https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-195-Gaining-Access-to-the-Headmaster-s-Office/12538311/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-197-The-Weasley-Brothers-Promise/12538313/
Chapter 196: Torment from Connor
Chapter 196: Torment from Connor
"I say, why don't you go to the Black Lake to fish instead of tormenting Sniffle here?"
In the common room, Connor watched as Kyle entertained Sniffle with a twig and a red stone. "Can't you just give it the stone?" she said exasperatedly.
"This is no ordinary stone, it's a Philosopher's Stone!" Kyle corrected her.
"Yeah, a stone created through magic..." Connor rolled her eyes. "I saw you break it last night. It was just an ordinary pebble. Is this how you usually trick Sniffle?"
"Don't make it sound so bad," Kyle rebutted. "It's just entertainment. Look how happy it is playing with it."
Connor raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sniffle, who was hopping around on its short little legs. She didn't understand how Kyle could tell it was enjoying itself.
It was so frustrated, it was about to start speaking human language!
Connor sighed and took out a Sickle, waving it in front of the little creature in an attempt to attract its attention.
Sniffle, who usually couldn't resist the sight of Sickles, didn't even glance at her, keeping its eyes fixed on the red stone in Kyle's hand.
Undeterred, Connor took out a second Sickle, but to no avail.
"Save your breath," Kyle said as he grabbed Sniffle by the scruff of its neck and tossed it back into its box. "Also, you've given it fifteen Sickles in the past few days... I have to remind you, Sniffle really can't be your wallet."
"Mind your own business!" Connor retorted, her face reddening in shame and anger. "And those Sickles were for Sniffle. You can't take them secretly!"
"Ahem... I'm not that kind of person," Kyle stiffened. "But speaking of which, shouldn't you be with Professor Snape for your remedial class instead of lingering in the common room?"
"I passed Professor Snape's test yesterday and successfully brewed the Elixir of Life and Death... So, my remedial classes are over," Connor explained.
"So you're free now?" Kyle asked as he took out a chessboard and placed it on the table. "How about a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"Alright..." Connor nodded.
She didn't have many friends at Hogwarts, and both Autumn and her roommates had gone home.
It would be nice to pass the time with a game of chess.
"But let me warn you, I'm just an average chess player, so don't blame me if I'm not great... Wait, is that Wizard's Chess?"
As Connor prepared to set up the chess pieces, she suddenly froze, her eyes fixed on the board.
Instead of the familiar chess pieces, she saw a collection of different magical creatures.
At the front was a row of Sniffles, followed by trolls, hippogriffs, sphinxes, three-headed dogs, and finally, fire-breathing dragons.
"You see, I finished my homework and had some free time, so I made a few little modifications to them," Kyle explained. "I just changed their appearance slightly. It wasn't difficult."
Connor lifted her gaze to meet Kyle's, her eyes narrowed.
Finished his homework and had free time... Was that even humanly possible? She had just endured ten days of remedial classes and mountains of homework! How could he say such things right in front of her? Did he have no conscience?
"Why are you staring at me? It's your move, black moves first," Kyle prompted.
Connor glared at him indignantly before turning her attention back to the chessboard.
By now, the "magical creatures" had taken their positions, and Connor quickly guessed what each one represented.
What Connor had said earlier was a blatant lie; her chess skills were far from average... they were too average.
If she were merely a beginner, it would've been fine, as occasionally crushing a noob could be quite entertaining.
However, the problem was that she took forever to decide on each move... what should've been a five-minute game was dragged out to over half an hour.
In the end, Kyle lost all interest in the game and just felt tortured sitting there.
He wanted to escape; he could do anything as long as it wasn't playing chess with Connor, even if it meant rewriting his essay all over again.
But Connor wouldn't let him go and forcibly kept him there until noon.
To avoid her, Kyle decisively left the castle after lunch and spent the entire afternoon at Hagrid's hut.
There, he even ran into Harry and Ron.
According to Ron, Harry had been plagued by nightmares lately, and they had come to see if Hagrid had any solutions.
"So, why didn't you just go to Madam Pomfrey at the school hospital?" Kyle asked in confusion.
Kyle really couldn't understand Harry and Ron's train of thought. In his opinion, the only way Hagrid could solve the nightmare issue was by knocking Harry out with a punch.
Or had the newer generations of wizards become so wild these days?
"I... I don't want to go to the school hospital," Harry said softly.
Of course, he knew that Madam Pomfrey at the school hospital was more professional than Hagrid, but he was worried that if he went there, they would ask about the content of his nightmares.
For certain reasons, Harry didn't want too many people to know about this.
"I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't help you with this." Hagrid refilled their cups with tea and rock cakes, saying: "Kyle's right, you should just go to the school hospital. When I had trouble sleeping, I went there, and Madam Pomfrey solved it in just a minute.
The only downside is that the potions don't taste very nice, so you have to be mentally prepared for that."
"......Alright." Harry felt a little disappointed.
Even though even Hagrid was saying this, he still didn't plan on going to the school hospital.
Perhaps once school starts and he gets busier, the nightmares will stop on their own.
Harry thought to himself as he picked up a rock cake and took a small bite.
"If you really don't want to go to the school hospital, I do have one idea that you could try."
Kyle took out a bottle of potion and placed it on the table.
"What's that?" Ron asked.
"It's the Draught of Living Death, the one Hagrid drank back then." Kyle explained: "Just a tiny sip is enough to put someone into a deep slumber, and they won't wake up even if a fire-breathing dragon is dancing next to them."
Harry picked up the bottle and asked in confusion, "Will this stop my nightmares?"
"It should." Kyle nodded.
"Or you could try it first. If you only drink a very small amount, you'll probably sleep for about an hour, not too long, and it won't affect your rest at night.
But be warned, it's very potent, so you'd better wait until you're back in your dormitory before..."
Before Kyle could finish his sentence, he saw Harry open the bottle and take a gulp of the potion.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing, never mind." Kyle turned to Ron and said, "You'd better get ready, Potter probably won't be able to walk back to the dormitory by himself."
As if to prove Kyle's point, the next second, Harry slowly lowered his head and slumped sideways in the chair, fast asleep.
(End of Chapter)
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