The Return to Hogwarts

Amosta narrowed his eyes.

"Before the war was completely over, some Death Eaters, in an attempt to find out Tom's whereabouts, captured Mr. Longbottom's parents and subjected them to cruel torture. Just as you described to the young wizards in Alastor's class, they were subjected to the most powerful Crucifixion Curse—"

Dumbledore knew all about Amostella's words during Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He sighed deeply, his bright blue eyes dimming.

"According to your theory, Amosta, Frank, and Alice's mental worlds were shattered, their minds became unstable, and they require constant care to barely survive—"

"That's it"

Amosta squinted, seemingly deep in thought.

"Amosta--"

Dumbledore stared at Amostella and said cautiously.

"I tried to heal Frank and Alice, but I must admit, I'm powerless to reverse the damage caused by that magic. As you can see, this has been a huge blow to Mr. Longbottom. So, unless you're absolutely certain, I hope you won't give that child any false hope—"

Chapter 525 Amosta being teased

2023-10-09

After finishing her afternoon elective classes, Hermione hurried to the playground to complete her daily physical education training. Harry and Neville had already finished their training and were sweating profusely as they prepared to return to their dormitory's washroom to clean up. Next, they would think about the homework Professor Blaine had assigned on Wednesday night in the common room.

After finishing her training, Hermione jogged back to the Great Hall, ate a few bites of food, and then prepared to go to the library to look up the ancient technique that Professor Blaine had mentioned in Defense Against the Dark Arts class that day, a technique that could resist mental magic.

This was the most relaxed and cheerful time of day in the castle. Groups of three or five little wizards with happy smiles were everywhere on the stairs, and these smiling faces made Hermes feel a little sad.

In her first year, apart from the occasional trip to the library alone, she was always inseparable from Harry and Ron. They had the same classes, so they could go to class together, eat together, and do their homework together in the common room.

But the situation is completely different now. Since the third grade, the time they spend together every day has suddenly decreased.

Harry and Ron took the same electives, while Hermione's schedule differed slightly from the two boys'. Furthermore, to keep up with the increasingly complex courses, Hermione had to spend more time in the library. During the day, with their general education classes, they couldn't interact much; only at lunch and dinner, and before lights out, could they have some time to talk about the day's events in the Great Hall and common rooms.

Harry and Ron didn't feel the change too deeply, which wasn't surprising, as they were always rather carefree. But Hermione felt it deeply; she had even begun to think about the sad prospect of the three of them being scattered across the country after graduating from Hogwarts.

With a touch of sadness in her heart, Hermione walked into the library as if she knew her way around.

During the first week of school, the course load wasn't too heavy, and there weren't many students in the library. The majority of students there were upperclassmen from Ravenclaw, which wasn't surprising, as this house consistently had the best average grades at Hogwarts.

As Hermione entered the library, she was shocked to find Professor Blaine there, and he seemed to have gotten into some trouble, being scolded by the librarian.

Mrs. Pince, the librarian at Hogwarts, is a witch who looks like a gaunt vulture. She is very strict, and if you make a lot of noise in the library or damage her beloved books, you will be in for a scolding, no matter who you are.

"This is the library, Amosta—"

Mrs. Pince's dull, yellowish eyes narrowed as she fixed her gaze on Professor Blaine. She didn't care whether Amosta Blaine was the most powerful wizard of the time, and she rebuked him without hesitation.

"This isn't the Padif Tea House. If you're looking for a romantic setting, please find somewhere else!"

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Pince—”

Professor Blaine dared not defend himself and smiled awkwardly.

"what happened?!"

Hermione had been about to approach Professor Blaine to ask about the kind of magic that could protect against mental attacks, which he had mentioned in Professor Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts class earlier that day. Upon hearing this, her steps froze. The next second, Hermione darted out like a rabbit, running to the librarian she knew best.

"Professor Blaine is flirting! With whom, in the library!"

Hermione was so surprised she could hardly breathe, and even wondered if she had misheard!

Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor, a dashing black girl, is the team's best Chaser. This year, due to the Triwizard Tournament, Quidditch was canceled, and Angelina spent more time studying to make up for the lessons she had missed due to training.

"Oh, it's you, Hermione—"

Angelina was watching the commotion when Hermione approached. She then noticed Hermione and, hearing her question, whispered with a grin, "..."

"You missed the show, Hermione!"

"Oh, stop being so mysterious, Angelina, tell us!"

Hermione brushed aside the messy hair that was blocking her view and asked urgently.

"Professor Blaine has come to the library to borrow books—"

Angelina covered her mouth, still chuckling as she spoke. She mumbled in a low, gloating tone, "..."

"Two seventh-year Ravenclaw witches suddenly ran up to Professor Blaine and handed him love letters!"

"Oh!"

"This isn't the first time I've heard of something like this," Hermione said with a disdainful snort.

"Professor Blaine would never be interested in them, would he? And why can't they go somewhere else?"

"The most crucial thing is—"

Angelina laughed even harder.

"The two Ravenclaw students wanted Professor Blaine to give them an autograph. They took out their lipsticks from their bags and asked him to write their names on their shirts with the lipsticks!"

Angelina tapped a spot on her shirt that made Hermione blush with embarrassment, and chuckled as she spoke.

“You should have seen Professor Blaine’s expression back then. Oh, I bet I’ll never forget it!”

Hermione didn't find it funny at all, and she said angrily,

"Shameless! You're so brainless!"

On the other side, Professor Blaine seemed to have finally calmed Mrs. Pince's anger down. He watched as Mrs. Pince returned to her usual desk, tucked a few moldy books with gilded covers under her arm, and sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

He was a man who had been through his youth, and he knew perfectly well that the two Ravenclaw witches were just stirring up trouble, but he really hadn't expected them to be so bold, which made him quite embarrassed. Having spent so much time in the office, he had originally planned to while away his time before bed in the library, but seeing the mocking looks around him, he couldn't bear to stay there any longer.

Amosta clutched his book tightly, turned around, and seemed eager to leave, but just as he stepped out of the library, a voice suddenly called out to him from the large room behind him.

"Wait, Professor Blaine!"

Angelina, laughing so hard she was panting, suddenly stood up and called out to Professor Blaine's retreating figure.

Hermione stared in astonishment at Angelina beside her. For a moment, she almost thought that Angelina was also going to hand Professor Blaine a love letter.

"How many times do you see something this interesting, Hermione?"

Noticing Hermione's look, Angelina whispered an explanation.

"Let's go tease him!"

Without a word, she grabbed Hermione's arm and, before Mrs. Pince could get angry, dragged Hermione, who had just arrived, out of the library and blocked him at the door.

Hermione noticed that Professor Blaine's gaze towards her and Angelina was even somewhat horrified, which made her wish she could dig through the hard stone bricks beneath her feet and jump to the next floor!

"what's the matter?"

Amosta raised his eyebrows high as he stared at Hermione, whose cheeks were flushed and who even had a wisp of white smoke rising from her head, and Angelina, who was all smiles, ready to 'escape' at any moment.

Professor Blaine has been teaching at Hogwarts for almost two years, and the young wizards have already figured out his temperament. As long as it's not in the classroom, when he's teaching seriously, he's quite happy to joke around with the young wizards and isn't a wizard who gets angry so easily.

"Why did you refuse just now, Professor Blaine?"

Angelina said with great interest,

"As far as I know, you don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

Chapter 526 Views on Relationships and Requests

2023-10-09

Even though Professor Blaine was an easy-going person, Hermione still felt that Angelina's question was a bit too bold. She pursed her lips nervously, bracing herself for Professor Blaine's 'wrath,' but Angelina dared to press on.

"Those two Ravenclaw students were quite pretty, weren't they? They're very popular in the house. Since you don't have a girlfriend, why don't you give them a try?"

"I am a professor--"

Amosta said with a dark face.

"Do you want to ruin my reputation, Miss Johnson?"

"Oh, I don't think it's a big deal--"

Angelina's words, like her Quidditch style, were highly aggressive. Since Professor Blaine hadn't immediately gotten angry and yelled at them, it meant he wasn't particularly bothered to discuss this topic with the young wizards. In that case, Angelina tilted her head back and asked with a grin,

"Love shouldn't be about status and position, right? Besides, they're adults. They know what they're doing and can take responsibility for their actions."

love--

Amostah's lips twitched; it was the first time he had discussed such a topic with a young wizard at the school.

“You’re right, Miss Johnson—”

Professor Blaine looked somewhat helpless, but he still reluctantly returned to the question.

"Status and status shouldn't be obstacles to love, but... I also have the right to choose, don't I? To put it bluntly, if I had to accept someone as my girlfriend just because they spent a few minutes writing me a love letter, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything else for the rest of my life—"

This is an obvious question; anyone knows that Angelina was just asking it for fun, but she persisted.

"So what kind of girl would you choose as your girlfriend?"

Angelina blinked with interest.

"You are the most outstanding wizard I have ever seen. Perhaps you don't know, but many senior witches are wondering what kind of girl you like!"

Discussing this kind of question with Professor Blaine felt really strange. Hermione kept her head down the whole time, not daring to look Professor Blaine in the eye, but when she heard Angelina's question, she couldn't help but perk up her ears. It was indeed a very intriguing question!

What kind of girl do I like?