Prejudice and Heartfelt Emotion

The ambiguous atmosphere lingered for quite a while before slowly fading.

Reason finally took control of Ye Ting's mind.

Only then did he realize that he was physically only eleven years old, and Hermione was eleven too. Yet here they were, two eleven-year-old children hiding in a corner of the library and kissing, and they had almost had a hot kiss...

Although his mental age was definitely that of an adult, the most important thing was that Hermione had been the one to make the first move.

Were little girls these days really maturing this early?

She was making him wonder whether he was some kind of lolicon.

Oh, Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul...

He hurriedly stopped himself. He could not think any further.

If he did, he would become a pervert. At the very least, he had to wait until they were sixteen...

Ye Ting let his thoughts run wild for quite some time before finally coming back to his senses.

Hermione was equally flustered. She could not believe she had just said such things and done such things, so she could only bury her head in Ye Ting's arms and pretend to be an ostrich.

"Ahem."

Ye Ting cleared his throat, breaking the silence first.

"Um, Hermione, there's something I want to tell you."

In his arms, Hermione nodded almost imperceptibly.

Ye Ting continued, "I think that since you've been investigating Nicolas Flamel, on one hand, you want to know what treasure Dumbledore has hidden away. On the other, you still suspect that Snape wants to harm Harry and steal that treasure."

Hermione nodded again from within his embrace.

"Listen to me, Hermione. You can't suspect a professor based solely on a bad impression." Ye Ting sighed and tried to persuade her. "Before there is clear evidence, jumping to conclusions about something like this is a very serious accusation. I'm not criticizing you on moral grounds. I just want to tell you that doing this could lead your investigation far astray, or even cause irreparable consequences."

At that, Hermione suddenly reacted fiercely. She pulled away from Ye Ting's arms, raised her head to look at him, and seriously rebutted, "But Snape really does target Harry Potter all the time. He always humiliates Harry in Potions class. Among all the professors, he's the most suspicious."

As expected of Hermione. When it came to an argument, she did not care in the slightest whether the atmosphere was awkward or intimate. That was the bearing of Miss Know-It-All.

"I know that. Snape really does hate Harry. He's always been a mean person. I heard from Cho Chang that Snape was even once named champion of the England Meanness Championship." Even Hermione burst out laughing at that.

However, Ye Ting abruptly changed direction. "But that proves nothing. By your logic, whether it was smearing the corridors with mud, dripping Flobberworm Mucus into Gryffindor's lunch, or summoning Argus Filch when students were out wandering at night, Snape must have done all of it, because he's the meanest professor toward students."

"N-No, those things..." Hermione was left speechless. She did not know how to argue back, because that had been her original logic.

"In fact, Peeves did all those things." Ye Ting smiled. "But Peeves definitely wouldn't plot to steal Professor Dumbledore's treasure. We all know pranks are his only hobby."

"So," he said, looking directly into Hermione's eyes, "do you still think Snape attacked Harry?"

"You're right." After thinking for a moment, Hermione finally admitted her mistake. "I was too rash."

"Yes, you were too rash." Ye Ting stroked Hermione's cheek. "You're Hermione Granger. You're smarter than anyone else. No young wizard—pure-blood or half-blood—learns magic faster than you do. You've always relied on logic to judge things, so why did you start following impressions and intuition like everyone else this time?"

By the time Ye Ting had said all that, Hermione's face had turned bright red—because he understood her too well and had hit every point exactly. She had always been a rational person who did not easily suspect others. Biting her lip, she said softly, "Yes, I was too prejudiced against Professor Snape this time. I won't suspect him so easily again."

Then, as if making a declaration, she loudly added, "But I still think Snape is an awful person."

Poor old bat. There was simply no changing the students' bad impression of him.

Ye Ting shrugged and agreed. "I think so too. He's gloomy, solitary, mean, biased, and he never washes his hair. Everyone hates him."

Only then did Hermione nod in satisfaction.

Ye Ting let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Girls really were difficult to placate. Convincing her without making her angry was no easy task.

Fortunately, this was the relatively reasonable Hermione.

Suddenly, Hermione looked at Ye Ting curiously and asked, "Then the treasure Dumbledore hid is Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone, right?"

"Yes, I think that's it." Ye Ting nodded, but did not forget to warn her, "Whatever you do, don't tell Harry Potter or Ron Weasley about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone. This is too dangerous. Anyone bold enough to steal something from Dumbledore must be a powerful Dark wizard. With how weak they are, they aren't suited to getting involved."

In truth, it was not that they were unsuited to getting involved. It was simply not yet time for them to know all this.

Ye Ting decided to reveal the information to Harry at the end of the school year. By then, he would have everything fully prepared, giving him a chance to fish in troubled waters and obtain the Philosopher's Stone.

But there was no need to tell Hermione, with her overwhelming sense of justice, that for now—at the very least, he would wait a few more terms, until she had truly become one of his own.

Having reached a consensus, the two left the library together.

On the way back to the common room, Hermione suddenly asked curiously, "You just said Harry and Ron are too weak to get involved. What about me? Can I take part in this?"

Not bad. This time, Hermione had not insisted on meddling no matter what. She even knew to ask him first.

Still, with Hermione's personality, she would definitely be unhappy if he did not let her participate.

So Ye Ting raised his brows and said proudly, "You are you, and they are they. Although you aren't very strong either—"

At this point, he glanced at Hermione. The little girl's expression darkened considerably.

He continued, "But that's fine, because I'll protect you."

Upon hearing those words, all the resentment Hermione had felt at being looked down upon suddenly vanished. Even being judged weak no longer mattered.

She thought back to Halloween night, and to her first Quidditch lesson.

Whenever she was in danger, he would stand by her side and protect her from harm.

He said he would protect me.

Hermione was completely overcome with emotion. She suddenly gave Ye Ting a big hug without saying a word.

Ye Ting, meanwhile, was completely bewildered.

What is this? Why is she hugging me? Did I say something special?

Never mind. Let's just leave it like this.

Feeling Hermione's strong affection and dependence, he wrapped his arms around her in return.

He had left his original family behind and come alone to another world. Here, he had seen the magic of legend and found a great goal.

But beneath all of that lay a deep loneliness.

Yet now, he knew that he was no longer alone, no longer by himself.

There was someone who cared about him and depended on him.

Christmas was approaching.