Chapter 198: Conversation and Change

The night was very dark, and the corridor was silent.

Neville was returning from the Hope Hut on the third floor to Gryffindor Tower; he had always feared the corridors, but the wand at his waist gave him a little courage.

“Neville.”

A figure seemed to have been waiting here for a long time.

“Jia Jia Siting.”

Neville jolted violently, recognized Jia Jia Siting, and finally came to his senses.

“Can we talk? About… Professor Qiluo.”

Jia Jia Siting spoke gently.

Hearing that word, Neville swallowed hard before daring to listen further.

“The Wizarding World has never been safe, has it? The First Wizarding War, the Second Wizarding War… even the records in ‘Important Magical History of the Twentieth Century’ describe them as brutal. You… should understand better than I do.”

Jia Jia Siting paused for a moment, his eyes slightly worried as he watched Neville’s gaze shift from fear to sorrow.

His chubby hands had instinctively clenched the hem of his robe.

The wars were undoubtedly brutal; take the Battle of Hogwarts as an example—fewer than four hundred Hogwarts students fought, yet over fifty died.

A mortality rate exceeding 12.5%—it was nothing short of a wizarding meat grinder.

“Headmaster Dumbledore knows about Professor Qiluo. Do you understand that, Neville?”

Jia Jia Siting paused again, waiting for Neville’s widened pupils to process the revelation.

“Headmaster Dumbledore naturally sees much farther than we do, but danger won’t simply vanish.

We need strength. We need to stand together. I need you to know… if real danger comes, it will be us relying on each other, just like when we faced the troll…”

His firm, sincere voice carried a hypnotic power; for an instant, Neville felt something inside him tremble.

In this small, dim corridor, Neville felt a part of himself changing.

A responsibility settled on his shoulders—and he willingly shouldered it.

“I… can I do it… what should I do?”

Neville’s lips quivered as he spoke.

“Of course you can, Neville. What we need to do is simple—train ourselves. If real danger comes, it should be us facing it alongside En, not waiting for someone to save us.”

After speaking, Jia Jia Siting left silently. Before departing, he looked into Neville’s eyes—he was certain his friend harbored hidden strength.

These insignificant beings, overlooked by Headmaster Dumbledore and disregarded by Voldemort, would make those arrogant fools stumble hard—he was certain of it.

Outside the window, moonlight spilled down.

Jia Jia Siting’s usually gentle, warm face blurred uncertainly in the pale moonlight.

Of course they had to stand together—was he supposed to wait for En to rescue them one by one?

In this castle, only one person had the ability to face danger—and the willingness to throw himself into harm’s way to ensure their safety.

Jia Jia Siting sighed. He needed to make the little wizards in the Hope Hut understand—don’t hold En back.

Neither in strength nor in spirit.

…

Since the Qiluo incident, the little wizards in the Hope Hut had been infused with fierce passion; every day they trained themselves relentlessly.

Neville made remarkable progress in Dark Arts Defense; when he nervously asked En about it, En had him focus specifically on the Stop Spell and the Stunning Spell.

Undeniably, on these two spells, Neville learned faster than Hemin.

In contrast to Neville’s specialization, Hemin studied a wide variety of spells and continuously expanded her spell repertoire.

The only thing that amused Jia Jia Siting was that when Hemin grew nervous—like when they jointly used spells to subdue En’s snowman—she would forget spells she’d already learned, so Jia Jia Siting would quietly take her spell proficiency chart and help her remember.

Ron was currently the slowest-progressing student in the hut, but considering he had chosen Transfiguration—a vast and complex field—his progress was already rapid among the little wizards.

He could now transform a wooden table into stone; Jia Jia Siting roughly estimated he had reached En’s level from the train ride.

“What do you mean ‘on the train’?”

Ron asked blankly.

“That was before En enrolled, the Hogwarts Express—remember?”

After speaking, Jia Jia Siting saw Ron slump lifelessly into his chair, motionless.

Overall, everyone was improving; Jia Jia Siting nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the ever-changing proficiency charts.

As the only person whose schedule even matched En’s, he actually worked harder than anyone else in the hut. Yet, seemingly limited by his unremarkable talent, his progress appeared slow.

Fortunately—

“En, come with me?”

Afternoon sunlight spilled down; a drizzly January day had brought another clear day.

“Hmm.”

En nodded.

“Stop Spell, plus Smoke Spell, Illusion Spell, and Whispering Spell… I think I understand your spell combination a bit now…”

Jia Jia Siting always gladly studied spells for defense and concealment.

Often, he discussed tips on these spells with En; with help from some unknown expert, his progress was never slow.

Before reaching the edge of the Forbidden Forest, En handed Jia Jia Siting a small notebook detailing only Jia Jia Siting’s personal spell mastery.

Since Jia Jia Siting’s spells were nearly identical to En’s, En spent time compiling a “Jia Jia Siting Edition Spell Learning Plan” for him.

“See you tonight.”

En entered the Forbidden Forest; from afar, he already saw Hagrid.

“See you tonight.”

Jia Jia Siting waved.

He walked briskly away from the lawn; as he chanted a spell and waved his wand, his voice instantly grew quieter.

His reason for favoring defense and concealment spells was simple—in the face of dangerous figures in the Wizarding World, with powerful allies available, their primary goal was merely to gather intelligence, protect themselves, and evacuate promptly.

He believed most little wizards couldn’t possibly stand against such threats before graduation.

Only a wizard destined for greatness like En could ever hope to control the battlefield.

Did that mean the rest were useless? Were the lives of wizards without talent wasted?

Magic wasn’t just about direct confrontation…

Professor Fuliwei could be knocked flying by Neville’s Levitation Charm…

Even in the Wizarding World, people often stumbled in the gutter.

Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Before En stretched a narrow, winding path that faded into the depths of the black forest.

He gazed into the Forbidden Forest; a light breeze stirred his hair as Hagrid strode over.

“Glad to see you, En! Look over there,”

Hagrid said eagerly,

“See that huge footprint on the ground?”