Luring Them In to Kill

"I don't like Professor Snape anymore!"

Eliana slammed her History of Magic textbook onto the desk with a loud bang, huffing, "He actually threw me out of the dungeon!"

Fortunately, Professor Binns hadn't arrived yet. Otherwise, such a huge commotion, even from a ghost who barely paid attention to students, would have cost Eliana two points.

Hermione studied Eliana's expression and cautiously asked, "Did you do something?"

"Hey, I mean, do you need to do anything extra to get thrown out by Snape? Look at Harry, Snape wants to get him just for standing there."

The simple-minded Ron didn't notice Hermione's meaningful glances or Harry's sullen, sidelong stare. He excitedly chimed in, "Eliana, you should have woken up sooner! I told you that old bat Snape isn't a good person, but you kept defending him."

Hermione couldn't bear to watch and hid her face behind her textbook.

Sure enough—

Bang!!!

"Ouch!!"

Ron was instantly flattened by Eliana's book, a lump slowly forming on his head and his face turning into an X.X.

"Eliana, what are you doing!" he whined, clutching his head.

"You're not allowed to call Professor Snape such an ugly nickname!" Eliana said, her face dark.

"Wait, sis, you said you didn't like Snape just now, were you fishing?" Ron was completely stunned. "Luring someone out to kill them? What are you doing, trying to cut Snape's roots?"

"What do you mean, luring someone out," Eliana said with a straight face. "I just don't like Professor Snape anymore, I didn't say I hate him, nor did I say I don't respect him."

Ron's expression was, how to put it, like he finally saw his love-struck best friend distancing herself from her Kappa boyfriend. He was righteously indignant and secretly happy, joining in the scolding, only for his best friend to suddenly change her tune and say, 'I don't like how he did this one thing, but he's actually alright.' He felt like he'd swallowed ten thousand toads, and it was even more disgusting. Hating heaven and earth, but even more so hating his love-struck best friend who treated him like a dog. What, am I just a part of your game?

Every freckle on his face screamed despair.

"Eliana, why did Professor Snape throw you out of the dungeon? Was it because you asked him about Nicolas Flamel?"

Hermione nudged the stunned Ron with her elbow and kindly comforted him, "It's okay, maybe the professors just don't want us to know these things. Even Hagrid wouldn't tell us, remember? He kicked us out of his hut too."

Can Snape be compared to Hagrid?

Ron immediately jumped up indignantly, but Harry and Hermione jointly suppressed him from left and right.

"No, it wasn't that. It's because I wanted to steal his Truth Serum to give to Quirrell—you can understand, right? Three drops would make Quirrell spill everything. It's really hard not to be tempted—but I was discovered and got thrown out."

"What??"

The three of them exclaimed in unison, "What did you say you did?"

"Why are you all making such a fuss? I didn't steal it, did I?" Eliana said indignantly, finding their reaction baffling. "I had already put the Truth Serum in my pocket and taken it out, but Snape chased after me and snatched it away!"

"I didn't even succeed, and he still docked me five points!" she grumbled angrily. "Why is he so serious! He's so big, yet he's so stingy!"

"This is the first time I've thought Snape was surprisingly lenient," Ron muttered as if struck by lightning.

"Yeah, after all that, he only took five points from you," Harry said, completely dazed.

He imagined himself in her place. If he secretly tried to steal something from Snape and got caught red-handed… He couldn't help but shiver. He suspected that if he even killed a fly in Snape's office, he'd be doing detention until next year for "disrespecting life."

Eliana put her hands on her hips, displeased. "Hey, which side are you on?"

Ron looked completely dumbfounded. "I never thought I'd have to choose between understanding my Gryffindor companion and understanding Snape." He shivered violently, looking like a lost boy who had betrayed his faith.

A shocked Hermione finally managed to squeeze out a sound from her throat. "Truth Serum? The Truth Serum I know—the one whose use is strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic? Then you really weren't wronged."

Eliana felt a moment of guilt, but she stood tall with her hands on her hips, unashamed.

"It's not my fault. I asked him who Nicolas Flamel was, and he asked me where I heard about him. I said I suspected Quirrell wasn't a good person and heard it from him. He said, regrettably, that students couldn't use Truth Serum—wasn't that an implication that I could give it to Quirrell, who is a professor?"

"And he even took out the Truth Serum and placed it in front of me. Wasn't that an implication that I could take it quietly? But then he got upset when I took it. He's really quite stingy."

For a moment, Hermione, Harry, and Ron miraculously empathized with Snape—Is this about being stingy? How could you be so confident? Who he wanted to give the Truth Serum to is obvious, Eliana.

"With your confidence, you can succeed at anything."

By the time History of Magic class ended, Harry finally managed to force out a sound from his throat.

Eliana raised an eyebrow, stuffed her overflowing notes into her bag, and said proudly, "Of course."

She analyzed with reason: "But his reaction also suggests he knew there was something there. Perhaps he was also involved in the action to protect that thing—so Quirrell is definitely not a good person. This purple garlic head must want to steal the treasure inside!"

"But we still don't know who Nicolas Flamel is, or what exactly it is that even a professor like Quirrell wants to steal."

Harry was a little dejected.

"This is your Christmas task," Eliana said cheerfully, patting their shoulders. "I wish you a fulfilling holiday."

Christmas was a very important holiday, and not many people in Gryffindor chose to stay. But as it happened, both Harry and Ron had submitted their applications.

Hermione pulled a long, long scroll of parchment from her pocket and solemnly placed it in their hands. "This is a list of books I compiled from this class. We can take this opportunity to make a trip to the library."

Harry and Ron's faces simultaneously contorted in pain.

Who would want to spend the day before the holiday cooped up in the library—even if it might concern something very great and important?

"No," a voice, as if from their very souls, echoed. The two immediately lifted their heads as if injected with adrenaline, thinking their good brother had bravely spoken up first and preparing to join in with support, only to be surprised to find the other's lips were sealed.

Then it could only be—

Eliana, the library's resident soldier, said, "Tomorrow is the holiday, so I won't be going to the library today. I still have some things to finish."

Could something actually be more important to Eliana than going to the library?

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, then simultaneously stuck their heads out the window. They were met with the howling wind and snow, which slammed into their sinuses with a resounding whump, forcing them to sheepishly retreat with their wind-chapped faces.

But—the two were certain. The sun hadn't risen in the west.

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