Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione’s Houseguest

After chatting with Dobby for a while, Qin Yu rose to his feet, slipping away from the corridor before the headmaster and Lucius could emerge.

Piecing together the information he'd gleaned from Dobby, Qin Yu knew it was best to stay well out of Lucius Malfoy's sights. The explosion in the Acromantula lair was intimately tied to his Obscurus Power; if Lucius ever uncovered that secret, it would spell nothing but trouble.

As he said goodbye, Dobby looked up at him with a mixture of hope and timidity. "Qin, will Dobby get to see Qin again? Will Dobby get to eat with Qin again? No, no, Dobby shouldn't ask such things—Dobby is just being silly, just daydreaming…"

"Of course we'll meet again, Dobby! And I believe, one day, you'll win your freedom," Qin Yu said, giving the elf a firm, reassuring smile.

Even if Harry Potter couldn't help Dobby escape the Malfoy family, Qin Yu swore to himself he'd find a way to set the elf free.

"Thank you, Qin! Dobby is so happy to have met Qin today!" Dobby's eyes shone with emotion.

"And I'm glad to have met you, Dobby," Qin Yu replied warmly.

Just then, footsteps echoed from inside the office. Qin Yu gave Dobby a quick wave, grabbed his empty tray, and hurried off.

…

Moments later, the headmaster's office door swung open. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Lucius stepped into the corridor.

Emerging, Professor Dumbledore subtly shifted his position, blocking Lucius's view—he'd caught a glimpse of Qin Yu's retreating figure down the hall. Given what he knew of the boy, Dumbledore was all but certain Qin Yu had been lurking nearby, especially after seeing the longing in Dobby's eyes as he watched Qin Yu go.

"Let's be off, Lucius," Dumbledore said, leading them down the corridor in the opposite direction.

Lucius hesitated, slightly thrown—this route to the Forbidden Forest was out of the way. But it had been years since he'd prowled the school, and he wasn't about to argue.

"Very well, Professor Dumbledore."

He punctuated his words by giving the dawdling Dobby a sharp kick, forcing the elf to scurry after them.

"Lucius, are you sure you don't want to have lunch before heading to the forest?" Dumbledore asked with a hint of concern.

"Business before pleasure. I'm not here at Hogwarts to dine, Professor Dumbledore," Lucius replied, voice cold and imperious.

"Quite right, quite right—you're here on the governors' orders, after all," Dumbledore said with a twinkle of dry humor.

…

Despite his best efforts to avoid Lucius Malfoy, fate was not on Qin Yu's side.

He'd barely made it back to the Gryffindor common room when Charlie Weasley, the prefect, came to fetch him.

"Charlie, do you know why I'm being called to the Forbidden Forest?" Qin Yu asked, feigning innocent confusion as he followed in Charlie's wake.

"Seems some bigwig's here investigating something. Professor McGonagall asked me to tell you to cooperate and explain what happened," Charlie said, then paused, as if remembering something. "Oh, and Professor McGonagall wanted me to reassure you: don't be afraid. She said that while wandering into the Forbidden Forest is against the rules, the important thing is you're safe. Just be careful not to make the same mistake again."

Hearing this, Qin Yu instantly caught Professor McGonagall's drift—he was to stick to the story of "accidentally entering" the forest. A unified front was crucial to avoid any slip-ups.

"By the way, when did you end up in the Forbidden Forest? Professor Dumbledore made it pretty clear on the first day that it's off-limits," Charlie asked with a frown.

"Uh… My pet got lost, and I wandered in while looking for him," Qin Yu improvised.

"Blimey, you've got to be more careful next time," Charlie admonished.

"I will, Charlie. Thanks for the reminder!" Qin Yu replied gratefully.

"No worries! Mum told me to look out for you. If you ever need anything, just say the word," Charlie said with a hearty laugh.

Truth be told, Qin Yu had always felt a certain kinship with the Weasley family. He'd met their eldest, Bill, on his very first trip to Diagon Alley, and had run into the whole clan at Platform 9¾. He still liked to fiddle with the little golden pyramid Bill had given him—he'd even tucked a cherry inside, and after over ten days, it still hadn't spoiled.

Though he hadn't spent much time with Charlie before, these threads of fate made the "big brother" feel especially approachable.

The two chatted as they walked, growing more comfortable, especially when the talk turned to George and Fred—an endless source of amusement.

"Never thought you'd become friends with those two troublemakers. If they ever give you any grief, just tell me—I won't let them off easy!" Charlie said, all mock sternness.

Ha, the whole family really did have a righteous streak—a willingness to discipline their own.

"Funny, Bill said almost the same thing," Qin Yu chuckled.

"Did he? Guess my brother's had his fill of those two as well," Charlie said, throwing up his hands.

"Honestly, George and Fred are good kids. They just haven't figured out better ways to get along with people yet. I'm sure once they find their true calling, everyone will see them in a new light," Qin Yu said earnestly.

Seeing the sincerity in Qin Yu's eyes, Charlie realized he meant every word.

"Hm. I think I get why those two like you," Charlie said, grinning.

He didn't even notice that Qin Yu had called George and Fred "kids."

The rest of the walk passed in easy conversation, and soon they arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where Professor McGonagall was waiting.

Before they went in, Charlie leaned in conspiratorially. "Qin, I've got a secret for you—I recommended you to Professor McGonagall for the Quidditch team. She said she'd think about it, but I know you'll make the cut!"

"Wow, that's fantastic news! Thanks, Charlie!" Qin Yu beamed. Quidditch! He'd been dying to try the magical world's most iconic sport.

"All right, Charlie, you can head back. I'll take Qin from here," Professor McGonagall said as they approached.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall!" Charlie nodded and, with a wave, headed back toward the castle.

…

Once Charlie was out of earshot, Professor McGonagall lowered her voice. "Qin, you know what to say, right?"

Qin Yu nodded. "That day, I was looking for my pet and wandered into the forest by accident. Then I got lost."

Professor McGonagall smiled, pleased. "And then you ran into danger, called for help, and Professor Dumbledore happened to be passing by and heard you…"

"So Professor Dumbledore cast a huge spell and wiped out the terrifying Acromantulas!" Qin Yu added, playing along.

"Exactly. Thanks to Professor Dumbledore, you weren't hurt," Professor McGonagall said, even giving a little applause.

She'd worried that Charlie hadn't passed on her instructions clearly, or that Qin Yu hadn't picked up on her meaning. That was why she'd found an excuse to escort him to the Acromantula cave herself, just to make sure they were on the same page.

To her surprise, the boy was a natural—he lied with perfect composure, not a hint of nerves.

Still, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but think that such skill at deception might cause her headaches in the future.

But now was not the time to worry about that.

"Professor McGonagall, I thought you'd gotten lost too," a cold voice cut in—Lucius had appeared ahead of them.

She thought grimly: So, he didn't trust me to fetch the boy myself and came looking.

Thank goodness she'd already coordinated the story with Qin Yu.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, the Forbidden Forest is notorious for getting people turned around," Professor McGonagall replied smoothly.

"…"

Lucius found himself at a loss for words.

"Oh? So it's you," he said at last, finally noticing Qin Yu and sounding faintly surprised.

Both Professor McGonagall and Qin Yu froze for a split second—but neither let it show.

Professor McGonagall exchanged a subtle glance with Qin Yu, then said coolly, "Mr. Malfoy, do you know this young man?"

Qin Yu put on a child's wide-eyed confusion, glancing up at Lucius Malfoy.

"How would I know him? It's just that, when I arrived at Hogwarts today, I saw this boy bullying another student in class. Left quite the impression!" Lucius said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

His tone was sharp, but both Professor McGonagall and Qin Yu felt a wave of relief.

So, he'd only learned of Qin Yu today—he didn't even know his name.

Of course, as the noble head of the Malfoy family, why would he bother tracking the affairs of a mere first-year?

…

Following Lucius and Professor McGonagall, Qin Yu soon arrived at the Acromantula cave.

The corpses of the giant spiders were gone—anything valuable had already been taken by Qin Yu, Hagrid, and the others. The rest had long since been devoured by scavengers.

All that remained were traces of the magical explosion and sticky Acromantula blood.

"Lucius, the boy's here. Ask your questions, and then let him return—Hogwarts has afternoon classes," Professor Dumbledore said.

"Fine!" Lucius nodded, turning to Qin Yu. "Well, boy, tell me what really happened that day. And remember—tell the truth!"

At once, Qin Yu's demeanor shifted. He shrank back, feigning panic and timidity, and stammered, "Th-that day, my pet Shrek went missing, so I went looking for him…"

"Wait, who's Shrek?" Lucius interrupted, frowning.

"Shrek's my pet—a cute, big-eared mouse. He's really well-behaved, and he can run on a wheel…"

"All right, enough. Get to the point!" Lucius snapped, cutting off the rambling.

"Sorry, I'll continue… So, when I realized he was missing, I went searching… Then I got lost, wandering all over until I ended up here. There were so many huge spiders! They were terrifying—each one had eight legs and eight eyes! I was so scared, I started crying and shouting for help… Luckily, Professor Dumbledore showed up and saved me, killing all those horrible spiders!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu's face was a portrait of lingering fear, his terror and helplessness utterly convincing.

When he finished, he turned and bowed deeply to Dumbledore. "Thank you so much, Professor Dumbledore! If you hadn't come when you did, Shrek and I would've been in real danger."

"You're very welcome. Protecting students is our duty as teachers," Dumbledore replied gently.

"Are you sure you're not lying?" Lucius pressed, clearly dissatisfied.

Dumbledore had already given Lucius a version of events before Qin Yu arrived, and the boy's story matched it to the letter.

Lucius had expected some hidden intrigue behind the Forbidden Forest explosion, but it turned out to be nothing but a routine rescue.

And if the rescuer was Dumbledore himself, then any amount of magical disturbance was to be expected. After all, Dumbledore was widely acknowledged as the greatest wizard of the age—perhaps of any age.

"Huh? Why would I lie?" Qin Yu asked, eyes wide with innocent confusion.

Lucius didn't bother answering. He glanced around irritably, searching for any sign of something amiss, but found nothing.

At that moment, Professor Snape strolled in, unhurried as ever.

"Severus, do you have any Veritaserum on you?" Lucius demanded.

"Veritaserum? Why on earth would I carry that around? Of course, if you need it, I could fetch some," Snape replied, face unreadable.

Lucius looked from Dumbledore's smiling face to Professor McGonagall's stern expression, and finally to the bewildered boy whose name he still couldn't place. After a long moment, he sighed.

"If you don't have it, never mind. Since the matter's been cleared up, I can report to the governors. So, Professor Dumbledore, how do you intend to deal with this incident?"

He'd expected a major scandal—now, all he felt was disappointment… and resignation.

After all, he was no match for Dumbledore.

It seemed his trip to Hogwarts would yield little more than frustration.

"Professor McGonagall, this boy's from your House. What do you suggest?" Dumbledore asked.

"Although he entered the Forbidden Forest while looking for his pet, he still broke one of Hogwarts' strictest rules. He could have sought help from a teacher, but he didn't. Therefore, I propose deducting fifty points from Gryffindor, and assigning him some labor as punishment," Professor McGonagall pronounced.

Another round of point deductions.

Qin Yu's bottom lip trembled, his eyes reddening—he looked as if he might burst into tears from the injustice.

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "That seems fair. I'll also remind the entire school at dinner of the dangers of the Forbidden Forest, and urge everyone to stay out. Will this satisfy the governors, Lucius?"

"Hmph. I'll be sure to report Professor Dumbledore's negligence in school management to the governors!" Lucius snapped.

But that was all he could do—this incident wouldn't bring down Dumbledore.

With a dramatic swirl of his cloak, Lucius strode off, snake-headed cane in hand.

"Dobby, what are you dawdling for?! Get moving!" he barked.

Dobby cast a furtive, worried glance at Qin Yu, then shuffled away, clearly reluctant to leave.

Once Lucius and his house-elf were gone, the once-trembling, teary-eyed little boy dropped the act, his face breaking into a sun-bright smile.

"Next time I chat with you, I'll be sure to bring Veritaserum," Snape drawled, rolling his eyes as he sauntered out of the cave.

Professor McGonagall couldn't help frowning. She'd just realized that Qin's acting was masterful—effortless and utterly convincing. It had saved the day today, but if he ever used those skills against Hogwarts' own staff, they'd all be in for a world of trouble.

She glanced instinctively at Professor Dumbledore, only to find him smiling back at her, calm and reassuring.

Well, with the headmaster around, she supposed she didn't need to worry so much after all.

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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