Hogwarts is much quieter in winter than usual.
Snowflakes covered the rooftops, making the Hogwarts buildings lose some of their ancient and heavy atmosphere, turning them into something like a creamy chocolate Cake.
It makes you want to take a bite.
Silan woke up in her dorm room, washed up, and then stood by the window to greet the Giant Squid swimming by outside.
Since finding the Room of Requirement, he has rarely returned to his dorm room.
The reason I came back this time is that after winter started, Hogwarts gave each of the new students a scarf, which was placed in their dormitory.
Silan wrapped the Slytherin -exclusive silver-green scarf around his neck twice, then tucked it in, letting it hang down in front of his chest like a tie.
He practiced his smile while looking out the window.
Gentle and friendly, with impeccable manners.
He looked exactly like a well-behaved child, the kind of good student that teachers and elders would adore.
"Very good, very deceptive."
Silan was very satisfied with this; for him, it was equivalent to years of practicing his skills as a virgin.
After leaving the Slytherin Common Room, Silan trudged through the snow across the courtyard.
His feet were like paintbrushes, drawing lines of varying shades of snow on the ground.
It's Sunday, and most students are still asleep.
Those who were awake were almost all reluctant to get out of their warm beds, preferring to take a lazy nap, so the entire Hogwarts was extremely quiet.
When Silan arrived at the library, it was empty.
Madam Pince, dressed in a thick woolen robe, sat in front of the fireplace in the library, drinking tea.
Hearing Silan's footsteps, Madam Pince glanced at him with some surprise.
In her experience, little wizards in winter are like small animals going into hibernation.
Even in class, I've become slow and dawdling, let alone coming to the library so early in the morning.
Before entering the library, Silan waved her wand and used a Scourgify to remove the snow from her clothes and the dirt from her feet, so as not to dirty the library floor later.
"Good morning, Madam Pince," Silan greeted with a smile.
Madam Pince gave him a cold glance, her gaze instinctively drifting down to his feet.
In winter, the little wizard would always rush into the library, splashing through mud and snow, sometimes dirtying not only the floor but also the books.
All of this bothered her.
Noticing that Silan hadn't left any stains on the floor, Madam Pince snorted softly, but then took out a new teacup and poured herself a cup of hot tea.
Would you like some tea? Hot, please.
Thank you.
Silan didn't stand on ceremony, took the teacup, and took a small sip.
The light red tea liquor exuded a fragrant aroma, including the scent of tea leaves and a hint of pine needles, showing that Madam Pince had put a lot of care into brewing this tea.
"It tastes good. Was the water used to brew the tea snow taken from pine needle trees?"
Silan didn't hold back in praising him.
Madam Pince was surprised that he could tell the difference. As she nodded, she picked up her teacup to hide the slight smile that unconsciously appeared on her lips.
After slowly finishing her tea, Silan stood up.
"Madam Pince, this is Professor Quirrell's approval slip." Silan took out the approval slip for the Restricted Section that she had obtained from Quirrell. "I'd like to take a look at the Restricted Section."
After taking the approval slip, Madam Pince frowned and examined it several times, then gave a disgruntled snort.
"What's wrong with these professors? They're letting first-year wizards read books in the Restricted Section!"
Putting away the permit, Madam Pince muttered a few displeased words to Quirrell, then warned sternly, "Books in the Restricted Section cannot be borrowed. You only have half an hour."
After saying that, she waved her hand, indicating that Silan could go to the Restricted Section.
Since Quirrell approached Silan last time, Silan has used that connection to obtain a permit for the Restricted Section from him.
So, a few months after the start of the school year, Silan finally visited the Restricted Section for the first time.
Although visiting the Restricted Section during the day felt like it lacked the atmosphere of secretly learning forbidden knowledge, Silan still found it novel.
The Restricted Section has fewer books than the regular section.
But each one was ridiculously thick, and most of them were chained together by their spines and locked to the bookshelf.
It's probably to prevent people from stealing books.
Silan didn't rush to read the book.
I simply wandered among the bookshelves, glancing at the titles on the spines of the books in a cursory manner.
He walked for a while before pulling a book related to Alchemy from the bookshelf.
Compared to the regular library, the books in the Restricted Section were obscure and difficult to understand; many were even just wizards' notes and journals, filled with nonsensical ramblings.
The book that Silan was holding mainly discussed the connection between Ancient Runes and Alchemy.
Silan hadn't yet figured out the Ancient Runes he copied from the Mirror of Erised last time, so he was thinking of looking for some ideas in this book.
As a result, the book's contents were too obscure and difficult to understand, and Silan felt dizzy and lightheaded after reading it for a while.
"Let me write down the questions first, and then study them slowly later..."
The approval slip was only valid for half an hour, and it passed quickly. Silan reluctantly put the book back.
After leaving the library, Silan went straight to Quirrell's office.
The chosen worker, Quirrell, got up very early today.
He doesn't have to go to class today, and he doesn't have to go into the Forbidden Forest to crawl through the bushes during the day.
They wouldn't have to work for Dumbledore or Voldemort.
It gave him a feeling of having regained control of his life.
He brewed a pot of hot tea, sat comfortably in his chair, and watched the snowflakes fluttering outside the window, feeling very relaxed.
The aroma of the hot tea reached its peak, and Quirrell took a deep breath, about to taste it.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Quirrell was startled and stammered, "Please, please come in."
Good morning, Professor.
Silan pushed open the door and entered, giving him a gentle and elegant smile.
"Hello."
Upon seeing that it was Silan, Quirrell managed a strained smile.
He's been through a lot of trouble ever since he successfully made contact with Silan last time.
I'm still shaken by it.
Without Unicorn Blood, Voldemort remained in a very weak state.
Under these circumstances, Quirrell dared not reveal any weakness, nor did he dare to attack Silan.
Otherwise, if Dumbledore finds out, all our efforts will be in vain.
So even though he was terrified, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue contacting Silan.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Prewett?" Quirrell felt incredibly awkward.
In order to complete Voldemort's mission, he had to make contact with Silan, but he was also afraid that Silan would say something outrageous that would drive Voldemort mad.
Fortunately, this time Silan only came to ask him some questions about Ancient Runes.
Although Ancient Runes are obscure and difficult, Quirrell was once a top student in Ravenclaw, so the content Silan has been exposed to so far poses no challenge for Quirrell.
Even Silan had to admit that Quirrell's theoretical knowledge was truly impressive.
The explanations were insightful yet easy to understand, and the logic was clear and meticulous, which truly benefited Silan greatly.
If he hadn't been possessed by Voldemort and deliberately acted like a stutterer and a timid person, he might have really been a good professor.
After asking all the questions she had written down, Silan took her leave.
Quirrell breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been on tenterhooks, afraid that Silan would suddenly say something about Voldemort again, just like last time.
After seeing Silan off, Quirrell slumped into a chair, only to find that the tea he had brewed had gone cold...
Hermione got up early this morning too.
She was originally going to the library, but on the way she saw Silan heading towards Quirrell's office.
He changed his mind again and started reading the book near Quirrell's office.
"A chance encounter... it was a chance encounter..."
The little girl was trying to cheer herself up when she suddenly heard Silan's voice in her ear.
Good morning, Hermione. What are you doing here?