After saying goodbye to Cedric, William spoke the password under the gossiping gaze of the fat lady, then hurried inside.
Arriving in the Common Room, he found it truly lively; some were playing chess, others were chatting, and the only one studying was Hermione.
Honestly, with how Hermione didn’t seem to fit the Gryffindor atmosphere, it was no wonder others thought she should have been sorted into Ravenclaw.
Walking over a few steps, William realized that it wasn’t just Hermione studying; there was also Neville, though he was huddled in a corner doing his homework and hadn’t been noticed earlier.
When William arrived in front of them, Harry noticed first and asked with concern, “William, where did you go?
Why didn’t I see you at dinner?”
“Yeah, it’s Saturday, yet you’re busier than usual,” Ron added.
“Me?
I was indeed quite busy today.
I spent the morning looking for something, went to Hagrid’s in the afternoon, and then chatted with him about gossip for quite a while,” William said, finding a seat.
Glancing at Neville, who was still struggling with his homework, William couldn’t help but ask, “Harry, Ron, how much of your homework have you finished today?”
As soon as these words were out, their expressions froze.
At this moment, the one to twist the knife arrived.
“They slept all morning and played games all afternoon,” Neville said in a muffled voice.
“They’re just waiting for you to come back so they can borrow your homework to copy,” Hermione said, returning to her book.
William:…
No need to guess; they must have asked Hermione for her homework, and she must have refused.
“It’s not impossible to lend it to you, but you must be proficient in using charms,” William said.
You have to master either the theory or the practical application.
Hermione had wanted to speak, but hearing William’s words, she decided to wait for a moment.
She had a feeling that William’s way of lending homework wouldn’t be simple.
Ron and Harry’s faces fell; they only wanted to play right now.
The next second, Harry awkwardly changed the subject.
“William, you came back so late, you must haven’t eaten dinner, right?
There was new food today, I brought some back for you, try it.”
Looking at the buns the other brought out, William smiled helplessly and said, “After I returned from Hagrid’s this afternoon, I went to the Kitchen and stayed there with a group of Hufflepuff students until now, just for the buns in your hand.”
“I’m very happy that you, Harry, thought of me and brought some back.”
They taste even better.”
When saying that last sentence, William deliberately lowered his voice so only they could hear.
Then William took out the buns, which were still hot.
He distributed them to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, then said, “Hurry and try them.”
Harry stiffly took the bun.
He had originally intended to play the emotional card and get William to lend them the homework to copy directly.
But looking at the bun in his hand, he couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
There was no help for it; the bun William gave was truly fragrant.
“This is so delicious, much better than what we had for dinner,” Ron was already eating.
Just like that, the four of them quickly finished eating, and then they were too full to move.
Whether it was reading or playing games, they had no motivation for anything at the moment.
And the only thing unaffected was their ability to keep chatting.
It was just that rather than calling it chatting, it was more like William’s solo performance, and as for the content, it was about what he had seen and heard today.
After a bit of gossip from decades ago, Hermione suddenly asked with confusion, “William, you specifically asked about this David Holmes—did you find something related to him?”
“Yes.”
As he spoke, William handed the travelogue to Hermione and continued, “I found an interesting clue in the book, so I wanted to look for it.
But after hearing what Hagrid said about the graduate tradition earlier, I feel like the story might be fake.”
Hermione was interested now; after all, she hadn’t discovered such an interesting thing from the book.
As for Harry and Ron, their minds were full of adventure.
“William, tell us in detail!” Harry’s excited expression was like an eager puppy.
“Tell you in detail?
You might as well read the book yourself.
Maybe you’ll find details I missed,” William said.
This made Hermione take note, while Harry and Ron’s eyes were full of resistance.
Seeing this, William still briefly told them the content of the book, and also talked about the clues and his search.
“A hidden room, that’s just too cool,” Ron had already imagined himself in the story.
Harry was about the same; although he didn’t speak, his eyes were full of fantasy.
“William, could you be overthinking it, or maybe this room has already been found over the years?” Hermione spoke up, successfully shattering Ron and Harry’s fantasies.
“Maybe. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
But adventure is about the journey being just as important as the destination.
Just like now, even if it’s fake, haven’t I visited quite a few places in Hogwarts?” William replied.
“Then William, where are we going to look next?” Harry asked.
“We?” William gave Harry a strange look.
It seemed like taking Harry along wasn’t impossible, and perhaps he might even be able to use the other’s protagonist halo to find it.
Just as William was thinking this, Hermione said, “I think you should only be thinking about this after you’ve finished your homework.”
William nodded upon hearing this; Hermione was very right about that point.
He had so much time to look because he had already finished his homework, so he could naturally arrange his weekend as he pleased.
Harry and Ron’s faces fell immediately upon hearing this; they couldn’t refute this point, and they couldn’t help but wonder if they could even finish their homework tomorrow.
“William, help me.” Harry looked at William pitifully, just like a puppy.
William couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth at the sight.
Instead of looking at him like this, he might as well look at Snape that way; maybe that would exempt him from Potion Class homework.
But the next second, Ron followed suit and looked at William.
At this, William couldn’t help but want to cover his forehead.
What a disaster; he really shouldn’t have met these two.
“Can’t you learn from Neville?
Look, he’s finishing his homework on his own.”
As he spoke, William looked at Neville, and Neville, being stared at by everyone, was suddenly a bit flustered, but then he said something that left William speechless.
“If it’s possible, could you help me too?”
Fine, it seems there’s no escaping it.
But wanting to copy his homework directly is impossible.
And Hermione, don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding behind your book and giggling.
“I can help, but I won’t give you my homework to copy directly.
Besides, I think Hermione would be very happy to help too.”
He couldn’t escape, and none of the others would get away either.
“While we have time now, let’s start with the Transfiguration Class homework.”
“No~” That was Harry and Ron.
“Okay,” Neville agreed directly.
Hermione closed the book in her hand, unable to suppress the smile on her lips, and said, “I would be very happy to help.”