Harry Potter: This senior is pretty strong

“Qin, the date mentioned here is the day you and Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley! That was my birthday, I remember it very clearly,” Harry said, pointing to the contents of the newspaper.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu exchanged a glance with Hagrid, who quickly looked away.

"Let me see."

Qin Yu took the newspaper from Harry.

It reads:

Regarding the Gringotts vault theft on July 31st, the wizard who committed the burglary has still not been apprehended… A Gringotts spokesperson stated that they received a warning before the burglars entered Gringotts and increased security. The burglars not only failed to steal anything from the vault but were also seriously injured… Furthermore, the contents of the vault targeted by the burglars were taken that day. As for the contents, Gringotts officials declined to comment and reiterated that Gringotts' security remains as reliable as ever…

Qin Yu had seen the reports of the Gringotts vault theft before, and there wasn't much new progress this time, because they still hadn't caught the thief.

Emphasizing that the thief was seriously injured and that no items were lost was probably an attempt to save face; after all, security is a bank's reputation and even its lifeblood.

"Qin, do you think that thing in Gringotts might be..." Harry whispered to Qin Yu, then looked at Hagrid.

His suspicions were not unfounded. The timing matched up—it was July 31st—and the events also matched up: Hagrid took the small paper package from the vault that afternoon.

Moreover, and most importantly, since it was something Professor Dumbledore instructed Hagrid to take, it must be something extraordinary—even if the small paper package looked ordinary. Therefore, it was highly likely to have been targeted by thieves.

"I can't give you an answer to that question," Qin Yu said with a shrug.

He knew who that person was and what that person's target was, but it would be pointless for him to say anything, because it would only trigger another time rewind.

Then, Qin Yu looked at Hagrid again, hoping that the usually tight-lipped Uncle Hagrid would tell the truth.

"Don't look at me... I really have a lot of work to finish..." Hagrid avoided Qin Yu and Harry's gaze, then stuffed the rock-skin cakes he had made into their hands, saying, "Take these back, you can eat one to stave off hunger if you get hungry at night."

Who would eat this for no reason?

As everyone held the rock-hard flatbread, the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds.

……

On the way back to Hogwarts Castle, Harry, with a pocket full of rock cakes, was preoccupied with his thoughts.

He wanted to share his thoughts with Qin Yu, but for a moment he didn't know where to begin. After all, he couldn't even articulate many of his ideas clearly himself, let alone with Qin.

Moreover, the person he was most curious about was Snape.

There was something Harry had never told anyone: when he first met Snape in the Great Hall on the first day of school, he clearly felt a sharp pain in the scar on his forehead, which made him think that this gloomy Potions professor might be related to the legendary Voldemort.

In fact, Snape really fit Harry's image of a Death Eater—cold, arrogant, and ruthless.

However, Hagrid was unwilling to say much about Snape, and Qin seemed to have a good relationship with Snape. Could it be that Qin...

No, no, how could I doubt Qin! I will never doubt Qin in my entire life!

Harry felt his mind was in complete disarray.

These are things that a first-grader shouldn't be thinking about at all; it's more tiring than attending several classes.

"Stop overthinking all day. What you need to do now is enjoy your time at Hogwarts. Besides, only by mastering magic can you solve all sorts of problems," Qin Yu said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

“…Yes, I understand, Qin!” Harry thought for a moment and nodded solemnly.

He felt that Qin's words made a lot of sense, and that he should still focus on learning magic, otherwise even if he knew who the bad guys were, he would not have the ability to deal with them.

Shortly after entering the castle, the group parted ways.

Qin Yu and Hermione were going to the library to read, while Harry and Ron returned to their Gryffindor dormitory and shared some cookies with their roommates for a late-night snack. George and Fred, on the other hand, mysteriously went somewhere unknown—which wasn't surprising, as they were always elusive.

Before parting ways, Qin Yu kindly invited George and Fred to train together sometime, which made the two brothers tremble with fear, because Qin Yu meant private individual training among the three of them, not team training. It was obvious that he was going to settle scores with them.

George and Fred looked to Hermione for help.

Who knew the little girl was also very vengeful? Because of the Weasley brothers' deliberate concealment and misleading, she had already embarrassed herself in front of Qin, so how could she possibly help them?

So George and Fred could only look at Qin with resentment, hoping he would show mercy and spare their lives.

Qin Yu, of course, couldn't be bothered with them and left with Hermione.

……

"What did you talk about with Harry?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Hmm... let's talk about life. This kid has a lot on his mind and many thoughts. I told him to focus more on his studies and enjoy life here more," Qin Yu said after thinking for a moment.

"Oh—" Hermione nodded, feeling relieved.

Then, she looked at Qin Yu and said seriously, "Since you care about him so much, I will definitely take good care of him for you in the future."

"Take care of him? You're still a child yourself, and you're thinking about taking care of others." Qin Yu was amused by the girl.

“I’m all grown up now, okay? My birthday is in a few days!” Hermione said, straightening her back.

"Yes, you've grown up. You're much taller than last year," Qin Yu said, patting her head.

“Of course, don’t worry. I’ll be supervising Harry, Ron, Adam’s studies from now on, and oh, Neville too,” Hermione said, counting on her fingers.

After counting so many people at once, Hermione suddenly felt a heavy responsibility on her shoulders.

"Are you sure they'll listen to you?" Qin Yu asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t you still have me? I’m the little fox following behind you, the tiger!” The girl raised her chin and said seriously.

She truly understood the idiom "the fox borrows the tiger's might."

"However, the little fox wasn't following behind the tiger; it was walking in front of it," Qin Yu corrected.

“Oh, I see…” Hermione nodded, then grabbed Qin Yu’s arm and said with a smile, “I think it depends on the situation. If it’s too dangerous, I’d still prefer to hide behind the tiger.”

Well, this is indeed a cunning little fox.

Qin Yu held the girl's soft, boneless hand and led her slowly down the corridor toward the library, chatting idly about random things.

In fact, ever since Hermione lost control of her emotions on the court, Qin Yu had been paying attention to the girl's mood changes.

Fortunately, after crying and biting, the little girl seemed to have become much stronger.

Of course, Qin Yu didn't think she had suddenly grown into an invulnerable "strong woman." He just hoped that he wouldn't be so oblivious in the future and wouldn't wait until she cried to realize the problem.

"Qin, it seems we've gone the wrong way..." Hermione suddenly reminded him.

Qin Yu looked around and found that this corridor did not lead to the library, and that few people passed by here.

He was probably lost in thought and didn't notice the fork in the road, which led Hermione astray.

If we've made a mistake, so be it. Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it.

With no one around, Qin Yu simply pulled the girl into his arms, dispelling the guilt and unease that had just arisen, and felt much more at ease.

Then, he lightly touched the girl's forehead with his lips, and then said in a serious tone:

"If I said I didn't walk into this corridor on purpose, would you believe me?"

Hermione looked up, her cheeks flushed, and blinked a few times after hearing his words.

Then, she opened her mouth, thinking helplessly to herself, "Even if you say you deliberately walked in, what can I say?"

——Dimensional wall——

Actually, I wrote nearly two thousand words of this chapter a couple of days ago, but I felt there was something wrong with it, so I didn't post it. After Hermione's emotions were released, she didn't bring them back, so I felt there was something missing in the narrative... Today I added some endings, which I managed to bring the emotions back a bit, and that's why I'm posting it now.

Most importantly, I feel there are some problems with the plot arrangement lately, not just in the plot points, but also in the screen time of the main characters and supporting characters. How should I put it, I can't quite find that feeling of being in control anymore. You could say... the whole story is slipping into the edge of getting out of control, which is why I've been struggling with this lately.

Then, I watched an American TV series these past few days—Stranger Things. This show is a typical example of a show that tells a story in a "restrained" way, with the plot driven by the characters little by little, while hiding the core suspense setting. This has given me some inspiration, but I don't know if I can also write a more comfortable and smooth plot.

I know that as a fanfiction writer, I don't need to worry too much, but it's really painful to write when I get stuck. I hope I can gradually sort things out.

Okay, that's all for now. Have a great weekend everyone.