A Plan Takes Shape

"Get back to your dormitory, you three. Don't let Mrs. Norris catch you again."

Professor Wes urged Harry, Ron, and Hermione to leave.

"Thank you, Professor."

Hermione hurriedly thanked him, then quickly dragged her two companions away.

Harry and Ron also thanked him in a rush. Their faces showed traces of panic as they followed closely behind Hermione.

The three jogged all the way toward the Gryffindor common room.

"Ah, youth."

Professor Wes watched their retreating figures and recalled his own school days. Back then, he had been a famously good student, spending nearly all his time in the library. Let alone breaking school rules, he barely had any friends.

Professor Wes did not regret his choices. He knew that the path he had to walk was destined to be a lonely one. In pursuit of magic and a longer life, he had chosen to travel alone.

Perhaps in the future, he would meet companions who walked the same path and share their discoveries and insights with one another.

The students gradually noticed that Filch seemed to have it out for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

No matter where the trio went, Filch followed them like a shadow.

Even during class, Filch stood guard outside the classroom door, never leaving his post.

His gloomy figure was like a shadow hanging over the trio, making it impossible for Harry and the others to study in peace.

Still, the three had been well-behaved lately and had not broken any school rules.

This disappointed Filch, but he had plenty of patience. He firmly believed that sooner or later, he would catch them red-handed.

Hermione simply could not endure being watched all day long. She felt as though she were about to suffocate.

So she went to Professor McGonagall and bitterly recounted everything she had gone through recently.

After learning of the matter, Professor McGonagall sternly reprimanded Filch for his behavior. Though unwilling, Filch did not dare defy Professor McGonagall's orders and temporarily left the three alone.

However, as he passed Harry and the others, he said in a low voice:

"Don't get too pleased with yourselves. There are still five years left. I can keep playing this game the whole time."

He looked so sinister and terrifying that Ron's face went pale.

Hermione was so angry that she rushed forward to argue with Filch, but Harry quickly grabbed her arm.

"How can he be like this? Someone like him should be fired!"

Even Hermione, the model student, had been enraged. She could not tolerate Filch's unreasonable behavior and felt that he was seriously disrupting the students' normal lives and studies.

"We could ask Professor Erwin. Mrs. Norris is close to him, so he might know something."

Harry suggested.

"Good idea." Hermione and Ron both nodded in agreement.

The three rushed to the seventh floor and arrived outside Professor Wes's office.

Hermione knocked gently on the door, the crisp sound echoing down the corridor.

"Knock~"

"Knock~ knock."

"Come in."

After receiving Professor Wes's permission, the three entered the office one after another.

They saw Erwin holding a quill and carefully writing something in a notebook.

Harry's gaze was drawn to the notebook, and the scar on his forehead suddenly began to hurt. The pain surged through his entire body like an electric current, making him cry out.

"Ah!" Harry clutched his forehead, his face twisted in pain.

"Harry?" Ron and Hermione were startled. They hurriedly supported Harry, preventing him from falling.

Could Horcruxes affect one another? Or was Harry simply too special?

Seeing this, Professor Wes swiftly put the Diary back into its box and locked it. Strangely, Harry's headache disappeared as well.

"I'm fine." Harry reassured his two friends, though his voice was a little weak. "Maybe Filch's been watching us too closely lately. I've been too nervous."

Ron foolishly believed him, because he had dreamed of Filch chasing him the night before and had not slept well all night. His head had been buzzing all day, and he felt awful.

Hermione did not believe his explanation. She felt that things were not so simple.

She grabbed Harry and tried to take him to the school nurse for an examination, but Harry repeatedly insisted that nothing was wrong with him.

Left with no other choice, Hermione asked Professor Wes to examine him.

Professor Wes gave Harry a simple examination and said, "There's nothing wrong. It may be an intermittent headache caused by lack of sleep."

"It's all Filch's fault. I haven't had a good night's sleep in days. I have nightmares every night." Ron's face was full of disgust. His dissatisfaction with Filch had reached its peak.

"Professor, do you know why Filch targets students so much?"

Hermione asked miserably, "He's making it impossible for me to focus on my studies."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, unable to understand the world of top students.

"Mr. Filch..." Professor Wes did not actually dislike Filch that much. He recalled his own days as a student.

Back then, he had been an outstanding student. Dean Flitwick had been very protective of him and had given him quite a few privileges. That was why Filch had never dared trouble him.

Professor Wes knew that Filch was a Squib. His parents had both been Wizards, yet Filch had never awakened any magical power. Being born into a Wizarding family but unable to cast magic was a despairing thing.

Many Wizarding families regarded Squibs as a disgrace to the family. Some even cast them out and refused to acknowledge them.

In short, it was very difficult for a Squib to survive in the magical world. Filch's childhood could only be described as miserable.

By comparison, Harry's circumstances at his aunt's house were not even a tenth as bad as Filch's.

For that very reason, Filch had developed such a twisted personality, which had gradually revealed itself after Dumbledore took him in and made him Hogwarts's caretaker.

But Professor Wes would not tell Harry and the other two these things. It was not because he feared Filch, but because he had no interest in exposing other people's private matters.

He merely told them that, with Professor McGonagall's warning, Filch would behave himself for a while.

If Filch still refused to leave them alone, they could have their parents write letters of complaint. Headmaster Dumbledore would step in.

The three did not get the answers they wanted, and they said goodbye to Professor Wes politely, somewhat disappointed. Before leaving, Harry glanced at the drawer where Professor Wes had put the Diary and asked tentatively:

"Professor, was that notebook just now important?"

"It's just an ordinary diary. Why, do you want it?" Professor Wes made as if to open the drawer.

Harry waved his hands. "You misunderstand. That's not what I meant..."

"I'm teasing you. Your friends have already left, so hurry up and catch them." Professor Wes smiled.

"Goodbye, Professor."

Harry closed the office door and jogged after Hermione and Ron.

After the three had left, Professor Wes reopened the drawer, took out the Diary, and muttered to himself, "Senior Tom, you really are disappointing. The magic you've mastered may be precious to ordinary students, but it's of no use to me."

The Diary suddenly began to tremble and opened itself to a page bearing the words: "What do you want?"

Professor Wes could not be bothered to answer. He merely looked quietly at the Diary and began to think.

Smack!

He snapped the Diary shut, slipped it into his coat pocket, and left the office.

Thanks to _Huaqingqiu for the monthly ticket. Thank you for your support.

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