The first morning after the first "Blind Box Grand Sale" ended.
Hogwarts woke from its noisy revelry, only to plunge into another, even crazier dream.
A "Points Gold Rush," mingling anxiety with fervor, swept through every corner of the castle like the most virulent flu.
The students finally realized, belatedly, that this new system concerned them far more closely than the Triwizard Tournament itself.
Points were no longer merely a matter for the three champions far beyond their reach.
They were directly tied to borrowing privileges in the Restricted Section, Detention-Free Cards, and even rare ingredients in Snape's Private Storeroom.
This was no longer a competition fought for honor, but a naked struggle for resources that touched every student's personal interests!
A week slipped quietly by amid the clamor, anxiety, futility, and anticipation.
Beside the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione Granger felt she had reached an informational dead end.
A week earlier, she had confidently defined the Second Task as a "Hogwarts comprehensive final examination."
But now, her "Analysis of Recurring Themes and Summary of Logical Traps in Douglas Holmes's Past Works," enough to put any seventh-year student to shame, and those twenty-odd faintly glowing clue scrolls seemed to mock her arrogance mercilessly.
There was too little information, and it contradicted itself.
"The song is the key, not the path itself."
"What you must recover is something you lost long ago."
These two B-Rank Clues were like parallel lines that could never intersect.
And the C-Rank Clues, such as "friends," "warmth," and "loss," seemed like information noise Professor Douglas had deliberately scattered, constantly interfering with her logical judgment.
Her final conclusion was: no valid inference could be drawn.
"Maybe we're just overthinking it?"
Ron fiddled with his Wizard's Chess set beside her, complaining out of sheer boredom.
"Maybe