Chapter 31
"We should study the Fiendfyre with the professor."
"You know, although the professor is usually very rational, he often gets obsessed when researching magic. We should keep an eye on him." Camille and Jeffery were walking through the castle at Hogwarts, with Cedric slightly ahead of them. Hearing this, a wry smile appeared on his lips, but he didn't turn his head.
Both assistants were older them him, with knowledge and learning far surpassing his own. He respected them from the bottom of his heart and naturally wouldn't speak rashly.
Moreover, he was quite happy to learn more about Professor Lucian from their conversation and as they talked, the three arrived at the Great Hall; the spacious hall was decorated with lights and colors, adorned with live bats.
On the candlelit tables were golden plates, and enormous pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three people to sit inside.
Students shuttled between the benches, everyone beaming with smiles, enthusiastically discussing how the skeleton dance troupe arranged by Dumbledore would perform.
Just looking at such a scene was enough to make one relax.
"You're right, Camille." Jeffery spoke up at this moment "With such beautiful scenery, we should invite the professor out to enjoy it together."
Camille didn't respond to him, in this atmosphere, she couldn't bring herself to say anything discouraging.
Cedric's smile brightened considerably. Following their topic, he said "When Christmas comes, this place will be decorated even more beautifully. Then we can all invite the professor to stroll around the school together."
Camille didn't reply, but her expression clearly wavered.
Jeffery ignored her hesitation and said to Cedric "I think that's a great idea. I'll try to invite the professor when the time comes."
After viewing the Great Hall, the three continued toward the dungeons.
"I think the theory you mentioned earlier, Cedric, is very interesting."
"Which one?" Hearing Jeffery's affirmation, Cedric felt a bit flattered.
"Wizards should experience different things and feel different emotions—that way, they can gain abundant spiritual power. Although I believe that for immature wizards, it's premature and would yield half the result with twice the effort. But for someone like the professor, perhaps he should try what you suggested even more."
The three entered the dimly lit dungeons, and Jeffery's voice seemed to take on a heavier tone "However, the professor's knowledge and skills far exceed my imagination, so I can't determine what exactly the opportunity he's been seeking is. After all, the very thing that inspired you to come up with this theory was the professor's drama lessons."
They passed through the corridor leading to Nearly Headless Nick's party. Candles were already lit here, but the atmosphere was completely different from the Great Hall above.
Tiny black candles burned with a flickering blue light, casting eerie shadows on the trio's faces.
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. So this is the ghosts' party? It really has that ghostly characteristic." With every step they took, the temperature dropped, and even their wizard robes felt a bit thin in this chill. But neither Jeffery nor Camille seemed to notice; faint smiles even appeared on their lips.
'It seems bringing them here was the right choice.' Cedric had once worried whether the two would prefer the atmosphere in the Great Hall. Now it seemed, just as he had thought—they found different experiences more interesting than a single setting.
This matched the impression he had of them in his mind and secretly felt relieved.
Cedric had been studying under Lucian for two months, unconditionally exceeding all the assignments the professor gave him. What he had learned from this professor was more than in his previous two years combined.
If possible, he naturally wanted to give something back in return, even if it was just making the professor's two assistants a little happier.
"Screeeeech—screeeeech—"
A noise like a thousand fingernails scraping across a giant blackboard rang out; Nearly Headless Nick stood at the door, draped in black velvet curtains.
"My dear friends," he said with infinite melancholy, "welcome, welcome. I'm so delighted you've come."
Cedric greeted him and led the two inside the dungeon classroom, whispering an explanation "Ghosts consider that... uh... earlier sound to be a kind of music."
Jeffery smiled, finding it novel, while Camille frowned briefly but quickly relaxed.
They entered the dungeon classroom, which was packed with hundreds of pearly-white, translucent figures. Most were drifting around a crowded dance floor, waltzing to the dreadful, trembling sounds produced by thirty musical saws.
The band playing the saws sat on a stage draped in black cloth, and above them, a chandelier held a thousand candles emitting a midnight-blue light.
The trio's breath formed clouds in front of them, as if they'd walked into a freezer.
At that moment, Jeffery gave a wry smile and snapped his fingers. The area around them immediately became a silent zone.
"This unique musical experience is enough once. If we had to listen to it the whole time, it might become a bit of a burden."
"I agree." Cedric showed the same smile and nodded.
Just as they were about to wander around, a hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed on Camille's shoulder—!!!
Camille felt goosebumps explode all over her body in that instant! She was nearly scared out of her wits and instinctively gripped her wand, ready to spin around—"Camille, what are you doing here too—you don't look so good?"
It turned out the owner of the hand was Hermione.
Because of Jeffery's spell, Hermione had been calling out to them from not far behind for a while, but the three hadn't heard her. That's why she had approached and done something a bit reckless.
"N-nothing." Camille knew it wasn't Hermione's fault and naturally wouldn't blame her—but she still shot a glare at Jeffery, who responded with an apologetic smile.
Harry stood behind Hermione, secretly chuckling—he had clearly seen Camille's startled reaction just now. How to put it... even when frightened, she was so adorable.
This Camille didn't seem as unapproachable as she appeared on the surface.
The six of them unexpectedly ran into each other in this eerie dungeon—it was quite a coincidence—so they simply wandered around together.
Hermione quickly discovered how to win Camille over: as long as she talked about things related to Professor Lucian, Camille's attitude became much more approachable. It was easy to notice, because she only spoke when the topic involved Professor Lucian.
Harry and Ron followed behind the two ladies and the other.
Originally, Ron had been a bit scared, but now with others around for support, his mood lightened considerably. He even started discussing with the knight who passed by with an arrow stuck in his forehead.
Harry responded absentmindedly, his mind entirely on how he could strike up a conversation with Camille.
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