Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 297: A Subtle Gaze
In the following days, Lockhart's reputation underwent a slight change.

In the past, when he came to the hall, the little witches would gossip much louder, but now some of them even wanted to avoid him.

Saturday.

hall.

Sheen took a sip of the steaming pumpkin porridge, its sweet taste often reminding him of the soft, sticky sweet potatoes by the stove on winter nights.

An owl flew into the gray sky beneath the dome, its burrows falling like raindrops.

Around him, Harry was listlessly responding to Colin. To Colin, it seemed that the most exciting thing in the world was saying "How are you, Harry?" six or seven times a day and hearing "Hello, Colin" in return, no matter how helpless and annoyed Harry's tone was.

Hermione planned to burn all of Lockhart's books, but Justin dissuaded her.

"My mother said that knowledge is innocent, no matter what the circumstances."

Neville carefully examined the Fire Charm in the Standard Spellbook. He realized that at some point, he no longer simply expected others to help him.

Especially when this person is highly likely to be Sheen.

Ron, on the other hand, was excited. Today he was going to sneak away from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley to buy a wand.

However, he had to be extremely careful not to cause trouble for Sheen.

Hopefully, the people of the cabin have been gathered together, or rather, connected by a certain young wizard, and a year has passed in this way without them realizing it.

Unaware of what was happening, Sheen turned his gaze to the long table in Gryffindor, where a lovely little witch was chatting enthusiastically with her companion.

They were all holding a card with a moving black cat on it, chattering away.

Sheehan glanced at Ginny's diary on the table and could sense that the malice had intensified.

Sometimes it even stung Sheen's eyes like needles.

At the same time, Ginny also became tainted with some aura that caused the Soul Artifact to produce an unusual effect.

Sheehan knew that, just as he could sense Voldemort, the young Voldemort could also sense him through some unknown means.

They had already discovered each other at the Sorting Ceremony.

The only difference is that Tom didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew perfectly well how to destroy the diary.

but……

Tom seemed to be getting anxious, and he most likely used some forceful means to damage Ginny's soul.

Sheen felt a slight sense of urgency, but he wouldn't allow himself to rush things.

Speed ​​things up—tonight, he must find the entrance to the secret room without being discovered.

Sheen thought so.

The grass outside Hogwarts Castle was covered in dew, and even though the sun was high in the sky, some lingering mist still hung over the Quidditch pitch.

Some Quidditch players wearing blue and white scarves came out; they looked like they had just finished training.

Sheen's head was obscured by the book as he brushed past them.

"The first-year students have already finished their flight lessons, and we still don't have a Seeker?"

Roger Davis tugged at his scarf and said impatiently.

"You're looking for someone like Rodri Prenton—Davis, the absolute core of the Tathill Tornadoes, a super contributor to five UEFA Cup victories—"

His teammates stared at him with wide eyes.

"Let's be understanding of Roger; Ravenclaw was the Quidditch champion before he took office."

He'd barely taken office when Ravenclaw crumbled at the first sign of trouble... Well, now everyone knows whose fault it is.

"That's what Toya, a Quidditch player, said dramatically."

“Now I appoint you to recruit new members—Toya—when Ravenclaw suffers a crushing defeat, people will know that last year Ravenclaw added a powerful core, but this year they have nothing—”

Roger, his veins bulging, stuck a recruitment epaulet onto Toya's arm, turning one person's pain into two.

Sheen quickened his pace silently, heading towards Hagrid's cabin.

His material transformation was only 100 points away from reaching the "Expert" level, which meant less than a week of training. Beginner-level proficiency required a long casting time, but "Expert" significantly reduced this time, and expert-level proficiency was instantaneous.

This pattern has been verified in black magic and spells.

Outside Hagrid's cottage, the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch swelled up to the size of a greenhouse.

Hagrid was about to leave, looking furious, when he turned around and saw Sheen, and his face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Sheen, how have you been lately? Come in, come in—I thought Professor Lockhart was back."

Sheen entered the cabin with some doubt. In one corner stood an enormous bed, and in another corner, a fireplace crackled merrily.

"You wouldn't believe it, he actually taught me how to prevent water monsters from getting into the well,"

Hagrid said angrily, taking a half-plucked rooster from the spotlessly clean table, and setting the teapot on top.

"As if I didn't know anything. He even boasted about how he exorcised female ghosts. If even one of those claims is true, I'll eat the teapot."

Sheen was thinking that Hagrid's teeth could really swallow a teapot when he suddenly saw the rooster, whose body had more than just slaughter wounds.

Is it injured?

Sheen asked.

"Yes, this is the second one that has been killed since the start of the school year."

He explained,

"It's either a fox or a vampire. I need the principal's permission to cast a spell around the chicken coop."

Sheen remained silent.

Tom indeed possessed extremely special dark magic; less than two weeks into the semester, he was able to forcibly control Ginny to slaughter roosters.

Sheehan had reason to believe that his urgency was related to himself.

The little wizard's gaze then deepened.

He'd better have something ready to track Ginny's movements.

He had initially thought this was a planning map, but that night, he had a better option.

……

It was a dark, overcast night.

Since October, the weather has become increasingly cold, with more rain and darker nights.

Ron peeked out from around the corner of the corridor, wary of Filch and Mrs. Lorris who might appear.

In fact, Mrs. Lorris was right on Sheehan's shoulder, and Ron was terrified the moment he turned around.

"Xi, Xi, Xi En—"

He quickly covered his mouth.

“I have explained your situation to Mr. Filch.”

Sheen said.

Ron was in a daze, could that be said?

“The great Mr. Green—”

Fred peeked out from behind the overturned portrait, but then shrank back in after seeing Mrs. Lorris.

"Your faithful follower, come—"

George's smile didn't last long before it naturally disappeared, and he withdrew it.

"Does he also seem disloyal?"

Ron subconsciously mimicked George's tone.
"Your faithful follower is gone—"

(End of this chapter)