Chapter 104: Tracing the House-Elf
Chapter 104: Tracing the House-Elf
Seeing Hermione visibly relax after his casual praise, Liam asked curiously, “Can you tell me why you look so profoundly tired? From what I remember, you’re usually so confident.”
“Because I thought of something today,” Hermione replied. “While you were gone, Percy was complaining about his twin brothers. He said they turned Ron’s teddy bear into a spider when he was three, giving him a lifelong fear of spiders. And when Ron was five, they almost tricked him into making an Unbreakable Vow.”
“So what does that prove? The Weasley twins are just naturally mischievous, right?”
“No, that’s not it,” Hermione rolled her eyes. “Don’t you see how much of an advantage wizards from magical families have in learning magic?”
She then began to list her points on her fingers. “Look, the twins are only two years older than Ron. These incidents show that they could perform complex transfigurations, like turning a teddy bear into a spider, by the age of five. Many students can’t even master that spell after starting school.”
“And let’s not forget the Unbreakable Vow. I had to read a lot of books to understand it, but the Weasley twins knew about it when they were seven.”
Seeing that Liam was now paying close attention, Hermione paused and continued, “Besides these, we can see the strength of wizards from magical families in small things. For example, Ron’s Slug-Vomiting Charm. Madam Pomfrey’s solution was to use magic to speed up Malfoy’s vomiting, not to counter the spell directly. Ginny has a Bat-Bogey Hex that even Professor Mcgonagall praises. Harry’s ability to learn combat magic is terrifying; sometimes he can cast a spell successfully after just reading the description and practicing a couple of times.”
Hermione then looked directly into Liam’s eyes and said, “If the pressure from the purebloods is due to their lineage and blood, which is an inherent factor, it’s not as overwhelming. But the pressure you give me is the most intense.”
“Me?” Liam was taken aback. “What pressure could I possibly give you? I didn’t even score as high as you did on the final exams last year.”
“True, but what else do I have besides exams? In the wizarding world, only magical prowess truly matters, not exam scores. You’ve mastered unique spells, and I’ve gained a lot this time, all thanks to you. Otherwise, those ghosts would never have agreed to speak with me. Apart from burying myself in books, what else do I have? How am I supposed to protect my parents like this?” Hermione’s eyes started to well up with tears.
Is this the result of the emotional strain of adolescence? I wonder how Hermione, with only Harry and Ron as friends and not the best social life, managed to get through this period in the original story.
But then he remembered that at this time, the Basilisk was roaming the school, creating a tense atmosphere. Plus, Hermione was still obsessed with her celebrity crush. Those factors probably kept her too busy to dwell on her insecurities.
Liam, seeing Hermione on the verge of breaking down, comforted her, “You don’t need to be so stressed. In the wizarding world, exam scores do reflect your abilities, especially since they involve a lot of practical work. Not to mention your ability to read through a ton of information and piece together spells, which I envy a lot.”
“Right now, you feel inferior in many areas because wizards keep their knowledge more secret than in the Muggle world, making it hard to find ways to improve your magical abilities. I was just lucky to find a book that others couldn’t understand.” (Liam had told Hermione that he learned magic from an old Chinese book he found in a second-hand bookshop to keep his secret.)
After listening to Liam's encouragement, Hermione seemed much better. Seizing the opportunity, Liam extended an invitation, "Last time, Nick told me there’s a place at Hogwarts where students have been hiding things for centuries. You can join me next time to explore and maybe find the book you need."
After all, when it came to knowledge of magic, Liam felt he was still no match for Hermione. Recently, he had been focusing all his energy on studying Life Magic and the Maoshan Daoist Scriptures, leaving him no time to browse through half the library like Hermione had.
So, Liam’s invitation served two purposes: to help a friend and to have her help him filter through the treasures, ensuring they didn’t miss anything valuable in the pile.
Hermione’s mood completely lifted upon hearing Liam’s invitation. She knew how difficult it was to share knowledge in the Wizarding World.
She quickly hugged Liam and whispered a thank you. Liam was taken aback by this sudden gesture; even after living in Britain for ten years, he still found some of the British customs a bit hard to adapt to.
After helping a few first-year students with their questions, Liam went to bed early. Tomorrow was the first Quidditch match of the year for their grade and the first match for their house team. He needed to be in top form.
The next morning, after breakfast, Liam joined everyone at the Quidditch pitch. The weather was oppressively humid, and distant thunder rumbled in the distance.
The Gryffindor students looked a bit nervous, especially since Slytherin had replaced all their brooms with Nimbus 2001s, giving them a significant advantage in equipment.
The match began, and the Gryffindor team’s intensive training proved effective. Despite their outdated equipment, they were giving Slytherin a tough fight.
Liam noticed a Bludger chasing Harry, trying to knock him off his broom. This must be part of Dobby’s rescue plan.
Liam tapped Hermione to get her attention and pointed at Harry. After a moment, Hermione exclaimed, "What’s going on with that Bludger? Why is it only targeting Harry?"
At that moment, the rain started pouring down, and Harry’s situation worsened. The Weasley twins had to stay close to him, acting as bodyguards to shield him from the Bludger.
"This Bludger seems intent on hurting someone. It feels a lot like last year. What should we do?" Hermione asked Liam after observing the Bludger for a while.
"I have an idea." Liam pulled out a charm paper from his pocket and infused it with Spiritual Energy. The charm paper quickly transformed into a Paper Crane, which circled Liam and Hermione twice before flying off in a straight line.
"Follow it!" Liam and Hermione leaped up and began tracking the Paper Crane. The House-Elf tracking operation was now underway.
(End of Chapter)
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