After gradually calming down, I thought about some things that I hadn't had time to consider before. For example, why did Professor McGonagall also have a talk with Mr. Longbottom at the same time? Could it be that Mum's disappearance was related to Mr. Longbottom? But it was really absurd to think like that. It was more likely that this matter was related to You-Know-Who—was Professor McGonagall talking to Mr. Longbottom about this matter? And what on earth was there in Albania? I only vaguely remembered that there were records saying You-Know-Who had been there. Were there any other pieces of information apart from that?

The records about the forests in Albania in the library were limited. Most of them just described the magical animals and plants growing there. For the first time, I set my eyes on the deep and secluded Restricted Section. But Mrs. Pince guarded it as firmly as goblins guarded the treasures in Gringotts. I was driven away by her after just wandering around there for a few minutes.

I had no choice but to look up from time to time to check the entrance to the boys' dormitory across the way. The Transfiguration book in my hand was open, but I hadn't read a single page. Miss Granger wasn't in the common room. It seemed that she was going to spend all her after-school time (but did she really have any after-school time left?) in the library looking up information about Buckbeak to help Hagrid deal with the Ministry of Magic's prosecution.

Tomorrow was the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. All the Gryffindors seemed very excited and the common room was buzzing with noise. However, the Quidditch players, who were the main characters of the match, were still being kept by Wood on the pitch for training.

Even the girls who usually only read Weekly Witch had suddenly transformed into Quidditch experts and were able to seriously discuss "the pros and cons of the excessive speed of the Firebolt for the overall teamwork of the team". Amid the noise, I was intently looking for Neville Longbottom. But I craned my neck until it was sore, yet I didn't see him coming out of the boys' dormitory or entering the common room from outside.

It was almost curfew time and I was getting a bit irritable. The topic among the girls beside me had shifted to Cho Chang, the Seeker of Ravenclaw for tomorrow's match. I listened half-heartedly to their whispers. Then suddenly there was a fierce discussion, and after one of them went "Shh—", they started talking in hushed voices again.

However, I had already heard three different versions of the stories about Cho Chang being pursued by various boys. I didn't understand the point of them lowering their voices.

"Is she that pretty?" I heard a rather dismissive comment from the corner. "I don't think so. She's probably just different from the traditional British beauties. Those boys are just looking for something new."

"Well, you're a traditional British beauty. Why don't I see boys chasing after you? Hahaha... Hey, don't hit me, don't hit me. You said it yourself—"

There was a burst of applause in the common room. Sure enough, the muddy Quidditch players climbed in through the hole in the common room, and Neville was actually with them, looking a bit shy.

It turned out that Longbottom had forgotten the password to the common room again and had been wandering outside for quite a while before being rescued by the Quidditch team when they came back. I couldn't help feeling annoyed at myself for stupidly waiting in the common room. Charging up to drag Mr. Longbottom out of the crowd and into a corner to question him was clearly the most efficient way, but then I would surely attract everyone's attention in the common room.

"Mr. Longbottom." After rounds of "Come on!", "We must win!", "Gryffindor!", the people in the common room finally started to leave in twos and threes. I finally got the chance to raise my voice and call out to him when he turned around to go back to the dormitory.

He turned around and saw me, with a puzzled expression on his face, just like the one he had when he saw me after coming out of Professor McGonagall's office.

"What did Professor McGonagall... say to you this afternoon? Could you tell me about it?" I tried to speak in the friendliest tone I could think of and hoped that at this moment he wouldn't think of my father when he saw me.

"Er... It was nothing." His ears turned red. "Professor McGonagall just emphasized to me that I'm not allowed to write down the password on paper... And then, sure enough, I forgot the password tonight."

"Was that the only thing?" I couldn't hide my disappointment. "Was there nothing else?"

"No." There was complete sincerity and confusion on Mr. Longbottom's face. "Or, Miss Snape, if there's anything else you want to know, I'll try my best to think about it again."

I forced a smile at him. "No need, thank you."

"Are you okay, Miss Snape?" He asked me with concern. "You looked really pale this afternoon. And, um, Professor Snape (he shrank a bit when mentioning my father) also suddenly left the school—"

"It's nothing," I shook my head at him. "I was just suddenly curious, that's all."

Miss Granger climbed into the common room just as the curfew bell rang. There was a dull thud when she put her bag on the armchair, making one wonder if she had half of the books in the library in her bag.

"I think we have a chance of winning!" She looked both tired and excited. "I found a case today. Although it's not exactly the same, I think we can use this case with certain techniques."

Although almost all the Gryffindors had expressed their indignation at Buckbeak's being prosecuted a few days ago, at this moment, everyone else's attention was on the Quidditch match the next day. Even Ron Weasley just simply echoed her a few words.

Miss Granger took a deep breath, picked up her heavy schoolbag and turned around to go back to the girls' dormitory. On the other side, Wood was trying to gather the Quidditch team again to say something. The Weasley twins yawned in protest and said something witty that made a lot of people laugh. But Wood's face was very dark. Obviously, that joke wasn't very kind to him.

"I'll reiterate once again, this is our—my last chance—"

"We'll win." Potter waved his hand at Wood. "We're bound to win."

"As long as Harry stays on his broom, Ravenclaw's Seeker is that Cho Chang." Black yawned.

"How many times have I told you, boys? Underestimating the enemy is a big taboo. Cho Chang is an excellent Seeker—"

"But Harry is the best Seeker in the whole of Hogwarts." The Weasley twins (I'm a bit confused about which one is which. They always talk in chorus)," Don't worry, Wood. Harry will make her go home crying."

"Iris, will you go to watch the Quidditch tomorrow?" After stuffing the Transfiguration textbook that I hadn't read a single page of back into my schoolbag, I heard Potter asking me.

I looked up at him. Since when did he start calling my name so naturally? But that wasn't the point, because I suddenly thought of that amazing cloak that he put on me that night, the one that could make my father unable to see me. If I wore that cloak, could I deceive Mrs. Pince's eyes and go to the Restricted Section to look up the information about Albania that I wanted?

"No," Potter flatly refused me after hearing my request. "It's too dangerous. And you don't have the Marauder's Map—"

"What's the Marauder's Map?" I looked into his dark brown eyes and asked seriously. I saw his eyes widen slightly and an annoyed expression appear on his face.

"I'll only borrow it for one night." I had never thought that one day I would beg Harry Potter. "I'll return it to you in its original state, I promise—I'll remember that I owe you a favor!"

"What do you want to look up in the Restricted Section? I can help you, but..." Potter furrowed his brows slightly, intending to refuse me.

I knew that even if I found out something little-known about Albania in the Restricted Section, it wouldn't help in finding my mother. And I also knew that even if my father didn't know about it, Professor Dumbledore must surely know everything that could be found in the Restricted Section. But I still wanted to do something. Although I promised Professor McGonagall that I would stay in Hogwarts and wait for news obediently, just looking up information in the Restricted Section wouldn't cause trouble for the adults, right?

You just want to make yourself feel better, a little voice in my heart said. Admit it. You just want to comfort yourself like this. You're also trying to make an effort for your mother, even though you know it's a futile effort.

"Don't, don't cry." Potter got flustered, but I swear I wasn't crying like that night. I just felt a bit of a tingle in my eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "How about this? I'll go with you, okay? You've never wandered around the school alone late at night. Um, I don't mean that I often wander around the school late at night..."

It's too obvious that you're trying to cover something up, Potter. And now there were only a senior couple in the corner of the common room being all lovey-dovey and surely didn't have the time to listen to what we were talking about.

"Tomorrow night, after the match—"

"No," I immediately vetoed this time. "There will be a celebration that lasts late into the night. Many people will find it strange if you, the star player, aren't there."

He smiled at me. "Do you also believe that we'll win?"

"They all said that as long as you stay on your broom, we won't lose." I honestly repeated what the girls had said. "Don't let the Dementors scare you and make you fall off your broom again. Professor Dumbledore won't be there this time."

"Probably not." He scratched his hair again a bit unnaturally. I might have touched a sore spot for him because his ears were even redder than Mr. Longbottom's just now, as if they had been scalded by boiling potion. "Professor Lupin taught me a spell to deal with Dementors. Although I'm still not very good at it."

Apart from us, the last couple left in the common room also went back to their respective dormitories after a long kiss. Potter took out his wand from his pocket. I watched curiously as he took a deep breath, seeming to be trying hard to recall something. After a while, he murmured, "Expecto Patronum!"

A faint silver light emerged from the tip of his wand. It was so weak that it seemed like a spider's thread that could be broken with just a touch. Apparently, he wasn't satisfied with this effect and muttered, "Another one."

This time, he didn't close his eyes but looked at me—precisely, at the cat's eye emerald hairpin in my hair. As he whispered the spell, a more dazzling silver light burst out from the tip of his wand. Different from the light of Lumos, the wisps of light floated in the air as if they were trying to form a pattern, but in the end, they gradually dissipated.

"Expecto Patronum." I imitated his action and shook my wand too. But not to mention wisps of light, I didn't even manage to make the tip of my wand light up.

"Think of happy things," he said to me. "Think of the happiest thing in the world for you."

I closed my eyes and imagined the scene of my mother, dusty from her journey, smiling and standing at the entrance of the Great Hall of Hogwarts with her arms open wide for me tomorrow. Then I whispered, "Expecto Patronum!"

A burst of silver light came out of my wand. It flickered for a while and then gradually went out.

"That's already quite good," Potter praised me. "I've practiced many times, and you've only practiced once."

"Can the silver light drive away the Dementors?" I finally found something to do again. I lowered my head and recited "Expecto Patronum" several times, but I couldn't make my wand emit that relatively dazzling light like the first time again. And my head began to ache faintly because I was trying too hard to recall and think.

"No, the real Patronus has a corporeal form and it has a certain—appearance." Potter answered patiently. "But that's very difficult. Professor Lupin said it's a very advanced spell."

"Then you might still fall off your broom tomorrow." I didn't expect that I would be so worried about Potter.

"Maybe." He spread his hands, looked at his palms, then raised his head to look at me and said with a smile, "But before that, I'll catch the Golden Snitch first—so will you come to watch, Alice?"

I looked into his eyes, and suddenly Draco's sarcastic remarks from before rang in my head: "Now Potter is almost announcing to the whole world that he likes you."

"I'll go to watch, but—but it's because you promised to lend me that cloak," I lowered my head and muttered. "Not for any other reason."

I turned around and rushed into the girls' dormitory in a hurry, as if I knew who had given me the cat's eye emerald hairpin that I wore in my hair as a Christmas gift.