Chapter 168: Dark Magic (Part 1)

The brief Christmas holiday passed in the blink of an eye, leaving Orli without the chance to finish reading the Half-Blood Prince's textbook Snape had given her. Naturally, she also refrained from using the two-way mirror to contact him during the break, fearing it might reveal her not-so-innocent intentions.

Before long, classes resumed. Spending two hours outside on the freezing January mornings was everyone's least favorite activity. However, Hagrid's lessons had improved significantly—he had built a massive bonfire, filled with flame-loving creatures for the students' amusement. Collecting dry branches and leaves to keep the fire going became part of the fun, as they watched the fire lizards darting across the crackling wood.

The first Divination lesson of the term, however, was far less enjoyable. Professor Trelawney had moved on to teaching palmistry, and she took the opportunity to inform Harry that his lifeline was the shortest she had ever seen.

The flock of owls delivering mail to the Great Hall each morning had a new addition—Sirius had sent Ron a new owl to compensate for the loss of his pet rat. To show off to Percy, the twins, and Ginny, Ron subscribed to the Daily Prophet, making the owl perch on his arm each morning—though not before repeatedly confirming with Sirius that this owl wouldn't suddenly transform into a man.

For Harry, his schedule became particularly demanding. This year marked Wood's final year at Hogwarts, and as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, he was determined to finish with a championship. Consequently, Harry's Quidditch practices were increased to a grueling five times a week, leaving him only two evenings for homework.

Hermione, however, was the busiest of them all. The strain of taking too many courses was becoming increasingly evident. Each evening, Hermione could be found in a corner of the common room, her tables piled high with textbooks: arithmetic charts, magical dictionaries, diagrams of Muggle recording devices, and an array of notes. She rarely spoke to anyone, and if interrupted, her responses were sharp and curt.

Orli, on the other hand, was grateful for her lighter course load. Recently, her main focus was on an essay Snape had assigned about undetectable poisons, which she was trying to make as detailed as possible.

A new notice appeared on the Gryffindor common room bulletin board: the next Hogsmeade visit was scheduled for a Saturday in early February. Harry eagerly wrote to Sirius and secured a signed permission slip. When he returned from submitting the form to Professor McGonagall, he was practically bouncing with excitement.

# Harry: "Finally, I can go to Hogsmeade openly! Sirius has rented a long-term room above the Hog's Head and is looking for a house to move to Hogsmeade permanently. I've already arranged with him—we can all visit him. He said there's plenty of fun in Hogsmeade we haven't discovered yet!"

Harry said, beaming with excitement.

# Hermione: "But what about Orli?! She'll be left all alone."

Hermione's tone carried a hint of disapproval at Harry's enthusiasm.

# Ron: "Orli can go... there."

Ron glanced around the common room and lowered his voice.

# Ron: "We'll wait for her at Honeydukes."

# Harry: "Right, Orli, I'll leave you the Invisibility Cloak."

Harry added quickly.

## Orli: "I'll skip this one."

Orli shook her head. She wasn't particularly interested in shopping for sweets. In fact, she had other plans for that Saturday:

## Orli: "But Harry, remember to lend me the Invisibility Cloak for a day. I'll need it."

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