Just as expected, Wilson was punished with detention for half a month. Every evening after classes, she was required to go to the Head of House's office to wash potion bottles.
The young girl, who had worn a look of such haughtiness just last night, now returned to the common room looking like a frost-bitten eggplant—completely wilted.
Kate was still doing her homework at the time and saw Wilson, teary-eyed and sniffling, being surrounded by her sisters.
Among them, there was no lack of indignant individuals who, while comforting their little sister, turned their heads to glare at Kate.
If looks could kill, Kate would likely have achieved the 'Death by a Thousand Cuts' achievement.
It was a pity that such gazes were useless for anything other than venting anger.
Kate listened silently to Wilson crying for a long time. It wasn't until she finished her homework that she set down her quill with a crisp snap—
The crying stopped abruptly with her movement.
Wilson looked up in astonishment, her eyes still red, staring at Kate with a look of fear from within the protective circle of her sisters.
Was she that afraid Kate would come over to pick a fault?
Shaking her head with a mix of amusement and exasperation, Kate scanned her surroundings. At this moment, apart from the first-years who had no classes, there wasn't a single upper-year student in the common room.
Even counting the first-years, there were only eight or nine people in total; most of them had gone out to explore the castle, just like Malfoy.
It was simply a perfect time to establish her dominance.
Kate took a casual step forward, and Wilson recoiled like a frightened bird, dragging her few friends back with her.
It was as if Kate were some sort of fierce flood or savage beast.
She continued forward, watching as they continued to retreat. The commotion grew large enough to attract the gazes of the other students in the lounge.
"Shafiq!" Blaise frowned and called out her name.
Kate paused in her steps, a faint, shallow smile floating onto her face. "You fear me? Because I reported to Head of House Snape? Or are you afraid I'll use some spell on you?"
Wilson swallowed with difficulty; her once arrogant face now held only fear and disgust.
Seeing that she hesitated to answer, Kate sighed softly. "I have no intention of hurting you. Otherwise, what I cast last night wouldn't have been Protego."
This was the truth. She had learned quite a few counter-attacking spells over the past year. Combined with her massive mana pool, she could have directly knocked out every student in the common room.
But that would violate her original intention of laying low to live a long life.
Exposing herself to the sights of the White Dark Lord and the Dark Lord for a moment of gratification was not a wise move.
She turned around, looked at Blaise, and smiled slightly. "Student Zabini, it seems Student Wilson's psychological state isn't very good. Please comfort her more; it would be best if nothing happened to her."
They were clearly words of concern, but coming from the mouth of this girl with her gentle smile, they somehow felt incredibly eerie.
Blaise's eyelid twitched. His intuition told him that if he didn't agree to this girl right now, something even more thrilling than last night would happen next.
"Alright, leave it to me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room, which had been taut just a moment ago, instantly relaxed, as if transitioning from bitter winter to spring in an instant.
Watching Kate turn and walk back to her room alone, Blaise wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Wilson, who had been frightened to the point of instability.
Now he finally understood why Malfoy, before Transfiguration class, had been so scared he didn't dare breathe loudly just from one look by Kate.
This girl, who looked cowardly and weak, was far from as simple as her appearance suggested.
Kate, at this moment, had no idea that her "kind" smile had transformed into something else entirely in the eyes of this group of first-years.
Right now, she was still immersed in her own appropriate performance just now, thinking these new students must have improved their impression of her somewhat.
[Ding! Triggering new interface!]
[Opening Reputation Interface. Current Interface: 2]
[Academy Reputation: 7]
[Family Reputation: 13]
[System Reminder: The values in this interface are on a percentage scale.]
"Look, Academy Reputation is already at 7. It's definitely better than before!" Kate pointed at the number proudly.
She was excited for a while, but eventually remembered the business at hand. She climbed onto her bed, sat cross-legged, and spoke to the System: "Come, let's begin the first Legilimency simulation training."
There was still an hour before lunch; she should be able to conduct one or two experiments.
...
The afternoon's History of Magic class was unsurprisingly dull.
The ghost teacher, Mr. Binns, read from the textbook in a monotone voice, making all the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students drowsy.
Kate had originally wanted to listen attentively, but the Occlumency practice before lunch had left her a bit mentally exhausted.
After listening for two minutes, she could only give up.
Instead, she took a continuously advanced History of Magic textbook from her handbag and began to self-study.
Her goal for this year was simple: her abilities in every subject had to reach at least the level of the most outstanding graduate.
although her various basic attributes were barely sufficient now, her understanding of theoretical knowledge was still two years behind.
But who asked her to have Hermione's 'Gifted Student Talent'?
If it weren't for the fact that she had to attend some regular classes, she could have fully met the standard in half a year.
Having finally endured History of Magic, there were no more classes afterward. The Gryffindor Herbology class should have also ended by now.
Kate had secretly checked the Gryffindor schedule before noon and had even copied a version of it.
Now, she knew Hermione's class times like the back of her hand.
Packing up her books, Kate walked straight out of the classroom and headed toward the library.
In her estimation, at this time, Hermione would either be in the Gryffindor common room or writing homework in the library.
Hmm, the probability of the library was higher.
Running excitedly to the library, Kate looked around for a while but still didn't spot the figure of that little brown-haired lion.
Instead, a blue figure walked briskly out from the other end of a bookshelf, coming face-to-face with her.
"Kate, are you here to study in the library too?" Cho Chang held a book, appearing exceptionally pleasantly surprised by her appearance.
Kate was slightly surprised to see Cho Chang here, but remembering the other party's House, she felt relieved.
Ravenclaw, after all—if they weren't in the library, they were on their way to the library.
"Mhm, I have a collection room at home too. I wanted to see if the Hogwarts library had any books I haven't seen at my house."
Not seeing Hermione, Kate began to lie with a straight face.
After hearing this, Cho Chang asked in surprise, "You have a collection room at home too? How many books? Can I go see it?"
"I haven't counted carefully." Kate scratched her face guiltily, then raised a smile. "But you can come to my house during the summer holidays to have a look."
"Then it's a promise! I'll definitely come to visit during the summer!" Cho Chang's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, and the two of them leaned against the bookshelf, chatting in hushed tones.
While Kate was happily conversing with her, she failed to notice that behind the bookshelf she was leaning against, a black and red figure stormed away in a huff.
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