The Return to Hogwarts

"Is that even a question?" Ron said impatiently. "Tell me quickly, what exactly happened to you?"

Perhaps Harry and Ron's concern gave Hermione a bit of courage, because she didn't seem so nervously frantic. She glanced at Colin and his brother Dennis, who were closest to them and were examining the camera, and then waved to Harry and Ron, signaling them to come closer.

What trick are you playing?

Ron reluctantly left the soft sofa. He and Harry pushed the coffee table back and sat on it, blocking any possible prying eyes.

"Remember to keep your mouth shut, Ron!"

Hermione gave a warning, and then she finally loosened the backpack she was clutching tightly in her arms and slowly unzipped it.

This action even made Harry suspect that Hermione might have actually broken into a professor's office and stolen something. After all, such things weren't unheard of. But when Hermione unzipped the bag and he saw a small, timid head peeking out from the gap, Harry's breath caught in his throat and his face froze!

"My God, you're crazy--"

Before Ron could fully process his surprise, Hermione shoved his head back down, her voice low and sharp as she hissed.

"Shut your mouth, Weasley!"

Then, he gave Neville a warning look, who was curiously looking in their direction, which startled Neville, who quickly lowered his head and pretended not to have noticed anything.

"Are you crazy, Hermione?"

Ron's voice softened considerably; he stared intently at the backpack that Hermione was still clutching, his eyes bulging with surprise.

"Even if you want to stand up for these house-elves, you don't need to adopt one. They're not owls or toads!"

"Thank you for reminding me, Weasley!"

Hermione's chilling voice immediately silenced Ron.

"Where did you get it?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "Did you sneak off to the Hog's Head and win it from a stranger?"

Harry was talking about how, during his first year of high school, Hagrid was tricked by Quirrell, who was possessed by Voldemort. Quirrell used a dragon egg and a good drink to trick Hagrid into revealing the secret of how to deal with Cerberus.

"Don't be silly, Harry, nobody sells pet elves!" Hermione said irritably. "Can you be quiet? I was just about to tell you!"

“I’m all ears!” Ron said immediately.

The newly appointed student council president is a negligent fellow, and under his influence, the prefects are no longer as conscientious. Ever since Ron's brother, Percy Weasley, graduated from Hogwarts, no one has been squatting in the common room every night to send people back to sleep.

The flames in the fireplace gradually died down, and the candles hanging from the ceiling dimmed as they sensed that no one was in the lounge. Only Hermione, Harry, and Ron remained in the large lounge.

Hermione finished her story, of course, she omitted a small part: she told Harry and Ron that she had sought out Professor Blaine alone to ask him about the part he had missed in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class during the day.

Harry and Ron stared intently at Hermione's bulging backpack, falling into a long silence.

"Professor Blaine, and you too, are helping the house-elves have babies—"

After a long silence, Ron let out a heavy sigh, staring at Harry in disbelief.

"I've never heard of anything so bizarre in my life!"

Harry nodded emphatically. Even after entering the wizarding world and studying magic at Hogwarts for over three years, experiencing many bizarre stories, after hearing Hermione's experience tonight, he still found it utterly absurd!

Hermione stared at her backpack, her eyes showing a troubled expression.

"What are you planning to do, Hermione?" Harry asked tentatively.

“I was planning to return Doom to its mother, the little elf named Riggard—” Hermione said without hesitation, glancing at Ron, “but I don’t know where the school kitchen is—”

"Oh--"

Ron immediately understood Hermione's intention, and he hesitated before speaking.

“Fred and George do know; they often take food from the kitchen. I've asked them about the trick before, but they wouldn't tell me, but—”

Ron frowned, staring at Hermione's bag. "You want to return this elf to its mother?"

Harry understood what Ron was questioning. Hermione's experience that night, the unacceptable mother-son relationship of the house-elf, and Professor Blaine's teachings made Harry feel that returning the elf to its mother was probably just Hermione's wishful thinking.

"It's only a newborn!" Hermione's shrill voice pierced the quiet common room. "It needs to be cared for; it needs to go back to its mother!"

Hermione's bag twitched slightly, and Dom inside seemed to want to make a sound, but because of Hermione's command, it could only remain silent and dared not move.

"Oh, come on, Hermione—"

Seeing that Hermione had fallen back into her old habits, Ron said impatiently,

"Are you mistaking the elves for wizards, Hermione? Professor Blaine has already told you that house-elves are inherently obedient; they are born to do things."

"Nobody's born liking to cook, mop the floor, or do laundry, Weasley!"

Hermione said angrily.

Harry also felt that Ron's statement was a bit problematic. He was about to use Dobby as an example, but then he thought that this might 'encourage' some of Hermione's 'unrealistic' ideas, so he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

Hermione and Ron were glaring at each other, a scene Harry was getting used to.

"But what if that house-elf named Riga doesn't want her child—"

Harry hesitated before speaking.

His words were already very tactful. In fact, Ron was right about one thing: you can't treat house-elves as wizards. If this is how house-elves and their children interact, then Hermione probably won't be able to change it.

Hermione bit her lip and remained silent. Judging from her behavior, Harry believed that she was well aware of the situation. Although it was indeed very difficult to accept that a mother would not want her child, and the child would also ignore the mother, yet choose a stranger who only gave her one piece of clothing as his master.

Although his parents died at Voldemort's hands long ago, Harry at least knew that his parents loved him and were willing to give their lives for him.

“I can’t let Doom work in the kitchen with the house-elves—” Hermione said firmly, “I have to teach him to stand up for himself!”

“Great!” Ron clapped his hands. “You want to keep it in your dorm? I bet by noon tomorrow, the whole of Hogwarts will know what Professor McGonagall will say about you keeping a house-elf in your dorm.”

Ron's words struck Hermione's weak spot. With her intelligence, it was impossible for her not to know that Professor McGonagall would never allow her to do this, and Parvati and Lavender probably wouldn't keep her secret either. This was an elf, not a bug living in a crack in the wall. There was no reason why the two of them wouldn't have discovered it. Moreover, she had no right to keep a talking elf in their shared dormitory.

Silence fell again. Hermione stared at her schoolbag, biting her lower lip until it bled. Seeing her distressed expression, Ron murmured a few times but stopped his sarcasm.

Harry was equally distressed. Although he couldn't understand why Hermione was so determined to help the house-elf, Hermione was his good friend, and he hadn't been able to overcome the many difficulties he'd faced in the past without her help. Hermione had always been the most intelligent of the three, and she always had a knack for solving problems. Seeing her so helpless filled Harry with a heavy heart.

"Let's go!"

The somber atmosphere dissipated when Harry suddenly spoke. He quickly gathered up the half-finished paper on the table, stuffed it into his backpack, and then pulled out the Invisibility Cloak.

"Where?"

Hermione stared blankly at the Invisibility Cloak in Harry's hand for a moment, then looked into Harry's emerald green eyes.

"Let's go ask Hagrid for help--"

Harry said bluntly.

"Hagrid always secretly kept monsters in the castle when he was in school. He has experience with this kind of thing, so maybe he can give you some advice. Hurry up, the first period tomorrow morning is Potions class, and Snape would love for us to be late."

With that, Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and headed for the door.

"very nice--"

Ron shrugged helplessly again and followed.

That's why he was fired.

Chapter 532 Stubborn Hermione

2023-10-13

Harry and his two friends were already quite adept at sneaking out at night to find Hagrid.

The biggest obstacle to Percy's ability to sneak around the castle at night after graduating from school was Filch and his Lady Lorris. Tonight, they were lucky; Lady Lorris didn't notice them. However, on their way downstairs, they encountered several groups of young wizards sneaking around the castle.

Hermione was outraged by this and was about to undo her Invisibility Cloak to teach these first-years a lesson, but Ron wisely stopped her.

"Oh, mind your own business, Hermione. You're not a prefect yet!"

"The current student council president is completely irresponsible!" Hermione said indignantly, crouching down as she watched a group of children walk past her. "The school is turning a blind eye to this. Oh, this is Professor Blaine's fault—"

Hermione seemed a bit annoyed with Professor Blaine, and she complained to him for a while, but Harry reminded her that they were doing something against school rules.

The Invisibility Cloak was clearly struggling to cover three people, and the three of them stumbled across the area, their trouser legs soaked with the night dew.

Hagrid's cabin, nestled on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, was still lit. Hagrid, a habitual night owl, was still awake. They walked through the slightly muddy vegetable garden and knocked on Hagrid's door. A dog barked immediately from inside, followed by scratching sounds from behind the door.

"Don't call out, Yaya!"

Hagrid snarled at his black hound, strode over, and opened the door. The moment the door opened, Harry took the opportunity to remove the Invisibility Cloak from his head.

"Ah, it's the three of you—"

Seeing the three little ones standing in front of his house, Hagrid merely raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise whatsoever, as if he had expected it. Harry, however, noticed that each of Hagrid's ten fingers was wrapped in bandages and appeared swollen and larger than usual.

"What happened to your hand, Hagrid?" Harry asked with concern.

“Just a minor injury—” Hagrid mumbled, then beckoned to them. “Come on in. If anyone finds you here, I’ll have to put all three of you in solitary confinement.”

Needless to say, Hagrid's hand injury was definitely caused by the Blast-tailed Snail. They had already witnessed the power of the new monster Hagrid created during the summer vacation a few days ago.

"Oh, go away, Yaya--"

As soon as they entered the house, Toothpick pounced on Hermione, sniffing the backpack in her arms. Hermione held the backpack tightly and used one hand to block Toothpick's mouth.

Hagrid poured a pot of water onto the stove, turned and went into the kitchen, intending to find something to eat for the three little ones who had come to visit late at night.

“Who will find us?” Ron asked with interest.

“Professor Moody, he comes every day—”

Harry and Hermione exchanged a surprised glance, and Harry asked, "Does he patrol the grounds every day?"