nagpurpolice Chapter 261: The New Trio! Adventure!
Chapter 261: The New Trio! Adventure!
Chapter 261: The New Trio! An Adventure!
In the slightly dimly lit corridor on the eighth floor.
The moonlight struggled to penetrate the narrow window, casting a few dim rays that formed patches of light on the dusty ground, offering little illumination.
The torches hanging on the wall were the main source of lighting.
It seemed as if it would never burn out, yet the heat remained so subtle, existing in a state between being visible and invisible, immersing the entire corridor in a hazy gloom. The ancient portraits hanging on the walls occasionally whispered a few words, then fell silent again, as if the whole world was shrouded in a veil of tranquility.
"Hermione! Trust me! Harry Potter's been acting really strange lately! He's definitely not right! Maybe—and I mean maybe—he's not the Harry Potter we know at all!"
"What is that?"
"Who knows, Neville? You trust me, anyway, my intuition is really strong."
They were all familiar voices.
Ian looked in the direction of the sound and saw Hermione, Ron, and Neville huddled together in a corner of the corridor, whispering to each other.
obviously.
Gryffindor students are like that; they can't stand being alone. It hasn't been long since school started, and they've already picked up the bad habit of going out at night from who knows where.
This is the situation.
This also fully illustrates that, in the original timeline, the fact that two of the three would go out at night was probably not really related to the crisis, but mainly due to the nature of Gryffindor students.
It's not that it's bad.
Daring to break the rules and enjoying adventure are typical characteristics of Gryffindor students. Clearly, even Neville, given guidance, will unleash his true nature.
Leaving aside the Hogwarts swordsman.
He was indeed a Gryffindor who fit the house perfectly in every way.
"Ron, your intuition might be wrong. We can't just trust our intuition; we need to trust cosmology—to trust more precise magic."
"Like divination." Hermione Granger leaned against the cold stone wall, clutching a heavy spellbook tightly to her chest, her brown curly hair appearing particularly fluffy in the dim light.
She might not have quite adapted to the role of a wizard yet, so much so that she almost blurted out her old habitual phrases again, but fortunately she corrected herself in time to make her words more appropriate for her identity.
"Fortune telling? None of the three of us know how!" Ron retorted immediately. "Besides, intuition is related to fortune telling; that's something my mother told me!"
Upon hearing this...
"What you all say makes some sense."
Neville started playing coy, clearly lacking any initiative, and seemed unwilling to offend anyone, making him look extremely awkward caught between two opposing people.
"Give me a week, no, five days, and I'll definitely be able to learn divination magic!" Hermione's unusually strong competitive spirit was on full display at this moment.
"Five days? Do you think divination is easy to learn? You need talent! Do you understand? You can't learn this kind of magic just by being good at studying! Besides, a lot can happen in five days."
"What you know is a terrible disaster." Ron first expressed doubt to Hermione, then vaguely began to indicate that time was of the essence.
"Something must have happened to Harry Potter! We have to find out!" It has to be said that Ron was as firm in his opinion as ever.
His expression was full of worry and doubt.
"Um—I didn't really notice."
Neville Longbottom stood between the two, his round face bearing the standard expression of a boy with a forced smile. His toad, Rafer, squirmed restlessly in his breast pocket, emitting a soft croaking sound.
obviously.
This pet, who often "runs away from home," has discovered Ian, who is standing not far away eavesdropping—well, not exactly eavesdropping, but openly and blatantly listening to the story.
only.
The three, too engrossed in their conversation, clearly didn't notice. Around the corner of the corridor, Ian Prince leaned against a stone pillar, his long, slender fingers lightly tapping his wand. He had only been passing by, but the conversation had drawn his attention. Moonlight streamed in through the high window, casting a soft glow on his handsome profile.
"Cough cough."
He tried coughing a few times.
Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to them.
The three of them huddled together discussing something that showed genuine focus.
"Ron, you've said it three times already. Harry's just become a little quieter, hasn't he?" Hermione frowned, clutching her thick magic book tightly. She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice and continued, "Of course, it was a bit odd that he glared at me so fiercely a few times when I greeted him."
"However, I think he's just in a bad mood. You all know the fame he carries, but his studies haven't been going well, so he's probably under a lot of pressure." Although she was still defending Harry Potter, a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes, and her usual confidence seemed to have diminished.
"See! You've encountered the same thing, haven't you!"
Ron scratched his messy red hair, a hint of recollection on his face: "I've felt something was wrong for a while now. Not long ago, I noticed Harry Potter's personality changed drastically. There was this one time, the way he looked at me was icy..."
Indifferent, with eyes that glowed green, he was as terrifying as a snake!
"I'm sure he's been affected by dark magic." As he said this, a hint of fear flashed in Ron's eyes, and his body trembled slightly involuntarily.
For young wizards of their age, the mere mention of dark magic is naturally terrifying, especially for children born into pure-blood families.
Well, how should I put it?
This is similar to the kind of thing that parents in many Muggle families use to scare their children from a young age. In wizarding families, especially wizarding families like Ron's, parents like to use stories about black magic to scare people, and exaggerate the horror of black magic in various ways to prevent their descendants from getting involved.
Even if there is no such custom in the family, based on the general societal view of black magic, most wizards, when they are in school, tend to keep their distance from black magic.
Extremely fearful.
After all, not everyone is like Tom Riddle, and even fewer people have the environment and ability to learn dark magic like Ian and Aurora.
"Dark magic? I know about that." Hermione looked skeptical. She pushed up her glasses and said, "But what kind of dark magic could have such a big impact? Harry has always been very strong..."
They won't be easily corrupted by dark magic, and how could we possibly encounter a dark magic attack at Hogwarts?
Her voice was firm.
But there was still a hint of unease in his tone.
It's terrifying to think about.
Neville, who had been silent the whole time, turned pale upon hearing Hermione's words. He swallowed hard and spoke cautiously in a trembling voice.
"I know, it's the Imperius Curse, it must be the Imperius Curse. A person afflicted by the Imperius Curse will completely lose their self-awareness and be controlled by the caster, becoming their puppet and servant."
"What you're saying about Harry's performance really sounds like he's been hit by the Imperius Curse," Neville said, nervously rubbing his hands together, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
To explain why he was so afraid.
"This is an extremely vicious and terrifying magic, an unforgivable magic, for my family..."
"It's because of the Unforgivable Curse that things have become so tragic."
His voice still carried a hint of sadness.
Hermione quickly put her book aside and gave Neville a hug.
Offer quiet comfort to those in need.
As for Ron, after hearing Neville's words, he paused for a moment, then nodded quickly and said loudly, "Yes, yes, yes, even if it's not the Imperius Curse, it's some other evil dark magic. I even suspect that the current Harry Potter is someone else in disguise. Although he seems normal again these past two days, I can't forget the way he looked at me before."
Ron's voice trembled with excitement, echoing down the empty corridor. He was truly audacious, unafraid that his loud voice would attract the attention of the administrator or other professors.
Well, how should I put it?
Ron is indeed someone who likes to show off at this stage.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Can you guys stop exaggerating? Harry's been perfectly normal these past few days."
She still felt that Ron's statement was too exaggerated, mentioning such a terrible dark magic as the Unforgivable Curse, when Hogwarts was the safest magic school in the world.
He had seen a similar account in "Hogwarts: A History of the School." After all, the current headmaster is Albus Dumbledore, the greatest and most powerful white wizard in the world. What kind of dark wizard would dare to come to Hogwarts and cast the Imperius Curse on a student like the Savior?
Mysterious man?
That person has been dead for many years!
Although Hermione was still a little unsure, after her logical deduction, she felt that the probability of Harry Potter being innocent was higher.
And Hermione's perspective.
"That's because he's a good actor!" Ron insisted. "I'll never forget the way he looked at me that night... like he was looking at a creature more insulting than an insect!"
Although he couldn't think of a more fitting adjective, it didn't stop his pride from rising. His face flushed red, and he became even more convinced that something was wrong with Harry Potter.
Ian, who was listening nearby, raised an eyebrow.
In his memory, Harry, sorted into Slytherin, was indeed quite different from the one in the original stories. Although he still interacted with the trio, the separation of the houses meant their friendship wasn't nearly as close.
During class, the group might interact somewhat, since Slytherin and Gryffindor students attend classes together. Perhaps because Harry Potter felt different from other Slytherin students, they had some interaction and could be considered friends. However, after Ron noticed Harry Potter's drastic personality change not long ago...
There's always been a feeling that something's off about Harry Potter, that he might have been influenced by dark magic, which is understandable.
After all, we're not best buddies anymore.
Trust will definitely decrease.
Well, how should I put it?
It's not that he slandered others because of his extreme mentality.
There were indeed problems with the previous Harry Potter series.
This wave.
It's just that Ron's information updates aren't fast enough.
Ian was somewhat emotional.
And at that very moment.
Hermione bit her lip, thought for a moment, and then said, "Even if something really happens to Harry Potter, we should tell the professor or Ian."
"Ian Prince is incredibly capable; he might be able to find out if Harry has any problems. I bet he'll definitely be good at divination." Hermione's eyes gleamed with hope, as if she expected Ian to be the key to solving the problem.
Upon hearing Hermione mention Ian, Ron immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "No! We can't tell him! That Ravenclaw guy is such a good friend of my two brothers, he definitely won't help us. He might even play pranks on us like he did on Fred and George."
"We can't go to him, absolutely not. He's on good terms with Harry Potter too." Ron's tone was resolute, his eyes revealing a deep prejudice against Ian.
After hearing Ron's words, Neville said in a low voice, "Ron, you can't say that. Mr. Prince is a very nice man; he helped me before."
"I think he'll definitely help us. Mr. Prince is very helpful." Neville's eyes were full of sincerity; he had always had a good impression of Ian.
Ian, who was not far away, silently gave the chubby boy a thumbs up.
really.
People who know how to be grateful are likable.
Hermione is a good girl too; all my efforts in taking care of her weren't in vain. How to put it... out of the new trio, only one person didn't praise me; it's really hard to guess who that person is.
Ron.
It didn't anger Ian.
Ian even listened with great interest.
"Ron...do you have some kind of prejudice against Prince?" Hermione asked, frowning and looking suspicious. She felt that Ron was being a bit too extreme.
"It's not prejudice! You don't understand! The person who can play with my two older brothers must be the kind of person—the kind of person..." Ron's little brain couldn't come up with an adjective for a long time.
"Mischievous brat?"
Neville could even help Ron come up with adjectives.
"It's much more serious than that!"
"Prince and Harry Potter are also very close. Didn't you see it when we were eating? Besides talking to his girlfriend, he often chats with Harry Potter. If he knew we suspected Harry, he would definitely tell Harry, and that would alert them, making it even harder for us to find out the truth."
Ron became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder and louder.
Good guy.
It's the same familiar recipe, the same familiar feeling.
At that moment, Ian stood in the shadows not far away, quietly listening to their conversation. A look of understanding crossed his face; so this was the key figure behind the trio's reckless behavior!
A new trio.
I still have this feeling that Ron is leading me to recklessly charge into anything!