Late-Night Dormitory Chat

That night in the dormitory, Scott sat in a blue velvet armchair by the window, wearing his pajamas and fiddling with a silver-gray metal block.

"Scott."

Roger walked over and sat directly on the windowsill.

"You definitely noticed something at noon," he said with certainty. "I have to say, your expression wasn't looking too good back then."

Scott understood that he was referring to those two Ravenclaw first-years, Jacob Kent and Caitlin Rowle.

These two, who had long been embroiled in a massive conflict, seemed to have reconciled, and at noon, they had even been spotted hanging out with Jasmine Travers of Slytherin.

Just as he was about to speak, Eddie, who was already lying in bed, suddenly sat up and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Milton, another member of this dormitory, also pulled back the curtains he had previously drawn shut.

He had been feeling dejected over his embarrassing performance in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but now he poked his head out to ask the two of them, "Noon? Did something happen after I left? But you didn't say anything when you returned to the dormitory at noon."

Of course, unlike Eddie, whose face was filled with a thirst for gossip, the only thing on Milton's somewhat haggard face was concern for his friends.

Faced with the questions from his other two roommates, Roger hesitated for a moment before glancing at Scott.

Scott wore a helpless expression and nodded at him.

"It's like this..."

Roger immediately stood up, walked to the center of the room, and began to vividly describe the unusual scene he had witnessed at noon to Eddie and Milton.

Listening to Roger's account, Milton gradually furrowed his brows, while Eddie let out several gasps of surprise.

When Roger finished his story, all three of them turned to look at Scott.

"..."

Facing three pairs of eyes with different expressions, Scott suddenly didn't feel like talking.

"..."

However, his three roommates continued to stare at him with persistence.

Scott sighed inwardly and said to them, "This matter seems a bit complicated, and it will also be very troublesome. Are you sure you want to get involved?"

"No." Eddie shook his head first. "This matter involves that 'Poison Doll' lady, and you've already warned me about her."

Scott chuckled. Ever since he had given him a stern warning, that kid Eddie had started using 'Poison Doll' to refer to Jasmine Travers to avoid accidentally letting anything slip.

"Besides... Travers and Rowle, just listen to those surnames."

Eddie shrugged, a comical expression on his face.

"Two of the great 'Sacred Twenty-Eight'? Merlin, I'm just a Muggle-born wizard; I can't afford to get into trouble with such pure-bloods."

Roger said with a smile, "And there's Morgan Avery, Jasmine Travers's Slytherin companion."

He shrugged, mimicking Eddie's gesture. "Also one of the great 'Sacred Twenty-Eight'."

"But..."

Milton climbed out of bed, put on his slippers, and sat on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly combing through his long hair.

He said worriedly, "Kent and Rowle are, after all, first-years in our Ravenclaw house. If... if they are being bullied by Slytherin, what should we do?"

"Especially Kent; he's also a Muggle-born wizard," added Eddie, the most well-informed of them, looking at Scott again.

"Kent..."

Scott thought of Jacob Kent, whom he had seen at noon.

Compared to the poor little thing he had met in the common room on the first morning of the new term, that boy had clearly undergone a massive change.

Even the magic he sensed from him was vastly different.

If not for the parts that remained unchanged, he might have thought the boy he saw was someone else disguised by Polyjuice Potion.

"That boy, I gave him a chance to ask for help," Scott said to Roger. "If he were being coerced, he should have followed my lead back then and gone to the Great Hall with us immediately."

He wasn't the kind of warm-hearted person who went out of his way to help; doing that much was already his limit.

"But I remember you also said that the boy had changed," Roger said. "Although I don't know exactly what happened, perhaps the boy's change is also related to the 'Poison Doll' lady."

"That is indeed a possibility." Scott did not deny it.

He knew very well that if a wizard's magic changed significantly in a short period, the most likely reason was that they had practiced some form of Dark Magic.

But he didn't say it out loud.

Jacob Kent was just a Muggle-born wizard who had just started school. It was unlikely anyone would believe he had the ability to practice Dark Magic so soon after enrollment.

Roger continued, "Although Ravenclaw has generally remained neutral in the struggle between Slytherin and Gryffindor, if the Slytherin 'Poison Doll' lady has already extended her poisonous claws into Ravenclaw, we must react as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he leaned in toward Scott, shamelessly resting on the armrest of the sofa and pretending to knead his shoulders.

"So what exactly should we do? Please make a decision quickly! The uncrowned king of Room 16, Ravenclaw boys' dormitory, Mr. Trollope!"

"When did I get such a long and uncool title?" Scott was caught between laughter and tears; he really wanted to smash the metal block in his hand against Roger's head.

"I just thought of it!" Roger's hands on his shoulders became even more vigorous. "To deal with the poisonous claws reaching out from Slytherin, I have decided to nominate you as the commander of this operation to lead us to victory."

"Get lost."

Scott pulled his hand away from Roger and looked at his three roommates earnestly once more.

"So... what exactly are you guys planning to do?"

"Naturally, we will follow whatever you decide, Mr. Trollope," Roger said, still putting on a show.

Eddie and Milton nodded in agreement.

"That's right, I choose to listen to you too, Scott."

"Me as well."

"Tsk, you cunning guys." Scott couldn't help but laugh and curse.

After pondering for a moment, he said to his roommates, "Although I don't know what role Travers played in the incident on the night of the opening ceremony, it is highly likely that she is involved."

He tossed the metal block in his hand.

"But we don't need to do anything specific for now; let's just keep an eye on those few freshmen, Eddie. To be honest, I'm also a bit curious... about what exactly Miss Travers will do."

Scott recalled the look in that girl's eyes when their gazes met twice; hidden deep within those silver-gray eyes was an inadvertently revealed cruelty and malice.

"I understand!"

Eddie climbed out of bed excitedly and patted his chest confidently.

"Leave the information gathering to me!"