Harry Potter: This senior is pretty strong

"...I really want to see that mirror again, to see my family, but Professor Dumbledore has taken it somewhere, and I can't even find the room anymore."

After retelling "The Holiday Adventures" again, Harry Potter spoke with a somewhat dejected tone.

Ron, Harry's friend, looked both sympathetic and helpless. He really didn't know how to persuade Harry. He wasn't good with words, and all he could do was stay by Harry's side.

So he turned his gaze to Qin, hoping that this senior would have something to say.

After a moment of silence, Qin slowly said, "Harry, there are some things that we, not being you, cannot understand your feelings about."

Harry listened, looked at Qin Yu, pursed his lips, and nodded.

Qin Yu continued, "There are some people, your parents, and no one can replace them."

Harry's eyes were already a little red, but he still pursed his lips and nodded.

Seeing this, Ron felt a little anxious, thinking, "What's wrong with Qin? Instead of comforting me, he's reopening old wounds!"

Qin Yu, however, seemed not to notice Harry's reaction and continued, "These people and things, you can't let go of them, and you don't have to."

Harry's eyes were already a little wet.

Qin Yu looked at him, reached out, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "But what I want you to know is that you are not alone in this world. You have us and many other people by your side."

Looking at the warm and gentle smile on the senior's face, and then at his friends beside him, Harry's vision instantly blurred.

"At least, if you get bullied, you can come to me for help," Qin Yu said with a shrug.

"Waaaaah..."

Harry burst into tears, his sobs so loud that they drew curious glances from the surrounding Gryffindor students.

However, after seeing Qin Chong and the others nod to indicate that there was no problem, these people went back to doing their own things.

Putting everything else aside, Qin's reputation in Gryffindor is quite respectable. The little witch thought to herself after seeing everyone's reactions.

"Harry, are you alright?"

Ron frowned, looking at Harry Potter who was wiping his tears and snot from his sleeve.

Aside from a tiny bit of disdain (Ron thought Harry could have just used his own sleeve to wipe it!), there was mostly concern for his friend.

"I'm fine, Ron, thank you! And Qin, Hermione, thank you too!"

Harry spoke incoherently, wiping away tears while forcing a smile.

You're crying and laughing like this; you don't seem to be alright.

Ron muttered to himself.

Then, he looked at Qin and saw that the other person had a slight smile on his lips, as if he was very pleased.

What's so comforting about seeing others cry?

Ron didn't quite understand.

However, all he could do was look at the brand-new robes that George and Fred had bought for him when he enrolled in school with a heavy heart, while letting Ha use them to wipe away his tears.

Qin Yu knew that Harry Potter was not a crybaby.

However, not crying doesn't mean there's no need to vent emotions; it's just that no one used to care whether he cried or not.

Therefore, he knew from a very young age that crying was useless.

He's just used to being strong.

"That piece of clothing is very useful. You should take good care of it and make good use of it," Qin Yu concluded, seeing that Harry had stopped crying.

“Yes, I will.” Harry nodded.

"As for the name Nicolas Flamel, it's not information that requires taking risks to find out. That's all I can tell you." Qin Yu couldn't help but give them a little hint.

Harry and Ron were somewhat bewildered, while Hermione frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Alright, you've finished your adventure story and cried your heart out. Now go back and get some rest. When you wake up, Hogwarts will be a bright and sunny place again!"

Qin Yu's words were casual and relaxed, yet they conveyed a strange kind of power.

That was probably a sense of anticipation for a bright future, and that anticipation was the driving force that kept them moving forward.

……

After Harry and Ron left, Hermione spoke with Qin Yu for a while, asking him what he had been doing.

Qin Yu didn't go into details, only saying that he was asking Professor Dumbledore about some things concerning Swinton.

"...In short, Professor Swinton must have encountered something, but whether it's what you guessed before is still unclear."

As Qin Yu spoke, seeing Hermione's concerned expression, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore also said that all I can do is study magic well, improve myself, and, well, and also research that alchemical communication method."

Hermione knew about the alchemical communication method, of course; it was a way to contact Professor Swinton. As for how to achieve it, she had little idea and was still at the stage of simply knowing that such magic existed.

"Okay, good luck then~" All the little witch could offer was encouragement.

"Understood, I will!" Qin Yu said, extending a hand and gently smoothing the girl's furrowed brow with his thumb.

Those fingers seemed to possess magic, smoothing the area between her brows and making Hermione feel lighter as well.

In other words, if you're at home and don't use your fingers, wouldn't the effect be even better?

The little witch looked at the guy's gentle smile and thought to herself.

"Oh, right, there's something I almost forgot to mention." Hermione suddenly remembered something she had been thinking about saying.

"What is it?" Qin Yu asked curiously.

“It seems you’ve forgotten too,” the little witch sighed helplessly, and without keeping him in suspense, continued, “We forgot to give Hagrid the gift we prepared.”

"Hehe, I really forgot. When we met before, I didn't think about the gift." Qin Yu chuckled sheepishly.

As they rode in Hagrid's sled, they were so engrossed in chatting that they completely forgot about the large hollyhock-patterned tablecloth they had prepared.

"There's no rush. Christmas is over anyway, so we can give it to him tomorrow." Qin Yu was quite open-minded.

So the two agreed that after school the next afternoon, they would go to Hagrid's place and solemnly present the gifts to each other.

"It's getting late, it's time to go back to sleep." Qin Yu glanced at the magic clock and the figures in the murals, some fast asleep and others yawning, and reminded the little girl.

"Well, alright then..." The little witch's tone was clearly reluctant.

Then, she was pulled into a warm embrace, and heard soft whispers in her ear:

Goodnight, my dear princess!

The reluctance was overshadowed by warmth, and my mood improved.

Goodnight, my...Qin~

She murmured to herself.

After saying this, she pretended to be calm and parted ways with the person, then waved goodbye.

As she clattered up the stairs back to the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, the little witch muttered to herself:

"Qin and King sound so similar, and I spoke so softly, he probably couldn't tell... He said princess, so I said king, which makes perfect sense... Hmm, perfect sense... Just look at Qin's reaction, he definitely didn't hear me..."

She thought about it for a while and felt her thoughts gradually becoming clearer. When she returned to her dormitory, she was already humming an unknown tune.

Little did Qin Yu know, he didn't care whether she said his name or some prince or king; it didn't matter.

Just like some people, what difference does it make whether they are called by their name or by their father?

As night deepened, the ancient castle embraced the young men and women, lulling them into a dream.

(This last sentence seems a bit grammatically incorrect, but I feel it feels better written this way, so I'll leave it as is.)