In the Great Hall, Brian was casually flipping through 'The Rise and Fall of Dark Arts' while contentedly stuffing food into his mouth. The afternoon Quidditch match had drained a lot of his energy.
Harry's mouth twitched a few times, looking utterly bewildered. His heart was filled with complex emotions; he had inexplicably become Ron's assistant for a midnight duel, and one that was to the death.
Although the friendship of youth prevented him from refusing, he had just narrowly escaped death that afternoon, and now in the evening, he was going to challenge McGonagall's bottom line.
Is this really a good idea?
Harry hesitated for a long time, sitting uncomfortably across from Brian.
Brian put down his book and helplessly said to Harry, "You're really scaring me. Just ask whatever you want to know directly."
Harry looked dazed, raising his head and gazing upwards, though not at anything in particular. After a long time, he took a deep breath before asking, "Brian, do you know about wizard duels? And what's an assistant?"
"...Two wizards attacking each other with spells until one loses their wand and the ability to retaliate. An assistant, I believe, is someone who steps in to complete the duel if the wizard fails or dies," Brian raised his eyebrows, explaining calmly. He had seen related descriptions in books before.
Harry gasped, his expression turning strange as he nodded repeatedly, speechless and looking utterly at a loss.
"Don't worry, first-year little wizards only know a few harmful spells. In the end, they'll still have to rely on their fists to solve problems," Brian picked up his book again, saying indifferently.
"How about it, Brian? Are you feeling excited? Do you want to come and watch me and Harry beat up Malfoy? He insulted you too," Ron squinted, looking at Brian. He seemed very excited.
"No!" Hermione exclaimed, her face anxious, as she rushed over. She had just heard Brian's explanation about wizard duels. "You can't go! If this continues, Gryffindor will lose a lot of points! Ron, what happened this afternoon was your fault. You almost killed Malfoy, so it's not surprising he's so angry."
Her words made Ron furious. He disdained arguing with Hermione and turned to Brian, waiting for his answer.
"I won't go, and I advise you not to either. Malfoy isn't the type to have a fair wizard duel; he'll definitely pull some tricks," Brian said casually without lifting his head.
Ron's previously jovial expression instantly turned stone cold. He was extremely angry, and said coldly, "Brian, I knew it. You've always had a problem with me. I felt it the moment I entered Hogwarts."
Ron's face was gloomy, and his eyes seemed to want to devour someone as he stared intently at Brian, lowering his voice and saying fiercely, "I saw it this afternoon. You used your wand to save Malfoy, and now you're telling us not to be his enemy. Do you want to follow him like Goyle and Crabbe? I really misjudged you, Brian. You'll never be a true Gryffindor."
Hermione and Harry turned back in surprise, but Brian's expression remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard anything. He just watched Ron vent his dissatisfaction coldly. It wasn't until Ron seemed to calm down somewhat under Harry's persuasion that Brian, out of politeness, said calmly, "Ron, I'm sorry if I left a bad impression on you. I didn't."
"Enough!" Ron, who had heard half of it, suddenly twitched his face and said furiously, "Go join them then! We don't need you."
He stood up angrily and walked away. Harry and Hermione were at a loss for what to do and could only give Brian an apologetic look before chasing after Ron.
Brian currently seemed much calmer than Ron. Moreover, they also believed that Brian seemed to be hiding many things, and at this moment, they felt a bit awkward and didn't know what to say.
Brian picked up his ancient text again and continued reading, ignoring the surrounding gazes. He wasn't particularly bothered by it; he didn't want to engage in any gang-forming club activities at Hogwarts.
Besides, after more than a week of observation, Brian's impression of Ron wasn't bad; after all, he was just a child. It seemed perfectly normal for him to throw a tantrum when he felt his friends weren't on his side during conflicts with people he disliked.
If his nearly thirty-year-old soul were to bicker with him over such matters, it wouldn't be a glorious thing.
"You seem to have had some conflict with your friends?"
Sonia shrugged, walked up to Brian, and reached out to snatch the book Brian was reading.
Since becoming daily meal companions, Brian quickly became very familiar with Sonia. He shook his head and walked out of the Great Hall with Sonia, telling her what had happened that afternoon.
Sonia scanned Brian up and down with a strange look, a peculiar smile on her face: "You've already mastered the Levitation Charm so skillfully? It's unlikely I could have saved someone falling from the sky with the Levitation Charm even in my third year."
Brian was a bit distracted and casually explained, "The situation was urgent at the time; I don't know how I managed to cast the Levitation Charm successfully."
Sonia glanced at him, didn't refute, and continued, "What's wrong? Did you encounter another magical problem?"
Brian shook his head and whispered, "Senior Sonia, do you know the incantation for the Disillusionment Charm? I've searched the Library for a long time but haven't seen any related books."
"What's wrong?" Sonia was stunned, then her expression suddenly became incredibly strange, and she couldn't stop laughing. She laughed harder and louder, until she couldn't straighten her back. "You... you wouldn't be... trying to learn the Disillusionment Charm to... go to the girls' dorms, would you?"
Brian looked up at Sonia and found her looking at him with the eyes of someone staring at a pervert. He angrily explained, "I'm not that kind of person! I'm just curious!"
"This is an advanced spell. If some students learn it, it would be very detrimental to school management. So, naturally, there won't be any information on the Disillusionment Charm in the Library."
Brian sighed, saying, "If there really isn't any, then so be it. It's not that important."
"I do know this spell," Sonia stopped, turned to face Brian beside her, and said unhurriedly, "What, want to learn it?"
Brian swallowed, saying, "...Yes!"
Sonia crossed her arms, winked at Brian, giggled, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Call me 'Jie-jie' (older sister), sincerely, and I'll teach you."
Brian's heart immediately swelled with secret joy. Learning the Disillusionment Charm would allow him to continue his mission of exploring Hogwarts. Perhaps he could even try some of the system's troublesome temporary tasks, like tonight's duel task, which was worth three upgrade points.
Upgrade points equal strength, and strength equals money. With money, he could buy a house and find a wife. Forget just calling her 'Jie-jie'; Brian wouldn't refuse even if she asked him to call her 'Mom' or 'Wife'.
His face lit up with joy as he looked at Sonia and blurted out, "Wife..."