Gringotts attacked, the plan begins

Neville and Seamus were supposed to be paired up, with Harry and Ron forming another pair.

But Neville had now been sorted into Hufflepuff, and Ron had seen how Snape targeted Harry.

Out of fear, he chose to partner with Seamus.

Harry paired up with their other roommate instead.

But Seamus's reputation as an explosive genius was no empty boast!

Between them, he and Ron had not read a single page of their Potions textbook, and they followed their instincts as they made a complete mess of things.

They blew their cauldron up on the spot!

Not only did they cover themselves in boils and howl in pain,

they also dragged plenty of people nearby into the disaster!

Even Snape, who had been planning to go and make trouble for Harry, was caught in the blast!

A large patch of red welts rose on his neck beneath his black robes!

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Finnigan, for your outstanding performance, ten points from Gryffindor!"

"Hurry up and take these two idiots to the Hospital Wing!"

Snape's voice carried an unprecedented chill.

Then he turned to Harry, who was closest to the pair.

"Mr. Potter, you were so close to them. Why didn't you stop their mistakes?"

Harry: ???

What does this have to do with me?

Who did I offend?

"Do you think your classmates' stupidity makes you stand out all the more as the brilliant Chosen One?"

"For your petty scheming, another five points from Gryffindor!"

Harry was utterly bewildered.

He wanted to argue, but seeing Ron and Seamus howling in agony, he gritted his teeth and chose to take them to the Hospital Wing first.

Their first Potions Class came to a dramatic end under Ron and Seamus's destructive efforts.

Gryffindor had lost several dozen points on the very first day because of the main cast.

Looking at Harry's dejected face, Argus let out a long sigh.

Blame your dad for making you a boy.

If you were a girl, Snape could probably solo Voldemort.

Argus could imagine what would happen if Harry became Harriet, even using the head between his legs.

Snape: Miss Potter, what would happen if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?

Harriet: I don't know.

Snape: Oh, five points to Gryffindor for your honesty!

They made their way to the Great Hall.

Hogwarts's timetable was similar to that of the university Argus had attended in his previous life.

It mainly consisted of long classes, usually lasting an hour and a half to two hours.

By the time two classes had ended, it was already noon.

Since Argus had come from the very bottom of Hogwarts Castle, quite a few people were already seated at the four House tables when he reached the Great Hall.

Seeing him approach, Hermione waved cheerfully.

"Argus!"

"Clever Miss Granger, I heard from a friend that you earned Ravenclaw House quite a few points in Charms today."

Since he had already shown everyone at Hogwarts the results of last night's battle that morning, Argus did not need to sit in the chief's seat all the time to remind them.

He went straight to the Ravenclaw table and sat beside Hermione.

Quite a few young Ravenclaw girls instinctively straightened their clothes when they saw Argus arrive.

They subtly shifted their seats closer to him.

A trace of smugness flashed through Hermione's eyes, but then she remembered something and looked annoyed.

"But in our first Potions Class, Professor Snape didn't just refuse to give me points."

"He even told me off!"

"He said I... said I..."

"Miss Granger, do you think you're much cleverer than everyone else? Are you holding your hand so high to show how different you are?"

Argus imitated Snape's usual measured cadence, earning a flurry of little punches from Hermione.

The two chatted as they ate.

Just then, birds called overhead.

A large flock of owls flew in carrying all sorts of letters and gifts.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Two rolled-up newspapers dropped in front of Argus, drawing Hermione's attention.

"Argus, you read these too?"

"I thought you..."

"Thought I spent every day doing nothing but memorizing textbooks?"

Hermione blushed slightly when Argus put her thoughts into words.

Ever since learning that Argus had memorized the material in the third-year textbooks, Hermione had felt a sense of crisis.

Apart from meals and classes, she spent her time reading with a textbook in her arms, even before bed.

Argus swallowed his last mouthful of food, and a news item caught his attention.

"Gringotts attacked! Dark wizard suspected!"

"Gringotts goblins repeatedly insist nothing was stolen!"

Voldemort has finally made his move!

A sharp gleam flashed in Argus's eyes.

He had waited far too long for this moment.

Unlike Dumbledore, who sought to stop him, and the fearful British Ministry of Magic, he wanted Voldemort to return as soon as possible.

He would use the terror Voldemort inspired to draw fire away from the Acolytes' expansion and buy them time!

After all, compared with a living Dark Lord still in his prime, an underage wizard and a collection of the old, weak, sick, and disabled were hardly worth mentioning.

Only once Voldemort was alive would Dumbledore and the various countries' Ministries of Magic stop keeping their eyes on Argus.

However, Argus had no intention of letting his resurrection go as smoothly as it had in the original story.

He can return, but it must be under my control!

Besides that, Gringotts's actions were also an extremely important part of his plan.

One of Voldemort's Horcruxes-Hufflepuff's Cup-was hidden in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts.

Neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore could possibly give it up.

Once they learned of this, they would certainly choose to act against Gringotts.

Perhaps one attack would not shake wizards' confidence in Gringotts, but what about a second?

A third? A fourth?

If attacks happened again and again, with Gringotts powerless to fight back,

what wizard would still feel safe depositing money there?

Even if Gringotts repeatedly insisted nothing had been stolen, who would believe it?

Argus had coveted the mountain of gold that was the wizarding world's bank for years.

Now was the perfect opportunity!

It was not that Argus had never considered getting Hufflepuff's Cup ahead of time, but Gringotts had stood in the wizarding world for years. It was not somewhere he could easily break into.

Besides, the Lestrange vault was enchanted. Not only was it difficult to enter, but finding a single cup amid all those heaps of gold was something only Harry, a fellow Horcrux, or Voldemort himself could manage.

Rather than spend so much time and effort, he might as well choose other Horcruxes.

Meanwhile, Harry also saw the report in Ron's newspaper.

But his attention was focused more on the vault that had been attacked.

Without their strategist, the pair made wild guesses like headless flies, never managing to hit the mark.

In the blink of an eye, afternoon had arrived.

Like a wild dog let off its leash, Draco ran outside with Goyle and Crabbe without even waiting for Argus.

"Has he been drinking too much dodgy liquor?"

"The first class this afternoon is Flying Class. Draco's been looking forward to it for ages."

Pansy shook her head helplessly.

Like Argus, she was among the few people who had no interest in Quidditch.

Naturally, she took considerably less pleasure in flying.

"No wonder."

Argus shook his head helplessly and followed the other Slytherins to the Flying Class grounds.