The Black-Robed Figure on the Castle's Seventh Floor

Everyone went to the pitch and took their seats in their respective houses' stands.

Su Er was no exception, following Justin, who had binoculars hanging around his neck, as they searched for the best place to watch.

"Ow..." Su Er clutched his stomach with one hand, a pained look crossing his face.

"What's wrong?" Justin immediately asked with concern.

"I think I need to use the bathroom." Su Er put on an agonized expression. "I must have eaten too many sausages."

"I might miss the match. Go find seats with Morn. Don't wait for me." With that, Su Er hurriedly turned and pushed against the crowd toward the exit, looking very desperate.

Justin's faint shout came from behind him. "I'll save you a seat..."

But amid the noise, his voice was almost inaudible.

"What was Justin shouting just now?" After leaving the pitch and stepping back into the castle, Su Er lowered his hand and scratched at his ear. There was no trace of pain left on his face.

"Never mind. It's not important."

"This is the perfect chance to figure out how to get into the Room of Requirement." He had gone to the pitch specifically to check whether their beloved Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts was there.

The way Su Er bounded easily up the stairs made it clear that Voldemort-Quirinus Quirrell was currently at the Quidditch Pitch.

After one last leap over two steps that suddenly vanished, he reached the castle's Seventh Floor.

Su Er had already pinpointed the Room of Requirement's location in the corridor on the left side of the Seventh Floor. Headmaster Dumbledore's office was on the other side, conveniently out of his way, so he wasn't worried about running into the headmaster. Not that it would really matter if he did.

After all, Headmaster Dumbledore encouraged students to explore the castle.

Provided they didn't break school rules-or, rather, didn't get caught breaking them.

Su Er headed briskly toward the corridor with light steps. As he approached, his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately slipped into the shadows behind a pillar, cautiously leaning out to look.

Someone's there!

A figure clad in a black robe stood with their back to Su Er, facing the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy beating wizards with a club.

The mysterious figure's black robe bulged, as though it concealed quite a few things.

Very suspicious. Should I go find Headmaster Dumbledore?

No, an outsider couldn't sneak into Hogwarts Castle this easily. Others might not know, but Su Er knew perfectly well that an invisible barrier enveloped the castle. Any outsider entering would be detected.

That meant this mysterious figure had to be someone from the castle.

Or perhaps one of the professors...

The question was, which professor were they? Today was the first Quidditch match of the school year, and most of the professors had gone to watch. Who would sneak up to the castle's Seventh Floor instead?

His thoughts raced. It felt as though several minutes had passed, but in reality, it had only been a few seconds. The mysterious figure began to move, and Su Er quickly drew back a little.

The mysterious black-robed figure walked back and forth in front of the tapestry three times, then stopped. At that moment, Su Er noticed a doorway silently materializing in the blank wall opposite the tapestry.

!!! Isn't that the Room of Requirement I've been searching everywhere for?

So that's how it works! Walk back and forth three times?

After memorizing the method, Su Er calmly drew back before the mysterious figure could turn around, hiding himself completely behind the pillar. When he peeked out again, he caught the last corner of the doorway disappearing.

As the saying went, what you searched for in vain could turn up without any effort at all.

This trip had really paid off.

As for the black-robed figure, Su Er had already put them out of his mind. Hogwarts was downright surreal this year-the final boss had even shown up early.

A few more strange people would hardly be surprising.

Though Su Er was indeed a little curious about who the black-robed figure was and why they had entered the Room of Requirement, curiosity killed the cat. With his little first-year body, staying alive came first.

If the sky fell, Dumbledore would hold it up.

I wonder if Harry has caught the Golden Snitch yet. If I go back now, I might still catch the most exciting part.

The moment Su Er entered the Quidditch Pitch, he clearly heard the impassioned commentary, along with Professor McGonagall's warning cough.

"Slytherin has possession-it's Flint-he's taken the Quaffle past Spinnet-past Bell-oh, a Bludger's hit him head-on-hope it broke his nose."

"Ahem." Professor McGonagall gave a light warning cough.

"Oh, Professor, I was only joking. Slytherin scores-damn it!"

The commentator had to be a Gryffindor, Su Er realized. He soon found his roommates near the front of the Hufflepuff stands.

Justin held his binoculars in one hand, his face flushed with excitement.

A deafening cheer rose from the Slytherin stands, but no one except Su Er seemed to notice anything wrong with Harry-

His broom was spinning, carrying him into the sky like a rocket, far away from the game.

Su Er immediately reached over and snatched Justin's binoculars, raising them to his eyes and tilting them upward.

The match continued, but by now everyone had noticed Harry's predicament, and quite a few people were pointing at the sky.

"Let me look too! What happened?" Justin hurriedly leaned over. Su Er pushed his big face away in annoyance and handed the binoculars back.

"Something seems to be wrong with the Gryffindor Seeker's broom."

"Didn't that Slytherin captain ram Potter's broom just now...?"

The young wizards' discussions reached his ears. Everyone's attention was on Harry, who was dangling and swaying in the air with one hand gripping his broom, while Su Er stood and scanned his surroundings.

He saw Hermione quietly stand up. He also saw Voldemort-Quirinus Quirrell's lips moving and, of course, that prickly fellow reciting a countercurse.

Oh, poor Professor Quirrell was knocked headfirst into the stands in front of him by Hermione.

A flash of fire caught Su Er's eye. Professor Snape sprang up in alarm and beat at the flames on his clothes. He probably never imagined that the Bluebell Flames spell he had modified would be used on him.

Where's Hermione?

Su Er searched the crowd and spotted her bushy brown hair beside Neville and Hagrid.

When did Neville hide inside Hagrid's jacket?

The little commotion in the teachers' stands did not interrupt the match, and Harry swung himself back onto his broom.

This isn't good... Su Er frowned.

Now even Hermione will probably suspect Snape has bad intentions...

If the plot keeps going this way, Hermione will soon get involved in the trial Headmaster Dumbledore has set up...

How can I stop her?

As Su Er's thoughts whirled, cries of alarm rose from all four houses' stands. Harry was hurtling straight toward the grass like an arrow loosed from a fully drawn bow.

Harry braked, tumbled awkwardly onto the grass, then thrust out his arm and shouted that he had caught the Golden Snitch.

"Tweet..." Madam Hooch puffed out her cheeks and blew the final whistle.

Ignoring the Slytherin Quidditch Team captain's protests, she declared outright,

"The match is over! Gryffindor wins!"