After saying goodbye to the two, Herman turned and went back to his dormitory, where he took out a blank sheet of paper from his desk drawer. He sat down at the desk, gripped his quill pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write a letter.
The letter was addressed to Kramer, the little Goblin from Knockturn Alley. Judging from the fact that he was selling his family's alchemy skills, Kramer must have lost a lot of money and would try every means to get materials for himself.
Moreover, he accepted pounds sterling. The letter was short, listing the necessary documents and adding, "The price is negotiable, and payment in pounds sterling is acceptable."
After signing his name, he dried the letter, folded it neatly, picked it up from the table, and walked towards the top of the castle.
Herman didn't go to the Owlery. According to the rules, all the students' owls should be kept there, but Herman felt that since he wasn't raising an owl, there was no need to follow the rule, so he simply let Xiao Hei roam free.
Herman found a high, open window, stood beside the window frame, took out the whistle used to summon ravens, and blew it.
The sound wasn't loud, but Herman knew the whistle had magic; it could be heard by Xiao Hei no matter how far away it was.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, a black shadow flew over from a distance and landed on the windowsill. Xiao Hei tilted its head and looked at him, its claws hooking onto the edge of the window frame, waiting for him to deliver the letter.
Herman tied the letter to Xiao Hei's leg and patted its wings. "Deliver it as soon as possible. If you get this done, you'll get a bonus. I just got a secret recipe from Hagrid."
As if it understood, Xiao Hei let out a low cry, shook its wings, then pushed off from the windowsill, spread its wings, and soared into the sky.
Herman stood by the window for a while and watched the black shadow shrink smaller and smaller until it became a tiny dot with indistinct outlines that melted into the afternoon sky.
He looked away and turned to walk back down the corridor. The pain in his shoulder was still there, but at least he had started something, which was better than waiting around. Even if he ended up having to have his leg amputated, he wouldn't regret it.
Pshaw, I definitely won't have my leg amputated.
The time spent waiting for Xiao Hei to deliver the message passed more slowly than Herman had anticipated.
With no classes on Saturday and Sunday, Hogwarts Castle was much livelier than usual, with students scattered throughout the corridors and even the portraits seemingly chatting away.
To escape the turbulent hormones of adolescence, Herman spent the entire Sunday holed up in his dorm room, flipping through the introductory Introduction to Alchemy Marlene had given him for a while, then turning over a few pages of old newspapers, only to find that he couldn't read a single word.
The dull pain in his shoulder persisted, not intense but continuous, like a blunt needle stuck in a crevice of his bone, reminding him with every movement that it was still there.
He closed the book and put it on the bedside table, then picked up the Introduction to Alchemy, flipped through it, and put it down again. Finally, finding nothing else to do, he could only lean back in his chair and stare blankly at the ceiling.
He began to miss the internet age, and even felt that having a television to watch, even if it was just showing the weather forecast, would be more interesting than staring at the patterns on the stone wall and counting sheep.
Around noon, Herman was finally dragged out of his dormitory by hunger.
As he walked down the stairs and pushed open the Great Hall doors, the noise inside was louder than he had expected.
A small circle of people had gathered around the Gryffindor table. George and Fred stood on either side of Neville. George held a wine glass in his hand, while Fred stood on a chair and was talking to someone next to him in a loud voice that could be heard throughout the Great Hall.
Herman sat down in his usual spot at the Slytherin table; Draco and Harry were already there.
He had just picked up a piece of bread when George's voice boomed through half the Great Hall: " The Son of the Champion Gryffindor Quidditch Team! The youngest Beater in history! Slytherin is definitely not going to win the House Cup this year!"
Several people nearby joined in the jeering. Neville, sitting between George and Fred, had a slight blush on his face and couldn't suppress a smile, but he tried to appear calm, as if he didn't quite know how to respond to this commotion.
Ron sat next to him, his hands resting on the edge of the table, looking up at Neville with bright, sparkling eyes and a face full of pride that said, "I know him."
Fred jumped off his chair and patted Neville on the shoulder. " Gryffindor is going to win the Quidditch Cup this year."
George added from the side, " Slytherin can't even catch a broomstick tail."
Draco stopped eating with her fork.
She turned her head to look at Herman, her eyes at least three degrees colder than before. "What's that red-haired Weasley so happy about?"
Herman took a bite of his bread. " Neville made it into the Quidditch team, the youngest Beater."
Draco put down her fork. "What's so great about being the youngest Beater? Slytherin has its youngest player too."
Herman glanced at her. "You want to join too?"
Draco shook her head matter-of-factly. "Of course not, why would I participate in such a barbaric sport? Bumping around like that, getting covered in mud, it's not elegant at all."
Herman pressed further, "So what do you plan to do?"
Draco thought for a moment, then her gaze fell on him. "You join us and defeat the Son of the Champion."
Herman nearly dropped the bread in his hand. "I'm not going. I'm not interested in Quidditch."
Draco leaned forward slightly. "It's all about participation. If you don't go, then it'll just be Crabbe and Goyle. There's no point in them participating; those big guys will just break their flying brooms."
Herman couldn't help but ask, "Are you really planning to let Crabbe and Goyle participate? Will the school agree?"
Draco waved her hand. "No need for the school, the headmaster's approval is enough. My father and Head of House Snape are on very good terms."
Herman sighed, "Even if we're happy, we can't do it like this. Won't they become sitting ducks if they go on the field?"
Draco confidently stated, "No problem, I can have my father donate a batch of flying brooms, top-of-the-line ones. Those crappy brooms from Gryffindor can't even keep up."
Herman nodded. "That's a good idea. They take the money, put two substitutes on the bench, and make the sponsorship money quite easily."
Draco's eyes lit up. "So you agree?"
Herman put the bread down. "Of course, no."
Draco pouted, looking like she was about to lose her temper.
Herman quickly added, "I'm not going, but we still have Harry. Harry can totally be a Seeker."
Draco looked at Harry with a puzzled expression, Harry also looked up at Herman, wondering what he was up to.
Herman's mind raced, and he pulled out the plot from the original story to tide him over. "I found a place a couple of days ago while I was wandering around the school. Follow me."
He stood up and led the way out of the Great Hall. Draco and Harry exchanged a glance and followed.
Herman led them through the corridor, up two flights of stairs, into a less crowded long corridor, and finally stopped in front of a half-open wooden door.