The Fool in Hogwarts

Bonus 900 PS.

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A Memory Charm, a large-scale Memory Charm capable of subtly influencing every student and member of staff at Hogwarts. How had he only noticed it today?

There was only one person at Hogwarts capable of such a feat: Albus Dumbledore.

He had probably acted in secret immediately after Trelawney delivered the prophecy. Everyone who knew about it had been gathered in the Great Hall, so a single spell was enough for him to turn a complicated problem into an extremely simple one.

As expected of the most powerful wizard of the century. He was shrewd, decisive, and had unintentionally saved Vade a great deal of trouble.

Vade felt considerably more relaxed. If his guess was correct, only a very small number of people would be unaffected by the Memory Charm.

The Dark Lord, the White Lord, those working for either of them, and Vade himself, The Fool.

In any case, having the information confined to a limited circle was far less dangerous than allowing the entire wizarding world to learn about it.

After recovering from this pleasant surprise, Vade looked at Hermione.

"Let me give you a simple example. Many diviners in the wizarding world are unable to determine whether Merlin is alive or dead.

"That isn’t because they’re incompetent, but because the difference between them and the legendary wizard Merlin is simply too great. It’s like the difference between an ant and a dragon."

"Oh, I think I understand." Realisation dawned on Hermione. "The difference in magical power between you and a professor would make your divination inaccurate."

"That’s one way to understand it. Diviners never casually attempt to divine matters beyond their abilities.

"They either receive no result at all, or obtain a distorted or even entirely incorrect one. The deeper they investigate such a matter, the closer they come to unknown dangers."

"All right. I underestimated how complicated it was."

"Hermione." Vade hesitated for a moment before speaking helplessly. "I don’t know why you care so much about this, but as a friend, I should warn you not to interfere in matters that don’t concern you."

Hermione frowned. "Do you know something?"

"Don’t misunderstand. I don’t know anything, but I can make a reasonable guess.

"Who is Harry Potter? The Boy Who Lived, the saviour who rescued the wizarding world from You-Know-Who. Who do you think might want to harm him?"

Hermione remained silent for several seconds. Then a possibility suddenly occurred to her, and the colour rapidly drained from her face.

"Could it be one of You-Know-Who’s followers?"

"Shh!" Vade hurriedly raised a finger to his lips. "Don’t say it aloud. It’s enough that you understand."

"Harry Potter spent the first eleven years of his life in the Muggle world. Even if someone wanted to harm him, they had no way to reach him.

"But now that he has entered the wizarding world, he has also entered the sight of many people. Naturally, some of them will wish him harm."

"However, Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world because our headmaster is the White Lord, Albus Dumbledore. I’m also certain that Dumbledore understands Harry Potter’s situation perfectly well and is paying close attention to his safety."

"In other words, you don’t need to worry about Harry’s safety. But if you insist on helping him investigate certain matters, you may only drag yourself into unnecessary trouble and danger."

"So you want me to keep my distance from Harry?"

"No. I’m only reminding you not to overestimate yourself or attempt anything beyond your abilities.

"I know Gryffindors have no shortage of courage, but we came to Hogwarts to study, not to seek adventure. I hope you understand that."

"Thank you for the warning."

With a complicated expression, Hermione picked up her book and turned to leave.

There was nothing to hesitate over. She would still choose to help Harry. After all, he was one of the few friends she had in Gryffindor.

Besides, given the way Harry and Ron thought, they would be hopeless without her.

"Wait," Vade called after her. "If you encounter a problem you can’t solve, ask someone capable of solving it for help, such as Professor McGonagall."

"I understand."

"I’ve said everything I can. Whatever happens next will happen." Vade slowly exhaled, then returned to the table and sat down.

"What did you talk about?" Daphne asked curiously. "Why did it take so long?"

"It has nothing to do with you, and I think it would be better if you didn’t know."

Daphne immediately became unhappy. "Are we still friends or not?"

"Of course we are."

"Then tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone else, and I won’t let her know you told me."

"No. This is for your own safety." Vade calmly turned a page, but his tone was extremely serious. "Sometimes, the less you know, the easier and safer your life will be."

"Does it really need to be so mysterious?" Daphne’s voice weakened slightly.

"Absolutely. We didn’t see Hermione Granger today, and we certainly didn’t hear her say anything ridiculous. Understood?"

Seeing how serious he was, Daphne finally believed that he was not joking.

However, she could not understand why Hogwarts would be dangerous. Was Dumbledore merely there for decoration?

Although she was confused, she restrained her curiosity and tactfully asked no further questions.

The new term began the following day.

Vade maintained the same image he had established during the previous term. Apart from Potions, his performance in every subject remained average or slightly below average.

His schedule, however, was packed. He divided his free time into two parts. One was spent in the library studying alchemy and magical theory, while the other was spent in the room on the eighth floor, where he put that knowledge into practice and trained his magic.

Day after day passed. Like a sponge, he continuously absorbed knowledge and enriched himself.

Then the second Quidditch match of the year began, with Gryffindor facing Hufflepuff. After breakfast, most of the students and staff went to the Quidditch pitch.

Vade once again chose not to watch the match. Instead, he went to the room on the eighth floor to test the Extension Charm he had recently learnt.

He was attempting to increase the capacity of his pouch when a crisp sound interrupted him.

Turning around, he saw that a crack had suddenly appeared in the griffin egg, which had spent so long bathed in sunlight and lightning.

Vade immediately stopped what he was doing and hurried over.

Crack! Crack!

With a series of sharp sounds, the crack deepened.

The small creature inside wriggled and forced its way out through the broken shell.

The baby griffin had the head, forelegs, and wings of an eagle, while its body, hind legs, and tail resembled those of a lion.

Unlike an ordinary griffin, however, its entire body was golden, while its wings were a dazzling mixture of white and gold.

Freshly hatched, it rolled around on the cushions like a kitten. It was unbearably adorable.

Vade liked it at once. He watched patiently as it gradually found its footing and curiously examined its mother.

"Not bad." Vade smiled and lifted the baby griffin into his arms. It was surprisingly heavy. "How about I call you Griffin from now on?

"You aren’t objecting, so I’ll take that as agreement."

(To be continued.)