Chapter 31: Exam Week

"What did you see in the Forbidden Forest?" Nawei asked Harry urgently when he woke up in the morning.

"I haven't been to the Forbidden Forest," Harry lied subconsciously. He felt that things like the Cold War in the Muggle world didn't need to be told to Nawei now.

"Wrong, wrong." He shook his head. "You must have seen something, and that is the most critical information. I only lack one most important proof now; otherwise, my reasoning is just a castle in the air."

"What reasoning?" Harry asked curiously.

"If you don't tell me what you saw in the Forbidden Forest, I won't tell you that deduction," Nawei said slyly. "This might relate to exam grades."

"There's no need to dig up any secrets," Harry was tortured by curiosity, but he still braced himself and said, "I can still get good grades."

Nawei turned and left. Harry wondered suspiciously, why did Nawei know he had been to the Forbidden Forest?

Only then did Harry remember that the night he went to the Forbidden Forest, it was Zhang Qiu who stuffed the little note under his pillow. But it was impossible for a Ravenclaw girl to enter the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, so she must have asked Nawei, because Luo En was either by his side or under Pei Xu's nose.

Harry believed that Nawei was also pursuing some secret, perhaps related to the Sorcerer's Stone. However, he didn't think this matter would have anything to do with what he saw in the Forbidden Forest, because no matter how he thought about it, the Sorcerer's Stone couldn't involve the Cold War.

For many days afterward, Harry was reviewing for exams according to his plan. His time and knowledge reserves allowed him to comb through all the content with ease and then strengthen the exam points. But Luo En's situation wasn't as optimistic. Harry had to help him draw out some key points he guessed, which could keep his review work from being too late.

Nawei, on the other hand, was still running out every few days, looking just like Harry during the time he was obsessed with the Deathly Hallows. Harry found it hard to imagine how he managed to cope with exams while being distracted by something. But life had to go on, and the thing under the trapdoor was still safely guarded by the three-headed dog at its feet.

The day of the exam was so hot it made people dizzy. All the students were crowded into a large exam classroom, answering questions with quills that couldn't be cheated with. After finishing the theory, they had to take the practical exam, which made many students wail.

Harry was well-prepared. Luo En, who had reduced his review scope through Harry's predictions, was lucky. The Transfiguration exam was turning a mouse into a snuffbox. Luo En's spell, which was never reliable for mice in the past, performed beautifully this time. He successfully turned out a snuffbox without an extra tail or ear. Harry cleverly turned out a style he had seen in Tang Dun, and the professors unanimously agreed that it was very exquisite.

The Charms exam was the Tap-Dancing Spell within the predicted range. Professor Fuliwei let them cast it on a pineapple, which was very strange, but Harry succeeded. The Forgetfulness Potion in the Potions exam was beyond expectations, but this potion was simple in the first place.

It wasn't until they finished the History of Magic exam that Harry and Luo En lazily basked in the sun outside for an afternoon, before preparing to walk slowly back to the dormitory, starting to enjoy the most carefree week before the exam results came out.

"Harry." When they walked to the dormitory door laughing and talking, they found Nawei standing there with a gloomy face, staring straight at him.

"I need you to help me prepare a Draught of Living Death, right now," he said in an unquestionable tone. "I've already prepared the materials."

"That's impossible. I mean, this is at least sixth-year content," Harry was also taken aback. "Do you think I can make it just by knowing the formula and sequence?"

"The first question Sineipu asked you was the formula for the Draught of Living Death," Nawei said. "He believes you can prepare it."

"Why? If you intend to make the three-headed dog fall asleep," Harry didn't want him to do that at all, "instead of having me prepare the potion, it would be better to sing it a lullaby."

Nawei remained silent.

"Besides, the method of preparing the Draught of Living Death in the book is very difficult, and the success rate is not high," Harry continued. "I have to precisely cut out the juice inside the sopophorous bean in just over ten seconds, and stir counterclockwise for nearly half an hour until the potion changes color—"

"Do you have any ideas for improvement? Or have you seen any improved methods in any book?" Nawei interrupted him.

"No, I'm not that obsessed with the Draught of Living Death. Perhaps when I'm in the sixth year—"

"I will succeed, I don't need your help," Nawei interrupted him again. "I will stop him with my own hands."

Harry and Luo En looked at each other. After Nawei walked away, they discussed it in a low voice.

"Why is Nawei so obsessed with the Sorcerer's Stone? Whoever wants it can take it," Luo En said with some dissatisfaction.

"Perhaps we can ask Hemin; she should know more about Nawei's situation."

"This is all Deng Buliduo's test," in the Gryffindor common room, Hemin said to the savior and his friends.

"If Deng Buliduo really wanted to hide something, he could have put it in the Headmaster's office and not told anyone; then the Sorcerer's Stone would absolutely not have been stolen," Hemin said. "And we can recall, whether it was the 'miserable death' he mentioned at the beginning of the school year, or Haige letting it slip from time to time, even Sineipu and Qiluo were hinting to us that they wanted to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. What does this mean? It means the professors are actually trying every means to induce us students to steal the Sorcerer's Stone."

Harry understood a little now. Indeed, Sineipu and Qiluo had no reason to steal the Sorcerer's Stone themselves; they must be acting on purpose to stimulate the students' sense of justice.

"Let's think again, every professor designed a barrier for the Sorcerer's Stone, which requires students to use courage and wisdom, plus the knowledge learned in class to pass," she grinned, showing her pair of big front teeth, and said happily. "This is not a 'miserable death' at all, but an additional question for a practical exam."

"I bet the student who finally gets the Sorcerer's Stone can add at least 50 points. Look, aren't we just 40 points away from the House Cup?" Hemin said.

"This is just speculation after all, and besides that, we have no reason to steal the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry was still a bit puzzled. "Even if Sineipu and Qiluo want to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, let them steal it. Why must we stop them?"

"Perhaps for justice," Hemin's voice was clearly lacking confidence.

"Who knows if they intend to borrow the Sorcerer's Stone just because they lack money to buy shampoo or hair growth lotion," Harry shrugged. "Criticizing a crime that hasn't been committed yet can't be called justice."

"In short," Hemin ended the topic stiffly, "Deng Buliduo is going to the Wizengamot meeting tomorrow. If we want to guard the Sorcerer's Stone, it will be tomorrow. Nawei and I will be ready."

Harry returned to the dormitory with a disappointed face. Luo En was still eager to try: "Hey Harry, don't you think this is cool? Explore the barriers designed by the professors, solve puzzles with your own courage and wisdom, and then harvest rewards and win honor!"

"Unless someone has shot my brain," Harry said. "Don't you think it's dangerous? Stepping into a trap that has been set up, confident that you can handle all problems, and thinking it's just a small test. If you're lucky, you can barely save your life; it's very likely we'll really die miserably!"

"Think about it, how will school history record you?" Harry teased. "The Headmaster said if you don't want to die miserably, don't enter that room, but Wei Silai felt he was very happy to die miserably, so he rushed into the mouth of the three-headed dog!"

"Then what about Nawei?" Luo En asked. "What if he really goes?"

"Nawei isn't stupid," Harry wasn't worried about him at all. "If he finds he can't pass the three-headed dog, he'll come back obediently."

It wasn't until noon the next day that Harry saw Nawei return to the dormitory, without missing an arm or a leg. He even greeted him happily.

"Are you really not going to help me prepare the potion?" Nawei asked.

"Are you really not going to try a lullaby?" Harry retorted.

Nawei suddenly stood up.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, his mouth stuffed with a Chocolate Frog, speaking unclearly.

"I'm going alone."

"What are you thinking? First of all, you can't get past the three-headed dog, and even if you sneak past, there are those strange barriers behind, and you might have to duel with Sineipu," Harry advised kindly after swallowing the chocolate.

"Yeah, you don't have to take risks for a guess that might not be true," Luo En got goosebumps all over whenever he thought of Sineipu.

"When I first heard that prophecy, I knew it was fate," Nawei turned around and looked at Harry fixedly, staring until he felt his heart go numb. "You are the savior, and I am just the savior's friend, classmate, even follower, even though I also have a blood feud with Voldemort."

"Is this fate? Fate lets one child suddenly become the savior without doing anything; lets another child become wooden and introverted because he witnessed his parents being tortured to madness, spending his whole life only able to admire the savior's glory, even though he was also in that prophecy!" Nawei's voice gradually grew louder, clearly a bit excited.

"When Li Ao came to my house, I thought I had the answer. I thought I could rely on my own efforts, train hard, and make achievements no less than yours," Nawei took a few steps forward and walked to Harry's front. "But what was the result? When I came to Hogwarts, when I thought I had found an opportunity to prove myself, when I was investigating the Sorcerer's Stone under heavy resistance, what did I see?"

Nawei grabbed Harry's collar.

"I only saw Deng Buliduo's favoritism!" he roared. ===== CHAPTER 32 =====