**Chapter 76: The Colorless Imperius Curse Works Wonders. Why Not Use Ron’s Scabbers to Practice the Imperius Curse Mission?**

"Professor, I was sitting right there at the time, and I'm certain no one cast any spells on those two. They really did fall on their own."

"If you don't believe me, I can even let you use *Prior Incantato* to reveal the last spells my wand performed."

Dylan held his wand but made no move to hand it over.

Professor Snape glanced toward the hospital wing, where Crabbe and Goyle had been taken, and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he frowned slightly at Dylan—or perhaps not at Dylan specifically.

Just as he was about to speak, Dylan spoke up again.

"Professor, there's one more thing."

"When Crabbe and Goyle came over, I saw Malfoy whisper something to them, and that's why they approached."

Professor Snape's expression grew even colder.

As a master of Legilimency, he could clearly sense that Dylan was telling the absolute truth. Moreover, he detected no obvious malice or guilt from any of the Gryffindor students in the stands.

Pursing his lips, he couldn't help but feel disappointed in Draco.

As the head of Slytherin House—and Draco's godfather—he was nearly blinded by the sheer stupidity of the boy's actions. Such an obvious provocation, executed in such a clumsy, pig-headed manner!

Holding back his frustration, Professor Snape turned and walked away, his black robes billowing behind him. Dylan watched his retreating figure and blinked.

"Maybe I should gift Professor Snape a new robe," he mused.

He then glanced up at the Slytherin stands, where Malfoy sat frozen in shock, and shook his head.

This guy… Dylan found it hard to judge him.

Considering everything, Malfoy wasn't purely good, nor was he thoroughly evil. He was like a twilight that never fully darkened or a dawn that never quite rose.

"Hey, Dylan, why did you use a spell to save those two?" Ron asked as he walked over.

Dylan snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Ron before replying calmly, "They're still our classmates. I couldn't just sit back and watch them fall and get seriously hurt."

Ron snorted. "They were just jealous that Harry broke the record for catching the Golden Snitch!"

"But Professor Snape wouldn't think you were the one who knocked them off, would he?" Hermione chimed in.

Ron tilted his head confidently. "If Dylan says he didn't do it, then he didn't!"

Neville nodded in agreement. "Exactly!"

Hermione opened her mouth but then glanced at Dylan out of the corner of her eye.

Was that really the case?

If there was anyone among them who could make Crabbe and Goyle fall over without a trace…

—There was no doubt about it. The only possible candidate was Dylan!

But since Dylan had even offered to let Professor Snape use *Prior Incantato*, it seemed this time it really was just Crabbe and Goyle's bad luck.

"Never mind them. Harry just won the match for Gryffindor! We should celebrate!" Ron said excitedly.

Dylan smiled. "You're right."

"That idiot Malfoy must be fuming right now!" Ron chuckled.

Dylan blinked.

Actually, Malfoy and Harry were sort of related.

Since Sirius was Harry's godfather, and Bellatrix was Sirius's cousin, with Narcissa being her sister, that made Narcissa Harry's aunt by marriage.

And since Malfoy was Narcissa's son, by birth order, Malfoy could technically be considered Harry's cousin…

A cousin who constantly tried to bully his own relative while looking down on Harry's friends.

But if you really thought of Malfoy as Harry's cousin, he might genuinely believe that Harry's friends were beneath the pure-blood families.

Dylan shook his head, dismissing the thought.

"Now that I've made the wand effects colorless, the Imperius Curse is so much more subtle. Maybe it's time to start the advanced training mission for it."

As he walked behind Ron, Dylan pondered.

"Once I start the advanced training for the Imperius Curse, as long as it's not too extreme, I can use Ron's rat to practice."

With that thought, Dylan nodded to himself.

"Also, the Cruciatus Curse. As long as I'm careful and don't go overboard, it won't kill anyone. Using Ron's Scabbers would be perfect."

That way, he wouldn't have to keep going into the Forbidden Forest just to complete his advanced spell training missions.

"I could alternate between the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse," he thought.

As he was thinking this, Dylan and the others reached Harry. While Ron and a group of Gryffindor students rushed forward to lift Harry into the air, Dylan stayed back and watched.

Seeing the young, energetic faces of the wizards around him, Dylan felt a moment of disorientation.

Just then, a voice spoke beside him.

"Dylan, I'm glad you came to watch such an exciting match."

Startled, Dylan turned to see Dumbledore standing next to him, towering over him by half a head.

Dylan's heart skipped a beat, but he kept his breathing steady and smiled innocently. "Yes, Harry was amazing. He's been working really hard for this match."

Dumbledore smiled. "Aren't you going to join in?"

Dylan shook his head. "I'd rather not get in the way. If I accidentally drop Harry and he breaks his arm like Crabbe and Goyle, that wouldn't be good."

Hearing this, Dumbledore paused and looked down at the diligent young wizard.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I saw what happened earlier. I'm glad you chose to help them despite their hurtful words."

"For that, Slytherin will lose ten points."

Dumbledore's lips curved into a smile, his white beard swaying slightly.

"Your kindness and decisiveness will earn Gryffindor ten points!"

Dylan smiled innocently.

"It's nothing, Pro—er, thank you for the praise."

**Almost Misspoke and Accidentally Called Dumbledore "Old Man Deng"**

"Hehehe, it's been a long time since someone called me 'teacher.' That's quite nice. It's good that you think this way. You're truly a kind child."

Dumbledore patted Dylan on the shoulder and then ruffled his fluffy hair.

"Don't you think it's time for a haircut?"

Dylan touched his now somewhat long hair and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm planning to get it cut over the summer break."

"I thought you might want to go for the same hairstyle as Severus. His hair has been much neater lately, making him look younger. Was that the shampoo you gave him?"

"...No, it's just a hair-taming potion."

"Ohoho! I forgot how talented you are at potions."

"Dylan, are you sure you don't want to join us in protecting the Philosopher's Stone?"

After the Quidditch match, Harry had broken the record, which made Wood so happy that he generously gave Harry a few days off. During regular training, he also significantly relaxed the demands on Harry.

This gave Harry plenty of time to discuss the Philosopher's Stone with Hermione and the others.

Dylan shook his head.

"No, my study schedule is already packed. Today, I even have to work on divination with Professor Trelawney, so I'm sorry, but I can't really spare the time for that."

He paused, then looked at Harry, who was full of enthusiasm, and added, "Besides, I don't think we need to protect the Philosopher's Stone with Fluffy around. Do we really look more threatening than a three-headed dog?"

"Quirrell won't give up on getting the Stone. We have to be prepared," Harry said, shaking his head. "And sure, we might not be as strong as a three-headed dog, but even Fluffy has weaknesses!"

Ron nodded eagerly. "Yeah, like the music box!"

Hermione sighed. "Who would've thought a simple music box could take down such a terrifying creature?"

Ron leaned in. "I think my singing could do the same. Does that mean I could actually beat a three-headed dog?"

Hermione gave him a look of disgust and rolled her eyes. "Please, you'd just make it even more furious."

Ron: "Hmph!"

Hermione turned her gaze to Dylan.

"Anyway, the end-of-year exams aren't far off. I need to start reviewing soon. Do you want to study together?"

Dylan calmly looked at Hermione and shook his head again. "No, I already have my own schedule. If you followed my study plan, you'd probably collapse from exhaustion."

"—Besides, I still have to discuss things with the professors from time to time."

At this, Hermione took a deep breath. "Alright!"

Since Hogwarts only has one summer break and no winter break, there are no midterms, only the end-of-year exams. This means that while things might seem relaxed halfway through the year, the closer it gets to the end, the more intense the pressure becomes.

—For example, the increasing workload from the professors.

More and more assignments, piling up.

Harry and Ron were so focused on preventing Quirrell from stealing the Philosopher's Stone that they didn't join Hermione in reviewing. However, they still had to deal with the assignments from the professors.

—These had to be turned in, so they couldn't avoid them.

As a result, even though Dylan hadn't agreed to study with Hermione, they still ran into each other frequently in the library.

And after the professors assigned their homework, Harry and Ron started showing up more often too.

"Oh, my goodness! It's the weekend, and here I am, drawing these incomprehensible scribbles!"

Ron sat across from Dylan, the light casting a shadow on his deeply furrowed brow and wide, frustrated eyes.

Dylan paid no attention to him, focusing instead on his book. Hermione sat beside Dylan, occasionally glancing at his work. But after realizing he was far ahead of her, she stopped looking and focused on her own assignments.

Even Harry, sitting next to Ron, didn't have time to console him.

—He still had half a parchment left to fill with answers.

And beside him, there were three more assignments waiting to be completed.

The worst part was, half of these assignments were due tomorrow!

Even worse, tomorrow would bring even more assignments.

This meant that while Harry wasn't being worked to the bone by Wood—who was also struggling with his own homework—he still had to spend nearly all his free time after Quidditch practice on assignments.

The only thing Harry and Ron could be grateful for was...

"Hey, Dylan, have you finished all your homework already?"

Harry looked up and noticed that the parchment in Dylan's hands had been replaced by a divination book. His eyes lit up as he asked.

Ron also snapped his head up, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at Dylan.

Dylan held the book with one hand and looked up at the two of them.

"Are you working on the assignments for Charms and Transfiguration?"

Ron and Harry nodded eagerly.

Hermione, sitting nearby, smirked and answered for Dylan. "Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall have exempted Dylan from homework."

"—Do you really think someone who spends every day in the professors' offices needs to review the textbook material?"

Even she only spent her time in the library, while Dylan was getting private lessons from the professors.

Harry and Ron's eyes filled with envy.

"Wow, why don't the professors exempt me from homework too?" Ron groaned.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should think about your performance in class—not once have you been able to give a completely correct answer when a professor called on you."

Ron turned away. "Who would've thought Snape would end up being the kindest, not giving us too much homework!"

Harry pursed his lips. "His constant criticism in class is already enough to make it hard to breathe."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Even you, Ron, have been scolded so much in Potions class that you can now brew a potion smoothly."

Ron: "Hey! What do you mean 'even me'? I have a talent for potions too, you know!"

Hermione smirked and lowered her head, continuing to write her assignments.

"So what do we do? The Charms and Transfiguration assignments are the worst," Harry said, scratching his head in frustration.

Suddenly, Hermione pushed her completed assignment forward. "Here, take mine—I told you to start your homework earlier."

"Next time, for sure!" Harry quickly grabbed Hermione's Charms homework.

Dylan thought for a moment, then placed his completed assignments for other subjects on the table. "These are for History of Magic and stuff. You can take a look."

Ron immediately snatched them up. "I'll take whatever I can get. I haven't written a single thing!"

(End of chapter)