basically always the one being bullied.

"Then throw away your wand and hit Malfoy in the nose with your fist," Ron suggested viciously.

Hearing this ignorant and stupid remark, Hermione immediately interrupted and said, "Sorry to bother you. As far as I know, Malfoy is from a pure-blood family, so he should have mastered a few spells before entering school."

"What? How did you know?" Ron was stunned for a moment.

"Thors told me. On the first night of school in the Slytherin common room, Malfoy cast one or two spells. Although they were not very powerful, they were enough to make you panic." Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance.

The longer she spent with Zuo Si, the more she felt that this red-haired boy was as stupid as a pig.

Not to mention Percy who was in the senior grade, even the twin brothers looked ten thousand times smarter than Ron.

moment!

Ron, who was still talking loudly in the last second, showed a look of horror in the next second.

Not only him, but Harry, who had inexplicably become the protagonist of this duel, was even more panicked.

After all, he had seen the power of the spell, and it could make a person fall to the ground unconscious with just a single wave of it.

He simply couldn't imagine what kind of outrageous things the malicious Malfoy would do if he fell into a coma.

"What now?"

After a long silence, Harry finally began to try to find a way to break the deadlock.

"There are only a few hours left until midnight. Unless you have a talent like Soth, it is unlikely that you will be able to learn a spell in such a short time. So I suggest that you don't go to the appointment tonight."

After that, Hermione quickly stood up and disappeared at the end of the corridor leading to the side of the library.

After watching the girl disappear from sight, Ron and Harry looked at each other and immediately walked straight to the empty table in the far right corner.

Zuo Si, who was fiddling with the scroll, saw the two people appear in front of him and immediately asked without raising his head, "What's the matter?"

"Well...we have agreed with Malfoy to have a wizard duel tonight. So we would like to ask you for a small favor." Harry stammered out his request.

"Oh? A wizard duel? You guys?"

Zuo Si finally stopped what he was doing, looked up and looked at the two silly boys.

Because he really didn't understand how the other party had the courage to accept the invitation to a wizard duel when he didn't master any spells.

You know, Gryffindor's motto is courage, not recklessness.

However, considering that most people do stupid things impulsively or without thinking when they are young, Harry and Ron's actions do not seem so difficult to understand.

After all, who doesn’t have some dark history when they were young?

At least Zuo Si remembered very clearly some of the behaviors that made him feel extremely embarrassed and ashamed when he thought about them now.

"Yes! Do you have any way to help us master one or two spells that can be used in duels in a short period of time?" Harry asked in a low voice nervously.

"Then there is no other way?"

At the critical moment, Ron, who had very low EQ and IQ, suddenly interrupted.

Zuo Si smiled and shook his head: "No. What I mean is that you might consider using the magic scroll I'm researching."

"Magic scroll? What is that?" Harry's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"To put it simply, it is to restore the spell into a stable spell model and store it together with the magic power into a parchment scroll in some way. When needed, the spell can be successfully released by activating it through a very simple method. It doesn't matter whether you have learned this spell or are good at it. How about it, doesn't it sound great?"

Zuo Si's tone was full of naked and undisguised temptation.

It goes without saying that he was planning to use the two silly boys in front of him, as well as Master Malfoy and his two followers who were plotting not far away, as experimental subjects to test whether the scroll could achieve the desired effect.

“哇哦！真的吗？我怎么以前从未听人说起过还有这玩意？”罗恩瞪大眼睛发出惊呼。

“因为抄录卷轴的技术是我最先想到并发明出来的。

虽然它眼下还很不完善，但对付马尔福应该足够了。

看，这是铁甲咒，激活后可以在自己身体周围形成坚不可摧的立场防护；

这是火焰咒，可以从魔杖前端释放出滚滚烈焰；

这是缴械咒，可以在一瞬间打掉对方的魔杖； 这是昏睡咒，能够让一个人昏迷不醒……”

此刻的左思就如同一名优秀的推销员，向哈利这个优质客户展示自己的研究成果。

因为他极有可能是整个霍格沃茨所有学生中最富有的一个。

而左思眼下刚好有些缺研究资金，打算稍微宰一下这只“肥羊”。

“这些卷轴要多少钱？”

哈利显然意识到了什么，下意识就从裤子口袋里掏出一小把金光闪闪的加隆。

在他看来，凡是能用钱解决的问题统统都不是问题。

可左思却笑着摆了摆手：“不，你误会了，我并不是在卖这些卷轴，而是希望你能给予这项未来潜力无穷的研究进行赞助。当然，作为回报，我会将其中一些卷轴送给你进行测试。”

哈利显然并不笨，一下子就明白了其中的意思，立刻改口道：“我需要进行多少投资？”

“大概十个金加隆，你就可以随意挑选五张卷轴带走。不过我有必要提醒你一句，像火焰咒、切割咒这样的魔法，威力可是非常惊人的。前者有能把人烧成重伤，后者会导致人血流不止乃至死亡。”左思郑重其事的发出警告。

“别担心，对付马尔福我还不至于用上这样的咒语。我想两张昏睡咒、一张铁甲咒、一张障碍咒、一张解除武器应该就够了。给，这是十个金加隆，作为对你研究的赞助。”

哈利迅速清点出十个金币摆放在桌子上，然后拿走了五张带有封印的卷轴。

“非常感谢支持。卷轴的使用方法很简单，就是用你的魔杖轻轻在上边点一下即可。”

说罢，左思不动声色把桌子上的金加隆塞进自己口袋，准备稍后去找斯内普买点火龙的血。

作为一名魔药大师，他的私人出仓库里肯定常备这种珍贵且价格不菲的材料。

拿到了五张魔法卷轴之后，哈利和罗恩根本不敢继续留在一楼大厅，生怕被教授们和马尔福察觉到自己的小动作。

当回到格兰芬多的公共休息室后，哈利顿时放松下来，一屁股坐在壁炉旁边的沙发上，笑着说道：“这下我们终于有对付马尔福的底牌了。”

“是啊！把咒语封印在羊皮纸卷轴里？虽然我不太喜欢索斯怪异的性格，但也得承认他的确是个真正的天才。不过两个金加隆一张是不是也太贵了点？”罗恩忍不住吐槽道。

作为一个标准的“穷鬼”，他从小到大别说是金加隆，就连银西可见到的都很少，零用钱也大部分是铜纳特。

没办法！ 谁让韦斯莱家的孩子生了那么多，多到都快要养不起的程度了。

“我觉得还好。毕竟按照索斯的说法，这些卷轴可以长期保存。就算现在用不上，以后也肯定会派上用场。更何况，只要能看到马尔福吃瘪的样子，就算花再多的钱我也愿意。”

哈利显然恨透了马尔福隔三差五就来找自己麻烦，所以打算趁这个机会给对方一个印象深刻的教训。

就这样，两人你一句我一句开始勾勒午夜决斗的画面，畅想马尔福被打到跪地求饶的情景，时不时还会发出一阵傻笑。

碰巧路过的赫敏看到后不由得叹气摇头，开始为自己的未来感到担忧。

因为同龄人之中除了左思之外，她发现那些巫师家庭出身的孩子不仅自大、愚蠢，而且还充满了莫名其妙的优越感。

……

另外一边，位于地下湖底的斯莱特林公共休息室内。

马尔福少爷正在冲着几个纯血家族的新生侃侃而谈，并毫不掩饰表示自己要放救世主的鸽子，然后给管理员费尔奇通风报信，抓对方一个现行。

这样不仅可以扣掉格兰芬多学院大量的分数，同时还能让波特因为违反校规而受罚或者被开除。

就在他越说越来劲、越说越上头的时候，突然惊讶的发现周围的听众都不知为何闭上了嘴巴，并且脸上充满了畏惧跟惶恐。

出于下意识的反应，马尔福少爷立刻回过头，一眼就看到了站在自己身后的左思，瞬间吓的从椅子跳起来，紧张不已的问：“你……你想要干什么？”

“违约、告密、逃避，这就是你们纯血家族的骄傲跟荣耀吗？ 还是说这是斯莱特林学院的传统？

如果答案是肯定的，那么我真替你们感到羞耻。

因为无论口头上说的有多么好听，但我看到的只是一群躲在暗地里玩弄阴谋诡计的卑鄙小人。

或许……我应该给你和你的家族起个绰号。

你觉得秃鹫怎么样？ 这种鸟虽然体型庞大，但是却没有什么捕猎能力，只能靠其他动物死掉腐烂的尸体为食，与你现在表现出来的气质很配。”

左思一开口就直接把嘲讽拉满。

正准备测试卷轴威力的他，可不想让马尔福少爷今天晚上老老实实待在寝室里睡觉。

“你！你竟然敢侮辱我和我的家族？！！！”

马尔福瞬间暴怒，苍白的肤色瞬间便的通红。

“怎么，你有意见吗？作为一名巫师，如果你想要捍卫自己的荣誉，那就直接拔出魔杖用实际行动来证明我是错的。要是不敢，就闭上嘴老老实实承认自己个懦弱且卑鄙的小人。别整天总把父亲、家族之类的东西挂在嘴上，那只会让人愈发觉得你无能。”

说到这，左思突然停顿了一下，转过身用锐利的眼神巡视整个斯莱特林公共休息室，尤其是那些高年级的学生。

足足过了一分钟，他才抿起嘴角发出一阵轻蔑的冷笑，用十分缓慢的语速说道：“你们也一样。看我不爽，想要来找我麻烦，随时欢迎。但是请注意，第二次就不会像第一次那样，仅仅是一点微不足道的烧伤和烟熏了。”

伴随着最后一个字脱口而出，左思猛地挥起魔杖瞄准不远处的地面射出了一道明亮的光束。

轰！！！！！！

被击中的地方瞬间炸得粉碎。

大量碎石和尘埃四散飞溅，把正在休息的学生们一个个搞得灰头土脸。

等灰尘散去，众人这才看到那块没有人站着的地面上，竟然凭空出现了一个半径足有三米、深度超过半米的大坑。

可以想象得到，要是这一击打在人身上，怕是连一具完整点的尸体都找不到了。

威力如此惊人的粉碎咒，直接把这群还没毕业的学生吓破了胆。

尤其是左思无意中透露出来宛如实质的压迫感，根本不是这群估计连血都没见过的菜鸟所能承受的，纷纷低下头不敢与之对视。

一些胆子比较小的女孩，比如说一直跟在马尔福身后转悠的潘西·帕金森，甚至直接被吓的哭了出来。

眼见这些斯莱特林学院的“小蛇”再次全体在自己的淫威下瑟瑟发抖，左思顿时露出满意的笑容，举起魔杖轻轻挥舞了两下释放修复咒。

眨眼功夫，被炸得面目全非的休息室就再度恢复了正常。

他算是看出来了，斯莱特林学院那些拥护纯血派的学生就是一群贱皮子，隔三差五得收拾一顿，不然就会故态萌发。

而且越是表现得残暴、冷酷、强大，这些人就越是会在心底崇拜你。

看着左思像个没事人一样顺着阶梯返回自己的宿舍，女级长杰玛·法利立刻笑着问身边的同伴：“你们感受到了吗？在他那瘦小身体里所蕴含的惊人力量！相信我，他注定会成为比邓布利多、神秘人更厉害、更伟大的巫师，这一点绝对毋庸置疑。”

“我从不否认索斯的天赋和力量。但问题是，他好像对于斯莱特林学院并没有任何认同感，更不想要接纳我们。刚好相反！他跟格兰芬多的几个学生走的一直都非常近。尤其是那个叫做赫敏·格兰杰的讨厌家伙，每次前往图书馆都会坐在尽可能离索斯最近的位置附近。”

另外一名留着棕色短发的青年眉头紧锁的开始抱怨。

从年纪和穿戴打扮不难看出，他明显已经六年级或者七年级了，距离毕业仅有一步之遥。

"Don't be impatient, my friend. It's not easy to win the trust and acceptance of someone like Soth. First of all, we must show enough value." Gemma Farley said meaningfully, holding her chin.

“You mean…” A strange light flashed in the young man’s eyes.

Gemma Farley explained calmly: "What I mean is to build up a network of relationships and intelligence, and then show it to South at a certain time.

When he thinks we are useful, he will naturally choose to accept us.

After all, in today's magical world, no matter how powerful a wizard is, he needs a lot of forces attached to him as his arms, otherwise he can't accomplish anything at all.

By the same token, if we don’t have a sufficiently powerful wizard to back us up, our ambitions will be like castles built on the beach, which will collapse at the slightest touch of the waves.

Look at the current British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that idiot. Why do you think he got to that position? Strength?

Fame?

Or ability?

No, neither.

It's because our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time, supports him, that's all.

So if we want to make a career in the wizarding world, we must have a reliable backing.

You-Know-Who used to be a good choice.

Although he is cold, cruel and ruthless, he always looks at students who graduated from Slytherin House differently.

The problem is that he fails and is completely destroyed by a newborn baby, Harry Potter.

So we, Slytherin House, need to find a new person with unlimited potential, and then help and accompany him to grow until he becomes a towering tree that can shelter us from wind and rain.

Do you remember how the mysterious man treated those who helped him when he was a student after he gained power? "

"Of course! Those families have gained unimaginable power and wealth. They can even ignore the law and wantonly slaughter their former enemies."

When saying this, the young man's tone revealed a strong sense of envy.

Although Voldemort caused bloodshed throughout the entire British wizarding world, many Slytherin students often did not feel fear towards him, but rather admiration from the bottom of their hearts.

"That's good to know. I don't want to say any more unnecessary nonsense. You just need to do your part."

It is not difficult to tell from her tone and expression that Gemma Farley has become the leader of this small group.

…

Time flies, and the two or three hours of rest after dinner is over soon.

When the time came to half past eleven, the entire Hogwarts Castle was under curfew.

In the corridor outside, apart from Filch, who was still wandering around with a lantern, trying to catch those students who didn't sleep well and were still wandering around at night, there were basically only ghosts wandering around.

Ron, who had been waiting in the dormitory, looked up at his watch and immediately said to his friend next to him, "Hey, it's time for us to leave."

"receive!"

Without saying a word, Harry put on his robes, picked up his wand, and tiptoed down the spiral staircase into the Gryffindor common room.

Just as the two were about to walk into the portrait channel, they suddenly saw a dark figure standing up from a chair and asked in a slightly surprised tone: "Are you really planning to keep the appointment?"

"who?!"

Ron was instantly frightened out of his wits.

You should know that the punishment for being caught for night wandering is quite severe, and the college will also lose a lot of points.

He didn't want to become the public enemy of the entire Gryffindor.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

Before he finished speaking, a light was suddenly turned on.

Then Hermione, wearing pink pajamas, appeared in front of the two.

Seeing that it was an acquaintance, Ron's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and he complained with an annoyed look on his face: "Damn it! You almost gave me a heart attack! You're not sleeping in the middle of the night, what are you doing here?"

"I'm just a little worried. You two don't even know how to perform the Disillusionment Charm. What if you get caught along the way? All your points in Gryffindor will be deducted. So for the honor of the house, I have to at least make sure that you two can get to the trophy room safely."

As she spoke, Hermione grabbed her robe from the sofa and put it on, making a gesture as if she was going to go along.

"You know how to Disillusion?" Ron opened his mouth in shock.

Hermione raised her chin proudly and replied, "Of course! Do you think everyone treats you the same and just plays around all day? While you were wasting your time on those idle chats and games, I have finished reading several books on spells under the guidance of Soth."

"Well, it looks like there are two monsters, one big and one small, in this class of freshmen." Ron couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

"Thanks, Hermione."

Harry gladly accepted the girl's kindness.

He understood that the other party was worried that he might be expelled for violating school rules again and again.

Almost at the same time, Malfoy and his two followers sneaked out of the Slytherin common room.

Needless to say, he was deeply irritated by the previous remarks, to the point that this spoiled young master wanted to prove with actual actions that he was not just a villain who dared to hide behind the scenes and play tricks.

Of course, all of this was seen by Zuo Si who was about to head to the forbidden books section of the library.

Wanting to see the show, he remained invisible and followed silently, all the way to the trophy display room on the third floor.

Since the door here is never locked, Malfoy easily pushed it open and walked in.

Less than two minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived as expected.

The two sides confronted each other in this house filled with countless trophies for more than ten seconds. In the end, Malfoy took the initiative and pointed at Hermione and asked, "Potter! We agreed to have two people, why did you bring one more?"

"Aren't you the same?" Harry stared at Goyle without showing any weakness.

"Wait a minute! I want to make it clear that I am only making sure they both arrive safely. I have no intention of participating in this stupid duel."

Hermione made her position clear.

Although he had mastered quite a few spells, he had almost no practical experience and was not sure whether he could successfully cast the spells he practiced in a battle.

"Hey! You're on our side!" Ron reminded in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, all I promised was to make sure you wouldn't get caught along the way. Now, that mission is accomplished."

If it were in the past, the girl might have chosen to help based on the fact that they were in the same college.

But after hearing Zuo Si's remarks about a group of living people being played around by four dead men, his identification with Gryffindor House suddenly decreased.

Although I will help when something happens, I will never make sacrifice or change my position as a prerequisite.

(End of this chapter)