Hogwarts: What Bad Intentions Could A Little Badger Have?

Tonight is the Halloween banquet.

Almost all the professors are in the auditorium.

Therefore, when they heard about the giant monster.

Most of the professors with combat abilities followed.

After all, a giant monster broke into Hogwarts.

This is a big deal.

Usually, when students bump into each other.

Those are major accidents.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be guarding the Forbidden Forest so tightly.

The crisis tonight is a giant monster.

If students encounter a giant monster...

It's more than just bumping into each other.

These things will eat people.

"Why are you all standing there? Where is the giant monster!?"

The current professor of Magical Creatures Protection, Silvanus Kettleburn, rushed over excitedly.

He only smelled the stench and concluded that it was a mountain troll.

Adhering to the principle that specialized affairs should be managed by professionals.

He believed that as the professor of Magical Creatures Protection, he was the best candidate to handle this matter.

Of course, because he only had one arm and half a leg left, he walked slower than everyone else.

That's why he found it strange that everyone was standing in front of the bathroom door.

But when he bypassed everyone and gasped for breath, looking into the door, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Merlin! He has tamed the mountain troll!"

As a magical zoologist, he couldn't be more familiar with creatures like trolls.

To be precise, he had encountered this kind of silly and dangerous creature before.

Trolls can indeed be tamed.

And the behavior of this troll now is exactly the behavior after being tamed!

But... how is this possible?

The stupid brains of trolls make it almost impossible for them to understand the commands given by wizards.

So, taming a troll requires years of persistence!

Using long and repetitive training to make them develop habits...

And then using these newly formed habits to control their brains.

But, no matter what, that little guy in front shouldn't be the one who can tame a troll!

After hearing Professor Kettleburn's words.

All the professors looked even more surprised at Blake.

"Ding... Golden Treasure Chest +1"

"... Golden Treasure Chest +1"

"... Silver Treasure Chest +1"

As Blake expected, this move of his.

Allowed him to receive a wave of high-quality treasure chests!

After tonight, he should be able to synthesize a diamond treasure chest again!

Really satisfying!

Dumbledore glanced at Professor Kettleburn.

Professor Kettleburn understood and walked forward to take a look at the troll.

Then he turned around and said, "Don't worry, Albus, this troll has been completely tamed...

"To be precise, as long as this little guy doesn't give the command, it won't attack."

Dumbledore looked at Blake and asked seriously,

"So... can you tell me what happened?

"Why didn't you follow the instructions and return to your dormitory?"

Hermione took two steps forward, wanting to speak.

But Blake reached out his right hand and placed it on her shoulder.

He knew that this little girl wanted to take all the blame upon herself.

In order to let everyone, including Blake, escape the punishment that would follow.

However...

Blake believed it was unnecessary.

They were clearly the victims, how could the victims be considered at fault?

He pointed at Hermione.

"When I finished class, I heard that she had been crying in the girls' restroom all afternoon."

"So, as her friend, I wanted to find her and ask her what had happened."

"Therefore, I didn't go to the auditorium and didn't hear any instructions."

"And... because I didn't know which girls' restroom she was crying in, I looked for a while."

"When I found this place, I saw this guy, as well as Harry and Ronald."

Blake pointed at the restroom sign that had fallen on the ground.

"Seeing this, I realized that this was the girls' restroom."

"I guessed that Hermione might be inside... and that guy had already gone in."

"As a friend, I couldn't convince myself to stand by and do nothing."

So... I decided to go in and help."

"And the result... as you can see, Professor... I don't know why, but it listened to my command."

Dumbledore recalled Blake's pet bear from before.

Before he formally adopted this child.

He was able to make the fierce bear obediently become his pet.

So... it seemed reasonable that he could tame a giant.

This seemed to be an innate ability of his?

Thinking of Blake's peculiar background.

Dumbledore immediately didn't find it strange anymore.

Innate abilities sometimes couldn't be explained by common sense.

Unlike Dumbledore's quiet contemplation.

Snape habitually sprayed his venom.

"Now that this giant has been tamed by you... can I assume that you let it in?"

Blake looked coldly at him, "Why would I let a giant into the school?"

"It almost harmed my friend!"

"I have few friends, Professor Snape."

"So I won't allow them to be harmed in front of me."

"Whether it's physical harm or... verbal harm..."

Snape weakly covered his chest and took two steps back.

He looked palely at Blake.

Blake's words seemed unintentional.

To others, there was nothing wrong with them.

But in Snape's ears...

They were like words that pierced his heart!

It was almost like stabbing a knife into his heart!

His estrangement from Lily began with him calling her a mudblood, didn't it?

That was also the most regretful thing in his life...

If Blake didn't do it on purpose...

Then it was equivalent to delivering a ten-thousand-fold blow with his eyes closed!

"I was careless... the dose of the Euphoria Potion wasn't enough..." Snape regretfully thought.

"Ding! Detected extremely regretful emotions."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a golden treasure chest."

Blake was somewhat disappointed that this sudden attack only yielded a golden treasure.

According to his expectations, there should have been a diamond treasure chest.

But he actually didn't know.

Now, whenever Snape sees him, he subconsciously takes a dose of joy potion.

To prevent himself from being driven crazy by this guy.

From the current perspective, his decision was correct.

It's just a pity... the dosage was wrong... Hermione looked at Blake gratefully.

Because Blake spoke up first.

Therefore, they both became victims.

Since they were victims, naturally they didn't need to be blamed.

Hermione felt that if she had spoken up first, she would have been deducted points by Professor McGonagall.

Because this time, she wanted to take full responsibility.

Dumbledore glanced at Quirrell. He knew exactly who was causing trouble tonight.

It was simply Quirrell's attempt to divert everyone's attention with a giant monster.

So that he could have a chance to break into the room on the fourth floor... and get what's inside.

However... Snape always remembered the task Dumbledore had given him.

Instead of searching for the giant monster with everyone else, he kept an eye on Quirrell. That's why Quirrell couldn't successfully break into the room on the fourth floor.

"You all need to go to the infirmary for a check-up," Professor McGonagall said.

"I don't need to... I just want to go back and take a shower. It's too smelly," Blake said.

"I don't need to go to the infirmary either!" Hermione quickly said.

Harry and Ronald also quickly said they didn't need to go to the infirmary. After confirming that they were not injured, Professor McGonagall agreed for them to go back to the dormitory and rest.

"You boys go back, I'll take care of this big guy," Professor Kettleburn said.

From the calm facade of this old professor, Blake saw a fleeting excitement. It seems that he is someone who shares the same interests as Hagrid.

The more ferocious magical creatures, the more attractive they are to them! In fact... you can tell from his remaining arm and half a leg that he is restless.

When Professor Kettleburn passed by Blake, he clutched his cane and lightly patted Blake's shoulder with his right hand.

"Come have tea with me next time... I think I smell a familiar scent on you."

He winked at Blake and then excitedly walked towards the still-standing giant monster.

Blake politely nodded and then looked at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore also nodded at him, indicating that Blake should leave first. He would handle things here.

So, Blake left the bathroom with Hermione and the others, but as Blake passed by a group of professors outside the door...

A palm-sized parchment suddenly fell out of his pocket and floated down to the feet of a certain professor...

When they left this corridor, Blake patted Hermione's shoulder. "Can you come with me for a moment?"

Hermione was still in shock and actually wanted to go back to the dormitory to rest immediately, but since Blake called her...

"Then we'll go first." Harry astutely said.

Then he tugged at Ronald's sleeve, who was still standing there foolishly, and made him follow.

"Let's go too," Blake said.

"Okay," Hermione silently followed behind Blake.

After leading Hermione for a while, Blake arrived at the greenhouse that Professor Sprout had lent him.

Since Professor Sprout lent it to him, he hadn't brought anyone here. Because the mutated plants he was cultivating were more dangerous than venomous tentacles. So until they were fully grown, Blake didn't bring anyone in. But now...

The greenhouse had changed its appearance.

The large table that used to be in the middle was gone, replaced by an airtight tent.

And around the greenhouse were various fruits and vegetables. These fruits and vegetable plants seemed much larger than ordinary ones, which surprised Hermione.

"Please have a seat... Would you like some fruit? Hmm... I remember you like strawberries," Blake said.

After pulling out a chair for Hermione to sit, Blake waved his wand. A strawberry almost as big as Blake's fist flew over.

It landed steadily in Blake's hand. He placed the strawberry in Hermione's hand. Because they hadn't had dinner yet, Hermione was feeling a bit hungry and thirsty.

She looked at the bright red strawberry in front of her and took a small bite cautiously. The fresh and juicy flesh instantly improved Hermione's originally low mood.

"Is this... something you and Cassandra did together?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Hmm? No," Blake shook his head. "Why do you ask? In fact, you are the first guest I invited here."

"Oh..." Hermione responded softly, sounding relieved.

Blake picked a bunch of grapes and placed them on a makeshift table.

"I sought you out because I wanted to ask you a question."

"You... you were crying in the bathroom all afternoon..." Hermione's head lowered. But Blake still noticed that her face had turned red.

Blake continued, "Is it because of what that guy Ronald said?"

"You... you heard it too?"

"Yes, I heard it too." Hermione fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Don't you think I'm your friend?" Blake said softly.

In theory, because of Blake, Hermione couldn't be considered completely friendless. Even Cassandra, despite their constant bickering, could be reluctantly considered a friend.

So it was hard to justify Hermione's breakdown over Ronald's comment about not having any friends.

The only explanation was that Hermione didn't consider Blake her friend.

"No! It's not like that... of course, you're my friend! My... best friend!" Hermione explained anxiously.

"Then why did you..."

"I... that's because I... you..."

Hermione felt it difficult to articulate.

Ronald's words were just a spark, igniting the negative emotions that already existed in Hermione's heart.

Blake remembered Hermione asking if this greenhouse was made with Cassandra and the others. Then he carefully recalled Ronald's words. Suddenly, he understood.

"Do you think that I often hang out with Cassandra, Hannah, and Penelope, but rarely spend time with you, so..."

"No... I... I mean... well, I did think that..." Hermione bit her lip. Her face turned as red as if it were about to bleed.

In fact, when she heard Ronald say she had no friends during the day, she had scoffed because she knew she had friends.

But when Ronald mentioned that Blake was often with Cassandra, Hannah, and Penelope, and Hermione appeared the least, she felt like she had been struck in a vulnerable spot. She couldn't help but recall recent encounters.

She realized that Ronald was right. Blake had been coming to see her less frequently.

And Cassandra...

She had noticed the beautiful bracelet on Cassandra's hand, the same color as the 0.7 blue feather pen. And the mute bird she often carried... these things were definitely gifts from Blake.

Needless to say, Blake and Cassandra must have experienced some events together.

And she hadn't been involved at all... doubt began to creep into her heart.

Thinking about what Ronald said, how he rarely saw her around Blake... her thoughts spiraled into a dilemma.

Does Blake really consider me his friend? Or is it all just my imagination? The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she wasn't Blake's friend.

In other words, she didn't actually have a single friend... and then she broke down.

The thoughts and imagination of girls are always so wonderful. A simple glance can make them think of many unrelated things. Especially Ronald's piercing words. Coupled with her extreme lack of confidence in socializing...

"Hermione, this is a misunderstanding. It's not that I don't look for you... it's just... you go to the library to study right after class. You don't have much time to hang out with me, do you?" Blake said helplessly.

And then Hermione fell silent. Could it be... that's actually the case?

As someone who loved studying, she did indeed go to the library to read and study right after eating... those thick books were just a pastime for her.

If she continued like this, it was natural that Ronald and the others rarely saw her around Blake. So, in a way, she had actually neglected Blake?

Realizing that it was her own fault that caused the misunderstanding, and that she had even been jealous of Cassandra receiving gifts from Blake, Hermione felt so ashamed that she wanted to disappear.

"Alright! Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, and you've been so shocked today, then... let me give you a gift!" Blake stood up and said cheerfully.

"Huh? What... gift?"

Blake smiled, "Squat down, close your eyes, and open your mouth! I'll show you my gift right away!"

Hermione: ?