The First Day of School, Wanting a Holiday

Hogwarts Castle, bustling with activity as young wizards returned to school, seemed to have raised the temperature in the surrounding area. The weather continued to warm up, and the snow and ice melted even faster.

The snowballs that had piled up on the tree branches were gone, and only when you woke up in the morning could you see a layer of ice covering the leaves. Only a thin, translucent layer of ice remained on the surface of the Black Lake.

The path outside the Castle was damp and muddy, making a "pattering" sound as you walked. The more you walked, the more mud accumulated on the soles of your shoes, making them heavier and heavier.

The third-year wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin stood on the edge of the Edge of the Forbidden Forest, waiting for their first lesson back at school— Care of Magical Creatures.

"Oh, this is absolutely terrible..."

Seamus lifted his foot and glanced at his mud-covered boots, the murky yellow mud almost completely covering the surface. He wrinkled his face in disgust. "These are new boots my mom bought for me."

"Yes, it's terrible. I hate winter, I hate going to school..." Ron sighed sadly. "If only we could have holidays forever."

Harry looked at him in surprise. "But you told me yesterday that you wanted school to start soon."

"I want to go back to school and hang out with my friends, but I don't want to go to class." Ron had a look on his face that said, "You don't understand me."

"Me too! Me too!"

"... You have no idea how boring the days after the holiday are!"

With some time before class, the young wizards chattered excitedly about the interesting things that had happened during the holidays, even talking about the Diagon Alley attack, with all sorts of outlandish rumors like novel stories.

Loren and Hermione listened with great interest.

Among the Slytherin students nearby, the tall and obese Goyle rubbed his feet together alternately, trying to remove the mud from them.

Draco frowned, and finally couldn't stand it anymore. He waved his wand and cast a Cleaning Charm on Draco's shoes. "Don't be a fool, you're a wizard."

Goyle didn't refute a word, just grinned foolishly at his suddenly clean shoes.

Theodore Nott was also rubbing his shoes, not to clean them, but to spread a clod of dirt evenly on the surface, probably to pass the time.

Nott painted a pair of black leather boots a tan color, a satisfied look on his face. He looked up and asked, "Draco, has your family heard about that incident?"

"What?" Draco didn't quite hear.

"The Diagon Alley incident..." Nott kicked the sole of his left shoe with the heel of his right shoe. "I heard it was Mrs. Lestrange who did it. If it weren't for the help of a few professors, those idiots in the Ministry of Magic would have let her succeed."

Draco gave a nonchalant "hmm": "Why bring this up all of a sudden? What does it have to do with us?"

"What does this have to do with us?" Nott looked up with a meaningful smile. "Of course it has to do with us. When the Lestrange were both imprisoned, most of their land and business were divided up. If it weren't for your mother's intervention, they would have had nothing left."

"Now that Mrs. Lestrange has escaped from prison, attacked the Aurors, and stormed Gringotts ... the remaining half is also in danger." Nott paused. "I thought your Malfoy family was prepared and planned to take this part."

"I don't know about the adults' affairs," Draco said softly.

He was actually aware that in early January, another letter arrived from the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which carried away several thousand Galleon from the Malfoy family.

The mother wanted to earn some income elsewhere to make up for some of the losses, but the father dissuaded her.

Two days before the start of the semester, Lucius took him to Gringotts to open a private vault, exclusively for Draco, and deposited several large sums of Galleons into it, mostly earned from selling Dark Arts items, which were not recorded in the accounts.

Draco still remembers the complex expression on Lucius's face when he asked why he did this:

"Draco, a storm is coming. We can't move anything up the trees near our house anymore, or we'll be the first ones destroyed by the storm..."

"But we can't just stand there dumbfounded; we need to have a way out..."

"That's how the Malfoy family has survived and thrived, Draco."

He vaguely sensed something unusual, but his father only told him to focus on his studies and stay on Hogwarts campus as much as possible.

Professor Hagrid, from the Care of Magical Creatures, walked over from a distance. Theodore Nott nodded and didn't continue the conversation, it's unclear how much he believed.

Hagrid carried a smoking tin bucket in his left hand and a large bundle of firewood on his shoulder with his right. He walked up to the students, put down the bucket, and tossed the firewood aside with a clatter.

Hagrid clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "Long time no see, little ones!"

"Professor Hagrid, it's been a long time!" the young wizards responded in unison, peering curiously at what was inside the tin barrel.

"I know the weather isn't great, it's too cold and damp, and even Fang doesn't want to come out, let alone you guys... so I've prepared a surprise for you..."

Hagrid stacked the firewood in a circle, then picked up the tin bucket and poured out a small amount of hot coals into the center of the pile. With the wind blowing from all sides, the firewood quickly turned into a bonfire, crackling and popping.

Dozens of small, bright red lizards darted around in the flames, their backs adorned with patterns that lit up like neon lights.

"Wow!" The little wizards' eyes reflected the sparkling firelight.

Hagrid was pleased with their reaction; he knew these adorable little guys would win everyone's hearts.

"Fire Salamander are born of fire and feed on it. As long as the fire they inhabit doesn't go out, they can live indefinitely. For Fire Salamander that have lost their fire, feeding them chili powder can extend their life by six hours..."

He explained the characteristics of the Fire Salamander in very concise words, and said with a smile:

"There are dozens of Fire Salamander in this campfire. Go and collect firewood and leaves to add to it, or you can try to start your own campfire and see if you can attract these little guys."

"Same rules as always, no venturing deep into the Forbidden Forest! Go!"

Instead of acting immediately, the young wizards swarmed around to observe the Fire Salamander. Although they had used Fire Salamander skin and tongues in Potions class, those were dried products, nothing compared to the novelty of seeing a live salamander darting around in the flames before their eyes.

Loren curiously examined the small creature. It had a flat, small head, short limbs, and a body covered in scales. Its long tail trailed behind it, thin and small, with the largest tail no wider than a palm.

It looks similar to an ordinary lizard, but it can move freely in scorching flames.

Loren braced his left hand against his right, and rested his chin on his right hand, as he began to ponder some strange questions:

Does the Fire Salamander's fire resistance come from its scales or is its entire body fireproof?

Can it be made into a fireproof material?

Can it prevent Fiendfyre?

Seemingly sensing his gaze, the nearest Fire Salamander stuck out its tongue at him, tilted its head to meet his gaze, and its round eyes looked rather cute.

The Fire Salamander took two steps toward him, emerged from the flames, and immediately retreated, standing there dumbfounded, staring at him.

"..."

A subtle sense of guilt rose in Loren's heart.

"Loren, come with us! I know where to find firewood!" Harry and Ron dragged him into the woods.

Hermione crouched down and looked at the little guy who had just made eye contact with Loren in the flames. She picked up a small twig, lit it, and poked the Fire Salamander's face in the fire.

The Fire Salamander twisted away, bared its teeth at Hermione, spat a few Mars, and quickly darted into the fire to hide. It was a complete contrast to its earlier adorable demeanor; it was a total two-faced creature.

Hermione: "..."

They could play with fire and tease small animals. The young wizards were almost all captivated by these fiery little creatures, and they rushed into the forest, disregarding the mud, to search for firewood to burn.

Young wizards with some life experience would look for dead wood buried in leaves and grass;

Those without experience might choose to directly use the Branch Shattering Curse.

Before long, a dozen or so bonfires were set up on the ground. The damp firewood was being smoked, and thick white smoke rose slowly, making the young wizards cough incessantly, but they did not want to stop even though they were covered in soot.

In the end, only a few campfires were successfully lit, and Loren and his group were among them.

"Why can Loren attract Fire Salamander with a torch, but Harry and I can't?" Ron poked at the campfire with a twig, and the Fire Salamander darted and dodged quickly in the firewood. "Tell me, are you looking down on me?"

"Sizzle!"

The little Fire Salamander spat a Mars at him, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Okay, don't let me catch you, or I'll make you eat those Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs like George and Fred did!"

Ron and the others were furious. They grabbed small branches and surrounded the fire Fire Salamander. Although the Fire Salamander was not the size advantage, it took advantage of the terrain and occasionally retaliated with a couple of Mars of spittle, fighting back and forth with the little wizard.

The orange flames rose, the heat dispelling the chill of the lingering winter snow, making the ground bright and warm, and casting a rosy glow on people's cheeks.

Loren and Hermione crouched opposite the campfire, quietly watching another Fire Salamander feed on the flames, its scales becoming even more fiery red and bright as it ate.

After confirming it was full, the Fire Salamander let out a burp and breathed out a small, orange-yellow flame the size of a bellflower. The flame flickered and drifted out of the campfire before being quickly dispersed by the wind.

"Um!?"

Hermione's eyes lit up. She pinched her wand and conjured several blue flames, controlling them to drift towards the Fire Salamander.

The little Fire Salamander's eyes lit up, and it flicked its tail before darting into the blue flames. Its scales quickly turned pale blue, whether due to the temperature change or the change in the flame's color, it was unclear.

Loren was a little itchy to try it out, but he also knew that the Fire Salamander probably couldn't defend against the Fiendfyre, so he didn't go so far as to conduct any biological experiments.

Loren tapped his wand, turning several flames into small animals that jumped into the fire to play with the Fire Salamander. Soon, the crackling sound of the burning firewood grew even louder.

Hermione glanced at him discreetly, gritting her teeth inwardly.

Damn it, even the flames Transfiguration into are Munchkin cat, what are you implying?

It is indeed quite impressive; it can even Transfiguration and control flames that have no physical form.

An unknown Witch's determination to study Transfiguration has been rekindled.

On the first afternoon of the school year, Loren and Hermione's Arithmancy Class ended at 4:30 p. m., with some time still before dinner.

"Hermione, are you going to the Library to do your homework?" Loren asked, turning his head.

"Huh?" Hermione looked to the side a little guilty. "I was planning to go see Professor McGonagall and ask her some questions about Transfiguration."

Hermione silently added the second half of the sentence in her mind: It's mainly about how to turn you into a cat.

Loren didn't notice her odd behavior. "I'm planning to go see Headmaster Dumbledore to ask about my shapeshifting talent, and also to talk about Horcrux."

"Oh, I see..." Hermione said slowly. "Then go ahead, we'll see you at dinner."

Loren looked at her strangely several times, feeling that something was off, but he couldn't find anything wrong. In the end, he waved goodbye.

He walked familiarly to the Headmaster's office, pushed open the Oak Door, and found the office empty. Fawkes was lazily perched on a perch by the door, but Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen.

"As the principal, he wasn't even there on the first day of school... How incompetent!"

Loren muttered a condemnation of a certain principal, then glanced at the desk. Besides the tea set and silverware, there was only a small Golden Cup on the desk.

"Hufflepuff's Goblet..."

Loren paused for a moment. He had always been curious about this Horcrux, the only one he hadn't personally retrieved, and hadn't been able to examine it closely when he left that day.

"Since it's here, I can't possibly have any problem taking a closer look, right?"

Loren quickly convinced himself to step forward and examine the Golden Cup closely.

The handle is exquisite, and the cup is engraved with a badger-shaped carving. The clear yellow Magic Power is mixed with wisps of black mist, and there is nothing else unusual about it.

"Compared to Diary that allows communication... other Horcrux seem much more rigid."

Loren muttered to himself, "There shouldn't be such a big difference... Is it the difference in the vessel, or the difference in the fragments of the soul..."

"I am more inclined to believe that the fragments of the soul differ." As the familiar voice came from the inner room of the office, Dumbledore, wearing a loose gray cashmere sweater, slowly walked out.

"Good afternoon, Principal."

Caught red-handed, Loren didn't care at all. Instead, he went up to her with curiosity and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The process of splitting a soul through killing is uncontrollable..." Dumbledore sat down behind his desk. "When he created the Diary Horcrux, he was just a student whose soul had not yet stabilized. Coupled with the sudden discovery of some secrets about his past, his soul trembled..."

Loren asked thoughtfully, "Headmaster, do you mean that when he first created Horcrux, he broke off a large piece of his soul?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I think even Voldemort himself doesn't know how much of his soul he has left after so many splits."

"No wonder he was so smart in school, but then he became stupid," Loren said.

Dumbledore smiled, shook his head, and didn't continue the topic. While pouring tea for Loren, he asked, "On the first day of school, what brings you to this incompetent headmaster?"

"I can turn into a cat!"

"?"