Chapter 45: The Missing Mouse

Harry and Luoen together, supporting Dali, followed behind a group of Gryffindor students; Percy, as Grade Leader, led the way at the front, while explaining to the freshmen some matters to note at Hogwarts.

During that time, they also encountered a ghost, and this strange spirit piqued Dali's interest, but unfortunately he truly lacked the energy to study the ghost further.

Before long, they finally arrived at the Gryffindor Tower.

At the end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very plump woman dressed in pink.

"Password."

"Dragon residue," Percy said.

The Fat Lady nodded, the portrait moved aside, and a circular opening just large enough for one person appeared before them.

"Freshmen, note that inter‑house visits are prohibited. You must remember the password, otherwise you might not be able to return to your own common room," Percy reminded.

The freshmen followed Percy into the Gryffindor common room, a circular, comfortable space filled with soft armchairs.

Harry and Luoen helped Dali onto one of the chairs, and everyone curiously surveyed the common room exclusive to Gryffindor students.

"The girls' dormitory is over there; you can go by yourselves. Boys may not enter the girls' dormitory, and the staircase leading there is under a Magic spell."

Percy's first sentence was addressed to the girls, the latter to the boys.

"Is there Magic on the boys' side?" a boy named Ximo asked.

"Lack," Percy shook his head. "That means girls can enter the boys' dormitory, so I suggest you not be too... forward, you know."

"Oh! That's unfair!"

"On what grounds can girls enter the boys' dormitory while boys cannot enter the girls' dormitory?"

"That's discrimination!"

A few younger boys immediately said.

"Indeed it's unfair; perhaps you could bring a suggestion to Professor McGonagall," Percy shrugged.

The group of boys fell silent instantly.

Professor McGonagall is not someone easy to deal with; they dared not approach her with suggestions.

"Alright, follow me."

Percy said nothing more, leading the group toward the boys' dormitory.

At this point Dali finally regained some strength and could keep up with everyone on his own.

After a spiral staircase, they finally reached the top of Gryffindor Tower, the boys' dormitory side.

Four‑poster beds with deep‑red velvet curtains hung, looking very soft and cozy.

Luggage had already been brought up and placed beside each bed.

Everyone was exhausted at this point, especially Dali; the depletion of spiritual power required time to replenish, and he didn't even open his luggage, collapsing onto the bed to sleep.

A night passed without incident, and Dali slept quite well.

In the early morning, Dali awoke to Luoen's startled shout.

"What's wrong?"

Dali sat up, cautiously glancing around.

"Crap, Banban's gone!"

Luoen had searched the entire dormitory and found no sign of Banban.

"That mouse."

Dali frowned.

On the train, he noticed the mouse seemed unusual and intended to examine it closely, but the mouse thrashed violently, and Dali never managed to inspect it.

"Could it have escaped?"

Harry said groggily.

"I don't know," Luoen said, glancing at the orange cat curled beside Dali.

"It's definitely not it; it's just a kitten, not yet capable of catching mice," Dali said.

Moreover, he was certain the big orange cat bore no trace of Banban's scent.

"I'll look again; maybe it really just ran out," Luoen said.

"Does your mouse have any special qualities?"

Dali asked.

"Nothing special; it just eats, sleeps, eats, sleeps—so it lives longer. I don't even recall how long it's been at our house," Luoen said.

Luoen said.

"Lives longer? Could it be that it's not an ordinary mouse but some extraordinary… uh… magical creature?" Dali said.

"A magical creature? Impossible; it's just an ordinary mouse, not any magical creature,"

Luoen flatly denied.

"I see."

Dali frowned.

From his earlier Spiritual Sight observation on the train, the mouse clearly possessed spiritual power, meaning it was not an ordinary mouse.

And that fact, Luoen's family apparently didn't know.

Moreover, while using Spiritual Sight, he seemed to see a humanoid shadow on the mouse's soul.

Unfortunately it was only a fleeting glimpse, and Dali had no time to examine it closely; he had planned to observe it properly after arriving at Hogwarts, but by the next day Banban had already vanished.

A keen intuition told Dali that the mouse was likely problematic.

"The Magic World does seem full of mysteries," Dali thought to himself.

"Hope I'm not overthinking it,"

Luoen searched for a long time, but Banban seemed to have evaporated, disappearing from Gryffindor Tower.

Because they were looking for Banban, the three's first Transfiguration class was late like this; Of Course, it was also because they were unfamiliar with Hogwarts' routes, causing them to take a longer detour.

"From now on, we should leave earlier; those stairs keep changing, and we simply can't find the way."

Harry said while running,

"Perhaps we should get a map of Hogwarts." Luoen also said.

"No need, I've already memorized the route here."

Dali said.

The Sequence Eight of the Path of Judgment is a Law Enforcement Officer; having seen a person, photo, or sketch, one can firmly remember the target's appearance, gain extra perception on the extraordinary level, and also possess a memory ability with Mysticism regarding the routes one has traveled.

After chanting that honorific name last night and entering that mysterious space, Dali's Sequence Nine Extraordinary Trait inside him has been almost digested; he estimates he can advance to Sequence Eight in a few days, which is over half a month faster than he had anticipated.

Therefore, for Dali at this point, remembering the routes within Hogwarts Castle is not difficult.

"You remember that? I can't recall it at all; if you make me walk it again now, I'd get lost." Luoen said in surprise.

The three hurried all the way and finally arrived at the Transfiguration classroom.

"Thank goodness, Professor McGonagall hasn't arrived yet." Harry looked at the quietly studying first-year students and let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Perhaps Professor McGonagall is also late."

Luoen said with a laugh.

Dali looked at the quiet classroom and instinctively sensed a problem.

How could first-year newcomers possibly study so quietly without a teacher? Not overturning the classroom would already be considered good.