Harry Potter: This senior is pretty strong

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Achoo!"

A series of sneezes echoed in the dim morning mist outside the castle.

Through the misty fog, one could discern the source of the sneezing sound as being under a tall oak tree.

There sat a boy with blond hair and pale skin.

His once beautiful gray eyes were now bloodshot, and he stared blankly at the sky, which was beginning to lighten, at a 45-degree angle.

The dew dampened the hair on his forehead, indicating that he had been sitting there for a long time.

Not far in front of him was a pile of oak trees of various sizes.

The round acorns were arranged in a regular pattern on the ground, forming four letters, from left to right:

H, S, W, W.

It is an abbreviation for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Clearly, there weren't enough acorns to spell out the full name of the school, or even the word Hogwarts.

Of course, for a squirrel hiding nearby, this pile of acorns was quite "abundant," equivalent to almost half of its winter granary.

However, this place, which originally belonged to it as a food gathering spot, had an uninvited guest who came and stayed all night. This pile of acorns is that person's "harvest" for the night.

The squirrels dared not approach to snatch or chase the people away, yet they were reluctant to leave, so they could only watch longingly all night long.

"Get away from here, this isn't a place for you to fool around!" A deep roar came from afar.

The squirrel that had been guarding the area all night suddenly sprang to attention, tilting its head and pricking up its ears to listen.

It certainly doesn't understand human language, but that doesn't prevent it from warning of danger.

Standing frozen in place, stunned for a moment, the squirrel took one last deep look at the pile of acorns, then turned around and darted into the bushes, quickly disappearing from sight.

The boy sitting on the ground also sensed danger.

His bewildered expression was suddenly jolted away, and he hurriedly stood up from the ground.

He looked around aimlessly one last time, as if expecting someone to appear, but ultimately saw nothing. He could only sigh and hurriedly leave the oak tree.

He was very close to the vegetable garden, and he didn't want Hagrid to mistake him for a troublemaker who was destroying the garden.

As the manager of the vegetable garden, Hagrid had to be constantly wary of students who came near it, such as the Weasley brothers, though they had been much more well-behaved in the past year.

The squirrels are gone, the people are gone, leaving behind only a field of acorns, awaiting their final resting place.

……

Qin Yu slept well last night.

I even had a dream, though I've forgotten most of the details. But I know it was a beautiful dream because I vaguely remember a brown-haired girl in it, and the two of them watched a movie about aliens invading Earth, and those aliens had the faces of cats.

The dream was a bit chaotic, but very heartwarming.

When I woke up, it was a bright sunny day. Sunlight streamed through the castle windows into the dormitory, driving away the chill and bringing a comforting warmth.

After saying goodbye to Elvis and the other three who were still sleeping, Qin Yu left the dormitory.

He met the brown-haired girl in the public rest area, and just like in his dream, he took her hand and walked along talking about random or unrelated topics.

"...How is Crookshanks doing lately? Is he still not feeling well?" As they chatted, Qin Yu recalled the cat-faced alien in his dream and thought of Hermione's little yellow cat.

It's probably not adjusting to the new environment. Ever since the cat was brought to the school, it's been a bit sickly and stays in its room all day without going out to exercise.

“Much better. I should have kept him at home until he was a bit stronger before bringing him here,” Hermione replied, her voice tinged with worry.

"Perhaps we could let him stay with Hagrid for a while. You know, Hagrid always has a knack for dealing with animals," Qin Yu said after thinking for a moment.

Qin Yu had initially thought the kitten would adapt quickly, so he hadn't paid much attention to it. Now it seems he still needs to find a professional to take a look.

“Great idea! We’ll take Crookshanks to Hagrid’s cabin in a bit.” Hermione’s eyes lit up.

Hagrid's animal-friendly nature is undeniable, and Hermione knows that.

Having made up their minds, the two hastily ate breakfast in the hall, then returned to the Gryffindor Tower, took Crook Mountain, and headed to Hagrid's cabin next to the Forbidden Forest.

After leaving the castle and passing through the greenhouse overseen by Professor Sprout, there is a relatively flat meadow with a tall oak tree growing on it.

Just then, Crookshanks, who had been lying in Hermione's arms with his eyes half-closed, suddenly turned his head, raised his head, and looked ahead.

Qin Yu and Hermione followed the kitten's gaze and immediately understood the reason for its actions.

—There was a little squirrel crouching there, clutching an acorn.

The little squirrel also spotted the two people and the cat almost simultaneously, and after a moment of stunned silence, it hurriedly left.

However, in its panic, it dropped the acorn it was holding to the ground.

"Is this squirrel about to turn into a fairy? It's actually arranged two letters with acorns!!" Hermione said with surprise as she approached and looked at the ground.

The acorns on the ground formed two distinct "W" shapes.

As for the concept of "becoming a spirit," it was mentioned in a story Qin Yu had once told her.

Qin Yu glanced at the pile of acorns, then at the grass next to them that had clearly been sat on. He twitched his lips into a smile that was hard to decipher, and then nodded and said, "Hmm, it was probably a squirrel that loved to learn. It even remembered to spell letters while gathering food."

"You're talking nonsense again..." Hermione pouted, clearly not believing Qin Yu's explanation. However, she didn't know how to explain this strange phenomenon for the moment.

Perhaps some bored Hogwarts student helped the squirrel.

Qin Yu didn't argue about it. He bent down, picked up an acorn, and tossed it to Crookshan.

The kitten received the round fruit and curiously rummaged through its paws.

The two didn't linger any longer and continued their search for Hagrid.

……

When they arrived at the familiar wooden house and met Uncle Hagrid, Qin Yu explained his purpose, and the uncle took the kitten from him.

The kitten was a little nervous at first, but it quickly became familiar with the giant human and even scratched his thick, messy beard with its paws.

Qin Yu and Hermione exchanged a glance upon seeing this, both thinking at the same time, "Hagrid really has a way with things."

“Crooked Hill probably isn’t used to the castle environment. Let him stay with me for a while. I’ll take good care of him,” Hagrid said with a smile, freeing his beard from the cat’s paws.

“Thank you very much, Hagrid!” Qin Yu replied.

“Thank you, Hagrid!” Hermione added.

Then, Hagrid talked about his experiences interacting with animals, which is his area of ​​expertise.

"...Actually, with many animals, you can gain their friendship if you treat them sincerely..." After saying a lot, Hagrid gave a brief summary.

"Sincerity is important, but sometimes a little toughness is necessary," Qin Yu said with a shrug.

Upon hearing this, Hagrid subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, thinking of his old friend, the eight-eyed giant spider, and couldn't help but cough: "Well, you can't say that... In short, we should first learn more about the different habits of different animals so that we can treat them appropriately."

Qin Yu nodded and said, "Yes, I agree with that. For example, in the East, there is a method called 'taming the eagle' to deal with unruly eagles. This involves not letting the eagle sleep, tempering its patience, and making its wild nature docile."

“I’ve heard of this method, but it’s still quite painful for the eagle,” Hagrid said sympathetically.

"A sword only becomes sharp after it has been polished." Qin Yu shrugged again and quoted a famous line of Eastern poetry.

"Well, you're like a sword that's getting sharper and sharper." Hagrid was clearly referring to the changes in Qin Yu over the past year or so.

Qin Yu smiled, said nothing, and the topic was dropped.

Then, Hagrid got up to make tea, and in the process, enthusiastically recommended the desserts he had made.

Hermione learned her lesson this time. She only dared to eat after seeing Qin Yu eat the dessert, afraid of breaking her teeth.

And so, a leisurely morning passed pleasantly as the three of them drank tea and chatted.