Chapter 35: Restricted Section
The subtle interactions between Pro and Hermione changed slightly since that night. They still acted like normal, but their seemed to be a harmonious mood between them. There were also some small bonus acts of intimacy such as feeding each other from time to time and sitting closer in public.
However, not many noticed these subtle changes. Perhaps only the two involved felt the little differences that brought a bout of joy to them. This was also what they intended.
Even though their relationship can be considered official now, the two still decided to keep it a secret because they knew they were too young. To become official, the first barrier they had to pass was their parents' attitude. Although their parents seemed to agreed on the surface, but that was under the condition that they were older.
Still, the can secretly enjoy their happiness more comfortably than before. Of course, even though their time of happiness has started, the plot must go on.
Ron received the interesting and loud howler as expected. Well deserved, but Pro couldn't help but think that there may be an underlying scheme to this. After all, the howler did do its intended job of making Harry feel guilty.
Well, maybe he's just thinking too much. Pro skipped over these thoughts in his head. Classes was starting soon, and it was better to spend more time preparing for his grinding later this year.
Arriving at the greenhouse, Pro was greeted by the kind, plump Professor Sprout. Truly a kind lady, especially to the good students. Unfortunately, poor Sprout was now wrapped in bandages because she had to calm down and heal the rampaging whomping willow.
Of course, the Lockhart that wanted everyone's attention also popped up nearby. It was clear that Professor Sprout did not want anything to do with him, but the poor bloke couldn't seem to read the mood.
Under Professor Sprout's command, the class headed towards greenhouse three. Poor Harry was left behind to have a pep talk with Lockhart, who had misunderstood Harry as a fame seeker just like himself.
If Pro had anything to say, he would probably tell Lockhart, "Sorry, you got the wrong person. You are the scheming type, while he is the reckless type."
Entering the greenhouse, Pro glanced at the pots of plants and already had an inkling that it would be the mandrakes class. Of course, Professor Sprout wanted to give away free points as usual, so a question was asked.
Surprisingly, Hermione didn't rush to answer but actually glanced at Pro. After making eye contact, Pro simply nodded for her to go for it. There was no need to fight Hermione over earning house points.
Well, Hermione's hand shot up and down in class as usual. It was then finally time to pot the mandrakes. Although Pro's farming level wasn't too high, he was still able to successfully complete the task. Unfortunately, the mandrake's struggle still caused him to end up with dirt all over.
The reason for his lousy performance was because he was doing it for the first time and without system assistance. The farming support system was similar to the potions auxiliary system, and new plant care were unlocked with a higher level. With the system support, he will get tips on how to calm certain plants or what actions to apply at certain times.
Well, Pro's farming level wasn't too high so he had to do everything manually for the mandrake. Still, it wasn't too difficult because he had already read the books on it multiple times to grind for XP.
On the other hand, second year transfiguration class was not too difficult for Pro. In fact, Pro had pretty much unlocked most of the second year transfiguration spells in his system. So, he had no worries at all if he decided to cheat. Plus, he had already practiced many of these spells over summer vacation.
Oh, but he can't say that he actually practiced over the summer. So, he and Hermione could only be forced to receive the admiring glance of McGonagall with a hint of guilt inside.
During lunch, Pro glanced at Hermione's schedule that had all of Lockhart's class highlighted. With a smile, he looked up and locked eyes with Hermione. They had already discussed this before and knew why she truly did it.
Well, outsiders like Ron didn't know the truth. So, he mocked her over it. Hermione simply took back her schedule without blushing, and calmly gave the reason that she admired Lockhart. She was clearly not a fan girl, but to fool your enemies, you must fool your friends. Maybe this saying can't be applied because Lockhart could be considered a 'friend' in a sense, a friend for benefits.
Then, the daily life at Hogwarts continued. A normal feast, Ron bemoaning his broken wand and life, plus a Malfoy that would always come with his attempts to grab Harry's attention like a concubine seeking the attention of the king.
Poor Harry. Not only does he have a Malfoy seeking his attention in the open, he also had Ginny the stalker in the dark. Then, there is also Colin Creevey waiting to take photos to worship. Finally, there is everyone's favorite Lockhart, the one with a hole in his brain that believes that Harry is the one with a hole in his brain.
Well, the class that Pro looked forward to the most arrived, Lockhart's class. Well, he wasn't actually looking forward to Lockhart himself, but he was looking forward to Lockhart's teacher permissions.
Of course, the class started with a quiz on Lockhart. Pro did his best in answering the question in the long list and hopes he had remembered everything correctly. Even though he had spent a lot of time memorizing Lockhart's details, he still didn't know every single detail like the back of his hand.
Unsurprisingly, Hermione got full marks with her genius little brain. She was praised and scored 10 points. To Pro's surprise, he was also granted 5 points when Lockhart discovered that he answered most of the questions correct. This Lockhart was truly a good guy.
Well, that was truly what Pro believed until Lockhart released the Cornish pixies like an idiot. Those electric blue, annoying little buggers made a mess of the classroom, and even poor Neville was hung up high.
When Pro saw the cage open, he had already pulled out his wand to prepare to grind for XP. Standing back to back with Hermione, the duo did their best to fend off the swarm of pixies while the helpless Lockhart hid under his desk after losing his wand.
In the end, class ended and Lockhart escaped after locking their group in. Honestly, with Pro and Hermione's effort during class, most of the pixies were already knocked out, but Lockhart still escaped in the face of the remaining amount of pixies.
Well, since they were locked hard inside the room, the duo decided to complete the job and locked the pixies back into their cage.
Fortunately, Hermione was no longer a fan girl after being vaccinated by Pro, and the pixies event only served to lower her evaluation of Lockhart even further. Unlike in the original Harry Potter verse, Hermione made no excuses for Lockhart this time, yet she also didn't slander him because we still needed his support later.
After class, the duo pretended to be fan boy and fan girl of Lockhart. They went up to him and asked for a pass for the restricted section of the library in order to further their research on his books.
Lockhart didn't even second guess them and simply handed them two passes with a happy smile on his face. Well, he probably didn't even know what pass he was actually giving permission for. As long as he was praised, this poor bloke probably would be happy to help the people who sold him count the money.
With the basically unrestricted pass for the restricted section, the duo secretly gave each other a high-five and proceeded to the library to accumulate more knowledge. The librarian definitely was not too happy when she saw the pass, but still let them into the restricted section in the end because she believed that the two outstanding students won't step out of bounds.
Of course, he wouldn't. Pro's motto was always safety first and stability. Even when exploring the restricted section books, Pro made sure that both he and Hermione wore dragon hide gloves to decrease the risks of being affected by some cursed book.
With the new books in the restricted section, Pro's daily grind for magic XP had begun anew. Not only that, some of the books event unlocked new spells for him, and entirely new spellbook section was unlocked, the Dark Magic Spellbook.
After taking a glance at those spells, Pro had already decided to completely seal them away. Unless it was a life and death situation, he will absolutely not use them. Dark magic in the Harry Potter verse always comes at a great cost. Even if it doesn't have a clear cost, it will still affect the caster's mentality after long term usage.
Still, Pro couldn't even believe that he found dark magic spells inside the restricted section. Shouldn't books like this be completely kept hidden? Hogwarts was known for its lackluster defense against the dark arts and dark magic, yet these dangerous spells are just waiting here to be discovered.
Of course, these spells were still limited and weren't complete. Even the three most dangerous curses were not found here. Still, Pro won't use these spells unless needed.
Well, the other books were still very useful. There were books on all sorts of topic, and Pro also gained XP for other skills, but mainly focused on books that granted magic XP even though Pro could easily get permission from Lockhart for any book that interests him.
Time passed as Pro's XP gradually rose, and Pro was heading to the library to meet up with Hermione like usual.
"Oh, Pro. Brilliant. Are you done with what you were going to do?" Hermione looked up from her book and asked in a soft voice as Pro plopped down in a chair near her.
"Huh? Did I have something else to do?" Pro asked back in confusion.
"Hmm?" Hermione glanced at Pro with a strange gaze before asking, "Didn't you say you had something to do so you were going to be a bit late?"
Pro tilted his head in confusion and thought about it, but didn't come up with anything. He clearly only decided to come to the library. Oh wait, there was something.
"Eh ... Could it be Quidditch practice? I was hoping to try out as a substitute at least," Pro mumbled as he had a strange feeling of incongruity.
"Oh yes! That's soon! Harry should also be there, we should go! We shouldn't be late, maybe you could fly a bit during their practice time if Wood agrees," Hermione exclaimed as she snapped her book shut.
"Alright, let's go. I'll go grab my broom."
As the duo headed off together, Pro had a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to try out flying in the stadium. Even if he can't join the team, maybe he would still be able to test out his flying skills.
Weekly Power Status
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