Bouncing's New Game

Luan and Hermione were still discussing the feasibility of growing wand plants, while a completely different scene of merriment was unfolding in the Common Room.

The Weasley brothers were shouting something, with Harry and Ron yelling along. Nearly everyone was celebrating something.

Even Luan was stunned when he walked in. Although he had long known that Gryffindor was the most cheerful House, it was still rare to see so many people cheering in the Common Room.

"Luan's back!"

Seeing Luan squeeze in through the entrance, Harry hurried over.

"Look, the owner of the five-time champion has returned."

"That's right, and it's about to win its sixth match!"

Luan had no idea what the Weasley brothers were talking about, and Hermione beside him was equally curious about the scene.

"Come on! Bouncing has already won five times and earned five Silver Sickles." Harry said as he pulled Luan into the crowd.

A small table stood in the middle of the crowd, and Bouncing was happily hopping about on top of it, holding up the Silver Sickles.

The moment it spotted Luan, Bouncing hurriedly stuffed the Silver Sickles into its little pouch and leapt straight into his arms.

"It was amazing. It found Trevor for me again, and then George saw it, so that's how this competition started."

From Neville's explanation, Luan finally understood what had happened.

Bouncing had found Trevor again, and George and Fred had taken the opportunity to organize a pet hide-and-seek competition.

Bouncing had lived up to everyone's expectations, winning five rounds and earning the five Silver Sickles pooled together by the others.

"Luan, let it try again. There's one last Silver Sickle left. Tonight, we might witness the birth of a Six-time Champion."

Fred came over, draped an arm around Luan's shoulders, and laughed happily.

Luan looked at Bouncing and saw that it was eager to give it a try too, so he placed it back on the little table.

The contestants were not just Bouncing, but also Ron's Scabbers and the pets of many older students.

Their target was Trevor, whom Neville held in his hands.

The game began. First, everyone formed a circle around the small table in the center, where all the competing pets had been placed.

Rats, cats, toads, Pygmy Puffs, and Bouncing in the very middle.

Once the crowd had completely blocked the table from view, Fred and George went with Neville to hide Trevor.

"Tweet, tweet~"

Several minutes later, Fred returned after hiding Trevor and blew his whistle. All the pets immediately scrambled to jump down from the little table.

Every student chased after their own pet, cheering them on, while Luan remained standing beside the table.

"Aren't you going to watch Bouncing?" Hermione asked, looking at Luan standing still.

"No need. It's going to become a Six-time Champion."

Luan had complete confidence in Bouncing's ability to find things, but Hermione curiously followed after it. She wanted to know what made this pet so remarkable.

However, her attempt at following it was unsuccessful. Once many people realized their pets could not find Trevor, they began urging them to follow Bouncing instead.

A crowded line had already formed behind Bouncing.

There were exceptions, though. Ron's rat, for example, had actually fallen asleep while searching for Trevor.

Bouncing was in no hurry to find Trevor. It first went over to the fireplace and climbed into the chimney flue, where no fire had yet been lit.

The toads and cats following it were all left behind.

When it emerged from the other end of the flue, it arrived outside the boys' dormitory. It had already caught Trevor's scent.

In the end, Bouncing found Trevor in the robe pocket of an older student and claimed the final Silver Sickle as it wished.

"George, why did you put a toad in my pocket?"

The moment Percy saw the robe, he jumped up from his chair and glared furiously at George and Fred.

Hearing that the Weasley brothers were about to start arguing again, Luan quickly gathered Bouncing back into his arms.

Bouncing, having won the match, did not put the money into its pouch. It jumped onto the table in front of Luan and held out the last Silver Sickle it had won.

"Squeak!"

"For me?"

Luan looked at Bouncing in surprise.

Giving money to someone else.

As far as Luan was concerned, that was something that should never have happened with Bouncing.

"Squeak, squeak!" (Of course, you're the Six-time Champion's friend!)

Friday was the last day of classes for the first-years that week.

Today's lessons were fairly easy. Once they finished two consecutive Potions Classes, they would truly be free for the afternoon.

The class was held in the castle dungeons, which were almost as cold and gloomy as the bridge hollow where Luan lived.

Glass jars of varying sizes were arranged throughout the classroom, each containing preserved animal specimens. This quieted down the Young Wizards who had been eagerly anticipating the weekend.

Luan noticed that Neville, walking beside him, froze for a moment when he saw a glass jar containing a toad.

Professor Snape was the fastest-moving wizard Luan had ever seen.

His walking speed was especially fast, enough to make the cloak behind him billow as he moved.

Luan had assumed that Snape would lecture just as quickly, but that was not the case.

After class began, Snape first took out the roll book and called each name one by one. However, when he reached Harry's name, he paused to add a few more words.

Harry and Ron sat behind Luan, and he could sense how embarrassed the polite boy was right now.

Snape's opening remarks were also extremely fierce. He was the only professor who called the Young Wizards fools and idiots.

"Potter!"

After finishing his opening remarks, Professor Snape suddenly fixed his gaze on Harry.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Luan noticed Harry's panic. Everyone had been participating in Bouncing's Six-time Champion competition last night, so Harry definitely had not previewed A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.

Hermione, seated at the table in front of them, had already raised her hand high, but Professor Snape ignored her and walked toward the back.

After Harry answered that he did not know, Snape asked two more questions in succession, about bezoars and wolfsbane aconite.

Harry ultimately lost a point because he suggested that Snape should ask Hermione instead.

The reason was talking back to a teacher.

But just when everyone thought Professor Snape's questioning was over, he suddenly stopped in front of Luan.

"Mr. Scarlett, I hear you have been granted permission to enter the Forbidden Forest in search of magical plants. Then tell me, what herbs are needed to repair damage to plants?"

Snape's question went far beyond the textbook. Even Hermione, seated in front, lowered her hand.

In the distance, Malfoy wore a triumphant smile.

"For minor damage to the outer layer, you need aloe and dandelion juice. If a branch has broken, you need to crush elder leaves and bark, apply them to the break, then secure it with bandages."

This was from Wandmaking and Maintenance, which Luan had read only yesterday.

Upon hearing Luan's answer, Snape's eyes locked tightly onto him. His icy gaze seemed capable of seeing straight through Luan.

"Not bad. It seems I cannot refuse Sprout's request."

Snape said something only Luan could hear, then turned and walked back to the podium.

Hermione turned around and glanced at Luan. Though she had long known that Luan had an excellent memory, the fact that he could answer that question still gave her a slight sense of defeat.

Meanwhile, Malfoy looked disappointed in the distance. The scene of Luan losing points that he had expected had not happened.

"All right, pair up and take out your Cauldrons."