Of course, what those pure-blood wizards were thinking had nothing to do with Andy at all.
From beginning to end, this was just their own personal delusion.
Andy had not given them even a single promise.
Everything they thought was just their own delusion.
This was one of the three major illusions of life – he likes me.
He had to admit that delusion could be fatal!
"Sigh!"
Andy sighed and silently lit a candle for them in his heart.
Let's hope Voldemort won't find out what they've done!
"Ah"
Andy stretched and walked groggily into the Ravenclaw library.
On the first day of school, the library was only occupied by Hermione.
In the slightly dim light, Hermione was quietly sitting in the corner, holding a book in her hands, occasionally looking down to take notes.
"Hi, good night!" Andy said, walking over to her and pulling out a chair to sit opposite Hermione.
"Good night!" Hermione replied without looking up.
"Hah..."
Andy yawned, leaning his tired face on the table, resting his head in his hands, and staring at Hermione without blinking.
Hermione: "..."
Hermione felt a little uncomfortable being looked at, and her hands paused for a moment while she wrote. Then she looked up, frowning at Andy.
Andy blinked innocently.
"What are you looking at?" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"It's obvious, isn't it? A beauty." Andy said.
"I-If-if you're bored, you could read." Hermione blushed slightly and pushed a thick book towards him. It was almost eight centimetres thick.
"Forget it tonight!"
Andy sighed and said, "On the first day of school, I just want to spend some quiet time. As for studying, well... let's wait until tomorrow!"
"You weren't like this before," Hermione looked shocked.
In the past, Andy loved to study!
"I had no choice before!" Andy sighed.
Anyone who has found themselves in the world of Harry Potter and learned that Voldemort will soon make a comeback would do their best to improve their abilities, right?
But the thing is, Andy can now hold his own against Voldemort.
He's not afraid at all!
In that case, Andy doesn't need to be in such a hurry.
Even if he likes learning magic, Andy still needs to rest. A healthy balance of work and rest is the right way to go.
People aren't machines.
"What did Malfoy say to you?" Hermione asked curiously.
Since the Malfoy family betrayed Voldemort, Hermione no longer felt the same disgust when talking about Malfoy as she used to.
But the sense of rejection was still there.
This is a class conflict!
"What else could it be about?"
Andy didn't bother to explain and just told the result of the conversation, "I told him to go find Dumbledore."
Upon hearing this, Hermione stopped asking questions and continued reading her book with her head bowed. "Andy... if you're tired, you can go back and rest first."
Andy: "..."
In situations like this, only Harry and Ron would go back, right?
Andy, on the other hand, would never go back.
If he left now, he was sure Hermione wouldn't speak to him nicely for the next few days.
"I'll keep you company!"
Andy said. "The library is nice and quiet. It'll be boring back in the dorm. I don't have anything in common with them."
"I can guess what they're talking about."
"Suit yourself," Hermione whispered.
Seeing this, Andy stopped talking too.
Time passed by slowly, and after an unknown period of time, Andy suddenly heard someone calling his name.
"Andy…"
"Hm?" Andy opened his eyes dazedly.
"You fell asleep!"
Hermione said helplessly, "Forget it; I'm going back to sleep; you should sleep early too. Good night, see you tomorrow."
"Good night!" said Andy.
***
Back in the dormitory, Andy found that his three roommates were indeed still awake.
They were excitedly discussing the recently concluded Quidditch World Cup, the Wronski Feint by Krum, with snack wrappers scattered all over the floor.
"Oh, Andy, you're finally back; we thought you got lost," Anthony said with an exaggerated expression.
"I was in the library for a while," Andy explained, taking off his wizard's robe.
Roommate: "..."
"Oh Merlin, it's the first day of school!" Michael looked as if he was about to cry.
"I'm a Ravenclaw!"
After changing into his pyjamas, Andy raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys carry on; I'm going to wash up."
Walking into the bathroom, Andy looked in the mirror and unconsciously touched the wand that had been with him for more than three years with his right hand.
Pine wood and phoenix tail feather.
They represent solitude and detachment from the world.
Over time, Andy has come to feel that the meaning of this wand really suits him.
There is no denying that Andy likes magic.
But everything about the wizarding world frustrates Andy.
The more he came into contact with others, the more impatient he became.
Whether they represented justice, like Dumbledore and Harry, or evil, like Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Andy didn't particularly approve of any of them.
Now he felt disgusted by the fence-sitting, delusional pureblood wizards.
He didn't like ordinary wizards, either.
Even after knowing war is near and crisis is approaching, most still haven't bothered to train some self-defence and escape skills for even an hour.
'Maybe...'
Andy thought to himself, 'This is what they mean by different views, different minds!'
The two people with different worldviews, if forced to be together, would only find each other annoying.
Andy leaned forward and looked at himself in the mirror. 'Actually... there's no need to put on an act anymore.'
Dealing with interpersonal relationships is really a very taxing thing.
With Andy's current strength, there is no longer a need to put on the mask of 'friendliness' for others.
After a moment of silence, Andy suddenly let out a sigh.
It was a good idea, but it was also very unrealistic.
Unless one could completely abandon society and truly become self-sufficient, no one could remain indifferent to social dynamics.
After all, Andy still has a family.
Andy could do without friends, but he could not ask his family to give up all social interactions just like him.
They could not devote all their energy to the study of magic as Andy did—that required talent.
He could do that because of visible return and growth.
They still have to live.
'In the world, one cannot help but be guided by the flow of events…'
Andy smiled.
On second thought, it was actually pretty good.
'What's the saying?'
'If you don't enter the world, how can you leave it?'
Truly breaking away from the material world is not about escaping from reality.
Reaching out, Andy wiped the fog from the mirror; his eyes narrowed slightly.
'Let's have some fun then!'
'But...'
'If Death Eaters or anyone mess things up, they can't blame me!'
***
After washing up, Andy walked out of the bathroom. After tidying the bed, he collapsed onto it.
"Andy, are you going to sleep?" Anthony asked.
The three roommates were very mindful of Andy's comfort. Generally speaking, as long as Andy was prepared to sleep, they would not continue chattering.
"Not yet."
Andy said, getting up and leaning halfway onto the bed. Then he smiled and added, "I can catch up with you guys for a while."
----
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