Hagrid looked at Silas, his face carrying a trace of lingering fear and concern. He hesitated, but finally could not help voicing what had been weighing on his mind. "Silas, there's something else... I know Professor Quirrell... he's a bad man and wanted to hurt Harry. But even if you were sure he was a dark wizard, you couldn't... couldn't just attack him so rashly, could you? What if... what if he was much stronger than you?"
Silas did not immediately argue after hearing Hagrid's words. Instead, he nodded seriously, his face showing a calm clarity that did not quite match his usual lazy demeanor.
"You're right, Hagrid," Silas admitted. "I admit I was a little impulsive then. But..." His tone shifted, carrying the certainty of someone judging by strength. "I dared to do it because I was basically sure that Quirrell... was just a useless loser."
He raised a hand. A faint thread of red energy curled around his fingertips—the lingering magic of the Sekern Red Belt.
"My red belt binds and seals magic. But it isn't all-powerful." Silas watched the faint energy and analyzed it calmly. "I've tested it and made my estimates. This thing definitely can't hold a wizard on Professor Dumbledore's level, or... a monster like Voldemort at the height of his power."
At the mention of Voldemort's name, Hagrid's enormous body visibly trembled, fear appearing on his face.
Silas continued as if stating an objective fact. "To put it simply, this move turns 'I should be able to win' into 'I can definitely win.' As long as my red belt successfully wraps around someone, it can seal their magic, and then they're basically at my mercy. I'm confident about that."
He spread his hands, looking utterly frank. "But if my opponent's magic is far stronger than mine—strong enough that my Sectumsempra can't restrain them at all—or if they can counter me with faster magic before I make a move... then it's completely different. Against someone at that level, I'd have to put in serious effort. I might even need to... well, use riskier, more extreme methods."
His analysis was exceptionally calm, even somewhat cold. He had clearly defined the limits of his abilities: against opponents weaker than or equal to himself, he could rely on the Sekern Red Belt to crush them utterly; but against truly powerful enemies, he would need more complex strategies and take greater risks.
Hagrid listened to Silas's clear, organized explanation, which even had the air of a battle analyst, and stared with his mouth open, unable to think of anything to say. He had thought Silas was merely a gifted but impulsive child. He had not expected him to possess such a clear-headed and... realistic understanding of the balance between himself and his enemies.
"So you don't need to worry that I'll be stupid enough to challenge someone I can't beat." Silas patted Hagrid's thick arm, his usual slightly lazy smile returning. "I hate trouble most of all. If something can be solved easily, I'm not going to make myself suffer for no reason."
Hagrid looked at Silas, his feelings a tangled mess. This child seemed far more complicated than he appeared. He possessed great power, yet maintained a clear awareness of it. He seemed impulsive, but in truth had his own logic and boundaries. That reassured Hagrid somewhat, but at the same time, he had the faint feeling that Silas might cause even bigger... "trouble" in the future.
A few days later, in the Gryffindor common room, the firelight flickered over several gloomy faces. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were hunched over a table, scribbling furiously on parchment. The scratch of quills against paper was filled with misery and frustration. Their homework was piled as high as a small mountain.
Silas, meanwhile, lounged in an armchair beside them with one leg crossed over the other, holding a hardcover copy of Advanced Potion-Making. He looked more like he was passing the time than genuinely studying. He glanced at the two boys scratching their heads beside him and casually asked,
"Is there really that much homework? You both look like you're suffering."
Ron raised his head and looked at Silas with resentful envy. "Yes! There's tons of it! Transfiguration wants a twelve-inch essay! We still have to practice precise control of the Levitation Charm for Charms! And there's an essay for A History of Magic about the invention of the self-stirring cauldron... Silas, how do you do it? You never seem to worry about homework!"
Silas closed his book and shrugged, wearing an expression that said, "What's so difficult about that?" In my last life, I survived over a decade of endless exercises and paper bombardments, from middle school through high school and university. Compared to that, Hogwarts homework was practically nothing. I'd long since developed immunity to the grind. But aloud, he said, "Maybe... I'm just good at time management?"
He deftly changed the subject, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice. "By the way, did Hagrid tell you about his 'little darling' too?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then both nodded, looking excited and worried at the same time. Harry said quietly, "Yeah... a dragon egg! Hagrid said it's about to hatch! It's too dangerous!"
An interested smile appeared on Silas's face. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback! How cool is that? How about we go watch when it hatches? It'll definitely be interesting!"
Ron hesitated. "But... Hagrid's hut is kind of far from the castle, and going out at night..."
Silas waved dismissively, cutting him off. "Far? How is that a problem?"
The moment he finished speaking, he casually drew a circle in the air beside him. Golden sparks crackled, and a stable portal instantly opened. Through it, they could clearly see the warm interior of Hagrid's hut—Hagrid stood with his back to them, humming by the fireplace as he carefully watched over the dragon egg in the ashes.
"There." Silas pointed at the portal. "Aren't we already there? We can go whenever we want."
Harry and Ron stared dumbfoundedly at the portal, then at Silas, unable to speak.
Harry blinked, finally realizing a crucial question. He pointed at the red-and-gold decorations around them and the Gryffindor banners on the walls, asking in confusion, "Wait... Silas, I remember... this is the Gryffindor common room, right? How did you get in?"
Silas raised an eyebrow as if he had heard something amusing, then asked in a tone that said Harry was far too naive,
"Oh, come on~ Who told you Ravenclaw students can't enter the Gryffindor common room? For me, isn't getting anywhere just a matter of opening a portal?"
He pointed at the still-open portal leading to Hagrid's hut, then casually drew another circle beside it. The view beyond the new portal immediately changed to the Ravenclaw common room.
"See?" Silas said smugly. "Just dropping in for a visit. So convenient."
Harry and Ron watched the scene as though it were a magic performance and were rendered completely speechless. They finally understood, on a deep level, that Hogwarts's separation between houses, its curfew rules, and even physical distance meant nothing to Silas. If he wanted to go somewhere, he could go anywhere. That ability was simply... too enviable—and too much of a headache.
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