Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0214 Troubles

Professor Flitwick and Hagrid were guarding the gate, while Professor Snape and Filch were assigned to patrol all night. Bryan, who was in charge of the safety of all teachers and students at Hogwarts, couldn't go back to his office and sleep. After sending away Filch and the bewildered Neville, Bryan walked with his Head of the house in the courtyard. 

Under the gradually cooling moonlight, they could see the undulating forest and the snow-covered mountains in the distance. The white on the snow was spreading to the world, as if heralding the arrival of winter. 

The wind wandering on the lawn also brought the chill of the season. It seemed that the first snow of 1993 was approaching. Bryan shivered slightly and pulled his cloak tighter around him. 

"So, it seems that Dumbledore has solved your problem?" Snape turned his head slightly and looked at Bryan, who was standing still, gazing at the snowy peaks. He asked in a low voice. 

"I'm afraid the headmaster can't solve my troubles–" Bryan yawned and stretched, trying to hide his fatigue. "My situation is complicated, I'm afraid. No one else can help me much, except for myself." 

Snape understood what Bryan meant. His favorite student was implying that he was also helpless about his problems. Problems that Snape had no idea about, but suspected were related to the Soul. 

"When did you get yourself into this trouble?" Snape snapped angrily, "I warned you so many times, Bryan. The outside world is not as simple as Hogwarts. It's not enough to make everyone cheer by throwing two spells that can blow up a big hole in the ground. But you-, you still like to do dangerous things for those worthless galleons!" 

"My trouble was not caused after I left school, my Dear Professor Snape." Bryan smiled gently.

"Then what–" Snape was stunned by this answer. His long hooked nose twitched, and his eyebrows shot up. "Could it be, at Hogwarts?!" 

"Who knows?" Bryan put his hands on his back, squinted his eyes and looked into the distance, letting the midnight cold wind blow over his hair. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, or maybe hiding something. 

"Maybe, it's a trouble I made before I was born." He said cryptically, making Snape even more curious and frustrated. 

Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he refused to let her throw away the wreckage of the Nimbus 2000. He knew he was being silly, and he knew the Nimbus 2000 couldn't be fixed, but Harry couldn't help but have some attachment as this was not just a broom, but also his best friend. The broom had given him so many happy memories, and made him feel free and alive.

Hagrid, Ginny, and all the members of the Gryffindor team visited him in an endless stream during the weekend. Everyone tried their best to cheer him up, hoping that he could recover from the terrible defeat yesterday. But to be honest, Harry didn't feel his mood had improved, but rather more exhausted. He felt like he had let everyone down, especially himself. He wished they would leave him alone, but he didn't have the heart to say it. 

Except for leaving at lunchtime, Ron and Hermione hardly left during the day. They had found a common goal - to cheer him up. Hermione and Ron looked like they had completely reconciled. They bickered and argued, telling him the news they heard in the hall at noon, trying to make Harry feel better. But neither of them noticed the cloth bag with the Nimbus wreckage hidden under Harry's quilt.

"The last time was when Mrs. Norris was attacked and Professor Binns told me about the Chamber of Secrets in class!" 

Sitting on his bed and peeling an orange for him, Hermione said indignantly. She had a stack of books beside her, all about advanced magic related to Patronus and its history.

"I got up early today, just to go to the library and borrow two books related to the Patronus, but Madam Pince told me that all the books on this topic were taken away by someone yesterday. Oh, why can't they be nice and leave me some!" 

She huffed, her bushy hair flying around her face. 

Under Hermione's angry gaze, Ron rudely snatched the orange she had prepared for Harry from her hand, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it with juice splashing.

"You don't want to learn that magic, do you, Hermione?" Ron looked at Hermione incredulously, his mouth full of orange. He swallowed and continued, "It's too hard and boring. Besides, what's the point? It's not like we're going to face any Dementors anytime soon." He said, unaware of the irony of his words.

Harry listened silently to Ron and Hermione arguing about whether the young wizards could possibly learn the method of dealing with the Dementors, those ugly creatures that sucked the happiness out of people and made them relive their worst memories. He suddenly had an idea in his mind, but he kept it to himself for now. 

Hermione believed that Ron's biggest problem, like his own, was that they lacked motivation to study. She had been working hard to encourage them both, but the effect seemed to be very minimal. 

Although he appreciated Hermione's kindness, Harry was not very interested in Hermione's attempt in this regard. He thought she couldn't expect others to excel in the field she was a master of, just like he never asked Hermione to ride a flying broomstick and perform a high-angle dive for everyone. 

Hermione finally gave up on persuading Ron to have a stronger desire for knowledge. She turned her head away and ignored them both, just staring out the window, where the sun was setting. 

The red glow of the setting sun spilled into the hospital wing, bathing Ron's cheeks in glory. Then Ron shared some new news with Harry, "Neville got himself into trouble again." 

"Oh, what happened?" Harry frowned, thinking of Neville, who fought side by side with him in Professor Watson's Defense Against the Dark Arts class and won the victory for Gryffindor. He admired his bravery, even though he was clumsy and forgetful.

"It wasn't Malfoy and his gang, was it?" Harry asked, remembering how they had tormented Neville in the past, calling him names and other things.

"It had nothing to do with Malfoy this time, Harry," Ron rubbed his grumbling stomach and said sympathetically, "It's the old problem. Neville lost something again, and this time, what he lost was his wand. It's really puzzling. Why is Neville worse than those two stupid trolls behind Malfoy's butt when it comes to taking care of his own things?" 

Although Ron's words about Neville were not very friendly, Harry agreed that Neville was too good at losing things. He had lost his toad, his remembrall, his passwords, and even his own clothes. He was always looking for something, and often ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"–Neville thought his wand had fallen on the Quidditch pitch, and last night, he foolishly wanted to rush out of the castle to look for his wand. But unfortunately, he ran into Filch and Snape, that old bat." Ron said, shaking his head. 

Hearing Ron say that, Harry couldn't help sighing for Neville. It was bad enough to lose his wand, but he also ran into the two people he was most afraid of meeting at school. 

"What happened then?" Harry asked, slightly curious about this topic. 

"Neville said that Filch was ready to torture him, and Snape seemed to want to use him as an experiment material for the potions class. But luckily, Professor Watson, who was passing by, saved his life. He ordered Filch to help him find his wand on the pitch early this morning,"

Ron shrugged and said, "But unfortunately, his wand may not have fallen on the pitch. They searched for hours, but they couldn't find it anywhere." 

"Poor Neville–" Hermione said worriedly, "Without a wand, how can he go to class?" 

She knew how important a wand was for a wizard, and how difficult it was to perform magic without one. She felt sorry for Neville, who was already struggling with his studies. 

Ron didn't care about Hermione's worries. He thought Neville's wand was like the toad he often couldn't find. It would show up sooner or later, and if not, he could always buy a new one. He didn't think it was a big deal, and he changed the subject.

Knowing that Neville was not bullied by Malfoy and his gang, Harry was not too worried about this. In fact, he suddenly thought of something when he calmed down again– Professor Watson. 

'Hmm, he seemed to be very good at fixing things. Last year, he made Ron's wand, which looked completely hopeless, last for a while. And he also seemed to be very good at dealing with Dementors.'

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