After the Potions class ended, the Gryffindor lion cubs scattered away from the classroom as if fleeing.
"I can't believe Dumbledore would choose someone like him as a professor. Just look at his face, Harry, I have no doubt that if it were just the two of you in that classroom, he might even harm you."
In the corridor, Ron, as always, acted as the strategist, analyzing Snape with unwavering certainty.
"Forget it, Ron!" Harry waved his hand, feeling somewhat weary.
After an hour of bombardment, all he wanted now was to find a place to relax and think about where exactly he had offended Snape.
"It's very rude to gossip about a professor behind his back," Hermione's voice came from behind them.
"Sorry, excuse us!" Ron stepped aside, allowing Miss Granger to pass by.
Before Hermione had gone far, Ron muttered discontentedly, "Look at her, so high and mighty. Even Neville can see that old bat is targeting you and Gryffindor, yet she still calls him Professor Snape!"
"Ron! Let's go, let's find Hagrid, he's in the small hut outside the castle."
Harry just wanted to get away from here now, to a place where he could relax.
"Well, alright! We don't have classes this afternoon anyway," Ron shrugged, accepting Harry's suggestion.
...
Meanwhile.
After the Potions class, Ino also headed back to the dormitory.
To be honest, he was starting to think Malfoy wasn't such a bad roommate after all.
Not only did he provide a wake-up call every morning, he even came by specifically during lunchtime to wake him up.
Most importantly, Malfoy had a truly wild temperament! He rarely stayed in the room all day, often leaving early in the morning and not returning until curfew.
This not only allowed him to enjoy the privilege of a single dormitory room but also the freedom to practice magic without inhibition.
Despite the castle's size, finding a quiet place to practice magic was incredibly difficult.
If you chose the corridors, you had to beware of the elusive Filch. If in abandoned classrooms, you had to be cautious of other energetic young wizards.
In short, finding an undisturbed place at Hogwarts was indeed very challenging.
Perhaps the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, as rumored, was the only safe and secretive place.
...
"Only fools go to the Room of Requirement..."
Ino looked at his empty dormitory and couldn't help but sigh.
At the same time, he sincerely thanked Malfoy and Harry...
Actually, he didn't not want to go to the Room of Requirement, but objective conditions didn't allow it. Although the frenzy of sorting hat's headship seemed to have passed, now was actually the most critical time.
Dumbledore, the two-faced Chiron, none of them were simple characters.
And today, Snape's unusual questioning, now that he thought about it carefully, was probably not so simple.
"They're all playing behind the scenes... You'd better not provoke me."
Thinking about the future situation, Ino couldn't help but reach into the secret pocket inside his lining, where he kept his most precious possessions accumulated over the past two years.
You should know that even Old John's bag of gold coins was only placed in an unmarked extension box.
...
"Fragmentation!"
Back in the dormitory, after a short rest, Ino began his daily practice of spells.
As the incantation fell, a beam of white light shot from his wand, directly hitting a tea cup several meters away.
At the moment of magical contact, the tea cup shattered with a 'bang'.
"Reparo!"
The myriad porcelain fragments instantly froze in mid-air, then, as if pulled by an invisible force, reassembled into a new tea cup on the table.
Softening charm, cutting charm, repair charm, fire-making charm, even the freezing charm learned today, and the expansion charm...
For the next period of time, Ino relentlessly attacked and repaired the tea cup...
In just half an hour, a plain ceramic tea cup endured a rainbow of colors and various magical abuses.
...
Actually, before the start of the school year, during that period of mad training in the fantasy world, Ino had developed a subconscious habit of casting spells.
It was somewhat like the reflex of a 19th-century Western cowboy who, upon touching his gun, instinctively pulled the trigger.
And some experienced old cowboys could even shoot without aiming, hitting their target precisely as they thought.
To some extent, this kind of marksmanship had transcended the physical realm, becoming somewhat metaphysical.
Yet... it was indeed real.
In history, the famous American sharpshooter Bill, during a battle in 1864, single-handedly achieved a feat of 1 vs. 100 with two revolvers, annihilating the enemy without a scratch.
And now, Ino was mimicking cowboys, imitating those cowboys' reflexes during duels, the so-called eyes-to, hand-to, spell-to.
He was well aware that magic was not a turn-based game, and opponents wouldn't stand idly by and exchange fire with you.
In such cases, the accuracy of spells became crucial; even the deadliest curse like Avada Kedavra was useless if it couldn't hit the target.
Of course, this was only for single-target spells.
If he were to face a conflagration akin to the Great Fire of Paris that could engulf an entire city, all notions of accuracy and evasion would be futile.
...
Meanwhile.
On the lawn outside the castle.
"Hagrid, we've come to see you!"
Harry approached and knocked on the door of the stone house. Soon, he and Ron heard barking and heavy footsteps coming from inside.
The door opened shortly after, revealing Hagrid's immense figure before them.
"Harry, you're here, come on in! I've just baked some fresh rock cakes this morning. You can take some as snacks when you leave later; they're a rare delicacy..."
Hagrid warmly greeted Harry, while also soothingly patting the restless Fang with his massive hands.
It was Harry's first visit to Hagrid's abode. Upon entering the cabin, he couldn't help but glance around.
The entire hut consisted of a single room, making the overall layout appear somewhat cluttered. Even the windowsills were adorned with numerous dried meats and hams.
In the center of the room stood a large fireplace, with a kettle of boiling tea atop it, while a patched-up bed lay against the walls on either side.
"Come, have a seat anywhere, no need to be formal with me!"
Hagrid placed a plate of rock cakes on the table and promptly took a seat himself.
The wooden chair creaked under his weight, causing Harry to jump slightly, fearing the chair might not withstand Hagrid's enormous frame.
As Hagrid settled in, he belatedly noticed Ron's presence and began muttering quietly to himself.
"Another redhead, hope he behaves better this time..."
However, Hagrid's self-perceived whisper was heard loud and clear by Ron.
Ron immediately turned red-faced, but before he could stand up, Harry firmly held him back.
"Hagrid! Ron is also my friend," Harry said.
Perhaps sensing Harry's displeasure in his tone, Hagrid scratched his head and explained to Ron:
"Alright, I apologize! It's just that your twin brothers are always so mischievous..."
---