In the slightly dim corridor on the eighth floor.
Moonlight struggled to seep through the narrow window, casting a few rather dim beams onto the dusty floor, forming patches of light that didn't provide much illumination.
The torches hanging on the walls were the main source of light.
They seemed like they would never burn out, yet their flames were always so subtle, hovering between visible and indistinct, immersing the entire corridor in a haze of dim light. The old portraits hanging on the walls occasionally whispered to each other, then fell silent again, as if the whole world was shrouded in a veil of tranquility.
"Hermione! Believe me! Harry Potter's behavior has been really strange lately! He's definitely not acting normal! Maybe... I'm just saying maybe, he's not the Harry Potter we know at all!"
"Then what is he?"
"Who knows? Neville, you trust me, anyway, my intuition is really strong."
...
All were familiar voices.
Ian looked towards the direction of the voices and saw Hermione, Ron, and Neville squeezing into a corner of the corridor, their heads close together, whispering in a hushed conversation.
Clearly.
Gryffindor students are like this, unable to endure loneliness. It hasn't been long since the term started, and they've somehow picked up the bad habit of night roaming.
In such a situation.
It also fully illustrates that in the original timeline, the fact that two members of this trio would roam at night is largely unrelated to crises; it's mainly due to the inherent nature of Gryffindor students.
It's not necessarily a bad thing.
Daring to break the rules, loving adventure, is a typical trait of Gryffindor students. Clearly, even Neville, as long as someone takes the lead, will unleash his true nature.
Not to mention the Sword Saint of Hogwarts.
He truly fits this academy's Gryffindor ideal from every angle.
"Ron, your intuition might be wrong. We can't just trust our intuition; we need to trust knowledge...adopt more precise magic."
"Like divination." Hermione Granger leaned against the cold stone wall, clutching a thick magic book to her chest, her brown curls looking especially fluffy in the dim light.
She might still be a bit unaccustomed to her role as a wizard, which made her almost blurt out her old phrases, but thankfully she corrected herself in time, aligning her words with her identity.
"Divination? None of us can do that!" Ron immediately refuted, "Besides, intuition is also related to divination; that's what my mom told me!"
Hearing this.
"You both have a point."
Neville began to mediate, truly lacking some decisiveness, and seemed unwilling to offend anyone, appearing particularly awkward wedged between two opposing people.
"Just give me a week, no, five days, and I'll definitely learn the magic related to divination!" At this moment, Hermione's unusually strong competitive spirit was clearly evident.
"Five days? You think divination is easy to learn? It requires talent! Understand? It's not just good grades that can grasp this kind of magic! And in five days, a lot of things can happen."
"You know...that kind of terrifying disaster." Ron first questioned Hermione, then vaguely expressed urgency about time.
"Something must have happened to Harry Potter! We need to find the answer!" Ron's persistence in his opinion was as steadfast as ever.
His expression was full of worry and confusion.
"Uh... I didn't really notice anything."
Neville Longbottom stood between the two, his round face showing the typical fake smile of a bashful boy. His toad, Leif, squirmed uneasily in the pocket at his chest, emitting a faint "ribbit."
Clearly.
This often "runaway" pet had already noticed Ian standing openly a short distance away, listening in—well, it couldn't really be called eavesdropping, as it was blatantly out in the open.
It was just.
The three were too engrossed to notice. Around the corner of the corridor, Ian Prince leaned against a column, his long fingers tapping lightly on his magic wand. He had originally been passing by but was drawn in by the conversation. Moonlight streamed through the high windows, casting a glow on his handsome profile.
"Ahem."
He tried coughing a few times.
However, no one responded.
The three clustered together were truly focused on their discussion.
"Ron, you've said it three times already. Maybe Harry is just a bit quieter." Hermione frowned, gripping the thick magic books tightly, pondering for a moment before lowering her voice and continuing: "Of course, a few times when I greeted him, he glared at me quite fiercely, which was indeed strange."
"But I think he might just be in a bad mood; you know the reputation he bears, but his academic performance has always been less than ideal, perhaps the psychological pressure is really immense." Despite still defending Harry Potter, her eyes betrayed a hint of confusion, and her usual confidence seemed somewhat diminished at the moment.
"You see! You've encountered the same thing, right?"
Ron scratched his tousled red hair, his face reflecting a trace of recollection: "I already felt something was wrong. Not long ago, I noticed that Harry Potter's temperament had drastically changed. There was once when he looked at me, cold, indifferent, his eyes even flashing green light, just like a snake, it was terrifying!"