"This was just an accident." Dumbledore smiled gently at Harry, soothing his tense nerves.
Firenze nodded. "You must all be careful. Darkness has already returned, and an even greater shadow is waiting, lurking in secret."
"A prophecy, Firenze?" Dumbledore sounded surprised.
"Something like that. What I saw was blurred—there was heavy interference." Firenze's expression grew grave. "But it is worth paying attention to."
Centaurs were masters of the stars; from the movements in the night sky, they could glimpse the future.
Originally, Firenze had only intended to escort Harry to the edge of the Forest. But because of the prophecy, he had stepped out of the Forbidden Forest himself—a shocking act for a centaur, as unthinkable as letting someone ride on his back.
"An even greater darkness, is it?" Dumbledore murmured, lost in thought. "Thank you for the warning."
Firenze departed, and Harry watched the kindly centaur go. Then he raised his eyes to Dumbledore. "Headmaster… was that Voldemort in the forest?"
"You've already guessed it, haven't you?" Dumbledore patted Harry's head with a gentle smile.
"But what about the deeper darkness?" Harry asked curiously.
"That…" Dumbledore already had his suspicions. Perhaps it was the same person who had stolen the Invisibility Cloak tonight, and who had helped the three-headed dog break through the castle wall.
They might very well be one and the same.
But these were not things he could tell Harry. The boy already carried enough weight—Voldemort alone was danger enough to shadow his every step.
He couldn't burden the child with every possible threat, could he?
So Dumbledore simply smiled and said, "Harry, no matter how deep the darkness stretches, it will always vanish before dawn. Evil may press upon justice, but it can never destroy it."
"Even the deepest shadow will scatter in the end."
Harry didn't quite understand.
Dumbledore didn't explain further. He only handed the Invisibility Cloak back to Harry.
"Be careful, and don't lose it again," he said. "Not every time will there be someone to find it for you—and I may not always have the chance."
What had truly happened in the Forbidden Forest that night was known by very few. Even most of those involved didn't grasp it.
Take Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, and even the ever-bumbling Hagrid—they only knew Harry had been rescued by a centaur.
The only student who truly understood was Harry Potter—and, ironically, Louis, who hadn't even been present.
But however grand or mysterious those events sounded, when compared to the things that mattered most in their own lives, they suddenly seemed far less important.
For example—final exams.
To many students, finals were a nightmare. A term spent in relative ease made the exam period, and the time spent at home afterward, all the more agonizing.
Ron was certainly one of those cramming desperately at the last minute. Harry's results hardly mattered; his family didn't care about grades.
As for Louis, it was clear his family didn't care much either. To them, Louis's time in the magical world was more curiosity than future. His real life, they thought, belonged in the world of ordinary people.
Parents always did seem to know their children best.
But Louis had no intention of muddling through his exams. No—he was determined to take first place.
At Hogwarts, exams were divided into theory and practice: written tests and practical trials.
The written part posed no problem. With Louis's memory, he could reproduce the exact words from the textbook flawlessly.
The Charms exam was nothing more than identifying which spell to use in a given situation, which incantations and gestures could achieve a certain effect.
The Potions exam was merged with Herbology: students had to answer questions on the uses of different herbs and the methods for preparing them into potions.
The Transfiguration written test required explanations of Gamp's Basic Law of Elemental Transfiguration and its five principal exceptions. History of Magic was even simpler—just memorization and recitation.
Astronomy was unique, held at night under the stars, completing charts with the aid of a star map—practically an open-book exam.
All of these written tests weren't much of a challenge. The real test came afterward—the practicals.
Charms practicals were straightforward, mainly testing whether wand movements and spellcasting technique were up to standard. Louis had no issue there—he only needed to throw in some extra "special effects" for flair.
For Potions, students had to brew a batch of Herbicide. The classroom stank unbearably from the concoction's odor. Still, the difficulty wasn't high. Ever since Louis had mastered qi magic, Potions class was nothing for him to fear.
But once those trivial classes ended, the hardest exam arrived.
Transfiguration.
Students had to perform alone, under the watchful eyes of three professors. The task: transform a rat into a snuffbox.
This drew groans from many. They had practiced far more often turning objects into animals, not animals into objects.
It was like preparing all day for a math exam, only to be tested on English instead.
Even Louis was taken aback. He had planned to combine the Monkey and Rat Talismans for the object-to-animal transformation—but the professors had thrown in this curveball. With no choice, Louis returned to his old tricks: using illusion magic to deceive the professors.
[You fooled three sharp-eyed adult wizards with your illusion.]
[Trivial deception.]
[You gained 6,000 Trick Points. Current total: 110,100.]
Walking out of the exam hall under the satisfied gazes of the professors, Louis sighed.
"Never thought I'd have to rely on cheating again. Life really doesn't go the way you want."
"What do you mean, doesn't go the way you want?" Hermione came running up from behind and patted his shoulder. "How'd you do?"
"Too well. So well that it feels out of my control," Louis said with a grin.
"Hmph, I don't believe you scored higher than me." Hermione stuck out her tongue.
"Then let's make a bet, shall we?" Louis replied.
"Fine! What are we betting?" the naïve girl asked, unconcerned.
Louis's gaze lingered shamelessly on Hermione's lips, soft and pink with the sheen of jelly.
Clearly, she kept herself well-hydrated.
Hermione didn't notice at first, until the silence dragged on and she finally caught Louis staring at her mouth with that mischievous smile.
Her face flushed scarlet in an instant. Forgetting all about the wager, she shoved him away and bolted.
From behind, Louis could still see the tips of her ears glowing red.
"Why'd she run just from a little teasing?" Louis smacked his lips in mock regret.
Outside the castle, the sun was shining bright. Stepping out, Louis immediately spotted Harry rushing with Neville and Ron toward their classroom.
"So it's about to begin?" His eyes gleamed as he slipped into a quiet corner, opened a hidden door in the castle wall—
The final plan of the first year was about to begin!
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