The sudden turn of events startled Quirrell, causing him to shudder involuntarily. Quickly, he spoke up:
"Master, what happened? Why is this happening? Is it because we were watching?"
The voice at the back of Quirrell's head sneered impatiently:
"Useless fool! This has nothing to do with us! The Book of Admittance is far stricter than the Quill of Acceptance! A mere fluctuation of magic is enough to prompt the Quill to react, but that small amount of magic is far from sufficient to gain the Book's recognition."
"Children without magic may sometimes carry residual magical traces from their parents, lingering around them. But once their parents' magic no longer surrounds them, there is no doubt—they have no spell-casting ability whatsoever!"
As Quirrell curiously studied the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance before him, Ron and Harry had already arrived at the corridor outside the Room of Requirement.
Harry paced back and forth along the hallway, muttering under his breath:
"I need a room where I can study."
He repeated the phrase three times. When he turned back to look at what had once been a blank wall, a wooden door had appeared.
Sharing an excited glance, Harry and Ron rushed forward, pushing the door open eagerly.
"Wow!"
Ron let out an astonished exclamation the moment they stepped inside.
The vast room was divided into two sections: one side was lined with towering bookshelves, crammed full of books and notes. On the other side stood a set of practice dummies for spellwork, along with a fully equipped potions workstation. The only disappointment was the lack of ingredients—otherwise, Professor Sprout wouldn't have to work so hard growing them.
As their eyes roamed across the study haven, Harry and Ron instinctively gravitated toward the bookshelves.
Not only were Hogwarts textbooks from previous years arranged neatly, but they also found countless notes left behind by generations of students.
The sheer volume of books and notes was dazzling, making it hard to know where to start.
Then, suddenly, Harry's gaze landed on a notebook bearing a familiar name—Severus Snape.
He hesitated for a moment before pulling it from the shelf.
At the same time, Ron let out an excited shout:
"Merlin's beard! I found my dad's notes! I can't believe it—his grades at Hogwarts were actually decent! I always thought he was just boasting!"
Ignoring Ron's excitement, Harry carefully opened Snape's notebook and flipped through its pages.
On the inside cover, neatly written, were the words:
Severus Snape — Third Year
It was Snape's personal notebook from his third year at Hogwarts.
But as Harry skimmed through the contents, a growing unease settled in his stomach. Nearly every spell recorded in the notebook was related to Dark Magic.
While none of them were as extreme as the Unforgivable Curses, many spells had effects so disturbing that merely reading about them sent chills down Harry's spine.
Even the non-Dark Magic spells described in the notebook had dangerous consequences. Harry recognized these as jinxes—curses designed to cause harm, though not necessarily lethal.
One spell, for instance, caused a person's front teeth to grow uncontrollably. In an unlucky scenario, they could even pierce through the victim's lower jaw.
Another, even more malicious, inflicted painful boils all over the cursed person's skin.
Harry shuddered at the thought.
At that moment, Ron's voice rang out again, filled with excitement:
"Harry! Come quick! Look what I found! Isn't 'Lily Evans' your mum's name?"
Hearing Ron's words, Harry immediately set Snape's notebook aside and rushed over. Seeing the name "Lily Evans" on the cover of a notebook, his hands trembled slightly as he spoke:
"Yes—it's my mother's name!"
Taking the notebook from Ron's hands, Harry ran his fingers over the cover, his eyes growing misty.
Seeing Harry's expression, Ron patted him gently on the shoulder and encouraged him:
"Go on, Harry. Open it. If there's anything useful inside, then maybe studying with your mum's notes will bring you luck on the final exams, yeah?"
Though he knew Ron was just trying to cheer him up, Harry was deeply moved.
"Thanks," he whispered.
With reverence, he slowly opened the notebook's cover.
"Huh? What's this?" Ron muttered curiously.
A small object had been tucked between the pages.
When Harry pulled it out, Ron's eyes widened in surprise.
"Blimey! That looks like an origami crane!"
Harry cupped the delicate paper crane in his hands, examining it closely.
"Yeah… it is. And it's beautiful. Whoever folded this must've had a gentle touch… It must have been my mother."
Ron beamed at Harry, happy that his friend had found a keepsake from his late mother.
"Not necessarily, Harry. If she kept this origami crane inside her notebook, it must have meant a lot to her. I bet this was a gift from your dad! Maybe it was their love token!"
Harry smiled faintly at Ron's theory and replied,
"Maybe."
Either way, he would cherish it.
Returning to the notebook, Harry continued flipping through its pages. Before long, both he and Ron noticed something peculiar.
Ron furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Hang on… Why do some of these notes look so familiar?"
Harry nodded, understanding Ron's surprise.
"Yeah… My mum didn't label it, but this must have been her first-year notebook. A lot of these lessons match exactly with what we're studying now."
"Look—History of Magic is almost identical! But Potions… the material has changed a lot since then."
Ron let out an incredulous laugh.
"I can't believe it! Harry, I swear, you don't have to worry about your exams anymore—fate is on your side!"
But Harry simply shook his head, his fingers gently brushing over the origami crane.
"I think it's my parents watching over me," he murmured.
"They loved me."
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