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Ivy lowered her head, her pale white hair falling forward and obscuring her face. Then she took a book out of her arms, opened it on the windowsill, and pretended to be reading.

The sound of shoes clicking on the floor reached Ivy's ears, and she could tell from the sound that someone was walking past her from behind, carrying a book.

After the person had gone far away, Ivy's forehead began to sweat slightly. She was nervous, really nervous. She didn't know what would happen if she was discovered. She could feel the strangeness within this familiar place.

Under this tension, Ivy's attention was gradually drawn to the books open by the window. In fact, she had always had a secret: she was not as good as others thought, with a photographic memory. On the contrary, her memory was probably not as good as most students.

Ivy earned the title of having a photographic memory purely because she loves reading. She spends most of her free time reading, and her love for books is unimaginable to most people. Even if she has read a book many times, she can still find enjoyment in it when she reads it again.

Take, for example, this book in front of her, a detailed guide to using the Killing Curse. Ivy has read it no less than ten times, and she remembers every single word. But now, when she opens it, she can still immerse herself in it and rely on the book to counteract the tension brought on by being in an unfamiliar and dangerous environment.

“Hermione, look, someone’s reading by the window. Are books allowed to be taken out of the library?” Ron asked Hermione curiously after seeing Ivy.

“Of course, anyone who has read the book knows that,” Hermione said, her gaze drawn to Ivy. She sensed a unique and very attractive quality emanating from Ivy—the aura of a top student.

Hermione's words seemed to be a sarcastic remark about Ron's lack of reading skills, but Ron didn't care much. After all, Hermione was right; he really didn't like reading. He hadn't even finished his textbooks, let alone borrowed books from the library.

“Harry, are you still thinking about that? Don’t worry, all that fortune-telling is fake.” Ron turned to Harry Potter, who was frowning and seemingly lost in thought.

Harry Potter opened his mouth, but didn't want to say anything. He wasn't in a good mood. The Divination teacher's death prediction, coupled with the frequent nightmares he had been having lately, had left him feeling somewhat exhausted.

“My dad said that only fools believe in fortune telling. Oh, I forgot, I almost forgot that you are a fool.”

A haughty voice came from behind Harry Potter and his companions. It was Malfoy. He glanced at Harry Potter, raised his head slightly, and wore a very disdainful and arrogant expression.

Ron clenched his fists. That damn Malfoy, stirring up trouble again. He really wanted to punch the guy.

However, after making a casual sarcastic remark, Malfoy walked forward with his two henchmen, deliberately bumping into Ivy as he passed by.

Caught off guard, Ivy's body knocked the book out of the window. In the blink of an eye, Ivy drew her wand and cast the Levitation Charm, which struck the falling book.

The book floated on the window, and Ivy reached out and took it back.

"What do you want to do!" Ivy turned around and looked up at Malfoy, her eyes filled with anger, her right index finger already pressed on her wand.

Malfoy was startled by Ivy. He was simply annoyed by Ivy, whom he didn't know, after hearing Ron and the others talk about her. But seeing how skillfully Ivy cast spells, Malfoy felt that this person might not be a first-year or second-year student, but rather an upperclassman.

This thought, coupled with Ivy's fierce temperament when she was angry, left Malfoy speechless for a moment.

"Get out of the way! Or I won't be polite!" Ivy snapped, then walked away from Malfoy and his henchmen.

As Ivy passed by Hermione, Hermione glanced at the girl with her head down. Malfoy was considered a bully at school, and Hermione was a little curious about this girl who was defiantly confronting the Malfoy trio.

As Ivy walked around the corner, a faint blush rose on Malfoy's cheeks—a reaction of shame and indignation. This pure-blooded nobleman had actually been intimidated by a Ravenclaw girl.

As Ron passed by Malfoy, he stuck out his tongue, clearly mocking Malfoy.

Ugh~ So scared of the little girl that I can't move, how embarrassing.

Malfoy's temper flared even more. After letting out a cold snort, he still didn't chase after Ivy. Class was about to start, and he dared not be late.

Chapter 318 I solemnly swear that I have not done anything good!

After getting away from Malfoy and the others, Ivy hid in another secluded corner. She didn't want to get into any conflicts with anyone, and keeping a low profile was the most important thing at this time.

"That annoying guy," Ivy muttered, squatting down with the only book that brought her comfort. In her old school, she was surrounded by hardworking classmates, and there was no student like Malfoy who was always looking for trouble.

Even the proud and aloof Cassandra wouldn't resort to such petty tricks to affect others; she would only demonstrate her pride through her own hard work and strength.

Time passed slowly, and the day's classes were over. After class, Hermione's mind was still filled with Ivy's image. At the same time, she was also a little curious about what kind of book Ivy was holding, as it looked very attractive.

"Professor Snape, it's her! She must know where that white-haired intruder is hiding!" Malfoy led Snape to Hermione and pointed at her, shouting loudly.

After being humiliated by Ivy, Malfoy immediately used his connections to inquire about Ivy throughout the school, only to find that there was no such young wizard at all.

Upon learning this, Malfoy felt like he had won the lottery. Driven by a desire for revenge, he decisively went to Snape and told him everything. He also embellished the story by dragging Hermione into it, forcibly turning Hermione and Ivy's relationship from strangers into friends.

Snape looked coldly at Hermione. "Miss Hermione, you'd better tell me everything without hiding anything."

“Professor Snape, Hermione has nothing to do with that person. I was the first to see her!” Ron stepped forward without hesitation and stood in front of Hermione.

“I can testify!” Harry also stepped forward. Even though they were facing Snape, whom they hated and feared the most, the two of them were still full of courage for their friend.

“Talking back to a teacher, ten points deducted from Gryffindor. Miss Hermione, come to my office!” Snape said grimly after deducting the points.

Harry and Ron wanted to say something, but Hermione stopped them. Hermione knew that it would be useless to say anything now, and she wasn't worried about herself. She really didn't know the child, and she had nothing to fear!

Watching Hermione leave with Snape, Ron turned to Harry, "What do we do? He'll definitely team up with Malfoy to frame Hermione!"

“Let me think, let me think.” Harry’s mind raced, then he patted Ron on the shoulder. “You go find that girl. I’ll go find Professor McGonagall. Hermione isn’t the culprit; she shouldn’t be interrogated!”

“No problem!” Ron nodded and set off immediately.

As everyone knows, Snape had a problem with all non-Slytherin students, especially Gryffindor, and among Gryffindor, Snape loved to cause trouble for Harry, Dumbledore, and Harry. However, Harry knew that in this school, besides Dumbledore, there was no one who could stop Snape's behavior, and that was Professor McGonagall.

In addition, because Ron and his trio had helped Gryffindor end Slytherin's winning streak, and because of Harry's own status as a savior, people from other houses in Hogwarts, except for Slytherin, had always held a certain degree of goodwill towards them.

At Ron's request, a fierce search for the "intruder" unfolds.

With an invisibility spell cast on her, Ivy carefully avoided every little wizard who ran after her. She was still waiting, waiting for her teacher to contact her. To be honest, it was beyond Ivy's expectations that she could hide peacefully for a whole day before arousing the vigilance of the school staff.

The search had been going on for over half an hour, and everyone was still empty-handed. This was normal; it wasn't that Ivy looked down on these people, but their spellcasting level was really inferior to that of the first-year students who had just entered the school.

Of course, this cannot be entirely blamed on the students. The learning atmosphere and intensity on the two sides are not on the same level. Here, there are at most two classes a day, and they don't last long. On Ivy's side, the freshmen have at least four long classes a day, plus evening self-study. In addition, the teachers are strict and the learning atmosphere is high. The difference is immediately apparent.

"No, we can't just keep searching like this, she must be hiding!" Ron took a couple of breaths and muttered to himself, then he remembered something.

To find someone, you definitely need to be extremely familiar with Hogwarts, and the students who are most familiar with Hogwarts are none other than his two older brothers, Fred Weasley and George Weasley. They have played so many pranks at Hogwarts that they know the whole Hogwarts like the back of their hand.

"Such an interesting thing, and you're only telling us now?" Fred's eyes lit up after hearing Ron's words.

“I know what you’re trying to say, let’s use that!” George shouted.

“Yes, that’s the one!” Fred chimed in.

Ron looked completely bewildered, having no idea what his brothers were talking about.

Then, Ron was pulled to a secluded spot by Fred and George, where the two men pulled out a blank parchment in front of him.

“We originally planned to play with it a little longer before giving it to you, but it looks like we can do it sooner,” Fred said mysteriously.

George, on the other hand, was quite straightforward. He cleared his throat into the parchment and declared, "I solemnly swear that I did nothing wrong!"

As George spoke, ink lines began to extend across the parchment, creating a map of Hogwarts. This map even included most of the secret passages of Hogwarts, and clearly displayed the name and location of each person.

“Found her! I’ve never seen this name, Ivy, on the map before!” George said, pointing to a name that was moving slowly on the map. “She must be the intruder.”

Ron was overjoyed. As long as they captured Ivy, Hermione would definitely be cleared of suspicion. But just as the three of them were about to take action, they noticed Snape and McGonagall's names appearing not far from them.

"Prank over!" Fred reacted quickly, whispering to the parchment. After the map disappeared, he shoved it into Ron's hand and then stood in front of Ron.

He waved his hand behind his back, signaling Ron to quickly hide the things.

Professor McGonagall walked in, her eyes immediately drawn to Ron. She frowned. "What are you doing here?!"

"I...I...I..." Ron was a little nervous, his right hand gripping the Marauder's Map tightly in his sleeve.

“He came to ask for our help to find the intruder,” George interjected.

"Nonsense! This is none of your business. Now go back to your lounge!" McGonagall said sternly. "From now on, no one is allowed to wander around the castle without a teacher's supervision!"

“Especially you two!” McGonagall emphasized to the Weasley brothers. These two naughty boys had broken the school rules far too many times. They definitely wouldn’t listen unless they were given a serious talking-to.

“Yes, Professor, we understand.” Fred and George replied in unison, while winking at Ron, signaling him to hurry up and leave.

Chapter 319 Hermione: I'm a Gryffindor too!

Ivy's appearance awakened the wizards who had been tense by the Chamber of Secrets and the Great Serpent. All the students returned to their houses to rest, and teachers patrolled the door of each common room to ensure that no more accidents would happen to the young wizards.

In the Gryffindor common room, Hermione sat at the table, with Harry watching her. Harry then let out a long sigh. Ever since Hermione returned from Snape's office, she had been acting strangely, appearing absent-minded and looking worried.

She wanted to share some of her friend's burdens, but no matter how much Harry asked, Hermione wouldn't tell him what was troubling her.

"Hermione!" Ron walked into the common room and excitedly ran over when he saw Hermione sitting calmly. "Malfoy and Snape didn't do anything to you, did they?!"

Hermione shook her head. "Professor McGonagall arrived quickly. After she joined us, I only answered a few simple questions, and they said I could leave."

Ron blinked. If nothing happened, why did he have that expression?

Ron looked at Harry, hoping he could answer his question, but Harry just shrugged and said, "I want to know what happened too."

"Never mind," Ron shook his head, then bent down and approached Hermione and Harry. "I know how to find Ivy."

"Ivy?" Harry looked puzzled.

“It’s that white-haired girl, her name is Ivy,” Ron explained.

Hermione jumped to her feet, grabbed Ron's clothes with one hand, and dragged him to a corner while Harry was still a little dazed.

“Quick, tell me, where is she? And how do you know her name?” Hermione asked, staring intently at Ron.

Ron was a little surprised to see Hermione like this for the first time. After looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to them, he took out a blank Marauder's Map from his sleeve.

"I solemnly swear that I have not done anything good!" Ron chanted the incantation.

The ink line began to move rapidly, and the map of Hogwarts reappeared on the Marauder's Map, including everyone active in Hogwarts. Ivy's name was now on the outer wall of the main castle, indicating that Ivy had no choice but to risk hiding outside the castle in order to avoid a school-wide search.

Harry stared at Ron in amazement. Ron had such amazing gadgets. How come he had never seen Ron use them before?

Ron grinned sheepishly. "My brothers gave this to me. It shows everyone in Hogwarts. Nobody has ever seen the name Ivy before. She's probably that white-haired girl."

“Ron,” Hermione looked up at Ron, “Could I borrow it?”

“You want to take it to see the teacher? No way, it’ll get my brothers sold out,” Ron said, shaking his head.

“No, I want to go find her,” Hermione said, pointing to Ivy, who was slowly moving on the map.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes. Usually, when the two of them broke the rules, Hermione would pull them back and stop them. Although most of the time, Hermione ended up being dragged onto the wrong path by the two of them, how could Hermione now be breaking the rules on her own and going to find the intruder by herself?

“You don’t know! Professor Snape said that after we find her, we’re going to take her to Azkaban!” Hermione said in a low voice, clenching her fist. “I don’t think she’s a bad person, otherwise she would have attacked us when we and Malfoy encountered her!”

"It's actually our fault. If we hadn't made those comments about her, Malfoy wouldn't have noticed her, the conflict wouldn't have happened, Malfoy wouldn't have gone to Snape, and things wouldn't have gotten to this point. It's our fault, you know?"

"Calm down, calm down!" Harry shouted, grabbing Hermione's arm. "It's good to reflect on yourself, but overthinking is not good. After all, she is an intruder and could be dangerous!"

"You're terrified! Do you think she's the one prophesied to kill you?!" Hermione blurted out, looking at Harry, then paused, realizing her mistake. "I, Harry, I didn't mean that..."

“It’s alright, I know you mean no harm. Concern can cloud judgment, and besides, I don’t deny that I’m a little afraid that she is the person in the prophecy.” Harry generously refrained from blaming Hermione, and instead took a deep breath and acknowledged part of what Hermione had said.

"Here, take this. But if the teacher catches you, remember to say it's a counterspell. If you don't have time, just say it's mine." Ron used a counterspell to disable the Marauder's Map and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione froze on the spot, and Ron raised his hand, gesturing for her to take the map away.

"Thank you." Hermione took the Marauder's Map, feeling a warm glow inside.