Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 190: Searching for Hagrid

It was a rare sunny day in January.

Compared to ordinary cats, stag cats have a greater advantage in speed.

It's not afraid of the cold... Sheen was certain.

So why does Mrs. Lorris wear clothes?

Sheehan guessed that this was merely Mr. Filch's wishful thinking, and that Mrs. Filch was unwilling to refute it.

Inside the auditorium, Michael was dominating the battlefield with his "Gandoka Knight".

The wizards who fought against him dared not send out their "irritable, greedy, and lustful" kings, because they might be taken away on the spot.

Michael firmly believed that the chess piece was brought by a black cat, and Sheen didn't know if his statement was right or wrong.

However, the first-year wizards at Hogwarts readily believed this claim.

At night, Sheen often saw people on the third floor placing dried fish under their statues and praying to obtain a "King Arthur":
—That is the strongest king piece, capable of turning a wizard piece into either "Merlin" or "Morgan," the appearance of which can determine the outcome of the game.

If I had to describe it, it would be something like: "Stop playing!"—Choose a wizard, and you have a 50% chance of winning immediately, and a 50% chance of losing the game on the spot.

The Weasleys released this news, introducing that "King Arthur" has officially launched with the bizarre wizard chess game.

But actually, Sheen hadn't even had time to make it yet... The twins' imitation of the Wizard Lottery was no longer even an act.

Meanwhile, what left Sheen speechless was that the dried fish that the praying wizard had put out himself, he unconsciously ate back after enjoying the "Lady Lorris" cookies.

...He also believed it was a miracle from the lucky black cat.

Overall, since Christmas, Hogwarts has seen a number of interesting events.

Recently,
Sheen quietly put a plan into action: to go to Hagrid's cabin.

This plan is on par with "grinding the advanced Cat Liz Cookie to expert level," for example, right now, Sheen is in Cat Liz mode, leisurely strolling around the Quidditch pitch.

There are always people in the castle’s “Castle Cat Club”, and Sheen doesn’t want to stay in the castle unless absolutely necessary.

The Castle Cat Club is a club established after Christmas, approved by Headmaster Dumbledore and Vice-Headmaster McGonagall.

Strangely enough, Hogwarts' club, being a long-established organization, usually takes one or two months to be approved, but this club's application was approved as soon as it was submitted.

Sheen reasonably suspected that he had been set up.

Quidditch pitch was another particularly wet and muddy training session today.

Sheen was waiting for Hagrid, who was likely to appear. He was a little nervous. He didn't know if the Transformation Cookie could win Hagrid's favor so that he could visit Hagrid's hut to observe the Norwegian Spinosaurus in the future.

Suddenly, a roar came from the stadium:

"Can you guys please stop messing around!"

Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, roared.
"Doing this will definitely make us lose the game! Snape is the referee this time, and he'll definitely try every possible excuse to deduct points from Gryffindor!"

Cats have six times the visual acuity of humans. Even from a great distance, Sheehan could see the Weasleys, who were constantly swooping down on each other and pretending to fall off their flying broomsticks, staring wide-eyed.

Upon hearing this, George Weasley actually fell off his flying broomstick.

"Snape as referee?"

He spat out the dirt from his mouth as he asked,

"When has he ever been a Quidditch referee? If we have any chance of beating Slytherin, he certainly won't make a fair ruling."

The other players landed next to George, complaining all at once. "It's not my fault," Wood said. "We can only make sure we follow the rules during the game, so Snape has no excuse to find fault with us."

Sheen roughly understood that the Forbidden Forest storyline was about to unfold, and after the Forbidden Forest storyline came the arrival of Norber, the Norwegian Ridgeback.

Unfortunately, Hagrid did not leave the edge of the Forbidden Forest until Sheen returned to the castle.

He would come, Sheen knew; Hagrid would soon return to the castle to fetch some ingredients. So he was very patient.

As evening fell, Sheen leaped up the stairs in a few bounds, and beside the gleaming silver armor, he glimpsed several Slytherins emerging from not far from the cellar.

Not paying much attention, he quickly returned to Hope's Cottage. Neville had been making excellent progress with his spells lately, and Hermione was patiently teaching him.
On rare occasions, the two would ask Sheen some questions, which Sheen, at the expert level, could answer with ease.

……

It was another early morning, and the chill of January was firmly kept outside the thick stone walls of Hogwarts Castle.

In the corridor, torches crackled on their iron supports. Beside the portrait of the Fat Lady, several first-year wizards rubbed their hands together, watching with amusement as their breath turned into white mist in the cold air.

The deep red armchair and thick carpet were warmed by the roaring fire in the fireplace.

A black cat is trying to sense its surroundings with its eyes closed, using its long white whiskers.

A cat's whiskers are highly evolved sensory organs with core functions such as navigation, spatial measurement, balance maintenance, environmental perception, emotional expression, hunting assistance, and eye protection. They can even detect subtle changes in airflow.

It can be said to be extremely powerful.

But Sheehan couldn't do it. So once a week, Professor McGonagall was happy to help him master his Animagus transformations.

The tabby cat sat gracefully on a small cushion created by the Transfiguration, watching as the black cat accidentally bumped its head, and then its whiskers slowly curled up.

The black cat quickly mastered the skill, and then he had to start making himself able to squeeze through the narrow doorway.

And just outside the door, not far down the corridor.

“Neville Longbottom, oh, I’ve been looking for someone to practice this spell with, and you seem like a good choice! Come here!”

"A platinum-haired Slytherin said."

His two henchmen behind him laughed.

Neville's round face was filled with fear. He instinctively went over, but stopped after taking one step.

"I don't want to cause trouble."

Neville stammered and mumbled incoherently.

Malfoy's mockery continued:

"Ah, I'm reminded of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who picked people they thought were pathetic."

For example, Potter, an orphan, and the Weasley brothers, poor as well—you should join the team, Neville Longbottom, because you have no brains.”

Neville's face turned bright red as he looked up at Malfoy.

"You can't say that..."

His stammering voice had barely begun when Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle burst into strange, mocking laughter.

　To all readers: From now on, Lu will update twice a day at 10:00 AM and three times a day at 10:30 PM.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)