Harry Potter: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me from Studying

Hermione's eyes slowly widened, clearly understanding something. She said, trembling, "So, it's that, then—"

"Exactly," Wade said. "It's Harry Potter."

"—Death quota!" Hermione exclaimed at the same time.

The two looked at each other.

"—Harry Potter?" Hermione said in surprise.

"...I told you it was a joke," Wade said helplessly.

They looked at each other again.

Hermione frowned.

Hermione gradually understood.

"No wonder..." she whispered. "Percy—the Gryffindor prefect, a fifth-year Weasley—he said that Professor Dumbledore used to explain why students weren't allowed in certain places. But this time, he just said not to enter the third-floor corridor on the right, without saying why."

"If he explicitly said there was a three-headed dog hidden there, even the Weasley twins wouldn't go looking for death, let alone a first-year like Potter," Wade said, unsurprised. "A vague warning is precisely 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 each used their wisdom and abilities to solve a challenge, and finally, Harry used "love magic" to defeat the final boss, Voldemort.

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 adorable, with Voldemort practically serving 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, when you unexpectedly burst in, were you injured by the three-headed dog?" Wade countered.

"Well, no. But that's because at first it—ah—"

Hermione suddenly understood, feeling as if the fog had cleared and she was seeing the truth.

"My guess—and it's just a guess—is that Dumbledore might have placed some restrictions on the three-headed dog, so it wouldn't actually harm students who wandered in, only scare them. But if someone tried to do something further, the three-headed dog wouldn't just stand by," Wade said cautiously.

"I saw it standing on a trapdoor," Hermione said. "It must be guarding something."

"If the facts are as we suspect," Wade concluded, "Harry Potter will definitely find out what it's guarding."

The progression of events seemed to slow down, perhaps because Hermione was angry with Harry and Ron and wasn't speaking to them much, so she didn't get any further news.

However, Wade 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, the progress in Charms was what concerned Wade more.

In a recent practice session, he accidentally discovered that it wasn't only when guiding others that he could see the arc indicating the correct spellcasting method. When he looked in a mirror, he could also see his own guiding line, which significantly sped up his spell practice. So, Wade took some time to specifically practice Potions—the shelves behind the Potions classroom always held many common ingredients, freely available for students to practice. However, due to Professor Snape, most students, apart from class time, were unwilling to step foot into the dungeon classroom, even Slytherin students.

When Wade practiced Potions in his free time, Snape would turn a blind eye, occasionally pointing out his mistakes in a sarcastic tone. Overall, as long as one wasn't too sensitive, much could still be learned from him.

At these times, Wade was thankful he was a Ravenclaw—if he were a Gryffindor lion, Snape probably would have kicked him out on the very first day he dared to enter the Potions classroom unsupervised.

One afternoon, Wade successfully brewed a batch of Wound Cleaning Potion, earning Snape's "barely usable" evaluation, and was instructed 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, Wade found everyone very excited. They were all gathered around Theo, and even Hermione had put down her book, calculating aloud: "I want three feet of thick parchment, five bottles of ink. I heard there's a very good Quick-Quotes Quill; if there is, I'd like to buy two of those too—"

Theo rapidly jotted it down, while Michael loudly protested, "Oh, come on, Hermione. I know you love studying, but how boring would life be if it were only about studying! You should buy yourself something fun! Honeydukes candies are all super fantastic! I highly recommend the Super Bubblegum; it can fill the entire room with bellflower-blue bubbles—pretty much a girl's favorite. Fizzing Whizbees are also bestsellers, and the Butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks Inn—almost no one can resist having a mug."

"Hmm—" Hermione hesitated for a while, then said, "Then help me get a Galleon's worth of candy too! But no weird stuff like Cockroach Clusters!"

Although it would be inconvenient for her to bring candy back to the dorm—it would surely lead to questions from the other girls, and perhaps some sour whispers—she could keep the candy in the Umbrella Room and share it with her SSC friends.

"What are you all talking about?" Wade walked over and asked curiously.

"You're finally here, Wade! We've all been waiting for you!" Neville said happily. "This week is the first Hogsmeade weekend, and students in third year and above can go to Hogsmeade Village."

"I know that!" Wade said. "But what does that have to do with us first-years?"

Wade had, of course, heard of Hogsmeade Village. It was the only all-wizarding village in Britain, 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 third year and above could visit on specific Saturdays, and they also needed signed permission from a guardian. Therefore, Wade and his friends wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade for at least two more years.

"Normally, it wouldn't matter," Michael said excitedly. "But Theo said—a third-year Hufflepuff student said he could help younger students buy some things they wanted, and he even listed a Hogsmeade Village shopping list. Theo and Ryan said they could help us add the things we want."

Wade took the shopping list, reading it as he asked curiously, "Who's so kind? Doesn't mind the trouble—or is he doing it to earn a profit?"

Ryan shook his head and said, "No, Cedric isn't helping for money."

Wade 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."