Link's going out was not smooth. This wasn't because he encountered some trouble, but rather because along the way, every single Hufflepuff that Link met enthusiastically greeted him, which made Link somewhat overwhelmed.
To be fair, this was completely different from the treatment he received when he first came to Hogwarts.
And not only that, recently the Hufflepuffs had also changed their previously timid demeanor in Hogwarts. They now walked with their heads held high, looking proud and elated.
This was clearly inconsistent with the usual image of Hufflepuff.
However, Link could actually understand them, because recently the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had really been making them proud.
From Christmas until now, they had already won two games in a row.
The first match was against Gryffindor. Although many people made predictions before the match, the result still dropped everyone's jaws.
Because Hufflepuff directly crushed Gryffindor in seconds. That's right, crushed in seconds.
Just over ten minutes after the match began, Harry and Cedric both spotted the Golden Snitch.
If it followed the plot of the original book, Harry should have used the speed advantage of the Nimbus 2000 to directly win the match.
But this time it was different. Cedric, who also had a Nimbus 2000, was not at all slower than Harry.
The two of them chased each other in the air for nearly three minutes, and in the end, Cedric, relying on his superior physical condition, won the match.
Compared to this match, the second one against Ravenclaw was relatively a bit dull.
But Cedric still didn't disappoint. In the end, despite Hufflepuff falling far behind in score, he still caught the Golden Snitch.
These two matches made Cedric immensely famous, but he did not take all the credit himself. Instead, he directly said it was the result of the whole team's hard work, and even mentioned the matter of Link giving them a Nimbus 2000, and after communicating with Professor Sprout, gave Link the title of honorary team member.
Such a title, combined with Link's outstanding recent performance, not only treating classmates with kindness and enthusiasm, but also winning Hufflepuff many house points in class. This led to Link's reputation in Hufflepuff changing from "difficult-to-get-along-with little Death Eater" to "generous and top-student rich kid."
And so, the situation that troubled Link so much appeared. But this wasn't the most troublesome part. Because just as Link stepped into the library, a familiar voice rang beside his ear.
"Link! You finally decided to show up!"
Hearing this, Link looked over and saw at the reception desk of the library, Hermione was holding a stack of books and looking at him with a face full of joy.
Opposite Hermione, the librarian Madam Pince furrowed her brow and reached toward the feather duster beside her.
It was obvious that Hermione's voice just now was too loud.
Hermione also noticed Madam Pince's movement. She quickly covered her mouth, and before Madam Pince could actually grab the feather duster, she pulled Link over to a square table in the corner.
"Link, what have you been doing recently?" Hermione complained in a suppressed voice, "I went to Hufflepuff looking for you three times, and each time that roommate of yours named John stopped me from entering, and even said I was there to spy on their Quidditch secrets."
Hearing this, Link's expression suddenly turned a bit awkward.
Because this was indeed something John would do. Link still remembered how this guy once encouraged him to use his good looks to extract information, turning a small school Quidditch match into a spy game. No one else could have done this.
But Hermione's troubles were actually also Link's fault.
Recently, Link had been in a closed-door state to reduce the chance of being ambushed by Quirrell. Apart from classes, he almost never left his room. And so, since Hermione wasn't in the same year as Link, she naturally couldn't run into him.
With an awkward smile, Link explained, "Actually, I've been busy reviewing recently. You know, exams are coming soon."
As soon as he said this, a Ravenclaw boy nearby immediately rolled his eyes. Because it was clearly a lie, there were still a full two months left before exams. Review what, seriously?
But Hermione, on hearing this, suddenly came to a realization and excitedly said, "You've already started reviewing? Then you must've taken a lot of notes, right? Can I borrow them?"
"Uh… my notes are all for second-year stuff. You wouldn't need them right now."
Link brushed her off. He'd been busy learning Occlumency lately, not making any review notes. But Link also knew that with Hermione's personality, she would definitely keep pressing. So before she could open her mouth again, Link quickly changed the topic, "By the way, why were you looking for me?"
"Ah, you mean this?"
Hermione's face turned a bit red. She hesitated for a moment, and seeing that aside from the Ravenclaw boy, there was no one else nearby, she sneakily took out a rolled-up, laminated sheet of paper from her robe and handed it to Link.
"Actually… I just wanted to give you this."
Hearing Hermione's mosquito-like voice, Link slowly unrolled the paper and found that it was a poster of a soccer star, with a large, flamboyant autograph on it.
Unfortunately, Link was never really interested in football, especially not in these older players. So he didn't recognize who was on the poster.
But he still showed a surprised expression, because he really didn't understand Hermione's intention in giving him this.
At this moment, Hermione seemed to notice Link's confusion too. She lowered her head and fiddled with the hem of her robe with her fingers while saying:
"This is a thank you… for saving me before. You said last time that you sometimes watch football or basketball, right? My dad is also a football fan, he's collected a lot of stuff. So I thought…"
Hermione's voice got quieter and quieter, and by the end, it was completely inaudible.
Link looked at the signed poster in his hand and laughed. He suddenly remembered the Christmas gift Hermione had given him earlier.
He had to admit, Hermione was really a girl who paid attention to details. And yet in the original book she ended up marrying Ron, Link truly had no words.
Thinking this, Link also smiled and said, "Thank you, I really like this gift, and the Christmas one before, too."
"Really? That's great!" Hermione said excitedly, "My dad still has a lot of signed soccer balls and shoes! Next time I'll bring more."
"Uh, let's not. After all, your dad probably treasures them a lot, it's not easy for him." Link wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.
Seeing Link refuse, Hermione didn't push further in that direction. Instead, she suddenly leaned close to Link's ear and whispered, "By the way, there's one more thing. Hagrid is raising a dragon, do you want to go see it?"
"A dragon?" Link said thoughtfully.
The dragon incident, this was a key turning point in the original plot.
It was the aftermath of this event that made Harry first directly face Voldemort. And it was also at this point that Voldemort, using Quirrell's body, obtained unicorn blood.
This meant that if the plot didn't deviate too much, as long as Link followed the story flow, he would surely be able to find Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.
Thinking this, a glint of cold light flashed across Link's eyes. But on his face, he still smiled and said, "Ah, of course I want to go see it."
Watching Link and Hermione whispering to each other not far away, that unknown Ravenclaw boy finally couldn't take it anymore.
He suddenly stood up, glared at Link and Hermione, who were still leaning together talking softly, with a sour look in his eyes, then fled the library like the wind.
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