Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 37 Questioning

There are no secrets at Hogwarts. Ike had only taken a nap after leaving the headmaster's office, and the news of what happened last night had already spread.

Walking through the castle, you can see crowds of people talking everywhere.

"Professor Quirrell was a Death Eater! Unbelievable! Harry Potter defeated the Death Eaters!"

Ravenclaw's famously loudmouthed Stewart exclaimed in Ike's ear, "How did he do that? He's only a freshman!"

"The savior, he's not bad, it's normal for him to do these things. After all, he defeated that nameless person when he was just a baby." Ike pushed away the noisy Stuart and stretched.

The news spread so quickly; aside from Ron, the megaphone-wielder of Gryffindor, Ike wouldn't believe Dumbledore wasn't behind it. But it's probably for the best, since Ike doesn't exist in any version of the story.

The trouble is gone, but the benefits haven't diminished either.

However, not everyone believed the story circulating in the castle. Ike was well aware that, apart from Dumbledore, Hermione knew the truth.

After all, the pentagram was meant for Hermione.

Strolling along the shore of Black Lake, Ike enjoyed a rare moment of relaxation.

Throughout the entire school year, Ike was completely absorbed in learning magic during the first semester, while during the second semester he had to put on an act in front of Comrade Voldemort, which consumed countless brain cells for him.

The Dark Lord finds it difficult to trust anyone, not even his servants, the Death Eaters. Perhaps Bellatrix Lestrange is one of them.

As for others, Ike couldn't think of anyone. If we use the fact that Voldemort's Horcruxes were kept as the standard, then Malfoy could be included as well.

It's clear that the Malfoy family has now lost Voldemort's trust.

Of course, Ike might also be considered one now. The words "Wait for me" left behind by Comrade Old Voldemort when he ran away were heartbreaking and full of resentment and reluctance.

Furthermore, this was also confirmed by the Notepad system:

Title: The Dark Lord's Apprentice

(Congratulations, you have won the favor of the Dark Lord!)

"Not bad, the plan is basically complete." Ike sat down on the grass, picked up a stone, and skipped it across the water.

All I can say is that, without using magic, Ike's skills are absolutely terrible.

"Ike!" Hermione came running over, glaring at him angrily. "You actually hid here! Don't you think you have something to say?"

"Good morning, Hermione." Ike stood up lazily. "Are you here to sunbathe too? Great choice, the sun is so warm today."

"Don't change the subject! Ike Strayder!" Hermione was truly furious.

"First you left a note out of nowhere, then you cruelly harmed a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest! What are you thinking? Do you want to be expelled?!"

Ike shook his head and retorted, "To be precise, I only participated in harming the unicorn; I didn't kill it."

Taking out his wand, Ike continued, "My wand has a core made of unicorn hair, and it will never let me use it to kill a unicorn..."

"If you've read 'The Wonderful Knowledge of Fifty Wands' in the library, you'll know that among all the wand cores, only unicorn hair has this property."

"Of course I know, but you still hurt it!" Ike's explanation did not satisfy Hermione. Beautiful, pure unicorns were loved by all witches, and Hermione was no exception.

"Okay, I don't deny that." Ike shrugged. "So, what are you planning to do, Hermione?"

"I..." Hermione was speechless for a moment. The little witch was simply venting her emotions and hadn't actually thought that much about it. "You need to apologize to Hagrid! The unicorn's death saddened him greatly!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Ike shook his head. "Unicorns don't belong to Hagrid, and Dumbledore wouldn't allow me to do it."

Ike explained, "There are some things I do that can't be known by other people, and Hagrid is clearly not the kind of person who can keep secrets. You should know how Quirrell found out about the Cerberus method..."

"I'm sorry for hurting the unicorn, but only for you."

Looking into Ike's sincere eyes, Hermione suddenly considered forgiving him, but was immediately startled by her own thought. Instinctively taking two steps back, Hermione stared warily at Ike and demanded, "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing at all." Ike smiled kindly. "Think about it carefully, Hermione. I have never harmed you, Harry, or Ron, whether in the Forbidden Forest or at the final checkpoint. On the contrary, I have been passing messages to you and helping you."

"Just a pentagram? What message could it possibly convey..." Hermione muttered, but Ike heard her clearly and immediately replied, "The key, the potion. I think I've saved you a lot of time..."

"We can find the answer without you," Hermione said.

"Of course, I don't deny that," Ike smiled, "but that was the limit of what I could do in that situation."

"So, what are you going to do? Why are you with Quirrell and that person whose name I can't tell?" Hermione finally asked the question she most wanted to ask.

Ike looked into the little witch's eyes and remained silent for a moment before replying in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, I can't tell you everything. I can only say that I have reasons why I had to do it..."

"Besides, Dumbledore knows everything. If you don't trust me, at least you'd trust Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore knows?"

"Of course!" Ike nodded. "At Hogwarts, there's very little that Dumbledore doesn't know. He's the greatest white wizard of the century!"

"...Okay." Hermione hesitated for a while, but in the end, Dumbledore's name convinced her. Old Dumbledore's reputation was still very useful.

A weight was finally lifted from Ike's shoulders. He raised his hand, summoned a stone, and threw it into the black lake, saying with a smile, "I think you have no other questions now, so how about a skipping stone competition?"

"No," Hermione shook her head. "I need to check on Harry. He collapsed yesterday when he was taken to the infirmary and hasn't woken up yet."

"Okay, if Harry wakes up, remember to give him my regards." Ike's expression was incredibly sincere.

"I will." Hermione looked at Ike with mixed feelings, finally nodded in agreement, and jogged away.

Ike saw a red-haired lion cub run out from behind a tree in the distance and meet up with Hermione. The two seemed to be chased by something scary, and they ran faster and faster. Before long, they ran back to the castle, and Ike couldn't help but laugh.

"It's finally over. We still need to maintain the main characters' goodwill..." Ike stretched, tilted his head back, squinted, and felt the warm sunlight.

"Now we can move on to the next step..."

There's another chapter before midnight, I'm in time!

(End of this chapter)