Pride Ruins a Life

Harry still wanted to believe in Gringotts; after all, sometimes you don't know how much potential you have until you push yourself.

He put away the Two-way mirror and waited for the effects of the medicine to wear off.

Sitting in the Room of Requirement, Harry kept Cassandra might be.

Veratia's location has now been pinpointed, but Cassandra's location remains a mystery.

Harry always repays kindness a thousandfold – even though Cassandra sometimes has a sour face and likes to be sarcastic, which is really annoying, Harry still hopes she is safe and sound.

Harry gradually realized that his ability to establish himself at Hogwarts a hundred years ago was inseparable from Cassandra's efforts, and could even be said to be the main reason.

After about half an hour, the effects of the Ageing Potion finally wore off, and he returned to his twelve-year-old appearance.

As he passed the second floor, he suddenly remembered the sounds he had heard in Professor Lockhart's office earlier that day.

The voice was familiar; he had heard it more than once—the last time was last semester when Filch's cat was petrified.

Harry went down the stairs, intending to turn into the Gryffindor Tower.

Just as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, they saw Percy emerge from it.

"Oh, Harry," Percy greeted Harry very formally, "Good evening."

"Good evening, Percy," Harry replied.

"What did you go to do?" Percy asked curiously.

As Gryffindor Prefect, Percy had the right and the obligation to question other students—he wouldn't even turn a blind eye to his own brothers, the Weasley twins, let alone Harry.

Harry understood Percy's responsibilities and answered truthfully, "Professor Lockhart asked me to go to his office to help him write a reply to his fans, which is why I came back so late."

"I see." Percy nodded reservedly. "I understand. Go back and rest; it's getting late."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked curiously. "It's so late already, does the Prefect have to go out on patrol too?"

"No, that's not it," Percy explained. "Creevey's roommate came to me and said he was missing—you know, Colin Creevey, the one who's always bothering you, the one with the camera slung around his neck."

Harry nodded knowingly, "Creevey..."

You can't help but remember this kid.

Percy sighed at this point.

"If my two troublesome younger brothers—you know who I mean, if they're not in the dorm, their roommates would never think to tell me—but Creevey isn't the type to break school rules, so..."

The "two troublesome brothers" that Percy mentioned could only be Fred and George, the clones.

"I understand," Harry nodded. "But can you find him alone?"

"Four Prefect will be on patrol tonight, I think that should be enough." Percy smiled at Harry. "Alright, Harry, you should go back..."

Before he could finish speaking, a voice came from not far away.

"Percy, Percy?"

It was a woman's voice, clear and pleasant.

A moment later, a girl wearing Ravenclaw school uniform with Prefect Badge pinned to her chest jogged over.

Her expression was anxious, but upon seeing Harry, her expression changed slightly. She cleared her throat and said, "Weasley prefect— "

Percy leaned back, adopting a serious expression. "Oh, good evening, Miss Clearwater —may I ask what brings you here?"

Upon hearing the name, Harry recognized who the classmate in front of him was.

It was Penelope Clearwater, Prefect of Ravenclaw.

Clearwater, ah, that's a nice-sounding surname, Harry thought.

"We just spotted one of your Gryffindor freshmen on the second floor," Penelope said quickly. "You know, the one who always carries around the Muggle camera—"

At this point, Penelope paused, trying to catch her breath.

"What's wrong with him?" Percy asked, instinctively sensing that something was amiss.

"He's petrified, just like that cat from Filch last year, that Mrs. Norris," Penelope said with a sigh.

"What?" Percy exclaimed. "Where is he? Take me to see him— Harry, you go back to your dorm first."

"I'll go take a look too, maybe I can help in some way?" Harry said, also quite curious about what was going on.

Percy initially wanted to refuse, but considering Harry's level of Charms, he eventually granted his request.

The two followed Penelope up to the second floor.

After passing a small puddle full of water and turning left, Harry saw Colin lying on the ground, posing for a photo with his camera.

Standing beside him was Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Prefect.

Upon seeing Percy rushing over, Cedric smiled worriedly at him, "You're here?"

Then he saw Harry following behind Percy and greeted him, "Hello, Harry."

"Hello." Harry nodded, looking down at Colin lying on the ground.

Colin seemed to have been completely petrified; his entire skin had turned grayish-white. One of his eyes was tightly closed, while the other was wide open, pointed at the camera's viewing port. His other hand was still on the shutter button, as if he were taking a picture of something.

"He's been petrified." Harry gave a definitive answer without even looking closely, "It's not something Petrifying Spell can do, but... a very sophisticated Petrifying Charm. Look, Colin's turned to stone."

To be honest, Harry felt quite sad, but he also felt that not being bothered by anyone wasn't so bad.

Then he secretly despised his own thoughts. How could he think like that? Colin had already gone this far...

Percy crouched down and tentatively touched Colin's hand. Feeling its cool, marble-like texture, he frowned and asked, "Where's Miss Farley? Hasn't she returned yet?"

"She's gone to inform the Headmaster and the professors," Cedric sighed. "Miss Clearwater is going to inform you; I'll stay here and watch over Mr. Creevey."

"Harry, what kind of Charms do you think caused this?" Cedric asked again.

Harry shook his head uncertainly. "I've never seen such Charms before, not even the Charms Finite Incantatem works... at least not in the books I've read."

Just as they were talking, Professor Dumbledore and a group of professors jogged over, followed by a panting Miss Farley.

"Harry," Miss Farley greeted him with a smile upon seeing Harry.

Harry nodded in response and looked up at Dumbledore.

"Poor Colin." Professor Dumbledore sighed, shook his head, and knelt down to examine Colin carefully.

"I shudder just thinking about it," Professor McGonagall said, clutching her collar. "If it weren't for the Prefect patrolling and finding Mr. Creevey, who knows what might have happened to the poor guy..."

Professor Dumbledore saw the camera Colin was holding. He reached out and placed his hand on the camera, twisting it at a suitable angle without hurting Colin, and then twisted the camera off.

"Could he have taken pictures of the attackers?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously.

Dumbledore did not answer. He frowned as he looked at the camera in his hand, then reached out and pried open the back cover of the camera.

Just then, a hissing sound came out of the camera, and even Harry, who was two people away, could smell the pungent odor of burning plastic.

"Merlin's beard..." Professor McGonagall exclaimed, "What does this mean, Albus?"

"This means it's an extremely evil form of Dark Arts." Dumbledore put down the camera. "I seem to have heard of it somewhere before... Let me think..."

Everyone held their breath, afraid of disturbing Professor Dumbledore's train of thought.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "I can't immediately recall what kind of Charms could cause this harm. Perhaps I should discuss it with my old friends..."

"What about Mr. Creevey, Professor?" Percy asked anxiously.

Dumbledore looked down at Colin and said regretfully, "Then Mr. Creevey will have to stay in the Hospital Wing for the time being. This extremely advanced Petrifying Charm can only be broken with a special antidote made from Mandrake... but even making this Potions will take some time."

"As long as there are mature Mandrake..." Professor Snape's drawn-out voice rang out, "I think I can still finish the antidote as soon as possible so that Mr. Creevey, who likes to run around like a squirrel, can return to his normal classes soon."

At this point, Snape suddenly changed the subject.

"Well... I have another question—besides the four Prefect who need to patrol at night, why is someone like Mr. Potter, who has no connection to the situation, here? If I remember correctly, Mr. Creevey has been quite fond of bothering him lately..."

At this point, Snape suddenly stopped talking, a smug smile creeping onto his lips.

The meaning is clearly—

Another point deduction is coming, Potter!

Hearing Snape's question, everyone turned to look at him.

"Oh," Professor Lockhart said suddenly, "I should explain for Harry —we arranged for him to come to my office tonight to help me write some replies to enthusiastic fans, and I just sent him away not long ago."

Professor Snape smirked, but Harry couldn't figure out what he meant.

Are you happy or unhappy?

However, he generally assumes that Snape is unhappy, since Professor Snape would not be happy unless he sees himself suffer a setback.

Having learned about the complicated relationship between Harry and his parents, Harry naturally understood that Snape's attitude towards him was complex.

In Harry's mind, it meant that he would never watch me die, but he wouldn't mind seeing me get into some trouble, preferably bad luck.

"I think we should take Mr. Creevey to Madam Pomfrey's Hospital Wing first," Professor McGonagall suddenly said. "Now that it's been proven that Mr. Potter has nothing to do with this, then... Mr. Potter, you should go back to your dormitory."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall." Harry nodded, said goodbye to the professors and Prefect, and turned to leave without lingering.

When they got back to the dorm, Ron and the others were still awake.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"Not sleepy." Ron sat on the edge of the bed, one leg crossed, as if they had just been chatting. "But you, Harry, how many letters do you get from Professor Lockhart's fans?"

"Don't even mention it, it practically filled the entire house," Harry sighed. "You can't imagine what it was like, but I found it... kind of terrifying."

As he spoke, he walked to the bedside, sat down, and took a can of soda from the suitcase under the bed, opening it with a click.

"Guess what just happened?" he asked, taking a swig of soda.

"What happened?" the three roommates asked curiously.

Harry put down his soda and said, "When I got to the door, I ran into Percy. Before I even went inside, I heard the Ravenclaw Prefect calling him, saying that something had happened to Colin?"

"Colin got into trouble?" The three of them grinned together.

"Yes, he's been petrified." Harry sighed. "Just like Filch's cat last semester, he was completely petrified by a very vicious Dark Arts. It's not an easy thing to break the Charms. We'll have to wait for the Mandrake to mature and make an antidote before we can break his Petrifying Spell."

Seamus and Neville exchanged a glance, then said with a hint of excitement, "So that means we'll finally have some peace and quiet? No one will bother you anymore, no one will be waiting outside your classroom every day with your schedule on them?"

Actually, Harry hadn't thought of that earlier, and he also felt sorry for Colin.

But after Seamus's reminder, Colin's relentless, 360-degree, all-weather surveillance made his pity vanish instantly.

He held onto the bed sheet with one hand and gripped the bedpost with the other, unable to suppress a laugh.

But as he laughed, he realized it wasn't quite right. He paused for a long time, trying hard to control his facial expressions, going through all the sad things he had experienced in his life before finally stopping his laughter and revealing a sorrowful expression.

"What a tragedy..." Harry sighed.

"Tragedy." "Tragedy." "Tragedy." Ron, Seamus, and Neville echoed in unison.

"He's a... well, a good classmate," Harry added.

"Not bad, classmate." The three of them agreed in unison.

"We should make time to visit him in the infirmary," Harry said again.

"Let's go visit him," all three said in unison.

"Even if we could buy mature Mandrake, it would take at least two months to brew the antidote," Harry said.

"That means Colin and his camera will be gone for at least that long," Ron added.

"Alas..." Harry sighed.

"Alas..." the three of them sighed together.

"But seriously, if Creevey doesn't get petrified soon..." Ron added, "I might not be able to resist petrifying him too; he's just too annoying."

Harry thought for a moment, then didn't respond.

But to be honest, he also felt that this might not be such a bad thing.

The next morning's classes didn't start until after 11 a. m., so they weren't in a hurry to get up. They stayed in their dorm room for a while before finally getting out of bed.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, the students were all talking about Colin Creevey's ordeal.

However, most of the students' opinions were gloating, after all, Colin was really annoying, had no sense of boundaries, and always liked to grab people to take pictures.

For this reason, Draco sat down next to Harry in a rather mysterious manner.

"Hey Harry," Draco whispered, "Did you petrify Creevey, Muggle-born Muggle?"

Harry glanced at him, puzzled.

"In this school, only you could do that," Draco said, his voice tinged with excitement. "Could you teach me this Charms? I mean, you're a legendary wizard; such Charms shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

"What are you two talking about so mysteriously?" Ron asked, leaning closer.

"He suspects Colin is the one who petrified me," Harry told Ron.

"Want a punch, huh? Malfoy?" Ron immediately raised his fist to threaten Draco. "How could Harry possibly do that? Professor Dumbledore said it's an extremely advanced form of Dark Arts..."

To everyone's surprise, Draco rolled his eyes and looked down at Ron with disdain upon hearing this. "Idiot, you don't know this? Harry was a legendary wizard from a hundred years ago! That Harry Potter, the one who was especially close to my great-aunt..."

Harry glanced at Draco, and he knew that the kid couldn't keep a secret and would inevitably spill the beans.

However, he didn't stop it.

"Oh, come on, Malfoy." Hermione rolled her eyes and pouted. "If you're going to make up a lie, at least make it believable, okay?"

"If you don't believe me, ask him!" Draco said impatiently, pointing at Harry.

Harry nodded, not bothering to hide it from his friend. "Yes, I really am, he's right."

To everyone's surprise, Hermione and Ron laughed when they heard Harry's confirmation.

"Alright, Harry, you're just making fun of us—"

"I really am." Harry picked up a napkin and gently dabbed it on his lips.

Hermione and Ron laughed again, taking it as Harry making fun of them.

"Do you think we believe you?" Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Harry shrugged. "Anyway, I've already told the truth. If you guys find out the truth later, don't blame me for not telling you!"

Draco, on the other hand, sat there rubbing his slicked-back hair in frustration.

Oh my god, why doesn't anyone believe me?

I'm telling you the whole truth!

"That kid, he never tells the truth!" Ron muttered, watching Draco's sullen departure.

Harry thought to himself, "He's telling the truth."

In the evening, Hufflepuff's Prefect Cedric Diggory came over.

"Harry," Cedric smiled gently, "When shall we begin? I can't wait."

"Tonight, after dinner," Harry said softly. "Who else is in Hufflepuff besides you?"

"And Megan Jones," Cedric said with a laugh, "Is a good friend of mine, and she's also very interested in the Dueling Club."

"Okay." Harry nodded. "Meet me at the bottom of the stairs on the Seventh Floor at 6:30."

Cedric gave him an "OK" sign and turned to leave.

After dinner, Harry lingered in his dorm room for a while before heading up to the Seventh Floor with a few friends.

Cedric was indeed waiting there, with a brown-haired girl with freckles beside him.

"Shh." Harry made a shushing gesture and said to Cedric, "Let's go over first, and we can introduce ourselves after we go inside."

Cedric nodded in agreement, after all, now was not the time to casually go up to the Seventh Floor.

Harry stood beneath the image of the Troll Who Beat Barnaby Silly, pacing back and forth a few times, silently chanting to himself, "I want a dueling room..."

A moment later, a large door appeared beneath the portrait.

"Cool," Cedric remarked, before Harry could say anything more, dragging him into the Dueling Club.

After entering, Harry said to Cedric, "Welcome to the Dueling Club. Let me introduce you. These are the core members of the Dueling Club last semester. They are all from Gryffindor: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnegan, and Neville Longbottom."

"Hello everyone." Cedric smiled brightly and introduced himself to everyone, "I'm Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff, and this is my good friend Megan Jones."

Everyone applauded to welcome him, and after the welcome, Harry cleared his throat.

"We're all here to help and support each other, to better master our Dueling Techniques," Harry began. "Our purpose in practicing dueling isn't just to improve our Dueling Techniques, but also to prepare for future encounters with Dark Wizard."

"So... Cedric, Miss Jones," Harry said, "Which of you would like to step forward and demonstrate a duel with me?"

"I'll do it." Cedric drew his wand and walked onto the dueling platform.

Harry stepped forward and said to Ron, "Ron, you'll be the referee—you know the rules of the duel, Cedric, right?"

"I understand." Cedric gave a dueling salute. "We'll begin after the referee counts to three, right?"

Harry bowed and nodded to Cedric in return.

Ron raised his hand high.

"Three..."

"Expelliarmus (Disarming Charm)!"

Before he could finish speaking, Harry unleashed a Charms that struck Cedric.

The wand flew high into the air and landed in Harry's hand.

Cedric was somewhat stunned. He hadn't expected Harry to be so unruly in dueling, using the Disarming Charm before the three words had even finished.

"As I said, Cedric." Harry handed the wand back to him. "Our Dueling Club is more about preparing for future encounters with Dark Wizard —and Dark Wizard are cunning and treacherous by nature, they don't care about so-called etiquette, so... sticking to the rules could very well be one of the reasons you fail."

"I understand," Cedric nodded earnestly. "Again!"

"Alright, this time we'll count to three." Harry raised an eyebrow at Cedric.

Ron raised his hand high.

"Three..."

"Expelliarmus (Disarming Charm)!"

This time, Cedric made the first move, but his Charms was deflected by Harry, who then countered with a Disarming Charm.

Cedric reacted quickly, desperately using his Shield Charm to block the Charms Harry had returned to him.

However, Harry showed no mercy whatsoever, casting his Charms so quickly that it was almost impossible to keep up.

Cedric was somewhat flustered and finally got hit in the hand by a Charms, and Harry disarmed him once again with his wand.

"You are really strong." Cedric was not discouraged, and his eyes burned with a fierce fighting spirit.

Harry smiled and said to him, "These are just some basic Dueling Techniques —we don't learn anything about them in school, perhaps because of the incompetence of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"Yes," Cedric recalled for a moment, then sighed and said, "You know, I've had four Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor since I enrolled, but it seems that apart from Lockhart, none of them can be considered competent."

"Why does the professor of Dark Arts change every year?" Hermione suddenly realized a blind spot.

"Because this position was cursed by the Dark Lord." Ron sighed and explained to Hermione, "When the Dark Lord came to Hogwarts, he wanted to apply for a job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore, but he was rejected by Headmaster Dumbledore."

"From that time on, the Dark Lord harbored a grudge and cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. Anyone who applied for the position would be forced to leave for some reason—such as death or other accidents."

"Oh my god, he's so mean," Hermione muttered indignantly. "Just because he can't get the position, he wants to prevent others from getting it too. He's so selfish!"

"Who says otherwise?" Ron said, shrugging.

Harry raised an eyebrow, referring to Voldemort's failed application for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor position...

Strictly speaking, Voldemort could also be considered the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts in another way—not referring to Voldemort sticking to the back of Professor Quirrell, but rather to Voldemort giving him one-on-one tutoring at the end of the last semester.

Harry, at least, thought the practical lesson was quite good.

"So we should take this course very seriously, and dueling is one of the things we do," Seamus said. "I spent a year learning under Harry's guidance last year, and I learned quite a few Charms..."

"Like blasting the eyes of Inferi into the heads of Slytherin?" Ron laughed gleefully.

Seamus couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It's actually not so bad that it can make Slytherin unhappy.

"So, what new Charms are we learning today?" Hermione asked expectantly. "Last semester we learned a lot of new Charms, like Disarming Charm and Stunning Spell. We should learn some new Charms this semester, right? Oh, and Harry, like the Accio you talked about with Professor Flitwick in Charms Class? Could you teach us?"

"You mean that?" Harry grunted and said, "The Accio is a fourth-year course, but it's actually not that difficult."

As he spoke, he pointed his wand at Cedric beside him.

"Accio (Accio)!"

Cedric was standing there waiting for Harry to say something when another Charms came his way.

He felt a pull, and was gently dragged to Harry's side.

"This..." He was somewhat shocked, as was Megan behind him.

"If I remember correctly, the spellbook says that this Charms cannot be used on people?" Cedric asked, dumbfounded.

He glanced at Harry's wand, then patted his own clothes.

Could it be that people's Charms talents are really different?

"That's true, Cedric," Harry said with a chuckle. "But have you considered this: while this Charms can't affect the human body, it can affect a person's clothes? When I used the Accio to pull your clothes, didn't I achieve the same effect of pulling you along with them?"

Cedric fell into thought.

Cedric suddenly realized.

"Ah! So that's how it is!" He slapped his hand and said, "By using Charms to pull the target's clothes, I can achieve the attraction of the target. How come I never thought of that..."

"Because this is extracurricular knowledge," Ron said with a grin, hands on his hips.

Harry used a marking Charms to trace the trajectory of a Accio in the air, and began teaching everyone how to use Charms.

"Like this, watch the trajectory of my wand," Harry said, pointing ahead. "Think about the object you want to pull towards, and shout the spell... Accio!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Harry pulled over the chair that was not far away.

He pushed the chair back and demonstrated again.

"Or like this, Accio Chair (a chair Accio)!"

The chair was once again drawn by the wand and came to Harry's side.

"See that?" Harry patted the chair and said, "Like this... but you could start practicing with the smaller things."

Cedric and Megan exchanged a glance; they hadn't learned the Accio yet—a Charms they would learn during midterms.

However, they understood the key point Harry had made.

"Accio Chair!" Cedric waved his wand and pulled the chair away from Harry.

Harry clapped and praised, "Nice Charms, well done, Seth."

Cedric smiled shyly and accepted Harry's compliment.

"Accio!" Ron retorted, successfully pulling the chair away.

It should be said that the Accio is not a profound Charms; in fact, it is similar to the Levitation Charm, simple and easy to learn.

Harry didn't understand why the Accio could only be learned in the fourth year.

He had long realized that the order in which he learned Charms was actually quite unscientific.

The Accio was so simple that even Neville, after a few practices, had a basic grasp of the Charms.

After the group practiced enthusiastically for a while, Harry crossed his arms and said, "Now that everyone has mastered it, let's move on to the advanced usage of this Charms —pair up and start practicing."

Seamus decided almost instantly to team up with Neville, while Cedric naturally teamed up with his friend Megan.

"Looks like it'll just be the two of us in a group." Ron looked at Hermione helplessly.

Hermione snorted but didn't reply.

"Well," Harry chuckled inwardly, then asked Hermione and Ron, "Why don't you two practice a bit first?"

Ron didn't refuse. He patted his wand and said, "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll go easy on you—"

"Oh, thank you so much, Ronald," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

Ron raised an eyebrow, giving Harry his classic helpless look. "Harry, believe me, I've always been a gentleman—"

"Yes, I believe you," Harry said, suppressing a laugh.

The five of them stood outside the arena, watching Hermione and Ron together.

Hermione was the first to raise her wand, aiming it at Ron.

"Accio Ron is here!"

However, the Charms had no effect on Ron; Hermione was unable to use the Charms to control Ron's body.

Ron felt relieved; at least he had saved face.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted. "Remember what I told you? Don't pull on Ron himself, pull on his clothes—well, it's Ron's turn!"

Ron took a deep breath and raised his wand.

"Accio!"

In a flash, everyone saw a gray shadow fly past...

Hermione felt a chill on her feet and looked down to find that her right shoe and sock were gone.

When she looked up again, she found Ron holding her gray cotton socks, staring at her blankly.

Hermione blushed, then burst into a roar.

"Ronald Weasley!"

Hermione was so angry that her hair stood on end, making her look like an enraged lion.

A moment of silence fell over the Room of Requirement; everyone was shocked by Ron's actions.

Then, a burst of wild laughter erupted.

Seamus's laughter was the loudest, in particular.

Harry was somewhat taken aback; he hadn't expected Ron to use "Sock-Removing Charm" on Hermione.

This familiar scene reminded him of the time in fifth grade when he angered Cassandra.

It was also because of the Accio Accio that Sebastian discovered its wonderful uses and had everyone practice it together.

It just so happens that only Harry and Cassandra were in the Room of Requirement that day...

"Oh? Potter?" Cassandra raised her head, her eyes filled with arrogant disdain. "Hmph... in the end, didn't you still end up at the Room of Requirement, practicing the Accio with me?"

Some time ago, Harry was hit in the cheek by a Charms from Cassandra while practicing dueling, and it hurt for a long time. He subconsciously avoided facing Cassandra with the Dueling Club.

However, without Harry's company, Cassandra didn't seem to want to duel with anyone. She just watched Harry fight with others with great interest from the sidelines, and used sharp words to ridicule Harry and point out his shortcomings in duels.

"Potter, this is too slow—"

"Potter —you're so indecisive, how can you do this..."

"Potter! What are you thinking! Is your Protego just for show? You stupid little Troll!"

Harry was incredibly annoyed, especially seeing Cassandra's arrogant expression on the sidelines, which only made him more furious and helpless.

But he couldn't possibly argue with Cassandra, since whether he admitted it or not, he was, in fact, Cassandra's sidekick—even his good friend Gareth thought so.

"We're both people who were rejected," Harry said helplessly. "It's not that I want to practice with you, it's just that I didn't have a choice—"

"Hmph." Cassandra revealed a smug smile, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye making the smile appear even more proud.

She waved her wand and pointed it at Harry.

"Accio!"

Harry felt his clothes being tugged, just like when Cassandra used to grab his collar...

Then he felt himself being pulled in front of Cassandra.

That slender hand also grabbed his collar.

"It seems..." Cassandra's lips curled into a smile, "That this Charms suits me perfectly..."

"It's my turn!" Harry shouted defiantly.

"Alright." Cassandra chuckled, releasing Harry's collar. "Go ahead, I want to see your talent for this Charms..."

"Accio!" Harry pointed at Cassandra...

Then, a dark shadow flashed in front of me...

Harry felt a soft, silky touch on his hand, warm and comforting...

Another fragrance lingered in my nostrils, persisting for a long time...

"Potter!"

Harry had never seen Cassandra so angry. He felt a silky touch slip from his hand as the garment was snatched away by the Accio.

The next second, he was struck by the Charms and fell to the ground.

When he woke up, Cassandra had already left, and in front of him was Veratia, the transfer student who was looking at him with concern.

"You're awake?" she said softly. "When I came to the Room of Requirement, you were lying here—I didn't dare disturb you."

Harry rubbed his head; it felt like it was about to explode.

"Nothing—where's Cassandra?" he asked.

"When I came over, you were the only one in the room," Veratia said softly. "Do you need me to help you find her? She seems to be sulking in her dorm room..."

"No need," Harry waved his hand and staggered out of the Room of Requirement.

He planned to apologize to Cassandra later, but that evening in the Great Hall, Cassandra avoided him when she saw him.

This went on for several days in a row, and Harry even stopped Cassandra after class to apologize to her.

"I didn't mean to, Miss Malfoy, I—"

"You're really annoying, Potter." Cassandra's bright eyes were full of disgust. "Stay away from me—"

Harry felt a sharp pain in his heart. He really didn't mean it. He just wanted Cassandra to hear his explanation...

Cassandra glanced down at him, then turned and left, leaving Harry standing there bewildered.

Harry felt utterly disgusted and filled with remorse. He wanted to slap himself hard for not being more careful when practicing Charms!

Now look what happened! Cassandra finds him repulsive...

What Harry didn't notice was that Cassandra paused for a while when she reached the corner.

Cassandra's anger truly ignited only after confirming that he wasn't chasing after her to continue apologizing.

Potter! Potter Potter! Potter!

Shameless! Bastard! Disgusting! Stupid little Troll Potter!

Then... it wasn't until after Christmas that Cassandra spoke to Harry.

Harry, lost in thought, stared at Hermione, who was yelling and grabbing Ron the collar, reminiscing about the glorious past. He was thinking to himself, "If Cassandra could have been like Hermione back then."

Cedric noticed Harry's dejected expression and went over to him, asking with concern, "What's wrong, Harry?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Harry composed himself and smiled at Cedric. "Just thinking about some little things from the past, youth, isn't it?"

"I think Hermione must like Ron." Cedric lowered his voice, speaking in a tone only the two of them could hear, "Good heavens, if she hated Ron, she would have cursed Ron in the face when his socks were taken off—or simply ignored him, instead of getting angry like this..."

Hearing Cedric's words, Harry felt even more disappointed.

Yes, so that's how it is...

Does Cassandra hate me that much?

Harry had actually felt this way for a while, but after Cedric pointed it out, he still felt a little sad.

However, he didn't expect Cassandra to like him—think about it, he was just a poor boy who had lost both his parents, had no money, and had to rely on scholarships to go to school—while Cassandra? She was the eldest daughter of the Malfoy family.

He was initially delighted that Cassandra had traveled through time to find him, but Cedric's words quickly stirred up his inner turmoil again.

Let's wait until we find Cassandra and ask her directly what she's thinking.

After all, Cass abandoned her loved ones for her own sake...

"But Ron is really a jerk," Cedric chuckled. "You see, it's rare for a little wizard to use Charms to take off a little witch's stockings..."

"Indeed." Harry nodded emphatically. "He's definitely a bastard."

This wasn't a comment on Ron, but rather a comment on Harry himself.

It took quite a while before Ron was released by the enraged Hermione.

He rubbed his arm, his face contorted as he gasped for breath.

"Look," he said, rolling up his sleeves, "Look inside! It's all purple! She's so violent!"

When everyone gathered around to take a look, they saw that Ron's arm had been pinched so hard that seven purple stars had appeared—the arrangement of these marks seemed vaguely familiar to them.

"Oh, isn't that Orion?" Seamus suddenly pointed to the seven purple stars and said, "Look, the four stars above, below, left, and right, and the three stars in the middle are like a scimitar..."

You know what, now that Seamus mentioned it, it does look quite similar.

"I never expected Gryffindor girls to be so artistic," Cedric remarked. "And look at our Hufflepuff girls... well, Hufflepuff girls are quite gentle."

"Yes, the Ravenclaw upperclassmen are intellectual and elegant, while the Slytherin upperclassmen are noble and reserved—" Seamus chimed in with his own commentary.

"Gryffindor?" Neville asked, looking rather clueless.

"Gryffindor girls really fucking hurt when they hit you!" Ron said without thinking, gasping for breath as he spoke, the pain in his arm burning like fire.

Upon hearing Ron's sharp comment, everyone burst into laughter—even Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

There's no other reason than that Ron's words were the most honest and insightful comment, after all, he had just been beaten up by the Gryffindor girls.

"I hope you find a Gryffindor girlfriend someday," Hermione said, raising her fist, "So she can beat you up every day! Let her taste the iron fist of Gryffindor!"

Ron sniffed and retorted, "Oh, look at you, Hermione. Who would want a violent girl like you as a girlfriend?"

The two stared at each other for a while, feeling rather disgusted with each other.

Finally, they turned their heads away and let out a synchronized "humph".

Harry couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

After the brief interlude, the practice continued in the Room of Requirement until after nine o'clock, officially concluding the first organized event after the Dueling Club new members.

"I have class tomorrow," Cedric said. "Tomorrow morning is Potions Class... Good heavens, honestly, I'm really scared to go to Potions Class."

"Hufflepuff is not Gryffindor after all," Ron commented. "Professor Snape hated Gryffindor than Hufflepuff."

"In his eyes, our brains are full of Gillyweed— " Cedric said.

"In his eyes, we're just good-for-nothing little Troll," Ron said, then pointed to Hermione: "Hermione's an exception, she's Miss Know-it-all."

"You've learned it wrong." Harry grabbed Ron and mimicked Professor Snape Snape's greasy, drawn-out voice, "It should be like this— Hermione raises her hand and says, 'Professor, I know the answer to this question,' and then Professor Snape says, ' Miss Know-it-all -All answers first— Gryffindor loses ten points.'"

This imitation is so lifelike, it's just like Professor Snape's tone.

Everyone burst out laughing when they heard Harry's imitation, including Hermione.

"Oh my god, Harry, oh my god!" Hermione laughed, clutching her aching back. "If Hogwarts ever held a contest to imitate Professor Snape, he would definitely come in second place."

"And what about the first place?" Neville suddenly asked.

"Of course it's Harry," everyone said in unison.

Harry bowed slightly to them, smiling demurely, "Thank you all for your kind words—"

Fortunately, this is the Room of Requirement, so you won't be caught by the old professor suddenly appearing behind you while you're cricketing Snape.

After leaving the Room of Requirement, Cedric invited them to have something to eat in the Hogwarts Kitchens.

But Hermione said it was getting late and she should go back to her dorm to rest first—after all, she didn't want to be caught by the professors for going out at night and lose points in Gryffindor.

Miss Know-it-all- All has a strong sense of collective honor within the academy, which is something everyone knows.

Besides, they weren't hungry, so they all declined Cedric's invitation and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room together.

"Ronald!" Hermione whispered, "You're not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today—and none of you, absolutely do not let a word of it out! Do you hear me!"

"Don't worry, I won't even tell my mom and dad!" Ron nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"What's wrong with that?" Neville glanced warily at Hermione's furious expression, swallowed hard, and said, "I don't even tell myself—"

"I hope so, Neville." Hermione snorted as a warning, then turned and headed toward the girls' dormitory.

Neville swallowed hard and said to Ron, "My God, Ron, I think you're absolutely right— Gryffindor girls really do hit hard!"

"I never lie!" Ron rolled his eyes, then rolled up his sleeves again to show the Orion constellation Hermione had given him. "Look, it's still purple here... Good heavens, I really doubt these seven purple stars will disappear by Christmas..."

"Alright, Ron." Harry patted Ron on the shoulder. "Go to sleep now, don't forget—you have Potions Class tomorrow."

Upon hearing the words "Potions Class," the three of them immediately looked pale.

Potions Class...

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(The last 4000 words include the bonus chapter from 11500-12000 words last month)