Vera stared blankly at the hand that had held hers moments ago.
By the time Hermione returned, the entire dormitory had gone dark, and moonlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, casting a long, narrow band of light across the floor.
Vera lay on her back in bed, listening to Harry's steady breathing as her fingers absentmindedly stroked the astrolabe model beside her pillow.
The Magic Circuit gave off an almost imperceptible golden glow in the darkness, and data only she could see appeared across her retina:
[Current Magic Reserves: 36/120]
She turned gently onto her side, facing the window. In the moonlight, the distant outline of the Forbidden Forest resembled a crouching beast, radiating a dangerous yet alluring aura.
There were many dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, most of which she was completely incapable of handling right now.
She could not be too impulsive. She had to proceed gradually...
At some point, Nox had crawled into her blankets, his warm body pressed against her cold knees.
Vera stroked the cat's soft fur and slowly closed her eyes in the darkness.
Every day, she set aside time to practice spells in the Room of Requirement while steadily increasing her Magic Circuit experience.
As her control over magic grew more refined, Vera discovered that Source Flow Reforging could not only strengthen parts of her body but also ease the pain in her spine to a certain extent.
Though the effect was limited, it was already an immense comfort to her.
Harry's Quidditch training became increasingly frequent, but she always made time to study with Vera.
As always, Hermione was enthusiastic about haunting the library and often dragged the two of them along to do homework.
As for the others, Malfoy and his two companions had finally finished their detention. Having only just learned their lesson, they did not dare provoke anyone again for the time being.
As for the trapdoor guarded by the Three-Headed Dog, it seemed to have been forgotten by them.
Before long, October drew to a close, and Hogwarts began preparing for Halloween.
The castle was hung with jack-o'-lanterns and bat decorations, while singing ghosts drifted through the corridors.
On the morning before Halloween, one could smell the sweet scent of pumpkins before even entering the Great Hall.
A thousand bats fluttered around the walls and ceiling, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker in waves.
Seated in her wheelchair, Vera passed through corridors filled with jack-o'-lanterns and singing skeletons, occasionally raising her head to look at the decorations around her.
Nox sat obediently on her lap, his amber eyes warily watching the ghosts drifting past them.
"I heard Peeves set up several barrels of water in the Slytherin dungeon corridors. Quite a few Slytherin students who passed by got drenched," Harry said in a low voice as she pushed the wheelchair from behind.
Even so, the excitement in her voice was impossible to miss.
Walking beside them, Hermione frowned at this. "Peeves has really been causing trouble lately. I heard even Filch can't do anything about him."
The corners of Vera's lips rose slightly, but she said nothing.
The three entered the Great Hall and found dark clouds covering the ceiling, with lightning-shaped decorations flickering faintly among them.
Even Professor McGonagall was directing several older students as they adjusted the positions of floating jack-o'-lanterns.
At the teachers' table, Professor Quirrell's large turban was wrapped tighter than usual, and his face was frighteningly pale.
"What do you think is wrong with Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked quietly. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts again today. I just hope nothing goes wrong this time."
Vera's gaze lingered on Quirrell for a moment. The Magic Circuit allowed her to sense that the dark magic aura clinging to him was more restless than usual.
If she remembered correctly, during Halloween, Quirrell would release the Troll Dumbledore had made him prepare in advance, trying to create a distraction so he could steal the Philosopher's Stone.
In the original story, the chaos had allowed Hermione, Harry, and Ron to truly forge their friendship and become the Golden Trio.
But now... no one would make Hermione so angry that she hid in the girls' bathroom and cried.
"Forget about him," she said softly. "It's Halloween Eve. We should enjoy ourselves."
Harry nodded, her attention quickly drawn to the lavish breakfast in the Great Hall.
Vera took a light sip of pumpkin juice, her gaze sweeping over the students enthusiastically discussing Halloween activities.
Hermione and Harry began discussing that afternoon's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, while Ron occasionally chimed in from the side.
And because Neville often moved around with Ron now, he had no choice but to sit with them as well.
However, whenever he looked at Vera, his expression was still somewhat awkward, and he rarely took the initiative to speak to her.
Considering Neville's personality, Vera had no plans to do anything about the situation herself.
She would let things take their course.
"After class this afternoon, shall we go to the library and work on our Potions essay?" Hermione suggested.
Harry let out a mournful sigh. "It's Halloween! Can't we relax for once?"
Vera gently stirred the pumpkin porridge in front of her. "I do want to look up some information in the library."
Hermione's eyes lit up. "See? Vera agrees too!"
Harry pursed her lips. "Fine, fine..."
After all, as long as Vera was going, Harry could only surrender unconditionally.
The Castle Was Calling Again
That afternoon's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was as disappointing as ever.
Professor Quirrell stammered through a description of the many zombies he had encountered during his field research trips, then explained how to identify and defend against them.
In terms of theory alone, Quirrell was not actually a bad teacher. Thanks to his practical experience, his lessons leaned toward usefulness and were well suited to young wizards.
But the smell of garlic in the classroom was even stronger than usual, forcing most students to cover their noses as they listened.
As for how many of them actually absorbed anything, that was impossible to say.
"Why does it smell even worse today?" Harry muttered quietly, frowning as she covered her nose. "Vera, can you really concentrate?"
Vera gently shook her head and lowered her voice. "Professor Quirrell's theory is correct. If you listen carefully, you can still learn something."
Hermione was taking notes diligently beside them. Hearing their conversation, she could not help interjecting, "At least it's better than when he taught vampires last week. He spent the entire lesson trembling."
Just then, Professor Quirrell suddenly raised his voice. "M-Miss Potter! P-Please answer this. What are zombies m-most afraid of?"
Harry shot to her feet, a flicker of panic passing through her green eyes. "Uh... sunlight?"
"C-Correct," Professor Quirrell said with a stammering nod.
Harry sighed in relief and sat back down. "Good thing I was listening just now," she whispered to Vera.
The corners of Vera's mouth lifted. "That was a good answer."
She gave Quirrell a thoughtful glance. The strange aura around him was more turbulent than usual.
Tomorrow was Halloween. Was he preparing to act?
Thoughtfully rubbing the armrest of her wheelchair, Vera narrowed her eyes.
When the bell rang, the students rushed from the classroom as though they had been granted amnesty.
Harry pushed Vera's wheelchair, and as they had agreed earlier, the three of them headed for the library together.
They spent a quiet afternoon there.
Hermione buried herself in research on zombies, while Harry distractedly flipped through Quidditch Through the Ages, which Hermione had given her, occasionally sneaking glances at Vera as she focused on her homework.
"Do you think," Harry suddenly asked in a lowered voice, "Professor Quirrell is always so nervous because he thinks someone might attack him at any moment?"
Hermione did not even look up. "Maybe he really did encounter something frightening. Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts says prolonged exposure to dark magic can cause nervous exhaustion."
Vera's quill paused slightly. She looked up at the two of them. "Have you noticed that the garlic smell on him has gotten stronger lately?"
"Of course I have!" Harry made an exaggerated gagging face. "It's enough to knock someone unconscious."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "The books say garlic can drive away vampires... but Professor Quirrell said he had already dealt with the vampire problem in Romania, so why would he still..."
"Have you ever considered," Vera said in a lowered voice, "that Professor Quirrell might be using the smell of garlic to cover up some other scent?"
Hermione's brow furrowed more deeply. "What do you mean?"
Harry's eyes suddenly widened. "You mean... he's doing it on purpose? But what for?"
Vera gently shook her head. "I don't know. It's only an insignificant guess."
Hermione looked as though she wanted to ask more, but Madam Pince's sharp gaze had already swept their way. The three quickly lowered their heads and returned to their own work.
By evening, when they left the library, the castle's Halloween decorations had all been put in place.
Talking jack-o'-lanterns grinned along both sides of the corridors, occasionally letting out cackling laughter; ghosts floated back and forth, performing all sorts of comical tricks.
"I wonder what surprises tomorrow's feast will have!" Harry said excitedly. "I almost want to sleep straight through until tomorrow night!"
Hermione, however, looked worried. "I'm more concerned about tomorrow's Potions class. Professor Snape has even taken points off Vera."
It should be said that among all the Gryffindor first-years, Harry was the only one who had yet to suffer under Snape's venomous tongue.
Just as Vera was about to speak, she felt the crystal over her heart tremble.
Immediately afterward, Circuit Vision appeared on its own, and faint Black Fog emerged in the corridor before her eyes.
Vera abruptly stopped her wheelchair, her pupils shrinking.
This was the first time the Magic Circuit had appeared on its own without her controlling it...
Was it trying to give her a hint?
"Vera, what's wrong?" Harry looked at her in confusion.
"Nothing. I just suddenly thought of something new I could add to our Potions homework," Vera answered softly, while discreetly observing the direction of the Black Fog.
The Black Fog wriggled like a living thing, climbing upward along cracks in the stone walls before finally gathering into a vague path.
Vera narrowed her eyes as a faint golden glow spread beneath her skin from the Magic Circuit.
"Vera?" Hermione noticed something was wrong as well. "You don't look very well. Are you feeling unwell?"
Vera withdrew her gaze and gently shook her head. "I'm fine. Let's go to the Great Hall and get something to eat."
Soon, as they descended from the fifth floor where the library was located to the first floor where the Great Hall stood, Vera could clearly feel the Black Fog growing denser, spreading from the direction of the underground classrooms.
But she was probably the only one who could see this warning.
Was it an automatic detection alert from the Magic Circuit, or... was this castle itself trying to convey a message to her?
Vera pushed her wheelchair thoughtfully and followed Harry and Hermione into the Great Hall.
The aroma of dinner washed over her, but her attention was caught by the Black Fog that only she could see.
Based on how the story was progressing, Hermione would no longer be hurt by Harry and Ron's mockery and hide in the girls' bathroom to cry. So even if Quirrell released the Troll, it would not affect them at all.
Vera did not need to meddle. Once the Troll was released and caused a disturbance, she could simply return to the common room with everyone else to take shelter.
But... this sudden warning from the Black Fog forced her to consider another possibility.
If she took the initiative and changed this part of the story, what would happen?
"Vera?" Harry's voice pulled her back to reality. "You've been absentminded since earlier. Are you really okay?"
She gently shook her head. "It's nothing."
That was what she said, but in truth, her mind was already rapidly calculating the possible benefits of this matter and how, in her current condition, she could deal with a Troll.
She took two distracted bites of food, then caught sight of the Weasley twins entering the Great Hall not far away. Her eyes suddenly brightened, and she pushed her wheelchair over to stop them.
George and Fred Weasley turned around at the same time. Seeing that it was her, they exchanged a glance.
"What can we do for you, junior Black?" George asked with a grin, bending down.
Vera pushed her wheelchair closer and whispered a few words to them.
Watching the Weasley twins smile at Vera almost simultaneously, Harry forgot all about the steak in front of her and stared unblinkingly at the three of them.
Only Hermione, sitting beside her, noticed that Harry was gripping her fork tightly.
Launch Announcement and Bounty
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