A Life Too Busy to Care

Late at night, Harry had another nightmare.

This time, he was on the Quidditch pitch.

The entire sky was dark and pouring rain, making it impossible for him to see anything.

Bludgers and Quaffles whizzed past his ears. He tried his best to find the Golden Snitch, but suddenly saw Professor Li Wei on the teachers' stand, his lips moving constantly.

The next moment, the Quaffle and Bludgers that had been flying in other directions suddenly turned, smashing into his arms from left and right!

"Hiss!"

Harry woke up abruptly from his dream in pain. Darkness surrounded him.

He subconsciously moved his arms. They were fine, he thought with relief.

Just then, Harry suddenly heard a soft whisper beside him.

"Harry Potter, Harry--Potter."

Harry subconsciously turned his head, his heart skipping a beat—an ugly, small, grey house-elf was perched at the head of his bed, watching him carefully, its large eyes particularly prominent.

"You're—Dobby? Why are you here?"

"Harry Potter, you must be careful of Professor Li Wei! He deceived Dobby! He clearly said he would solve the Basilisk problem! But he still let the Basilisk appear!"

"Professor Li Wei?!"

Harry's expression changed. Still in his pajamas, he quietly got out of bed.

"Let's talk outside. Don't wake them up."

"It's alright, Dobby has already cast the Sleeping Charm on them. They won't wake up."

"You—"

Harry glanced at Neville, who was snoring loudly, and frowned at Dobby.

"What did you just say? Explain it in detail."

"It's like this."

Harry quickly learned everything from Dobby, including how Dobby had prevented him from returning to school and had attempted to attack him during the Quidditch match.

"It was you! You were the one who sealed the wall at the platform when school started, preventing Ron and me from getting through! Do you know that Ron's mother sent him a Howler because of it, and his father was investigated?

And it wasn't enough with just one attempt, you actually wanted to attack me and ruin my game!"

Harry angrily raised his wand, pointing it at Dobby.

"You'd better never appear before me again, Dobby. The next time we meet, I will attack you."

Dobby smiled faintly. "Dobby is used to threats of death. Dobby hears them five times a day at home." He wiped his nose with the corner of the dirty pillowcase he was wearing. He looked so pathetic that Harry's anger involuntarily subsided.

At the same time, more questions arose in his mind.

So, he was supposed to be attacked in today's Quidditch match, and it was Professor Li Wei's house-elf who protected him?

Then he still suspected him. A wave of intense guilt began to surge in Harry's heart.

Later, he learned more from Dobby—the Chamber of Secrets had been opened once before. Someone was plotting a conspiracy, but Harry no longer believed it was Professor Li Wei.

However, no matter what, Dobby refused to reveal the person's name. After tormenting himself and strongly urging Harry to leave the school quickly, Dobby fled under Harry's persistent questioning.

The next day, Harry told Ron and Hermione about the incident.

Hermione appeared both happy and troubled.

She was happy because they had eliminated one possibility—since the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before, Malfoy could not be Slytherin's heir—unless there were multiple heirs, but that probability was extremely low.

And Barton, as Professor Li Wei's house-elf, had helped Harry. The three of them truly didn't want to suspect him anymore.

Even Ron remained silent at this point. Harry's feelings towards Li Wei had already improved, especially since he had protected him. If, as Dobby said, he had been hit by a Bludger and sent to the hospital. And if he had also caused him to lose the Quidditch match, Harry felt he would have been furious.

The matter of the Chamber of Secrets seemed to have reached a stalemate. Harry also decided to stop following Professor Li Wei.

However, beyond this matter, they had many other things to worry about.

With the arrival of November, all the students at Hogwarts were very busy.

Not to mention the older students. The seventh-years, in order to secure a good future after graduation, were anxious even the laziest wizards at this age. Although it was not very useful.

The sixth-years, although a group of second-generation pure-bloods, after being subdued by Li Wei, studied with more dedication than ever. Four of them had changed their original career aspirations to Auror. With Li Wei around, they believed they could definitely get an 'O' in Defense Against the Dark Arts for their N.E.W.T.s, and even their Charms could improve as well.

The fifth-year students had been overwhelmed since the beginning of the semester. After Professor Li Wei released his self-compiled workbook, "One Year of O.W.L.s, Three Years of N.E.W.T.s," in the second week, they went completely insane!

There were some students who got tired of studying and went crazy, giving up on themselves, but they couldn't stand others studying so hard and were eventually forced to join the intense competition.

They had no choice but to compete, because after taking the professor's so-called 'real exam papers,' they discovered that the level of their peers had significantly improved. The O.W.L. results for their year were likely to be explosively good compared to previous years.

If others were getting 'O's or 'E's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they only got 'A's or even failed, it would feel quite terrible.

As for the younger students.

Hermione and Cedric not only had to deal with their daily studies but also complete the extra assignments from Li Wei's study group. At the same time, they had to steal some time to avoid others' notice and brew the Polyjuice Potion, making them incredibly busy.

Moreover, they were still unsure if the potion would even have a chance to be used.

Harry, Ron, and other wizards were overwhelmed by the new monthly exams. They would face their first exam at the end of the month, and the point difference between first and fourth place was too large.

Currently, the House Cup is temporarily in first place due to Harry winning Quidditch, leading the second-place house by 50 points, but the gap between the other two houses isn't large.

The Ravenclaw students are eyeing it greedily—there are still 7 months until the end of this school year, and excluding holidays, plus the final exams at the end of the term, there will be at least four monthly exams—which amounts to 200 points!

In reality, they only need 75 points to catch up to Gryffindor. Any extra points will serve as a buffer—this can be used in case Professor Snape goes mad and deducts their points arbitrarily.

Their calculations are too loud, and their posture for studying is too perfect.

Whether in the library, the Great Hall, or the grassy area by the Black Lake, Ravenclaws are constantly seen studying everywhere, anytime.

Students from other houses are also unable to sit still seeing their performance. Li Wei even suspects that the House Cup has cast a spell on these students.

Almost every student is going crazy for this illusory honor, leading to many things that made him laugh and cry in the following days.