The next morning, Harry's eyes were a little dark.
At breakfast, Loren sipped his black tea leisurely. The food at Hogwarts was indeed good.
Harry glanced at Loren several times, clearly wanting to say something but stopping himself. He barely touched his meal.
Loren felt a bit helpless. Harry was such an honest kid. When Harry looked at him again, Loren couldn't help but put down his teacup.
"Don't stare like that. I was just teasing you last night—I can't read minds at all."
Harry relaxed a little at that, though Loren wasn't sure how much he believed it.
"I'm planning to go to the library to have a look around. Want to come?" Loren wanted to make a study plan for himself.
Harry wasn't eager to study, but with Ron gone and nothing else to do alone, he said, "Well, okay. I haven't started my homework yet anyway."
Loren grabbed a few egg tarts, wrapped them in paper, and slipped them into his pocket.
"What subject?"
Harry puffed up a bit. "Every subject!"
One tart slipped from his grasp and fell off the plate.
Hogwarts' library was on the second floor of the castle. Bookshelves stretched end to end, connected like an endless maze. The shelves grew smaller and smaller, yet the rows never seemed to end.
Loren suspected some kind of traceless extension magic was at work. The inside was much larger than the outside, containing tens of thousands of books.
The Hogwarts library was a treasure trove, accumulated by generations of students and teachers. Many rare and out-of-print volumes were preserved here. The board of directors even set aside a special fund each year to acquire new titles.
Only the Ministry of Magic could rival this collection in richness.
Within a certain radius of the shelves, no one was allowed to linger. Loren spotted several books bound with thick iron chains, their other ends seemingly grown from the shelves themselves—preventing anyone from flipping through them.
Other books flickered with colorful lights, surrounded by clear magical wards.
This was the restricted section.
Loren longed for books on spells like Fiendfyre and Legilimency. But borrowing from the restricted section required professors' permission and credentials. No matter how talented a first-year was, there was no reason to access those books—unless you wanted to be a special point of interest to Dumbledore.
Harry pulled out his growing pile of homework and started catching up.
Loren guessed this was Ron's bad influence. The first week's homework was light, and Loren had finished his during the break. Luckily, Harry hadn't learned to copy homework yet.
In truth, if Loren hadn't dragged him to the library, Harry would have procrastinated until the last moment—and Loren thought that would be more efficient.
Loren selected several books: Gamp's Basic Transfiguration Law, Properties of Basic Materials for Potions, and The Basic Principles of Simple Spells. These covered the fundamentals of Transfiguration, Potions, and Spellcasting—like building a solid foundation in math before tackling calculus.
The experience of the King of Volumes: establish a broad knowledge system from the ground up, then build on it.
Soon, Hermione arrived—not surprising to Loren and Harry.
But she wasn't reading a textbook or reference material. Instead, she was engrossed in a novel, smiling quietly to herself.
Loren was struggling with a dense book when he looked up and noticed Hermione's sparkling eyes and the occasional grin that showed her cute front teeth before she pursed her lips.
"Wandering with Werewolves?" Loren read the cover aloud.
Hermione looked up happily. "Yes! I saw you bought this book at Flourish and Blotts. It's in the library too, so I came to look for it."
Loren was a little surprised. "I hoped to find useful information on werewolves in it, maybe something to help Grandpa Bates. But I found almost nothing."
Hermione frowned. She liked the book a lot. People weren't supposed to talk loudly in the library, but she leaned in and whispered, "Why do you say that? The story is very interesting—and it's based on the author's real experiences."
Loren kept his distance, eyeing her thick eyebrows. "There's not much actual knowledge about werewolves. Most of it just highlights how wise and powerful the author is."
After a pause, he added, "If it weren't for the incredible experiences, this book would be terrible. The author's narcissism practically jumps off the page."
He didn't mention that the 'wonderful experiences' were mostly stolen and fabricated by Lockhart himself. When he bought the book, he knew Lockhart was a liar but still hoped to find useful knowledge. Instead, he'd been blinded by that man's smile.
Hermione pondered it. Immersed in the story, she hadn't noticed. But now that she stepped back, it did seem like the author endlessly praised himself—and even the smiling illustrations were overwhelming.
She couldn't refute Loren's point and felt a little annoyed.
"What are you reading?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Loren spread his hands to show her his pile of advanced books.
Seeing they were all materials for senior years, Hermione lectured, "Those books are for later. We should focus on the textbooks first."
Loren countered, "Just memorizing isn't enough. It's faster and easier to understand principles and organize your knowledge system."
That hit a nerve.
Hermione's voice sharpened. "If that's true, why doesn't the professor teach us that first?"
Madam Pince suddenly appeared behind them and smacked both on the back of their heads.
"Get out! This is no place for quarrels!"
She promptly ushered them out of the library.
Harry, overhearing, thought it was good the topic wasn't his. Why bother overthinking? Just follow the teachers.
He yawned. "Ah, I'm so sleepy. Didn't sleep well last night."
If he thought about it, he'd just go back and catch up on sleep, then do homework later—but as soon as he considered that, he couldn't bring himself to work.
The tension lingered between Loren and Hermione as they parted at the stairs.
Loren thought, If you disagree with my ideas, just say so. Why get so angry?
Hermione felt the same way. She shouldn't have been so worked up but couldn't help it.
Unable to focus, Hermione wandered the castle. When she reached the third floor, she discovered a room full of trophies, medals, and other awards.
She studied the display cabinets, which held the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup, all polished and neatly arranged.
Photos of players from the four college Quidditch teams caught her eye.
Among the unfamiliar faces, a girl in one photo seemed to notice Hermione's gaze. The image moved—waving happily.
Hermione realized the photo had been enchanted with a developing potion, capturing the player's movements.
It was Professor McGonagall!
Though younger and more vibrant than the stern professor she knew, the girl was unmistakably her.
Hermione was surprised. She hadn't known Professor McGonagall had been a Quidditch player—so energetic and unrestrained, completely unlike her current self.
After lingering in front of the photo, Hermione moved on and soon found a small gold-plated shield inset in a larger shield.
Engraved on the small shield were the words:
Seeker
James Potter
1971