My partner at Hogwarts is Tom

Chapter 80 My Friends

The noise in the auditorium subsided slightly when the students returned to their long tables to prepare for lunch.

But the excited current in the air did not diminish in the slightest.

The young wizards clutched the Red and White Encyclopedia tightly in their hands and placed it on their laps.

Some people even couldn't wait to poke at the screen with their greasy fingers while gnawing on chicken legs.

Those students who are quickest to grasp the ins and outs are often the ones who figure things out first.

Someone asked first, "How do I add friends?"

Subsequently, explorations into "friends list" and "communication functions" spread like wildfire.

"Here! Under the Social menu!" A Ravenclaw sixth-grader shows this to his friends.

"Just enter the other person's real name and Pokédex number to send an application—Merlin, this is even more convenient than the Two-Way Mirror!"

"Look, I've added Cedric Diggory!" an excited Hufflepuff girl whispered.

"Fred and George's friend requests must be overflowing by now, right?" someone guessed, looking towards the Gryffindor table.

This is true.

The twins were surrounded by people, their faces glowing, their fingers flying across their respective encyclopedias as they received a flood of friend requests and adoring greetings.

Percy tried his best to maintain order, but he couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed into a corner of the Gryffindor table, their three heads huddled together.

"Okay—add friend—type Harry Potter—" Ron muttered, clumsily tapping the screen with his finger.

Harry's encyclopedia vibrated slightly, and a pixelated animation of an owl carrying an envelope popped up on the screen, followed by a message.

"Ron Weasley wants to be your friend. [Accept]/[Decline]"

Harry smiled and accepted.

Almost simultaneously, Hermione sent a friend request.

Soon, each of the three characters' names and a small green dot representing their online status appeared in the "Social" section of their profiles.

"That's so cool!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "Now we can chat even in the dorm! Come on, let me see which friends you all chose!"

Harry tapped "My Partners" and turned the screen toward the two of them.

A delicate, tiny pixelated bird appears on the screen.

It has golden feathers, a round and fluffy body, and shimmering wingtips. It is twirling lightly in the center of the screen, scattering golden glitter.

Its image is labeled with the name: [Golden Flying Man].

"Golden Flying Man!" Hermione gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them says they're almost extinct! They're the birds every Seeker dreams of, incredibly fast, and a symbol of good luck! Harry, you're so lucky!"

Harry scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

"I don't know either. I just received the notification while exploring a forest that was shimmering with gold."

A smile involuntarily appeared on his face as he recalled the moment he acquired the rare magical creature.

"Look at mine!" Ron couldn't wait to show off his screen.

A lifelike little red dragon is standing tall and proud.

It is only the size of a palm, with skin covered in fine red scales and bright, amber eyes.

What's most eye-catching is the cluster of orange-red flames that constantly leap and crackle at the tip of its tail.

【Charmander】, that's how it's labeled.

"Its name is Charlie!" Ron announced, naming it after his brother who was studying dragons in Romania.

"Don't let its small size fool you, it has a terrible temper! In virtual space, it almost burned down a whole bush before I managed to calm it down. Awesome!"

"Ron, be careful. Even if it's a virtual partner, you still have to follow the safety rules."

Hermione offered her a reminder as usual, but her eyes were also full of curiosity.

"What is its flame temperature? What are its food preferences? Is there detailed information in the encyclopedia?"

"Of course, Hermione, this thing is a mobile library." Ron flipped through it.

"Hmm—In its early stages, the flame temperature is not high, and it mainly feeds on small magical insects and fragments of ore rich in magic energy—it needs to practice breathing fire regularly in a safe environment to control its ability—"

When it was Hermione's turn, she unusually showed off by clicking on her companion's profile.

On the screen, a beautiful butterfly, resembling folded pages of a colored book, unfolds its wings.

Its wings are thin and colorful, with light and shadow flowing like ancient runes and tiny characters. Its body is slender, and its antennae are like the tips of a delicate quill pen.

It floats silently, its wings occasionally fluttering gently, scattering tiny, ink-scented specks of light. [Colorful Butterfly Bookworm]

"The Butterfly Bookworm—" Hermione's voice was filled with surprise and awe.

"I read about it in the appendix of 'Rare Magical Creatures and Their Habits'! They live in ancient, vast libraries or studies, feeding on the fragrance of knowledge—my God, it's so beautiful. And look," she said, zooming in on the image.

"Watching the light and shadow on the wings change, it seems to really be indicating the location of some kind of text column—it's amazing. It will definitely help me better understand and find knowledge."

"Wow!" Harry and Ron exclaimed simultaneously.

Hermione's companions are a perfect match for her.

"What kind of junk are you showing off?"

A drawn-out, slightly grating voice rang out from the side.

Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his two henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle, strolled over to the vicinity, his face bearing his usual arrogant expression.

He also held the picture book in his hand, deliberately holding it high so that the screen was facing Harry and the others.

On the screen, a slender, elegant silver creature is swimming.

It has a snake-like body covered with iridescent scales, but it also has a pair of small bird wings and an eagle-like beak and claws.

The bird-snake, especially in its newly hatched larval stage, appears exceptionally delicate and adorable.

"See that? The bird-snake," Draco said smugly.

"Extremely rare, highly adaptable, and capable of changing its size according to the space—a truly ancient magical creature."

"It's not some random flying insect or—a fire-breathing lizard." He glanced deliberately at Ron's screen.

Ron's face immediately turned red: "Yours looks like a hairy earthworm!"

"At least my earthworm is silver, and it can fly," Draco scoffed.

"Potter, your Golden Flying Man? Hmph, not bad, but it's just a prettier bird." He gestured meaningfully with his Pokédex.

"Malfoy, if you're just here to show off your harpy, then you've done your job," Hermione said coldly. "Now, please leave. We need to have lunch."

Draco snorted and turned to leave with his henchmen, but clearly, he had achieved his goal of showing off.

Many Slytherin students around him were whispering about his rare bird-snake companion.

This little incident did not affect the mood of Harry, Meghan, and Harry.

They quickly became immersed in the novel experience brought by the encyclopedia, comparing the abilities and characteristics of their respective partners, studying different areas on the "virtual exploration" map, and discussing how to "team up" together after class to explore unknown areas.