After breakfast, the group excitedly made their way to the Entrance Hall.
"Students going to Hogsmeade, gather over here! This way!"
Professor McGonagall's voice rang out from outside, and under her direction, the previously chaotic crowd quickly organized itself.
Everyone slowly filed out of Hogwarts Castle and formed a long queue before the massive wrought-iron gates.
Before anyone could enter Hogsmeade, each student had to present the permission slip signed by their parents to ensure no one slipped out without authorization.
Filch stood just inside the gates, clutching an absurdly long list of names.
His vulture-like eyes scrutinized every face.
He snatched each permission slip out of the students' hands and repeatedly compared the signatures with the students before him, desperately searching for any excuse to cause trouble.
The result was that many students waiting in line became visibly nervous.
"Stuck here again, Potter?"
Lewis suddenly heard Draco Malfoy's sharp voice.
Accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy stood further back in the line, sneering openly at Harry.
"Too scared to get past those Dementors?"
"Afraid you'll faint again?"
As he spoke, Malfoy dramatically reenacted Harry collapsing on the Hogwarts Express, earning loud laughter from the surrounding Slytherins.
Penelope and Ciri both glanced at Lewis in surprise.
To their astonishment…
He made no move whatsoever.
He even stopped Hermione, who had already stepped forward to defend Harry.
Malfoy noticed Lewis's reaction as well.
Seeing that Lewis remained silent, his confidence immediately swelled.
"Look at that!"
"Our famous Savior has finally fallen out with Lewis Green!"
"How pitiful."
"No friends left."
"All alone in the castle…"
Harry ignored him completely.
Without saying a word to Lewis, he simply climbed the marble staircase and disappeared around the corner.
Hermione shot Lewis a puzzled look.
Ron, meanwhile, angrily continued shouting insults at Malfoy.
But Malfoy had already shifted his attention toward Lewis.
"So you've finally come to your senses, Lewis Green."
"People like you were never the same kind as those blockheads."
"A smart person like you shouldn't waste time with them."
"You ought to make friends with people of proper status."
"That's how you'll have a future."
Arms folded, Malfoy spoke as though lecturing him.
Every word was as irritating as ever.
Hearing this…
Ciri quietly slipped her hand into the pocket containing her Arcane Sword.
It looked as though one more sentence from Malfoy would earn him a slash.
Lewis, however…
Simply ignored him.
That only made Malfoy even more smug.
"Nothing to say?"
"Did I hit the mark?"
Lewis sighed helplessly and drew his wand.
"You really don't think before you speak."
"I'm giving you one last chance to correct yourself."
His movement made Malfoy's face pale slightly.
Nevertheless, he stubbornly replied,
"If I were you…"
"I'd be very careful."
"Being the Chosen One's bodyguard isn't going to end well."
Lewis immediately understood.
He was referring to Sirius Black.
Yet…
At the same time…
He found himself somewhat surprised.
Judging from everything Malfoy had said—
Combined with his arrogant and awkward personality—
Lewis realized…
This was actually Malfoy's own twisted attempt at extending an olive branch.
Of course…
He had absolutely no intention of accepting such a condescending gesture.
In fact…
He had already decided to resume Malfoy's month-long nightmare.
Even so…
His curiosity remained.
Why would Malfoy suddenly do this?
After everything Lewis had put him through…
An ordinary thirteen-year-old certainly wouldn't try making peace with his biggest enemy.
Unless…
This was Lucius Malfoy's idea?
But considering Lucius's intelligence…
And his current relationship with Lewis…
If this truly were Lucius's plan…
Then the man had completely stopped caring about the Malfoy family's future.
Just then, Filch's impatient voice interrupted them.
"You lot!"
"Are you going to Hogsmeade or not?"
Malfoy glanced at Lewis one last time.
Giving up on further arguing with Ron, he walked through the gates flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"The Malfoy family has always been exceptionally good at reading the situation."
Luna's voice quietly came from beside them.
She had somehow wandered over without anyone noticing.
Her single sentence immediately explained everything.
Lewis suddenly understood.
Then he laughed bitterly.
The Malfoy family…
Really did raise their children according to an extremely…
Practical philosophy.
In truth…
Part of what Malfoy had implied wasn't entirely wrong.
Because Lewis and Harry had attended the same primary school…
The two of them had indeed been very close at the beginning.
But after the Sorting…
Different classes…
Different circles…
Their relationship had gradually drifted apart.
If Hermione hadn't remained between them…
Along with the various adventures they had experienced together…
They probably would have become nothing more than ordinary friends by now.
In fact…
This term…
Lewis and Harry had barely spoken privately at all.
The last time they'd really spent time together had been the weekend they visited Hagrid early in the school year.
Especially after Lewis refused Harry's request to join the study group…
Their interactions had become noticeably awkward.
"You secretly helped Harry get into Hogsmeade, didn't you?"
As they walked toward the village, Hermione suddenly spoke.
She had finally figured out why Lewis and Harry had behaved so strangely earlier.
There was one thing Lewis truly admired about Hermione.
Once she accepted someone as worthy of admiration…
She trusted them almost unconditionally.
Yet…
That trust remained rational.
Whenever Lewis made a decision…
Her instinct was always to follow it first.
Even if…
At first glance…
It seemed completely unreasonable.
Only afterward would she analyze whether it had been the correct choice.
Just like earlier.
Even though Harry was also her friend…
The moment Lewis stopped her…
She had immediately abandoned the argument with Malfoy.
Even though, at the time, Lewis's actions could easily have been mistaken for siding with Malfoy against Harry.
That…
Was how genuinely intelligent people behaved.
A truly intelligent person…
When receiving an order from a leader that seemed unreasonable…
Would generally carry it out first while reserving judgment.
Only afterward would they evaluate whether the decision had been right.
If the leader turned out to be correct…
Then clearly the leader understood more than they did.
Following their judgment was the right choice.
If the leader proved to be wrong…
Then it was time to find another leader.
Ron, by comparison…
The moment he saw Lewis refusing to stand up for Harry…
Immediately started glaring at him.
Of course…
Lewis had no doubt that once Ron learned the truth…
He would sincerely apologize.
Still…
No apology afterward could compare to Hermione's complete trust from the very beginning.
Naturally…
Lewis had no intention of hiding anything from someone like her.
He nodded.
"That's right."
"You know better than anyone what Harry's aunt and uncle are like."
"They'd never sign his permission slip."
"So I told him to ask Fred and George for help."
Just as she'd expected.
Lewis really wasn't the sort of person to abandon his friends.
Hermione immediately brightened.
Still…
She had another concern.
"But everyone says Sirius Black is after Harry."
"Even Professor McGonagall doesn't want him going to Hogsmeade."
"Isn't helping him sneak out too dangerous?"
Hermione pointed out sharply.
Lewis simply shook his head.
"Just because everyone says something…"
"…doesn't make it true."
"When examining a situation…"
"You can't rely only on appearances."
"If Black's real target were Harry…"
"…then why didn't he escape two years ago?"
"When we first started at Hogwarts?"
Hermione found herself speechless.
Penelope, walking beside them, offered an analysis.
"Maybe…"
"He only figured out how to escape recently."
"Or perhaps…"
"He only learned about Harry this year."
Hermione nodded.
That was certainly possible.
Lewis couldn't help admiring Penelope's sharp mind.
She had unknowingly guessed half the truth.
The only difference was…
The information Sirius had obtained wasn't about Harry.
It was about the traitor…
Peter Pettigrew.
"If you think that way…"
"Then you really don't understand how the media works."
Lewis smiled.
"The Boy Who Lived Enters Hogwarts" was news the first time.
But if newspapers ran the exact same headline every year for three straight years…
Nobody would bother reading it.
"In fact…"
"When Harry first enrolled three years ago…"
"Both the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly covered the story extensively."
Hermione and Penelope both nodded in agreement.
Lewis continued.
"Besides…"
"We also have to consider the Dementors."
"The longer a prisoner stays in Azkaban…"
"The weaker both their body and mind become."
"And escaping only gets harder."
"So if a prisoner already possesses both the desire and the ability to escape…"
"They'd naturally escape as early as possible."
"They certainly wouldn't wait until they'd become too weak to do it anymore."
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