Their eyes met.
A moment later, Wade stepped forward again, asking, "You saw that just now?"
"Mm-hmm." Griffiths nodded and said, "I was visiting around and happened to see you and that House-elf... The sign of a good House-elf is that they're never discovered by Wizards, and the House-elves at Hogwarts have always been the best—many students graduate without ever seeing one!"
Griffiths chuckled, commenting, "Naive little fools, they think the castle has some magical housework spells that clean their dirty clothes and shoes for them!"
"Whether someone sees them isn't a criterion for judging good or bad," Wade defended his little friend. "Hobby is very good too."
"You're right." Griffiths nodded, seemingly in full agreement, and the fact that it didn't argue at all made it seem a bit strange.
There were no portraits in the next stretch of corridor, so Griffiths had to stop, watching the young Ravenclaw Wizard walk away.
"—A Ravenclaw who made friends with a House-elf?"
It muttered to itself, then suddenly chuckled, "Just friends, really?"
...
Wade suddenly noticed that the professors' attitudes towards him had become much milder. Even Professor Snape, against all odds, gave him two extra points—before, in Potions Class, even when Wade's potions were consistently near perfect, Professor Snape would at most give him one extra point three times out of ten.
Wade truly wished he could have taken a picture of the astonished expressions on the faces of all the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs in the classroom then.
Professor McGonagall, usually so strict, also asked Wade to stay behind after class and gave him a booklist.
"Transfiguration is the most wondrous magic," Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "If you can seriously read and deeply understand these books, then you will surely go further on the path of Transfiguration."
"Thank you, Professor." Wade looked at the booklist; he hadn't delved into most of them, but—
"The last few books seem to be in the Restricted Section of the library."
"That's right. Once you've finished the earlier books, you can come to me—" Professor McGonagall looked at him with hopeful eyes and said, "I'll sign your pass."
Professor Flitwick, of course, was even more generous. He promised Wade could borrow any book from his private collection anytime, and whenever Wade came to ask questions, the candies and desserts on Professor Flitwick's table would be 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 even tighter.
In the mornings, he would fly directly from the tower to the eighth floor of the main tower on his broom, and one of the three, Zoe, would rush to help him return his broom to the dormitory.
He would conjure fitness equipment or a swimming pool in the Room of Requirement to exercise, then transform it into a study to read and prepare for lessons, before eating breakfast. During this time, there was always a House-elf nearby. If anyone passed by, they would alert him through the Book of Friends, so he wouldn't run into anyone when entering or exiting the Room of Requirement.
Afterward, if he had class, he would naturally go to the classroom. When he didn't have class, Wade would spend most of his time in the Room of Requirement.
He needed to practice magic; the Room of Requirement could provide relevant books and spell targets. To practice Potions, it would have cauldrons of various sizes, scales, fuel, measuring cups, and so on, though he still had to prepare the ingredients himself in advance. To study Alchemy and the "gifts" and "tests" Professor Murray gave him, the various alchemical devices were even more complete than those Professor Murray had.
From after dinner until Curfew, this was roughly the SSC's fixed activity time. They would gather in the Umbrella Room, practice spells, finish homework they hadn't completed during the day, discuss problems and solve them together, or simply sit and chat.
In reality, given Wade's current advanced learning progress, none of the SSC members could offer him any valuable help with his studies. This could entirely be considered Wade's privately run, free after-school tutoring class.
But not everything needed to be viewed from a utilitarian perspective of mutual benefit.
The time spent with these companions was also very precious to Wade. Here, his mind and spirit could fully relax. He could also set aside certain worries that had been weighing on him, and through casual laughter and conversation, alleviate the fatigue of a full day of high-intensity studying.
Moreover, seeing clumsy Neville and others make significant progress under his guidance, the joy and satisfaction from this even surpassed the pleasure of learning a new spell himself—after all, Wade was already accustomed to the latter, while the former was always a delightful surprise.
Positive emotions are always contagious, and every time the Umbrella Room activities ended, everyone's faces wore smiles.
"If only we could suggest to the Headmaster to postpone the school's Curfew by another hour," Padma said cheerfully as she packed her books. "I never thought studying could be so enjoyable before."
Even Neville nodded along. As long as he was in the Umbrella Room, even Potions didn't feel painful anymore.
He still made mistakes often, but his friends around him would correct him promptly, and no one yelled at him.
"Next week is the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match, right?" Michael looked at the students from both houses, his gaze inquiring.
"Yes," Hermione sighed worriedly. "I heard Professor Snape is refereeing."
"Then you're in trouble," Padma said sympathetically. "Professor Snape definitely won't be fair—everyone knows how much he loathes Gryffindor, especially since Harry Potter is on your team."
Snape's targeting of Harry Potter was something almost everyone in the school knew about.
But the few who had visited the Headmaster's office last time exchanged glances, a similar understanding in their eyes.
The next day at noon, Hermione gave a signal in the Great Hall, and the group tacitly gathered in the Umbrella Room to discuss the matter—
"Professor Snape, he must have been sent by the Headmaster to protect Harry Potter during the match, right?" Ryan said. "Even though Professor Snape has a bad temper, Professor Dumbledore trusts him so much, it must be because he's trustworthy."
Michael fiddled with his Quidditch star figurine, watching the little figure get knocked down and stand up again and again. He added with a laugh, "Of course, taking points and protecting—these two things can happen at the same time, they don't conflict—"
Ryan sighed, "With so many professors at school, why would the Headmaster send the one who dislikes Harry Potter the most?"
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