35 •Opening of the Chamber of Secrets

A few days passed and October arrived. And just as Madame Pomfrey had said, the weather changed to a much colder and rainier one.

Extimum spent these quiet days studying the three books and today he was ready to go to the infirmary again, although he hadn't been able to actually practice some of the healing spells, but he was confident that with his current mastery of magic and the low difficulty of the spells, it would not be a problem to perform them perfectly. Among other things, Mitchell made the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Extimum gave him the broom that he promised and for that reason he had no one with whom to practice his healing spells... On the other hand, there were really many affected by the weather and had the flu or similar affections, in addition, the Quidditch teams did not stop their training only because of a heavy rain, so they were the ones who perhaps visited the infirmary for flu or accidents derived from the difficult weather.

Extimum had also taken the opportunity to go flying on his sword. Flying high in the sky while dodging the occasional lightning bolt and crashing into a layer of rain made it quite fun, perhaps one of the few less-than-responsible activities that Extimum did. Speaking of the weather, Extimum hadn't gotten sick, in fact, he doesn't remember ever getting sick in his life, not even from a simple flu, he didn't know if he had been lucky or his immune system was that strong.

Entering the infirmary, he could see rows of students and even saw two teachers who came to receive the Pepperup elixir, a potion that could take away the flu immediately, his arrival was noticed by the always attentive Madame Pomfrey.

Pomfrey: "Ah, Mr. Shadowless, I'm glad you came, you're coming at a good time. Come and help me distribute the doses of the Pepperup potion, you just have to give each one a spoonful and if they come for something else, send them to that area ".

Pomfrey walked by him and placed a jar and a spoon in his hands and then continued walking quickly towards the area where she was treating other cases, she seemed very busy. Her actions caused the ranks of students to focus their gaze on him, not only in the face of the fact that he was helping Madame Pomfrey, but also that he was now responsible for caring for them.

Extimum: "good morning everyone, continue in your ranks, I will be calling you shortly." Extimum didn't think too much about it, it was an interesting experience to act as a nurse.

He walked to the front of all the rows and pulled up a table, then put the flask there and pulled out his wand, pointed at the spoon and cast a spell.

Extimum: ' Geminio'. The spell created at least 5 other spoons from the original. It was a duplication spell that I had read before, I had not used it much because the objects duplicated with this spell were only temporary or of lower quality, but the spell could be useful at a time like this, as long as the magician knew how to control the spell effects that leaned primarily into the curse category.

Then he held the spoons with 5 of his tails and poured the contents of the jar into each of the spoons.

Extimum:" Okay, now, 3 people from this row and 3 from this other can come please".

There were only two rows in the infirmary, so he call 3 from each row. The people around him admired his use of magic to speed up the process and they followed the said instruction.

Sinistra:" A very creative use of the spell for this situation, 5 points for Ravenclaw". The astronomy teacher was one of the few flu-sick teachers at the front of the line, so she reward Extimum for his creativity.

...

Extimum attended for about 2 hours to all the students or an occasional teacher who came, although it might seem like a boring activity, in fact he offered a good practice of magic continues by having to cast the spell "Scourgify " on the spoons once used, He said it audibly so that the students would not be displeased, Pomfrey had also congratulated him on his effectiveness in treating all the students, among them he had seen Astoria, he did not know if it was bad luck or her curse made her more susceptible to getting sick, on the other hand, he didn't talk to her, since they still didn't know each other or formally introduced themselves.

The effects of the Pepperup potion were immediate, the flu disappeared after drinking it, but it caused those who drank it to acquire a slight blush and to expel smoke from their ears for the following hours, it was a very interesting scene to watch.

Pomfrey:" Well, today you have helped me a lot, end there and come to the other area, I will teach you while treating some of the patients". Pomfrey had come to see his work at some point and seeing that there were few people left, allowed him to come to attend students with other illnesses or injuries.

Extimum: "Good."

There were only 2 students left, however, as he was about to finish, a very dignified-looking Percy Weasley came dragging Ginny over.

Percy: "oh, Extimum, have you seen Madame Pomfrey? I'm here to treat Ginny, she looks very pale, I think she also has the flu."

Extimum: "it is not necessary, I am taking care of those who have the flu."

Extimum gave Ginny a few glances, he really did have an unnatural pale to his face, but that was for Harry to sort it out, although he could still give her a little help to make her feel better.

Percy: "oh, are you authorized to do it?"

Pomfrey: "That's right, Percy, I allowed him to help me, it's just giving out the flu potion after all." Pomfrey's voice came from the area behind Extimum.

Extimum: "well, you heard, here".

Extimum handed him one of the spoons with the potion, it did not seem different from the usual one, but Extimum had dropped a drop of his blood while they were not paying attention. he had already discovered that his blood had certain healing characteristics and strong vitality, Bloom was proof of this and since it had no side effects, not at least one that he knew, he gave it to her to help her regain some of the constant vitality Voldemort was stealing from her. He naturally wasn't afraid he was helping Voldemort, there was a limit to what he could steal, so the fact that Ginny had more vitality wouldn't make him stronger if he can only extract the same amount in the same time.

Percy: "Okay, here, Ginny." Percy made no more trouble after hearing Madam Pomfrey say she had authorized it, so he received the spoon and handed it to Ginny who had stood silently behind him.

The effect was immediate, just like everyone else, her face flushed and smoke came from her ears, but there was also a hint more life in her previous downcast gaze.

After that event, nothing of greater relevance happened, Pomfrey taught him while she treated other students and solved some of his doubts in the process, she seemed quite happy to teach a student all the recommendations and care that they should have with magic, in addition to how to cure them if they went wrong.

Extimum even wondered why there wasn't a class like this. He believed that at least seniors should know some tricks to treat basic wounds or take care of their health, because except for those who were inclined to be mediwizard, potions masters and perhaps herbalists, there was no subject that taught something that could really save or improve the life of a magician, of course, the Hogwarts library had such information if you were willing to look for it, but most young witches and wizards would not deign to investigate it if they were not asked, they had many other things that interested them to investigate themselves.

Extimum: 'maybe I should suggest it to the Hogwarts School Board or to Dumbledore.' Although the study material was regulated by the ministry, but the headmaster and the Hogwarts school board also had some power to change things.

The Hogwarts school council was ruled by 12 wizards who fulfilled a supervisory role over the school, in addition to taking action if the students' parents complained about something and Extimum knew one of its members, Lucius Malfoy.

.

Extimum had put aside for now creating magical artifacts for his business and devoted himself to studying healing magic for the rest of the month, he had made some progress in creating shoelaces that would increase the lightness of the person who uses them, making them more agile .

On the other hand, he sent Bloom back to London by floo to buy the 'Mandrake Restorative Filter'. Mandrakes were not really rare in the magical community, however, they could not be found anywhere either, there were generally greenhouses and specialized stores that harvested them due to the risks involved in taking care of them and even so, there were some rare accidents in which some unfortunate person was not careful and died because of them, therefore, it was an important issue that occurred in magical schools .

He had sent Bloom with the help of Professor Flitwick who accepted since only Bloom would go. She was on a mission to call Bob to help her get a batch of the potion so when the petrifications occurred he could heal the victims quickly, and unless he was 24/7 with Hermione, it would be difficult that he could really prevent her from being attacked by the basilisk, in addition, it could also help the others on the way.

Of course, there were still simpler options such as: defeat the basilisk, destroy the book, find out if there were any artifacts that could prevent the basilisk's ability and some others, but, Extimum was not here to do Harry's work, nor would he It would be convenient for him to do it, otherwise, he would alter the course and end up having to solve all the problems himself, while just helping a little when necessary and getting on with his things was much better, besides, he had already given him a good boost to Harry.

Extimum didn't know if Bloom and Bob could find the potion quickly, it wasn't something you needed very often, but at the very least, they could get the extract from ripe mandrakes and not have to wait that long for the Hogwarts ones to mature and make the potion. With that in mind, he had asked Professor Flitwick to reopen his office's floo network on December 1, until then, Bloom would not return.

Daphne had also given him a vial of Astoria's blood, but Extimum hadn't checked it yet, keeping it under a stasis charm for later.

.

Today was October 31st, Extimum had finished his afternoon classes and was heading towards the great hall to attend the Halloween banquet.

The large dining room was decorated with floating pumpkins and live bats that occasionally flew by. The usual artificial starry sky had been changed for a more terrifying one, with a dark and gloomy night. Extimum took a seat at the Ravenclaw table.

The table was already filled with sweets of all kinds, lollipops and cakes, chocolates and an occasional joke candy.

Steve: "Look at all these sweets, that's why I love Hogwarts, they never disappoint me."

Mitchell: "I must agree with you this time, look at how many lemon cream cakes."

Trudor: "you only know how to eat * yum *, you should also admire the decoration * yum *". Trudor scolded them as he stuffed himself with chocolate cake and pointed to the decoration of the place.

Steve: "Hmp, at least have the decency to swallow, besides, I'm also enjoying the atmosphere, I even heard that they had prepared some acts for later."

Padma: "yes, Professor Flitwick had also said that he would prepare a surprise for Halloween."

Extimum: "oh, speaking of it, I also prepared a surprise for you."

Hearing Extimum's words, Mitchell, Trudor, and Steve stopped in their eating activity.

Mitchell: "* gulp *, no ... you didn't add anything to our food did you?"

Extimum: "What are you talking about? I would never put anything in your food."

* sigh * x3

Extimum: "because I put it in yours drinks."

** Nooo ** x3

Extimum: "oh yeah, here's your enhanced skin potion, Padma." Extimum ignored her drama and handed a small bottle to Padma.

Trudor: "Say it! What did you put on it?" Trudor snapped out of his drama first and asked anxiously.

Extimum: "ah, don't bother, you'll know later, I felt bored today, so I gave everyone I knew something to enjoy the banquet more."

Padma: "wait, me too?"

Extimum only gave a half smile and didn't reply, he had asked Tutu to add some potions that he made to his friends' drinks. He had done them in his spare time for fun, in terms of effects ... they were varied and would only last an hour.

Steve: "ah, whatever, on the other hand, where are Harry and the others?"

Extimum: "oh, they said something about going to a birthday party of the death of the ghost Sir Nicolas, they had also invited me, but I preferred to attend the banquet, I have read that ghosts prefer rotten food, so I better reject it".

Mitchell: "I didn't know that ghosts celebrated their deaths".

Padma: "oh yes they do, for them it is like their normal birthday now that they are actually dead and living as ghosts, in fact I saw a lot of ghosts coming to visit the castle and heading to another area for the birthday you mention" .

Dumbledore: "your attention please. Thanks. Today we are celebrating the Halloween banquet and that is why some teachers and I wanted to give them a show to liven up the occasion ". Dumbledore drew attention and waited for everyone to be quiet to continue.

As he finished his words, a group of skeletons and medieval armor marched through the door of the great dining room.

Then they did various acts, the skeletons played music and danced, they were animated by a spell from Dumbledore, the armor did a short medieval battle play made by McGonagall and to finish, Professor Flitwick launched magical fireworks that took the forms of various magical creatures. livening up the living room.

At some point in the banquet, Extimum's prank potions took effect, causing quite a few laughter among all the houses, the targets were only his main friends.

Daphne's hair turned a deep red; bubbles started coming out of Pansy's head which then flew around the place; Draco grew vampire fangs and his eyes began to glow red.; Steve's hair turned into leaves; Trudor grew a monkey tail on his lower back. There were different effects, all completely harmless.

Only his Ravenclaw friends knew it was him, but the Slytherin and Hufflepuff friends didn't know who had put something in their drinks. Daphne was unable to discover the potion because Extimum gave it to her after she checked and before she drank it. The teachers didn't say anything because they were just harmless jokes and they didn't know who was responsible, although they could find out by asking in the kitchen.

After the best part of the banquet had passed, Extimum left a little before it was over to head to the bathroom. As he walked the corridors and thought about his things, he heard a * splash * and he couldn't help stopping in his footsteps.

Extimum: 'what kind of twisted luck is this'. Extimum had stepped on a puddle, or to be more specific, the whole floor was puddled. Although he had seen it once last year, but seeing it this year did not have the same meaning, his thoughts were confirmed when he heard Ron call to him and when he looked up from the puddle at his feet to look at the wall.

Ron: "ah, Extimum, you're here too." Ron was further down the hall and called out to him when he noticed him coming towards them.

Hermione: "Look there!" Hermione pointed to the same wall that Extimum was looking at.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware". These words were written on one of the corridor walls illuminated by torchlight.

Ron:" What's hanging under there? "

Harry: "It's Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris."

Extimum considered leaving at the exact moment, but I could already hear the footsteps of the other students and this corridor formed an L, there was no place to hide, well, Extimum did have it, but since the bitch of destiny wanted him to pass through here at this moment, he could not just disappear leaving his friends to chance, as for hiding them, he considered that today's events would show Harry what kind of society makes up the magical world, on the other hand, this event would not affect him too much, In fact, by the time Bloom came back tomorrow, he could heal Mrs. Norris.

Ron: "Let's get out of here." Ron exclaimed when he saw that the situation was not very good.

But it was too late, from each end of the corridor they were in, came the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs and the loud and joyous chatter of people who had eaten well. It was just a moment later and the students stormed into the corridor from both sides, stopping all excitement and chatter that they previously carried.

The students looked at the words written in blood, then at the cat and then at the four who were in the place, the students further back were also interested and crowded around the area to see, but all seemed to refrain from crossing the imaginary fence around the area.

Draco on the other hand, did not think the same and proudly pushed his way through the crowd of Slytherin students, then looked around the place and finally focused on the message written on the wall.

Draco: "Be afraid, enemies of the heir! The next ones will be the impure ones! ". Draco just gave a general glance near Ron and Harry as he said and refrained from saying 'Mudblood', this way he wasn't telling someone specific and he could take it out on the annoying Granger at the same time, on the other hand, he ignored Extimum in his speech.

The apparent calm of the moment was again interrupted by Filch's screams.

Filch: "get out of my way, get away, let's see, what happens? ...". Filch pushed his way through the crowd and yelled.

Filch: "Mrs. Norris!… You, you killed my cat, I will kill you! I will…". Filch screamed after observing the scene and immediately blamed Harry who was closest to his cat. Mrs. Norris was hanging from the end of her tail which was nailed to a torch holder.

Luckily, the teachers arrived shortly after and Dumbledore stopped Filch who was on the verge of freaking out at the thought that his faithful companion and friend had died.

Dumbledore: "Argus! Please, everyone, go back to your bedrooms. " Seeing the cat hanging and the message on the wall, he understood that the situation would be a bit complicated.

Dumbledore: "except you." Dumbledore pointed at the four and although Extimum was the furthest of the four from the scene, he was still within the area.

The prefects of each house directed the students from their houses to return by another way to their common rooms. On the other hand, some Extimum friends gave them looks of concern or bewilderment at the events.

Hermione sighed as she acknowledged that she had gotten into trouble again and Harry and Ron got nervous.

Extimum remained calm, but perhaps in situations like these, Bloom's presence would have helped him a lot to lower his annoyance and inner discomfort.

Dumbledore: "She is not dead, Argus, someone has petrified her." Dumbledore had already cast some silent spells to inspect the cat and concluded that she was not dead.

His words were like a ray of light that illuminated Filch who was close to tears. As Dumbledore spoke, Lockhart stepped closer to inspect the cat and seize the moment to brag again.

Lockhart: "Oh, of course I do and I know the exact remedy for the curse." Lockhart said following his usual fanfare, but seeing that he had actually managed to draw everyone's attention to him with his words, he pulled away a bit and fell silent, ignoring the looks that were directed at him.

Dumbledore: "but how it was petrified I don't know ...".

Filch: "It was him, he must have been the one who did it, because he knows ... he knows I'm a squib".

Harry: "It's a lie, it wasn't me."

Dumbledore: "I don't think it was them, no sophomore could have done this. It is very advanced dark magic. " Although he spoke firmly and confidently, Dumbledore gave a slight quick glance at Extimum who was further away.

Extimum: 'damn old man, do not look that way, you will create non-existent suspicions'.

Snape: "If I may speak, Mister Headmaster, they could simply have met in the wrong place and at the wrong time. However, here we have a series of suspicious circumstances and I do not recall seeing Mr. Potter at dinner. " Snape also considered saying that Extimum had left before dinner and could have, but it was too short a time and he currently had no reason to point it out, it was better to focus on Harry.

Harry: "We had been to the birthday party of Sir. Nicolas, there are many ghosts can testify and we did not go to the dining room because I was not hungry, Hermione and Ron decided to accompany me so they were with me, as for Extimum, he only arrived a little later". Harry didn't want to be overwhelmed by Snape's suspicions and tried to cover every angle with his answer.

Although on closer observation, Extimum only remained here as a suspect mainly because he was near the scene, there was not much suspicion about him due to the short time since he left the great hall and perhaps only Dumbledore knew of his real capabilities. Which could only mean that Dumbledore left him either to keep all the suspects or… because he had other intentions.

Dumbledore: "He's innocent until proven otherwise, Severus."

Filch: "They have petrified my cat! I demand that the guilty be punished!"

Dumbledore: "We can heal her, Argus. I understand that Mrs. Sprout has gotten mandrakes recently. As soon as they are mature, we will make a potion with which to revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I suggest a lot of caution to everyone ".

After that, everyone went their own way, Extimum went along with Harry, Ron and Hermione as they made their way to their common rooms.

They did not speak much on the way, the mood was a bit gloomy, although they had not been involved in the matter.

.

A few days passed after that event. Bloom had returned, after searching together with Bob for a few days, they had found a magic plant shop that handled mandrakes, it was not difficult to ask the potions master of the place to prepare a batch of 'Mandrake Restorative Filter' after come up with a price.

On the other hand, many rumors and discussions had made their way among the students of all the years, about the chamber of secrets and the Slytherin heir. However, a variable that Extimum had not considered was that Harry was not the only suspect, in fact, some suspected him too, after all, he hung out with the Slytherins and was at the scene. However, Extimum was not the type to just sit and watch, he easily approached each and every one of those who had such ideas and convinced them to leave such ridiculous ideas, his current influence, his skill with words and perhaps a pinch. magic helped with that.

Extimum: 'that damn old man, surely that was what he wanted'. Extimum had not understood what Dumbledore was looking for with his intentions, but hearing such murmurs made it clear to him, perhaps he wanted to muffle Harry and remove him from being the center of that attention.

Bloom: "Hmp, how dare that old man plan against us."

Currently, it was night, around 10pm. Extimum had gone out to fly on his sword and enjoy the quiet of the night, so after reaching a certain height, he widened the width of his sword and sat on it together with Bloom, looking at the castle from high in the sky. .

Extimum: "Heh, but it won't be that easy, even if he has a powerful wisdom, I know things that he doesn't and unlike Harry, I won't just watch how they try to damage my image."

Extimum: "Okay, let's go back now." Extimum jumped up and landed standing on his sword and then he flew at full speed straight towards the ground. When it was only a few meters to reach the ground, he jumped from his sword while grabbing it with one of his tails and falling freely downwards, however, when he was only 2 meters away, he canceled all the kinetic force of his fall and was cushioned resulting on a soft and light landing on the ground.

Bloom: "You are improving a lot in your wandless magic." Bloom had grabbed onto Extimum's shirt as she also fell with him.

Extimum: "yes, but… although it has been good progress, it is ultimately unnatural. Although my progress has been fast, but they are only the apparent result of the last episodes of spontaneous magic, the worst thing is that I do not even realize it, first on the train, then with the mandrakes and although it has not happened again, it is not something that needs to happen. The only positive thing about it is that it's easier for me to do magic without a wand, but I don't like it, it doesn't feel like me. "

Bloom: "I don't know why that happens to you either." Bloom made a worried face, it has never been a good sign that a magician does not control their magic, magic is part of magicians, so not being able to control it when you have the ability is as bad as not being able to control yourself.

Extimum: "But let's not worry about that for the moment, my control of magic has improved, so as long as that spontaneous magic does not happen again, everything will be fine."

Having finished his night flight, Extimum covered himself with a cloak of illusion that would cover him and Bloom and headed towards the castle, in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room.

...

After crossing a secret Ravenclaw passage to quickly reach the seventh floor, he made his way towards the entrance of the tower, but while crossing a four-way corridor, he perceived someone in a side corridor that he was passing through. Since he was invisible, he only gave a look out of curiosity, but was surprised to see a girl in pajamas walking with her eyes closed.

Bloom also followed his gaze when she noticed his gaze lingering on the spot.

Bloom: 'is she… asleep?'

Extimum: 'that seems…'.

The girl was walking at a slow pace, she was wearing a full body pajamas of some creature that Extimum could not identify, but she was a bit cute in her way, however, she was not barefoot, she was wearing her shoes. she had blond hair, it was long, reaching to her waist, and it was disheveled, probably because she had been sleeping. Since he did not recognize her, Extimum assumed that she was a first year, although there was something familiar about her, but given her current looks, the darkness of the place and her hair covering much of her face, it was difficult to tell who she was.

Extimum approached to see better who it was, after reaching her, he circled her while maintaining the same slow pace with which she walked sleepwalking.

Bloom: 'do you know her?'

Extimum: 'not personally, but I think in a way yes'.

Bloom: 'mmm, I think we should take her with us, Filch is too tense these days with what happened to his cat, it would not be good if they found her, even if she is asleep'. Bloom didn't understand exactly what he meant, but she didn't ask either.

Oh, they had already had some annoying encounters with him in the few days that Bloom had been back, looking for every opportunity to stop and punish someone, even if you will just smile or show your happiness in front of him. That's why they hadn't given him the potion yet, it was too annoying.

Extimum: 'fine, let's take her'. Extimum extended two of his tails and lifted her gently so as not to wake her and then brought her behind him as he headed back towards the Ravenclaw tower.

After climbing the tower's spiral staircase and answering the puzzle of the eagle statue, I enter the common room.

Extimum: 'oh well, let's find out which bedroom it belongs to.' Extimum accessed the girls' area and followed what he believed to be his intuition along with some occasional glances until he found an empty bed, put the girl back on the bed, covered her, and then walked out closing the door.

Bloom: 'do you think he opened the door asleep?'

Extimum: 'maybe'.

Extimum had no problem accessing the women's area, she had discovered it by chance in her first year at Hogwarts. Padma had asked him to help her by bringing something she forgot in her room and since Extimum had to go get something too, he helped her along the way. Extimum hadn't paid much attention when they brought up the fact that the men couldn't access the women's area and Padma didn't know it either, so they didn't take any precautions in the face of it, however, to the surprise of their friends who were expecting to see it make a fool of himself, he actually was able to go normally and come back.

Steve had tried it himself to see if there was something wrong, but the stairs had turned into a slippery ramp and he was unable to climb.

That was an interesting and slightly unsettling discovery, but Extimum had no doubts about his gender, so he assumed it must have been something else.

After leaving the girls' area, he went to his private room, crossing the invisible veil that protected the entrance to his bedroom and arriving at his room which was immediately lit up by the blue fiery torches signaling his arrival.

He stripped off his uniform and changed into more comfortable clothes, freeing his tails from the illusion and allowing his ears that he didn't allow anyone except Bloom to see to pop out in the torchlight, then settled on his bed.

It didn't take long for Bloom to lie on his bare chest to sleep under Extimum's tails.

.

The next morning, Extimum waited at the entrance of the Gryffindor common room to go with them to breakfast, it had been a long time that he had not come to wait here, when his relationship with Hermione improved, They were only meeting directly in the dining room now, though he occasionally returned to accompany her on the way to breakfast or dinner from the dining room to the common room.

Before long, Hermione came out with a still sleepy Ron and Harry.

Extimum: "Good morning".

Hermione: "Good morning!" Hermione responded enthusiastically to start the morning.

Ron: " * uaaaah *, Good morning, Extimum ." Ron yawned and saluted.

Harry: "yes ... hello".

Extimum: "they look tired, haven't they slept well?"

Hermione: "They hadn't finished their history essays and had to stay up late to be able to finish it for class now in the morning."

Extimum: "Wow, Ron, you outdid yourself."

Ron: "Ha, Ha, we better go to the dining room, I'm hungry."

Bloom: ' * uaaaah *, me too'.

After the little talk, they headed towards the large dining room.

...

Extimum: "So, do you think Draco could be the heir to Slytherin?" Extimum said showing his best skeptical and sarcastic look that he could show with his usual impassive face.

Hermione: "I also told them that I think it's unlikely that he is, it's that it's Malfoy we're talking about. But, in fact, it is not entirely impossible, at least he must know something by how he behaved ". Hermione summarized Harry and Ron's opinions while giving her opinion.

Extimum: "I don't think I know more than you can find out by asking a professor who is willing to speak."

Hermione: "We already tried, but besides telling us a bit of information about the camera legend, he really didn't tell us anything else."

Ron: "Also, don't take it the wrong way, but you're friends with Draco, it's normal that you also want to defend him."

Extimum: "well then I won't say anything else on the subject, good luck with your research." Extimum didn't bother too much trying to convince them, saying something to them was enough.

After talking a bit more, Extimum got up from his seat and went to the Ravenclaw table, there was still some time left before class. He took a seat between Steve and Padma.

Steve: "oh, you finished talking to them, tell me, is Harry the heir as some rumors say?" His question made the others look to Extimum.

Extimum:" Don't talk nonsense, Harry is from Gryffindor and although that does not make it impossible for him to be the heir, but I think you also know him well enough to know that it is not him, changing the subject, I heard that you play tomorrow, Mitchell".

Mitchell: "hehe, of course, you'll see, I'll surpass Harry as the best seeker and bring glory to our house."

Padma: "That will depend on whether you can beat Hufflepuff in the practice match tomorrow."

Mitchell: "How cruel, I liked you better when you were more shy." Mitchell said jokingly acting hurt by Padma's words.

As they chatted about casual topics, Extimum turned his gaze to the rest of the freshmen, searching for the girl he saw yesterday.

Steve: "Oh, are you interested in someone? Hehehe, tell me who he is, maybe he knows something."

Extimum didn't answer right away, he looked at the features of each freshman, until he found someone who looked similar, he hadn't detailed her much last night because it wasn't really important and he was tired too.

Extimum: 'then, if it's her…'.

Steve followed Extimum's gaze and took in a girl who seemed a bit removed from the other first years.

Steve: "is it her?"

Extimum: "yes".

Steve: "Have, let me think about it ... I've been watching lately gossip from the senior years, but I think I knew something about her."

Under Extimum's gaze and now with daylight and more groomed, his features became clearer. She had long blonde hair still a bit disheveled, but now more organized, protuberant blue-gray eyes, fair skin, and pretty features that highlighted a developing beauty. She seemed to keep a slightly dreamy look, probably because she was a bit estranged from the other first years and had no one else to talk to.

Steve: "Ah, now I remember, her name is Luna Lovegood, I really don't know much about her, I only found out because I heard some first years saying that she says strange things, I guess that's why she is alone. Why are you interested in her?

Extimum: "oh, because the person from the rumor you told earlier about someone walking the hallways at night is her. I found her sleepwalking last night ".

Trudor: "oh, so it was real, but, wow, that's very dangerous, can you imagine if you walked up the stairs sleepwalking and fell from the seventh floor."

Extimum only looked at her a little, he had some impressions of her from his memories, but he had not paid much attention to her, he had many other things to do and think, so, although he remembered that she had been called in the classification, he had not paid attention, he didn't have a reason to get close to her either. However, yesterday's encounter had managed to get her attention a bit, and watching her today, she found familiarity in her loneliness.

Getting up from his seat, Extimum walked a little further from his table, approaching where the first years were and the corner where Luna sat and then taking a seat across from her.

His friends had raised their eyebrows a little when they saw him go to her, but Extimum was already quite eccentric with his things, after all, there were not many who wanted and managed to become friends from all the houses.

Extimum: "Hello". His greeting brought the girl in front of him out of his contemplation.

Luna blinked and looked around, seeing how the gazes of the other first-year children were focused on her and especially on someone in front of her, she turned her gaze to meet Extimum's piercing purple eyes.

Most of the first years had focused their attention on them because they saw Extimum approaching. Extimum was quite popular, although he did not talk so much with others outside his circle, but he was a quite accessible person, also, he had friends in all four houses and had contributed a lot last year in scoring points to win the house cup, so he had built up some goodwill from Ravenclaw's senior years, on the other hand, his appearance made him quite difficult to ignore, especially for the students of first years that they hadn't seen such particular people, so they all had their gaze on him and well, the strange girl he sat across from.

Luna: "Hello. You have very curious eyes ".

Extimum: "thank you, I am Extimum Shadowless and you are?"

Luna: "I'm Luna Lovegood". Luna smiled a little as she looked at Extimum's very particular appearance.

Extimum: "do you want to come and sit with us?". Extimum didn't take too many detours and said directly while pointing to his friends who were poking their heads looking at what Extimum was doing.

Luna blinked a little surprised at her words, she hopes he would come to ask her something or bother her, she had already had some similar situations with some students when they saw her estranged from the other members of her house, but she didn't think too much about it and nodded.

Luna: "sure, I'd love to."

Extimum got up and went to his previous place with his friends. Luna also followed him from across the table and watched as Trudor and Mitchell made a place for him to sit across from Extimum.

Luna: "Hello."

Steve: "Hello, beautiful lady, let me introduce myself, I'm Steve Genius." Although Steve did not know why Extimum had invited her, but he was never one of those who thought too much, so he only presented hisself elegantly to leave a good impression on what he believed would be a new member of the group.

Mitchell: "Bah, quit your act, Steve. Luna, you shouldn't believe his elegant act, I'm Mitchell Knife, it's nice to meet you ". Mitchell's words let Luna know that they seemed to already know his name, because he had not yet introduced himself.

Trudor: "I think you are rather overwhelming her with so much emotion, don't you think? You haven't even let her introduce herself. I am Trudor Naipe and are you?".

Luna: "hehehe, they're actually quite funny, I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna giggled, finding Steve and Mitchell's attitude amusing.

Padma: "I am Padma Patil".

...

The others didn't really ask about Extimum's action of bringing her to the table with them, on the contrary, they greeted her cheerfully and tried to make her feel like part of the group. Extimum had only brought her because he saw a little in her, besides, her person was a bit interesting to him, although she was still young and still did not have such strange ideas, but she still said peculiar things or observations that they did not usually notice. The others could clearly understand why the first graders called her strange, but they did not reject her for it, although she fell into a different category of weirdness than Extimum, but with him, she was not so strange.

Luna was quite fascinated with Bloom and they seemed to get along well with each other, although Bloom did not communicate with words.

.

A few more days passed, Extimum had helped in the infirmary half of his time and the other half was dedicated to finishing some of his products, Christmas was approaching and he could return with Snaglok to open the new branch of his business and try to sell his products .

Mitchell had turned out to be a decent enough seeker to win in the practice match against Hufflepuff and Luna now always sat with them, although she used to be quieter just like Extimum, but spoke or shared her opinion at times, it seemed much more glad now that she didn't sit alone during meals.

Extimum had caught her sleepwalking again when he went out again for a night flight with Bloom. Seeing her made him wonder if there was something that would take away the sleepwalking to help her, he supposed she knew about her problem, because he didn't think someone slept in shoes for fun.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had been meeting in the girls' bathroom where Myrtle lived to plan their entrance to the Slytherin common room, Extimum only accompanied them once to hear their plans, but since they were just doing something that Extimum already knew the answer to, he didn't get involved, however, his position was that they couldn't really trust the veracity of their words for obvious reasons. Extimum didn't even have to bother, Draco had told him so himself earlier when they had discussed the subject.

Classes with Lockhart had now become what seemed like a drama class, it was fun in a way, but very bad academically. It was because of situations like this that he studied his early years so carefully at home, because seeing Harry pretend to be a werewolf and Lockhart acting like a brave hero who defeated him with a simple spell was not very instructive, well, the spells he mentioned. if they were real, but their effects weren't as exaggerated as he claimed they were.

Among other things, today would be the first official Quidditch match of the interscholastic tournament, where Slytherin and Gryffindor would play.

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