"She actually cares a lot about you and Harry," Vizette recalled of their conversation at the library. "She asked me for advice on how to make sure you don't feel uncomfortable."
"I told her not to speak so condescendingly, and to be more tactful. Hermione does speak very directly, and it's difficult to change that in a short time."
"Like in the spells class this morning, I actually saw a change in her. At first, she bluntly asked if you hadn't been paying attention, but then she remembered she needed to catch up and changed her question to ask if you were nervous…"
Ron lowered his head, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth in frustration and resentment, saying, "Then I interrupted her... I'm such an idiot!"
"So what should we do?" Harry asked, looking conflicted. "Apologize to her?"
"What else?" Vizette shrugged. "Find her, and have a good talk with her if you want to make a friend."
"Tsk tsk tsk…" Anthony put his arm around Vizette's shoulder. "It seems our Mr. Lovegood is omnipotent! He can even mediate this kind of problem?"
"This was just a coincidence," Vizette smiled slightly. "I really have no experience in this area. You should ask me how to do your homework!"
...
As night deepened, the aroma of roasted pumpkin became more pronounced, permeating the entire castle.
As Vizette was heading to the Great Hall, he was stopped by Fred and George, who suddenly appeared.
They took Vizette's arm and led him to the corner.
After making sure no one was around, Fred spoke in a low voice, "You've been hanging out with Snape quite a bit lately?"
George added, "We were worried that you might have been poisoned by Snape, so we came to ask."
"Professor Snape didn't do that," Vizette explained. "He just asked me to help with the materials."
"This is something Snape would actually do?" Fred's eyes widened. "Merlin is wearing stockings instead of cotton socks?"
"I think it's much more serious than that…" George said gravely, "He did this without even asking Slytherin… The end of the world is coming!"
Vizette said, both amused and exasperated, "You guys believe in the end of the world too?"
Fred nodded and said, "We have real fortune tellers... not like Trelawney, the kind of fortune tellers who can make prophecies come true!"
"Ahem... Now that you weren't poisoned by Snape, let's get down to business," George said with a light cough.
Vizette asked curiously, "What important business is it? You want me to help you with the materials?"
Fred shook his head repeatedly, "Of course not... Our vitality is not as strong as yours!"
A glint of inspiration flashed in George's eyes. "We have a great project we'd like to invite you to join us. Are you interested?"
Fred patted George on the shoulder hard. "What a brilliant idea! That's amazing!"
"Could you tell me first?" Vizette asked tentatively. "I have a lot of things to study lately, so I might not be able to find the time..."
"Even in Ravenclaw, you're the most hardworking person we've ever met!" George said admiringly. "Actually, we'd like to hire you as our materials consultant."
"Materials consultant?" Vizette asked, puzzled. "Do you want me to handle the materials for you?"
Fred snapped his fingers. "That's it! I heard from the Hufflepuffs that you're really good at handling materials!"
"Otherwise, how could someone like Snape, with his personality, possibly ask a Ravenclaw like you for help? It must be because you are exceptionally talented!"
"That's right!" George nodded in agreement. "We're very good at judging people. We said it on the train: you're definitely something special!"
"Ahem..." Vizette said somewhat embarrassedly, "So what kind of materials are you going to process... materials for prank props?"
"George, I knew it! Vizette definitely remembers!" Fred grinned. "We need to process this material! Let us take you to see it first!"
As the Halloween dinner approached, most people had already headed to the auditorium.
The two men led Vizette through a maze of twists and turns, quickly navigating the corridors, until they finally arrived at a painting.
The painting depicts a drum set. Fred and George looked around for a moment before pulling out their wands and starting to play the drums.
The drum kit made a "thump-thump-da" sound, transforming into a narrow wooden door.
"So that's how you get in here?" Vizette exclaimed in surprise.
"You know about this place?" Fred and George were quite surprised and pressed for an answer. "How did you know?"
Vizette pointed to the wooden door and said, "There is magic here, I can feel it, but I didn't know that this was how you had to go in."
"That's already amazing! Now I'd love for you to join us!" George said with a grin, opening the wooden door and slipping inside.
It was a very small space, less than ten square meters.
Several burlap sacks were piled up around the wall, and you could vaguely see that they contained herbs.
A weathered, charcoal-black wooden table leaned against the wall, its surface riddled with pitted experimental marks.
On the table were not only a crucible, but also a stone mortar, herbal scale, herb-cutting knife, medicine cabinet, funnel, medicine bottles... everything was there.
"We're going to set off some fireworks to celebrate!" Fred rolled up his sleeves. "If you think we're doing something wrong, just point it out."
Fred and George took out the herbs from the sack and began processing them, their movements swift and efficient.
Vizette suddenly spoke up: "Mimosa flowers? What are you planning to do with them? Make the fireworks turn a brilliant gold?"
Fred and George stopped at the same time. "Yes, but we've tried several methods, and the color isn't vibrant enough. Grinding it into powder is the best we can do."
Vizette recalled Snape saying, "You can add mimosa roots, in a ratio of one to twenty..."
"And two drops of valerian juice, which will stabilize the color of the mimosa flower and keep it golden without fading."
"So that's what we were missing: valerian juice!" George exclaimed. "We did think of using mimosa roots, but the mixture would turn a yellowish-brown color."
"That's the effect of valerian juice," Vizette laughed. "It keeps things stable and prevents them from becoming cloudy."
"I feel like this could create an absolutely awesome firework!" Fred clenched his fist. "Let's continue!"
-------------------------------------
"Quirinus, release your soul, release it completely!" Voldemort said sinisterly. "If you don't want Dumbledore to find out, this spell cannot be cast by you."
"But Master… that's not what you said before!" Quirrell wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Aren't you really afraid of being discovered? Quirinus, you seem quite audacious!"
"Master...are you sure you won't be discovered?"
"Once the troll is free, go and spread the word, tell everyone!" Voldemort said impatiently. "Hurry up! Release your soul!"
Quirrell shuddered, but ultimately closed his eyes in anguish. "Yes... Master!"
He stood stiffly like a marionette, his arm raised in a strange posture, pointing towards the giant imprisoned in the dungeon.
Voldemort's voice came from behind him, "Confundus Charm!"
The dark light entered the giant's head, causing it to tremble violently as if having an epileptic seizure, its roar deafening…
...
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