Hermione, let's start a revolution from Hogwarts!

No way?

Nietzsche imagined Draco Malfoy being dragged by the collar and thrown into the basement by the dean on his rare first weekend, with a whole bucket of slugs at his feet.

No, he wasn't planning to elevate Professor Snape's image any further for the time being... what if he changed his mind next time?

What are you doing, sneaking around like that?

Nietzsche first smelled a citrus scent, then heard a familiar voice. Just as Hannah turned her head, he had already put the books back on the shelf, covering his face.

Hermione...it's her again!

"What?" Nietzsche grinned, forcing himself to remain calm. "I'm looking at the connection between Latin and spells..."

"Do you know what happened to you at noon! Nietzsche, you can cause trouble every day I don't keep an eye on you!"

"Should I know?"

He gritted his teeth, turned his head, and found several Gryffindors behind Hermione. They completely blocked the aisle between the bookshelves, including Ron Weasley, who was the one Malfoy scolded the most.

When Nietzsche saw Harry's barely concealed excitement, a bad feeling crept over him.

Hermione pressed down on his shoulder with one hand, then gradually straightened his body.

"The Slytherins are all talking about it, saying that you don't like Malfoy and want to take his place among the new students. You even used tricks to get him put in solitary confinement early. And... this is the rune section."

"No, this is the Latin section; the runes are behind you."

He pointed to the book he had just casually put back.

"I memorized the library's layout by the third day of school. If you hadn't been paying attention to other people, you would have noticed that the cover had 'ancient runes' written in Latin."

"Tsk..."

But when Hermione saw his pouting face, she felt as happy as if she had eaten half a chocolate frog.

Harry, in particular, was more excited than anyone else, grabbing Ron's collar and shaking him wildly, making his head bounce back and forth like a rattle.

“Ron, I told you he’s different from the other Slytherins!”

"Alright, alright, you win. Here, take the last bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from my pocket."

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Duel! The Duel!

If you were to ask Harry who he hates the most...

He can say "Dali Dursley" the instant you ask a question.

But if you ask the same question now... then Harry might have to think it over and, after making a comparison, tell you, "The Dursleys and the Malfoys, you can't do without either of them."

Because Malfoy not only represents family heritage, but also has earned a series of titles that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve, such as "Dark Wizard", "Mysterio's most unprofessional lackey", "Wizard's scum", and "Fence-sitter".

Therefore... Nietzsche's image also gradually changed little by little.

But before that, let's bring our thoughts back to the present.

"Who spread the rumor?" Nietzsche found a dusty seat in the innermost corner of the library. "Although the duel was indeed real, Malfoy wouldn't be bragging about it everywhere!"

Among this group, besides Neville, there was another unfamiliar face.

Hermione introduced him to Seamus Finnigan, the one who helped Neville out of Potions class on Friday.

Simo's hair had changed back to its original light brown color from its previous dark brown. His black school uniform was covered in wrinkles and had stains from soup at lunchtime, which meant that the owner of the clothes was somewhat lazy.

"It seems that George and Fred were talking about how some Slytherins overheard the conversation when they came to buy something from them."

"Upper grades?"

"Of course they're upperclassmen. The freshmen don't even know they've managed to sneak out of school... Hmm!" Ron proudly recounted his brothers' glorious deeds, only snapping out of his daze when Ha nudged him with his knee.

But it was too late, because Hermione had already set her sights on him.

Ron's mind raced, and he immediately changed the subject: "But we didn't expect Snape to put him in solitary confinement. That shouldn't be the case... Maybe you helped him get a lot of points in the House."

But Hermione disagreed; she felt Nietzsche shouldn't have used such an extreme approach.

Well, she was just worried that if the other party was pushed to the limit, they might take some other means of retaliation. Hermione recalled the first time she met the Watsons; there was a faint smell of smoke coming from their doorway.

When she returned home, her father told her that Nietzsche's father was a retired military doctor.

"Don't--fight--"

“That’s not a fight!” Ron retorted, his eyes wide. “That’s a duel. If both sides agree, even the school professors can’t stop it. Considering we’re all freshmen, it’s fine as long as one of us is unconscious.”

"What does that mean?" Harry asked, somewhat eager to try. "Nietzsche, why don't I try..."

In fact, Ron and Seamus originally wanted to get involved, but for the sake of McGregor, they chose to keep their heads down and eat their beef pies, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

"Oh? Harry, what spells do you know?" Hermione said casually. "You can't even pronounce the Levitation Charm correctly. Are you going to go up there and be Nietzsche's shield?"

"If Nietzsche could win..."

Think about it: trading one for two is a win either way.

Hermione couldn't stand it anymore. She forcefully slapped away Harry's outstretched hand towards Nietzsche, turned sideways, and ruthlessly stood between the two of them.

Okay, okay, Granger... calm down... think about how you can minimize the damage. What if Nietzsche loses? What if Nietzsche goes too far?

“If you’re really worried about Nietzsche, why not be his assistant?” Ron mumbled, swallowing what was in his mouth.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Hermione found them utterly unreasonable.

But on second thought, she realized that this was a desperate measure: she could control Nietzsche while also reducing the danger of the duel.

“Don’t worry, we still have two days.” Nietzsche didn’t take Ron’s advice to heart, and instead seemed a little disgusted. “If all else fails, we can learn some evil spells temporarily… Hermione isn’t suited for this kind of practice.”

"Can you please stop using childish reverse psychology?"

"More than anything, I'm worried about what Malfoy has learned from Snape."

Neville suddenly remembered something, but the words were on the tip of his tongue and he couldn't get them out. He hesitated, which annoyed Hermione, who was sitting next to Nietzsche, so she simply and decisively issued a 'pardon'.

"However, one thing is certain: this duel cannot be avoided. Think about it, half the school already knows about it."

“Damn Malfoy, he’s putting you in a difficult position!” Harry said coldly. “He looks down on us, but you’ve stolen his thunder, so he’s deliberately making it impossible for you to refuse.”

Although there was a chance for them to be on good terms once, if he could do it all over again, he would still punch Draco Malfoy in the stomach.

Harry hates it when people talk about his parents.

“The cunning Slytherin…” Ron muttered, “not including Nietzsche, of course, he was a special case.”

Everyone has their own thoughts, but only Harry wants Nietzsche to choose him as his dueling partner. Perhaps the Sorting Hat is right; he seems particularly eager to prove himself.

Hermione looked out the window and saw a stone house on the edge of the distant forest, from which wisps of smoke were rising.

She was feeling conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to experience the wizarding dueling culture; but on the other hand, she felt it wasn't right to do so. However, after hearing Ron talk about 'compliance,' her feelings changed.

This wizarding culture, similar to knightly challenges, sounds... kind of interesting?

The group sat for a while longer before leaving.

Harry and Ron weren't the type to sit in the library all afternoon, while Neville and Seamus felt they had already done enough for the day... They didn't have Hermione's patience.

You know, this first weekend is very precious. As a Gryffindor, you can't just waste all your exploration time in the library on the fifth floor, can you?

The atmosphere gradually quieted down as they left.

Nietzsche opened his notebook, which contained many new additions by Professor Quirrell. Although his eyes were on yesterday's findings, his mind was preoccupied with the duel.

However, he was the first to lose his composure.

"How about... you become my assistant?"

"What?" Hermione crossed her legs and tilted her ear. "Sorry, your voice was too soft, I didn't hear you."

“Maybe I should drop out,” Nietzsche suddenly changed his mind. “Anyway, Malfoy’s father is on the school board, so whether I win or lose, I won’t get anything out of it. I might as well just drop out…”

Hermione just glanced at him sideways, her two front teeth showing.

"This isn't like you."

"If you help me, there might still be a chance!" Seeing that his hard approach wasn't working, Nietzsche had to resort to a softer one. "Just this once, just this once. Can you bear to see your classmate being bullied?"

Hermione got goosebumps. She hated Nietzsche's style the most because she actually found it appealing.

"Just this once! I won't make an exception again!" Hermione said, her eyebrows furrowed, hands on her hips, her voice low and menacing.

It's unbelievable! Since when has she changed so much? Hermione thought back to her childhood and suddenly realized how quiet she used to be, never getting angry easily.

Oh, it's nothing, Nietzsche was just angry.

Perhaps one day she will become the youngest person to suffer from hypertension.

"Yugadimur Leviosa~"

Nietzsche's incantation caught her eye. It was the first spell a first-year student would learn, a simple levitation spell. Even so, Hermione's feathers moved the slightest bit throughout the entire class.

Even so, Professor Flitwick thought it would be good enough if they could move around a bit during the first class.

But what about Nietzsche?

He can now make the discarded parchment on the table float and spin in the air.

'The manipulation of magic... Use emotions to achieve your goals...' Professor Quirrell's fragmented teachings echoed in his ears.

After trying several times, watching the papers rise and fall, he felt a little annoyed.

Without a doubt, this is indeed a levitation spell.

But it had no effect; the paper remained floating in mid-air, occasionally spinning and somersaulting due to the cold wind blowing in from the window.

"Wait a minute, how did you do that?"

“It’s all about putting your heart into it…” Nietzsche muttered.

"speak English!"

Listen to this! Does she never pay attention in class?!

"It's about putting your heart into it... never mind, I don't know where your problem lies."