"Luke Geralt, a pleasure to meet you!"
Cedric had left quite an impression on Luke, especially as he observed Cedric's impressive Quidditch skills. Whether it was defense or offense, Cedric exhibited excellent tactics. However, what surprised Luke was that such a technically skilled player was a Seeker.
"In a Quidditch match, in case of emergencies, positions can be switched."
"So, in theory, every player could become a Seeker," Cedric explained, delving into Quidditch lore for Luke.
What caught Luke off guard was the revelation that there were a total of 700 rule violations in Quidditch matches. That seemed like an excessive number.
The two of them spent the morning engaging in a friendly conversation about Quidditch, with one explaining while the other listened attentively.
"Hope to meet you on the field!" Cedric remarked, watching Luke's departing figure with admiration.
Luke's remarkable skills had left an impression on him. Cedric had initially assumed Luke was a seasoned Quidditch player, only to discover that this was his first experience with the sport.
The afternoon brought Snape's Potions class, with both the young snake and the lion attending together. Luke ignited the cauldron in front of him, carefully following Hermione's notes as he added a handful of ingredients into the pot.
"Very good, five points each for Slytherin and Gryffindor," Professor Snape commented as he passed by. The potion the two had concocted was the best in the entire classroom, whether in terms of color or taste.
But Luke wasn't about to get too complacent. After storing the completed refreshing potion, he began preparing another pot of chaotic condiment.
"Harry Potter, there's no need for toadskin in the booster! Have you not been taking notes?"
"Five points deducted from Gryffindor!"
Harry Potter lost the five points he had just earned, and Hermione turned to look at Ronald, who was sitting next to Harry.
"Ronald Weasley, you're no different. Transcribe ten copies of your notes and send them to my office after class."
"And another five points from Gryffindor!"
Hermione sat frozen in her seat. It was during Snape's Potions class that she often wondered why she had ended up in Gryffindor.
"Why am I in Gryffindor?" she pondered.
Luke, having added aconite to the potion, complimented Hermione.
Without her five points, Gryffindor would have suffered a ten-point deduction today.
"Considering our current scores, Gryffindor doesn't stand a chance for the House Cup," Hermione sighed. "One scholar can't save Gryffindor. I can only do my best."
After the Potions class, both Harry and Ronald seemed downcast. Whenever Snape's class concluded, they both wore the same expression. After all, Ronald couldn't leave Harry to face it alone, could he?
So, when Snape doled out reprimands, Ronald invariably shared in the consequences.
In true Gryffindor spirit, they shared both the blessings and the hardships.
"Didn't I give the two of you the note, why didn't I remember it!" Hermione couldn't help but complain, squinting her eyes.
"Notes!" Ronald looked at her in disbelief and said, "That thick notebook is like a dictionary, and you wanted us to memorize it!?"
Harry, standing beside him, nodded in agreement.
"Such a thick notebook, I really can't read it in one night, let alone memorize it!"
Thinking of the dense and detailed knowledge in the notebook, the two couldn't help but get a headache.
"Snape loves to give us detention. It's a big deal if we skip class!"
Ronald surrendered.
Deducting ten points was nothing compared to facing Snape again. It brought back the shadow of his childhood.
"How could the two of you skip class? If Professor McGonagall finds out—"
Hermione couldn't help but frown her pretty eyebrows when she heard this.
"Harry, let's go!" Saying that, Ronald grabbed Harry's hand, who was still hesitant, and ran towards the playground.
"You!"
Hermione stomped her foot in anger, but it did little to calm her down.
"It seems that your personality doesn't quite fit with Gryffindor," Luke pointed out Hermione's character flaw right away.
A scholarly and uptight personality was not well-suited for the adventurous Gryffindor environment.
"I hope you'll look after them!"
Hermione buried half of her face in her wide scarf, leaving only a pair of smart brown eyes staring at him with annoyance. Even her voice came out muffled.
"I'm not Lu—"
He stopped himself just in time.
Luke quickly closed his mouth and reached out to touch Hermione's curly brown hair.
"What were you going to say?"
Unfortunately, Hermione had heard every word.
"It's nothing. I was about to say it's time for dinner."
Luke covered up.
"It always feels like something's off with you!" Hermione glanced at him suspiciously, then noticed that the hand on top of her head had turned slightly red.
"Don't mess up my hair!"
With that, Hermione's naturally curly hair looked a bit disheveled.
When Luke returned to the dormitory later, he noticed that the frog cubs, which had been sleeping on the bed, had disappeared. In their place were two photos.
"Off on another adventure?"
Luke picked up the photos and examined them. The first photo showed a dense jungle, while the second featured a frog cub wearing a lotus leaf hat standing on a lotus leaf in a lake.
"What is this place?"
Unfortunately, there were too few clues in these two photos for him to analyze. He decided to let it go for now.
Luke was still contemplating whether he should visit the library tonight or not.
.....
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