Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 31 Padma

"Honestly, when I first saw that big guy, I thought we were going to die!" Padma held Hermione's arm tightly and said sincerely: "Hermione, you are so brave."

Hermione blushed and said, "I had no other thoughts at the time except the Levitation Charm. I mean - I'm really lucky, the most I've ever made my textbooks float up before!"

"Brother, your slide spell is amazing!" Michael waved his wand and gestured: "The slide is average! You must teach me next time during self-study!"

"No problem." Wade turned his head and said, "--Harry, don't pay attention to Professor Snape's evaluation. It's a good idea to use a bucket. On the contrary, ordinary spells cast on the troll are almost like being bitten by a mosquito to it."

"No wonder Michael's petrification spell didn't work before - later you didn't use spells to attack the troll directly." Harry thought for a moment and said, "But I don't seem to have seen the two spells you used in the Standard Spells: Elementary."

"Ved has taught himself all the way to the Standard Book of Spells: Level 3," Michael said proudly, "and he spends all day in the library and study room, and has learned more spells than all of us combined—even though school has only been open for two months."

Harry suddenly felt ashamed and inferior - if Ron, Michael or even Malfoy knew more spells than him, he could comfort himself by saying that they had already learned them at home. But he knew that Wade and Hermione had never been exposed to magic before entering school, but now they were the best students among the freshmen.

He couldn't help but wonder - was he too lazy in his studies?
Watching everyone talking and laughing, even Harry naturally joined in the conversation. Ron wanted to say something but couldn't, so he followed behind feeling very awkward.

Soon they reached a fork in the road and separated. Harry, Hermione and Ron headed towards Gryffindor Tower. Without Michael and the others to joke around, the atmosphere between the three of them immediately became tense. No one looked at each other, and they quickened their pace and hurried back to the common room.

……

On the way back to the Ravenclaw Tower, Padma pretended to be casual, looking at the road ahead, and said, "Ved, can I learn that spell that makes the slide flat? It seems very interesting."

"Of course." Wade said, "I don't have classes tomorrow morning, so I can teach you."

"Hmm - it might not be convenient in the lounge. I heard -" Padma glanced at Michael quickly and said, "You have a place dedicated to practicing spells?"

After all, she was only eleven years old, and even though she had tried to make her request in a roundabout way, she still wanted to make the hint not too obvious.

Wade understood. He pondered for a moment and said, "I need to seek other people's opinions, but I don't think they will refuse your joining."

"Of course - welcome!" Michael said with a smile.

"Great!" Padma couldn't help but jump a little, then blushed. She pretended to be calm, straightened her skirt, and said, "I'm honored."

When we got to the lounge door, the eagle-shaped door knocker asked, "O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, N, what's the next letter?"

"Uh..." Michael was one of those Ravenclaws who wasn't very good at guessing riddles. He held his chin and pretended to think, but gave up decisively after three seconds and asked, "What do you think it is, Wade?"

"It's 'T'," Padma said.

"Correct answer," the knocker said in a chanting tone, and then opened the door.

"Why is it 'T'?" Michael asked as they entered the door, "Is it the 'T' of Troll? Does the door knocker know that we defeated the troll today?" He winked and made an exaggerated expression. Padma couldn't help laughing and said, "It says the first letters of one to ten - One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten."

The common room was packed with people, it seemed that all Ravenclaws were here, and there were several long tables next to the fireplace, which were filled with food and drinks. Students celebrated Halloween here for the second time, and it was even better than in the Great Hall - because there was no professor watching over them and telling them not to do this or that.

Wade saw that some students who were usually more withdrawn also chose to stay in the lounge, just sitting in the corner. The lounge was dressed up for Halloween at some point, with a huge skeleton walking around in the lounge, causing screams from time to time; there were also students wearing skull masks, which occasionally made ghostly noises.

"How about a bloody lollipop?" Terry enthusiastically recommended to Lisa.

Wade bypassed the crowded crowd and went straight back to the dormitory - the stench of the troll seemed to still linger in his nose, and he was not in the mood to eat for the time being.

Padma watched his back and asked Michael with some trepidation: "Didn't Wade have dinner? Why didn't he come to the dinner?" She was worried that she was annoying and Wade would rather go back to the dormitory hungry than spend time with them.

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. Wade just doesn't like crowded places." Michael said casually, concentrating on piling food on his plate.

Padma breathed a sigh of relief, but she was also a little hungry. After they had filled their stomachs to about 70%, they had time to continue chatting.

"By the way, when Wade asks for other people's opinions in your study group tomorrow, remember to say good things for me!" Padma couldn't help but remind him again and again when she thought of this.

"OK! OK! I will complete the task!" Michael raised his hand and said with a smile.

——Seeking opinions?
Michael knew better than anyone that as long as Wade agreed, no one else would have any objection.

Theo and Ryan were both easy-going and would never reject a candidate suggested by their partner; Neville was timid and Michael felt that he had no temper and no opinions of his own; the only one who might be a little difficult to deal with was Hermione, with whom Padma had just established a fairly good friendship.

In fact, when Michael proposed that "the addition of new members must be agreed by everyone", what he actually meant was "If Wade doesn't agree, you can't bring anyone else over" - the restrictions were on the other four people.

He knew very well that although the SSC looked like a whole that helped each other, it was actually Vader who was helping them most of the time - the notes compiled by Vader made it easier for them to understand the obscure expressions in the books, and the way of writing papers taught by Vader allowed them to complete high-quality assignments in a very short time. Vader also helped them master various spells quickly and accurately.

Anyone who joins this group will feel the benefits within a short period of time.

Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are both enthusiastic guys. If they think this place is great, they might bring their other friends here without even saying hello. Maybe they think that bringing more members is contributing to the group! In fact, it just adds trouble to Wade. This way, the SSC will not last long.

Wade would not refuse openly, but when there were more and more people and it became more and more noisy, he would one day quietly disappear from the umbrella house, just like now, staying in a quiet and lonely place where he was the only one.

That's why Michael had to set up rules, and then use the rules to restrain the people from the two academies from being too "enthusiastic", and also use the rules to tactfully reject those guys who tried to join through him. The only exception was Wade - because he was the center, he could of course decide who he wanted to help.

Michael had not told anyone about these calculations. At this time, facing Padma's request, he just nodded with a smile and promised that he would try his best to convince others.

(End of this chapter)