Chen Yu couldn't tell Hermione that with Harry around, Gryffindor's House Cup was secured, lest it affect Dumbledore's great image in Hermione's heart.
Ultimately, Hermione was still just an eleven or twelve-year-old child; what was wrong with wanting her House to win first place?
Nothing at all.
Chen Yu relaxed his posture and smiled at Hermione, "Don't worry, I have special night-strolling techniques. As long as I'm careful, no one will find me."
Saying this, he pulled out the Serpent Spell, held it in his hand, and disappeared right in front of Hermione.
Hermione immediately held her wand, pointed it in the direction where Chen Yu had disappeared, and shouted, "Revelio!"
Chen Yu, affected by the spell, immediately broke his invisibility.
The Serpent Spell, like the invisibility cloak, had many flaws.
Firstly, it was easily interfered with by other spells, like the Revelio spell Hermione cast.
Moreover, it would also make the user's footsteps and scent invisible.
Usually, when Chen Yu held the Serpent Spell, he would first cast a 'Scourgify' on himself to eliminate his scent as much as possible.
He would also walk lightly, trying not to make any sound.
Seeing Chen Yu reappear, Hermione proudly tilted her chin, "See? Invisibility isn't foolproof."
Chen Yu retorted, "But Filch is a Squib, he doesn't know the Revelio spell. Besides, the professors' night patrol routes are fixed every day. As long as you avoid their patrol routes, night-strolling isn't difficult."
Hermione wanted to refute Chen Yu again, she opened her mouth but didn't say anything about not letting Chen Yu night-stroll. Instead, she glared at Chen Yu and said fiercely, "I forbid you from entering the girls' dormitory while invisible."
Chen Yu rolled his eyes at Hermione, "Don't worry, I'm not that depraved. Besides, what's so good about your skinny arms and legs?"
If this were truly a game, Chen Yu wouldn't care.
When playing Skyrim, he had used mods to watch girls perform in the lab.
But this seemed to be another real world, not just a simple game.
Each of them had their own joys and sorrows, their own life experiences.
Chen Yu didn't want to be so unrestrained.
Once certain red lines were crossed and became habitual, there was a high possibility of inadvertently disrupting his life in the real world.
In his real world, he had both parents, relatives, and bonds, so he couldn't be as reckless as in a game.
Hermione's face flushed, and she glared at Chen Yu again, "And you're not allowed to go to the older girls' dormitories while invisible!"
Looking at Hermione, who looked fierce but lacked much intimidation, Chen Yu sat on another armchair, crossed his legs, and rested his hands under his chin, cosplaying Gendo Ikari.
He asked Hermione, "Tell me, are Harry and Ron planning to go out and cause trouble?"
At this point, Hermione, Harry, and Ron hadn't yet experienced the Troll incident together, and they hadn't started to build a deep friendship.
Ron had publicly expressed his dislike for Hermione more than once, claiming that Hermione should be in Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor.
Hermione also looked down on Ron, thinking he was a reckless child who would lead Harry astray.
Harry had a certain fondness for both Ron and Hermione. Although they bickered, they were still much kinder to him than his aunt's family.
Harry was currently like a glue, buffering the relationship between the two.
Coupled with Malfoy, an even more annoying target, the three barely maintained a friendship.
As for Chen Yu, Chen Yu felt like an outsider, a hidden fourth member of the trio, the fifth Heavenly King among the Four Heavenly Kings.
Perhaps because he knew too many spells, he occasionally disciplined Harry and Ron, making Ron constantly worry that he would become a male version of Hermione.
Hermione began to tell Chen Yu about what happened when they returned from Hagrid's hut that afternoon: encountering Malfoy, Malfoy provoking Harry, and Harry, Ron, and Malfoy making a late-night challenge agreement. She asked Chen Yu to think of a way to stop them from doing something foolish.
According to Hermione's calculations, Malfoy might not go to the trophy room, and the worst-case scenario was that Filch would show up instead of Malfoy.
Chen Yu marveled at Hermione's calculations; in fact, they were pretty much accurate.
If it followed the original story, Malfoy indeed wouldn't go to the display room to wait for Harry, but would instead lead Filch there to catch Harry.
"That's indeed very bad."
Chen Yu nodded, agreeing with Hermione's statement.
As Chen Yu and Hermione were chatting, there was a sound of a door opening from the Gryffindor boys' dormitory.
Chen Yu and Hermione tacitly quieted down at the same time. After turning off the magic lamp on the table, they stared at the passage from the boys' dormitory to the common room in the darkness.
Sure enough, they saw two little boys in wizard robes, wands in hand, tiptoeing down the spiral staircase.
They walked on their tiptoes, behaving stealthily, as if guarding against someone.
As soon as they walked out of the passage and into the common room, Hermione couldn't help but say to Harry, "Harry, I can't believe you're doing this!"
The magic lamp on the table lit up again.
Harry saw Chen Yu and Hermione sitting on the two armchairs closest to the dormitory. He was especially startled when he saw Hermione.
Ron, annoyed, said to Hermione, "You! Go back to sleep. This is our business as boys; you don't need to interfere!"
Hermione retorted impolitely, "No, this concerns all of Gryffindor! I'm going to tell your brother, he's a prefect, he'll stop you!"
Harry then said to Chen Yu, "Chen Yu, you came at just the right time. I need your help! Lend me your Serpent Spell for a bit. I promised Malfoy a wizard's duel in the trophy room tonight."
Chen Yu shook his head and refused, "Harry, I won't lend you the Serpent Spell."
Although Chen Yu wasn't worried that Harry would greedily keep the Serpent Spell, he was worried that he might accidentally lose it.
Hearing Chen Yu's words, Harry's face showed disappointment.
Chen Yu changed the subject, "However, I can go with you."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
Hermione, who was scolding Ron, heard Chen Yu's remark and looked at Chen Yu in disbelief, not expecting Chen Yu to be a 'traitor' at this moment. Extremely angry, she directly yelled at Chen Yu, "Chen Yu, why are you also messing around with them!"
Ron, on the other hand, gave Chen Yu a thumbs up, "Now this is a buddy!"
Chen Yu shrugged, spreading his hands to both sides, and explained to Hermione, "Boys and girls are different in personality. Harry has been destined for great things since birth. People like him have a characteristic: once they decide something, they will grit their teeth and see it through. They are typically 'don't turn back until they hit a wall.' Explaining it to them like this is useless; he won't listen. Once he hits a wall and feels the pain, he will naturally change."
"Then you can't go with them..."
Chen Yu interrupted Hermione, turned his head, and continued to say to Hermione, "Are you sure you still want to lecture me? Harry and Ron have already snuck to the door."
Hermione heard Chen Yu's words, turned to look, and indeed, Harry and Ron were already at the common room door. She immediately shouted at Harry and Ron, "You two, stop right there!"
Ron and Harry naturally didn't listen to Hermione. Instead, they quickly opened the common room door and slipped outside.
Hermione quickly followed them.
Chen Yu also followed them.