HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

On Saturday night, West was still revising his potion paper in the lounge.

The warm light from the fire danced on the boy's fair face, illuminating his deep features.

When Draco returned, he had a long face and said that he and Harry had been captured by Filch.

He slumped onto the sofa, his grey-blue eyes glistening with tears. "That freak of a man, Potter! He left the Invisibility Cloak at the Astronomy Tower!"

Actually, it was because Draco was so saddened to see the dragon being taken away that he cried, and Harry was so eager to comfort him that he forgot to take the Invisibility Cloak.

But Draco would never bring up something so embarrassing.

Gryffindor and Slytherin each lost fifty points, and Draco and Harry were also punished by Professor McGonagall with solitary confinement.

West looked up from the parchment and said comfortingly, "It's done now, go back to sleep."

Draco slumped back to his dorm. Merlin! Hopefully his father doesn't know about this, or it'll be too embarrassing.

The next day, when the Gryffindor students passed by the giant funnel that recorded the House Cup scores, they discovered that Gryffindor had scored fifty points more.

They were initially arguing heatedly about who caused the House to lose points, but when they discovered that Slytherin had also lost fifty points, they immediately felt relieved.

Harry was relieved that no one was pursuing the matter when he was startled by West appearing suddenly from behind him.

"Merlin's underwear! West, you scared me!" Harry complained.

West had a sly smile on his face. "Still dare to go out at night?"

"I won't do it again, I won't do it again!" Harry wailed.

It won't be easy for Gryffindor to regain their fifty points—their usual points are almost entirely earned by Hermione, and occasionally, when they encounter Snape, Gryffindor even loses points.

Harry and Draco were severely punished, which made them reconsider and they started studying for their exams in the library with Hermione and the others.

West devised a detailed study plan for Harry and contributed his own notes.

Hermione flipped through West's Potions class notes, praising them highly. "Incredible, West! Some of the potion knowledge is way beyond first-year level! But I love it!"

Harry and Ron were having a headache; they were the worst students in Potions class.

Slytherin students generally do very well in Potions class, with Wester and Draco being the most outstanding among them.

Hermione easily got an excellent grade, while the other two were still struggling with the Potions exam.

"Harry and Ron can just use this one." West took out the potions notes he had compiled for the two of them. The notes he gave Hermione were the advanced version, which the two of them wouldn't need.

Harry and Ron were deeply moved, pretending to wipe away imaginary tears from the corners of their eyes. "What would we do without you!"

"Useless," Draco scoffed, "But I'm still here, aren't I?"

Harry quickly flattered him, "Oh, clever and adorable Draco, you're the best! Come and help me with my paper..."

Draco tilted his head back, snorted, clearly pleased with Harry's words, and took the potions homework that Harry had just finished.

Ron gave the two of them a look that was hard to describe.

Seeing that the atmosphere among the group was harmonious, West smiled with satisfaction and got up to leave.

Harry watched West's retreating figure. "Is he going to the dungeons again?"

At this point, Pansy, Blaise, and Theodore all wore strange expressions.

As Slytherin students, they admired West's frequent trips to the dungeons—and what was even more terrifying was that Professor Snape hadn't driven him away!

Pansy exclaimed, "Merlin knows why he likes the cellar so much... It can't be because he has a crush on the Dean, can it?"

As West stepped out of the library, he heard a sobbing sound coming from an empty classroom next door, echoing through the empty corridor.

He paused, standing still outside the classroom.

"No, no—this can't go on, please—okay—"

It was Quirrell's voice.

West heard a series of hurried footsteps, took a step back, and hid behind a pillar.

Quirrell hurriedly walked out of the classroom, adjusting his scarf, his face pale, as if he was about to burst into tears.

He strode away and quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Unfortunately, another door behind West opened as well. A faint scent of wormwood drifted in.

Snape's hand gripped West's shoulder blade, his somber voice rumbling, "It seems our clever Mr. West doesn't know that eavesdropping on professors' conversations is a very impolite thing to do?"

West heard Snape's lighter-than-usual footsteps and deduced that he was in a good mood. He calmly turned around and said, "Good morning, Professor."

Snape looked down at him. "What did you hear?"

West grinned. "Hmm...it seems so..."

Seeing Snape's tense expression, he changed the subject: "I didn't hear anything."

Realizing he'd been tricked by the brat, Snape said, "...Are you itching for a beating? Need me to help you shed your skin?"

This kid is getting more and more presumptuous in front of me. Snape thought, but he wasn't particularly impatient.

Seeing Snape's somewhat somber expression, West wisely changed the subject, "Professor, I've finished my paper. Would you like to take a look?"

"...Back to the cellar."

The next day, Harry and Draco received a note at the breakfast table. The two notes were identical:

Your confinement begins at 11 p.m. tonight. Seek Mr. Filch in the foyer.

Professor McGonagall

Harry and Draco exchanged a glance and chattered like birds about the form of solitary confinement.

West's right eyelid twitched as he listened.

As twin brothers, he and Harry always seemed to have some kind of magical connection.

Whenever Harry was about to get into trouble or encounter some danger, West would start to feel uneasy; conversely, Harry would feel the same way.

West smacked Harry on the head. "Did you get the Invisibility Cloak back?"

Harry gave a small grumble, "West!" He tried to push his sticking-out hair back down, but it was no use. "I got it back. Do you want it?"

Vess nodded. "Give it to me later, I need it."

During the lunch break, Harry gave the Invisibility Cloak to West.

At 11 p.m., West, wearing an invisibility cloak, followed Draco, who was to be put in solitary confinement, to the foyer.

Filch was already there waiting.

"Come with me." He lit a lamp, led Harry and Draco out, and lectured them all the way.

West followed them across the dark ground, under the bright moonlight, until they arrived at Hagrid's hut.

"Is that you, Filch? I'm about to leave," Hagrid asked, standing guard at the door of the cabin and watching them approach.

West heard Filch's sarcastic remark, "You think you'll have a good time with that idiot? Kids—you're going to the Forbidden Forest! If you all come out unscathed, I'll say I was wrong."

"Forbidden Forest?"

It was Draco's voice, no longer as calm as before: "We can't go in at night! There's anything in there! I've heard there are werewolves!"

Draco gripped Harry's sleeve, his voice weak. Harry patted his hand reassuringly.

West sighed, rubbing his forehead.

What's going on at Hogwarts? Isn't it supposed to be that students are forbidden from approaching the Forbidden Forest? So, the detention is supposed to be a trip to the Forbidden Forest? What if something happens?

West gripped his wand tightly, thinking to himself that Hogwarts seemed to have only Professor Snape as a reliable adult.

Draco's voice trembled, "I'm not going in! I thought at most I'd just have to write a self-criticism or something. What if Harry and I are in danger?"

West followed behind them, nodding in agreement.

Hagrid looked a little impatient, but Harry quickly took Draco's hand and said, "Let's go, Hagrid."

He turned back to him. "Don't be afraid, Draco, I'll protect you."

Draco gently shoved Harry, his ears turning red. "Who needs you to protect me, Potter!" But he didn't let go of Harry's hand; instead, he gripped it even tighter out of fear.

Seeing this, Hagrid said nothing more, led the two of them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, raised the lantern high, and pointed to a path that was gradually disappearing into the darkness.

Hagrid said, "See those glittering things on the ground? That's unicorn blood. Our mission today is to find the wounded unicorn and relieve its pain."

Hagrid led Baskerville, followed by Harry and Draco, into the Forbidden Forest.

West followed them into the darkness.