Thud! The stack of books, half as tall as a person, struck the tabletop with a dull sound.
Madam Pince's stern gaze moved between the books and Zhang Xiao's face as she slowly asked:
"Are you sure you want to borrow all of these?"
Zhang Xiao nodded sheepishly. This was after he had already gone through them and weeded out the books that merely introduced the Patronus Charm.
"All right!" Madam Pince muttered, pulling over a card to begin recording them. Of course she had heard of this student with such a formidable reputation.
If Dumbledore hadn't given her special instructions, Madam Pince felt she would never have let Zhang borrow so many books at once.
The young witches and wizards were laughing and playing in the castle. Through the window, dark figures could be seen flying over the Quidditch Pitch.
Gryffindor was probably practicing.
A few days earlier, Harry had mentioned that Wood had recently developed several new tactics to use against Slytherin.
But when he noticed Malfoy was there too, he immediately shut his mouth.
Feeling insulted, Malfoy had finally mocked Gryffindor's defeat in language uniquely characteristic of the Malfoy family.
Yes, Gryffindor, undefeated since Harry joined the team, had finally lost a match.
They had lost to Slytherin, no less-one of the reasons Wood had "gone completely mad" and increased their training load yet again.
Professor Snape had temporarily taken over Dark Magic Defense Class. The Potions Professor, who had finally gotten his wish, found all sorts of ways to target Gryffindor students during lessons.
Well... mostly Harry.
Still, Zhang Xiao felt that their current Dark Magic Defense Class was finally teaching them something useful.
Perhaps Lockhart, while controlled by Voldemort, had counted too.
Snape had taught the young witches and wizards some very useful little spells,