Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

Wade jumped off the carriage. The night air was bitterly cold, and his breath turned into a white mist. He turned around and met the Thestral's pale, empty eyes.

This feeling is very strange.

No wonder that in ancient times, people equated seeing a Thestral with seeing death, believing that the Thestrals would bring disaster to those who saw them.

“What are we waiting for, Wade!” Ryan patted him on the back and stamped his feet, saying, “It’s so cold today!”

The students trudged through the snow and up the stone steps, eagerly entering the castle. At the corner of the entrance hall, Filch glared angrily at the children who had brought mud and water into the castle.

The Great Hall was brightly lit, and the house-elves had prepared a sumptuous dinner as usual. Dumbledore sat in the teachers' section, smiling as he looked at the new students.

Chapter 65 The Room of Requirement

In the early morning, while the bedroom was still pitch black, Wade, still half asleep, suddenly felt someone watching him.

In his dormitory, where he was all alone, the presence of that gaze that didn't belong to him was particularly noticeable.

Vader groggily opened his eyes and suddenly saw a row of huge, glittering eyes in the darkness, like small lanterns floating in the air.

Boom!

His heart clenched violently, and Vader sat bolt upright, instinctively grabbing his wand and pointing it at the crowd: "Who goes there!"

"Mr. Grey is awake," the house-elf's high-pitched voice rang out. "Zoe knew Mr. Grey would return to the castle today, and Zoe has been waiting."

With a snap of his slender fingers, the oil lamp in the dormitory immediately lit up.

Three house-elves stood side by side on the floor in the center of the dormitory, completely unaware of how frightening it was that they appeared like this in the middle of the night, looking at Wade with enthusiastic smiles on their faces.

Wade felt his wildly beating heart pounding so hard it hurt his ribs. He took a deep breath, his cold fingers gradually warming up, and his scalp still tingled with an electric shock-like shiver.

“Zoe, Happy, Phil,” Wade said, trying to keep his tone calm. “Long time no see—what brings you all out in the middle of the night?”

The little elves bowed deeply, their big ears twitching, and said happily:

"It's like this—Phil received another gift from Wade Gray for Christmas—"

"But Wade Gray must have noticed—he didn't receive a gift from Harpy—"

"It's not that there were no gifts, it's just that Zoe prepared something even better—"

Phil wanted to give Wade Gray the gift he truly desired. But what did Wade Gray want? Phil thought and thought—

"While cleaning the Ravenclaw Tower, Happy overheard the first-year students talking, and then Happy finally understood—"

The three house-elves grinned with delight and said in unison, "Wade Grey will definitely want a broom!"

“I do want one,” Wade said, sitting on the bed and looking at them. “But school rules state that first-year students are not allowed to bring brooms to school.”

Otherwise, he could have bought a new one himself during the Christmas holidays.

“There are rules, but Wade Gray wouldn’t break them,” Zoe said, spreading her arms wide. “Because the broom was already at the school, and Wade Gray was just using it.”

First-year students who perform well in flying class can borrow broomsticks from older students to ride for a while afterward. During Quidditch practice, young wizards often gather around the pitch, hoping to borrow broomsticks to have a go at the end of practice.

But a house-elves wouldn't steal a student's broom, nor would they give him a broom that's part of the school's collection as a gift.

"You—did you find a broom that someone threw away?" Vader asked the elves in surprise.

“Not just one—not just one!” Happy wiggled his ears happily. “There are several! Brooms without an owner—”

“Come with Zoe, Wade Gray.” The little elf tugged at his finger and said, “Zoe wants to take Wade Gray to get his present.”

"Oh, okay—wait, let me get dressed." Wade threw back the covers and sat up, then looked at the elves: "Uh—could you all leave for a moment?"

……

It was a dark January morning, and a cold wind howled against the windows, where frost had even formed on the windowsill. Vader followed the three house-elves down the empty corridors of the castle, able to clearly hear the echo of his own footsteps.

It was nearly dawn, and even Filch wasn't patrolling around or waiting to catch students violating the curfew. It seemed as if only Vader remained in the entire castle, as if he were walking through an ancient oil painting.

Wearing thick clothes, Vader looked at the house-elves who were still only wrapped in a thin tea towel and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you cold wearing so little?"

Phil shook his head and said, "It's not cold. Phil can adapt to different environments, summer, winter, very cold, very hot, it's all fine."

What a strange creature.

Wade looked at them intently.

What a strange and powerful creature it is! Unlike wizards who rely on wands, it is born with the ability to cast spells without a wand, and possesses extraordinary and unique magic. Its magical power is immense, and it can also apparite without limit.

If wizards hadn't instilled ideas of "absolute obedience" and "house-elves must be enslaved by wizards" in their genes or souls, they might have been more dangerous to wizards than dragons.

Throughout history, elves have staged numerous rebellions, always fighting for the rights of their race. But even when house-elves are abused and killed by wizards, they do not resist, nor do they disobey their masters' orders.

Therefore, most ordinary wizards long to have their own house-elves, but wizards who do own house-elves rarely treat them well. The house-elves belonging to Hogwarts are considered to be treated relatively well compared to their kind; at least the students don't take pleasure in abusing them.

Wade lowered his eyes and followed the elves along the corridor for a long distance, sometimes going down two flights of stairs and sometimes going up several flights of stairs, until they reached a place near the Gryffindor Tower.

The corridor was empty, with a blank white wall on one side and a huge tapestry opposite, depicting a wizard in a hat teaching trolls ballet. The trolls all turned to look at them.

Suddenly, Wade remembered a place, and a great sense of anticipation welled up in his heart. He asked softly, "What place is this?"

“The Room of Requirement, Mr. Gray,” Zoe said. “We also call it the Room of Requirement. It only appears when someone really needs it.”

“You have to walk across this wall three times, concentrating on what you need,” Happy said, walking up to the wall and muttering to himself, “Happy needs a place to hide things… a place to hide things… a place to hide things…”

He walked back and forth, and on his third pass, a smooth door suddenly appeared on the wall, with a gleaming, warm brass handle.

Phil stood on tiptoe, gripped the brass handle tightly, and the door slowly opened.

Wade couldn't help but hold his breath.

Before me lay a city with towering walls, piled high with countless discarded items that formed hills of "streets"—broken furniture, rusty weapons, statues severed by dark magic, Muggle cannons, thousands of books, all sorts of forbidden and dangerous toys, and glass bottles filled with unknown potions.

His heart was beating very fast.

The three house-elves, with proud and joyful smiles on their faces, showed him a broom that had been wiped clean and was still tied with an old red ribbon.

"This is a Christmas present for Mr. Gray!" they exclaimed. "It's the best one here!"

“It’s a bit old, but it still flies very well,” Phil added softly.

--No.

Wade thought to himself.

—This house of fulfillment that he had been searching for so long was the real gift!

He grabbed the broom, a delighted smile spreading across his face, as if the whole room had brightened up because of it. His smile was so infectious that the three little elves also wore silly, contented smiles.

Chapter 66 The Little Elf and the Portrait

Although Vader had enough Galleons in Gringotts vault to buy ten more of the latest brooms, he was still overjoyed by the elves' gifts and shared the candy he had brought from home with them—he had grabbed a bag and stuffed it into his pocket as he changed clothes to go out.

“This is made by Muggles, it has no magic, but it smells wonderful and tastes delicious,” Wade told them.

The house-elves looked flattered and hesitated for a moment. But since this wasn't the first time they had exchanged gifts with Wade, the house-elves quickly calmed down and accepted the candy, expressing their deepest gratitude.

"Would Wade Gray like breakfast?" Phil asked respectfully. "Most of the breakfasts in the kitchen should be ready by now."

“Okay,” Wade said decisively.

Phil found a cleaner old mat in the pile of clutter, while Zoe and Happy left the Room of Requirement. A short while later, one of them returned carrying a large plate filled with food, and the other with a large can of juice—Wade's favorite orange juice.

Harpy and the others knelt on the ground, laid out a tablecloth, and placed food and drinks on it. Vader also sat down, and then he saw the elves get up and stand to the side, still holding candy in their hands, looking at Vader with big smiles.

A thought suddenly flashed through Wade's mind. He looked up and said in surprise, "Why are you standing? Sit down, everyone—this is our breakfast meeting."

“Sit—sit down!” Zoe stammered. “Me—us?”

“Of course!” Wade mimicked her voice, then laughed. “Would there be anyone else here?”

The three house-elves looked at each other, their expressions even more excited than when they first received Vader's gift, as if "sitting down" was an unimaginable honor.

But they seemed to be bound hand and foot, remaining motionless for a long time, their large eyes filled with fear.

Wade emphasized slightly and invited again, "Please sit down—don't you want to have breakfast with me?"

"Of course—I'm willing!"

Zoe seemed to be struggling to breathe, then carefully sat down next to Wade.

Next up was Harpy, who was a bit braver and sat opposite Wade, awkwardly with his hands and feet touching.

Then came Phil, who swayed unsteadily, only managing to sit timidly in the corner after being encouraged by his two companions, his slender fingers unconsciously gripping the tablecloth.

“Well then—” Vader looked at the three house-elves and announced, “Let’s begin breakfast!”

He picked up a meat pie first, then gave one to each of the little elves, and they ate it casually. A moment later, the sound of sobbing could be faintly heard in the air.

Large tears welled up in the house-elf's tennis ball-sized eyes.

“Strange—so strange—” Happy said, wiping away tears, his voice choked with emotion. “Happy is happy—why is he crying—”

Wade didn't say anything, but gently stroked its ugly little head with pity.

Phil and Zoe swallowed the pie in big mouthfuls, their bitter tears mixed with the bitterness in their mouths.

In the shadows cast by rows of old furniture, a wizard and three house-elves sat together for the first time in a place where light and shadow mingled, and finished their breakfast.

……

Ravenclaw's Mondays, as always, begin with the less-than-popular Potions class.