#407 - Chapter 407 Malfoy's Advice

"Harry, the half-year deadline is almost here. Don't forget what I promised you before the Quidditch World Cup final last year."

Hearing Sebastian's voice on the phone, Harry, who had been woken up by the magic mobile phone ringtone, didn't react for a moment. He had partied very late last night and was still a bit groggy from sleep.

Half a year?

What did I promise?

I can't quite remember...

"Time is running out. Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on you." Sebastian hung up the phone, a mischievous smile on his lips.

If I say increase the intensity, then I increase the intensity. The young man relaxed last night, and now it's time to continue working hard.

Of course, saying that time is running out is just to scare Harry and bring him a sense of urgency, so as to prevent him from falling into a state of slack again.

After all, this plan won't work without Harry.

Listening to the dial tone from the magic mobile phone, Harry was completely confused. He rubbed his hair, which had become even more disheveled from sleeping, opened his mouth, and yawned widely.

So sleepy...

It's so comfortable in the blanket. Should I sleep a little longer and think about it after I wake up?

But listening to the professor's words, it seems that time is quite tight.

What exactly is it?

He wiped his eyes, which had become moist from yawning, and stared at the top of the bed curtains, starting to think.

Half a year...

Could it be the study period for Occlumency?

That nightmare was in late August last year, just before going to watch the Quidditch World Cup final, and then Professor Swann agreed to teach me Occlumency and set a half-year deadline.

Counting from the first Saturday of September last year, when the professor started teaching the first Occlumency lesson, when is the half-year deadline?

Thinking of this, he suddenly sat up in bed and started counting on his fingers.

"October, November, December... The deadline is the first Saturday of March!"

"Merlin's pants! It's already February 25th, which means there are only 8 days left at most."

Harry exclaimed, threw off the covers, grabbed the clothes next to him, and put them on. He was no longer sleepy at all, and his mind was full of practicing Occlumency.

This is really deadly!

I actually forgot such an important thing.

The professor promised that if I learn Occlumency within half a year, he would let me participate in the plan against Voldemort.

If I miss this opportunity because of myself, it would be more uncomfortable than killing myself.

Fortunately, Professor Swann reminded me, otherwise, I would definitely regret it for the rest of my life.

Opening the bed curtains and jumping out of bed, Harry found the dormitory was quiet. Everyone's bed curtains were tightly drawn, and obviously, everyone was still asleep.

Should I wake Ron up?

After hesitating for only a moment, he dismissed the idea.

Forget it, it's still early, only 8 o'clock, and Ron can't help in this regard anyway, so let him sleep a little longer.

Harry hurriedly washed up, then ran all the way to the Great Hall, ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast, and found an empty classroom to start practicing Occlumency.

"Eliminate distractions and continue to improve the memory maze!"

For Harry today, eliminating distractions is already a familiar skill, and the remaining key lies in the memory maze.

At this point, Harry couldn't find the loopholes himself, so after lunch, he called Malfoy over.

"You wouldn't have slept until now, would you?" Looking at Malfoy, who was yawning constantly, Harry was extremely surprised. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I drank some coffee and ate some croissants, barely able to hold on for a while. That's not the point. The key is that my whole body is sore right now."

"Whole body sore? The after-effects of swimming, right?" Harry joked, "You're not doing well. How can you be so weak? You only swam for a while yesterday and you're like this."

"Look at me, I'm fine when I woke up today, full of energy! Young people, you need to exercise more."

"Bull!" Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "You're the one who's not doing well, you're the one who's weak! My whole body soreness has nothing to do with swimming in the Black Lake yesterday, not even half a knut."

"Oh?" Harry raised his eyebrows, putting on a look of wanting to hear the details.

"Did you guys have a party yesterday?" Seeing Harry nod, Malfoy continued, "We also had a party, making a ruckus in the common room."

"Later, someone directly took out a radio and started playing the music of the Weird Sisters. In this way, the revelry turned into a dance."

"A dance?" Harry became interested, his ears perked up instantly. "Like the Yule Ball?"

"Yes, but without specially wearing dress robes. Everyone just cleared out the common room and danced casually in their school uniforms."

"However, although we didn't wear dress robes, the atmosphere was still very enthusiastic. We danced until two or three in the morning before it ended."

"My legs are still a little sore now." Malfoy sat on the chair, clenching his fists with both hands and gently hammering his thighs.

Hearing this, a look of envy appeared on Harry's face.

When they were reveling in the Gryffindor common room last night, they only secretly drank some butterbeer ordered by the twins, and then ate some snacks. The rest was all kinds of bragging and chatting.

Although they occasionally jumped around a few times when the twins livened up the atmosphere, it was not as interesting as a dance at all.

"According to my father, when he was in school, we Slytherins had a tradition of holding dances, but after Professor Snape became the head of the house, this tradition slowly disappeared."

Malfoy's eyebrows danced with excitement: "When I become a prefect next year, I must suggest to Professor Snape to restore the dance tradition. I don't ask for much, at least once a month."

"You know," he curled his lips, "dances are very helpful in increasing the feelings between students."

"Listen to me, Harry, when you become a prefect, you can also suggest it to Professor McGonagall. Everyone will definitely thank you."

Prefect, huh...

A look of longing appeared in Harry's eyes.

With my champion status, becoming a prefect next year should be a certainty, right?

At that time, I can indeed organize some interesting activities like dances.

"Okay, enough said," Malfoy stood up and stretched. "Didn't you ask me to practice Occlumency with you? Let's start now."

As he spoke, he raised his wand, not giving Harry time to react, and shouted loudly: "Legilimens!"

Half a day passed, and Malfoy put away his wand: "This won't work. We can't give each other any pressure at all, and we can't find any flaws."

"This job must be done by a professor. Only he can find our shortcomings."

"If you ask me, don't rush. Let's continue to improve our memory mazes ourselves first, and let the professor examine them next week."

That won't do...

I have a reason to speed up. What should I do?

Harry frowned and began to rack his brains, constantly thinking of countermeasures.

Professor Swann and Aunt Mia are not at school this weekend. I can't disturb their alone time.

"Harry," Malfoy said, "If you're really anxious, maybe you can find Professor Snape and ask him to try it. My father said that Professor Snape is an expert in Occlumency."

Professor Snape?!

That's a good idea.

Harry's eyes lit up, and he made up his mind.

After dinner, I'll go find Professor Snape and give it a try.