Gryffindor Tower, Nios's single room.
The heavy scarlet curtains blocked out the night.
The quintet sat on the sofa.
Azazel had been put back into the summoning circle by Nios, and the room was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Nios unhurriedly picked up the silver teapot on the table, and slowly and gracefully poured deep red hot tea into the bone china cups in front of everyone.
The curling tea aroma filled the air, but it failed to dispel the urgency in Hermione's brow.
After all, she was a girl and couldn't stay in a boy's dormitory for long; now, she just wanted to get straight to the point.
"Nios," Hermione broke the silence first, her voice tinged with deliberately suppressed impatience, "You asked Neville to tell me that you wanted to hold a 'study group'.
Now, can we start?"
Her gaze was locked on Nios, as if trying to pierce through his eye patch.
Nios unhurriedly picked up his teacup, gently blew away the steam, and took a sip.
Then, he put down the teacup, reached into his Pregnant and pulled out the thick demon book, placing it steadily in the center of the table.
"Of course."
Nios's voice was calm and unwavering, "But before that, let's answer your previous question."
The eye on his eye patch looked at Hermione, "Regarding Azazel, is he my partner?"
He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"He was never my 'partner'.
Our relationship..."
A cold arc formed at the corner of Nios's mouth, "is more akin to a vicious dog, and a master who forcibly tames it.
Don't be fooled by his pitiful appearance; his essence is pure, chaotic, cruel, and evil."
Nios's slender fingers turned open the thick demon book, stopping precisely at the last page.
He turned the page towards everyone, then gently pushed it in front of Hermione.
Hermione looked down with a look of uncertainty and surprise.
What met her eyes was not any known writing system, but some twisted, bizarre, seemingly living symbols that wriggled and exuded an unsettling aura.
What made her scalp tingle even more was that she could understand them!
Those contractual terms, full of enslavement, were clearly imprinted in her mind.
A chill crept up Hermione's spine.
She suddenly looked up at Nios, and memories of listening to the pastor tell myths in church during her childhood flooded back.
"Could it be..."
Her voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
"Let Harry and the others finish reading first."
Nios interrupted her, his tone flat but with an invisible pressure.
Hermione had no choice but to suppress the turmoil in her heart and push the heavy demon book towards Harry.
Harry took the book and read it with a serious expression; the content did not surprise him, after all, he already knew what kind of existence Azazel was, but his gaze towards Nios was only one of deep vigilance.
Ron leaned over and took a look, immediately wrinkling his brow in disgust: "Merlin's beard!
What the hell is this written?
It's even more disgusting than House-elf rules!
Who would sign this kind of thing?"
Neville nodded vigorously in agreement with Ron after reading it.
After all four had passed it around, Nios took back the demon book and placed it squarely on the table in front of him.
He leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped on the book; although the eye patch covered his eyes, an invisible sense of seriousness enveloped the entire room.
"Now," Nios's voice rang out clearly, "you can start asking questions."
"Azazel is a demon?!"
Hermione almost blurted it out, her voice sharp with a crack.
The powerful self-healing ability, bat wings, cloven hooves, that strange tail, plus this contract filled with evil aura, all clues pointed to the forbidden existence in Muggle legends!
Ron and Neville were dumbfounded by Hermione's words.
"Hermione?"
Ron had a "Are you crazy" expression, "A demon?
Isn't that something from Muggle fairy tales to scare children?
How could it really exist?"
Neville also nodded blankly in agreement, clearly unable to comprehend this explosive deduction.
Hermione completely ignored the two; her eyes were fixed on Nios, not missing any slight reaction from him.
Just then, the corner of her eye caught the expression on Harry's face—not shock, not confusion, but a knowing understanding!
"Harry!"
Hermione suddenly turned to him, "You know!
You've known all along, haven't you?!"
Harry stiffened slightly when exposed, but quickly regained his composure.
He met Hermione's burning gaze, took a deep breath, and admitted frankly: "Yes.
Azazel is indeed a demon.
And..."
He looked at Nios, his eyes complex, "He was created by Nios himself, the first demon in this world."
He paused, recalling the first time he saw Azazel, and continued: "Azazel said before that Nios would create more demons in the future."
After speaking, Harry's gaze refocused on Nios, with an unprecedented sharpness, "Nios, you called us here today, showed us this, and mentioned demons... what you really want to teach, I'm afraid, is not just your 'Alchemy', right?
What is your ultimate goal?"
Harry's words were like a huge stone thrown into calm water.
Ron's face instantly changed; he subconsciously pulled his hand into his sleeve, tightly gripping the wand hidden inside, his body tensed like a leopard ready to pounce on its prey, his eyes full of vigilance.
Neville, on the other hand, had a hurt and incredulous expression; he looked at Nios, his large eyes filled with sadness and confusion, as if he had been betrayed by his most trusted friend.
But his trembling hands also quietly clenched into fists, and his body leaned slightly forward, showing that although he was sad, he was ready to stand alongside Ron and prevent any potential danger.
Although Hermione did not have such intense physical reactions as Ron and Neville on the surface, her gaze quickly darted between Nios and the demon book.
Her fingers unconsciously curled and uncurled on her knees, clearly calculating rapidly how she could seize the evil book in the first instance if a conflict broke out, rush out of the dormitory, and hand it over to Professor.
Facing the vigilant defense line instantly constructed by the four, Nios not only showed no anger, but a deeper, more elusive smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
That smile even carried a hint of... satisfaction?
Just at this tense moment, Nios made a move that surprised everyone.
He slowly raised his hand and reached for his face.
Under the gaze of four pairs of wary, surprised, angry, and sad eyes, he gently took off the black eye patch with the cartoon eye printed on it.
Beneath the eye patch, there was no expected scar or hollow.
It was a breathtakingly, almost perfect face.
The skin was cool and fair, the facial features exquisitely sculpted as if by a master with the finest tools, the lines fluid and graceful, possessing a startling beauty that transcended gender boundaries.
However, this beauty was devoid of warmth, instead exuding an inhuman, cold sense of detachment.
His closed eyes were covered, and long eyelashes cast faint shadows in the light, making one want to peek into the secrets beneath.
The four simultaneously gasped, so shocked by this sudden visual impact that they were speechless.
Ron even forgot his tightly gripped wand, Neville's sadness froze on his face, and Hermione's thoughts also went blank for a moment.
In this extreme silence, Nios's voice, with its peculiar magnetism, rang out again, clear and calm, as if the tense confrontation just now had never happened.
He still had his eyes closed, and that heart-stopping smile lingered at the corner of his mouth:
"I called everyone here today mainly to ask one thing..."
He deliberately paused, as if enjoying the dramatic moment.
"...Are you willing to raise a demon for fun?"