"I've heard of that girl," Susan Bones said, leaning closer. "Her name's Padma Patil. Some say she's the prettiest girl in Ravenclaw."
"The prettiest?" Justin frowned, trying to recall. "I only remember her as Leonard's Potions partner."
"Yeah, she's pretty bold," Susan nodded. "If it were me, I'd never dare team up with Leonard under Snape's constant pressure."
"Maybe she had her own reasons," Hannah Abbott added mysteriously. "I've heard plenty of things about Leonard from people in other houses."
"You mean when Leonard beat six Slytherins?" Ernie said with envy. "That sounds incredible..."
"If it were you, we'd probably be visiting the hospital wing to see how badly you got beaten," Justin teased. "No clue how Leonard pulled it off, but he's clearly impressive."
"The word in Slytherin is that Leonard floored them with his fists," Hannah Abbott said, glancing at Ernie's build. "You may look bigger than Leonard, but you're definitely not sturdier."
"Really?" Ernie looked gloomily at Leonard, convinced he was tougher than him.
"That's not the point. Don't forget, a girl came to find Leonard, and he missed her," Susan said with a sigh. "She must've been so disappointed."
"Then shouldn't Leonard go find her?" Hannah clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking excited. "It sounds kind of romantic."
Leonard: ???
"Romantic?" Leonard's mouth twitched.
A bunch of eleven-year-olds talking about romance? Why don't they read more books instead?
"Don't you think so, Leonard? She actually came looking for you," Hannah pressed. "You can't just ignore her."
"I can't go chasing after everyone who comes looking for me, can I? I'd be run ragged," Leonard muttered, sprawled out on the sofa, unwilling to move.
When he kept himself busy, he didn't notice, but the moment he stopped, exhaustion came crashing down, making him want to stay glued to the couch.
This body really does need more training.
Nibbling on a cookie, Leonard thought to himself: From now on, I'll just get up an hour earlier, head to the botanical garden, and fit in some morning exercise.
Exercise is a must, the botanical garden can't be skipped, and sleep is non-negotiable. If I went at night, I could only manage one of the three. Better to sleep earlier, wake up earlier, and build a stronger body while forming good habits.
Not that Leonard expected to become a white-robed Gandalf, blasting light spells and swinging a dagger, but he refused to be a weakling gasping for air after running a few steps.
Seeing how lazy he looked, Hannah sighed. "It's a rare chance. Not many girls have the courage to come looking for you, you know?"
Just as Hannah finished speaking, noise drifted in from the passage leading to the common room.
Dinner time was approaching, and the Great Hall was being cleared. The students who had been studying there were returning.
At the front was Truman, the Hufflepuff prefect. He entered, glanced around, and immediately spotted Leonard sprawled on the sofa.
"Leonard, someone's here for you," Truman called. "A Gryffindor girl."
Leonard reluctantly lifted his head, exchanging looks with his friends.
Hannah bit her nails, stunned at first, then quickly wore an expression of realization.
"A Gryffindor girl? Well, that explains it," Hannah said with a smug nod. "They're known for their bravery."
"Another girl came looking for you?" Ernie said enviously. "I wish I were as popular."
"Don't be ridiculous. It might be serious," Leonard yawned, dragging himself up from the couch.
The only Gryffindor girl who'd seek him out was probably Hermione. If it was Hermione, then it had to be something important.
After all, they'd been working on homework together just yesterday, and she hadn't shown the slightest hint of anything unusual.
Leonard didn't believe Hermione could hide her feelings from him.
"By the way, Leonard, I heard you saved Malfoy," Truman said. "Hard to imagine. Why would you save someone like him?"
"Saved Malfoy?" His friends all stared at Leonard in disbelief, as if questioning whether he was even himself anymore.
"Why save Malfoy? He's been nothing but trouble for you," Justin said.
Justin loathed Malfoy. His obsession with bloodlines disgusted him, so there was no way he'd have any sympathy for him.
"I didn't want to save him either," Leonard shrugged at Truman, "but I had to think about what would happen if I didn't. Didn't you hear what his two lackeys were shouting? They said I killed Malfoy."
"Yeah, I heard. People said those two looked completely unhinged," Truman nodded.
"If I hadn't saved Malfoy, their words would've turned into the truth," Leonard said, standing up. "I wasn't about to be branded a murderer and thrown into Azkaban—especially not over that scumbag Malfoy."
Truman nodded in realization. "So that's it. You really thought it through. If it were me, I'd probably be suspected of murder, just like you said."
"We're not Gryffindors—we actually think about the consequences before we act," Leonard said lazily, slipping in a jab at Gryffindor.
Amid laughter, Leonard left the common room and, just as expected, found Hermione waiting by the door.
"Hermione? You were looking for me?" Leonard asked.
"Yes! Of course I was, and it's serious," Hermione said. "Harry and Neville went to the third-floor corridor."
"Huh?" Leonard froze.
The third-floor corridor?
"What are they doing there?" he asked.
"It's a bit complicated. Do you know Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione tugged at Leonard's sleeve. "Come on, I'll explain on the way."
Nicolas Flamel? So the story's kicking in already? But isn't this too soon—barely finding out about Flamel and they're rushing headfirst into danger? That's way too reckless.
"What's going on exactly?" Leonard pressed.
"After reading about the Gringotts break-in, Harry said Hagrid had taken whatever was in that vault. So whenever he had the chance, he kept asking Hagrid what it was."
Hermione explained, "After enough pestering, Hagrid slipped and said it belonged to Nicolas Flamel. Later, I found out about Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone..."
Leonard nodded blankly.
They'd dug up the Philosopher's Stone business ridiculously early.
But what did that have to do with Harry and Neville barging into the corridor?
Was the Chosen One seriously planning to steal the Philosopher's Stone?