The Return to Hogwarts

After a few seconds of silence, Harry slowly shook his head and said something, then strode towards the post office with his head down.

What exactly happened to him?

Ron finally realized something was wrong with Harry and asked worriedly.

Hermione remained silent in the face of Ron's question, because it was Harry's secret. She had only guessed correctly, and she shouldn't go around telling everyone without Harry's permission.

Hermione thought so, but her silence was undoubtedly hurtful to Ron.

Think about it, there's a secret that Harry and Hermione both know, but he doesn't, and neither of them wants to tell him.

“Okay—” Ron’s face paled slightly, but he didn’t press further. “If it’s inconvenient to talk about, then never mind—”

As he spoke, Ron's eyelids drooped, and his eyes revealed disappointment. He didn't know what Hermione and Harry were hiding, but perhaps it was something that happened during the time when he had fallen out with them.

"Oh--"

Hermione immediately snapped out of her daze and realized that their silence was a serious blow to Ron.

Seeing Ron quicken his pace, Hermione bit her lip, glanced at Harry ahead, hesitated for a moment, and then decided to tell Ron about it.

"Hey, listen up—"

Hermione grabbed Ron's sleeve and gave him a warning look.

"I can tell you, but don't yell about it, understand?"

Ron blinked, his eyes gleaming.

"--I see,"

Hermione glanced at Harry and whispered.

"It sounds complicated, but it's actually quite simple. It's just that the girl next to Cedric this morning, she's Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, um... Cedric's girlfriend—"

"Yes, I can tell—"

Ron said in an obvious tone,

"He simply didn't want to let go of her hand, just like Percy did with his girlfriend back then. But so what?"

“Harry likes her too—” Hermione finally said, “starting in third year.”

Under Hermione's tense gaze, Ron's mouth quietly opened. He looked at Harry in front of him for a moment, then at Hermione, his thoughts seemingly frozen, unable to utter a sound.

"You mean-"

But at a certain moment, Ron suddenly screamed, and Hermione, who was prepared, immediately kicked his ankle hard, turning his scream into a painful whimper.

“I had no idea!” Ron glared at Hermione, both surprised and annoyed. “You kept this from me!”

“Oh—” Hermione said unhappily, “Harry didn’t tell me either, I just guessed it myself--”

There were so many things to complain about that Ron didn't know where to begin. He stood there with his mouth agape for a long time, walking and thinking.

“But Ginny.” Ron stopped mid-sentence.

It's no secret that his little sister is a huge Harry fan, and while Harry has never been indifferent to Ginny, he has never liked her, never. As her close friend, Ron is absolutely certain of this.

By this time, Harry had already stepped onto the wooden steps in front of the post office shop. He stood under the awning and threw the package containing the three of their old clothes and the sweets he had just bought from Honeydukes on the ground with a clatter. He turned around and saw Hermione and Ron walking slowly toward him, whispering to each other.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked suspiciously.

“Oh, it’s nothing—” Hermione said nervously.

"We were just discussing where to go later?" Ron said with a stiff face, not daring to touch the 'heartbroken' Harry at this moment.

Hermione paid for the mailing, since Harry had spent all his money, and Ron had spent most of his allowance on candy.

When Hermione came out of the post office, she had another large package and letters left at the post office during the Christmas holidays. She asked Ron to take the package for her while she looked through the envelopes.

"These are all letters from fans--"

A moment later, Hermione shrugged and stuffed the stack of envelopes she had received into her pocket.

Inside Hogwarts, not many people were fanatically devoted to Hermione, and Dumbledore and Amosta, considering the academic atmosphere, did not allow outside reporters to conduct private interviews with the school's champions. However, Hermione and Cedric did indeed have quite a few admirers outside the school.

Since the live broadcast of the competition, the four warriors have received numerous letters every month from residents of the magical world in various European countries. Most of them praise their performance in the first competition, while many others insult them.

Whether it was praise or criticism, after several months, Hermione had gotten used to it. The most difficult days of becoming a warrior were long gone, and she no longer cared much about a group of strangers commenting on her.

The Three Broomsticks pub was a must-visit every time I came to Hogsmeade. Madam Romersta brought them several steaming butterbeers. Hermione took out several envelopes from her pocket and looked through them one by one. Judging from her expression, these letters were clearly not sarcastic towards him.

Ron, holding his beer, glanced nervously at Harry's expressionless face.

To be honest, he had never encountered this situation before and had no experience in handling it. He didn't even dare to comfort Harry on his own.

Ring ring--

Several professors from the school opened the door, and the doorbell rang, prompting all three of them to discover that Professor Blaine was also among the faculty and staff.

Faced with Professor Blaine's friendly gaze, the three of them instinctively shrank back. Although they thought they had done a good deed, they were unsure of what Professor Blaine would think.

"Let's go, I want to go to the library to work on the paper Professor Blaine assigned—"

Harry downed the beer in one gulp, and the warmth in his stomach made him feel a little better, but he still wasn't in the mood to stay in this cheerful place.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance, and remained in an eerie silence.

"All right--"

After a brief silence, Hermione nodded. "Let me open the package first, if the contents are on Filch's contraband list—"

Harry wasn't interested in what was inside the package, but Ron enthusiastically helped Hermione tear open the wrapping paper.

Inside the package was a gift box filled with pastries. Lifting the lid revealed a variety of exquisitely handmade pastries that looked incredibly tempting.

Ron sniffed the aroma that wafted towards him.

"It smells wonderful! And someone even sent you a flower!"

In the very center of the gift box, in a recessed space, sits a very pink rose. This rose has clearly been enchanted, its pink petals shimmering with a subtle luster, making it exceptionally beautiful and delicate.

"Don't move, Weasley!"

Ron instinctively reached for the rose, but Hermione slapped it away forcefully.

Facing Ron's mournful gaze, Hermione smugly curled her nose. Then, with her cheeks also flushed slightly pink, Hermione pursed her lips, a pleasant smile on her face, and slowly reached out to touch the roses.

Chapter 742 Shocking Change (Part 2)

2024-02-09

The rose tucked into the dessert box was a real flower, and whoever gave it to Hermione had clearly done some magical treatment on it. Each pink petal was exquisitely beautiful, shimmering with light like drops of morning dew flowing in a string.

No girl can resist the allure of beautiful flowers.

Watching Hermione gently sniff the rose with a delighted smile, seemingly unable to put it down, Ron smacked his lips, feeling a mix of emotions.

Just as he had predicted after Hermione became a champion, Hermione's fame had spread beyond Hogwarts School; all the wizards who followed the Triwizard Tournament knew of the little witch Hermione Granger.

People were impressed by her intelligence and courage in the first match.

Because the tournament is competitive, Hermione's outstanding performance in the competition has earned her the support of the residents of the British wizarding world. For example, Mrs. Romerstadt, the owner of the Three Broomsticks pub, immediately served the three of them butterbeers with a warm smile when she saw Hermione enter.

A hint of sadness flashed in Ron's eyes.

Harry's beloved Cho Chang was taken away by Cedric of Hufflepuff, so what about him?

Ron took a deep breath, trying to overcome the bitterness in his heart. No matter what, Hermione said they would be best friends for life, so he should be happy that his friend was becoming more outstanding and popular, right?

Hermione's smile also affected Harry. Like Ron, he didn't want his own bitterness to affect Hermione. He banished Cedric's silly face from his mind and was about to say something to Hermione when suddenly, something happened.

The pink rose that Hermione had placed in front of her, given to her by a fan, suddenly flashed with a strange light from its petals to its stem. This unusual light disappeared as soon as it touched Hermione's fingers. It appeared and disappeared so quickly that Hermione, who was admiring it, thought it was just her imagination.

Immediately afterward, the delicate stamen of the rose trembled slightly, a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere beneath Hermione's nose, and then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, the vibrant petals lost their color—withered—and turned to sand.

Before the three of them could react, the pink rose had turned into a pile of ashes, which drifted down and disappeared into the dust on the ground.

The stunned silence lasted for several seconds. Ron, who had been leaning back in his chair, unconsciously sat up straight, staring at Hermione's still-frozen fingers, his mouth agape.

"Is this a prank?"

"Perhaps that's the case—"

Harry blinked blankly. He saw the disappointment flash in Hermione's eyes, and after thinking for a moment, he hesitated and said...

"But I think... well, this flower looks like it was created by magic. Maybe the magic just failed. Generally speaking, things created by magic will disappear quickly if they aren't maintained by magic, right?"

This explanation is more reasonable and easier to accept, and Hermione's expression is noticeably more cheerful.

"That certainly seems to be the case—"

Hermione dusted off some ashes from her hands, glanced at the snack box on the table, and smiled, saying, "It finally held on until I saw it—"

The slight unpleasantness ended just like that, but Hermione also lost interest in staying there any longer.

As Harry had said before, they still had a paper assigned by Professor Blaine to work on, and finding a way to survive underwater was still the most important thing at the moment. With only a month left until the second match, Hermione couldn't relax completely until it was done.

Let's go--

Hermione stood up, wrapped herself in a scarf and cloak, and began tidying up the snack box as she spoke.

"We can go to the library to do our homework first. I bet Professor Blaine's paper will take at least half a day. Then, we'll go to the gym and practice dodging dung bombs with Ron. Oh, sometimes I really think I'm putting too much effort into this class—"

"You can give it up, can't you?"