Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

There is a star in J.K. Rowling at Our Party Hour. [1]

Author's statement: Don't be afraid.I solemnly swear that everything that happens in this chapter has a logical explanation, has been foreshadowed before, and is compatible with the original.This is a puzzle, and you should try to solve it, but if not, just read the next chapter.

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"This is one of the best riddles I've ever heard."

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In the first-year boys' dormitory in Ravenclaw, on the first morning of Hogwarts, Harry had just opened his eyes and felt that something was wrong.

very quiet.

Too quiet.

Oh, yes... there was a silent spell over his bed, with a little slider to control the volume, and thanks to that, the Ravenclaw kids wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all.

Harry sat up and looked around, expecting to see other people getting up—

The dorms are empty.

The other beds were crumpled and unmade.

The sun has risen very high.

His sound isolators are turned up to maximum.

His mechanical alarm clock was still running, but the alarm was turned off.

Apparently he overslept and didn't wake up until 9:52.Before he came to Hogwarts, he tried to adjust his 26-hour sleep cycle, trying to synchronize with everyone as much as possible, but he didn't go to bed until one o'clock in the morning last night.Originally, his plan was to get up at seven o'clock like other students. It's fine if he didn't get enough sleep on the first day, as long as he got the solution before tomorrow.But now he has missed breakfast.And his first class at Hogwarts, Herbology, had already begun for an hour and 22 minutes.

Anger slowly rose up in his heart.Oh, what a fun little prank.Cut off his alarm.Turn up his sound isolator.Mr. Harry Potter, who caught the limelight, missed his first lesson and was punished for oversleeping.

Waiting for Harry to find out who did it...

No, to do this, all twelve boys in the Ravenclaw dormitory must cooperate.Everyone saw that he was still sleeping.They let him sleep past breakfast time.

The anger faded, replaced by confusion and badly hurt feelings.They liked him.At least he thought so.Just last night, he thought they liked him.Why……

When Harry got out of bed, he saw a note taped to the head of the bed.

The note said,

Friends of Ravenclaw,

It's been a really long day today.Please let me sleep a little longer, don't worry I'll miss breakfast.I haven't forgotten my first class.

Yours,

Harry Potter

Harry stood there, unable to move, feeling the blood in his veins freeze to ice.

The words on the paper are in his own handwriting, written with his own mechanical pencil.

But he did not remember writing the note.

And... Harry squinted, staring at the note.Unless it was his imagination, but "I haven't forgotten" in a different font, like he had something to say to himself...?

Did he know that his memory would be erased?Could it be that he went to bed late, committed some crime, or participated in some secret activity, and then... But he doesn't know the spell that forgets everything... So it's someone else... No way...

Harry thought of one thing.If he knew in advance that his memory would be wiped...

Harry, in his pajamas, ran around his bed to the front of the trunk, put his thumb on the lock, took out the moke bag, put his hand in it, and said, "Give me my own note."

Another note jumped into his hand.

Harry took out the note and stared at it.It was also in his own handwriting.

The note reads:

dear me,

Please play this game.You have only one chance in your life to play this game.This is an opportunity that will never come again.

Code 927, I am a potato.

yours,

you.

Harry nodded slowly. "Code 927, I'm a potato" was indeed a code he had prepared in advance - when watching TV many years ago - only he knew it.It can be used to verify whether his clone is really him, or something else.in case.be prepared.

Harry couldn't trust this information, there might be other spells involved.That rules out simple mischief, though.The note was definitely written by him, and he definitely didn't remember writing it.

As he stared at the note, Harry noticed ink stains showing through the back.

He turned the note over.

On the reverse side it reads:

game instructions

you don't know the rules of the game

you don't know the stakes in this game

you don't know the goal of this game

You don't know who's running the game

you don't know how to end this game

You have 100 points.

Start.

Harry stared at the "game instructions".The writing on this side is not handwritten; the font is very neat and artificial.It looked like it was written with a shorthand quill, and he had bought one to record dictation.

He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Well...the first step is to get dressed, then eat.Or reverse the order.He is very hungry.

Of course, he had already missed the time for breakfast, but he had thought about this possibility in advance and was prepared.Harry reached into his Mokpocket and said, "Snacks," expecting a box of cereal cakes he'd bought before coming to Hogwarts.

Something that jumps into your hand doesn't feel like a box of cereal.

Harry took his hand out of the bag and found two tiny candy bars - hardly enough for a meal - with a note attached to it, in the same handwriting as the rules of the game.

The note reads:

Attempt failed: -1

Current score: 99

Physical state: still hungry

Mental state: confused

"!@*&#%!*^&..." Harry said involuntarily.

He stood there, thinking for a minute.

A minute later, it was all still inexplicable, he still didn't understand what was going on, his brain couldn't even come up with a possible hypothesis, his thoughts were like hands in a rubber ball, unable to pick anything up stand up. [1]

And his belly suggested a possible experiment, based on his own priorities.

"Ah..." Harry said to the empty room, "Can I spend a little and get my box of cereal back?"

No one answered.

Harry reached into the pouch and said, "Oatmeal box".

The box that jumped into my hand felt the right shape...but it was too light, it was open and empty, and the note on it said:

Cost: 1

Current score: 98

What you got: a box of Cereal Cakes

"I'd like to spend a little more and get the real cereal back," said Harry.

Still no answer.

Harry reached into the pouch and said, "Oatmeal".

Nothing.

Harry shrugged in disappointment, and went to the bedside cabinet to find the wizard's robes he was going to wear today.

On the floor of the cupboard, under his robes, he found cereal cakes and a note:

Cost: 1

Current score: 97

You get: 6 cereal cakes

You are also wearing: pajamas

No pajamas for breakfast

There will be a fine for pajamas

I understand now that the man running this game is a lunatic.

"I guess Dumbledore is running the game," said Harry loudly.Maybe this time he can refresh the record for the fastest score.

silence.

Harry was beginning to understand the game's pattern, though; the note would appear in the next place he'd look for it.So Harry looked under his bed.

ha!Ha ha ha ha!

Hahahahahaha!

ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!

Dumbledore is not the one who rules the game

bad guess

it sucks

-20 points

and you're still in your pajamas

It's the fourth round

you're still in pajamas

Pajamas fine: -2

Current score: 75

Well, I have to admit, it's kind of hard to guess.Today is only his first day of school. If Dumbledore is excluded, he really doesn't know anyone who can go crazy like this.

Harry absently picked up a set of robes and underwear, opened the basement of the suitcase (he was a very private person and didn't want to have someone walk into the dormitory while he was changing), dressed, and went back upstairs, ready to put the Put away your pajamas.

Harry paused before opening the drawer for his pajamas.If the mode of this game is really like this...

"How am I going to score?" Harry asked aloud.

Then he opened the drawer.

Opportunities to do good are everywhere

But light should go to dark places

Asking cost: 1

Current score: 74

nice panties

Did your mother pick it?

Harry crumpled the note in his hand, blushing hot.Draco's curse welled up on his lips.Mudseeds--

By this time he knew he couldn't say it out loud.Otherwise, I'm afraid there will be a fine for swearing.

Armed with the mok bag and wand, Harry unwrapped a cereal cake and threw it in the dorm bin.In the bin were a barely eaten chocolate frog, a crumpled envelope, and a red and green wrapping paper.He put the rest of the cereal back in the moke bag.

He looked around, trying one last time for clues, but still nothing.

Then Harry left the dormitory, eating cereal and looking for the Slytherin dungeons.At least that's what he thought it meant.

Finding your way through the halls of Hogwarts is like... maybe not as bad as wandering through an Escher painting,[3] because when you want to say that, it's usually in metaphor rather than in actuality. so serious.

After a while, Harry was thinking that, in fact, Escher's paintings had their own advantages and disadvantages compared with Hogwarts.Cons: No fixed direction of gravity.Pros: At least the stairs don't change positions while you're still on them.

Harry had previously reached the dormitory after climbing four flights of stairs.After descending twelve flights of stairs and still not seeing the cellar in sight, Harry came to the conclusion that (1) Escher's painting was a piece of cake compared to this place, and (2) somehow, he was in a better position than he was now. The starting point is still high, and (3) he is completely lost, so he wouldn't be surprised if he saw two moons in the sky when he looked out the next window.

Backup plan A was to stop and ask for directions, but there was no one around, and these guys seemed to be obediently attending class or something.

Alternate Plan B...

"I'm lost," Harry said loudly, "can you please, um, the Hogwarts gods, do me a favor?"

"I don't think there are gods in this castle," said a wizened old woman in a picture on the wall. "There may be life, but no gods."

A brief pause.

"Did you—" Harry said, and his mouth closed tightly.If he thought about it carefully, no, he would never ask whether the painting is self-aware, that is, aware of the fact that he has consciousness.

"I'm Harry Potter," his mouth said automatically.At the same time, Harry unconsciously reached for the painting.

The woman in the painting looked at Harry's hand and raised her eyebrows.

Harry slowly lowered his hand.

"Sorry," Harry said, "I'm still new."

"I see it, young crow.[4] Where do you want to go?"

Harry hesitated. "I'm not so sure," he said.

"Then you may have arrived."

"Well, I don't know where I want to go, but it's not here..." Harry closed his mouth, feeling like an idiot, "I'll start from the beginning. I'm playing a game, but I don't know what the rules are—" This It doesn't work, does it, "Okay, I'll try again. I'm looking for an opportunity to do something good, because that's going to score points, but I only get a cryptic hint that the light should go where the dark is, so I'm I just want to go down, but I don't know why I go higher and higher..."

The old lady in the painting looked at him suspiciously.

Harry sighed. "My life is really special."

"Am I right if I say you don't know where to go or why?"

"Completely correct."

The old lady nodded. "I don't think your most important problem is getting lost, young man."

"That's true, but compared to those more important problems, at least I know how to solve this problem. My God, this conversation has turned into a metaphor for human existence. I didn't realize it at all before."

The old lady looked at Harry critically. "You're a nice little crow, aren't you? I was a little skeptical for a moment just now. Well, the general rule is, if you keep going left, you're bound to go all the way down."

This sounded familiar, but Harry couldn't remember where he had heard it before. "Hmm...you look like a very smart person. Or, a drawing of a very smart person... Anyway, have you ever heard of a mysterious game that can only be played once, and they won't tell Your rules?"

"Life," answered the old lady promptly, "is one of the best riddles I've ever heard."

Harry froze for a moment. "No," he said slowly, "I mean, I actually got a note that said I had to play the game, but didn't tell me the rules, and people kept leaving me notes because How many points do you lose for violations, such as two points for wearing pajamas. Do you know anyone in Hogwarts who is so crazy, and so strong, who can do this kind of thing? I mean, except Dumbledore?"

The old lady in the painting sighed. "I'm just a picture, young man. I remember Hogwarts as it was - not Hogwarts as it is now. All I can tell you is that if it's a riddle, the answer is that the game is Life, and we can't decide the rules, but you're always the one giving or taking points. If it's not a riddle, it's reality—then I don't know."

Harry bowed deeply to the painting. "Thank you, ma'am."

The woman returned the gift to him. "I wish I could say that I think of you with joy," she said, "but I'm afraid I won't remember you at all. Good-bye, Harry Potter."

He bowed again in answer, and began descending the nearest staircase.

After turning left four times, he found that the corridor suddenly came to an end, and he was faced with a huge pile of stones - this place seemed to have collapsed, but the surrounding walls and ceiling were intact, indistinguishable from the rest of the castle.

"Okay," Harry said to the empty air, "I give up. I want one more hint. How do I get where I'm supposed to be?"

"Hint! Did you say you want a hint?"

An excited voice came from a painting on a nearby wall of a middle-aged man in a bright pink robe Harry had never seen, or even imagined.He is wearing an old crooked, pointed hat with a fish on it (not a picture of a fish, but a real fish).

"Yeah!" said Harry. "Hint! I want a hint! But not just any hint. I want a specific hint. It's a game I'm playing—"

"That's right, that's right! A hint from the game! You're Harry Potter, aren't you? I'm Connellyn Fleaberwitt! Princess Irene told me, the Duke of Wesnoth told her , who told Duke Wesnoth, I don't remember. But I'm going to tell you! I'm going to tell! No one has paid attention to me, I can't remember how long, maybe forever, I've been trapped In this goddamn useless old hallway—hint! I've got your hint! For three! Do you want it?"

"Yes! I want it!" Harry knew he should restrain the sarcasm in his voice, but he couldn't help himself.

"The dark is between the green study and Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom! Here's the hint! Hurry up, you're slower than a bag of snails! Too slow, ten points! Now you have 61 points! That's the whole message !"

"Thank you," said Harry.He is so bad at this game. "Hmm... do you know where this message came from in the first place?"

"A hollow voice from a rift, a rift that leads to a burning abyss! That's what they tell me!"

Harry was no longer sure whether to be reasonably skeptical of such a thing, or just to believe it. "How can I get between the green study and the Transfiguration classroom?"

"Just turn around, go left, right, down, down, right, left, right, up, and then left, you will arrive at the green study room, and if you go in and go out directly through the door on the other side, you will You will come to a large curved corridor, this corridor will lead to a crossroad, and the corridor leading to the Transfiguration classroom is on the right!" The middle-aged man paused, "At least it was like this when I was in Hogwarts .Today is Monday in odd-numbered years, isn't it?"

"Pencil and automatic paper," Harry said to the pouch, "err, no, paper and automatic pencil." He looked up. "Can you repeat that, please?"

After getting lost twice more in succession, Harry thought he had learned one of the basic rules of finding his way in the ever-changing maze of Hogwarts, namely, ask the portraits for directions.If there is some super profound philosophy of life hidden in this, he didn't see it anyway.

The green study room is unexpectedly a very comfortable place. The sunlight shines in through the green stained glass windows, reflecting all kinds of idyllic and peaceful pictures with the theme of dragons depicted on the windows.The chairs in the study look very comfortable and the table is just the right size for studying with two or three friends.

Harry didn't actually go straight out the other door.There were bookshelves embedded in the wall, and he couldn't help but look at the titles of the books, so as to live up to the reputation of the Vires family.But he looked quickly, because he had been complained about being too slow before, so he quickly went out from the other side.

He heard a little boy screaming in the "great winding corridor".

In these situations, Harry was always running at full speed, not thinking at all about conserving energy or pre-warming up or being careful not to hit things.He almost ran into six first-year Hufflepuffs when he came to a sudden stop...

…they were huddled together, looking panicked, as if they were desperate to do something but couldn't help it.Maybe it had something to do with five senior Slytherins surrounding another little boy on the other side.

Harry suddenly became furious.

"Excuse me!" Harry yelled.

In fact, there is no need.Everyone has seen him.But at least this stopped all actions immediately.

Harry walked past the group of Hufflepuffs, towards the Slytherin circle.

They looked down at him with expressions ranging from angry to amused to happy.

Part of Harry's brain was screaming in panic that these boys were much bigger and taller than he was, and they could easily crush him.

Another part grimly pointed out that if anyone actually stomped the Boy Who Lived badly, he'd be in big trouble.Especially if it was a group of senior Slytherins doing it, or if the seven Hufflepuffs were watching.The chances of them doing him any permanent harm with witnesses is next to zero.The only real weapon these big boys had against him was his own fear, and that had to be his cooperation.

Then Harry saw that the child surrounded by them was Neville Longbottom.

Of course.

This is enough.Harry had decided to humbly apologize to Neville, which meant that Neville was his man, how dare they?

Harry reached out and took Neville's wrist, pulling him out of the Slytherin circle.Startled, the child stumbled out and was dragged out by Harry, who used the same motion to force a gap and squeeze into the middle of the circle.

Harry stood in the middle of the group of Slytherins, where Neville had been standing, looking up at the bigger, taller, stronger boys.

"Hi," said Harry. "I'm the Boy Who Lived."

There was an awkward silence.No one seemed to know how to respond to this sentence.

When Harry's eyes looked down, he saw books and papers scattered on the floor.Oh, the old trick of making a child pick up a book and knock it out of his hands.Harry had never been bullied like this, but he had a good imagination, and his imagination made him angry.Well, Neville could come back to get his stuff when the matter was sorted out in general, as long as the Slytherins were focused on him and didn't think to do anything with the books.

It's a pity that his wandering eyes were noticed. "Oh," said the tallest boy, "you want these broken books—"

"Shut up," Harry said coldly.Overwhelm them.Don't do what they expect.Don't fall into the pattern of letting them bully you. "Is this a particularly clever ploy, will it benefit you later, or is it pointless, just to embarrass Salazar Slytherin and—"

The tallest boy shoved Harry Potter out of the Slytherin circle, where he fell on his back on the hard Hogwarts flagstones.

The Slytherins laughed.

Harry stood up slowly.He didn't know how to use a wand yet, but in this case, nothing could stop him without a wand.

"I'm going to get rid of this man for as much as I want," said Harry, pointing at the tallest Slytherin.

Harry raised his other hand, said, "Abracadabra," and snapped his fingers.

The word "Abracadabra" caused two Hufflepuffs, including Neville, to scream together, and three other Slytherins jumped out of Harry's fingers in a panic, with the tallest Slytherin staggering backwards. , with a shocked face, flushed from face to neck to chest.

Harry hadn't expected this to happen.

The tallest Slytherin raised his hand slowly, removing the pan of cherry pie from his face.He took the pie pan in his hand, stared at it for a moment, and dropped it to the floor.

It wasn't the time for a Hufflepuff to laugh, but a Hufflepuff laughed very inappropriately.

That's when Harry saw the note on the bottom of the pot.

"Wait a minute," said Harry, rushing forward to get the note, "I think that note is for me—"

"You," growled the tallest Slytherin, "you, will, go,—"

"Look at this!" cried Harry, waving the note at the Slytherin. "I said, look at this! Can you believe I paid thirty cents shipping for this broken pie? Thirty! I've saved an innocent little boy, and I'm living beyond my means! What's the storage fee? The delivery fee? The haulage fee? Where's the haulage fee for a pie?"

There was another awkward silence.In his mind Harry wanted to kill that laughing Hufflepuff, the fool was going to hurt him.

Harry walked back, glaring at the Slytherins as fiercely as he could. "Go away now, or I will make your life more and more unbelievable. I warn you...don't mess with me, or your life...will be in trouble. Got it?"

With a frightening movement, the tallest Slytherin jerked out his wand and pointed it at Harry, and at the same moment another pie was placed on the other half of his head, this time a bright blueberry pie.

The note on this pie is large enough to be read from a distance. "You should probably read the note on the pie," Harry suggested. "This time it's for you."

The Slytherin reached down and slowly removed the pie pan, turning it around, and more blueberry filling fell to the floor.He began to read the note at the bottom of the pot, which read:

caveat

before the game ends

Do not use any magic on the player

Continuing behavior that interferes with the game

will be reported to gaming authorities

The bewildered look on the Slytherin's face was a work of art.Harry thinks he's starting to like whoever dominates the game.

"I said," Harry said, "let's forget it? I think this matter is going to get bigger and bigger. Why don't you go back to Slytherin, and I'll go back to Ravenclaw, and let's all calm down?"

"I have a better idea," said the tallest Slytherin through gritted teeth. "What if you accidentally broke all your fingers?"

"For Merlin's sake, you've already threatened me in front of twelve witnesses, how can you stage a convincing accident, you idiot—"

The tallest Slytherin slowly and deliberately reached for Harry's hand, and Harry froze, the part of his brain that considered the boy's age and strength finally kicking in, screaming, what the hell was I doing? What are you doing?

"Wait!" said the other Slytherin, his voice suddenly panicked. "Wait, you can't really do that!"

The tallest Slytherin ignored him, holding Harry's right hand firmly in his left hand, and Harry's index finger in his right hand.

Harry looked the Slytherin straight in the eye.A part of him screamed, it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this, adults won't really let this happen—

The Slytherin slowly bent his index finger back.

He hasn't actually snapped my fingers yet, and I mustn't back down until then.Until then, it's just another means of inducing fear.

"Stop!" said the Slytherin who had objected earlier, "Stop it, it's a terrible idea!"

"I quite agree," said a cold voice.An older woman's voice.

The tallest Slytherin let go of Harry's hand and stepped back as if burned.

"Professor Sprout!" cried a Hufflepuff, and it couldn't have sounded happier.

Harry turned to see a short, plump woman with dusty gray curly hair.She pointed her finger at the Slytherins reproachfully. "Please explain," she said. "What were you doing to my Hufflepuffs, and..." She glanced at him. "My good student, Harry Potter."

oops.Bad, it was her class that I skipped in the morning.

"He's threatening to kill us!" said the Slytherin who had stopped him earlier.

"What?" Harry said inexplicably. "I didn't! If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't threaten you publicly beforehand!"

A Slytherin couldn't help laughing, but stopped short after receiving a sharp stare from the other boys.

Professor Sprout's expression became suspicious. "Why did he threaten to kill you?"

"Death Curse! He's pretending to cast a Death Curse on us!"

Professor Sprout turned and looked at Harry. "Yes, it's scary to be threatened like that by an eleven-year-old. But even so, you should never pretend to use this spell, Harry Potter."

"I don't even know what the Death Charm spell is," said Harry immediately, "and I never got my wand out the whole time."

Now Professor Sprout was looking at Harry suspiciously. "So he threw the two pies in the boy's face himself."

"He really didn't use a wand!" blurted out a young Hufflepuff. "I don't know how he did it, but he snapped his fingers and the pie came out!"

"Really," said Professor Sprout, after a pause.She took out her wand. "I'm not asking you to do this, as you do appear to be a victim, but would you like me to examine your wand to make sure?"

Harry took out his wand. "How should I—"

"Flash back," Sprout said.She frowned. "Strange, your wand has never been used."

Harry shrugged. "Not really, I just got my wand and textbook a few days ago."

Sprout nodded. "Then it's obvious that children sometimes perform magic unintentionally when they're threatened. It's a situation where you're not responsible. As for you..." She turned to the Slytherins.Her gaze deliberately fell on Neville's books scattered on the floor.

She stared at the five Slytherins for a long time.

"Three points for every Slytherin," she said finally, "six points for him," she pointed at the pie-covered boy. "You're not going to mess with my Hufflepuffs, or my student Harry Potter. Now go away."

She didn't have to say it a second time; the Slytherins turned and slipped away immediately.

Neville went to pick up his books.He seemed to be crying, but not very much.Maybe it was because the delayed shock hadn't come, maybe it was because no other boy was expected to help him.

"Thank you very much, Harry Potter," Professor Sprout said to him, "for seven house points to Ravenclaw, and one point for each Hufflepuff you help. I won't say much more gone."

Harry froze.He thought he would be taught a lesson, told not to cause trouble in the future, and then given a slap in the face for skipping her first class.

Maybe he should have gone to Hufflepuff.Sprout is so cool.

"Clean it up," Sprout said to the messy pie on the floor, which immediately disappeared.

Then she went, leaving along the corridor leading to the green study.

"How did you do that?" asked a Hufflepuff boy immediately after she disappeared.

Harry smiled smugly. "I can do anything I want with a snap of my fingers."

The boy's eyes widened. "real?"

"False," Harry said, "but when you tell everyone, don't forget to tell Hermione Granger, a first-year Ravenclaw, she has a story that you might like to hear." What's going on with all this actually has no clue, but he can't miss the opportunity to build his own legend, "By the way, what's the story of the death curse?"

The boy gave him a strange look. "You really don't know?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked."

"The incantation of the Death Curse is pronounced," the boy swallowed, lowered his voice, and stretched out his hands, as if to let everyone see that he was not holding a wand, "Avada Kadabra."

Oh no wonder.

Harry added this to the list of facts that should never be told to Dad, Professor Mike Verres-Evans, and the list was getting longer and longer.Telling Dad that he was the only one who escaped the death spell was hard enough, and I don't know what he would think if he found out that the death spell was actually "Abu Dhaka Dabra".

"I see," Harry said after a pause, "well, I won't say that before I snap my fingers." Strategically though, it did create a potentially useful effect.

"Why are you--"

"I was raised by Muggles, and Muggles think it's a good joke. Seriously, that's how it is. Excuse me, can you tell me your name?"

"I'm Ernie MacMillan," said the Hufflepuff.He held out his hand, and Harry shook it. "Nice to meet you."

Harry bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you, it's just an honor."

At this time, the other boys also gathered around and introduced themselves one after another.

After introducing himself, Harry swallowed.this will