Herman watched their retreating figures, then glanced at Snape's gaze still fixed on him Snape the professor's seat, and then at the direction George and Fred had disappeared through the doorway.
Suddenly I realized that not only are my plans for this afternoon probably going to be disrupted, but I also don't expect to have a peaceful evening.
Harry sat beside her, her tone clearly gloating. " Pure-blood families hate traitors the most. Using the pretext of eliminating traitors to purge dissidents—it's an old trick."
Draco quickly chimed in, "It's alright, I'll talk to them. You're my little brother, I'll protect you."
She raised her chin slightly as she spoke, trying to suppress the matter with the air of a boss.
Herman shook his head. "Thank you, but I guess I'll have to handle it myself and solve it once and for all, to avoid future trouble."
Harry added casually from the side, "Indeed, some of those people just now come from families that don't have a good relationship with the Malfoy family. Draco, your intervention won't make a difference, since the Malfoy have quite a few enemies too."
Herman could tell that she hadn't been idle these past few days, wandering around aimlessly; she had been doing some serious work, such as inquiring about her classmates' family backgrounds, but her purpose certainly wasn't just to build good relationships with people.
Herman didn't have time to delve into Harry's little secrets. After all, given how things were developing, even if Harry had killed someone in Slytherin, Snape would probably have claimed that the person had accidentally fallen to their death.
He glanced at Professor Malin's empty seat on the professors' table. It seemed that Professor Malin hadn't come out for dinner. He also realized that he hadn't had an appetite for the past few days, so he decided to go find Professor Malin as soon as possible.
Herman put down his cutlery, stood up, and said to the two of them, "I have something to do this afternoon, so I won't be going back to the lounge."
Since Marlene is most likely in the office, I might as well go there early and come back early. I still need to find time to deal with those clueless guys tonight, so I don't want to waste too much time.
Draco immediately asked worriedly, "You don't want to run into those guys? I can call Crabbe and Goyle. Although they're a bit dim-witted, they're pretty good at fighting. At least they can help you block a few spells."
Herman looked at her big, worried eyes, which were quite adorable, and gently ruffled her hair like he was comforting a child. "Don't worry, I don't care about them. I just have important business to attend to this afternoon and don't want to waste time."
Draco as if a pause button had been pressed when he patted her head. Her cheeks flushed red, and her lips moved but she couldn't utter a single word.
Harry, having watched the commotion for a while, stood up and prepared to walk towards the Great Hall door. "Indeed, they're just a bunch of kids. How could they be as scary as Cerberus?"
Draco finally snapped out of her daze, reached up and touched her ruffled hair, her face turning even redder.
By the time she looked up to confront Herman, Herman had already run several meters ahead of her.
Draco stamped her foot as she watched his retreating figure, but could only turn around and follow Harry.
Herman walked towards the eastern tower.
The castle's corridors were more complicated than he had imagined; after turning two corners on the third floor, he found himself back in front of the same tapestry.
George probably gave directions based on his own habits, thinking it would be a simple route, but for a student who had only been enrolled for a week, it was clear that he had omitted a lot of crucial information.
There are several towers to the east, and they all look pretty much the same. Who knows which one he's talking about?
Fortunately, most of the figures in the portraits had woken up by noon, and Herman stopped at each fork in the road to ask questions of the portraits next to him.
Fat Lady in a green robe pointed him in the right direction three times; a knight who was dozing was woken up and waved his hand impatiently; and finally, an old witch in a pointed hat pointed him in the right direction.
It was past one o'clock when Herman arrived in front of the bronze door.
He stopped at the door, straightened his collar, patted the wrinkles on his sleeves, and then raised his hand to knock on the door.
After knocking three times without response, Herman waited a while and was about to knock again when the door opened a crack by itself.
Professor Malin's voice came from inside, carrying a coldness completely different from when they last met. It sounded like a chill ran down one's spine, even sending a shiver down one's spine.
"Come in."
Herman then understood what George meant by "coldness." It seemed that Professor Malin was indeed not in a good mood today; perhaps she had a severe case of menstrual cramps. After all, a wizard's mood affects the environment.
He pushed open the door, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the bookshelves in the room.
The entire wall was covered with books, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, densely packed together, and the air was filled with the smell of paper and old books.
Moreover, the atmosphere here is different from Flourish and Blotts. The books here don't move or bite; it's more like a Muggle library—quiet and orderly.
On the other side of the room was a long workbench with various instruments and parts on it. Some of the parts floated in mid-air and rotated slowly under the influence of some unseen magic.
Several humanoid magical puppets stood in the corner, each in a different pose—some sitting, some standing—but none of them moved. It was unclear whether they were not ready or not yet activated.
Herman's gaze finally settled on the shadows in the corner of the room.
Professor Malin was sitting there, not wearing her usual dark blue robe, but a black one. Her face was as cold as her voice, bloodless, and devoid of any emotion.
The anemia is indeed quite severe. Should I ask someone to buy some red dates and brown sugar as a gift for the professor? After all, he's a rare, responsible professor.
Herman quickly stopped his wandering thoughts, looked away, and tried to make his tone sound as respectful as possible, "Good afternoon, Professor Malin. I hope I haven't disturbed you."
Marlene looked up at him, her gaze lingering on his face for a couple of seconds, before she spoke, " Herman Horace Horace... I think I've seen that last name in a book in the library."
Her tone was flat, neither like she was sharing information nor expressing curiosity, but more like she was casually mentioning it.
Herman immediately perked up upon hearing this. It was truly an unexpected stroke of luck. He hadn't even investigated what the riddle hat had said before, and now he had a clue.
He quickly replied, "Professor, do you know any clues about my family?"
Marlene leaned back in her chair, her gaze drifting into the distance. "I don't remember the specifics, but it must have mentioned a wizard named Horace in a magic notebook."
After saying that, she looked away, not intending to continue the topic. She casually pointed to the table and said, "This is your Introduction to Alchemy, suitable for your current stage."
Herman followed the direction of her finger and quickly spotted a book with a brown cover.
Herman quickly picked it up and flipped through it. The cover had no title, only a line of thin silver text pressed in the corner: Introduction to the Basics of Alchemy.
Before he could even turn a few more pages, Marlene continued, "If you have any other questions, ask them now." Her tone was quick and indifferent, as if this matter was best resolved once and for all.