21

As we entered the new school year, it became clear to all that this year's courses were harder than the previous one. The thickness of textbooks is increasing, the requirements of professors on students are becoming more strict, and the length of homework has also been greatly adjusted - the length of homework papers in almost every course has been greatly increased, which makes every student feel sad.

But in the same way, every student who has ever been to school knows that no amount of work can stop them from having "fun" in school. As Eli soon discovered, when he entered second grade, the school quickly became popular with a little prank spell called "Hanging the Golden Bell upside down," which had the effect of dangling a classmate next to you headfirst into the air.

The spell itself was not difficult, but the trick was so obvious that it was quickly picked up by everyone from the lower grades to the upper grades. In classrooms, on the grass, and in hallways, it was common to see students hanging in mid-air, which everyone thought was quite amusing, given that it had no side effects other than hanging people upside down.

Eli hadn't tried to learn the spell, but thanks to his friend Jaime, who dared to make fun of everyone. Thanks to Potter, he mastered the spell's counterspell in the first place. Eli's good temper doesn't mean he'll tolerate his friends intolerably, and after being attacked by Jaime for the third time, he puts himself down and shoots a water bomb at Jaime's face to clear his hot head.

"Isn't it interesting?" 'said James, smirking as he wiped the water from his hair carelessly.' This spell really works! Why haven't I heard of this before? It could have just been invented by one of the students at school. Who was it? I really want to make friends with him."

If you really knew who invented this spell, you'd regret saying it. Eli, in his own mind, found out by chance who had created the spell -- the inventor had laid out his Potions textbook in the library two weeks earlier.

"I've never seen that spell before." Eli asked curiously. "What's the effect, Severus?"

"It can be used when you need to make a little joke. It can hang people upside down." 'said Snape simply.

This effect did not sound dangerous, and Eli casually consulted the complete list of Curses on his bookshelf. He looked up unexpectedly from several books. "I can't find anything like it... You invented it yourself?"

Snape gave the corner of his lip a tick and did not deny it.

"It's just a little spell." "He said, then glancing at Eli, the smile at the corners of his lips fading again and again, and adding flatly," Not nearly as sensational as your magic telephone."

"That's not mine." Eli frowned as he explained, "I'm just offering an idea for a transformation -- the main practitioner is Arthur. Weasley, he's put a lot of heart and soul into this, the glory belongs to him."

"Sure, a lot of glory." "Said Snape, deadpan, with a stiffening of the corners of his lip." It's not just me, it's everyone who can see the enormous benefits behind the utilitarian refit and have their Muggle prejudices shaken. After all, no one would be foolish enough to go against a whole lot of gold Galleons, would they? Thanks to you, no one will ever forget your initial advocacy, even when you were only a second year at Hogwarts. But it's clear that you've got the wherewithal to ignore fame and fortune. People believe you're going to do something bigger, and that geniuses are supposed to be famous early like you."

Objectively, he's right -- in the six months since its launch, the magic phone has quickly become a trend in the wizarding world, with both penetration and usage increasing. It is convenient and easy to use, but also cheap, the monthly phone cost of the general family can accept, a great place to facilitate everyone's daily communication. In the middle class of the wizarding world, the magic telephone became popular and its convenience was deeply felt.

This is generally frowned upon by pure-blood wizarding families, who already have their own expensive and scarce means of communication, and the absence of a magic telephone would be fine. It's just that they're not stupid, and many people no doubt see the monetary benefit behind the magic phone -- and that's from Arthur. The life of the Weasleys is evident.

When the young couple eloped, they were penniless and destitute, and in the short months between Molly's pregnancy and the birth of her second child, the family had extended their house, renovated it, and Arthur had been promoted to head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefact Department. The office, which started with two people, has grown to nearly ten, and now deals with dozens of cases a day of wizards illegally modifying Muggle objects, many of whom dream of making a fortune.

As the original cheerleader for the magic phone, Eli certainly made his way into the limelight. But because Linda Smith is herself a well-known and bestselling author, straddling the wizarding and Muggle worlds, it is difficult to define the family's growing wealth, so the transformation of Arthur's life is not as straightforward as it is. And Eli hadn't been submitting to the papers lately, so he was generally able to get through school life in peace. It was just that there were noticeably more eyes from Slytherin House, but none of them had approached Eli, so he had been pretending not to notice.

But the weirdness of Snape's words was so obvious that Eli frowned and said, "What are you trying to say, Severus?"

Snape's dark eyes looked at him with mixed emotions, fixed on him for a moment, but in the end, he said nothing.

"... No, it's nothing." 'he whispered.' I - I've got my History of Magic homework to do, have you finished it? I want to see what you're thinking."

Eli pressed his lower lip, said nothing, and handed him the History of Magic paper he had written.

If anyone else, such as Mary or Peter, had come to borrow it, it would have been a tacit attempt to "borrow" an idea, but he knew Severus was different, and he must have asked his work to be read, to avoid this idea, and not to be like him. He has always been stubborn in some small details of some unnecessary pride and self-esteem.

Lily sat beside them all the time, looking from one to the other. She frowned slightly, but after a brief pause, she said nothing but an apologetic look at Eli, who caught her eye and shrugged.

When they returned to the common room after lunch after a morning of homework in the library, Lily looked very upset.

"I'm sorry, Eli." 'she sighed.' I think Seve might be... A little jealous, you know, he came from a difficult family and was always eager to get ahead as soon as possible. But I can assure you he meant no harm. Really, I know him."

| "don't you apologize, lily." "I think I know him a little, too, or I should think I've lost a friend instead of pretending I've forgotten what he said."

Lily gave a deep, deep sigh.

"I think Seve was led astray by his friends." 'she said, frowning and flattening her mouth disapprovingly.' They've been feeding him stuff all day -- pure blood, glory, fame... What are they trying to do? Seve is only in second grade! What exactly was that Lucius Malfoy -- that Slytherin who had just graduated last year -- instilling in Seve? He was now playing more and more with the so-called pure blood with its eyes on the top of its head! We don't get much time with him these days except to do our homework together!"

"Have you talked to him?" Eli asked her.

"Of course." 'said Lily, frowning.' But it doesn't seem to help, I feel like he's always giving me the runaround... '

"Then you might as well respect his choice." Eli said quietly. "Friends don't all think alike. Maybe he has friends who think more like him now? And that might not be such a bad thing. If a man does make a decision, he cannot be persuaded, even if you are his friend -- perhaps his best."

Lily said nothing, and they walked on for a while without speaking. Lily bit her lower lip and sighed very softly.

"Seve and I are getting more and more different, Eli." 'she said sadly.' You know, I used to think we were the only two alike in the world -- the only two teenage wizards in Cokeworth. '

Eli was silent for a moment at this remark, and then gave a small sigh.

"Not every first friend is forever." "Maybe we all have to grow up accepting that," he said.

"What if you want to keep it?" Lily asked him.

"Then it's probably all you have to do." Eli says, "I'm not sure -- but they say there's a line between two people, and as long as you don't let go, maybe one day you'll be able to pull a friend back."

There was another moment of silence between the two of them, both a little lost, until they were near the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Lily took a deep, waking breath and rubbed her face with her hand to cheer herself up.

"Don't say that, Eli! 'she said briskly.' Christmas break is tomorrow, and the term has flown by, hasn't it? '

"Yeah." Eli agrees. "Once the workload is intense and you go to class and read and do your homework every day, the time flies."

"..." Lily raised her hand to cover her face in pain. "Don't remind me of my homework! I got an E! On my last Charms assignment. But on top of that, you seem to do one more thing a day than anyone else, right? Mr. Smith who always sits by the telephone before going to bed?"

She gave a wisecracking smile with a hint of irony, and though Eli was always late on the phone, if it had been going on for months, it would have been all there was to know.

Er. Eli cleared his throat and said naturally, "Did you remind me that your sister will meet you at the platform tomorrow? I haven't asked."

"Why don't you ask yourself?" 'said Lily, smiling.' I didn't ask -- it's obviously a bit late for an owl. '

All right. Eli shrugged, feeling that she had a point, that his own questions would have been more accurate, and that the day before he had promised to call today would be fine anyway -- Petunia had closed school a day before Hogwarts and was already at home.

Think of it and do it right away. When Eli entered the common room, he noticed that no one was near the phone, so he went straight to pick it up, while Lily watched with interest, waiting to hear their corner.

Eli didn't mind, after all, there wasn't much they couldn't talk about. But before calling Petunia, he made one call home -- he wanted to check on his parents. For the last two months, Mrs. Smith had been making sure he was safe at school, but she wouldn't tell him anything more. He guessed that someone from the Lestrange family had contacted her, and though everything had been so peaceful at school, he was still a little uneasy.

The first time the call didn't go through, he didn't think much of it. After a few minutes, he called again. But the second time didn't get through, so he called a third time, a fourth time... At the sixth time, his face changed slightly.

Lily, who had wanted to be a part of the crowd, grew nervous. She asked carefully, "Is it possible that your mom and dad went shopping together, Eli? After all, it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, and they'll probably go to the supermarket and prepare you a delicious meal... It happens in my family."

Eli stared blankly, thought for a moment, and nodded. "It's possible. My dad just got home from work around this time.

He was still confused by the busy tone -- he noticed on the second call that the busy tone was not a long one in which no one had reached him, but a short one in which the line was busy and there was no sign that he was on the line.

Did Mom or dad answer a phone in such a hurry that the phone didn't button properly? Eli thought uncertainly. It was a little far-fetched, but when the phone didn't work, there was nothing else to be done, so Eli calmed down his agitation and called Petunia -- a call that came through almost immediately, to his relief.

"Lily? Or Eli?" "Asked Petunia briskly." I suppose it's Eli --"

'Why? Eli asked cheerfully, smiling at the corners of his lips.

"Lily is more eager." "She's always the first to talk when the phone goes through."

Do I? Lilly looked puzzled. Eli smiled at the memory.

"It seems so." "He said, praising him sincerely from the bottom of his heart." You're very observant, Penny."

"All right, all right." Petunia coughed, obviously a little embarrassed. But she asked at once, 'Will you both be back tomorrow, both of you? Hogwarts Express?"

"Of course." Eli said. "Students come back on this bus for no accidents, and we..."

"Eli Smith!

Eli, whose name had suddenly been called, paused and turned his head with the microphone. Professor McGonagall lifted the portrait and strode in to see Eli sitting in the common room, his face mixed and his voice suddenly muted.

"Come with me." "She said simply, moving toward him and patting him consolingly on the back." Right now, don't pack."

Eli's heart gave a sudden heave, and the foreboding that had been lurking in his heart almost quickly coalesced.

"What happened, Professor?" He pressed the corner of his lip tightly and questioned Professor McGonagall at once.

Meg looked at him carefully, as if gauging his psychological strength. Perhaps Eli's usual coolness won her over, and at last she sighed and said, "Something's happened to your father -- he's been taken to St Mungo's now."