"Expecto Patronum!"
"Expecto Patronum!"
Looking at the silver mist that now filled more than half the dormitory, Kate frowned and opened the System. "Even after getting this far, I still haven't learned this spell?"
[Patronus Charm, Current Level: 0]
[System notice: The spell only counts as truly learned once the Patronus reveals its complete form.]
She let out a slightly dejected sigh, and with a wave of her wand, the silver mist vanished entirely.
No matter how happy a memory was, after being chewed over again and again, it probably wouldn't feel as joyful as it did at first.
Over the course of the entire night, she'd already run through every happy scene she could think of, until she was practically approaching desensitization.
If she kept practicing, she'd turn into a sad little child with no happy memories left.
"Looks like practicing this kind of spell requires consumables," she muttered to herself, resolving to go make a few more happy memories from now on.
Even if it was manufactured happiness, it would still work perfectly fine as practice material.
And so, the next day, the first to notice something was off was Malfoy, seated across from Kate at the meal.
This girl was actually smiling as she served her food!
One neatly pre-cut steak wasn't enough—there was even a complimentary drink to go with it!
"You—" Malfoy's little face was somewhat contorted; she realized there was a whole crowd of gossip-hungry eyes fixed on the two of them.
She held it in for a good long while before finally managing to maintain her usual image in front of everyone. "Has your brain been replaced by a troll's? Why would you do something this pointless?"
She said all that, sure—but her body was quite honest, accepting everything Kate handed over without exception.
"There's a good saying," Kate said, keeping up a slightly eerie smile. "Helping others is its own joy."
Only by helping people could she manufacture happy memories.
"...?" Malfoy's eyelid twitched, not quite able to grasp her meaning.
Kate handed over another slice of cut toast. "It's fine if you don't get it. Just eat."
Looking at the food already piled into a small mountain before her, Malfoy instinctively leaned back.
After that breakfast, someone spotted the Young Master Malfoy heading out with a hand pressed to his stomach, supported by his companions.
And so a new rumor was born.
"See, what did I tell you—when those two went off to talk earlier, they definitely had another falling-out. Otherwise, why would Shafiq want to choke Malfoy to death with food!"
"Exactly. When I saw Shafiq shoving the food over, her eyes were absolutely brimming with murderous intent."
When Hermione overheard these rumors, she was still browsing the library shelves for a book, and the two Slytherin students who'd been talking happened to pass right behind her.
Utterly baffled, she carried the books back to her seat and handed over the copy of A Simple Introduction to Spells she'd been holding. "What made you want to read this kind of book?"
It was about as absurd as someone already at graduate-student level suddenly taking an interest in a children's primer.
"Oh, I felt like reading something light today." Kate picked up the book with great interest and flipped through it page by page, seeming to be in a very good mood.
Reading something simple was like a max-level god heading down to the newbie village to bully rookies—not exactly sophisticated, but it did bring a plain, honest sort of joy.
Hermione studied her expression hesitantly, thought it over, and in the end decided not to bring up the conversation she'd just overheard.
Never mind—why bother fretting over all that?
Quickly composing herself, the two top students plunged into the ocean of knowledge... oh, wait—Kate was purely here for the fun of it.
After flipping through, within a single hour, all the various books an ordinary thirteen-year-old young wizard ought to read, Kate gazed at the sky outside the window and fell into thought for a moment.
So her magical accomplishment was already this far ahead of her peers?
Then when Hermione and Harry and the others normally hung out with her, wasn't that an awful lot of pressure for them?
Instinctively turning to look at Hermione, Kate narrowed her eyes and smoothly read off the title of the book she was reading.
Oh, a fifth-year book. Never mind, then.
Hermione was quite the grinder herself.
As for whether anyone else might feel out of their depth, well, that was no longer her concern.
She pondered for a while, then stood up and said in a low voice, "Hermione, I'm going out for a walk. Wait here for me a bit."
Hermione was startled; her body, just about to rise along with Kate, was forced back into her seat. She had no idea what had gotten into Kate today, but since Kate had gone out of her way to say so, all she could do was wait quietly here.
"Alright, but come back soon—we agreed to have lunch together." A little uneasy, Hermione added the reminder.
Kate curved her lips, answered gently, then turned and left.
On the weekend, the school grounds were packed with people, and most of the secluded spots she usually favored had been commandeered by young campus couples—one careless glance, and she might catch some rather intimate scenes.
At first this had left Kate a bit speechless, but as she walked along and saw more and more of it, she strangely began to grow used to it.
Tsk—habit really was a terrifying thing.
There was no quiet place to be found indoors, so she simply headed out beyond the castle, found a sturdy-looking tree, floated up, and settled onto a branch.
From this uniquely lofty vantage point, she could hear the shouts of some house or other practicing over at the distant Quidditch pitch.
Or, by turning in another direction, she could see the Black Lake from a whole different angle.
She'd never paid it any mind before, but observing deliberately today, she realized just how trivial and leisurely her daily life really was.
It couldn't quite be called happiness, but at least on these days without Voldemort around, her mood was wonderfully relaxed.
Could a memory like this be used as material for the Patronus Charm?
She didn't know.
And she didn't feel like trying right now, either—because a breeze had just drifted over from the Black Lake, making her close her eyes despite herself and savor this tranquil moment.
By the time she opened her eyes again, feeling refreshed, she discovered that at some point someone had come to sit at the foot of the tree.
Kate blinked, then nimbly hopped down from the branch. "Hey, Luna!"
"Good morning, Senior." Luna wasn't the least bit surprised by her sudden appearance, and even scooted over naturally to make room for her to sit.
Kate noticed the drawing board and magical paintbrush in her hands, and asked curiously, "You can paint? What do you usually paint?"
The paintbrush pointed up toward the sky, and Kate followed its direction to look—only to find a cloud of a strange, grotesque shape floating directly above the two of them.
"That cloud..." Kate pursed her lips, at a bit of a loss for words. "It looks like a hog badger."
Luna burst out laughing, her silver eyes fairly glowing. "Then why don't you try drawing it?"
"Mm... Actually, I'm not very good at drawing. I only learned a little when I was small."
Kate took the brush and board with a wry smile, casually sketched out the shape of the cloud, then smeared on the blue of the sky. "There, is this any good?"
The clouds daubed onto the paper weren't especially pretty—at first glance, they looked like a primary-schooler's idle doodle.
But Luna still lifted the sheet out cherishingly and tucked it away at the very bottom of the stack. "I think it's lovely."
Fine, if you say so, then so be it.
Kate gave a faint smile, simply leaned back against the tree trunk, and quietly watched her paint.
She could tell that Luna's skill was indeed far beyond her own, and her brushwork was wildly unconstrained—there was no guessing where the next stroke would land.
The painting took the better part of an hour to finish. Luna tore the sheet off and handed it to her. "For you."
"For me?" Kate was taken aback, and lowered her head to glance at the paper. Though the strokes were a little abstract, she could still make out that what Luna had painted was the very scenery before them now.
Two girls sat beneath the tree, no more than faint silhouettes seen from behind, where a low-saturation blue sky met the black waters of the lake in perfect harmony.
She smiled and joked, "Then trading this for my painting—you're really getting the short end of the deal."
"Not at all." Luna smiled softly. "I know its value."
Kate was stunned once more, unsure which painting Luna's "it" was referring to.
Lowering her head to look at the artwork in her hands again, she took out a notebook, carefully tucked the sheet inside, and slipped it into her coin purse. "Thank you, then."
She remembered that Hermione was still waiting for her in the library, so after sitting with Luna a while longer, she took her leave first, planning to go fetch Hermione and bring her back to sit here together.
But she'd only made it halfway when she saw a wildly careening Quaffle come hurtling down at her out of the air.
Kate knitted her brows, wondering which Quidditch team was practicing over on the pitch.
She was just about to wave her wand to bring it down when a dark figure whooshed past before her eyes, deftly knocking the Quaffle right back.
"Kate, are you hurt?!"
Dressed in a crisp white sports outfit, Cho Chang hurriedly leapt down from her broomstick and patted anxiously all over her.
"I'm fine, no need to wor—"
Kate tried to explain, but Cho Chang wasn't taking any of it in. When her hand was about to reach Kate's chest, Kate hastily caught hold of her. "I'm fine!"
For a moment, Cho Chang froze, only then coming to her senses, and pulled back somewhat flusteredly, not knowing where to put her eyes. "Mm... that's good, then."
"Training even on the weekend—that's tough work." Kate, for her part, felt nothing about the whole thing and even took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
At the mention of Quidditch, the awkward bashfulness Cho Chang had still been feeling vanished at once, and she nodded excitedly. "Mm! There's another match next week—I've got to play my best!"
The brilliant sunlight shone across her face, making even the faint sheen of sweat at her temples look dazzlingly radiant.
Kate tilted her head slightly, her gaze drifting over her in careful study despite herself.
"What is it?" It was the first time Cho Chang had been watched with such a look from her, and for a moment she felt a little self-conscious.
"Nothing," Kate said, lifting the corner of her lips. "I just suddenly realized this look really suits you."
In an instant, her face—already flushed from the exercise—turned an even deeper shade of red.
Cho Chang stared at her blankly, and without her noticing, the heartbeat she'd only just managed to calm began to race all over again.
"By the way," Kate asked on a sudden whim, "can I come watch you all practice?"
Exercise released dopamine too—even if she didn't take the field herself, watching the training should still net her some decent memories.
"S-sure!" Cho Chang was so nervous she stammered a little, and she carefully took Kate's hand. "Then... shall we head over together?"
Kate gave her hand a firm squeeze. "Sure!"
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