My body moved abruptly as my 'Danger Detection' skill alerted me of the incoming attack from behind, less than a second before a sharp point of 'spear' skewered me. The alert was appreciated but I had sensed the hidden presence a long time ago with the help of my 'Presence Detection' skill.

A moment later, the hairy 'spear' stabbed the empty air where my torso was a second earlier. My hand — gripping my wand — moved and an unspoken keyword appeared in the tip of my tongue. The keyword was held from being voiced loudly. The tip of my wand then lit with luminescent red color before gout of scorching flame was spewed out.

Annoying shriek came from behind, telling me that I had harmed my assailant. However, it wasn't enough. There wasn't a notice about my assailant's death yet.

I stopped my silent 'Incendio' charm and rolled my body forward, unheeding of the dirty ground below. I immediately turned my body around, facing my assailant, and pointed my wand forwards. Then, I calmly intoned: "Bombarda Maxima!"

The colorless light left my wand, assaulting my assailant — a gargantuan spider as big as a fully grown horse — before the monster that seemingly came out of a nightmare was blasted out from the inside out.

I hastily erected a colorless barrier in front of me as I tried to protect myself from the gore, venom and unknown body fluids that scattered in the air. My shield charm held on steadily for a moment until the rain of gore stopped.

Fatal Hit!
You killed Acromantula Level: 21
You gained Acromantula's Silk Shack (Medium) and Poison Shack (Medium)
You gained 30Exp

Attacking the magic resistant carapace of the monstrous spider was a fool errand. It was why I melted its carapace first with the intense heat from the 'Incendio' spell.

I crouched silently, being alert for another ambush. Surprisingly, the hidden presences didn't jump in like the latest monstrous spider that had been turned into mincemeat by yours truly. They scuttled away, ran away from me — their new nightmare.

However, I wouldn't let my prey flee easily.

I guided the mysterious energy in me to my feet, reinforcing my muscle, bones, tissues, etc. Subsequently, I dashed to the closest running beast.

From then on, I whipped my wand and sent gout of a magical flame to melt the magic resistant carapace that covered its body. It shrieked horribly. I ignored its haunting shriek and stopped my spell after my goal was completed. I then sent another powerful blasting hex to the monster before me.

Fatal Hit!
You killed Acromantula Level: 19
You gained Acromantula's Silk Shack (Small) and Poison Shack (Small)
You gained 10Exp

There were three beasts left but they were being smart by dispersing in this dark, thick forest. I frowned at that.

After a short contemplation, I decided to follow the closest beast. I ran after it with my 'reinforcement' still active. In a few seconds, I could see its hairy body scuttling hurriedly in terror because of my presence. Without mercy, I repeated what I did to its brethren; melt its carapace and blast its body into chunks of gore.

Fatal Hit!
You killed Acromantula Level: 24
You gained Acromantula's Silk Shack (Medium) and Poison Shack (Medium)
You gained 70Exp

Congratulation! You leveled up to level 20
You got 5 Stat Points
Your HP, MP and negative status effects are healed from level up!

I sighed softly and dismissed the prompts. Next, I opened my 'Status Window' to check my current 'Stats'.

Asmodias Lustburg
- Race: Wizard
- Title(s): [Gamer] [Locked] [Locked] [Locked]
- Level: 20 — 0.2% to next level
- HP: 200
- MP: 8288
[Strength: 6.4] [Agility: 5.4] [Mind: 14.8(9.8+5)] [Magic: 56(1+5+50)]
Miscellaneous:
[Stat Points: 100]

Nothing significant had changed, as I had expected. The level up process only gave me 5pts to be used to raise 'Statistic Attributes' freely. However, I left the 'Stat Points' alone because I felt it would be a waste if I used them now.

Mouthing a silent 'Tempus', I casted the time spell and found it was almost three in the morning. I dismissed both the spell and the screen and looked around the thick foliage of trees.

Forbidden Forest — I thought this place would give me a good farming place to grind my level. Much to my dismay, the magical creatures that could be massacred for Exp in this place was only a few.

In this forest, Acromantula was the main Exp source for me but after I farmed all available Exp source here, namely the Acromantulas, I could feel the high-levelled ones had become hard to find or they might hide deep in their nest.

It was impossible to tackle Aragog the Acromantula's Queen's nest with my current level. Other than the high-levelled Acromantulas, there was also a mortal peril from being swarmed by the colony of vermin.

"Should I move to the Black Lake next?" I mused softly under my breath. After contemplating for a moment, I realized it was 50/50. I didn't know any spell that could help me in aquatic battle yet. Then, I continued in my mind: "Still, there is Library to consider as a source of my skills."

I put aside that thoughts for a now and shifted my attention to other issues I had. "Today's the Halloween, meaning Quirrellmort will make his move. Knowing what will happen, or I suppose — should have happened — I am torn between letting Granger being in mortal peril, or help her before she is cornered in female washroom."

At that moment, a quest alert appeared:

Quest Alert!
Save Hermione Granger from death by troll's club!
Extra Objective: Kill the troll!
Reward: 250Exp, ?
Extra Reward: 500Exp
[Accept] [Decline]

"This is very tempting," I mused in my head.

It seems that my power was quite bored because it had given me a quest. However, this meant I also deliberately became the accessory of a murder attempt.

I quickly thought the positive side of this happenstance. As long as I could save Granger, I could satisfy my human conscience that slipped through the effect of my 'Gamer's Mind' somehow.

In the end, I accepted the quest.

You accepted the quest! You can't do something that can affect the quest — for example forewarning Hermione Granger — or the quest will automatically fail.

I smiled bitterly at that notice.

I felt a tad guilty about this but my 'Gamer's Mind' squashed that guilt. I decided to think more about the positive manner. "Let's return back to the common room."

I then called my latest personal House-elf, which bonded with me two weeks ago. "Barmy?"

Shortly afterwards, a humanoid magical creature with a pair of wide, flapping ears appeared before me in a soft 'pop' sound.

"Did Master Lusty-Bug call Barmy?" The little creature inquired.

From its voice and appearance, the house-elf was a male. He was the first of the seven house-elves that bonded to me in three weeks ago.

"Yes. Please take me back to Ravenclaw's common room."

Barmy offered his hand and I accepted it.

I had asked Hogwarts house-elves to spread the news to the master-less House-elves that I would accept them as my house-elves. This news had started around one month and half ago, and so far, I had bonded with seven house-elves.

Why I did this? You might have that kind of question; I realized the usefulness of house-elves. Unlike the wizards and witches who lacked something called common sense, rational thought or logic I utilized both as best as I could. It wouldn't be a mistake to say that I was heavily abusing this loophole for my own gain.

Anyway, house-elves were very useful for subterfuge, sabotage, spying and many other things. I had tasked my first bonded house-elf to train them in military way.

Supporting seven house-elves wasn't hard with my current total Willpower. Each house-elf only took 10pts/day and my new skill — Willpower Recovery (Passive) Level 3 — was enough to cover it easily.

With the help of the house-elf, I bypassed the Hogwarts' anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards since they were only keyed to wizards' and witches' magic signatures, not the house-elves'.

Soon, I appeared inside the Ravenclaw's common room right beside the Statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.

I blinked my eyes when I found I wasn't alone. Sitting in a comfy couch before the fireplace was someone I knew very well. However, what registered in my view was a cute sight of a girl nibbling a block of chocolate like a cute, little squirrel.

Wide-eyed, Holly immediately hid her unfinished treat behind her petite body and glared at me like a wronged cat. I gave her a placid smile to calm her down after I told the house-elf his service wasn't needed for the moment.

"Where have you been?" She inquired coldly.

Inwardly, I felt a sense of fulfilment before my 'Gamer's Mind' smothered it.

My discreet plan to fix this girl from her broken state had been going smoothly so far. It could be seen from how she was less distrusting her opposite sex, other than me and the male Professors in Hogwarts. It seems that she was sensible enough not to offend the authority figure but I chalked it as her self-perseverance instinct.

"A night stroll," I replied easily. I ignored her incredulous and disbelieving look and continued, "Do you know that Hogwarts has many hidden shortcuts? It was quite interesting actually. Every night, I feel like I am in an endless adventure to unearth all secret this castle has."

She made a thoughtful look for a moment before she nodded her head, accepting my answer but not fully believing it.

I gave her a quick look and nodded mentally.

Holly was wearing a conservative, navy blue sleeping gown with animated bronze colored ravens on it, the tribute for our house.

The sleeping gown was enchanted to be automatically fitted to her size. At first, it was an adult-sized one. I was the one who helped her with it and lend her one of my house-elves to visit Madam Malkins' to overhaul her whole wardrobe.

Of course, she needed to pay everything with her own golds from her own vault. I wasn't like her — a filthy rich princess and celebrity of wizarding world. I was a poor boy.

I'd decided to be a busybody after I watched some reaction of the other house when she wore the secondhand, male clothes that weren't suited for a young lady with her status. At first, she didn't seem to understand the need in presenting herself properly and was being very obstinate to be in the background as a normal girl.

However, I gave her long winded explanation on how wizarding world custom wasn't different from the middle age society before the Renaissance. It stretched out towards many things that were better to be left alone because of the boring and tedious nature of it.

I never planned to turn her into a proper witch in the eyes of the pureblood supremacist. At least, I wanted her to be a witch who understood the custom of her world, so she wouldn't accidentally offend others.

In the past, she wasn't different from the other muggleborns — oblivious to the fact that they had basically entered a different world with a different custom, though it was still in the land belonged to Great Britain's Royal Families.

So far, my attempt only yielded a small result, but the progress was still there.

I was also very glad for Su Li and Patil twins had helped her to understand what others expected to a proper, respectable witch.

"Why aren't you in the bed? It's too early."

I struck a conversation with her, but she glared at me mutinously.

"That's none of your business!" She said grumpily before she threw her face away from my view.

I blinked my eyes, stupefied by her reaction. It was a shortly thereafter I finally realized why she seemed to be in a bad mood.

Today was the Halloween, the same day she had become an orphan, when she lost her parents. She was finally mourning her parents' death properly after years but wasn't it a bit too much to start it very early in the morning? I threw aside the insignificant thoughts from my mind.

I stared at her silently for a moment as I contemplated what I should say next. She returned my gaze with her cold gaze. After a moment, I carefully said: "You have my condolences." When I saw anger in her emerald eyes, I immediately elaborated, "I didn't pity you or anything. I just tell you that so you know someone cares about it too, that you're not alone — not like it would change the fact — at least, you ought to know that someone also mourns for your late parents."

She stared at me blankly. I moved to the empty couch in front of hers and continued, "Other might think Halloween is a day of festive because many reasons but someone like you who have lost her important people also exist and share your pain and understand what you're feeling. So, stop moping and think you're the only miserable one. Besides, I don't think your late parents want their only daughter whom they sacrificed their lives moping like this. Live fully and happily for their sake! Don't disrespect their sacrifice! Thank them by being a daughter they would be proud of."

I stopped my preaching — another habit I gained from my second life in orphanage — after I realized I did it again. I hid my awkwardness by watching the thoughtful face belonged to Holly with calm mask. I was so glad that I have 'Gamer's Mind' for a moment like this.

Holly, realizing I'd been watching her for a while, threw her unfinished chocolate to my face. I easily caught it and whispered a soft "thanks!" to her. She glared at me mutinously. "You were preaching like old man again!" said Holly, rubbing the fact on my face.

"What do you think, Ms Obvious?" I retorted calmly to hide the fact that there was a tiring loop of surging embarrassment and my 'Gamer's Mind' smothered the emotion in question.

"Tch!" Holly clicked her teeth in unladylike manner right before she threw her face away from my view, looking at the crackling fireplace that lit the common room with a soft orange glow.

Her cute face being overcast by the soft orange glow created a picturesque scene that was worthy to be amazed of.

It was when I realized that I had disturbed her mourning. It was better for me to return back to my room, so she could continue her proper mourning. I raised my body from my sitting position while nibbling the chocolate Holly had thrown to my direction earlier. My movement took Holly's attention and she turned her face to me.

"Where are you going?" said Holly with a blank face.

"To my dorm," I replied easily between my nibbles. I soon realized me nibbling the chocolate Holly had been snacking could be considered as an indirect kiss. However, I didn't show outwardly my realization since Holly didn't seem to mind it. Then, I continued my words halfheartedly, "You can continue your mourning. Don't forget to return back to your dorm before four o'clock. Penny and Anderson will return back from their patrol at that time. Sorry for wasting your time."

I walked into the male dorms without looking back.

Along the way, the proverbial gears in my head spun to help me with a good plan to deal with the troll that would enter the castle tonight.

Holly Potter watched the back of the interesting creature known as Asmodias Lustburg with thoughtful eyes until he disappeared into the male dormitories.

It had been two months since she had become the students in this school, as the member of Ravenclaw House — the Ice Queen as they called her because her silent and reclusive manner. Other than Su Li and the Patil twin, and lately the boy in question, she was hardly speaking to others. Moreover, it had been well-known in the Hogwarts that she had major distrust and a biased outlook to the male in general and very cold to the male with the exception of the teachers.

Her less than pleasant views to the males in general stemmed from the abusive environment she grew up in.

She lived with her relatives — an aunt with a long neck that made her look like a giraffe who bullied her emotionally, a walrus of an uncle who would beat her just because something illogical happened around her outside her control and a baby whale of a cousin who would herd his friends to bully her physically and depraved her for a pleasant school life — and she was more than happy to be separated from them if she didn't fear of being a pitiful street urchin who would die from a starvation or a cold sooner than later.

As much as her living environment could be called a hell in the earth she had never been sexually abused by either her uncle or her cousin or her cousin's friends. Yes, she understood about that. Nevertheless, it didn't mean her living conditions hadn't broken her. It could be seen from her mannerisms — her reclusive personality; only know how to express anger or keep a blank mask on her face; her habits to downplay her achievement; the sporadic bout of timidity; uncontrollable temper from repressing her negative emotions; her unnatural reaction like a cornered animal, etc. — she was, indeed, broken.

Currently, the broken piece of her is being fixed bit-by-bit by the same interesting creature called Asmodias Lustburg.

She was aware about that little fact though the interesting creature in the question seemed to be discreet about it. However, she feigned that she didn't know anything about it. Surely she seemed to be the smallest girl in her years because of her scrawny and underfed body but she was sure as heck that she was the most mature girl in a certain aspect in her age brackets.

Since he taught her how to protect herself in the treacherous world of magic — how surprised she was when she found out the world where her parents lived in was more dangerous than where she had been living in so far — and how to get comfort she never had in her childhood. It was quite clear to her that the interesting creature helped her for a reason.

The problem was that she couldn't think any idea what he expected from her. His help seemed whimsical in nature, but she didn't believe in it. As much as her understanding about human was lacking but she understood how selfish and self-centered being the human kind was.

Asmodias Lustburg, to Holly Potter, was a confusing creature. She had met him in the Hogwarts Express two months ago. The first time she saw him, like her usual reaction to the male in general, was wariness, anxiety, distrust and fear. After all, all males in her eleven years old life (her uncle, her cousin, and he cousin's friends — she didn't have friends because her cousin and his friends would beat anyone who wanted to befriend her) had become the source of her pain.

If there was a formula to explain her biased outlook to the males, it was simply "men = pain", meaning she needs to stay away from them.

However, Dias — as the interesting creature was being called by others or was asking the others to call him with — showed that all men were not bad. Nevertheless, she kept her opinion in her mind and she showed her distrust to all boys and men in Hogwarts castle quite openly. Nevertheless, she had been known to be cordial to the female in general, well, maybe with the exception of the Queenbitch of Slytherin and her band of annoying harpies because the Queenbitch in question rubbed her in a wrong way.

In these past two months, at least, she would give a simple nod or shake her head to any male that talked to her. Of course, the Professors were the exception. Besides, she had some good outlook to the professors like Hagrid who had introduced to her late parent's world she formerly knows nothing of and Professor Flitwick who was quite funny and eccentric.

Well, her acceptance to those two was likely because she looked at them as Giant and Goblin instead of human male.

Yes; her opinion to human male was just that bad and if it wasn't for Dias it would stay like that for very long time. And . . . it could become a very dangerous for the future of wizarding world. Unwittingly, Dias has changed Holly's future from the dark path into, at least, the grey path.

In their first meeting, Dias had turned her world upside down by showing his kindness. It was enough to question her believe for years. And because of his whimsical kindness, the seed of curiosity had been planted in her mind. It could be said that Dias had unknowingly been monopolizing the part of Holly's mind, mostly a part of her mind that wanted to understand him.

Unfortunately, the more she tried to understand him, the harder it was for her. Dias was like a puzzle she couldn't finish and neither had she known the head or the tail of the puzzle.

Holly sighed gloomily as her thoughts spiraled around the boy known as Asmodias Lustburg.

It had been like this since that time. She would become dazed as her mind was occupied by the blond-haired, blue-eyes boy. She curled into a small ball in the sofa she was in. She absentmindedly noted the soft fabric of her sleeping gown — her new nightgown she had bought with the help of Dias' house-elf, which she didn't know where in the world he got them from, with her own money from her family's vault.

"Why are you so damn confusing? Why can't you be the evil men like my Uncle Vernon or my cousin Dudley or to be the general annoyance and the source of my headache like all boys in this madhouse!" groused Holly in a fit of explosive temper. Her voice was soft, just above whisper.

She sighed and returned her view to the crackling fireplace.

She was supposedly brooding — er, mourning, yes, mourning — because the Halloween was the day of her parents' death. However, it had strayed into thinking a boy she only knew for a short time.

"Fuck!" Holly hissed a profanity, uncaring her image as a lady. She never cared of her image to begin with and if she could choose she would be happy to be ignored in the shadow. However, after a long winded explanation from Dias and her friends (Su Li, Padma and Mandy Brocklehurst), she knew being one of the face in the background was impossible for her because her status as the Girl-Who-Lived.

"Annoying meddlesome boy!"

Although Holly cursed and insulted Dias behind his back, the corner of her lips curled up unnoticeably that even she didn't notice it herself.

She whispered a soft "Tempus!" under her breath and found the time was at three o'clock early in the morning.

She decided to return back into her dorm, which she shared with Su Li, because it was almost the time for the Perfects — Penelope and Anderson — to return back from their patrols.

Her emerald eyes lingered on the staircase to the male dormitories for a moment before she tore away her view reluctantly and stepped into the female dormitories. She was inwardly disturbed because she wished to get a last look of Dias' face before she fell asleep.

She didn't understand why she thought of that. She walked silently to the female dormitory, returning back to her dorm. She had three to four hours left for sleeping. As much as she wasn't in a mood to sleep, she was aware the importance of resting for her body.

Again, it was because of that annoying boy.

"Who in the bloody hell he thinks himself as? He's not my daddy for Merlin's sake! My dad had been dead for years!" Holly complained inwardly as she sauntered to her room. And yet, she couldn't pull down her curled up lips, "Bloody meddling boy!"

After today's classes thoroughly finished all students were sitting in their seat to enjoy the festive mood of the Halloween. I was sitting silently while helping myself to the assortment of banquet presented before me.

Sitting on my left was Su Li, on Su's left was Cho Chang, while on my right was Padma Patil, on Padma's left was Holly Potter and then Mandy Brocklehurst sitting on the left side of Holly. Everyone was in good mood. Well, not everyone since Holly was more subdued than the usual. However, the usually nosy first years, second years and less nosy third years above started to understand that Holly had a different opinion about Halloween from theirs.

Nevertheless, her presence in the Ravenclaw's table, while she was certainly forcing herself for the sake of other she cared of, was appreciated by other students.

Of course, as our resident Ice Queen, her silence didn't affect us that much. It would freak out everyone else if she suddenly became talkative and full of sunshine smile.

Most likely, the more thoughtful action of other claws could be counted as my contribution. I had put my foot down in the third days after the sorting ceremony. I realized my words in the sorting feast had been forgotten by the noisy children. I challenged first to third years to a formal duel inside our common room with our beloved Head of House as the referee and suffice to say my high 'Statistic Attributes' weren't only for a show.

The victi—er, I mean—volunteers who served themselves on silver plate were quite many since many held grudge over me because my stunt in the sorting feast.

I only used a single spell, the stunning spell — Stupefy — to deal with the dozens of annoying children. I mostly utilized my beyond normal human reflex, reaction speed and movement speed, which were the effect of my Agility arrived above 50 points. To cut a story short, even seventh years were wary of me after the dozens-in-one match finished.

Ultimately, bunch of the first years until the third years couldn't be considered as my enemy when I was gallivanting inside Forbidden Forest very early in the morning to hunt humongous spiders and other kind of dangerous magical creatures. Thankfully, the three-dozens-in-one match at that time had become a house secret and the news hadn't been spread yet. I hope there wouldn't be a blabbermouth.

I could listen to the conversation around me easily with my 'Snooping' skill. Mostly, the conversations were frankly boring. When I swept my eyes on the Gryffindor's table I couldn't see Hermione in there. I saw Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were talking about something while giving Ronald Weasley, who stuffed his face with the food like a starved person, stink looks.

It was clear to me that Hermione was in the female bathroom now, crying her heart out because of Ronald's tactless comments. At least, I was ready for the confrontation with the troll. I had prepared a simple yet useful plan to deal with that mindless brute.

Suddenly, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil turned their sight at me. I cocked my brows at them when our eyes met. Then, Lavender said something to Parvati while throwing a glance to my direction randomly. I decided to ignore the Gryffindor first years' odd action and I tore my attention away from the Gryffindor's table.

My eyes swept the Great Hall, taking a mental note of the decoration applied in this spacious place. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter.

The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.

I was just helping myself to a baked potato when Quirrellmort came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.

Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. However, my 'Observation' told me that the Defense Against the Dark Art Professor was faking it. I was tempted to 'accio' his turban to show his second face to the whole Great Hall but I restrained myself because I still needed Quirrellmort's presence in this castle for one of my plans.

Speaking of the students' reactions, after the explosive news, there was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Headmaster Dumbledore's wand — the Deathstick itself — to bring silence.

"Prefects," Albus Dumbledore rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Amidst the chaos, the corner of my lips curled upwards. I felt excitement perpetually poured into my chest and my 'Gamer's Mind' tried to smother it to no avail.

I was ready to confront the Troll. It was — "Show time!"

Footnote:
Chapter was fixed at August 18th, 2018