Their eyes met.
A moment later, Wade walked forward again, asking, "Did you see that just now?"
"Mm-hmm." Griffiths nodded and said, "When I was visiting, I happened to see you and that house-elf… The sign of a good house-elf is that they don't let wizards even know they're there, and the Hogwarts house-elves have always been the best—many students graduate without ever seeing a single house-elf!"
Griffiths chuckled, remarking, "Naive little idiots, they think the castle has some magical housekeeping spell that cleans their dirty clothes and shoes!"
"Whether or not someone sees them isn't the standard for judging good or bad," Wade defended his little friend. "Hobby is good too."
"You're right," Griffiths nodded, seemingly agreeing, yet his lack of argument felt somewhat odd.
There were no portraits in the next section of the corridor ahead, so Griffiths had to stop and watch the little Ravenclaw wizard walk away.
"—A Ravenclaw who made friends with a house-elf?"
He mumbled to himself, then suddenly chuckled, "Are they really just friends?"
Wade suddenly noticed that the professors' attitudes towards him had become much gentler. Even Professor Snape, surprisingly, gave him two points—and to think, in the past, even if Wade's potions were consistently near perfect, Professor Snape would at most give him one point three out of ten times.
Wade wished he could have taken a picture of the astonished expressions of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs in the classroom that day.
Even the usually strict Professor McGonagall asked Wade to stay behind after class and gave him a booklist.
"Transfiguration is the most wondrous magic," Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "If you can carefully read and deeply understand all these books, you will surely go further down the path of Transfiguration."
"Thank you, Professor." Wade looked at the booklist; he hadn't delved into most of them yet, but—
"The last few books seem to be in the restricted section of the library."
"That's right. When you've finished the earlier books, you can come find me—" Professor McGonagall looked at him with an expectant gaze, saying, "I will sign your permission slip."
Professor Flitwick, naturally, was even more generous; he promised Wade he could borrow any book from his private collection at any time, and whenever Wade went to ask him questions, there would be more candies and desserts on Professor Flitwick's desk than usual.
Professor Sprout's smile became even warmer, and she also lent Wade several herbology books after class.
As a result, Wade's time became even more constrained.
In the mornings, he would ride his broom directly from the tower to the eighth floor of the main tower, and one of the three, Zoe, would eagerly help him return the broom to his dorm.
He would conjure fitness equipment or a swimming pool in the Room of Requirement to exercise, then transform it into a study to read and prepare for classes, before having breakfast. During this time, a house-elf would always be nearby. If anyone passed by, they would remind him through the Book of Friends, preventing him from bumping into anyone while entering or exiting the Room of Requirement.
Afterward, if he had classes, he would naturally go to the classroom. When he didn't have classes, Wade spent most of his time in the Room of Requirement.
He needed to practice magic, and the Room of Requirement could provide relevant books and spell-casting targets. To practice potions, there would be cauldrons of various sizes, scales, fuel, measuring cups, and so on, though he still had to prepare the ingredients himself in advance. To study alchemy and the "gift" and "test" Professor Moray had given him, the various alchemy devices were even more complete than Professor Moray's own.
From after dinner until curfew, this was pretty much the SSC's regular activity time. They gathered in the Umbrella House, practicing spells, finishing homework they hadn't completed during the day, discussing problems and solving them together, or simply sitting together and chatting.
In reality, with Wade's advanced learning pace, no one in the SSC could provide him with any valuable assistance in his studies. The Umbrella House could entirely be considered Wade's personal, free after-school tutoring class.
However, not everything needed to be viewed from a utilitarian perspective of mutual benefit.
The time he spent with these companions was also very precious to Wade. Here, his mind and spirit could fully relax, and he could put aside certain worries that had been weighing on him. Casual conversation and laughter relieved the fatigue of a day of intense study.
Moreover, seeing the significant progress of previously clumsy Neville and others under his guidance brought him a joy and satisfaction that even surpassed the happiness of learning a new magic himself—after all, the latter was something Wade was accustomed to, while the former was always a delightful surprise.
Positive emotions are always contagious; every time the Umbrella House activities ended, everyone had smiles on their faces.
"If only we could suggest to the Headmaster to postpone the school curfew by another hour," Padma said cheerfully, tidying her books. "I've never felt learning was so enjoyable before."
Even Neville nodded along; whenever he was in the Umbrella House, he even found studying Potions no longer painful.
He still made mistakes frequently, but his companions would correct him promptly, and no one would scold him.
"Next week is the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match, right?" Michael looked at the two from those houses, his gaze searching.
"Yes," Hermione sighed in distress. "I hear Professor Snape is refereeing."
"Then you're in trouble," Padma said sympathetically. "Professor Snape definitely won't be impartial—everyone knows how much he detests Gryffindor, especially with Harry Potter on your team."
Snape's targeting of Harry Potter was practically common knowledge throughout the school.
But the few who had visited the Headmaster's office last time exchanged glances, a similar understanding in their eyes.
The next day at noon, Hermione gave a signal in the Great Hall, and the group tacitly gathered in the Umbrella House to discuss the matter—
"Professor Snape, the Headmaster must have sent him to protect Harry Potter on the field, right?" Ryan said. "Although Professor Snape has a bad temper, Professor Dumbledore trusts him so much, it must be because he's trustworthy."
Michael fiddled with his Quidditch star model, watching the little figure repeatedly get knocked down and stand up, adding with a smile, "Of course, deducting points and protecting—these two things can happen simultaneously, they don't conflict—"
Ryan sighed, "With so many professors in the school, why would the Headmaster specifically send someone who despises Harry Potter the most?"