章 43: Easter

A few days later it was Easter.

Ravenclaw common room.

On one of the sofas distributed around the place, Three children were sitting.

Steve: "How can it be? I'm already anguished with just the subjects we have now and now they tell me I have to select more?"

Mitchell: "Why are you making such a fuss? It's not like you didn't know from the start".

Steve: "Yeah…but I didn't expect I would have to start worrying about them so soon".

Trudor: "Isn't it just making sure you're in the same class as Extimum? That way you can easily pass all subjects".

Steve: "Trudor, you're a genius! How did I not think of that? What's the matter with you, Mitchell? Why the constipated face?"

Extimum:" Oh, I didn't know you had that kind of ideas about me".

Trudor and Steve suddenly stiffened at the sound of Extimum's voice from behind them.

Due to the position they were in, they hadn't seen Extimum approaching along with Luna and Padma.

Only Mitchell, who was sitting across from them, had caught sight of him when he had cast a casual glance behind them and watched him approach, immediately deciding not to comment on what they were saying.

Extimum: "That being the case, I think I should open myself up to working with other people, I trust that with your efforts, you will also do well".

Padma: "Yes, you could work with me".

Steve: "Wait Extimum, it's not like that, you heard it yourself, that was Trudor's idea, I was just contemplating the idea and about to scold Trudor, how could we try to take advantage of you? Hmp, I always have considered that you are a magnanimous and handsome man, of course, you would not abandon your friends in the face of difficulties, right?"

* lol *

Hearing Steve's shameless words, Mitchell and Trudor couldn't help but make a nasty face, while Padma and Luna laughed.

Padma: " Wow , Steve, who taught you to say all that? Were you always so shameless?"

Steve: " Hmp , what do you know, I have always been a straight and sincere person, and each one of my words is only the truth that I believe in my heart." Steve put his hand on his chest and said in a dignified and sincere manner.

Luna:" Ah, I thought it had to do with the book you were reading before, I also read it once and saw something similar".

Luna's words caught everyone's attention, was lazy Steve reading?

Even the previously sincere Steve couldn't help but break his expression a bit when he heard Luna's words.

Steve: "*Ahem*, that was nothing major, I just saw something that made me curious and I gave it a look or two before I left".

Luna:" Mm?, but you really seemed focused at that moment-".

Steve:"Ah, Luna, that's right. I didn't tell you, but I heard that Hagrid had brought a new magical creature and according to the third years, it's a really beautiful one, don't you want to go see it?".

Luna: "But I'm not very familiar with Hagr -".

Steve: "Don't worry, don't you know who I am? I'm the great Steve, come on, come on, I'm sure Hagrid will like you." Steve wasted no time and as he spoke, he grabbed Luna's hand and dragged her out of the common room.

Luna could only give a look between expectation and in perplexity before the rapid movements of Steve, who took her quickly. He hadn't even given her a chance to say no.

Padma: "Wow, what kind of book could it be? He took Luna as soon as she mentioned it".

Trudor: " Hmm , I've never seen Steve read anything unless the teachers forced him to".

Mitchell: "Knowing Steve, it won't be…you know…?"

Trudor quickly shook his head. "Impossible, if it were, that would also mean that Luna had read something like that".

Extimum: "Mm, I think I know what book it was".

Padma: "Oh, which one?"

Extimum: "The Roswell Goblin".

Trudor: "What? Does Steve read something like that? No, more importantly, does Luna read something like that?"

Padma: "What's so special about that book?"

Mitchell: "You really don't know?"

Padma: "No… what is it about? Is it a dark book?"

Extimum :" It's nothing like that, it's... mmm, to put it kindly it would be a diary that recounts the great deeds of the Roswell goblin, but to put it concretely it actually represents a great embarrassment for the magic community of several countries, So it's not exactly a topic you'd bring up in a normal conversation and you wouldn't look good if someone saw you reading something like that either".

Padma: "Wow, I didn't know there was such a thing, what exactly did he do?" Padma asked with genuine curiosity.

Her family came from India and had moved to England just a few years ago for a job opportunity that her father got, so she did not know many of the popular things in this area of the world and had never heard anything about the goblin Roswell.

Trudor: "Hmm, not much really, he just caused the biggest embezzlement and swindle wizarding families have ever suffered, plus he actually managed to fool at least two wizarding ministries".

Padma: "What? And that doesn't seem like much to you?"

Bloom: ' How pretentious'.

Mitchell: "It's true, it is said that the amount of money that he steal amounts to hundreds of millions of galleons , do you know what that is? Can you imagine everything you could do with that much money?".

Padma: "But how do he manage to do all that? Is it even possible to fool the magical ministry? With all the power they have it's really hard for anyone to do it, but wait, we're getting off topic, what does that have to do with what Luna said?".

Trudor: " Err ... Well, in that book, Roswell was quite... detailed with his methods and ways. Reading it is almost as good as meeting the Roswell goblin himself".

Mitchell: "Yeah, it's honestly a bit unsettling when you read the book, but there's no denying that the man was a genius in his own way".

"Steve was probably afraid that Luna was going to talk about it freely and everyone would find out what he was reading, after all, it is very likely that there are members of the affected families around here and he will earn their enmity, in addition to the reputation that he could obtain".

Padma: "But if the book is so abominable in the eyes of the wizarding community, then why can it still be around? Shouldn't it have been destroyed?"

Extimum: "That's because it's not that simple, Roswell made sure that it wasn't that easy for them to destroy the immortalization of his exploits and those who can really destroy them don't necessarily want to".

Padma: "Why wouldn't they want to destroy it if it represents such a shame?"

Trudor: "For knowledge".

Padma: "Knowledge?"

Trudor: "Yes, there is a lot you can learn by reading that book, that's why it's something of an open secret that all wizards read it at least once in their life, however, there are still people who want to destroy those books in when they see them and since the names of many families are explicitly mentioned in the book, it is almost a taboo for someone to see you reading that book".

Padma: "Wow, I didn't think there would be such a thing, now I'm a bit curious about that book, but looking at the situation, I don't think it's easy to read. But what happened to the Roswell goblin in the end?"

Extimum: "He died."

Padma: "Did he die? I thought if he was as incredible as you said, could he have escaped unscathed?"

Extimum: "Heh, Roswell was really amazing, but he was also too greedy and in the end, he bit off more than he could chew and was killed." Extimum's voice was unusually nonchalant when he mentioned that he had been killed.

Padma: "And who killed him?"

Trudor: "Callum Shadowless". Trudor's eyes flickered with a strange look at the mention of this name and he secretly glared at Extimum.

His gaze was not inconspicuous to the others and it wasn't hard for Padma to infer something based on the surname and the look Trudor gave Extimum.

Extimum: "That aside, I plan on signing up for pretty much every elective, so you don't have to go through any kind of special effort trying to pick a subject I'm in, except for muggle studies, but if you pick that, I don't think you need much help and I don't know if I'd be the best person to ask".

Mitchell: "Is it even possible to sign up for almost every subject?"

Padma: " Hmm , it should be if the schedules don't cross, but I think it would still be very difficult."

Trudor: "No, in fact, normally you only choose a maximum of three electives, with only two being common, so choosing more would be almost impossible because the schedules would definitely cross and you would not be able to attend all of them".

Extimum: "Naturally I have a path, or rather, there is a certain opportunity available that the house directors offer to the best second-year students, but to access them, you must have shown that you can take the core subjects in the higher averages the first two years and continue to do so in subsequent years or else, you would have to choose to drop some of the electives".

"Although this year is not over yet, Professor Flitwick mentioned that he would help me next year".

Mitchell: " Wow , I didn't know there was such a thing, but wouldn't it be a headache to have to stay in the top ranks every year after that? Will you even have time to have fun?"

Padma: "Right, maintaining a level like that every year would be quite difficult, as unforeseen events can happen that force you to lower your grades."

Trudor: "Indeed, it would be very stressful, though I've never heard of such a thing at Hogwarts." Trudor couldn't help but say between doubt and suspicion. Although he was not at the level of Extimum, he was also ranked high among his year, however, he had never heard of anything like that.

In fact, Trudor was correct to suspect.

The opportunity that Extimum mentioned was the time-turner, however, an item like this would not be so easily given to the students and even if it was given to them, it would be unlikely that the students would actually be able to keep up with such a busy pace of study afterward.

After all, they were young and wanted to have fun, which was all the more reason they wouldn't normally be given it.

However, when there were cases of really exceptional students, the headmasters of each house could try to request it from the headmaster, in this case Dumbledore and if he agreed, he would give them the time-turner in his possession.

That said, something like this hadn't happened too often, because even if there were such students, who would want to study even more than they already had to, plus they had to maintain an average in all major subjects at high levels.

Not to mention others, even Extimum wasn't initially interested in such an idea, he already had enough on his plate and there was no reason to put even more on it, so he had thought of just choosing the ones he was most interested in.

However, when he had found himself considering his choice of subjects, he hadn't expected Professor Flitwick to approach him and casually ask him if he was interested in taking more than three electives.

Extimum of course was fully aware of his situation and his limited time, but his lack of knowledge was great and he wanted to learn much more... Bah!, mere nonsense, he might as well learn it by himself.

However, how could he resist the temptation to experiment and study a time-turner? We were talking about one of the few, if not the only invention related to time magic.

If space magic was already quite rare and scarce in its applications, there was not much more to say about time magic.

Even the ministry had a "secret" division in the department of mysteries that especially investigated this magic and everything related to it was kept top secret, so much so that it was likely that the information contained there would be destroyed before someone could steal it due to the implications of such a branch of magic.

So, very "reluctantly" he accepted Professor Flitwick's proposal, however, if there was real caution when he accepted the proposal, and that was because, although his relationship with Professor Flitwick was quite good, it was not that good.

That meeting had been too casual, added to the fact that the final decision to hand over the time-turner fell to Dumbledore, could not help but make Extimum wonder if such a coincidence was not actually him walking into the lion's den and being subtly directed at another conspiracy.

Extimum didn't really want to be played as cannon fodder in whatever it was. But again, the time-turner was still too attractive and although it was a trap, he was willing to enter it with pleasure at least for this time.

With that said, Professor Flitwick hadn't mentioned anything related to the time-turner at all, but Extimum believed it would definitely be that, because he himself couldn't find any other way for him to attend the other classes.

Unless, of course, there was cloning magic, but that was even more unlikely and Extimum seriously doubted anything like that actually existed.

Extimum." Well, maybe you shouldn't think too much about that, as for your choice of subjects, just choose the one that you think will help you the most in your goals or the ones that are more related. I'll go out for a walk." Speaking up to here, Extimum turned around and prepared to leave.

Mitchell: "Extimum, wait…um, you're not ditching us later in the studios, are you?"

Bloom: 'Wow, they really must think you're some kind of petty villain'.

Extimum stopped in his tracks upon hearing Mitchell, however, he couldn't help but slightly move his eyebrows at Bloom's words and think out loud.

Extimum: "Am I such a petty person?"

Mitchell: "Uh… maybe? Ah!".

Trudor: " Shh , Mitchell, shut up." Trudor who was next to Mitchell quickly pinched him to shut up.

Bloom: 'Oh, hahaha , I didn't expect that'.

Padma: "I don't think so, it's just that your tone is usually quite flat, so it's hard to know if when you say something you're joking or really mean it. Anyway, after meeting you and reading the environment it's easy to understand you, although perhaps there are still some who are a little foolish and cannot understand it".

Extimum :" Ah, so, maybe like this…". Suddenly, a strange low sound was barely perceptible for a moment as "#Don't worry, I'll still help you when you need it#".

* Ahh !*

The faces of everyone present turned into one of shock and terror for a moment as they stared at Extimum with wide eyes.

And that was because the voice and expressions he spoke with were exactly the same as Steve's.

Although his face and body remained the same, the expressions and voice would make anyone wonder if for a moment, Extimum had been possessed by Steve, making for quite an unsettling contrast.

Even Bloom couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and quickly jump up from her comfortable position and check if she really was with Extimum. If it hadn't been for the connection between them, she might have almost been scared to death.

Mitchell: "You… what did you do?"

Extimum: "Hm? Why do you look so terrified?" 'I really think it was my best performance, it was quite realistic and expressive…'

Extimum felt a little surprised by their exaggerated reaction, it shouldn't have been so scary right?

Padma: "Don't ever do something like that again, that was creepy".

Trudor said nothing, but nodded in agreement as he kept his serious gaze on Extimum.

Bloom: 'Yeah, it was really creepy, is it a new magic? I've never seen you do it before.'

Extimum: "Okay, my mistake, I think it was quite surprising, anyway, while you have time you can ask me for help as usual, I'll go now."

'It's nothing new or anything like that, it's part of my metamorphmagus ability, it's just an application that I don't use much usually, however, I usually practice it in other kinds of things and that's why you hadn't noticed. I didn't think you would be so surprised…'.

Bloom: 'Surprise is not enough, I almost thought my heart would stop there…'. Bloom thought quietly

Extimum' Did you say something?'.

Bloom: 'No, nothing.'

After Extimum left the common room, Padma, Mitchell, and Trudor gradually regained their composure.

Mitchell: "I think I'm going to have nightmares after this..."

Somewhere by the black lake.

Extimum was sitting on the grass observing the landscape near the lake.

This specific place had already become something like his private place. It was quite a secluded place and far from the castle, slightly covered by a large rock and a tall tree that Extimum liked to come to lie down on.

Bloom: "What are you thinking about?"

Extimum: "Nothing special, I'm just digressing between various things."

Bloom: "But you look cheerful, so there must be something good".

Extimum: "Well, as strange as it may seem, when I saw everyone's terrified faces a while ago, an idea occurred to me that could help me finish the external rune circuit and the more I think about it, the more I find it more and more viable".

Extimum had naturally not been idle in recent days.

So, after surviving two explosions of experimentation, burying his room in runic papers, and managing to trick the rune teacher into hypothetically answering one of his questions while posing as another student, he had managed to fix the problem in the outermost circle of runes of the amulet.

However, there was only one place left to fill that would ensure the amulet would work again, but he hadn't been able to fill it until at least a while ago when a fleeting and unrelated thought seemed to have thrown him the answer and though he hadn't tried it yet, hhe was sure it would work.

Extimum: "However, now there is something else I would like to try".

Bloom: "oh, tell me, what is-?".

Extimum grabbed Bloom who was resting on his shoulder and put her on his lap and then, before Bloom could fully express her doubts, an almost translucent purple energy flew out of his hand and hit Bloom directly.

In the first seconds it seemed that nothing had happened and after Bloom finished checking herself and didn't notice anything different, she was about to complain about having been fooled so suddenly, when...

A change occurred. It was as quick and sudden as Extimum's attack.

Extimum blinked a little and leaned back from his position a little to better observe the new sight.

Now sitting on his lap was Bloom, however, her body was now even bigger and taller than Extimum.

She had returned to her original size or human size.

In front of Extimum was an astonished Bloom who was looking at her body with surprise.

Her long hair that was a mix between orange and fire-like red fell down her back, while her large wings covered the view beyond her back and outlined her figure with a faint iridescent glow.

Then there was her slender but developed seductive figure capable of producing dire thoughts even in the most disinterested. Looking up, Extimum met Bloom who stood much taller than him now, meeting her bewitching blue eyes, they were a beautiful sky blue that seemed to hide incredible magical power.

Extimum watched Bloom carefully. His eyes showed no change at all as he burned this new image of her into his mind.

It was the first time he really felt Bloom's weight while sitting on top of him.

The light floral fragrance beginning to spread and the warmth of contact. It wasn't like he hadn't been close to Bloom before, but now it was something completely different.

Though which one was different exactly, it was hard to tell at first glance.

Observing her figure, Extimum's gaze remained unperturbed, however, his hand was still slowly drawn in her direction, until he gently cupped Bloom's face, drawing all her attention to him.

His action of meeting her gaze directly seemed to trigger a short moment of silence, however, it didn't last too long, as Bloom's cheeks reddened slightly and in the next second, she reverted to her reduced fairy size and quickly flew to hide inside Extimum's robe.

Extimum: "Why are you hiding now?"

Extimum didn't react much to her sudden escape and just smiled softly as he withdrew his hand from the now empty air.

His movement was natural, but if there had been someone in front of them at that precise moment, they might have noticed that Extimum's little finger had actually stabbed into his own palm, a fact made visible by the bloody outline of that finger and the few sliding drops.

Bloom: "It was just too unexpected and I haven't returned to my original form in a while, so, I was feeling a little awkward, just give me a little more time and I'll introduce myself".

Bloom slowly came out of hiding as she calmly explained.

She felt somewhat embarrassed by the fact that she was aware that even though she had been able to return to her original form a long time ago, she had deliberately hidden that fact even though she knew that Extimum wished to see her in said form.

However, she had had her own considerations, the first of which was that her body might not be able to fully withstand returning to that form.

The ice that had imprisoned her was not simple at all and had caused serious damage that still lasted in sequels inside her. Extimum had only been able to easily destroy her ice prison due to the sheer singularity of his energy and the fact that the ice had lost much of its power after so much time had passed.

Another of her considerations was that she had already acquired a certain attachment to her current state because she could do things that she definitely could not do once she returned to her original form.

The myth that fairies were always small beings comparable to butterflies was actually only part of the truth. That form was taken mainly by convention or by too young fairies who hadn't finished maturing yet, and ultimately, it was a trait of certain fairies to remain that way permanently.

Extimum: "Why are they so different? At first glance one would think it would just be the difference in size, but I feel like it's more than that."

Extimum asked as he silently wiped the blood from his hand, as for the wound, something like that could heal in a few seconds. Despite his indifferent face, mentally he was frowning and the reason was not entirely related to Bloom.

To tell the truth, Extimum had already had some speculations for some time about Bloom being able to revert to her original appearance, however, on a spur of the moment he had wanted to see her now, so using his energy, he stimulated a certain part of her body in such a way that it returned to its original form.

In a way, it was more of a casual attempt since he had never tried anything like that.

But the recent improvement in his energy had instilled in him some interest and he had spent some time experimenting with it, so he felt he could do more with it now.

From his observations, Extimum could only say that his energy seemed to have a somewhat insidious personality, his nature was always so gentle that it seemed impossible that he could harm anyone.

However, at the slightest change in the user's intentions it was always ready to draw a silent dagger on the target, on the other hand, it was for this very reason that Extimum could rest easy experimenting with it so casually.

Bloom: "I didn't expect you could tell with just one look. But you're right, the small form usually compresses or discards certain attributes from the final form, some because they're not needed, others just naturally overshadowed."

Extimum: "I see, so I'll just be patient until you feel comfortable returning to that form. But changing the subject, I've always been curious, are there male fairies ?"

Bloom: "Yes, but they are very rare. Generally, when one is born, it has a chance to become the king of the fairies ."

Extimum: "Do they have something special?".

Bloom: "I haven't met many and I haven't had a very close relationship with them, however, if there was one thing that they all definitely had, it was talent, a monstrous talent for magic, moreover, either by magic or by nature, their life expectancy used to be much longer than a common fairy.

Extimum: "It's quite a curious thing, well, we've been away for a long time. Let's go back." Extimum got up from the ground and shook his robes a bit as he spoke.

It was almost time for lunch, so considering the distance, it was better to get back early.

Bloom: "Okay, oh, now that I remember, why don't we stop by Hagrid's hut on the way to the castle?, I want to see what kind of creature Steve was hoping to trick Luna with".

Extimum: "Hagrid? Hmm, thinking about it, it's almost time I acted."

Bloom: "Was there something you wanted to do with Hagrid?"

Bloom's interest perked up a bit, she was almost all the time with Extimum and although she could tell he was on good terms with Hagrid, but except for a few times when Extimum went with Harry and the others, he didn't really visit or get too close with him, so what was the reason for the sudden interest?

Extimum: "Ah, I was just thinking out loud, but it's just something like a wish?... mm or maybe do a good deed? Well, I'm not too sure myself, I just feel like I should do something".

Bloom: "something about what?"

Extimum: "About-... the corruption of the magical world, although I 'm not a seeker of justice, but helping an acquaintance is still within acceptable limits. But for now don't think too much about it, it's about something I found out by chance, but it hasn't happened yet".

Bloom: "Oh, I see".

Bloom decided not to pay more attention to the matter, although she considered Extimum's sudden change of words, she felt that it was not necessary to delve too much into something that had not yet occurred and was not related to her or Extimum.

Of course, from their conception, Extimum's words about learning of something to come weren't exactly attuned to the true meaning of the words he actually gave them.

Extimum: "Well, let's see what creature it is then."

Bloom: "Yes."

After that, the two headed towards Hagrid's hut, although, on the way, Extimum still casually glanced at his hand to make sure it was okay and Bloom didn't notice a thing.

Back to the castle.

Bloom: 'I think Luna wasn't fooled by anything, it was really cute and fluffy, although if it hadn't tried to eat me it would have been much cuter. I guess it still suffered its retribution when it had a sudden attack of stomach pain and chills, don't you think so?'.

Bloom happily flew through the castle as she followed Extimum towards the Ravenclaw common room.

Extimum: "Yes... a true coincidental retribution, maybe it was karma?".

The magical creature they saw was quite cute.

It was a small light pink furry ball, with big purple eyes and a small black nose, it wouldn't be hard to mistake its for a stuffed animal, well, that was at least until it saw Bloom and its little mouth expanded to a disproportionate size, enough to swallow two Blooms in one gulp.

Of course, by twists of fate, the creature suffered a sudden stomach ache that made it stop and roll over in place as it shuddered, a true coincidence no doubt.

Hagrid then apologized very sorry for what had happened and then proceeded to treat the creature, which recovered shortly after Extimum and Bloom left the hut.

Coincidences also dictated that since the creature was only being looked after by Hagrid as a favor for a friend and would later leave, its retribution had been rather "light".

Bloom: "I don't think 'ghost ice cream' is that bad, it just must have been hungry and thought I was some bird or something".

Extimum: "Ghost ice cream? Did you already give it a name? And why did you give it something like that?"

Bloom: "Yeah, it smelled and looked a lot like the ghost ice cream I ate in the ghost town, so I decided to name it that, don't you think that's a good name?"

Extimum:" yes, No, it's not really a good name, it sounds like you want to eat it too, though... Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea?".

Bloom: "Ah, don't say such things, I just thought the name was very suitable, I never thought of such a thing as eating it."

Extimum: " Tch , I guess it will be another time".

Extimum muttered almost inaudibly and turned through the intersection of the corridor when.

**crash**

As he turned down the hall to the right, he collided head-on with a girl who was running in that direction.

The situation had caught Extimum off guard enough that he almost fell from the impact.

But he had managed to hold himself thanks to their tails that had extended at just the right moment and caught him before he fell to the ground, leaving him in a strange position with his body leaning back close to touching the ground.

???:"* ouch *, my head."

Bloom: 'Oh, are you alright, Extimum?'

Extimum: 'Yes…'.

Extimum quickly recovered from his awkward position and arranged his robe while looking at the girl on the floor who was holding her head with her hands.

Extimum: "Sorry, I must have been distracted with my thoughts and didn't notice you, are you okay Ginny?" As he spoke, Extimum reached out his hand to help lift Ginny off the ground.

Ginny: "Ah, yes, I'm fine, thanks, I'm the one who should apologize, I came running and I didn't take a good look around me".

Ginny accepted his hand and braced herself off the floor as she picked up a few books she had dropped in the crash.

Ginny: "Are you wearing something under your robe? I felt like I bumped into something really hard." Ginny asked as she rubbed her forehead, her head no longer hurt as much, but she still felt a bit disoriented from the crash.

Extimum:" I'm not wearing anything, maybe it's because my bones are a little more robust than normal, well that and you were running very fast".

Ginny: "Oh, I was being inconsiderate, you crashed into me too, are you okay?" Ginny said embarrassed that she had completely forgotten about him and checked Extimum for any visible injuries.

You never knew if the crash might make you hit something or land in a bad position.

Extimum: "I'm fine, I was just a little surprised." As he spoke, Extimum's eyes surreptitiously wandered over Ginny's body and objects, he wasn't being polite with his words at the moment.

He was really surprised by the fact that he had bumped into someone.

His senses hadn't given him any indication that anyone had gotten that close to him, it was only when his eyes suddenly stopped on an old black book resting in Ginny's hands that a ray of realization flashed in his eyes.

"It's a nice Diary you have there, it must be a relic, nowadays you don't see so many in that style"

Ginny: "Diary? Ah" — Following Extimum's gaze, Ginny saw the diary he was referring to and became alarmed, immediately remembering the reason she had been running—" I-it's nothing special, it's just a old book my parents got second hand.

Ginny tried to act calm, but her slight panic at first gave away the clear abnormality and she quickly covered the old black diary with her things as she tried to change the subject.

Bloom: 'What 's so interesting about that diary? It just looks like a very common old book, maybe it's just well preserved at most.'

Bloom walked over and cheekily circled around Ginny while looking at the Diary from all angles.

Extimum: 'Its appearance is indeed quite ordinary, but it is its content that is of value.'

Bloom: 'Oh, I see, is it perhaps written by a great author? a famous person?'

Extimum: 'Yes…"— Seeing that Bloom seemed to have misunderstood his words, he couldn't help but respond with a certain unnaturalness, although he decided not to correct her misunderstanding for the time being— "I'm sure he's a very famous author, so much so that he makes people shudder just hearing his name'.

Bloom: 'Wow, I didn't think there was such a famous and impressive character, do people get excited just by hearing his name? You have to get me a book of him or her, I'm really curious about his work.'

Bloom's eyes sparkled with excitement as she imagined the content of one of the works of such a distinguished character.

Even though she wasn't that enthusiastic about reading books, under the influence of Extimum, she came to enjoy reading a bit.

Although it wasn't like she had many options, the current magical civilization didn't keep almost any magical artifacts for entertainment other than the more classic ones, so unless she went to a non-magical city, which wouldn't be any time soon, it would be hard to get anything.

Extimum: ' Hmm , it would be difficult, I can't promise anything'.

Bloom: 'Isn't it just borrowing it from Ginny? Besides, even she was able to get a second hand one, how come you can't get one?' Bloom asked suspiciously. How could it be so difficult to get a copy of the book?

Extimum: 'Forget it, even if she were to lend it to me right now, I'm afraid I wouldn't dare accept it, at least not right now.'

Extimum actually didn't dare, if it had been a while ago, he might have considered taking it and studying it, but by now it should have already stolen enough of Ginny's vitality and regained some of its power, so he wasn't too eager to find himself in unnecessary trouble at the moment in case he didn't have the same luck as Harry.

Ginny: "Ah, you're here too Bloom, you look very lively. Extimum, I apologize again for bumping into you. I'm in a bit of a hurry so I'll say goodbye."

Ginny's eyes sparkled at the sight of Bloom, but she didn't feel comfortable after Extimum noticed the book, so she apologized again and ran quickly as she waved goodbye.

She was really worried that Extimum would come to recognize the book she was carrying in her hands, after all, she knew that he was close to Harry and it was possible that he had seen it with Harry, it was especially so, because she had left a big mess on her way to find the diary, so there would surely be a bit of a ruckus and Extimum would eventually find out.

On the other hand, she was a bit reluctant to have to leave, she didn't always get the chance to get close to Bloom.

Bloom was kind of a little idol or pet for most of the girls and even some boys at Hogwarts, many actually envied Extimum for being able to get such a cute and smart fairy.

However, even though Bloom didn't act aloof, it was a bit difficult to approach her since she almost always stayed with Extimum and some felt a bit embarrassed to approach his casually or just to look for Bloom.

Also, students were technically not allowed to have pets other than the stipulated ones in the first year, but there seemed to be some kind of exception to this rule for Extimum.

Speaking of which, it seemed that Hagrid had been one of the contributors to being more strict about what kind of pets could be brought to Hogwarts, however, since Bloom did not belong to a dangerous class and could use some of his family's influence, it was not difficult for them to accept.

It was that and that Extimum hadn't had any pets (wizard partner) before and that Bloom's behavior was quite good, so there was no reason to ban his either.

Bloom: "She really must be in a hurry if even after getting hit, she runs away again and not much slower than the speed she originally came with".

Extimum:" Yes, she sure is "in a hurry", wait, did you see her coming?".

Bloom: "Yes, as she was going ahead I could see her, it's just that I didn't expect both her and you to collide, especially you, I think I've never seen you collide with someone, and with your senses, I thought you would avoid her even if she was distracted".

Extimum: "It was just a set of coincidences. Let's go."

.-.

Gryffindor common room.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on a couch discussing which electives they would be choosing for next year.

Though, it was mainly Harry considering, since Hermione had chosen almost all of them as well as Extimum and Ron had been advised by his family.

So they were just doing their own thing while they waited for Harry to finish.

Ron: "Hey Hermione, has anything happened to you recently?" Ron asked casually as he played a game of wizard chess against the board.

Hermione: "No… why do you say that?" Hermione answered in an uninterested way, while reading a book.

Ron: " Um , well, I didn't want to be the one to say it, but you see, you've been a bit weird lately and Parvati mentioned that you were…having trouble sleeping, so, I wanted to know if there was something bothering you".

Hermione still didn't look away from her book, but for some strange reason her cheeks flushed slightly.

Hermione: "Nothing has happened to me, it's just that I've had a lot on my mind, by the way, Parvati…did she mention anything else?"

Ron: "No, but, you shouldn't scold her, she was just worried about you and brought it up so we could ask." Ron thought that Hermione might be mad at Parvati for talking about her, so he tried to clarify the situation.

Hermione: "*cough*, no, that's fine, I get it, I'm not mad at Parvati, I just wanted to know if she mentioned anything else." Hermione answered now a little calmer knowing that Parvati hadn't mentioned anything else.

Ron: "No, she didn't mention anything else, just that you had trouble sleeping. Maybe it has something to do with Extimum?" Seeing that Hermione wasn't angry, Ron turned his attention back to the game and asked casually to change the subject.

Hermione: "Extimum? W-why do you think he would have anything to do with it?" Hermione stopped her reading and raised her head to look at Ron.

Unaware of Hermione's reaction, Ron continued speaking.

Ron: "I don't know, I was just asking casually, apart from me and Harry, Extimum is the one you spend time with the most. Speaking of which, I've always been curious, is there something going on between you two?"

At his question, Hermione who was about to turn her attention back to the book stopped and stiffened slightly as she felt inexplicably flustered, while Harry who was about to finish filling out his form, paused in his actions upon hearing the question of Ron.

Hermione: "No!, uh, I mean, are we just friends?" Hermione flustered a little at Ron's question, but quickly fixed her tone and said uncertainly.

Hermione's overreaction struck Ron as odd, who diverted his attention from the chessboard and turned to look at Hermione a little annoyed.

Ron: "Isn't that obvious?, but I'm asking if you guys have been doing something in secret that you haven't told me or Harry. If you don't want to say it, just don't say it, you don't have to yell".

Hermione: "Ah… that's what you meant… No, we just study in the library sometimes or well…".

Ron: "Uh-huh, so there was something, but okay, you don't have to say it, I just wanted to know if my instinct as an investigator was correct".

Ron hadn't taken into account the other possible interpretation of his question and Hermione's response, but Harry had fully grasped the other meaning.

Harry: ' Perhaps Extimum is finally having a bit of a hit?'

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discord.gg/ZZrUfk3msj