Pettigrew?

Katie was still panting; she had been terrified.

Harry then took out the black gem again and examined it under the sunlight for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.

"Let's go back to the castle first," Harry suggested. "I'll go back and talk to Professor Dumbledore about this; I think he should know what this is all about."

They walked together toward Hogwarts Castle, and as they walked, Katie's body continued to tremble.

"Go help her," Harry gestured for Neville to go and help Katie up.

Neville obediently stepped forward and helped Katie up.

Back at the castle, Harry gestured for them to wait there.

"I'll go find Professor Dumbledore first," he said. "Wait here a moment, I think he'll let you come along too."

However, he went to the Headmaster's Office only to find it empty.

"Albus in Wizengamot," says the portrait of Phineas. "He won't be back until tomorrow."

"I understand, thank you, Phineas." Harry thanked Phineas politely.

Since Dumbledore wasn't there, Harry went to Professor McGonagall.

Upon hearing that Katie Bell of Gryffindor had been attacked by a Dark Arts artifact, Professor McGonagall's expression instantly turned terrifying.

"Where are they?" she asked.

"I'll wait right at the castle gate," Harry replied.

Without saying a word, Professor McGonagall walked out of the office.

Sure enough, Katie and the others were waiting at the castle gate.

"Bell, and you lot," Professor McGonagall gave them a stern look. "Come with me."

They followed Professor McGonagall upstairs into her office. The rain-splattered windowpanes rattled in the frames, and the room was cold despite the crackling fire in the fireplace.

Professor McGonagall closed the door, quickly walked around behind the table, and looked at Katie, who was still shaking.

"Speak," she said sternly, "What happened?"

Katie began to stammer as she trembled.

She told Professor McGonagall that she went to the bathroom at the Three Broomsticks and couldn't remember anything when she came back. Her best friend, Lini, added that Katie had been acting strangely ever since she returned from the bathroom, carrying an unmarked package; then they argued because Lina thought Katie shouldn't have agreed to hand over something unknown; at the height of the argument, they started fighting over the package, which ended up being torn open.

"Alright," Professor McGonagall said gently, "I know everything... Belle, and Lini, go to the Hospital Wing and have Madam Pomfrey give you some medicine to calm your nerves."

The two nodded and left the office.

After they left, Professor McGonagall looked at Harry.

"Harry," she asked, "What do you think is in that package?"

"Dark Arts artifact, obviously, Professor."

As Harry spoke, he took the black gem out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall wiped her hands, conjured a pair of clips with her wand, and picked up the gem.

She examined it carefully for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I can't tell what this is. Perhaps Albus seen something like this before."

After saying that, she asked again, "Tell me, what happened to Bell after he touched this gem?"

"She rose into the air," Neville said smoothly, "Then started screaming, and then fell down... Later Harry used Charms to hit the gem, and Katie returned to normal. Black smoke was rising from the gem, and it looked extremely evil—definitely not a good thing."

"Okay, I know, Longbottom, that's no good." Professor McGonagall rubbed her eyelids and then said, "Who do you think gave that gem to Bell?"

"I don't know," Harry said straightforwardly. "We just happened to come across this, Professor. As for who's behind it all, I can only guess that it's most likely Death Eater."

"Death Eater..." Professor McGonagall seemed to be talking to herself, then repeated it in a low voice before giving them the order to leave, "Alright, I know about this. You can go back now."

On their way back to the dorm, they were still discussing it.

Katie returned to the Gryffindor Common Room that evening, and upon her return, she made a point of thanking Harry.

"Thank you, Harry," she said gratefully, showing Harry the gloves. "You see, Madam Pomfrey said it was a very powerful Dark Arts item. If I hadn't been wearing the gloves, I probably wouldn't be standing here unharmed talking to you... Of course, I also want to thank you for your timely intervention, which prevented a nightmare."

"You're welcome," Harry nodded.

"Oh, right, Harry," Katie suddenly said again, "I think I remember what the person who gave me the thing looked like... He was a bit short and a bit overweight... Through the cloak, I could see that he seemed to have a bit of buck teeth, and those big front teeth looked a bit like a rat's."

"Pettigrew?" Harry immediately thought of someone.

Ron shuddered.

"Dude, don't scare me," he said, trembling.

"Why would I scare you?" Harry glanced at Ron. "You don't actually believe he hasn't forgotten the kindness you showed him when you kept him, and is planning to raid Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night, turn back into a rat, crawl into your bed, and rekindle your romance, do you?"

Ron's face turned ashen. He admitted that he was terrified by Harry's words—deeply terrified.

"Stop talking, stop talking..." he waved his hands repeatedly.

"It's alright, Ron," Harry said with a chuckle. "The Sphinx is in charge of the Gryffindor Common Room now. Do you think Pettigrew can escape its gaze?"

Upon hearing this, Ron immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He used to think the Sphinx was annoying because it wouldn't let him into the dorm until he could solve the riddle.

But he doesn't think that way anymore. He thinks the Sphinx is Magical Creatures, like the Savior, who saved him from the bald old rat's attack.

"This information is very important, thank you, Katie," Harry said gently to Katie. "As for those gloves, I suggest you destroy them—but never mind, give them to me."

Katie was very obedient and handed the gloves to Harry.

A dark gray flame suddenly burst into Harry's hands, engulfing the gloves completely.

"What kind of flame is this?!" Katie exclaimed in surprise. "Why is it this color? It's Merlin's stockings!"

"Fiendfyre," Harry replied. "Although it's Dark Arts, it's incredibly effective against Dark Arts creations—so sometimes I think some Dark Arts can actually help us, don't you think?"

"Is this your reason for refusing to teach us Dark Arts?" Ron suddenly asked. "I was going to ask you about Fiendfyre, but you changed the subject."

"Things were different back then, Ron," Harry said, shaking his head. "You were only in your third year then, too young. The Dark Arts were too complex for you to handle."

"And now?" Ron asked. "Is it okay now? I think I'm old enough."

"If you want to learn, I can teach you this magic at the next Dueling Club gathering," Harry said, looking at Ron. "But I must warn you beforehand that this kind of flame is extremely difficult to control. If you want to use it, you must do so when I can see you, lest you get burned yourself..."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Ron replied happily, having received Harry's affirmative answer.

At some point, Ron and Hermione's relationship thawed again. Instead of ignoring each other like before, they became even closer than before.

"I think I'm worrying about them unnecessarily," Harry said to Neville and Seamus, watching the two locked in their passionate embrace.

"I also think you're superfluous." Seamus nodded very seriously in agreement. "If you ask me, don't get involved in their relationship. It's good that you didn't go along with either of them, otherwise you'd probably be in a bad situation now."

"No, I feel like I'm caught in the middle," Harry said.

After all, he had nodded in agreement when Ron was cricketing Hermione, and he hadn't objected when Hermione was cricketing Ron.

Potter! Your two-faced nature doesn't surprise me at all.

"However," Seamus said again, "I think you're actually a very good friend, Harry —if Lavender and I ever have a fight in the future, I'll definitely ask you for help..."

"I think you'd better not say that beforehand." Harry rolled his eyes. "You and Lavender aren't even dating yet, and you're already thinking about arguing. I don't even want to imagine what you'll be thinking once you're officially a couple."

Neville stood by, laughing, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Do you have someone you like?" Harry looked at Neville. "I don't think you can go on like this anymore, Neville. You can't stay single any longer. Look at the four of us in our dorm. Ron has Hermione, Seamus has Lavender, and now you're the only one left."

"And what about you?" Neville asked.

"I have Veratia, I have Cassandra, I have Pabbie, and I have Anne," Harry shrugged, not feeling embarrassed at all.

"You deserve to die!" Neville said through gritted teeth.

"What are you talking about?" Ron, having finished his sweet talk with Hermione, sat down beside her and asked curiously, "Why are you saying Harry deserves to die?"

Neville repeated what Harry had just said. Ron listened, looking at Harry with a complicated expression, before finally uttering a single sentence—

"You deserve to die!" he gritted his teeth.

The next morning was Herbology Class, which all four members of the dorm chose, including Hermione.

After all, Professor Sprout's requirements weren't high, and she had a good temper, so Herbology Class was everyone's first choice for the course.

Unlike Potions Class, Neville simply didn't choose that course.

Of course, even if he were to choose, Professor Snape might not accept it, since he wouldn't want to suddenly hear Potions boiling nearby during class, causing it to explode all over the ceiling.

— Destroying the classroom is actually a good thing, but what if this Potions gets sprayed on someone? Don't you think so?

The weather was fairly clear; the strong winds that swept through Hogsmeade over the weekend had subsided, and the body temperature wasn't as cold as it had been last weekend.

This lesson focuses on the Gnarled Vine, which resembles a harmless tree Gnarled Vine in appearance. When provoked, it attacks its target with thorny vines—but in reality, the Gnarled Vine is actually a green pod cultivated inside a tree stump.

They formed a group of five and gathered around the broken roots of a knotted Gnarled Vine in scars, and began to put on protective gloves.

There was no limit to the number of people in the groups, but Seamus temporarily defected to Lavender's group, so Harry and the others had no choice but to join.

"Don't forget your safety goggles," Neville reminded Ron. "You don't want to get scratched in the eyes by this thing, do you? I mean, it's a dangerous plant, so don't let your guard down."

Ron immediately put on his glasses, and then helped Hermione put them on as well.

Harry had Anne help him put on his glasses, leaving Neville to put them on himself in a fit of pique.

"I was in a completely unnecessary group with you guys," Neville muttered, now filled with regret, deep, deep regret.

Why do we have to come here to eat dog food?

"Be safe."

Harry helped Anne put on her goggles and then reached out to rub Anne head.

The hair was very soft and had a pleasant fragrance.

"What should we do?" Harry asked Neville, looking at the wooden stake.

A hundred years ago, before Harry even had a chance to learn this thing, he was blown away by Runcorn and transported to another world.

It's a real shame that I couldn't hear Professor Garick, that beautiful older sister, give a lecture...

As a little genius in Herbology, this was no challenge for Neville.

"Tie the vines into knots," he said. "You help me, I'll do the work, you guys assist me—"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, which was already gloved with Dragonhide Gloves, and grabbed two vines that were wriggling like squid tentacles.

Those were the two thickest vines, probably the main branches.

Immediately afterward, as if receiving a signal, the other vines began to lash out at Neville.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot!" Neville shouted.

Ron then seemed to snap out of his daze, picked up the scissors and began to help Neville drive away the vines, while Harry also picked up the scissors and chased away a vine that was about to lash Neville's face.

Neville tied the two tendrils together in a knot, revealing a small hole in the middle of these tentacle-like branches.

"Now!" he shouted. "Reach your hand in and pull the pod out!"

Harry clapped his hands, simply casting a protective Charms on them, and then reached into the small hole.

However, the hole seemed to come alive and suddenly bit Harry's arm.

(End of this chapter)