Ten Thousand Snakes

Dumbledore can be indifferent, but Bell can't!

Bell was somewhat unhappy with the current situation.

After all, Hermione is one of his only two friends...

Bell suddenly realized a blind spot. It seemed that if Penelope encountered the Basilisk, she'd probably be doomed too? Did that mean his only two friends were both in danger?!

Bell was even more annoyed!

Although they won't die, who knows if the two of them will be left with any psychological trauma if they are petrified by the Basilisk?

Aren't teenagers the most sensitive and vulnerable time for their hearts? A misstep could potentially ruin their lives!

This is why Bell has never really wanted to deal with Dumbledore.

Dumbledore wanted to train Harry to fight Voldemort, Bell had no objections. More importantly, it wasn't his place to have any opinions.

Besides, nobody wants a madman wandering around them all day, right?

If that madman also possesses immense power, it would be an even greater disaster. His destructive power would rival that of a spoiled child!

So if Dumbledore and Harry were willing to take on that responsibility, Bell would wholeheartedly agree.

But!

As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore has the responsibility and obligation to be responsible for all the Little Wizard studying at Hogwarts!

However, the reality is that Dumbledore doesn't care about anyone except Harry and Voldemort!

Perhaps we should add Grindelwald as well?

Adhering to the principle of "as long as you don't die from being reckless, you might as well be reckless to the death," Dumbledore ignored everything that happened at Hogwarts.

The problem is, with Dumbledore around, it's really hard for Little Wizard to die!

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Dumbledore's bottom line was that he had no bottom line!

No matter how unhappy he was, Bell had no intention of disrupting Dumbledore's plans.

There's nothing we can do; respecting the elderly and caring for the young are traditional virtues, so Bell is very considerate of the elderly.

(Actually, it's mainly because we can't beat them.)

Therefore, Bell had no choice but to ensure the safety of his friends from another angle.

"Hermione, put your right hand out."

Bell extended his right hand and beckoned to Hermione.

Although she didn't know what Bell wanted to do, Hermione extended her right hand as instructed, out of trust for her friend.

Under Hermione's gaze, Bell took her right hand. Hermione shyly tried to pull her hand away, but Bell held it firmly and she couldn't pull it off.

Before Hermione could even ask, her face visibly turned from red to deathly pale. She had seen a snake crawl out of Bell's sleeve and slowly creep onto her hand!

Feeling the cold snake's body slither across her hand, almost reaching her forearm, Hermione felt her legs go weak. If she weren't sitting, she probably would have collapsed to the ground.

Hermione wondered if she was dreaming.

"Yes! I must be dreaming! Otherwise, how could Bell do something so outrageous without using Wand? It must be!"

The snake crawled to Hermione's wrist, forming a bracelet around her wrist, and then... it stopped moving!

"..."

"No! Help! Bell! Get this snake away!!!"

ヽ(*.>Д<)o゜

Seeing that the snake was planning to make its home here, Hermione could no longer deceive herself. The tears she had just stopped were about to overflow again.

Hermione began to reflect on her actions. Had she been too hasty in befriending Bell? Should she have been more careful when making friends? Should she avoid talking too much with shady characters? Should she maintain a distance of at least 10 meters from Bell in the future?

After all, what decent person would keep a snake in their sleeve?

"Calm down, Hermione, calm down."

"How can I calm down?! Just get rid of this snake right now and I'll calm down!"

Just now, Hermione made a difficult decision: 'Once Bell removes the snake from her wrist, she'll kill herself and Bell!'

As a Gryffindor lioness with a strong sense of justice, Hermione felt she could no longer let Bell continue to live! Bell was already keeping snakes in his sleeves; who knew if he'd end up keeping dragons in Big Ben someday!

'...'

" (°ー°)

Oh no! Hermione suddenly realized that, given Bell's personality, what if he really did something like that?

So!

To prevent the world from being destroyed!

For love and peace!

Hermione felt it was absolutely necessary to eliminate Bell in the name of the moon.

And it has to be done as early as possible!

"Hermione, listen to me. This isn't a real snake; it's Magic Puppet I created— the Ten Thousand Snakes. If you don't believe me, touch it."

With that, Bell grabbed Hermione's left hand and placed it on the Ten Thousand Snakes.

"How does it feel to you?"

Hermione carefully felt the texture of her fingertips. It was cool, hard, and had a springy, supple feel when pressed lightly.

"..."

"Help! This really is a snake! Bell! Quick, get it away from me—!"

Tears streamed down Hermione's face; she felt like she was about to break down!

Damn it, Bell! This isn't over yet!

In truth, Hermione couldn't distinguish between a real snake and a puppet snake. The Little Witch had only ever seen snakes on television; she'd never encountered one in real life. Her understanding of snakes was limited to the idea that they were 'cold-blooded animals.'

Therefore, upon touching the Ten Thousand Snakes's cold, hard scales, Hermione instinctively felt fear and was unable to think calmly.

Otherwise, anyone with a little thought would know that there's no way Bell would put a real snake on her body...

Probably not.

"..."

Seeing Hermione with tears streaming down her face, Bell was at a loss for words. Why did he design the Ten Thousand Snakes to be so realistic in the first place?

"Sigh!"

Left with no other option, Bell decided to stop overthinking and just go for the simple and direct approach.

With a slight beckoning of his right hand, Bell caused the Ten Thousand Snakes on Hermione's wrist to dart into his palm.

"Look here, Hermione."

He gently stroked the body of the Ten Thousand Snakes with his left hand, and the Ten Thousand Snakes broke into several pieces.

"See, I told you it wasn't a real snake."

Bell held his right hand up to Hermione's eyes so the Little Witch could see the internal structure of the Ten Thousand Snakes more clearly.

As Magic Puppet meticulously crafted by Bell, Ten Thousand Snakes could not be dismantled so easily. Even as the creator of Ten Thousand Snakes, Bell would have to concentrate all his attention and manipulate his magic with exquisite precision to open the mechanisms inside Ten Thousand Snakes 'Ten Thousand Snakes body in order to dismantle it.

In other words, what Hermione is seeing now is merely an illusion created by Bell.