"Very textbook answer, Miss Granger."
McGonagall nodded approvingly.
"Five points for Gryffindor!"
Hermione beamed with satisfaction as she sat down, casting a proud glance at Luke beside her. It seemed like a personal victory for her.
Luke smiled nonchalantly. He knew he couldn't match Hermione's diligence in textbook memorization. Whenever they were bored in the Room of Requirement, she either teased him or buried herself in various subjects' books.
Except for Ancient Runes and the "Introduction to Constellation Divination," which Luke had acquired himself, Hermione clearly disliked these two subjects.
Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class ended swiftly, blending learning with play, making time fly.
For instance, Ron had learned from Luke and turned Harry's hair into bunny ears.
Harry blushed furiously, grabbing his wand and preparing to retaliate against Ron. However, his transformation spell clearly lacked precision.
Seeing Harry's frustration, Ron couldn't help but smirk. The sight reminded him of Harry's infamous "potion incident," which Harry hadn't repeated lately.
Across the room, Malfoy observed Harry playing with Ron, his thoughts wandering. Was it his imagination, or did Harry and Harry look eerily similar, especially those emerald green eyes?
No, it had to be a trick of the mind!
Malfoy shook his head, recalling the rumors Luke had shared about Harry changing schools.
"Ron, you—oh!"
Harry touched the bunny ears atop his head and shot Ron a glare, trying to stifle his own amusement.
But why had Ron suddenly become so adept with his spells?
Harry, being his good friend, couldn't help noticing that Ron's spellcasting had improved remarkably recently. It used to be on par with his own, if not worse, especially with transformation spells.
Now... Ron's skills had clearly advanced, even earning praise from Professor Flitwick.
"When did you get so good at Transfiguration, Ron?"
Looking at Harry's bunny ears, Hermione frowned and asked, "How did you manage this transformation spell?"
She had struggled to cast the spell on Luke herself, failing repeatedly until her boyfriend patiently taught her hands-on.
"Oh, I... I just paid attention in class!" Ron's smile faltered slightly, his guilty conscience evident.
"And maybe I have a knack for magic spells!" he added nervously.
Hermione gave him a skeptical look, sensing he was hiding something, a sentiment Harry also seemed to share.
"I must say, Senior Tom would make a better Defense Against the Dark Arts professor than Lockhart," Hermione remarked pointedly, using Ron's case as an example.
As they walked, Luke silently agreed with her assessment.
"By the way, Luke, do you know about Lockhart's rings?" Harry suddenly asked, his curiosity piqued. "The ones on his hand?"
"I sold him the ring, what's the matter?" Luke replied, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at Harry.
"I knew it!" Harry whispered angrily, glancing at the rune rings adorning Hermione's and Luke's fingers. "Lockhart keeps claiming his students made these rings, using them for publicity and support."
"That's shameless!" Hermione chimed in, visibly irritated. "Especially since Luke painstakingly carved these rings himself every night. Lockhart has no business claiming credit."
"Yeah..." Luke nodded knowingly, realizing Lockhart was clearly coveting recognition he didn't deserve.
"He must be worried about losing his position," Luke chuckled softly to himself. "But I've got bigger things to deal with right now, like that basilisk in the basement. Once that's taken care of, Lockhart won't have any excuses left."
Luke wondered if Lockhart had connections in the Ministry of Magic that protected him from repercussions.
Glancing at Hermione, still visibly upset, Luke pondered whether Lockhart's ambition could somehow benefit them.
Later that afternoon, after their herbal class, Luke joined Hermione for breakfast.
Seeing her order a cup of black tea, Luke discreetly set aside his chocolate milk.
"I won't be going to the Room of Requirement tonight," he said quietly.
After pondering for a moment, Luke turned to Hermione and said, "I have something to attend to tonight."
"Why?" Hermione tilted her head in confusion.
Luke gently stroked her rose-scented curls and whispered, "Just be careful not to get caught by Filch or Snape."
Hermione nodded understandingly, though she didn't inquire further about Luke's plans.
"Don't worry, Filch and Snape won't catch me," she assured him.
Filch had recently recovered from an illness, and immediately upon leaving his sickbed, he resumed his patrols with Mrs. Norris. Rumor had it that his first words upon waking were "basilisk," prompting Professor McGonagall to urgently summon Dumbledore back from his poker game in Nurmengard. Snape had also intensified his nighttime patrols as a result.
The Weasley twins had been caught by Snape during their last nocturnal escapade and were now serving a week of bathroom cleaning as punishment, with additional detentions in Lockhart's office after class. Consequently, they hadn't been seen around much lately.
Later that night, near a corner on the eighth floor:
"Goodbye, my dear Miss Granger," Luke patted her head affectionately before turning to leave.
However, just as he was about to depart, Hermione grabbed his tie with its black pattern.
"We haven't finished discussing this semester yet..."
Under Luke's questioning gaze, Hermione's face turned slightly red and her words faltered.
Rather than explaining further, she simply pulled him closer by the tie, taking Luke by surprise as she pressed him against the wall.
"Well—" Luke's eyes widened.
"You're having hot chocolate again tonight!" Hermione teased, biting her lip mischievously before darting off into Gryffindor's common room.
"Really..." Luke watched her disappearing figure, a slow smile spreading across his face. "She always catches me off guard."
Meanwhile, inside Slytherin's common room:
Luke closed his eyes briefly, finding Malfoy and Crabbe already asleep in their beds.
"Harley, my Harley!" Malfoy shouted as Luke prepared to leave, prompting him to pause and glance back.
Dreaming of Harley, tormented by Harry.
Luke shook his head, then activated the coordinates he had marked in the Forbidden Forest.
And so, the art of Legilimency began its preparation.
.....
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