An Edible Stone

In the midst of countless awestruck gazes, Harry and Hermione pushed open the dining hall doors and left.

As they walked down the corridor, Harry said, "Your sense of responsibility is really strong!"

"I was just worried that their fight would cause Gryffindor a huge loss. They might each lose fifty points. You usually work so hard—wouldn't all that effort go to waste?"

"Huh?" Harry had not expected Hermione's main reason for stepping in to be him. He smiled. "I didn't know I had that much influence. I thought you, the model student who always follows the rules and tries to be the teachers' good little girl, stepped in because you couldn't stand them damaging Gryffindor's honor!"

"Who's trying to be the teachers' good little girl?" Hermione snapped.

"Isn't it you?" Harry retorted. Hermione thought about it and realized she had no way to refute him.

"You really are an outstanding girl!" Harry said, looking up.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Hermione suddenly shouted.

Harry smiled at her but said nothing, merely sighing inwardly. Hermione really was a perfect girl. She was brave, passionate, and kindhearted. At the same time, she possessed the shared virtues of the other Houses, which was the rarest thing of all. She had Ravenclaw's intelligence and spirit of inquiry, her greatest strengths, as well as Hufflepuff's diligence and loyalty. Even Ron had been unable to endure it back then, yet Hermione, a girl, had stayed by Harry's side all the way. She was also clever and resourceful, another of Slytherin's traits!

Girls like her were truly rare. If you met one, you should pursue her—though she still had an adorable little bun face!

Two days passed amid enjoyable yet tense studying.

Over those two days, Hogwarts' professors suddenly noticed that all the first-year students seemed like entirely different people. No matter the class, they studied with great seriousness, leaving the professors curious about what had happened.

Almost every teacher was delighted by this change—except Professor Snape!

In Potions class, Snape had always taken pleasure in berating the little lions and deducting Gryffindor points. Whenever he saw them trembling like little sheep, he felt as refreshed as if he had downed a bucket of ice-cold beer in the middle of summer.

But what disappointed him most was that, since the start of term, his painstakingly prepared "One Hundred Ways to Torture the Golden Boy, Savior Harry Potter" had not been of any use at all! Every time he tried to deliberately make things difficult for Harry, Harry not only failed to look angry, but answered perfectly with a smile on his face. And every time Snape saw that smile, he wanted to pull out his wand and hit him with a Stupefy!

Although his biggest target was gone, he could still take comfort in those foolish lions. But over the past two days, he suddenly discovered that Gryffindor students had become unexpectedly proactive in Potions class. Aside from Neville, the universally acknowledged Potions idiot, who had not made much progress, Snape could clearly sense the serious attitude of the other students. How could he possibly tolerate that? Yet there was nothing he could do.

After the morning classes ended, the two of them went to find Hagrid. They left the castle and crossed the fields. Hagrid lived in a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of rubber boots sat outside the front door. When Harry knocked, they heard a burst of frantic struggling and several low barks from inside.

"Hagrid, it's Harry."

"Oh, just a moment, I'm coming."

Hagrid opened the door, revealing his enormous figure. His thick hair made him look like a wild man, and he happily greeted Harry.

"Hagrid, this is my friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger," Harry introduced Hermione.

"Welcome. I was worried Harry wouldn't be able to find any friends at school," Hagrid said to Hermione.

Hermione glanced at Harry and said, "Then you were wrong. Who at Hogwarts doesn't know the famous Harry Potter? Everyone wants to be his friend."

Hagrid ushered them inside while desperately gripping the collar of a huge black hunting dog. The hut had only one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling, a copper kettle boiled over the fire, and a large bed stood in the corner, covered with a patchwork quilt.

Hermione did not disdain Hagrid's little hut. Instead, she looked around with great interest at the several strange pets Hagrid kept inside.

Hagrid lifted the boiling kettle from the charcoal stove, poured them two cups of hot water, and brought out a plate of Rock Cakes for them to eat.

Harry picked up one of the cakes, then quietly put it back down. When Hermione saw this, she grew angry, glared at him, and softly reproached him, "How can you do that?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm just smarter, that's all."

"If you won't eat it, I will!" Hermione silently expressed her displeasure at Harry's rudeness, so... she took the biggest one!

Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, then gave a mischievous grin and kept quiet.

He remembered that in the original story, Harry and Ron had nearly chipped their teeth eating these cakes, yet still had to pretend they tasted good. He wondered what expression Hermione would have in a moment!

"Crunch..." Hermione took a bite, and Harry saw her little face immediately scrunch up like a bun. Her chubby hand covered her mouth, though he could not tell whether she was preventing broken bits of Rock Cake from falling to the floor or clutching her aching teeth!

"Is it good?" Hagrid asked expectantly. How was she supposed to answer that? Harry really was smart!

"It's good, very good!" Hermione lowered her head, her bushy brown hair hiding everything so Hagrid would not see her suddenly reddened eyes. Her teeth hurt so much!

What Rock Cakes? These were clearly stone cakes!

"Well, do you regret it now?" Harry patted Hermione's hair and said to Hagrid, "We're not like you. We can't chew these cakes at all."

Hagrid looked apologetic. "Sorry. I really like these cakes, so I thought you would too. I forgot your teeth can't compare to mine. Next time, I'll definitely make food you like."

Hermione looked at Harry with tearful, pitiful eyes. Harry said, "All right, stop eating. If you keep going, all your teeth will fall out." He took the cake from Hermione's hand, and Hermione looked at him gratefully.

Hagrid had asked Harry to come over this time because he was worried Harry might be having trouble at school and wanted to talk with him.

Hermione complained to Hagrid, "Professor Snape, who teaches Potions class, seems to really hate Harry. He's always finding fault with him." Hagrid's eyes shifted as he avoided answering. "How could that be? He's probably just a little strict with Harry." But Harry had already seen through everything! Ha ha...

Luo Bei: Spells, Part Two

Reparo—restored shattered or damaged objects to their original state; the opposite of Diffindo.

Accio—one of the easiest spells to understand; it moved boxes.

Wingardium Leviosa—the Levitation Charm; it could occasionally be used against trolls.

Avis—the spell used to test Viktor Krum's wand.

Orchideous—the spell used to test Fleur Delacour's wand.

Portus—the spell that turned ordinary objects into Portkeys.

Vulnera Sanentur—the spell for bandaging wounds.

Anapneo—cleared the esophagus of someone choking on turkey... What kind of lousy spell was that?!