Hogwarts' Golden Glory

"It's nothing." Kane quickly withdrew his hand, a flash of red light appearing on the cuff of his black robe.

Those were his obsidian cufflinks.

Harry keenly noticed that both Kane and Draco had one.

Professor Sprout blew his copper whistle, and the mandrakes immediately stopped wriggling and obediently took root in the new pot like ordinary plants.

"Now, pair up and fasten your mandrakes!" She demonstrated, waving her wand. "Remember to tie sailor's knots; these little guys love to run around..."

Harry crouched down, pretending to be focused on tying the mandrake knot, but actually stealing a glance at Kane's cufflinks: "Professor McGonagall said this little thing can protect its owner."

Draco was taking the silver shovel from Kane when he suddenly heard Harry speak, and his fingers trembled.

The shovel clattered onto the stone slab.

Draco looked up suspiciously, his grey-blue eyes narrowing behind his specially made glasses.

"I didn't give it to you." Kane bent down to pick up the shovel, his voice so low that Harry could just hear him.

"But now that McGonagall has told you..." He glanced meaningfully at Harry's cufflinks, "you should understand their importance."

Harry's fingers unconsciously rubbed the button, completely baffled.

"But why—"

"Sailor's knot, Mr. Potter!" Professor Sprout suddenly appeared behind them, a few mandrake leaves stuck in his hair. "Not one of those Muggle bow ties!"

Kane took the opportunity to move a few steps toward Draco, skillfully tying a complex nautical knot onto the mandrake.

Harry clumsily tried to imitate it, but ended up tying the plant's roots into a knot, which caused his mandrake to protest with a baby-like shriek.

"Where did you come from—" Harry pressed on in a low voice, but was interrupted by Draco's suspicious look.

The Slytherin master's glasses reflected an eerie golden light, reminding Harry of the alchemical artifacts he had seen in Knockturn Alley.

Kane didn't even look up. With a flick of his wand, a mandrake automatically tied itself into a perfect knot: "The less you know some secrets, the more useful that thing around your neck is."

Before Harry could say anything more, a loud bang suddenly came from the other end of the greenhouse.

Neville's mandrake broke free of its restraints and was chasing after the terrified Seamus all over the house, its roots waving.

When the school bell rang, Harry deliberately slowed down his packing.

As Kane passed by him, he suddenly stretched out his foot, trying to stop Kane.

As a result, the other party easily stepped over it, as if they had anticipated it.

"Potter's trying to trip me up!" Draco immediately shouted, but Kane grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away. "Hey! Whose side are you on? I'm your brother!"

Professor Sprout was busy spraying the mandrake with a sleeping potion, and just waved his hand dismissively.

In Harry's view, Kane was walking further and further away.

"What's wrong with you today? What were you talking about with Kane during class?"

Hermione noticed this and asked Harry.

Harry truthfully recounted the button Kane had given him!

"A worshipper?" Hermione's voice echoed at the edge of the library's restricted section, startling Mrs. Pince from behind the bookshelves, where she peeked out with her hawk-like face.

Harry quickly dragged his two friends behind the shelf of "The Complete Book of Poisonous Mushrooms".

Ron rubbed his still-red nose: "Malfoy is definitely playing a trick on you. Who would idolize someone so much as to send such a creepy gift? Look at the workmanship—"

He poked at the obsidian on Harry's cuff, "It looks like a dark magic item found in Knockturn Alley."

Harry twirled his cufflinks, the obsidian gleaming eerily in the dim light. "But Professor McGonagall said it would protect me. And..."

He lowered his voice, "It hurt you, Ron, this morning!"

Hermione suddenly pulled out a thick book, "A Study of Medieval Magical Jewelry".

The book automatically flipped to a certain chapter: "Look at this!"

She pointed to an illustration—the snake cufflinks in the picture were almost identical to Harry's, except that the gemstones were different colors.

"This has a protective function; it can protect its owner when they are in danger!"

Ron recoiled as if burned: "So this really is a Dark Magic item? But I didn't hurt Harry!"

"It was probably about to hurt you. So you only suffered a minor injury!" Hermione bit her lower lip.

"The book says that the four great masters later made similar protective gear...wait." She suddenly leaned close to Harry's cufflinks, her nose almost touching the gems. "There are engravings here...SS...maybe..."

"Salazar Slytherin?" Harry's stomach sank.

How many years ago must this thing be?

"Or maybe..." Hermione's eyelashes fluttered rapidly, but she still couldn't think of who it was.

"Colin Creevey!" Harry suddenly slammed his fist on the table. "Kane said it was a gift from an admirer—Colin's always chasing after me to take pictures!"

When they found Colin, the little Gryffindor was changing film for a camera in the Great Hall.

"Cufflinks?" Colin pushed up his round glasses, puzzled.

"I'd like to send Harry a gift, but my mom only sent him wool socks and..."

He blushed. "...anti-cavity toothpaste."

As he left, Ron muttered, "Yeah! How could a Muggle family possibly get their hands on antique magical trinkets?"

"Then..." Hermione said, biting the end of her quill, "maybe it's a Gryffindor member? Last year, the Gryffindor who loved Quidditch really idolized Harry..."

So the three of them began a long investigation.

Ginny was arguing with Dean and didn't notice their problem at all;

Luna, wearing carrot earrings, claimed that "the harassing fly told me it came from the moon."

Neville said in horror that his grandmother would break his legs if he touched this "dark wizard stuff."

"Fred and George?" Ron offered a new guess. "They always love to play pranks on us..."

In a corner of the Gryffindor Tower, the twins are examining a box of quill pens that bite.

“That’s not our style.” Fred examined his cufflinks. “We prefer—”

"—A farting cushion or—"

"—Hair gel that can change your hair color." George blinked. "But this stuff is pretty cool. Is there something sealed inside?"

Harry then noticed that whenever sunlight shone at a certain angle, there seemed to be a silvery substance flowing inside the gem.

Just as he was about to ask further questions, the cufflink suddenly became scalding hot, and the words "Don't open it!" appeared on the gemstone.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked alertly.

Before Harry could answer, Ron suddenly gasped, "Wait...could it be your godfather?"

Hermione suddenly grabbed "A Study of Medieval Magical Jewelry" and frantically flipped through the pages: "I made a mistake! During the era of the Four Great Masters, Salazar Slytherin's emblem was a snake, but the Slytherin family sigil is actually..." She stopped at a yellowed illustration, "...a combination of a snake and a phoenix!"

Ron's mouth gaped open enough to fit a chocolate frog: "So this really is..."

Hermione quickly replied, "It could be any Slytherin descendant. The Malfoys are distant relatives, and the Blacks too..."