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After class, lunch was on the schedule. Hermione and I walked together through the corridors filled with students scurrying back and forth.

"Here," I handed the girl her permission to visit the Forbidden Section.

"Oh," Hermione read what she was given. "Thanks, Max. I'd already forgotten with all the fuss, dementors, Blacks, and other worries."

"I haven't found time to go to the headmaster's office either. I picked it up this morning."

Hermione calmly put the permission in her bag. I stared at the girl's unchanged face for a few seconds. We walked, and I stared.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Interesting. You got a year's admission to the forbidden section and didn't express your admiration and anticipation in any way. Who are you, and where did you hide Hermione?"

The girl smiled, casting a glance.

"Occlumency is making itself felt. Not a bad thing. Allows for better control of various impulses. Smoothes the outward manifestations of character, so to speak. But..."

Hermione turned a little gloomy, and we were almost in the great hall.

"But?"

"Dementors. I think their presence affects the mind a lot. It takes a lot of effort."

"I've noticed too. I even managed to lose control of my actions a bit, acting unnecessarily impulsively. I think it should be seen as a training exercise."

"Also, we should go up to Professor Lupin and ask about the Patronus. However, I do not think that after the recent incident, he will be eager to teach you."

"Do you think the failure with me and the boggart had some effect?"

"Undoubtedly. You undermined the teacher's already lacking self-confidence."

"Yeah?"

We sat down at the House table and began to put on our plates various delicacies, which were noticeably more plentiful than in previous days and years. Various vegetable and meat dishes in a wide variety. There were also fruits and a semi-liquid fruit puree.

"It seems that the management has finally figured out to diversify and increase the diet so that we don't get sick of the Dementors here," I could not help but notice with a malicious grin.

Ron turned immediately to me, and there was obvious joy on his face.

"At least there's some use from these monsters," the redhead remarked, going back to eating his chicken pie and drinking juice.

"You think they're useless?" Seamus asked the redhead.

"Absoluphly..." seeing the incomprehension in his comrade's eyes, Ron quickly chewed and swallowed a piece of the pie. "Absolutely, I say. Even if Black is completely insane and wants to hurt Harry, getting into Hogwarts is the last thing to do."

"What would you do?" I was suddenly curious.

"I... Well..." Ron scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "The school year always ends on the same day. I'd... I don't know. I'd wait on the Muggle side of the station that day. Underneath a Polyjuice potion, for example. I would have seen Harry and ... Black is You-Know-Who's right hand, right? So he should know some kinds of dark magic. I'm sure there are spells that kill right away, so..."

"I get it. You don't have to go on."

"Yeah."

Ron was clearly uncomfortable imagining himself in the shoes of a criminal and one whose image to the public was completely distasteful to the redhead.

"What's after lunch?" after finishing her first, some obscure but tasty soup, Hermione reached for the chicken chops.

"I think," I reached for those same chicken chops. They were disappearing really fast. "I'll go check out a few of my theories, preferably in private. And then we can go to the library."

"What theories?"

"Based on a story by Flitwick."

"Professor Flitwick, Max."

"I'm just saving time."

"On one word?"

"In a day, half an hour of "professors" can accumulate like that."

"Exactly!" Ron nodded at my argument, sitting nearby. "And that time can be put to good use. Oh, chicken..."

Half the people who heard that rolled their eyes with a smile. In fact, no matter what Ron thinks of himself, he's a colorful character, known by almost more people than Potter himself. Seriously. True, he's an awful lazy bum, but at this age, who wouldn't be without sin? Oh, yes. Ill-mannered, unkempt, rude.

After lunch, we scattered - half the day is free, whatever one may say. Getting to one of our abandoned classes, I threw my bag on one of the desks, not even bothering to clean it from a thin layer of dust. I sat on the floor against the wall, relaxed, and began to think. My schedule for today: a study on my own, get to the Forbidden Section and continue studying books with Hermione, practice spells, try to get information out of Lupin about Patronus and ask him to teach or at least show it. Basically, I have scant information about the Patronus spell, as well as Hermione, but it's obviously not enough.

So, self-study. First, I should think more carefully about what Flitwick said about the formation of magical structures, sensitivity to magic, and so on. I distinctly remember my first underage magic and the distinct sensation of warmth in my chest. Those childhood attempts at witchcraft on my own and without a wand also caused a slight sensation of warmth and a strange presence of some energy. Working with hemomancy does not evoke such a feeling at all, but there is something else. It's different and even more elusive, regardless of the amount of hemomantic manipulation. Witchcraft with a wand doesn't evoke any feelings at all. Or they are damn weak in relation to strong-willed magic on the principle of underage magic and visualization of desires. That said, there is a weak sensitivity to the magical background around, which is why I was able to compare the background of Hogwarts to the background of the house on Grimmauld Place. So... I need to experiment.