The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Although these sprites are not very destructive, there are too many of them and they are extremely agile, making it difficult to control them effectively and safely with ordinary spells—especially in such a chaotic and crowded environment.

The scene in the movie where Hermione uses a freezing spell to control everyone is pure nonsense.

If Hermione is this strong in her second year, wouldn't she be able to easily defeat him during the Battle of Hogwarts in her seventh year?

This can't go on any longer.

With her vision instantly enhanced, the rapid movements of the little sprites slowed down in her eyes.

Then, she raised her wand, not pointing it at the elves like the others, but looking at the so-called exam papers fluttering on the podium.

"Transform immediately!" Vera's voice was clear and calm.

The wand tip no longer emitted an aggressive light, but rather a gentle, mercury-like flow of magical energy.

The fragments of the exam papers that the little elves had torn apart and scattered in the air froze instantly, and then, as if drawn by invisible threads, they quickly extended and intertwined, turning into huge and tough spider webs!

These spiderwebs, shimmering with a faint silver light, fly precisely to the most unruly little sprites, trap and envelop them, and then deftly pin them to the walls or ceilings.

The stuck sprite squeaked angrily, but could no longer move.

Immediately afterwards, Vera tapped the empty cage on the podium with her wand once more.

The cage instantly expanded several times its original size, the door frame opened wide, and a powerful suction force was generated from the cage opening, like a small vortex, sucking in all the little elves that were still flying around!

"Bang!" The cage door slammed shut, the sound of the lock clicking shut ringing out.

The classroom fell silent instantly, save for the faint squeaking of the little elf struggling in vain as it was sucked into the cage, and Neville's sobbing, his face pale with fright as he hung from the ceiling light.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the scene, then looked at Vera in her wheelchair, whose expression remained calm, as if she had merely dusted herself off.

Hermione's mouth was slightly open, and she hadn't even had time to put down her wand.

Harley Green's eyes widened in amazement, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing..."

Even Lockhart, who was hiding behind the podium, cautiously peeked out and saw the almost empty classroom and the elf cages, his face turning red and white in turns.

He forced himself to stand up, straightened his crooked tie, and tried to save face: "Ah! Very good! Perfect... uh... a demonstration of teamwork!"

No one cares about him.

"Neville!" Harley was the first to react, and she and Ron Seymour quickly tried to find a way to rescue Neville, who was still swaying on the chandelier.

Hermione quickly walked to Vera's side, her brown eyes shining brightly: "Vera! Did you just use Transfiguration? You actually thought of using an exam paper, and such a wide-ranging transformation at that..."

"It was just a temporary solution," Vera interrupted her softly, rubbing her slightly throbbing temples.

Performing both precise transformations and area-of-effect magic simultaneously is quite taxing, even for her.

If she hadn't successfully tested the transformation technique in class and solved the problem of transformation requiring a lot of magic power, she wouldn't have been able to clear the area so quickly.

Lockhart coughed a few times, trying to regain attention: "Alright! Now that... the crisis has passed, this class is over! get out of class dismissed!"

He announced it almost impatiently, then frantically tried to move the large cage filled with elves, which was now thumping loudly, clearly intending to leave this place that had made him lose face immediately.

The students looked at each other in dismay, then burst into a clamor of relief as they packed their things and fled the messy classroom.

"He's a joke!" Ron complained loudly as soon as they stepped out of the classroom. "I thought he could teach us something real! It's all just bragging!"

“At least Vera let us leave get out of class early,” Harley said, her eyes still filled with lingering admiration for Vera. “You were so cool just now!”

Hermione's expression was somewhat complicated; she seemed to want to say a few more words in defense of Lockhart.

But looking at the ink spilled and the books torn in the classroom, he could only sigh in the end: "Maybe...maybe he'll be better in the next class?"

“Unless Merlin comes to teach him himself.” Harley scoffed at this. “Hermione, he has no idea what he’s doing.”

“Nonsense,” Hermione still tried to explain, “You’ve all read his books, think about all the amazing things he’s done…”

“He just said he did it,” Harley muttered.

Hermione opened her mouth as if to refute, but in the end she just pursed her lips, and for the first time her eyes showed a clear wavering towards Lockhart.

Vera gently pressed her temples; the magic she had just used left her feeling tired. "Let's go back first; it's too chaotic here."

There were no more classes, so the three of them strolled slowly down the corridor, overhearing other students excitedly discussing the farce that had just happened in the classroom and Vera's last-minute heroics.

"Did you see that? Blake turned those exam papers into a net!"

Lockhart actually hid under the podium...

These comments made Harley puff out her chest with pride, as if she were the one being praised.

She pushed Vera's wheelchair with much lighter steps.

Hermione remained silent, her brows slightly furrowed, as if comparing the image of the great adventurer in her mind with the disheveled professor she had seen in class that day.

Vera saw all her expressions, but only smiled slightly and said nothing.

From her perspective, Hermione was actually somewhat prone to authority worship.

She worshipped knowledge from books and those "authorities" who were printed in lead and widely circulated, just as she initially blindly trusted Lockhart.

This trait, while providing strong motivation for learning, also makes her easily overlook the gap between reality and propaganda.

That's why Hermione worships not Lockhart himself, but the words he wrote.

Those bestselling books, based on true stories but with different protagonists, gave Lockhart a captivating aura, which is why, for a long time, no one in the wizarding world doubted whether Lockhart possessed genuine talent and ability.

Before truly getting to know Lockhart, Hermione would never listen to advice based solely on words.

But after witnessing all of this, even if they didn't say anything, Hermione would gradually begin to have doubts.

She only developed a bias towards the author because of the words, not because she genuinely liked Lockhart's supposedly award-winning smile.

The smartest little witch in this year's Hogwarts class is herself a person who excels at thinking.

Vera believed that Hermione would gradually see things clearly on her own without her having to say anything more.

As she was still thinking, she saw the wheelchair, which was supposed to be going up the stairs, suddenly stop and turn back downstairs.

"Harley?" Vera turned her head, somewhat puzzled. "Aren't we going back to the common room?"

"What are you talking about!" Harley asked, looking puzzled. "Didn't we agree to celebrate your birthday at Hagrid's? I wrote to him this morning asking him to order a cake."

Vera paused for a moment, then remembered the birthday that Harley had insisted on "choosing" for her—September 2nd, the first day of school.

"...When did you write the letter?" Vera asked, somewhat surprised, having spent almost the entire day with Harley.

“I had Hedwig bring it over when I had breakfast this morning.” Harley raised her chin smugly, her green eyes gleaming with mischief. “Surprised, aren’t you?”

It was a pleasant surprise, of course, but…

Vera glanced at Hermione beside her. Her friend was still immersed in the disillusionment of her idol. Was it a bit inappropriate to suggest celebrating at this time?

Hermione's initially downcast expression instantly brightened when she heard "birthday" and "celebration".

She turned her head sharply, the confusion in her brown eyes vanishing instantly: "Birthday? Whose birthday? Vera, is today your birthday?"

She immediately looked at Vera, her tone carrying a hint of reproach for being kept in the dark, mixed with a rapidly rising excitement: "Why didn't you ever tell me this!"

Vera opened her mouth, but before she could explain, Harley beat her to it, explaining with a touch of pride:

"Vera didn't know her exact birthday, so we decided to designate today as her new birthday! From now on, we can celebrate for her on the second day of school every year!"

This explanation startled Hermione, who looked at Vera with a more complicated expression before nodding in understanding.

“I understand,” she said earnestly. “Since it’s a birthday, of course we should celebrate… Hagrid, do you understand? What do we need to prepare? Gifts… Oh, Merlin, I haven’t prepared anything!”

She looked somewhat annoyed and began to quickly think of what decent gift she could conjure up on the spot.

“No need for a gift, Hermione,” Vera said quickly. “Your presence is the best gift, and besides, didn’t Harley say Hagrid has already prepared a cake?”

“No way!” Hermione shook her head firmly. “I have to get a birthday present! Let me think… I’ll have to ask Mom and Dad to send some…”

Seeing Hermione immediately become engrossed in choosing a gift, Vera and Harry couldn't help but exchange a glance.

Harley's emerald eyes gleamed as she winked at Vera, as if to say, "See? I told you it would work."

Sometimes, shifting your focus can indeed be a good remedy for low moods.

Vera had to interrupt Hermione when she saw her completely absorbed in the "birthday preparations," even starting to plan to have her parents send a rare, out-of-print book from London by owl as a gift.

“Hermione,” she said gently, “really, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. If you insist, perhaps… a handmade card? Or, how about buying me an ice cream next time we go to Diagon Alley?”

Hermione stopped muttering her plan, looked into Vera's sincere eyes, and hesitated for a moment: "But...that's too easy..."

“The weight of affection is never in the price of the gift itself,” Vera said softly.

Harley nodded vigorously, "That's right! And Hagrid's rock cake... well, it might not taste very good, but it's the thought that counts! Let's hurry up and go, don't keep him waiting!"

Hermione finally couldn't help but laugh when Hagrid's rock crust was mentioned.

“Okay,” she conceded, “but ice cream doesn’t count. I’ll make sure to give you a proper gift later!”

The three reached an agreement, and the atmosphere became light again.

The setting sun cast long shadows of them, the castle gradually shrinking behind them, and the air filled with the fragrance of grass and earth.

Hermione seemed to have completely recovered from her disillusionment with Lockhart and began to have a lively discussion with Harley about how to spend the birthday.

Vera followed them, listening to their chatter and watching their figures bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, a clear and gentle smile unconsciously curving her lips.

From afar, you can see the warm light shining through the windows of Hagrid's cottage, and wisps of smoke rising from the chimney.

Ya Ya was the first to hear their footsteps, and excited barking came from inside the house.

Hagrid's enormous figure appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in exceptionally clean clothes, and his hair seemed to have been carefully combed, though the effect was limited.

"Happy birthday, Vera!" His booming voice echoed in the twilight, his face beaming with a warm smile. "Come in, come in! The cake just arrived!"

The interior of the cottage was exceptionally clean, with a clean checkered tablecloth on the table and a cake decorated with a sugar-frosted golden lion in the center.

There was also a plate of... well, as always, hard rock crust cakes.

"Happy birthday!" Hagrid shouted, giving Vera a hug that almost took her breath away. "You're another year older!"

Harley couldn't wait to light the number "12" candle on the cake: "Make a wish, Vera!"

The warm candlelight illuminated Vera's face as she looked at her friends surrounding her, her heart growing warmer with each passing moment.

Vera closed her eyes and earnestly made a wish in her heart—

She hopes that everyone around her can be safe and happy, and that she can protect this hard-won warmth.

Slowly opening her eyes, she gently blew out the candles under the expectant gazes of Harley, Hermione, and Hagrid.

"Happy birthday!" everyone cheered in unison.

Hagrid then took out the gift he had prepared: a pair of knee pads woven from the fur of a horned beast.

“I heard…I heard that sometimes when the weather changes, your legs get uncomfortable,” Hagrid said gruffly. “This is quite soft and can keep you warm.”

“Thank you, Hagrid.” Vera accepted the simple gift, her fingertips stroking the soft, warm fur, and looked up gratefully. “It’s very practical, I like it very much.”

"I'm glad you like it! I'm glad you like it!" Hagrid rubbed his hands together, looking even happier than the person who received the gift. "Come and try the cake! Honey Duke just made it this morning!"

He clumsily cut several large pieces of cake and distributed them to everyone. The frosted lion was divided up rather poorly, but the rich aroma of cream and chocolate immediately filled the entire small house.

They ate while chatting about the fun things that happened during the summer vacation and the new semester.

Hagrid listened with great interest, especially when he heard that Hemera was doing well in her habitat, which made him so happy that he ate a few more rock breads.

As night was about to fall, the three helped Hagrid tidy up the cabin before saying goodbye and leaving.

Chapter Seven: Hermione, She's Got It! (6.5k Bounty)

That night, because she had some cake on her clothes, Harley went to take a shower as soon as she got back to her dorm.

Vera sat quietly by the fireplace, flipping through Lockhart's book in her hands.

The more she read, the more she felt that Lockhart's storytelling ability far surpassed his actual talent.

He described many of his adventures as dramatic and captivating, which explains why he was able to fool so many people.

“Vera.” Hermione quietly sat down beside her, her gaze becoming complicated again as she looked at the book in Vera’s hand.

"What's wrong?" Vera closed the book and turned to look at her friend.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then remained silent.

Or... she herself didn't know what to say.

Vera noticed her hesitation and inner conflict, and gently pursed her lips.

At first, she did think that the best approach was to let Hermione discover the truth herself and break the blind worship of authority.

But now, seeing her struggling alone in disappointment and confusion, Vera began to hesitate, wondering if her indifference was a bit too heartless.