Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 596 Back to School
In Black Villa, Black, Ron and Hermione were sitting on the sofa in the living room drinking tea.

Although they were drinking tea, the three of them were in low spirits. They lowered their heads, holding their teacups without saying a word, and looked like they were not in a very good mood.

At this time, Lupin, wearing an apron, walked in with a tray of cookies. He carefully placed the tray on the coffee table, looked at the three people on the sofa, and sighed deeply.

Since Black left the Ministry of Magic, he gathered Ron, Hermione and others to start the journey to find Harry. As for Lupin himself, although he had clearly rejected Black because of Tonks' pregnancy, when Tonks learned of Harry's disappearance, she still forced Lupin to come to help Black.

Of course, because he also had to take care of Tonks, Lupin, as a prospective father, could not follow Black around all day like Hermione and Ron. He was more responsible for the logistics of Team Black and was also responsible for gathering some intelligence.

With concerted efforts, Black, Hermione and Ron traveled almost all over the country in just one week. The process was extremely arduous, but they still couldn't find even the shadow of Harry.

Black had actually anticipated this result a long time ago. Even Mike, the current Minister of Magic and legendary wizard, had failed to find Harry. How could they possibly get anything by running around like headless flies?

But he went to look for it anyway.

Blake couldn't explain why he did this. Perhaps it was to dispel the guilt in his heart, or perhaps it was for that tiny chance. In short, Blake was unwilling to stop.

That's what he insists on.

But today he had to stop for a while.

Because today is the first day of school at Hogwarts. Due to the many disturbances in Hogwarts last year, students were unable to attend classes properly, so all students need to repeat a year this year, and Hermione and Ron are no exception.

Black came back this time to take Hermione and Ron to school.

Hermione and Ron were clearly not in the mood to go to school, and they didn't even have an appetite for the cookies that Lupin had made.

Looking at the two dejected men, Lupin pursed his lips and then turned his gaze to Black.

Compared to these two children, he was more worried about Blake.

One only needs to look at Blake's hair and beard that are as messy as weeds, his clothes that are so dirty that they have begun to stink, and his lifeless eyes to see that Blake's body and mind are in an extremely weak state.

If possible, Lupin really wanted to force Black to stay and recuperate for a while.

But he himself knew that this was impossible. Black had already decided to go to France alone to find Harry after sending Ron and Hermione away. Based on his understanding of Black's character, he would definitely not be able to keep Black on his own.

Shaking his head, Lupin finally couldn't say anything to persuade them to stay. He glanced at the clock on the wall and said to Ron and Hermione:

"It's almost time, let's go to the station."

Ron and Hermione didn't reply, but just nodded slightly.

Then, like a zombie, he changed his clothes with the help of Lupin, picked up the suitcase that had been prepared long ago, and finally walked slowly into the fireplace.

There was a sound of fireworks exploding, followed by a dizzying sensation. When the two opened their eyes again, they were already at Platform 9 3/4.

It was a cloudy day today. Although it didn't rain, the sky was still gray, just like Hermione and Ron's mood at the moment.

However, this did not affect the high spirits of others at all.

The platform was bustling with people, and everywhere was filled with students who were about to go to Hogwarts and their parents who were there to see them off, and of course there were also some young, fresh faces who were looking around and seemed to find everything new and exciting.

Logically speaking, given the serious incident that happened in the school last year, there should be fewer students coming to Hogwarts this year.

But at this moment, the number of people on the platform is no less than in previous years.

Although some of the graduates needed to repeat a year, the main reason was that after Michael came to power, he further increased the support for education, so that many children who were unable to go to Hogwarts for various reasons before now had the opportunity to become wizards.

In addition, after Michael took office, he also made changes in many other places. The reason why Hermione and Ron were able to reach the station directly through the Floo Network this time was one of them.

The exit outside the station will only serve as a passage for students from the Muggle world to enter the station.

In front of the fireplace, Hermione frowned in annoyance. She really couldn't empathize with these people's happiness. She just thought they were noisy.

Seeing this, Ron, who was beside her, sighed softly and patted her gently, reminding her that it was time to get in the car.

The two of them then started walking towards the Hogwarts Express.

Thanks to the prefect badges hanging on their chests, they had unimpeded access to the prefect's compartment on the train.

At this moment, many people were already seated in the box. Draco, the Slytherin prefect, was sitting in the innermost seat. Next to him sat a mushroom-headed girl, Pansy.

They both seemed to be in a very good mood, and Hermione was not surprised at all. You know, although their two families only played a minor role in the war between Michael and Chris and did not make any outstanding contribution.

But after the war, Michael fulfilled his promise and gave some rewards to Draco and Pansy's family.

With these rewards and previously accumulated wealth as initial capital, and with the fact that the economy of the entire Ying country's wizarding world is now developing rapidly, the two families will be able to recover soon.

In addition to them, there were also prefects from other colleges sitting in the carriage. There were a lot of new faces in the Slytherin team. Most of the old prefects had been purged in the previous Hogwarts raid, so so many newcomers were chosen to take over.

Perhaps because the newcomers were nervous, they all gathered around Draco, their senior, and tried to please him.

But Draco didn't seem to care about their advances. Now Draco was only concerned with flirting with Pansy, looking very affectionate.

The prefects from the other three houses sat at the other end of the carriage. They were laughing and chatting together, and seemed to be living in harmony. Somehow, Hermione always felt that the prefects from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were trying to curry favor with Ravenclaw.

At this time, the sound of the carriage door being opened also attracted the attention of everyone in the carriage. The prefects from the three major colleges were very enthusiastic when they saw that the visitors were Hermione and Ron. Draco and Pansy from Slytherin just nodded at them with an extremely impatient gesture, as if he was not greeting Ron and Hermione, but was just throwing away something dirty!
This action caused Ron's dissatisfaction. He frowned and muttered carefully, but when he lowered his head, he saw the engagement rings on the ring fingers of Draco and Pansy.

He immediately stopped talking, and his mood seemed to become even more depressed.

Hermione wouldn't bother with these boring things. She was exhausted from running around with Black some time ago.

She took Ron and found an empty seat to sit down, then cast a soundproofing spell on herself and fell asleep.

I don't know how long it was, but with her body shaking violently, Hermione finally woke up.

At this time, the sky outside had turned completely dark. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Ron, who was looking at her anxiously while opening and closing his mouth quickly but no sound came out. Then she reacted and raised her hand to cancel the silencing spell.

"Merlin's beard! You're finally awake! Get off the train with me, we've arrived!" Ron's loud and shrill roar came as soon as the spell was lifted. Hearing this, Hermione didn't care about her ears that were a little sore from the roar. She jumped up from her seat and ran out of the train like a fly, leaving Ron behind her with a confused look on his face.

"Damn it, why didn't you wake me up earlier!" Hermione complained as she ran, "Professor McGonagall will definitely kill us if we're late!"

Ron ran faster than Hermione and soon caught up with Hermione. After hearing Hermione's complaint, he rolled his eyes and retorted:
"I've been calling you! But you were sleeping so soundly!"

Hermione didn't reply. She shook her wand, cast a lightening spell on herself, and then quickened her pace towards the carriage assembly area.

When they arrived at the assembly point, the wide open space was empty, with only a Yeqi carriage standing there alone.

Hermione jumped into the carriage without saying a word, and then pulled the breathless Ron in.

The carriage started to move, and Ron slumped in the carriage, his chest heaving violently.

His face flushed red and he pointed his finger at Hermione, as if blaming Hermione for not casting a Lightening Spell on him as well, but the intensity of the spell made him unable to utter a word.

Hermione had no interest in talking to him either. She quickly fumbled through her pockets, checking to see if any of her belongings were missing. She heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that everything was correct, and sat at the front of the carriage to enjoy the night view outside.

Because it was a cloudy day, the moon was tightly covered by thick clouds, making the outside world pitch black.

The only thing Hermione could see clearly was the Hogwarts castle getting closer and closer in the distance.

The lights there are bright, and it looks particularly spectacular against the backdrop of the night.

Looking at the familiar scene, Hermione's face was filled with endless melancholy.

Ron, who had recovered, opened and closed his mouth twice, but finally closed it.

The place where the carriages gathered was not far from Hogwarts Castle, and it wasn't long before the two of them landed in the hunting ground next to the castle.

"Merlin! Why are you here just now?"

As soon as they got off the car, a familiar voice with a hint of anxiety came into their ears, and then a huge face, almost completely covered by hair and beard, appeared in front of them.

"Hagrid!"

Ron shouted excitedly, and even Hermione, who had been in a bad mood, smiled when she saw Hagrid.

But Hagrid obviously had no intention of reminiscing with Ron and Hermione. He picked up Hermione and Ron in each hand, turned around and started running towards the castle gate.

While running he was still mumbling:
"I hope we can catch up. Today is the new principal's first day in office. You are so brave!"

It was not a pleasant experience to be carried by Hagrid. Hermione was almost vomiting from the shaking.

But she raised her eyebrows when she heard this:

"The new principal? Is it Mike?"

"Of course not." Hagrid tilted his head and made a funny expression with his small eyes. "Guess again, you also know the new headmaster. He's someone you know."

"Could it be Professor McGonagall? That's simply wonderful!"

Ron shouted excitedly.

However, Hagrid shook his head and said:
"Wrong answer! Well, here we are! Go and see for yourself!"

After saying this, Ron and Hermione felt as if they were suddenly flying up. Then the light around them suddenly turned from dark to bright, and there were bursts of heat in the air.

Then they fell to the ground.

"Ah! It hurts so much..."

Hermione rubbed her buttocks which were hurt from the fall and got up, unable to help complaining, but she was stunned as soon as she opened her mouth.

Because she found that they had arrived in the castle, and because Hagrid used great strength, the two of them were directly recognized in the center of the hall.

Most importantly, the auditorium was packed with people at this moment.
They all had dull expressions and were looking at them silently.

Hermione's face flushed instantly.

At this time, everyone in the auditorium also reacted and burst into laughter.

For a moment, violent laughter echoed in the hall, causing Hermione to lose her mind.

Professor McGonagall stood up from the head of the faculty table with a grim expression. She first nodded to the professors around her, then took small steps forward and pulled Hermione and Ron up.

"Thank...thank you, Professor McGonagall."

Hermione thanked him in a soft voice, but Professor McGonagall didn't seem to appreciate it. She gritted her teeth and said in a suppressed voice:

"Go back to your seats!"

Hearing this, Hermione and Ron shuddered instantly and ran back to the Gryffindor table.

Ron's roommate Seamus naturally pulled out the two chairs beside him and let the two of them sit down. Then he said to Ron excitedly:
"A new principal is late on his first day! That's so cool!"

"Do you think I want to? It's because..."

Ron blurted out his explanation, but before he had said a few words, Hermione looked at him threateningly. He could only curl his lips and roll his eyes at Hermione.

Hermione nodded in satisfaction, rubbed her hot cheeks, and then asked:
"Who is our new principal?"

"You didn't know?" Seamus said in amazement, "The new headmaster is of course Professor Flitwick!"

(End of this chapter)