The Return to Hogwarts

What happened next can only be described as a disaster.

Crookshank turned his head and flung the now-conscious mouse high into the air. By sheer coincidence, it landed on the bow in the hair of Hermione's roommate, Lavender Brown, who was worried about Professor Trelawney's prophecy. A bewildered Lavender removed the mouse from the bow and held it up to his eyes.

Ah!

A terrified scream that could pierce eardrums instantly silenced the noisy common room. Before Hermione could even apologize for Crookshanks, Lavender, before she could even throw herself into Pettier's arms, had already tossed the rat out again. After tracing a graceful arc through the air, it fell onto Neville and Seamus's chessboard.

The mouse reacted quickly; it swiftly left the overturned chessboard, climbed up Neville's knees onto his chest, and then, with a leap, hooked its claws around Neville's nostrils!

"All petrified!"

The sudden shock made Neville look like he was about to suffocate, but luckily, Ginny, who was talking to Colin on the other side of the common room, reacted quickly and threw a petrification spell that hit Neville's nostril precisely.

Amidst everyone's stifling laughter, Neville, his round face flushed red, shakily stood up. This caused the immobile, fat rat's stiff paws to lose their grip on his nose, and with a thud, it fell heavily to the ground.

Upon hearing this voice, Neville's chubby cheeks twitched again. In a daze, he recalled the night after his first-year final exams, the fear of being sealed by the petrification curse.

“Sorry, Neville—”

Hermione hurried past one student after another, arriving at Neville, who had slumped back onto the sofa, her sweaty face filled with apology.

"It was just an accident, Neville, Crookshanks didn't mean it—"

Before Neville could speak, a furious roar suddenly came from the direction of the fireplace. Hermione quickly turned around and was horrified by what she saw.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the rat, Crookshank suddenly pounced, its four claws digging deep into Ron's backpack, tearing at it viciously.

"Get out of here, you stupid beast!"

Ron tried to pull the backpack off Crookshank, but Crookshank held on tightly, baring his teeth and tearing at it fiercely.

"Don't hurt it, Ron!"

Hermione screamed because Ron, unable to drive Crookshanks away, was frantically swinging his backpack like a windmill, but even that didn't drive Crookshanks away. Instead, Scabbers flew out of the open backpack.

To catch the two crazed creatures, all the young wizards in the common room sprang into action. In the end, Scabbers was pulled out of an old dresser by Ron, while Hermione, disheveled and exhausted, pounced on the ground and pinned down the struggling Crookshanks.

"You're happy now, aren't you!"

Looking at the skin and bones, trembling and covered in spots like a sieve in his palm, Ron roared in anger.

"Krok Hill is just--"

Hermione's eyes glistened as she weakly tried to explain for Crookshanks, but before she could finish, Ron rudely interrupted her.

"That cat is just trying to mess with Banban, when are you going to admit that!"

"How could you speak to Hermione like that, Ron?!"

Ginny rushed over from the other side of the common room, gently put her arm around Hermione's slender, trembling shoulders, and glared at Ron, who was trying to coax Scabbers back into his pocket.

Ron, furious, looked up, ready to say something, but hesitated when he saw Hermione's eyes welling with tears.

"Don't let that beast ever show his face in front of me again, Hermione, or else—"

Ron muttered something only Hermione and Ginny could hear before storming off, leaving behind an even angrier Ginny and a heartbroken and helpless Hermione.

"Ron is just too worried about Scabbers, Hermione—"

Harry hesitated, glancing at Crookshanks in Hermione's arms. Rationally, he agreed with Ron's assessment; the odd-looking yellow cat seemed to be targeting Scabbers. However, he couldn't say it to Hermione.

"Don't worry, I'll try to talk to him."

Harry, already feeling down because he couldn't go to Hogsmeade, sighed heavily and dragged his tired steps toward his dormitory.

Chapter 183 Foster Care

As dawn broke, the gates of Hogwarts Castle opened with a crisp click of mechanical joints, letting in a sliver of pink and golden sunlight that streamed into the slightly dim entrance hall. The ancient castle was awakening from its slumber.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed through the empty auditorium.

With a tired face and red eyes, Hermione emerged from the shadows carrying Crookshank, who was fast asleep with his eyes half-closed. She looked around and, after confirming that no one was around, lowered her head and rubbed Crookshank's head. Then, she resolutely stepped out of the castle and ran towards the spacious lawn that was still hidden in the misty fog.

Near Hagrid's hut by the Forbidden Forest, after more than a month, Hagrid, who had calmed down considerably, was busy in the field. The pumpkins planted in August and September had mostly shed their flower buds by October, and the neat fields were now filled with pumpkins as big as washbasins.

Hagrid gestured with the pink umbrella in his hand. Although he had been exonerated, Hagrid, who had spent most of his life secretly casting spells, had gotten used to hiding his wand inside the umbrella.

Looking at the fruits, Hagrid's face lit up with joy. The expansion spells he had used last year had been very effective. In two more days, Hagrid would prepare to repeat the process and make these pumpkins grow bigger.

Unaware that he had gotten himself into serious trouble and was causing Hagrid distress, Buckbeak was lying in the shade of a tree on the other side of the house, eating the nutritious breakfast Hagrid had prepared for him—a large bowl of ferrets.

Ya Ya lay on the door, wriggling and devouring lettuce in a beehive-like wooden box. A Flopp caterpillar, no bigger than a toddler's arm, drooled longingly, but it clearly knew those things weren't its food, so it could only watch longingly.

Suddenly, a thick morning fog rolled in from dozens of feet away. Ya Ya, who had caught the scent first, immediately perked up its ears and barked happily.

"Don't call out, Tooth, the little wizards haven't gotten up yet, don't disturb their rest!"

Hagrid, fiddling with the pumpkin, straightened up and said with dissatisfaction, "Once Buckbeak finishes eating, I'll make him leave the bones for you!"

Buckbeak flapped its wings a few times, gave Yaya a haughty look, and then used its claws to grab the ferret bone on the ground and threw it away.

"Hagrid!"

Hermione, soaked to the bone and with her hair and eyebrows covered in water droplets, burst out of the mist. When she saw Hagrid in the pumpkin patch, who looked on in astonishment at her appearance, Hermione could no longer control her emotions. She ran to Hagrid's arms and burst into tears.

"Either keep Crookshan from appearing, or keep you from appearing!"

Hagrid roared angrily, grabbing a towel to wipe the dew from Hermione's hair, but nearly ripped her head off.

"That brat dared to say that! Hermione, don't stop me. When I see him next time, I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget. I'll ask him if he even remembers how much you helped him!"

"Don't be like that, Hagrid. Ron is just too worried about Scabbers. He didn't do anything wrong—"

Her eyes were still red, but Hermione was in much better spirits after releasing her emotions. She spoke up for Ron and stroked Crookshanks, who was lying on her lap.

“But I really can’t leave Crookshank in the castle anymore. I have so many classes to teach and no time to properly discipline it. I can only leave it with you, Hagrid. At least Tooth can be Crookshank’s friend.”

“No problem, Hermione, I have plenty of space here, enough for it and Tooth to run around in—”

Hagrid placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Hermione. Looking at the little witch, whose face still bore a trace of sorrow, he hesitated for a moment, then said with concern,

“But I don’t think that will solve the problem, Hermione. You need to have a serious talk with Ron. People often make mistakes with their pets, but it’s not right to blame your friends for that.”

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll find a chance to talk to him about it."

Hermione wiped the glistening tears from her eyelashes and forced a smile, but both Hermione and Hagrid knew it was just an excuse.

There was still some time before class, and Hagrid kindly prepared rock cakes and barnacles for Hermione, who hadn't eaten breakfast. However, Hermione didn't touch any of them, instead reluctantly hugging Crookshanks and sipping her hot tea.

“I’ve been researching several cases of magical creatures injuring people lately, Hagrid. I’ll compile the arguments from those cases where people were acquitted. When you and Buckbeak are tried by the Committee on the Disposal of Dangerous Animals, you can use those arguments as a reference—”

"If it weren't for you, Hermione, I simply wouldn't know what to do!"

Hagrid blew his nose heavily and said, moved,

“These days, I often dream about the verdict coming down, and Buckbeak being... Oh, anyway, thanks to you, I still have a glimmer of hope!”

Hermione smiled, and this time, her smile was much more genuine.

"To be honest, Hagrid, there's never been something I quite understood—"

After awkwardly patting Hagrid's arm, which was almost as thick as her waist, Hermione pouted, looking a little confused.

"Why don't you ask Professor Dumbledore for help? A wizard like him would definitely not mind putting in a good word with the ministry for you if you asked him."

“I don’t really want to bother him,” Hagrid sighed and sat down.

“Headmaster Dumbledore has so many things to deal with every day, I don’t want to cause him any more trouble.”

Hermione seemed about to argue, but Hagrid spoke first.

"And actually, it's very difficult for him to get involved in this matter."

Of course, of course, as long as Dumbledore is willing to formally send a message, the Department of Magical Creatures Control will not refuse him. But that's the problem. Hermione, Dumbledore has been trying his best to avoid interfering with the normal operation of the Ministry of Magic because he knows very well that Cornelius Fudge has always been highly wary of him.

It's ridiculous, but Fudge was worried that if Dumbledore ever changed his mind and wanted to be Minister for a while, he could easily use his prestige to oust Fudge. Therefore, to prevent Fudge from making the wrong judgment, Headmaster Dumbledore restrained himself, even though he often disagreed with the Ministry's decisions. "Of course I know Headmaster Dumbledore can help Buckbeak out of trouble, Hermione, but I don't want to see Dumbledore in a difficult position."

Seeing Hagrid's sudden quick wit, Hermione quietly opened her mouth, her eyebrows raised high.

"You came up with all of this yourself, Hagrid?"

Hermione asked in surprise.

“Oh, you truly are the most intelligent young wizard at Hogwarts right now, Hermione—not wanting to cause Dumbledore trouble is indeed my thought, but the rest…”

Hagrid scratched his bushy beard and smiled shyly.

“Remember the morning Remus brought me back? Actually, the night before last, Professor Blaine took me to his temporary lodgings in Hogsmeade. He's such a good man, isn't he? Otherwise, I would have had to sleep in a dung can. Later, I went to thank him sometime, and during our chat, he casually mentioned Buckbeak to me. At the time, I was still a little hesitant about whether to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore, and Professor Blaine told me all that.”

Chapter 184 Halloween

Click!

Dazzling lightning ripped through the silent sky, the screaming shack swayed precariously amidst the rumbling thunder, and torrential rain, like silver swords, lashed the earth, fiercely and violently striking every corner.

A large swarm of magically conjured bats spread their wings and soared through the torrential rain. Every house was decorated with pumpkin lanterns lit with candles. Mysterious songs echoed through every street and alley of Hogsmeade Village. Even thunder and torrential rain could not stop the joy that Halloween brought to the villagers.

"I must leave early today, Crook Hills."

The sky was as dark as ink, but it was only evening. After tidying everything up, Amosta looked at the large ginger cat crouching on a worn-out sofa in the corner of the living room and said with a smile.