The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Vera was left staring blankly at the hand that had just been held.

When Hermione returned, all the lights in the dormitory were turned off, and moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting long, thin streaks of light on the floor.

Vera lay on her back on the bed, listening to Harley's even breathing, her fingers unconsciously stroking the astrolabe model beside her pillow.

The magic circuits gleamed faintly with a golden light in the darkness, and data visible only to her appeared on her retina:

[Current Mana Reserves: 36/120]

She gently turned over, facing the window. In the distance, the outline of the forbidden forest resembled a crouching behemoth in the moonlight, exuding a dangerous yet alluring aura.

The Forbidden Forest is home to many dangerous magical creatures, most of which she is completely unable to deal with in her current state.

We must not act impulsively; we must proceed gradually…

Knox had somehow crawled into her bed, his warm body pressed against her cold knees.

Vera stroked the cat's soft fur and slowly closed her eyes in the darkness.

……

She would spend time every day practicing spells at the Room of Requirement, while also steadily improving her magic circuit experience.

As Vera's control over magic became more refined, she discovered that Source Reshaping not only strengthened parts of her body but also alleviated spinal pain to some extent.

Although the effect was limited, it was already a great comfort to her.

Harley's Quidditch practice became more and more frequent, but she always made time to study with Vera.

Hermione, as always, loved spending time in the library and often dragged the two of them along to do their homework.

Among the others, the Malfoy trio had finally escaped confinement, but having just learned their lesson, they dared not provoke him again for the time being.

As for the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog, it seems they have forgotten about it.

Soon, at the end of October, Hogwarts began preparations for Halloween.

The castle was filled with pumpkin lanterns and bat decorations, and singing ghosts floated in the corridors.

On the morning before Halloween, even before entering the hall, one could smell a sweet pumpkin aroma.

A thousand bats fluttered about on the walls and ceiling, causing the candle flame inside the pumpkin to flicker.

Vera, in her wheelchair, walked through a corridor filled with pumpkin lanterns and singing skulls, occasionally looking up at the decorations around her.

Knox obediently perched on her lap, his amber eyes warily scanning the ghosts that drifted by.

"I heard that Peeves prepared several buckets of water in the Slytherin dungeon corridors, and many Slytherin students who passed by got soaked," Harley said in a low voice, pushing her wheelchair from behind.

Even so, you could still hear the excitement in her voice.

Hermione, walking beside him, frowned upon hearing this: "Peeves has indeed been causing a lot of trouble lately. I heard even Filch can't handle him."

Vera smiled slightly but didn't reply.

The three entered the auditorium and found the ceiling covered with dark clouds, with lightning-shaped decorations appearing and disappearing among the clouds.

Even Professor McGonagall was directing several senior students to adjust the position of the floating jack-o'-lanterns.

At the teachers' table, Professor Quirrell's large scarf was wrapped even tighter than usual, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"What do you think is wrong with Professor Quirrell?" Harley asked in a low voice. "He looks like he's seen a ghost."

Hermione shook her head: "I don't know. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts class again today. I just hope nothing else goes wrong."

Vera's gaze lingered on Quirrell for a moment, her magical circuits allowing her to sense that the dark magic aura surrounding him was more restless than usual.

If I remember correctly, during Halloween, Quirrell will release the trolls that Dumbledore had prepared in advance, in an attempt to confuse the enemy and take the Philosopher's Stone.

In the original story, this riot led Hermione, Harry, and Ron to forge a true friendship and become an inseparable trio.

But now... no one will ever make Hermione so angry that she has to secretly cry in the women's restroom again.

“Never mind him,” she said softly. “Today is Halloween Eve, we should enjoy ourselves.”

Harley nodded, her attention quickly drawn to the sumptuous breakfast in the auditorium.

Vera took a small sip of pumpkin juice, her gaze sweeping over the students who were enthusiastically discussing Halloween activities.

Hermione and Harley began discussing their Defense Against the Dark Arts class that afternoon, with Ron occasionally chiming in.

Neville, who was now frequently on missions with Ron, had no choice but to sit next to them.

However, when he looked at Vera, his gaze was still somewhat uneasy, and he rarely took the initiative to talk to Vera.

Given Neville's personality, Vera wasn't prepared to take any initiative in this situation.

let it go.

“After class this afternoon, let’s go to the library to write our potions paper?” Hermione suggested.

Harley sighed, "It's Halloween! Can't we relax a little?"

Vera gently stirred the pumpkin porridge in front of her: "I'd also like to go to the library to look up some information."

Hermione's eyes lit up: "See! Vera agrees too!"

Harley pouted, "Okay, okay..."

Anyway, as long as Vera is involved, she will have no choice but to surrender unconditionally.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Castle Calls Again

The afternoon Defense Against the Dark Arts class was disappointing as always.

Professor Quirrell stammered as he recounted his encounter with numerous zombies during his study tour, followed by his methods for identifying and defending against them.

In terms of theory alone, Quirrell's teaching is not bad. Thanks to his practical experience, his theories are also practical and very suitable for young wizards.

However, the smell of garlic in the classroom was stronger than usual, forcing most students to cover their noses while listening to the lesson.

As for how many people actually listened, that's anyone's guess.

"The smell is even worse today," Harley muttered under her breath, frowning and covering her nose. "Vera, are you even listening to me?"

Vera shook her head slightly and lowered her voice: "Professor Quirrell's theory is correct. If you listen carefully, you will still gain something."

Hermione, who was taking notes diligently, couldn't help but chime in after hearing their conversation: "At least it's a bit better than when they talked about vampires last week. He was shaking for the entire class."

Just then, Professor Quirrell suddenly raised his voice: "Miss Potter! Please, please answer this: what are zombies most afraid of?"

Harley jumped to her feet, a flicker of panic in her green eyes: "Uh...sunlight?"

“Yes, the answer is correct.” Professor Quirrell nodded stammeringly.

Harley breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, whispering to Vera, "Thank goodness I listened to the lecture earlier."

Vera smiled slightly: "That's a good answer."

She glanced at him thoughtfully; the eerie aura emanating from Quirrell was even more restless than usual.

Tomorrow is Halloween, is he planning to do something?

Vera squinted as she thoughtfully stroked the armrest of her wheelchair.

When the bell rang, the students rushed out of the classroom as if they had been granted a pardon.

Harley pushed Vera's wheelchair, and the three of them headed towards the library together, as agreed beforehand.

They spent the afternoon quietly.

Hermione buried herself in researching more information about zombies, while Harley absentmindedly flipped through the Quidditch Origins book Hermione had given her, occasionally stealing glances at Vera, who was focused on her homework.

“You tell me,” Harley suddenly lowered her voice, “why is Professor Quirrell always so tense? As if someone might attack him at any moment.”

Hermione didn't even look up: "Maybe he really did encounter something terrible. The Defense Against the Dark Arts says that prolonged exposure to the Dark Arts can cause nervous breakdowns."

Vera paused slightly with her quill, then looked up at the two of them: "Have you noticed that he smells stronger of garlic lately?"

“Of course I noticed!” Harley made an exaggerated vomiting face. “It’s so strong it could knock a person out.”

Hermione pondered, "The book says garlic can repel vampires... but Professor Quirrell says he's already solved the vampire problem in Romania, so why would he...?"

“Have you ever considered,” Vera whispered, “that Professor Quirrell might be using the smell of garlic to mask some other odor?”

Hermione's brow furrowed even more: "What do you mean?"

Harley's eyes suddenly widened: "You mean... he did it on purpose? But why?"

Vera shook her head slightly: "I don't know, it's just a trivial guess."

Hermione seemed about to ask more questions, but Mrs. Pince's sharp gaze swept over them, and the three of them quickly lowered their heads and continued with their own business.

As evening fell, when they left the library, all the Halloween decorations in the castle were in place.

Talking pumpkin lanterns grinned on both sides of the corridor, occasionally letting out chuckles; ghosts floated around, performing all sorts of comical tricks.

"I wonder what surprises tomorrow's party will hold!" Harley exclaimed excitedly. "I just want to sleep until tomorrow night!"

Hermione, however, seemed worried: "I'm more worried about Potions class tomorrow. Professor Snape even deducted points from Vera's grades."

It should be said that among all the new Gryffindor students, only Harry was spared from being tormented by Snape's sharp tongue.

Just as Vera was about to speak, she felt a tremor in the crystal in her chest.

Immediately afterwards, the loop vision automatically appeared, and a faint black mist appeared on the corridor in the field of vision.

Vera abruptly stopped her wheelchair, her pupils contracting slightly.

This was the first time that the magic circuits had appeared on their own without her control…

Are you trying to give her some kind of hint?

"Vera, what's wrong?" Harley looked at her, puzzled.

"Nothing, I just suddenly thought I could add some new content to the Potions class assignment," Vera replied softly, while discreetly observing the movement of the black mist.

The black mist writhed like living things, climbing up the cracks in the stone wall and eventually converging into a blurry path.

Vera squinted, and the magic circuits beneath her skin glowed faintly with a golden light.

"Vera?" Hermione noticed her unusual expression. "You don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"

Vera looked away and shook her head gently: "It's alright, let's go to the auditorium and get something to eat."

Soon, as they moved from the fifth floor, where the library was located, to the first floor, where the auditorium was located, Vera clearly felt that the concentration of the black mist had increased significantly, and it was spreading from the direction of the underground classroom.

However, such a notification should only be visible to yourself.

Is this a notification that the magic circuits are automatically activated, or... a message from the castle itself?

Vera thoughtfully pushed her wheelchair and followed Harley and Hermione into the Great Hall.

The aroma of dinner wafted over, but her attention was drawn to the black mist that only she could see.

Based on the current plot development, Hermione will no longer be so upset by Harlow and the other girl that she hides in the women's restroom to cry. Therefore, even if Quirrell releases the troll, it will not have any impact on them.

Vera didn't need to meddle in other people's business. After the troll was released and caused a commotion, she could have simply gone back to the lounge with the others to take refuge.

But... this sudden black mist prompted her to start considering another possibility.

What would happen if I took the initiative to intervene and change the plot?

“Vera?” Harley’s voice brought her back to reality. “You’ve been distracted since earlier. Are you really okay?”

She gently shook her head: "It's nothing."

That's what I said, but in reality, I was already quickly thinking about the potential benefits of this matter and how to deal with the troll in the current state.

Vera ate a couple of bites without really tasting anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the Weasley twins who had just entered the Great Hall. Her eyes lit up, and she pushed her wheelchair forward to call out to them.

George and Fred turned around at the same time, and when they saw it was her, they looked at each other.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Blake?" George asked with a grin, leaning down to greet him.

Vera pushed her wheelchair closer to them and said a few words in a low voice.

Seeing the Weasley twins smile at Vera almost simultaneously, Harley forgot to eat her steak and stared intently at the three of them.

Only Hermione, who was sitting next to her, noticed that Harley was gripping her fork tightly.

Author's Note and Bounty

It will be available tomorrow.

First and foremost, here's the key point—ten chapters will be released immediately upon release.

And then... I'm begging for subscriptions, donations, hate mail (a form of online abuse), monthly tickets, and recommendation votes... basically, I'm begging them all one by one! Thank you everyone!