Ruchel was also present.
In reality, seventh-grade students don't have much free time, but the Magic Mobile Phone is too amazing, and coupled with the new jobs it might create, it's hard for anyone not to flock to it.
Their original plan was to live a monotonous life working day after day at the Ministry of Magic. Now that there's a way for them to connect their hobbies with making a living, everyone wants to give it a try and be the first to try it.
"You've been watching for so long, do you even understand it?" Ruchel asked, looking at the students who had been peering at him for quite some time.
Standing next to him was Harry's roommate, Dean Thomas, a veteran of the Magic Mobile Phone Club. He was an excellent artist, and all the cheering pictures Harry saw in Quidditch were drawn by him.
"I don't quite understand it," Dean answered honestly, "But I can tell you're the best one."
"You have a good eye for people." Ruchel was overjoyed and smiled.
Once Ruchel spoke, Dean became less reserved. Whenever Ruchel paused, Dean would quickly lean in and sketch the general shape of the Magic Power Matrix in his notebook.
"Would you like to try one?" Ruchel took out one of his stone slabs. "I've looked at it; it's just a square-cut moonstone, nothing valuable. Director Lorne also said he's okay with the wear and tear—I almost forgot, do you know the Branding and Scoring Charm?"
Dean took the stone slab. "I don't quite know how. How do you pronounce the spell?"
" Flagrata," Ruchel read quickly, explaining, "If your wand vibrates slightly, it means you've successfully cast the spell. The tip of the wand will have intense magic, like using a hot chisel, but it's safe and won't hurt your skin."
Dean waved his wand and finally succeeded after several attempts, but his magic was intermittent, and the engraved lines were of varying depths.
Ruchel chuckled softly, "It's alright, you can practice."
Dean was somewhat annoyed, not because the spell had failed, but because the way he held the wand made him lose control of the lines, resulting in a crooked and uneven drawing.
Dean, who had never encountered setbacks in his drawing, looked at his hands and his wand.
What would happen if you held the wand like you would a pen?
Draco struggled to break free from the crowd. A seventh-year student had pulled out a textured stone slab in front of him, but suddenly a group of people surrounded him, making it impossible for him to breathe. Draco saw with his own eyes that even the usually aloof Slytherin senior was enthusiastically participating in the debate, completely disregarding how he, a third-year student surrounded in the middle, could breathe.
He felt a little short of breath, and even when he looked at Harry sitting in the chair, he felt like the other person was in mid-air.
" Scarhead, Scarhead," Draco reached out, " Scarheadfly..."
Harry, who had been about to help her up, stopped in his tracks. Draco always seemed to love giving himself nicknames. Last time, when Professor Flitwick demonstrated how to use the Hair-Thickening Charm, he nicknamed himself " Hairy Scarhead," and now he's given himself " Scarheadfly "... But Butterfly sounds much better than Hairy Scarhead.
Ron pushed open the door at that moment and exclaimed in surprise when he saw Draco sprawled on the floor and Harry standing in front of him, "Wow!"
"Did you beat him into submission, Harry?" Ron stepped forward. "He's even kneeling before you."
Upon hearing this, Draco immediately struggled to his feet, leaning on a nearby table for support. " Red-Haired Ghost, perhaps you should learn how to kneel, so your family can beg in Diagon Alley more easily. I'll definitely give you a few extra coins then."
Ron didn't take these words to heart. He twitched his lips and pulled Harry aside. "Has Draco's language system been acting up lately? He gives me a new nickname every time we meet."
"He's definitely gotten a lot better at swearing lately," Harry admitted, "And he never repeats himself, it's like he's swearing at a different person every day."
"..."
Harry himself thought it was very likely after he said it. Although he wasn't a die-hard fan of any particular character, he had heard about the thousands of comments and arguments that had arisen from the popularity poll.
Ron mysteriously unfolded a piece of paper and showed it to Harry. On it, written in flowing handwriting, was the following line: "Complete List of Order of Merlin Recipients of the Ministry of Magic," 1981, Pettigrew Peter.
"This is..." Harry looked at Ron in confusion.
" Fred and George helped me find her," Ron said proudly. "I was going to ask Hermione to investigate what happened back then, but I couldn't find her. She's been disappearing without a trace lately—"
"Hey!"
Hermione suddenly appeared and slapped Ron hard on the shoulder, startling him so much that he dropped the note he was holding.
"I just got here and I heard someone talking bad about me," Hermione said, sweat still beading on her forehead. She slammed a thick book on the table. "I've already gone to the library and brought back the book you mentioned."
"But how did you know?" Ron asked, rubbing his shoulder in confusion.
" Fred and George told me, of course, this morning."
Ron couldn't help but grimace. Those damned Fred and George had just told him, and they were being so secretive about it. He'd thought they were playing the role of good older brothers.
Moreover, Fred and George kept staring at his face when they told him, and they even chuckled mischievously several times after he left, clearly indicating that they were hiding something from him.
Harry pushed Draco back into the president's chair, then grabbed his books and ran back to the Gryffindor Common Room with Ron and Hermione, eager to know what had happened back then.
"1981... here!" Harry flipped open the book, quickly pinpointing the location, skipping the Ministry of Magic's exaggerated and lengthy introduction, and went straight to the text.
Ron leaned closer, his fluffy hair tickling Harry. Just as Harry was about to scratch it, Hermione started reading aloud from the side.
"In 1981, the Ministry of Magic achieved record highs in several areas... (skip this part)," Hermione slid her finger down, "Among them, Pettigrew Peter, recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, was awarded this honor for his courageous act of stopping Sirius, the Death Eaters Black crime in the street, and for proving his bravery by risking his life."
"After his sacrifice, the Ministry of Magic worked together to capture Sirius Death Eaters Black. As James Potter and Lily Potter's Secret Keeper, he leaked their whereabouts to You-Know-Who, leading to their deaths. He then used magic in the street to kill Peter Pettigrew and seven Muggle. His crimes were heinous, and he was imprisoned in Azkaban..."
Hermione's voice trailed off as she looked at Harry with concern, but he wasn't as agitated as she had expected.
Harry was deep in thought.
In the past few days, he had learned what the Secret Keeper meant. He thought that his parents would definitely not let someone they could not trust serve as the Secret Keeper, just like he chose Hermione and Ron. If they betrayed him, there must be some hidden reason.