Someone Always Wants to Surprise You

"You two!"

Madam Pince had appeared behind Andy and Hermione at some point. With one hand on her hip, she said sternly, "I've had my eye on you two for a while now. This is the library. If you keep talking, I'll have no choice but to ask you to leave!"

Hermione's face instantly turned pale, her eyes reddening slightly. She looked as though she were about to cry.

As a Three-Good Student, she had never been criticized so harshly by a teacher before.

"Sorry, Madam!" Andy said sincerely. "It was our fault. We promise we won't talk in the library again. Please give us one more chance."

"Only this once!" Madam Pince glanced at them before turning and leaving.

"It's fine now!" Once Madam Pince had left, Andy shrugged casually.

As long as your skin was thick enough, even a mortifying embarrassment could be treated as if nothing had happened, let alone a mere scolding.

Andy had long since gotten used to it.

But the Little Witch clearly didn't see it that way. She didn't even spare Andy a glance, keeping her eyes fixed on her book. It was as if her mouth had been sealed by magic—never mind responding to Andy, it was as though he didn't exist in her eyes at all.

Andy reached out and poked Hermione with a finger.

"..."

Hermione swatted his hand away and continued pretending he didn't exist.

Fine then!

Andy didn't want to stir up trouble for no reason and risk the Little Witch exploding at him afterward. Since no one was paying attention to him, he might as well keep reading.

Hmph! Books held beauties within them.

Near noon, Andy and Hermione left the library.

"Are you going to visit Weasley?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Andy said.

What's wrong with me? Why would I go see him for no reason? "You're finally talking. I thought Madam Pince had sealed your mouth with a nasty curse," Andy teased.

"Madam Pince was right. We really shouldn't have been laughing and fooling around in the library. It's a public space, and we shouldn't disturb the other students."

Hermione spoke seriously before continuing, "I heard that you and Weasley were friends, so I told you about them losing points."

So that was why! Andy had been wondering why Hermione had suddenly become so gossipy.

"Better not."

Andy thought it over. "I think what they want most right now is for no one to notice them."

Of course, that was probably difficult.

By the time Andy and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall, news that Harry and Ron had been caught wandering the castle at night had already spread throughout Hogwarts.

Who was Harry Potter?

He was the Chosen One of the British Wizarding World, a superstar whose name was recorded in the history of magic.

Not only did everyone at Hogwarts know his name, but no one in the entire British Wizarding World was unfamiliar with it.

In the eyes of the Little Wizards, a celebrity like him should have become one of the best among them after coming to Hogwarts, broken a whole string of school records, and graduated from Hogwarts covered in glory.

But who could have expected that Harry Potter would break a record by joining Gryffindor's Quidditch team as a First Year, then immediately cost Gryffindor fifty points?

Including the Chosen One's sidekick, that made one hundred points.

School had not even been in session for a week, and Gryffindor hadn't earned a hundred points in total to lose.

It was also worth mentioning that, thanks to the tireless efforts of a certain Potions Class Professor, Gryffindor's score had already been at the bottom among the Four Great Houses.

Now it had gone negative.

If Harry and his sidekick had lost points for fighting Slytherin, the little lions might even have called them heroes.

But they had been Captured Alive by Filch while sneaking around at night.

He was a Squib! In the little lions' view, there was nothing more humiliating than being Captured Alive by Filch while wandering the castle at night.

The moment Andy entered the Great Hall, he heard all of Gryffindor discussing the matter.

Slytherin was gloating, while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff quietly watched the show as they ate, occasionally offering their own thoughts on the incident.

When Andy reached the Ravenclaw table, he even heard someone quietly questioning how Harry Potter, with his abilities, had managed to defeat the Mysterious Man.

That was the Killing Curse—death upon contact, with no counter-curse.

Andy didn't want to discuss it. He speared a roasted sausage with his fork, then turned to Hermione and asked, "So, have you decided? Want to go practice flying?"

"No!"

Hermione shook her head. "We still have a year of Flying Class. We can practice slowly. Rather than spending time on that, I'd rather read a few more books and practice magic. Besides, I hate flying."

"You're actually afraid of heights, aren't you..."

Under Hermione's glare, Andy's voice gradually faded. Blinking, he cleverly changed the subject. "Oh, right. I have some personal business this afternoon, so I might have to go out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You'll find out in a few days. I can't tell you yet."

Andy put on a mysterious air. "It's a matter of great importance. If anyone asks, tell them I was with you all afternoon."

"Hmph! As if I care."

Hermione proudly raised her chin, then suddenly turned to stare at Andy. "You wouldn't be going with Mal—"

"Of course not! If it weren't to get a reliable professor, who would want to deal with him?"

Andy hurriedly assured her, "Don't worry. I'm not going to the Fourth Floor Corridor either."

"Hmph!" Hermione snorted and turned away, ignoring Andy again.

After lunch, Andy reminded Hermione once more. Only after receiving Hermione's repeated assurances did he finally leave in peace.

First, he went to the Owl Shed to send a letter to Malfoy. Then Andy secretly made his way alone to the third floor of the castle.

"This should be the place!"

Andy stood before a statue of the One-Eyed Witch, lightly tapped it with his wand, and said, "Separate Left and Right!"

Click, click!

The statue's hunchback slowly opened, revealing a stone slide leading downward.

This was the valuable intelligence Andy had traded from the Weasley Twins using Snape's secret—a Secret Passage leading to Hogsmeade.

"Those two really are something!"

Andy sighed and slid down the stone chute.

The slide was very long. Andy slid for about ten minutes before reaching level ground.

Andy looked around. Before him was a staircase with over two hundred steps. At the end stood a Trapdoor. Going out through there would lead to the cellar of Honeydukes Sweetshop.

Andy climbed the stairs and pushed the Trapdoor open a crack.

"Good, there's no one in the cellar!" Andy breathed a sigh of relief.

Today was Saturday, and Honeydukes Sweetshop was bustling. When Andy emerged from the cellar, he didn't alert anyone at all.

"A perfect Secret Passage!" Andy gave it his approval.

"Hmm..."

Andy silently calculated the date.

Today was Saturday, September 7th, 1991. Then September 19th would be... Thursday!