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Vade observed Hogwarts Castle from a bird’s-eye view, wandering through it in his dream.
He climbed flight after flight of stairs until he reached the eighth floor of the castle, where he saw a tapestry depicting a troll clubbing Barnabas the Barmy.
His vision then turned one hundred and eighty degrees before darkness slowly swallowed everything.
The dream shattered, and Vade opened his eyes groggily.
He was holding a piece of parchment on which he had written the subject of his divination: A hidden place at Hogwarts suitable for practising magic.
Sitting up in bed, he took care not to disturb Draco and the other two boys, who were still fast asleep. He took out the notebook beneath his pillow and wrote: Eighth floor of the castle, tapestry of a troll clubbing Barnabas the Barmy.
There were many similar entries on the page, including the Forbidden Forest, an unused classroom, the fourth floor of the castle, and a massive willow tree. These were all places he had seen in his dreams over the past few days.
However, they were either too dangerous or carried too great a risk of discovery.
There were two places that particularly caught his attention. One was a bathroom, while the other was the eighth floor of the castle, which he had just dreamt about.
He had never visited the former. It was probably a girls’ bathroom, but it appeared to have been abandoned for a long time.
The moment he entered the bathroom in his dream, a chill ran through his entire body, as though some savage beast had fixed its gaze upon him.
Immediately afterwards, a stabbing pain pierced his mind. Before he could react, he was forcibly expelled from the dream.
The latter was not as dangerous, although it did possess a certain resistance to divination.
"I can’t go to that bathroom. There’s an unknown danger hidden inside it.
"The eighth floor is worth investigating, but I’ll have to choose a time when no one else is around," Vade thought. The Marauder’s Map suddenly came to mind.
Unless he got hold of that map, the Weasley twins might notice him no matter where he went in Hogwarts.
There was no need to worry during the day. They would not dare openly take out the map and use it, but at night, it was another matter entirely.
Damn it!
Who on earth had created that blasted map? It was absurdly unfair.
In the Great Hall, Vade ate breakfast while absent-mindedly glancing towards the Gryffindor table.
Fred and George Weasley looked exactly alike. The Marauder’s Map could be on either of them.
A pale hand suddenly waved in front of his eyes, drawing his attention back to reality.
"Who are you looking at?" Daphne asked, sounding somewhat displeased.
"No one."
"Don’t think I haven’t noticed." Daphne pursed her lips, her gaze unconsciously sweeping over Hermione.
What exactly are you imagining?
Vade stared at the young pure-blood heiress in astonishment, feeling utterly speechless.
She couldn’t genuinely have taken a fancy to me and be planning to have me marry into her family, could she?
I’m only a half-blood, and my usual performance has been thoroughly mediocre. But... that really does look like jealousy!
Vade took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his chaotic thoughts. "Don’t misunderstand. I’m simply jealous."
"What are you jealous of her for?" Daphne asked in confusion.
"Her talent. Haven’t you noticed? Granger has performed better than any of the other first years."
"You’re talented at Potions too!"
"I won’t deny that, but all my talent seems to have gone into Potions. I’m seriously lacking in every other subject, while she seems to be good at everything."
"She must have things she’s bad at as well. No matter how clever a Mud... Muggle-born witch is, her magical power still can’t compare with that of a pure-blood. Besides..." Daphne considered for a moment. "Compared with people like Neville and Crabbe, you’re already very impressive."
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
When had I fallen so far that I needed to compare myself with the worst students just to feel confident?
"Thank you." Vade shook his head with an amused smile. "I’ll take that as an attempt to comfort me."
During breakfast, the post owls flew into the Great Hall and dropped parcels in front of their intended recipients.
Draco received some sweets from his parents and smugly opened the parcel in front of everyone.
Daphne received a letter from her younger sister, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
Vade also received a parcel. It contained his subscription copy of the Daily Prophet. Each issue cost five Knuts, and the price occasionally increased.
Latest Report on the Break-In at Gringotts
The investigation into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July is still ongoing. It is widely believed to have been the work of an unidentified Dark wizard.
The goblins of Gringotts reiterated today that nothing had been stolen. The underground vault entered by the intruder had, in fact, been emptied earlier that same day.
A Gringotts goblin spokesman said this afternoon: "We are unable to disclose what was stored inside the vault. It would be in everyone’s best interests not to interfere in this matter."
Vade looked at the photograph of several goblins inspecting the vault and shook his head in amusement.
The investigation was still ongoing? They clearly had no idea that the person who had broken into Gringotts was the Dark Lord. Otherwise, they would probably be trembling in fear while desperately suppressing the news.
"Look, Neville’s received a Remembrall," Dean said from the Gryffindor table, staring at the transparent sphere in Neville’s hand.
Flying lessons were taught by Madam Hooch, a capable-looking witch with short grey hair and yellow eyes.
The students of the two Houses stood in separate rows, clearly divided from one another, with a broomstick neatly laid beside each person’s feet.
"What are you all waiting for? Stand on the left side of your broomsticks.
"Hold your right hand over your broom and say, ’Up!’"
"Up!" everyone shouted.
Calls rang across the grounds. The broomsticks’ reactions clearly revealed each student’s natural aptitude for flying.
For the first time at Hogwarts, Hermione experienced the sting of failure. Harry needed only one attempt before his broom eagerly leapt into his hand. Draco succeeded after just three attempts, while Hermione called for hers more than a dozen times before it merely rose slowly from the ground.
The others did not fare much better. Neville’s broom remained completely motionless, while Ron’s flew up and struck him in the face.
"Put some feeling into it," Madam Hooch reminded them.
Vade relaxed his restraint over his magic slightly and succeeded in calling his broom into his hand a moment after Daphne.
Once everyone had succeeded, Madam Hooch blew her whistle. "Now that you all have your broomsticks, I want you to mount them.
"Grip them tightly, and be careful not to slide off."
"When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick hard off the ground and make your broom rise into the air. Hover for a moment, then lean forwards slightly and return to the ground.
"Listen for my whistle. Three, two..."
(To be continued.)