Ron, Put Away That Fragile Pride of Yours!

Harry and Ron hurried back to the dormitory and hid the Nimbus 2000 away.

Throughout the entire day's classes, Harry's heart seemed to have remained in the dormitory with the Nimbus 2000. He did not absorb a single lesson. It was not until seven in the evening that he eagerly carried the Nimbus 2000 toward the Quidditch pitch.

Meanwhile, Linley was troubled by something.

Last year, Professor Green had given him a long reading list as supplementary material for his three or four years of studying alchemy. Even though his alchemy had already reached a considerable level, the books on that list could still be of great help to him.

But a problem arose. Most of the books in the latter half of the list were kept in the library's Restricted Section. After Professor Green left Hogwarts, the signed note he had given Linley naturally lost its original validity. Linley could no longer use it to borrow books from the Restricted Section as he had before.

It was not as though Linley had never considered asking his Head of House, Professor Snape, or another professor for a signed note. But clearly, no professor would casually let him into the Restricted Section just because he wanted to study alchemy, an elective only available in his sixth year.

After all, even the alchemy knowledge available as a sixth-year elective could be found in the ordinary sections of the library. The Restricted Section contained profound and even dangerous knowledge. Naturally, the professors would not allow students to come into contact with it on their own for the sake of their safety.

Thus, Linley could only sneak out after curfew, using the Disillusionment Charm Professor Green had taught him to enter the Restricted Section invisibly and search for the books on his list.

Because the library was protected by warding magic, even with the Disillusionment Charm, Linley could only hide in the Restricted Section to read the books or copy them into a notebook himself. Otherwise, the moment he took a book from the Restricted Section out of the library, he would trigger the library's wards and be discovered. The same applied even to books copied with the Gemino Charm!

Over the following week, Linley had to not only forge an Alchemy Formation every night, but also visit the library's Restricted Section in search of books.

Soon, the weekend arrived. Linley had already completed the enchantment on the Desert Eagle and copied out an entire alchemy book from the Restricted Section.

Of course, he had not copied that alchemy book for nothing. Several Alchemy Runes and diagrams of Alchemy Formations recorded within it were useful when he enchanted the Desert Eagle's bullets.

Yes, Linley's plan before Halloween was to enchant all one hundred bullets that came with the Desert Eagle.

Under normal circumstances, enchanting one hundred bullets in less than two months was not particularly realistic. But bullets were tiny, so it was impossible to engrave overly complicated Alchemy Formations onto them. Naturally, Linley could engrave simple Alchemy Formations much faster.

Still, engraving Alchemy Formations onto such small objects came with its own difficulties, and it placed a certain strain on Linley's focus.

Meanwhile, during the two months before Halloween, Irina began exploring Wandless Magic for the Glacier Spell through her Silent Spellcasting.

Without anyone to guide her, Wandless Magic was not something that could be mastered so easily. At the very least, Irina's attempts over the past two months had all ended in failure.

But Irina's Glacier Spell had not shown no improvement at all. At least, without her Wand, she could condense a small chunk of ice for her own use. With her powerful affinity for the ice element, the ice she conjured from thin air could be shaped into forms such as daggers. This gave Irina some ability to protect herself even if she lost her Wand.

Soon, Halloween was upon them once more.

On Halloween Eve, the sweet, tempting scent of roasted pumpkin drifted throughout Hogwarts Castle.

During Charms class for Hogwarts' first-years, Professor Flitwick announced that he would teach them how to cast the Levitation Charm. However, young wizards as gifted as Irina, Hermione, and Malfoy, or those who had encountered magic beforehand, had long since taught themselves the Levitation Charm.

Professor Flitwick divided the entire class into pairs. Harry was partnered with Seamus, the explosion genius, while Ron was partnered with Hermione. As for Irina, while Professor Flitwick was demonstrating the Levitation Charm, she casually made a feather float with a silent Levitation Charm. Professor Flitwick praised her, awarded her points, and gave her the privilege of not having to practice.

"Come on, Hermione!"

Irina hugged a bag of snacks, eating as she cheered Hermione on.

However, judging by how skillfully Hermione had cast the Levitation Charm in the Prizes Display Room that day, she seemed not to need Irina's encouragement at all.

For talented young wizards, the Levitation Charm required only a wave of the Wand and a thought. But ordinary young wizards had to follow the proper instructions exactly: swish and flick, while pronouncing the incantation correctly. Only then could they cast the Levitation Charm.

Clearly, Ron was not one of those talented young wizards.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Ron shouted, waving his Wand as though he were swinging a massive hammer at someone.

Seeing Ron's exaggerated movements, Irina could not help feeling embarrassed for him.

"You said it wrong!" Hermione, his partner, said bluntly from the side. "It's Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa. You have to make the 'gar' nice and long!"

Ron's face darkened. His fragile pride would not allow him to be lectured by someone else. He roared, "Since you're so amazing, why don't you try it yourself?!"

"Mm..." Irina swallowed the snacks in her mouth. "Ron, you seem to have forgotten that Hermione defeated Malfoy with the Levitation Charm."

Ron froze at that.

Hermione waved her Wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Not only did the feather in front of Hermione rise into the air, but even the table before them floated up at her command.

Hermione's beautiful Levitation Charm naturally earned praise from Professor Flitwick.

After class, Ron's mood had hit rock bottom. He felt as though his pride had been trampled underfoot. Irritably, he said to Harry beside him, "No wonder everyone can't stand her. Honestly, she's such a busybody. She's like a nightmare!"

Just then, Ron felt someone bump into his shoulder. The person did not turn back after bumping into him, instead hurrying away.

Ron looked over and saw that it was Hermione. She seemed to be crying.

Suddenly, it felt as though someone had struck Ron hard on the head.

It was Irina!

"Ron, you've gone too far! Hermione was kindly teaching you because she hoped you could learn the Levitation Charm and become better, but what were you thinking?! Do you think she was mocking you? Do you think you're worthy of that?! Ron, put away that fragile pride of yours. Your dignity is something you give yourself, not something others give you!"

Irina tore into Ron without holding back. As Hermione's close friend, seeing Hermione so upset naturally made her feel awful as well.

She looked absolutely furious. Even when Malfoy had called her a "Mudblood," she had not been this angry. Ron believed that if it had been another young wizard standing here instead of him, Irina would probably have already fired a Glacier Spell at them!

After berating Ron, Irina did not stay long and instead chased after Hermione.

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