Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 165 Spy Within a Spy

The ball was undoubtedly a success.

Of course, it's not that it was particularly good or that everyone had a lot of fun, but rather that since the ball, there have been many more couples at Hogwarts.

And so, the world where only Harry was injured was created.

Every time Harry saw Cedric and Cho together, he felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his heart. But somehow, the pain soon subsided.

Maybe it's just a habit...

As for Ron... he's still the same as always, unchanged.

Of course, neither Harry nor Ron realized that their reputations had soured considerably after the ball.

After all, someone who neglects their dance partner at a ball will never have a good reputation.

In January, Hogwarts reopened.

Ike, who has had a rare period of free time in recent years, now rarely even goes to the Room of Requirement. Basically, there's a "Hermione" inside every moment.

Perhaps the only person in the school who still has access to the Time-Turner, and with some guidance and inspiration from Ike, Hermione is even busier than Ike was last year.

Ike was happy to agree, as he had always believed that learning more was never a bad thing, and after this period of hard study, Hermione was undoubtedly much stronger than her contemporaries in the original timeline.

The suitcase, filled with copies of banned books and Ravenclaw manuscripts, had been in the Room of Requirement for months; it would be strange if it hadn't made any progress.

Peaceful days are good, but they are also one less day to live, and Ike knows this very well. Hermione seems to have sensed something as well, and even though she is extremely busy every day, she still makes time to spend a few hours with Ike.

Perhaps it's walking in the snow by the Black Lake, or sitting in the library reading a book, or enjoying a delicious meal in the kitchen before curfew.

Now, it's not Omi who's serving them anymore. After Hermione tried to pay her wages once, Omi never appeared in front of Hermione again. She would only come out when Ike came alone, serving delicious food while complaining about "the horrible Miss Granger".

Omega's place was taken over by Hermione's acquaintance, Dobby, and Hermione would give Dobby a Knut every time.

Although Hermione believed Dobby's work was worth far more than just Nate, it was unfortunately the only one Dobby accepted. Hermione, however, was quite content; having a house-elf accept payment, even just one, was a success for the House-Elf Rights Promotion Association.

Unfortunately, Dobby is indeed a free house-elf, but he's still just a house-elf...

"Street, come to my office."

One day in February, just before Valentine's Day, after Ike and Hermione left the library, Moody called out to Ike with his wooden cane.

Looking at Hermione, who urged him in a low voice, "Hurry up, it's probably about the tournament. Harry just got some information from him a few days ago."

"Okay, I'll go then."

After saying goodbye to Hermione, Ike followed Moody to his office.

Compared to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office in previous years, Moody's office was much more cluttered. A large number of magical artifacts flashing with various strange lights were scattered everywhere. Parchments and books were piled up haphazardly, and a large pile was stacked in the corner, with a corner of a black iron box peeking out from underneath.

Without any hesitation, Ike sat down in what was probably the only still-intact chair in the office. Moody, unconcerned, said directly, "I need your help."

"You did a good job, what else do you need me to do?" Ike replied casually.

"This is no time for jokes, this is urgent!" Moody... no, Barty Jr. said urgently.

Tell me about it.

"I need a lot of African tree snake skin," Little Barty said in a low voice.

Ike didn't refuse and stood up immediately.

"You'll get what you need in three days, in the same classroom as last time."

After saying that, he left.

The following evening, after dinner, Ike, having used the Disillusionment Charm, quietly went to Snape's office. As soon as he opened the door, Snape, who had unknowingly cast numerous warning spells in his office, spotted Ike.

"You didn't knock, Mr. Strayed." Snape, who was busy marking "T"s on assignments like an assembly line, didn't even look up.

"What I need to say isn't something I should knock on, Professor." Ike said, closing the door behind him and casting a silencing spell. "I need some African tree snake skin."

"Compound Herbal Potion?" Snape put down his quill, glanced at Ike, and without asking anything, took out a small bag of African tree snake skins from the storeroom.

But he just held it in his hand and didn't hand it to Ike.

"The answer, Streeder."

"Bang! Bang!"

Ike didn't say anything, just stomped his feet twice on the floor, then picked up the bag and left. Snape, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, sat back down in his seat, and continued drawing a T on the parchment.

After dropping the bag off at the abandoned professor's room on the fifth floor, Ike returned to the common room.

These are minor matters; the most pressing issue is deciding on a Valentine's Day gift for Hermione. Choosing a gift for their first Valentine's Day together is undoubtedly difficult, especially now that there are so many couples at Hogwarts.

Fortunately, Ike had a solution. After consulting with Roger, Terry, Stuart, and Michael, and eliminating their choices, the pool of options was significantly narrowed.

To be precise, this was a last resort for Ike. On other holidays, a book would be enough to satisfy Hermione, but this was Valentine's Day, so a book was definitely not an option.

In the end, however, the gift Ike chose did not actually satisfy Hermione very much.

"I think the book is fine," Hermione said casually, holding a silver-white women's watch. Ike, however, was very satisfied, because Hermione had put the watch on her wrist as soon as she received it, which made him very happy.

"These are a pair." Showing his wrist and slightly shaking the equally silver-white watch, Ike lowered his sleeve.

"By the way, haven't you always wanted to know what the second project is?" Ike leaned closer, a mysterious smile on his face. "I can tell you now."

Hermione, still looking at her watch, didn't even look up and replied irritably, "I already knew. Did you think Harry wouldn't tell me after he unlocked the golden egg?"

"I forgot about that." Ike slapped his forehead, as if he really had forgotten. Hermione didn't take it seriously, but she still gave a bright smile.

She really enjoyed her time with Ike...

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

(End of this chapter)