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

Professor Flitwick glanced furtively at his two colleagues beside him.

"—Five points!"

He steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and winked at Wade, signaling—don't worry, we'll add it back later.

Professor McGonagall smiled almost imperceptibly and said, "Well, of course—and for bravely protecting your classmate and successfully using the Disarming Charm, I'll add ten points to your score, Mr. Gray. It's clear that you... well... are exceptionally good at learning spells!"

……

"Ten points added?" Inside the umbrella house, Michael was also quite surprised by the result.

“Actually, only five points were added, because Professor Flitwick had deducted five points before that,” Wade emphasized.

“I know… but… that’s Professor McGonagall!” Michael exclaimed incredulously. “She doesn’t even favor the Gryffindors!”

“It’s precisely because Professor McGonagall is fair that she gave Ravenclaw ten extra points!” Padma seemed unsurprised. “Think about what Malfoy did… a month of confinement was too lenient for him!”

"Not only that, they didn't get anything good out of Professor Snape either." Theo revealed a piece of news that no one else knew—"Someone saw the Slytherins go to Professor Snape together to complain, but they were kicked out in less than two minutes."

Ryan nodded knowingly: "Even if Professor Snape is usually very strict, he wouldn't be biased towards Slytherin without reason, right?"

Neville probably didn't agree. He felt that if they could have seen how Snape criticized Gryffindor and Slytherin in their Potions class, they probably wouldn't have such a far-fetched view.

While everyone was chatting, the door to the Umbrella House suddenly opened—at this moment, only one person would come. Padma happily waved her hand and called out, "Hermione!"

The brown-haired girl strode in from outside, beaming with a bright smile, and said, "Good afternoon, guys!"

"Huh?" Padma looked at her with some confusion. "Hermione, why do I feel like you're acting a little different today?"

"N-no, no—" Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to cover it up, "I'm probably just a little too happy to hear that Malfoy learned his lesson—"

“Hmm…” Padma was skeptical—was that really the reason?

Michael noticed it immediately—Hermione used to have very prominent front teeth, which, combined with her messy brown hair, made her look like a beaver. But today, when Hermione smiled, her teeth were straight and of normal size, making her look much cuter than usual.

“Wow, Hermione!” Michael didn’t reveal his discovery, but instead praised, “You look radiant today.”

Hermione smiled shyly, and to divert attention, she turned around and called out to the people behind her, "Come in, Harry!"

Harry Potter, who had been hesitating outside the door, finally walked in. Everyone looked at him, and the boy awkwardly ruffled his hair.

This was certainly not their first meeting, but seeing classmates in the classroom was normal, but seeing Harry Potter, a new member in their own "territory" or "circle," still gave them a strange and special feeling.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Harry was a little embarrassed, and he awkwardly greeted everyone, "Um—hello everyone? I'm Harry Potter..."

Then he realized in despair—what a stupid thing to say! They had been studying together for more than half a year, how could they not know each other?

Hermione kept reminding him to make a good impression, but it seems his stupidity ruined the very first step...

They must think it's weird of him to talk like that, right? He looks so silly...

“Shall we get to know each other again?” Wade stood up first, extended his hand and smiled, “Hello, Harry, I’m Wade Gray.”

If you do something stupid by yourself, you'll be incredibly embarrassed; but if others do the same thing, the embarrassment seems to be nothing.

Harry shook hands with Wade gratefully.

Michael Conner then extended his hand: "Welcome, I'm Michael Conner—I've been wanting to say this for a while now, your move to catch the Golden Snitch on the court last time was really cool! Looking forward to your next performance."

"Thank you." Harry smiled shyly.

“Welcome to the team, Harry. I’m Theo Mancini.” Theo said with a smile, “Next time you’ll be facing Hufflepuff. I can only wish you a good match and hope that Hufflepuff wins.”

Harry desperately wished he could respond with something witty and humorous, but his mind, devoid of words, was suddenly filled with only Wood's passionate speech in the rain—

"Hufflepuff is nothing to worry about!"

No... that's not right...

"Defeat Hufflepuff! Win the Academy Cup!"

That's enough! He doesn't want to offend everyone...

"We must give it our all! This is the first time in seven years! We must impress Professor McGonagall!" Wood roared, raising his arm.

Harry: ...

"I'll do my best!" Harry blurted out before his mind could process it.

Theo laughed: "That's how it should be."

“Ryan Caro.” Ryan shook hands with him, his smile faint but sincere: “Although I’ve never joined any other clubs, I must say that SSC is definitely the best.”

“Of course,” Harry replied quickly.

“Padma Petit.” Padma shook hands with a smile. “My only request is that you don’t mistake me for my sister.”

“I won’t admit I’m wrong,” Harry said firmly.

Unlike the Weasley twins, who seem to be copied and pasted, the Petit sisters are actually quite distinct. Even though they have very similar appearances, their personalities, temperaments, and expressions are very different, making them indistinguishable.

“Then—lastly, it’s my turn.” Hermione shook hands with her in a similar manner, and smiled, “Your friend—is also a partner of SSC.”

“Oh—Hermione—” Harry couldn’t help but chuckle.

At this moment, Harry had completely forgotten all the thoughts he had had when he entered. In the playful welcome, he truly felt accepted by a group—something completely different from his friendship with Ron, or the worship and curiosity some classmates had for him because of his reputation as the "Savior."

Harry couldn't quite put his finger on what the difference was; he only knew that he felt great, as if he were floating on soft clouds.

Chapter 78 Integration and Learning

After a brief welcoming ceremony, Harry, with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, said, "Uh—actually, this is my first time joining a club, so I don't know much about it... Could you tell me what the rules of the SSC club are? Is there anything I need to do?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"—A club?" Theo asked, puzzled. "Are we already considered a club?"

Neville exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't SSC a club? I thought it had been for a long time!"

"If students form clubs, do they need to report to the professor?" Ryan asked with some uncertainty.

Michael: "I thought we were a club?"

“The club requires membership fees, right? We haven’t paid any money,” Ryan said, based on the bits and pieces he’d learned from his Muggle relatives.

Neville was a little confused: "I said—what's the difference between a club and a society?"

Everyone fell silent – ​​yes… what difference is there besides the name?

They couldn't answer for a moment.

Harry never expected things to turn out this way. He carefully recalled how things had turned out this way, and then silently looked at Hermione beside him.

Wade glanced at Hermione, who was trying not to laugh, and asked helplessly, "Hermione, what did you tell Harry?"

Hermione burst out laughing, waved her hand at Harry, and said, "I didn't say anything. You and Ron just guessed, right?"

Harry: "..."

Yes... She didn't say anything, but repeatedly emphasized that this matter was very important, so they should be careful and prepared, and reminded him to bring his wand... Then she watched them anxiously guessing what kind of tests they would face when joining the club.

Ron even came up with a particularly outlandish guess—

"Maybe they'll let you sneak into Snape's office and steal one of his personal items—like his underwear or socks. Or maybe you can throw a dung bomb down the hallway in front of Professor McGonagall to prove your courage!"

Ron looked at Harry with a tragic expression, as if he were about to be torn apart by the angry professor.

Thinking about it carefully, Hermione's pained expression at the time—which he thought was a painful expression—was actually her trying to suppress laughter, right?

Or is it because of their various demonized speculations that Hermione didn't say anything?

“It’s like this—” Wade couldn’t help but laugh, “We’re actually just an after-school study group. We get together to practice spells, discuss homework problems, or borrow each other’s notes. Generally, we study here after dinner, but you can come and go as you please. If you don’t want to come, you don’t need to ask anyone for permission. There are no fixed rules. As for the rules—they’re all posted on the wall behind you.”

Harry turned his head and looked at the paper nailed to the wall. It contained only a few short sentences, such as members should help each other, be united and friendly, and not touch other people's things without permission. These were basically the basic moral standards that elementary school students should follow. The only special thing was that no one else could be brought into the Umbrella House without the consent of all the members.

Harry initially felt relaxed—these "rules" were hardly rules at all, and there were no strong punishments or constraints, so their previous guesses were clearly wrong; but when he saw the last one, Harry's heart sank again.

—He's new here too, could you introduce Ron to the team?

“Harry, your seat is here.” Neville warmly led Harry to the side.

An empty table had been prepared next to Neville's seat, with separate bookshelves and cabinets on the side. The surrounding wooden boards formed a semi-enclosed structure, which could block the view of others, or the boards could be lowered to facilitate communication.

There were also a few small tea tables, a food cabinet, and a soft old sofa with several plush cushions. These things were arranged by Zoe and the others at Wade's request—the old furniture in the Room of Requirement almost formed a small town. They picked out the relatively intact pieces, pieced them together, and repaired them so that they looked almost new.

The pantry is always filled with cakes, cookies, puddings, and candies, while several dark silver tin jugs hold drinks and water—all prepared by the house-elves. Moreover, when they have free time, the elves will even decorate the umbrella house.

When Wade and his companions entered the Umbrella House, they would often find that there had been some small changes. Perhaps there were some strange decorations and photos on the walls, a few pots of wildflowers blooming in the corner, or one or two pieces of very useful furniture.

Unbeknownst to them, this once empty and abandoned classroom has become increasingly full, with traces of several people living and studying here everywhere, and a warm and vibrant atmosphere in the room.

Harry fell in love with the place almost at first sight.

He also received a parchment that served as a communication tool for SSC members—the Book of Friends, which is now almost universally known, but Harry, who stayed at school for Christmas, had no money but nowhere to buy one.

Of all the people he knew, Hermione had one; she gave Harry a copy to keep in touch, but since they were all together all the time, they rarely used it. Ron had two: one from Hermione, and the other was sent to him by Mrs. Weasley after the holidays—every Weasley child had one. Ron often used the Book of Friends to chat or argue with his brothers before bed, which would then be sternly told by Mrs. Weasley to go to sleep immediately.

Ron sometimes complains about his mother's strictness, but Harry envies him greatly.

Now, he has a second Book of Friends.

He slipped two parchment sheets into his textbook and put them in his bag, then looked around—everyone else had already started doing their homework or reading, and even Neville was diligently copying his Transfiguration notes.

This is quite different from studying in the common room. In the Gryffindor common room, students are always noisy, and some are looking for others to copy their homework; there is no quiet and focused learning atmosphere like this. If they want to do their homework seriously, they have to go to the library, but Mrs. Pince is very strict and does not allow eating or talking, which is another kind of inconvenience.