The Return to Hogwarts

At 7:50, Hermione and Neville appeared on the third floor where Professor Blaine's office was located, and there they ran into another person—Luna Lovegood.

Luna was a second-year wizard, a year below them, but thanks to Professor Blaine's physical education classes, she was already acquainted with several people from Gryffindor.

"Good evening--"

Luna, wearing a necklace made of beer bottle caps, spotted Hermione and Neville coming from the other side of the corridor first and waved to them.

"Good evening, Luna--" Hermione's gaze swept over Luna's strange necklace, her delicate brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Hermione couldn't understand why Professor Flitwick would allow Luna to continue dressing so outrageously. If this were in Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall would definitely have something to say.

The most important thing between friends is to maintain appropriate boundaries. Hermione didn't comment on Luna's attire, only looking slightly confused.

"Professor Blaine sent you, didn't he? Did he tell you why he called us?"

He didn't say—

Luna's silver eyes held a hazy, unfocused look, but her tone was exceptionally sincere.

"I guess he wanted to teach us the magic to get rid of the harassing horseflies."

Hermione and Neville exchanged glances and remained silent in tacit agreement.

“But I think he’s wasting his time—” Luna pushed open the office door and made a shooing motion as if trying to shoo away a moth. “There are no magic tricks to dealing with this kind of creature; we just have to get used to it.”

The sudden downpour caused the temperature to drop sharply, and the fireplace in the office was burning with glowing red coals.

Professor Blaine sat behind his desk, his hands supporting his cheeks, a pained expression on his face as he stared at the pile of parchment on the table.

Hermione knew that expression all too well; Harry and Ron wore the same expression whenever they couldn't reach the required length for their history of magic essays, or when faced with Professor Trelawney's demands for prophecies about their own fates.

"Please sit down."

Professor Blaine tossed the quill into the inkwell and gestured an invitation to the three of them.

As she approached the office, Hermione glanced quickly at the messy files on Professor Blaine's desk and noticed a large parchment that looked like an aerial view of the school, while on the top right corner of the top parchment of another stack of parchments, there was a small piece that looked like a photograph of Mrs. Pomfrey.

"You must be wondering why I called you here, so I'll get straight to the point—"

Professor Blaine waved his wand, and three steaming cups of pumpkin juice were placed in front of them.

Amosta rubbed his aching temples and said to the three little ones,

"Due to some matters, I will be leaving Hogwarts for a while. When I'll be back is uncertain, but in my absence, I need to ensure that physical education classes can continue smoothly, so—"

Amosta opened his hands.

"I'd like to have you serve as teaching assistants for physical education classes. What do you think?"

Chapter 392 Reasons for the Choice

2023-07-28

Professor Blaine is leaving Hogwarts?

Hermione blinked, but wasn't particularly surprised. It really wasn't a big deal. Hagrid would occasionally leave Hogwarts on official business, and Professor Dumbledore would similarly leave frequently to handle his own affairs.

Just by looking at the thick stack of unopened letters on the corner of Professor Blaine's desk, one can tell how many invitations he receives to academic conferences or high-end banquets on a regular basis.

But, teaching assistant--

Neville fidgeted nervously, glancing instinctively at Hermione, hoping to get some hints from his admired classmate. However, Hermione also looked bewildered.

Hermione was confident she could handle classes like Charms or Transfiguration, and would even be thrilled, as it meant her skills had been recognized by the professor. But with Professor Blaine's physical education class, Hermione was filled with doubt. What could she possibly do?

Luna, on the other hand, looked indifferent; to her, it made no difference whether she did it or not.

"What, you're not too keen?"

Amosta raised an eyebrow, but his expression didn't seem particularly stern.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before speaking nervously.

“Professor Blaine, could you tell me why you chose us? I mean, we're not the best, are we? Cedric has the best grades so far, oh, and Harry and Malfoy are doing quite well too.”

"The outcome of a temporary victory or defeat is not something I care about."

Amosta shook his head and said calmly,

“Of course, I do need to explain something to you, first of all, Mr. Longbottom—”

Amosta turned his gaze to Neville, noticing Neville's clenched fists in tension, and his smile softened further.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Longbottom—well, I chose you because of your exceptional talent. There are many kinds of talent, such as Miss Granger, who excels because of her brilliant mind, focused attention when studying, and her awe and desire for knowledge; or Harry, who became the youngest Seeker in a century because of his sharp reflexes and physical balance."

And you, Mr. Longbottom, your magical talent is unremarkable, but in terms of physical abilities, you are even superior to Harry. However, some of your character flaws overshadow your exceptional qualities, which can only be revealed under specific circumstances—”

Neville blinked, seemingly not quite understanding.

Hermione understood, but she was rather dismissive of it.

Professor Blaine was probably trying to say that Neville's cowardly nature caused him to lack the courage to show himself, and his strengths were overshadowed. But what does it matter? Every Muggle athlete is exceptionally talented, but that doesn't help them become a good wizard.

Seemingly sensing Hermione's thoughts, Professor Blaine pursed his lips and continued,

"The founder of Gryffindor House—Godric Gryffindor—was himself a valiant warrior who blended ancient magical techniques with Muggle combat skills, thereby defeating many formidable opponents of his time. Mr. Longbottom—"

Professor Blaine paused, then added to the somewhat startled Neville,

“At least in terms of combat skills, I think you have the talent to develop in that direction. And this is a good opportunity for you to hone your skills and showcase yourself more.”

Professor Blaine actually believes Neville has the ability to follow in the footsteps of the great Gryffindors. If this were to get out, Neville would probably face countless taunts. But this is Professor Blaine! He doesn't joke around easily!

Hermione turned her head and stared at Neville's bewildered round face, her shocked eyes looking as if she were seeing him for the first time.

"As for Miss Granger, I have already stated your merits,"

Professor Blaine nodded to Hermione.

"But I forgot to mention one thing: following the rules is also very difficult. After I leave, I can foresee that some young wizards will take the opportunity to slack off or even cause trouble. I need someone to manage classroom discipline. For this purpose, I will give you some authority. You can deduct points from those unruly young wizards and put them in solitary confinement, just like a prefect. Filch will cooperate with you."

Generally, it's not until fifth grade that schools select students with excellent academic performance and conduct to serve as prefects, an important position, and grant them some of the authority to teach. Hermione has never heard of a professor granting such important authority to a third-year wizard!

Corresponding to authority is responsibility.

In an instant, Hermione anticipated who might slack off and who might disrupt training. Could she really control these people?

Hermione pondered this question, but suddenly, another question popped into her mind.

Why did Professor Blaine bring Luna here?

Luna is a second-year wizard who was 'specially recruited' into the physical education class by Professor Blaine. Ginny received the same treatment, and Ginny is indeed exceptionally skilled. In the current training of physical education class, Ginny's performance is among the best.

But Luna's performance was nothing to write home about.

In fact, her ranking was terrible, almost at the bottom. Every time Luna went on practice, she was always particularly easily distracted. She would start looking around as usual after only a few steps, and then she would be pelted with a barrage of dung balls until she was dizzy and forced to leave the court.

"As for Miss Lovegood--"

When Amosta turned his gaze to Luna, who seemed to be in a daze, a rare look of hesitation appeared on his face.

"You still insist that you can see those... those, uh, you mean those strange little creatures--"

They're everywhere—

Luna snapped out of her daze and slapped her ears as if a swarm of flies were buzzing around her.

Hermione and Neville have been dealing with Luna for a while now and know that she can be a bit crazy at times.

Hermione glanced quickly at Professor Blaine, then turned sternly to Luna beside her and said...

"Don't be silly, Luna. Nobody has ever heard of either the Harassing Feralas or the Curved-Horned Snoring Beasts. I specifically went to the library to check the records, and there's no evidence to suggest otherwise—"

"They exist!"

Luna looked a little angry; she was stubborn and gestured with her hands in mid-air.

"There are numerous eyewitness reports, but you assume they don't exist just because you can't see them yourself!"

As Amostella watched Luna arguing with Hermione right in front of him, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes. His right hand, behind his back, pinched his middle finger and thumb together.

pat!

The sudden snap of her fingers startled Hermione, who was trying to persuade Luna to abandon her fantasies. She instinctively looked at Professor Blaine, but just then, a sudden gust of wind swept in from outside the window, which was drizzling lightly. A violent gust of wind, seemingly out of nowhere, swept through the window, rattling the glass with a loud clanging sound!

"Wow!"

Hermione and Neville were still in a daze, but Luna seemed to have seen something incredible, and she was so frightened that she jumped onto the sofa.

Faced with Hermione and Neville's bewildered gazes, Luna pointed a trembling finger out the window, her voice a mixture of fear and excitement.

"Heliopa!" Luna's bulging eyes widened. "A whole bunch of Heliopas just ran past!"

"What—what is that?"

Neville shrugged and asked uneasily.

"They were enormous creatures engulfed in flames, galloping across the land, burning everything in their path to ashes—but I never imagined they could fly!"

Luna spoke with absolute certainty.

Hermione's lips were pressed tightly together, and her expression looked quite comical.

Just as I expected—

Amosta nodded to himself.