Their eyes met.
After a moment, Wade continued walking and asked, "Did you see that just now?"
"Yep, yep." Griffiths nodded and said:
"I happened to see you with that house-elf while I was making my rounds... A good house-elf never lets a wizard notice their presence, and Hogwarts' house-elves have always been the best—many students graduate without ever seeing a single elf!"
Griffiths cheerfully commented, "Naive little fools, they think the castle has some kind of magical housework spell that cleans their dirty clothes and shoes for them!"
"Whether or not they're seen isn't a standard for judging them," Wade defended his little friend. "Happy is great, too."
"You're right." Griffiths nodded in agreement, seemingly sincere and without any rebuttal, which felt oddly out of character.
There were no paintings along the next stretch of corridor, forcing Griffiths to stop as he watched the young Ravenclaw wizard walk away.
"A Ravenclaw who's made friends with a house-elf?"
He muttered to himself, then suddenly chuckled, "Are they really just friends?"
…
Wade suddenly noticed that the professors were being much kinder to him. Even Professor Snape, who was notoriously strict, had uncharacteristically awarded him two points—usually, even when Wade's potion was nearly perfect, Snape would only give him a point about three out of ten times.
The look of shock on the faces of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students in the classroom at that moment was something Wade wished he could have captured with a camera.
Even the usually stern Professor McGonagall asked Wade to stay behind after class and handed him a reading list.
"Transfiguration is one of the most magical branches of magic," Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "If you thoroughly read and deeply understand these books, you'll be able to go much further on the path of Transfiguration."
"Thank you, Professor." Wade glanced at the reading list; most of the books were unfamiliar to him, but—
"The ones at the end seem to be in the Restricted Section of the library."
"That's correct. Once you've finished reading the earlier books, you can come find me—" Professor McGonagall looked at him with a hopeful gaze and said, "I'll sign your permission slip."
Professor Flitwick, of course, was no exception.
He promised Wade that he could borrow any book from his private collection at any time, and every time Wade went to ask him questions, the candy and treats on Professor Flitwick's desk seemed more abundant than usual.
Professor Sprout's smile also became warmer, and she lent Wade several Herbology books after class.
As a result, Wade's schedule became increasingly tight.
In the mornings, he would fly directly from the tower to the seventh floor of the main tower, and one of Zoe's trio would eagerly help him take his broom back to the dormitory.
In the Room of Requirement, he would conjure up fitness equipment or a swimming pool to work out, then turn it into a study to read and prepare for his classes before having breakfast.
During this time, there was always a house-elf nearby, keeping watch. If anyone passed by, they would alert Wade through the book of friends, so he wouldn't bump into anyone while entering or leaving the Room of Requirement.
After that, if there were classes, he would naturally go to the classroom; during free periods, Wade spent most of his time in the Room of Requirement.
When practicing magic, the Room of Requirement could provide relevant books and spell targets; when practicing Potions, it would produce cauldrons of various sizes, scales, fuel, measuring cups, and more, though Wade had to prepare the ingredients in advance.
For Alchemy research and working on the "gift" and "test" sent by Professor Murray, the room was equipped with alchemical devices even more comprehensive than those in Professor Murray's lab.
From after dinner until curfew, this was basically the fixed time for SSC activities. They would gather in the Umbrella Room, practice spells, finish any homework they hadn't completed during the day, discuss and solve problems together, or simply sit and chat.
In reality, with Wade's advanced learning progress, none of the SSC members could provide much valuable help to his studies. This could easily be considered a personal tutoring class run by Wade—free of charge.
However, not everything needs to be thought of from a utilitarian or self-serving perspective.
The time spent with these friends was also very precious to Wade.
Here, his mind and spirit could relax fully, and he could set aside some of the worries that weighed on his heart. Casual conversations and laughter helped alleviate the exhaustion from a day of intense study.
Moreover, seeing the noticeable progress of originally clumsy members like Neville under his guidance brought Wade a sense of joy and fulfillment that surpassed even the pleasure of learning a new spell himself—after all, the latter had become routine for Wade, while the former always brought surprise and delight.
Positive emotions are always contagious, and at the end of each Umbrella Room session, everyone left with smiles on their faces.
"If only we could suggest to the Headmaster to extend the curfew by an hour," Padma said joyfully as she packed up her books. "I never thought learning could be this much fun."
Even Neville nodded along. As long as he was in the Umbrella Room, even studying Potions no longer felt so painful to him.
He still made frequent mistakes, but his friends were always there to correct him, and no one ever scolded him.
"The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff is next week, right?" Michael asked, glancing at members of the two houses with a probing look.
"Yes," Hermione sighed worriedly. "I heard Professor Snape is going to be the referee."
"That's rough for you," Padma said sympathetically. "Professor Snape definitely won't be fair—everyone knows how much he despises Gryffindor, especially since your team has Harry Potter."
Snape's animosity toward Harry Potter was no secret at Hogwarts.
However, the few who had visited the Headmaster's office last time exchanged glances, sharing a similar understanding.
The next day at lunch, Hermione signaled the group, and they gathered at the Umbrella Room to discuss this matter.
"Professor Snape is likely there on the Headmaster's orders, to protect Harry Potter during the match, right?" Ryan said. "Although Professor Snape has a bad temper, Professor Dumbledore trusts him so much, and that must be because he is trustworthy."
Michael fiddled with his Quidditch player models, watching the little figurines get knocked over and stand up again repeatedly. He added with a smile, "Of course, deducting points and protecting—those two things can happen at the same time without any conflict."
Ryan sighed, "Out of all the professors at school, why did the Headmaster have to choose the one who dislikes Harry Potter the most?"
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