Proxy Shopping

Hermione's eyes slowly widened, clearly understanding something. Trembling, she said, "So, it's that, then—"

"That's right," Wade said. "It's Harry Potter."

"—the Death Quota!" Hermione shouted at the same time.

The two stared at each other.

"—Harry Potter?" Hermione said in surprise.

"...I told you it was a joke," Wade said helplessly.

The two stared at each other again.

Hermione frowned.

Gradually, Hermione understood.

"No wonder..." she said quietly. "Percy—the Gryffindor Prefect, a fifth-year Weasley—said that whenever students had been forbidden from going somewhere before, Professor Dumbledore would explain why. But this time, he only said not to enter the Fourth Floor Right Corridor, without saying why."

"If they openly said there was a Three-headed Dog hidden there, not even the Weasley Family's Twins would go looking for death, let alone a first-year Potter," Wade said, unsurprised. "A vague warning was meant to lure in curious Gryffindors—Dumbledore had probably left some kind of test there."

He remembered that Harry Potter had played a real-life level-clearing game in his first year. He and his little companions had each relied on their own wisdom and abilities to overcome a challenge, and in the end, Harry had used "Love Magic" to take down the final boss, Voldemort.

The seven Harry Potter books grew thicker and darker with each installment, but the first was still full of childish fun. Even its schemes seemed innocent and adorable, with Voldemort delivering himself to Harry Potter so he could grind experience.

"How could he do that?!" Hermione's fear immediately turned to anger. "People could die! And that's supposed to be fine? Or does he simply not care whether Harry Potter lives or dies?!"

"Then when you barged in without warning, did the Three-headed Dog hurt you?" Wade asked in return.

"No, but that was because, at first, it—ah—"

Hermione suddenly understood, as if a veil of mist had been lifted to reveal the truth.

"My guess—only a guess—is that Dumbledore may have placed some restriction on the Three-headed Dog so it would not actually attack students who wandered in by mistake, only scare them. But if someone tried to do anything further, the Three-headed Dog would not just stand by," Wade said carefully.

"I saw it standing on a Trapdoor," Hermione said. "It must have been guarding something."

"If things are as we suspect," Wade said finally, "Harry Potter will definitely find out what it's guarding."

The situation seemed to have slowed down. Perhaps because Hermione was angry with Harry and Ron and barely spoke to them, she received no further news.

Wade was not particularly concerned about any of it, though. He knew everything was under Dumbledore's watchful eye, so there was nothing to worry about. Compared with Harry Potter's adventures, the progress of his Charms was what concerned Wade more.

During a recent practice session, he had discovered by chance that he could see not only the arcs that guided others toward the correct way to cast spells, but also his own Guidance Line when facing a mirror. This sped up his spell practice considerably. So Wade set aside more time specifically to practice Potion-making—the shelves behind the Potions Class classroom were always stocked with plenty of common materials for students to practice with for free. But because of Professor Snape, most students were unwilling to step into the Dungeon Classroom except during class, even Slytherin students.

When Wade went to practice Potion-making in his spare time, Snape turned a blind eye. Occasionally, he would point out Wade's mistakes in a sarcastic tone. Overall, as long as one was not too thin-skinned, there was still much to learn from him.

Whenever this happened, Wade felt grateful that he was a Ravenclaw—if he had been one of Gryffindor's lions, Snape might have thrown him out on the very first day he entered the Potions Class classroom without permission.

One afternoon, Wade successfully brewed a cauldron of Wound Cleanser. Professor Snape judged it "barely usable" and had him deliver it to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing—Quidditch matches were about to begin, and the Hospital Wing always became busy around this time.

When Wade returned to the Umbrella Room from the Hospital Wing, he found everyone unusually excited. They were all gathered around Theo. Even Hermione had put down her book and was calculating aloud, "I want Three-Foot-Thick Parchment and five bottles of ink. I heard there's a Quick-Notes Quill that's very useful. If they have it, I'd like to buy two as well—"

Theo scribbled it down at lightning speed. Beside him, Michael called out loudly, "Oh, come on, Hermione. I know you love studying, but how boring would life be if it were nothing but studying? You should buy yourself something fun! Honeydukes' sweets are all amazing! I recommend Blow-Up Super Bubblegum. It can fill an entire room with Blue Bell-Colored Bubbles, and it's practically every girl's favorite. Fizzing Whizbees are also bestsellers, and then there's Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks pub. Almost no one can resist having a glass."

"Um..." Hermione hesitated for quite a while before saying, "Then get me One Galleon of Candy too! Just none of those strange things like Cockroach Clusters!"

Though it would not be convenient for her to take the candy back to the Dormitory—she would definitely be questioned by the other girls, who might even make some sour, snide remarks—she could leave it in the Umbrella Room and share it with her SSC companions.

"What are you talking about?" Wade walked over and asked curiously.

"You're finally here, Wade! We've all been waiting for you!" Neville said happily. "This weekend is the first Hogsmeade Weekend. Third-years and above can go to Hogsmeade Village."

"I know!" Wade said. "But what does that have to do with us first-years?"

Of course, Wade had heard of Hogsmeade Village. It was Britain's only village inhabited entirely by wizards, without any Muggles. It was said to be unique and interesting, and it was right beside Hogwarts, close enough to walk to.

But Hogwarts stipulated that only third-years and above could visit on designated Saturdays, and they also needed signed permission from a guardian. Therefore, Wade and the others would have to wait at least another two years before they could go to Hogsmeade.

"Normally, it wouldn't have anything to do with us," Michael said excitedly. "But Theo said—a Hufflepuff third-year said that he could help younger students buy things they wanted, and he even made a Shopping List for Hogsmeade Village. Theo and Ryan said they could add the things we wanted to it too."

Wade took the Shopping List and looked it over as he asked curiously, "Who's being so kind? Isn't it a hassle—or is he trying to make money off the price difference?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, Cedric isn't helping to make money."

Wade froze. "What did you say his name was?"

"Cedric," Ryan said. "Cedric Diggory. He's the top student among the third-years, and there's practically no Hufflepuff student who doesn't like him."