The Return to Hogwarts

"What's wrong?" Their exchange made Ron a little uneasy. "If you think—"

“Oh, no—” Harry laughed. “You’re right, Ron, maybe Sirius’s condition isn’t that serious. Well then, let’s leave Sirius at school for a few days.”

Hermione smiled happily. She and Harry shared the same feeling; during the nearly one month that Ron had distanced himself from them, it felt like a piece of their hearts was missing. Now that Ron was back with them, Harry, Hermione, and even Ron himself didn't want to dwell on whose fault it was this time.

Their friendship is the most important thing.

As for Hermione, the joy that Ron was willing to reconcile with them was no less than the joy she felt after passing the first test of the Triwizard Tournament.

The banquet in the auditorium was still going on. The three of them saw Professor Blaine return to the guests, but they had no desire to participate anymore. So, they quietly went upstairs via the foyer stairs.

"Professor Blaine just said he was going to examine Dom's soul—" On the way to the Gryffindor tower, they discussed what had just happened. Harry frowned and said, "What does that mean? And why won't he say anything more afterward?"

“Examine the soul—” Ron shuddered. “Doesn’t that sound a little sinister?”

"But what should I do with my dom?"

When the topic of house-elves came up, Hermione spoke with a heavy heart.

"It can't stay with Hagrid forever. It has to be independent and live the life it wants. All house-elves have this right. They can't be enslaved like this anymore."

Harry and Ron wisely kept quiet; there was no end to the discussion.

The portrait of the fat lady spun open, and the sudden burst of cheers and commotion inside momentarily stunned the three of them. Ron was the first to recover.

"A surprise feast—" He climbed up first, then grabbed Hermione's arm, who was a little dazed, and dragged her up as well. "I knew there would be this!"

The tables and chairs in the common room were piled high with cakes, along with jugs of pumpkin juice and butterbeer. Lee Jordan set off some hard-fire fireworks, sending sparks and flecks flying through the air. Dean Thomas, a skilled painter, hung up several eye-catching new banners, most depicting Hermione gracefully tumbling through the air on a rock before landing on a dragon's neck.

"Oh—" Hermione's face turned bright red, "Actually, there was no need to make such a fuss—"

"What nonsense are you talking about—"

Fred grinned and pushed Hermione in front of a pile of cakes and beer.

“You have to eat all of this to do justice to all the trips George, Lee, and I have made to the kitchen. Oh, and of course, you can also thank the little elves in the kitchen. Those little guys have been working so hard tonight. They're busy preparing for the dinner in the Great Hall, there's one in Hufflepuff's lounge, and we have one here too. Oh, and who knows, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang might be celebrating in their own territories as well!”

"indeed--"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she thought of Doom's mother, the little elf named Riga.

"But how do I get into the kitchen?"

Hermione asked in a very casual tone.

“It’s very convenient—” Fred said. “There’s a door in the underground corridor, hidden behind an oil painting of a bowl of fruit. You just need to gently scratch the pear, and it will chuckle, and then—”

Fred warily shut his mouth.

"You're not trying to give those little kitchen sprites all that publicity you did before, are you? Oh, please don't do that, you'll make sure no one has anything to eat!"

Several people chuckled, but Hermione remained silent. Seeing her like this, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, sighed simultaneously, and then burst into laughter again.

Then the celebration began, and as the atmosphere grew more enthusiastic, many people clamored to see the golden egg Hermione had received. So Hermione had to go back to her dormitory and retrieve the egg. She placed it on the table for everyone to admire.

To be honest, Hermione herself hasn't had a chance to properly observe it yet!

After the match, she hurried back to the castle, put the golden egg back in her dormitory, and then went down to the common room. She preferred to spend the time talking with Harry and Ron. Not long after, Professor McGonagall informed her to go down to the Great Hall to attend the banquet as a representative of the champions.

People were eager to help Hermione analyze what the terrifying scream coming from the golden egg meant, but Hermione nervously covered her ears, unwilling to listen any longer.

Harry understood that although Professor Blaine had made it clear that Hermione faced the same challenge in the first match, Hermione was obviously not able to completely let go of her burdens. She probably wanted to rely entirely on her own efforts to win the second match.

The banquet lasted until very late before the young wizards gradually returned to their dormitories.

For the past month, the atmosphere in Harry's dormitory has been rather strange, mainly due to a falling out between Harry and Ron. Although no one has brought this up publicly, everyone knows about it in private.

Today, Seamus, Dean, and Neville were overjoyed to see Harry and Ron talking side-by-side again. They chatted about the game in the dorm and eventually fell asleep without even taking off their clothes, completely exhausted.

Harry was the same. Although he wasn't the one competing today, he went to Hogsmeade Station early in the morning with his classmates from PE class to pick her up. He had been worried about Hermione for most of the day and was already exhausted. He and Neville were the first to close their eyes.

Ron was awakened by Neville's snoring, and it took him several minutes to realize his situation. He stood up groggily, holding his head, and grinned at his roommates who were still asleep fully clothed.

After throwing blankets over everyone, Ron returned to his bed, ready to take off his clothes and go to sleep. Then, in the dim candlelight of the dormitory, he saw something glittering on his bedding—a coin.

The coin was a reward from Professor Blaine, and he had kept it with him ever since. It must have just slipped out of his pocket and onto the bed.

Ron stared at the coin for a long time, his drowsiness gradually dissipating.

He looked at Harry, who was fast asleep, and for some reason, he suddenly remembered the scene of him and Harry rushing into the Slytherin basement to save Ginny. He was quickly devoured by the basilisk, while Harry struggled against it until Hermione brought Professor Blaine over.

It was only a little over a year ago, but it feels like a long time has passed.

Ron then looked at Neville.

As Professor Blaine's only class at Hogwarts, physical education has always been a special case. Everyone else has heard more or less about what happens in class. Ron knows that Neville has been struggling to keep up with the course lately, which has put a lot of pressure on him, but he has never heard Neville say that he wants to give up.

"I brought this on myself--"

In the dim light, Ron muttered something bitter to himself. He picked up the coin, intending to put it back in his robe, but as his fingertips touched the cold coin, he remembered the smile Professor Blaine had given him that evening at Hagrid's hut.

call--

A cold wind suddenly blew in, and Ron had already rushed out the door.

Chapter 637 Guidance

2023-12-07

Ron dashed down the spiral staircase of the dormitory at the fastest speed he had ever seen in his life. The common room was still a mess. He leaped over a pile of overturned bottles, ignoring the fat lady's angry accusations as she was awakened from her sleep. He ran like the wind across the corridor in front of the portrait and rushed downstairs.

In the dead of night at the end of November, a bone-chilling cold permeated the castle. The torches along the corridors were reduced to tiny flames by the chill, offering little warmth whatsoever.

But Ron didn't feel cold at all; the fire burning in his heart made his skin flush red.

He didn't know why he was making this attempt, or what was driving him to do it, but he wanted to try, even though he knew the chances of failure were high. Otherwise, he might regret it for the rest of his life.

Professor Blaine is probably already resting, but that's alright, he can wait until he gets up. Filch and his Lady Lorris are probably patrolling the castle, and he might get caught and put in solitary confinement. Oh, that's even less of a problem.

The coin he clutched tightly in his hand seemed to be heating up, conveying a belief to him and urging him to run faster.

Ron had walked this route from the Gryffindor Tower to Professor Blaine's office before, but he had never imagined it would be so long this time. He ran desperately, his panting even drowning out the howling wind on either side of the corridor.

The fact that Professor Blaine's office light was still on was undoubtedly good news.

Standing in front of the door, Ron hesitated to lower his raised hand. He had mustered all his courage to come here, to make an attempt, and to achieve self-redemption.

"I've already failed enough anyway--"

Ron muttered something under his breath and finally knocked on the door.

"Come in, Ron—"

Before the door was even opened, Professor Blaine inside already knew who had knocked. This was nothing to the world's foremost archmage, but the calm, gentle voice did ease Ron's wildly beating heart a little.

Amosta closed the spellbook in front of him and spoke to the door. He saw Ron walk in with a determined look on his face. The boy's face was flushed and beads of sweat dotted his forehead, indicating that he had run all the way here.

"Please sit down."

Amosta pointed to the sofa, then got up from behind his desk.

"Would you like something to drink, pumpkin juice or milk?"

“Oh, no, no need—” Ron stammered.

"Then let's have milk!"

Amostella waved her wand, and a silver goblet filled with milk appeared before Ron. He smiled and said...

"Getting your body excited late at night isn't a good idea, so I suggest you drink a glass of milk, which will help you sleep."

Professor Blaine's gentle tone carried an air of unyielding authority. Ron pursed his lips, picked up his cup, and took a sip of the warm milk. However, before he could catch his breath, the milk caused him to choke, and he began to cough spasm.

"Excuse me, Professor Blaine, I...cough cough, I got a little excited—"

"Oh, I can tell--"

Amosta's eyes were filled with a smile.

"At the same time, I guessed that you must have something very important to talk to me about—"

Ron wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Listening to Professor Blaine's words, he shifted his shoulders uneasily, and after a brief silence, nodded.

"It's an important matter for me."

Amosta made an inviting gesture, remaining attentive and listening.

Ron clenched his fists tightly, his eyes darting around.

Ron hadn't been to Professor Blaine's office in a long time, and it remained as unassuming as ever. For someone like Filch, who served no purpose other than causing trouble for students, such a simple office would be expected. But for Professor Blaine, a great wizard whose fame had spread throughout the world, even rivaling Dumbledore's, maintaining such a simple and unpretentious style was unimaginable to Ron.

But Ron knew very well that no one would look down on Professor Blaine because of this; his authority was not based on this.

hum-

Ron opened his clenched fist, then released it. The Merlin commemorative coin fell onto the table, swirled a few times, and finally fell silent.

"This is the commemorative coin you gave me, Professor Blaine, yes... after the Chamber of Secrets incident—"

The words he was about to say made Ron's heart race, and his mouth felt unbearably dry, but he didn't touch the glass of milk.

"Oh, yes, I'm glad you kept it with you. It's a gift you really like, isn't it?"

Amosta's gaze flickered across the coin before shifting to Ron, remaining patient.

“I really like it—” Ron said hesitantly.