For the Ravenclaw Eagles, this History of Magic Class was clearly worlds apart from any they had ever had before.
Through sheer willpower, they had actually managed to stay awake for the entire duration, completing the whole lesson.
As they walked out of the History of Magic classroom, many of the Little Eagles felt a bit lightheaded.
However, their hearts were undeniably filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Following the crowd into the Great Hall, Amanda sat in her usual spot as was her custom.
The second-year Little Eagles naturally gathered around Amanda, sitting near her.
However, they tacitly left the two seats immediately to her left and right, as well as one seat further over, empty.
Everyone assumed these three seats belonged to Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe, and Penelope.
Lowering her head to eat dinner at a measured pace, Amanda constantly recalled every word Professor Binns had said in class.
She extracted the key knowledge points from those words and committed them firmly to memory.
The Little Eagles "industriously" helped Amanda by bringing different dishes from various parts of the long table.
This made it even more convenient for Amanda to consolidate her knowledge while eating; after all, she didn't have to look up at all, only needing to reach out with her fork and knife for the food closest to her.
Just as Amanda was halfway through her meal, Cho Chang and the other two finally arrived at the Great Hall.
Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore naturally sat on either side of Amanda, while Penelope sat next to Cho Chang.
As soon as she sat down, Cho Chang couldn't help but start venting her grievances.
"I really don't know what the two of us were thinking." Cho Chang reached for a piece of steak and, skipping the cutting step entirely, bit off a chunk fiercely.
"It was clearly Lockhart's class, and we clearly had our leave approved—why on earth did we go to that class!"
Sitting on Amanda's other side, Marietta Eckmore was in a similar state of agony. "I think we were possessed; we didn't realize the afternoon class was Lockhart's."
She lowered her head and took a large bite of vegetable salad, trying to suppress the nausea caused by Lockhart's excessive "greasiness."
"What did he do this time?" Penelope turned to look at her two juniors, unable to help but furrow her brows.
Hasn't Lockhart just been making everyone act out scenes from his books in class ever since he botched that first lesson?
What kind of terrible idea has he come up with now?
Hearing this, Cho Chang glared fiercely at Lockhart at the Staff Table. "He spent the whole class lecturing us on what Wizards should do with great power and how to avoid abusing it."
"Yes, and in his words, 'just as he himself has done.'"
Marietta Eckmore nodded in agreement, her face looking a bit sickly.
"Merlin's steak knife," Penelope sighed speechlessly, "Like him? Clearly not a Squib, yet more like one than an actual Squib?"
"Heh," Marietta Eckmore gave a cold laugh, "What if? What if he has some hidden talent and is just keeping it low-key?"
"Though that possibility is infinitesimally close to zero," she said while stabbing the vegetable salad on her plate with a fork.
Cho Chang nodded in agreement and swallowed the steak in her mouth. "The most important thing is, given the content of his lecture combined with Amanda's actions yesterday, it's really hard not to feel like those words were targeted at Amanda."
"Targeting Amanda?" Penelope was almost laughed in anger. "Targeting her for what? For saying she shouldn't stand up for her house and her friends?"
"Targeting her for saying she should be a coward? I see that's how most people in the Wizarding World lost their backbone!"
"When the idols they like are such useless, spineless cowards, how strong can they themselves be?"
Amanda, who was "awakened" by her full name and emerged from her mental review state, spoke mechanically.
"According to analysis, Lockhart's various behaviors and his fame promotion perfectly align with the packaging and star-making plans found in the Muggle World."
"This method can deceive many people, including those who are nothing like him."
"Alright," Penelope pursed her lips and reached out to gently stroke Amanda's hair, "I was being too judgmental."
Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore also smiled and helped Amanda tuck the hair falling in front of her face behind her ear to make it easier for her to eat.
"Stars created like that really aren't worth following," Cho Chang said with a smile as she withdrew her hand. "It's better to follow Amanda; at least our Amanda's skills are real, and her fame was built up bit by bit through her own strength."
Listening to Cho Chang's words, Amanda shook her head sincerely, her voice devoid of any fluctuation. "I do not have any special ability. If you want to follow true stars, it should be Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall; they are the true masters of magic."
Sighing helplessly, Penelope moved the stew next to her closer to Amanda.
"You really are skilled at suppressing and belittling yourself."
Amanda blinked and reached out with her fork and knife to take some stew, answering in a mechanical, matter-of-fact voice.
"Criticizing, reflecting on, and denying oneself frequently helps me avoid arrogance and impetuousness, accurately perceive myself, and promote continuous self-improvement."
Marietta Eckmore, chewing on her vegetable salad, spoke up quietly. "I think the person who first expressed that sentiment probably didn't intend for others to belittle and suppress themselves without limit."
"Give yourself some recognition; you deserve it." Cho Chang nodded and reached out to swap the stew in front of Amanda for another fish dish she hadn't tried yet.
"Mm," Amanda responded expressionlessly and lowered her head to continue eating.
After finishing dinner, Cho Chang and the other two took Amanda to the Great Hall entrance to wait for Hermione.
Headmaster Dumbledore had said last night that he wanted Amanda to visit him in the Headmasters Office, and they could go along too.
So they planned to gather everyone before taking Amanda there together.
After waiting a few minutes, Hermione finally walked out of the Great Hall with Harry and Ron.
At the moment, she was using the parchment in her hand to tap the two boys' shoulders with moderate force.
Harry and Ron hunched their shoulders, neither daring to utter a word of protest.
"I—wasn't there—for one night—and you two—delayed the homework due tomorrow until now!"
Hermione tapped them with every pause, and Harry and Ron couldn't help but hang their heads even lower.
Catching sight of Amanda and the others waiting nearby out of the corner of her eye, Hermione cleared her throat and tried to return to her usual elegant and ladylike demeanor.
"Ahem, I have to go out for a bit. When I get back to the common room tonight, if your homework isn't finished, you two are finished."
"Understand? Finished! I will absolutely, positively not let you copy my homework."
Hermione finished these two sentences in a low, fierce voice, then turned and walked toward Amanda's group, her expression switching in an instant to a bright, sunny smile.
Watching Hermione's back, Harry and Ron visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank Merlin, thank Amanda; she's the only one who can interrupt Hermione's wrath."
Ron looked up at the ceiling, as if trying to ensure Merlin received his gratitude.
Lowering his head again, he looked at Harry and winked. "Though I think Hermione will still let us copy in the end."
"You know, as long as we give her some praise and then apologize with a sincere attitude."
Harry didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Yes, but before that, we're definitely going to get a real earful from her."
Ron fell silent instantly. Two seconds later, he spoke up "obediently." "We could finish the homework first and then ask her to check it, right?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded vigorously, and the two boys immediately turned around and ran quickly toward Gryffindor Tower.
They didn't know how long Hermione would be gone, so they'd better get back and do their homework as soon as possible.
At least finish it before Hermione returns.
On the other side, Amanda and the four others had already climbed several flights of stairs and arrived at the gargoyle outside the Headmasters Office.
Hermione held Amanda's hand and looked at the gargoyle before them, wondering curiously if it could move, and if it could, whether it could be used as a weapon.
"cockroach clusters."
Marietta Eckmore spoke the password to the gargoyle, and for a moment, Penelope, Cho Chang, and Hermione couldn't help but turn their eyes toward her.
"Are you sure you didn't get the password wrong, Marietta Eckmore?" Cho Chang felt like she'd heard enough just from that noun.
Penelope was about to speak when she heard a rumbling sound. Turning to look, she saw the gargoyle had already moved aside, revealing the spiral staircase behind it.
"Uh, it seems Marietta Eckmore didn't get it wrong after all," she said with some difficulty.
"As expected of Headmaster Dumbledore... his tastes are so, well, unique."
Cho Chang tried to find as polite a way to put it as possible.
As a Young Wizard from a Muggle family, Hermione, while holding Amanda's hand and following Penelope's group up the spiral staircase, asked a question out of curiosity.
"What exactly are cockroach clusters? Why are they called that?"
The three young witches from wizarding families all looked a bit sick.
Amanda, whose hand Hermione was holding, answered instinctively, "It is a type of magical candy in the Wizarding World, chocolate-flavored. Its appearance and movement are no different from actual cockroaches. Because they are very small, Wizards usually buy them in large quantities and arrange them in a heap, hence the name cockroach clusters."
"Oh, that's really..." Hermione wrinkled her nose, unable to quite accept it.
"Respect personal hobbies." Cho Chang shook her head, expressing her understanding of Headmaster Dumbledore's fondness for cockroach clusters.
The spiral staircase slowly came to a stop, and a wooden door appeared before the five Young Wizards.
Penelope took a deep breath. This was her first time in the Headmasters Office, and she was inevitably a bit nervous. She stepped forward and knocked gently on the door.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, we've brought Amanda here."
The wooden door creaked open, and Headmaster Dumbledore's warm and cheerful voice came from inside.
"Come in, children."
Penelope walked in first, followed by Hermione holding Amanda's hand, with Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore at the back; the five of them entered the Headmasters Office together.
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and gestured for them to sit on the sofa.
Everyone took their seats, and a second later, five cups of black tea appeared before them.
Looking at the suddenly appearing tea, Amanda politely nodded to Headmaster Dumbledore in thanks.
"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
As she spoke, she picked up the tea and took a polite sip. An unbearable sweetness instantly bloomed on the tip of her tongue.
Setting the teacup down with no change in her expression, Amanda remained perfectly mannered.
"The tea is very good, thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Headmaster Dumbledore stroked his beard quite happily. Rare indeed—finally, someone shared his taste.
Beside her, Hermione and the other three, who had also taken a sip out of politeness, forced the mouthful down, all looking at Amanda with complex expressions.
To drink such tea without flinching and even offer praise—one could only imagine how deeply Amanda had been damaged by those damnable parents of hers.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, may I ask why you wanted to see me?"
Amanda looked at Headmaster Dumbledore without blinking, waiting for him to speak.
"Indeed," Headmaster Dumbledore paused for a moment. "I know what I am about to say may be quite impolite, but as a Headmaster, and perhaps as an elder, please forgive me, for I must say it."
Amanda nodded. "Headmaster Dumbledore, please go ahead."
Headmaster Dumbledore was a Professor; whatever he said would be for her own good. There was no distinction between polite and impolite.
"Amanda, you are a clever child, the cleverest I have seen in my life. Yesterday, you were able to deduce the truth of the matter using only information from books."
"Your wisdom is beyond doubt. I know you have no such intention, but I still want to remind you—and ask you—not to trust or rely on the Dark Arts that would lead you to fall."
"If it is merely for the sake of knowledge, that is of no consequence."
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled as he spoke, his blue eyes full of the concern an elder has for a junior, a teacher for a student.
Amanda's wisdom and ability were undoubtedly superior to Tom's, and even to his own and those of his old friend in their youth.
It was precisely because of this that he wanted to warn Amanda, to remind her not to make the same mistakes their predecessors had made.
Some things, if done, leave you with no way back; some things, if done, will make you regret them for a lifetime.
Amanda nodded stiffly. "I will not trust or rely on the Dark Arts."
The Dark Arts were a violation of regulations. She could not possibly rely on magic that broke the rules, much less use such magic against anyone.
Looking at Amanda's expressionless face, Headmaster Dumbledore felt a wave of both sorrow and relief.
This child was stronger than him, stronger than all of them... Minerva said she had not yet recovered her emotions, but a child like this, even when she fully recovered them, would likely be a kind and gentle soul.
Moving his gaze to Hermione, who was holding Amanda's hand, Headmaster Dumbledore lowered his head and smiled subtly.
It was good. The children of the new generation were all better than they had been.
It was also because of them that he had changed his view and decided to speak directly and openly with Amanda as he just had.
Perhaps this way, it would be easier to avoid a situation like Tom's.
Closing his eyes, Headmaster Dumbledore was once again the reliable elder when he looked up.
"Miss Amanda, if you were to analyze it, how do you think the Basilisk moves about within Hogwarts?"
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