The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Is this... Hogwarts trying to help her?

Vera paused for a moment, hesitated for a few seconds, and then mustered up her courage to reach out and touch it.

Author's Note: I keep my word. The bounty will be released once it reaches five chapters, but the bounty isn't over yet. It ends at 23:59 on the 21st. If you want to keep squeezing the author dry, feel free to give more rewards! Thank you everyone!

Also, Qiu Zhang has appeared in this chapter. I'm considering whether to make her one of the harem members. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments!

Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Castle's Help

The moment her fingertips touched the brick wall in front of her, the golden light seemed to come alive and wrapped around her fingertips, and a warm power flowed into her skin.

The crystal at her heart trembled, and Vera, breathing rapidly, instinctively clutched her chest, feeling her heart pounding wildly.

She could feel... the fine lines gradually converging before her eyes were resonating with her magic circuits.

Vera closed her eyes, feeling the power guiding her thoughts to gradually calm down.

Distracting thoughts receded like the tide, leaving only the clear sound of one's own breathing.

At this moment, she was enveloped by an unprecedented sense of clarity.

When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the Hogwarts library, but in a tranquil and deep lake, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the cloudless sky.

Vera stared blankly at the unfamiliar yet inexplicably comforting scene before her.

Gradually, she felt her consciousness sinking into the clear lake water, isolated from the noise of the outside world.

"I see..." she murmured softly, calmly experiencing this indescribable and wonderful state.

Sometimes, the inability to make progress in learning is not due to a lack of understanding, but rather because people tend to use their own experience to speculate and interpret unknown knowledge, which often leads to certain misunderstandings.

Was Harry not smart in the original books?

Perhaps he is not quite as good as those brilliant wizards, but he is not so bad that he cannot master Occlumency even after studying for a long time.

Keep in mind, this is a practical talent who has mastered the Patronus Charm, an advanced white magic that most adult wizards cannot learn, in just the third grade.

Aside from his resistance to Snape, the instructor, it was probably more due to Voldemort's interference that he was unable to find the knack for getting started.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to expel Voldemort's consciousness so quickly after being overwhelmed by immense sorrow.

And now, Vera is also stuck at this beginner stage.

But Hogwarts took the initiative to help her when she encountered setbacks, and led her to personally experience the feeling of completely controlling her emotions and having no distracting thoughts.

Simply put, it helped her understand.

Once you've experienced that pure feeling, even if you follow a map afterward, it's much better than blindly forcing things together like a headless fly.

Vera took a deep breath, slowly opened her eyes, and found herself still sitting among the bookshelves in the library, the book in her hand still open on the same page as before.

But, compared to before, something has changed.

At this moment, her mind was exceptionally clear, as if it had been organized by some force.

Distractions were like filtered lake water, and the feeling of clarity and tranquility remained deep in her consciousness, as if she could quickly replicate that feeling whenever she wanted.

"Thank you." She looked up, her palm gently resting on the wall tiles that had returned to normal, and murmured softly.

The air around her trembled slightly the moment she finished speaking, as if the ancient castle was responding to her.

Vera smiled slightly, closed her eyes again, and tried to recall that clear and peaceful state she had just experienced.

Gradually, she felt her thoughts begin to settle, and distracting thoughts sank into the depths of her consciousness like grains of sand.

"Vera?" Harley's voice suddenly came from the other side of the bookshelf. "Are you here?"

She suddenly opened her eyes, and the mysterious state she had been in immediately dissipated.

She quickly hid "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Closing the Brain" in the side pocket of her wheelchair and pushed the wheelchair out of the bookshelf.

“I’m here,” Vera replied calmly.

As a series of hurried footsteps sounded, Harley came over carrying a stack of books, a little dust still clinging to her nose, looking somewhat annoyed.

"There are just too many books to find," she said, wrinkling her nose in a pitiful manner. She found a seat, rubbing her aching arms, and muttered a complaint, "There's no way I can find them all..."

Vera couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at Harley's disheveled appearance: "These books, Hermione gave them to you?"

“These were all tasks assigned by Hermione!” Harley corrected, her brows furrowed, her green eyes filled with helplessness. “She said these might all mention Nicolas Flamel, and told us to split up and look them up… but I’ve flipped through more than a dozen books and haven’t even seen the word ‘Nico’.”

So I came to find her, taking the opportunity to steal a moment of leisure.

Vera chuckled, pushed her wheelchair closer, and pulled a book from the pile in front of Harley, beginning to read. "I could help a little—"

"Really?" Harley's eyes lit up.

“But we need to find Hermione first.” Vera put down her book. “The three of us together will be faster.”

The two went to the study area together and quickly found Hermione buried in her books.

At least five large books were spread out in front of her, her head was lowered, and the tip of her nose was almost touching the pages.

Upon seeing them approach, Hermione quickly looked up, her brown curly hair slightly disheveled: "Have you found any clues?"

Harley shook her head and placed the stack of books she was holding on the table: "No, let's look for it together."

Hermione glanced at her, then at Harley, and could only nod and move aside.

Seeing the two girls flipping through the book with troubled expressions, Vera felt a pang of guilt for lying to children, but she could only silently pick up a book and pretend to be nonchalant as she flipped through it.

Time passed by, and the number of people in the library gradually dwindled.

The sky outside the window darkened, and the sound of raindrops tapping on the window became clearer.

The three of them arrived at the auditorium exhausted from the library. As soon as they sat down, Harley leaned on Vera's shoulder.

"I'm exhausted..." she muttered softly, "My eyes are about to go blurry."

Hermione rubbed her temples: "Let's keep looking tomorrow, we'll find some clues eventually."

Vera nodded slightly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the teachers' table—Quillo had returned to his seat, but his face was paler than usual, his large scarf wrapped tightly around him, and he would occasionally twitch nervously.

Even after being pranked and injured by students, the ruthless boss still insists on going to work...

Vera, who had been a corporate slave in her previous life, felt a strong sense of wicked amusement.

She suddenly wondered how Voldemort interacted with Quirrell after he was burned.

Will she fly into a rage and punish the servant, or will she cower weakly in her headscarf and groan?

The absurd thought made her feel a chill, so she quickly lowered her head and took a sip of pumpkin juice to cover it up.

Vera estimates that Voldemort is now eager to recover and also wants to find out who tampered with the pitch.

She went unnoticed on the field before, but hopefully Quirrell won't notice anything amiss here.

Chapter 80 She's cheating!

After dinner, Vera returned to the common room and originally intended to use the excuse of feeling unwell to go back to her dormitory to continue her research on brain occlusion.

However, she had already used this excuse many times before, and it would be a bit impolite to use it again.

Moreover, seeing the expectant looks in Harley and Hermione's eyes, she could only sigh silently and swallow back the excuse that was about to come out.

“Okay,” she pushed her wheelchair to the table, “Today, are you doing homework or playing games?”

She had seen them playing Wizards Chess with Ron more than once before.

However, Ron is a certified wizard chess master in the original work. Even when Hach and Harrow faced each other, Ron still lost more often than he won.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Wizards' Chess!"

Vera raised an eyebrow at their excited expressions: "Are you sure? I remember Ron wiped you out last time."

"This time is different!" Harley exclaimed excitedly as she set up the chessboard. "It's because you're here!"

However, it's not something to brag about when three people together defeat one person.

Vera shook her head slightly, then nodded in agreement: "Okay, but I must state first that I'm not very good at Wizard Chess."

In her previous life, she had tried to learn some chess because of an American TV series called Queen's Gambit, but she was not very familiar with the rules of Wizard Chess.

However, the magic circuits allowed her to learn things very quickly. In the few times she happened to watch them play chess, she had already figured out the tricks of the trade.

I just don't know how effective it will be in actual combat.

Ron had already moved closer, his red hair standing out brightly in the firelight: "Ha! Finally, someone dares to challenge me!"

He sat down casually across the chessboard, put down his somewhat worn-out pieces, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Get ready to cry your eyes out, girls!"

Vera looked at the exquisite chessboard in front of her. The chess pieces had automatically arranged themselves into formation and were looking at the two players who were about to play with expectant eyes.

“Since it’s the three of you together, I’ll go first.” Ron said with a confident smile, directing his soldiers forward.

Harley and Hermione looked at Vera at the same time, their eyes full of trust.

Feeling uneasy under their gazes, Vera pursed her lips, her finger lightly tapping a soldier: "Move forward two squares."

Seeing that she didn't even know the basic move terminology, Ron crossed his arms and said, "So you're a newbie too."

For the next dozen or so moves, Vera played her pieces in the usual way, while Ron seemed to be in complete control, occasionally yawning.

“Vera…” Harley whispered in her ear, “Shouldn’t we use some strategy?”

“That makes sense.” Vera nodded, glanced at Ron who still looked confident, and silently moved the chess pieces.

In the following matches, Vera still didn't seem aggressive, and even when Harley and Hermione came down to offer her advice, she politely declined.

Ron's expression immediately turned serious when his queen was eaten by one of Vera's seemingly insignificant knights, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead.

He suddenly bent down to study the chessboard, his red hair almost standing on end.

"Wait..." he exclaimed, his eyes widening. "How could you..."

"Aren't we going to keep going?" Vera asked calmly.

Ron was speechless for a moment and could only lower his head and think hard for a while.

A few minutes later, he scratched his head in frustration: "Merlin's beard! You deliberately made me eat that bishop just for this!"

Vera smiled slightly: "Luckily, I'm in good luck."

Finally, as Ron's king was checkmated by one of Vera's pawns, a gasp of surprise erupted throughout the common room.

"Vera won?!" Harley's eyes widened, and she grabbed Vera's shoulders. "You actually beat Ron!"

Hermione looked at the chessboard in astonishment: "This is incredible... Ron is the best chess player among us."

Ron's face flushed red, and he shouted defiantly, "One more round! I was careless just now!"

But Vera shook her head and pushed the chessboard back to him: "Next time, I'm a little tired."

She was indeed a bit tired, and winning this game was by no means easy, because... during the game, she was also trying to apply the techniques she had learned from practicing Occlumency to the game.

When her mind was completely clear and calm, her calculation ability and concentration were significantly improved.

With almost every move she made, she subconsciously and rapidly calculated the situation two or even three steps ahead.

In this almost cheating state, they were able to barely turn the tide by guiding Ron step by step into the trap.

Of course, the price is that while she may appear to be doing well on the surface, she is actually mentally exhausted.

It has to be said that Ron's skill in Wizard Chess is indeed very strong; it would be almost impossible for me to beat him under normal circumstances.

Seeing that Ron was still trying to challenge her, Harley frowned and immediately stood up, saying, "Hermione and I will keep you company for a bit."

With that, she turned around and said gently to Vera, "Let's go, I'll take you back to your dorm."

Vera did not refuse and nodded gently: "Okay."

Back in the dorm, Harley helped her move to bed and thoughtfully poured her a glass of water, placing it on the bedside table.

“Vera,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her green eyes full of curiosity, “have you ever learned wizard chess before?”

Vera shook her head: "I've studied chess, and the rules are very similar to Wizard's Chess."

Harley exclaimed, "No wonder you beat Ron! He grew up playing Wizards Chess!"

“It was just good luck.” Vera shook her head. “His skills are very sophisticated. I couldn’t turn the tables until the very end.”

Harley stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and ruffled her hair: "You're always so modest."

Vera was taken aback by this sudden display of affection. She froze for a moment, but Harry had already stood up. "Get some rest. I'm going to the lounge to continue playing chess."

Watching Harley's departing figure, Vera blinked and reached out to smooth her ruffled hair.

If I remember correctly, she used to be the one rubbing Harley's head, but this seems to be the first time Harley has rubbed her head?