I heard the sound of someone fighting, throwing things around the house. The sound grew louder, and I covered my ears with my hands. But it only grew louder. Then came the baby's cries. Then the two voices grew louder, almost piercing my ears. The baby's cries matched theirs, and their voices matched the baby's cries. It was driving me crazy. My head was pounding, and my legs felt weak. Finally, I sat down. Only then did I realize how familiar this situation was.
"Marrying a witch like you! Don't you think my life is truly pitiful? How can you not do anything the way I want?"
"You think you're the only one? Marrying a Muggle is a disgrace to the family! I risked it and married you, and what? You expect me to do whatever you want? Are you kidding me? No, you're not even making a realistic proposal!"
“This is the epitome of shamelessness. Who would dare to marry you? You married me because you liked me!!!”
“You said you liked me too!!! Why are you telling me this now? Why don’t you just get a divorce? Then I, then I!!!”
“So what do you want me to do, damn it!!!”
The voices grew louder and louder, almost piercing my ears. I felt smaller and smaller, and they grew larger and larger. My whole body trembled. It was terrifying. What kind of nightmare could this be? I struggled to escape from this dream.
“Ugh, gasp...haa,”
I woke up, barely able to catch my breath. I quickly got out of bed and checked the time. It was 4:28 a.m. I washed my face and sat back down on the bed. I just stared blankly at the door. Then, suddenly, the door swung open and Professor Dumbledore walked in.
“Oh, are you awake?”
“Oh, yes. What brings you here at this late hour?”
“I can’t sleep alone on rainy days, so that’s why I came.”
“It seems like such an old story.”
It wasn't. I have nightmares every rainy day, and I don't know why they only happen on rainy days. But one thing is certain: everything in my dreams is real. Whenever I have dreams like this, I often consider erasing or manipulating my memories.
“I think it would be better to wipe off the cold sweat before speaking.”
"I'll check your homework. Put it all on your desk."
Last time, I assigned homework to write down everything I knew about the mandrake antidote. Since I'd deduct ten points from the dorm if I didn't do my homework, I believed every student in the dorm would do it. However, Dae-hwi and Woong, who defied my expectations, sat at their desks, their faces blank. They looked back and forth between each other and me, scratching their heads.
“I told you to bring out your homework, so why aren’t you bringing out any?”
“···I didn’t do it.”
“Are you saying that you are proud of that now?”
"···sorry."
“Gryffindor, 20 points deducted.”
How could they only do their homework for the first period and then not bother to do the rest? I couldn't understand it at all. I looked down at Dae-hwi and Woong with a pitiful expression and muttered, "There's no way they'll lose any more points..."
After checking all the homework, I went up to the front and explained how to make the mandrake antidote. Dae-hwi and Woong, who hadn't done their homework, were laughing and chatting away. I glared at them fiercely, but they seemed oblivious and continued their chatter. And so, the class was drawing to a close.
“I wonder if the famous Dae-Hwi, who didn’t even do his homework and talked nonsense, understood the class content.”
I was openly sarcastic, and Draco snickered. Daehwi clenched his fists, clearly offended. Well, I guess it's only natural, since I'd embarrassed him in front of the others. Honestly, it's less about "showing that I dislike Daehwi" and more about "I dislike him for not paying attention in class." Perhaps it's just a feeling stemming from Lee Ga-eul.
“Okay, class is over. Dismissal.”
With those words, the kids left my room, chattering loudly. Dae-hwi, apparently so upset by what I'd said earlier, was telling Woong how much he hated me. Woong was nodding and laughing loudly beside him, as if he was enjoying something. Dong-hyeon, who was standing next to him, seemed to be saying something to them. The sudden noise in the room prevented me from hearing what they were saying.
"It's a troll! A troll has appeared! I thought you should know..."
As usual, all the students and teachers were gathered in the Great Hall for dinner. Just, as usual. Then, out of nowhere, Professor Quirrell shouted that a troll had appeared, and there was silence for a few seconds. Then, Professor Quirrell collapsed to the floor, and the students erupted in screaming chaos. Professor Dumbledore calmed the students and then ordered the heads of each house to escort them to their dormitories.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand it. There was no reason for the troll to suddenly appear, and I wondered why Professor Quirrell hadn't come to the banquet hall, but had wandered around and discovered it. It was just a feeling, and it might not be true... but I felt like he was trying to create chaos and cause some kind of trouble.
“What···?”
Could it be, really, that they were after the Philosopher's Stone at Fluffy's feet? The students were going into their dormitories, and the professors were running around trying to find it, so I figured they were taking advantage of this gap.
Before I could even think about the "why," I felt compelled to take action. There was a door leading directly to the professors' desks, so I opened it and ran to the restricted area on the third floor. Hoping my thoughts weren't true.
When I arrived at the restricted area on the third floor, Fluffy was sound asleep, listening to the sound of the harp. And Professor Quirrell was there, groaning and cleaning Fluffy's feet.
“···What are you doing now, Professor?”
Professor Quirrell looked startled at my words. Then he pulled out his wand and shouted, "Nebulus." Smoke rose from the wand, and in the meantime, Professor Quirrell ran away, even shouting, "Callerporters." And then the door locked. The commotion drowned out the sound of the harp, and of course, Fluffy woke up. I was leaning against the door, holding my wand. Fluffy growled at me and lunged at me, trying to bite me. I quickly tried to pull out my wand, but Fluffy bit my right calf before I could, shaking her head, making it harder to pull it out. Finally, I managed to pull out my wand and shouted, "Lumos Maxima," momentarily blinding Fluffy.
“Alohomora.”
I limped along the Hogwarts corridors, searching for the professors. They were running to the girls' bathroom on the second floor. I ran there as quickly as I could.
There was a troll lying on the ground, and Daehwi, Woong, and Donghyun were standing there with foolish expressions. They didn't seem seriously injured, but I was worried they might have been played with.
"I came here to find the troll. I'd read about it in books, so I thought I could defeat it on my own. But, no... If Daehwi and Woong hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead."
"···In any case, it was truly foolish. I thought you were a sensible student, but I'm disappointed. Gryffindor gets a five-point deduction. That's the price of poor judgment."
At this moment, Dae-hwi saw Fluffy biting my leg. I quickly hid the wound, thinking Professor Quirrell was actually like this and that... and that's why I did this and that... It was too much of a hassle to explain, and the situation was enough to raise suspicion.
"And you two... just consider yourself lucky this time. It's hard for a first-year to take on such a large troll, so I'll give you both five points. It's pure luck, though. Now, go, you two. You never know when you might wake up again."