Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 146 Hermione's Patronus

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the July morning breeze, carrying cool, moist air, blew through the slightly ajar window onto Loren's sleeping face.

Loren felt his eyelashes tickling, as if being teased by a mischievous little elf. He fluttered them a few times and opened his eyes.

The alarm clock on the bedside table had just struck six. Thanks to going to bed at 9:30 last night, Loren had a good night's sleep, felt refreshed, and had no desire to stay in bed.

The fantasy book lay quietly beside my pillow, its cover bearing a portrait of Flamel with his head bowed, eyes closed, and an expression of tranquility.

Loren threw off the covers, got up, changed out of her pajamas, and put on a cotton-linen blend polo shirt. The fresh light green color added a touch of coolness to the summer. She paired it with brown cropped pants and looked very energetic.

"Goodbye Flamel!" He folded the blankets neatly and walked briskly out of the room.

Flamel's inability to appear in public was merely a self-talk in his cheerful mood; Loren himself didn't take it to heart and didn't expect Flamel to respond.

But shortly after the door closed, a faint silver light began to flow along the edge of the illustration on the cover of the book of fantasy. Flamel in the portrait opened his eyes—eyes with silvery-white pupils, eyes that held ancient and distant memories.

Flammel blinked a few times, then stepped out of the portrait.

The palm-sized portrait took a step forward, gradually growing larger, breaking free from the constraints of the image and entering the real world. When its foot landed, it was already the size of a normal adult.

He surveyed the bedroom's furnishings, his eyes shining with delight. After circling the room a few times, he came to the window, watching the sun gradually brighten with boundless anticipation.

Loren closed the door, went downstairs, washed up, cut the bread into thick slices, put them in the toaster, set the timer, and while waiting, fried eggs, bacon, and sausages in a frying pan...

Hermione Granger is a disciplined and well-behaved young witch with a regular lifestyle. Except for being dragged out for nighttime walks at Hogwarts, she goes to bed and wakes up on time every day.

But something unexpected happened today.

Boom!

dong dong!

Boom boom boom!

The knocking on the door was urgent, and you could tell the person knocking outside the bedroom was excited.

Hermione opened her eyes, unfocused, her expression blank, with a hint of drowsiness from being startled awake. She usually woke up about five minutes before her alarm went off, but this was clearly not the case now.

Boom boom boom!

The urgent knocking sounded again.

"Hermione! Wake up!"

Hermione fell silent. She could hear a hint of excitement in Loren's voice; he had actually gotten up early just to wake her up.

Boom boom boom!

"Hermione! Wake up!"

Hermione didn't answer, but dressed expressionlessly, smoothing her hair with her hand and folding the blankets neatly, while the knocking on the door continued.

She walked to the door, turned the handle, and opened the door.

Loren's hand, raised high, paused in mid-air as he knocked on the door again, the excited smile on his face still lingering.

Upon seeing Hermione, Loren coughed lightly, his smile fading. "I've come to practice magic with you."

Hermione was both annoyed and amused. She clenched her fist repeatedly, but in the end, she couldn't hold back and punched Loren on the shoulder.

"Knocking on the door so early, you must have been planning this since yesterday." Hermione came downstairs in slippers. Given Loren's habit of sleeping in late, he must have started preparing last night to wake her up.

Loren followed behind Hermione and said in a serious tone, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here to have you practice the Patronus Charm."

Downstairs in the restaurant, Wendell and Monica saw the two of them come down and quickly looked away, their smiles barely concealed, as if they were quite pleased to see Hermione being woken up.

Monica poured hot milk into Hermione's cup: "Hermione, go brush your teeth and have breakfast."

Hermione looked at Wendell at the table. He was pretending to read the newspaper with his head down, biting into a piece of bread covered in strawberry jam, and occasionally letting out a "chuckling" laugh.

With mixed feelings, she walked towards the restroom.

Monica turned to Loren. "Want some more? I heard Hermione always has lunch again whenever she visits your house."

Wendell's snickers suddenly grew louder and more rapid, as if there were jokes in the Daily Mail.

Hermione's back muscles tensed instantly as she walked, and she felt her face burning. She quickly quickened her pace.

When Hermione came out, she overheard Loren talking to Monica about making breakfast. The two talked about everything from jam to bread baking time, from bacon to chickpeas.

Breakfast was good; the bread was rich in wheat flavor and the jam was sweet, but she just found the time spent at the table unbearable.

At this time of day, Monica and Wendell would usually be at work, but now, after finishing breakfast, one is chatting and the other is reading the newspaper, neither showing any intention of leaving the house.

"Hermione, eat more. Loren is coming to our house today, so you can only have breakfast once," Wendell advised with concern.

Hermione suddenly found the food in her mouth even harder to swallow. She inwardly protested, "I ate for two more days, and it was Loren who forced it on me."

After quickly finishing what was on her plate, Hermione stood up abruptly, grabbed Loren, and headed towards the courtyard, her tone firm yet slightly flustered: "It's time to practice the Patronus Charm."

Wendell's snickering laughter came from behind.

"【Palmtop Protector】"

"【Palmtop Protector】"

Hermione and Loren chanted incantations, and the courtyard was once again illuminated by the silvery-white light of the Patronus Charm.

After an unknown amount of time, Monica's voice rang out in farewell: "Hermione, Loren, stay home and behave yourselves!"

The sounds of doors closing and cars starting suddenly lifted Hermione's spirits: "[Palmtop Horror]!"

A bright silver light burst forth from the tip of the wand, spilling out like silken ribbons and converging in one direction.

Hermione and Loren stared wide-eyed; this was unlike anything they had seen with their previous spellcasting.

The silver light gradually accumulated and became very dazzling. Then the light source converged into a ball, and a dolphin swam around, swaying its tail fin.

A silvery-white dolphin, as bright and clear as moonlight, surrounded by air like seawater, glides gently and gracefully through the air, silent and still. A pair of pectoral fins flank its sides, while a dorsal fin rises upright in the middle. Its eyes are lively and beautiful, its snout delicate, and the curve of its mouth resembles a smile.

At an unexpected moment, Hermione summoned a physical Patronus, a beautiful dolphin.

Hermione stared at the magical object before her, her heart filled with surprise and joy.

Seemingly afraid of disturbing it, Hermione suppressed her excitement and whispered, "Loren! I...it!"

Hermione couldn't speak in a complete sentence and kept tugging at Loren's sleeve.

Loren sensed Hermione's excitement, and although he felt a little envious, he was also happy for her.

"Yes, yes, the physical Patronus is a dolphin." He gently patted Hermione's shoulder, helping her calm down.

Hermes felt a sense of familiarity and warmth with the dolphins, and following her heart's desire, she waved her wand, guiding the dolphins to swim in the courtyard.

The plump, silvery-white dolphin darted through the bushes, its movements agile yet endearing.

It circled the tree trunk in the center of the courtyard, responding to Hermione's joy, occasionally shaking its body as if leaping out of the water, splashing tiny silver sparks in the air.

The wand drew an arc, aimed at Loren, and the dolphin leaped excitedly, flapping its fins, and charged straight at Loren.

Loren's eyes were wide open, motionless, as a warm feeling approached, and the dolphin's kiss touched his forehead, scattering into tiny, shimmering silver magical light.

Hermione's giggles echoed in the courtyard...

Did you know that dolphins are among the most intelligent mammals in nature? They have large brains with complex cerebral cortices, giving them high intelligence and cognitive abilities. Some dolphins can even understand music and communicate with humans.

Hermione sat on the sofa, chattering away, her face flushed, her excitement undiminished. She gestured animatedly as she explained the dolphins to Loren, clearly very pleased with her Patron.

"Good heavens, I never expected to summon a physical guardian spirit at this time! Although I had noticed signs of it taking shape before, I didn't expect it to be a dolphin. It's very intelligent. I wonder if this has anything to do with wizards. I mean, I once took an intelligence test, so maybe it has some influence."

"It's a pity we're not at school, otherwise I could check how many wizards have dolphins as their patron deities and verify this hypothesis."

She was in a good mood, chattering away like a little swallow.

Looking at Hermione's flushed face and the sparkle in her eyes, Loren felt nothing but bitterness.

She learned the Patronus Charm earlier than Hermione and even received personal guidance from Dumbledore...

"It must be because you were lazy using the Illumination Charm, that's why you can't summon a physical Patronus yet." Hermione smiled, but her tone was firm and left no room for argument. "I'll write you a note tonight about the key points of practicing the Patronus Charm. I'll make sure you practice diligently, and you're not allowed to be lazy again."

"My guardian spell isn't a matter of practice; it's still expanding, and it won't solidify until it reaches its limit." Loren's face clearly said, "I don't want it, I refuse."

"So you need to practice even harder and try to summon a physical Patronus as soon as possible." Hermione's reasoning became even more compelling.

She began to offer some suggestions:

"If you practice in the morning, you can practice a few more times in the evening, which is more efficient."

"If you don't want to memorize your lessons, you can practice your Guardian Charm while I'm memorizing..."

Loren was even more distressed. When he was staying at Hermione's house, he could play with her for hours on end. Now that he'd moved next door, he was constantly being supervised at school. Why was that...?

In the morning, it was Patronus Charm and Legilimency; in the afternoon, it was memorizing texts. Hermione kept repeating them in my ear, over and over again, making it impossible not to memorize. I didn't even have this much studying intensity at Hogwarts.

Loren took a deep breath, determined to rebel against the class monitor's rule; otherwise, he'd go crazy from studying.

Before he could come up with a solution, Hermione pulled him back into Legilimency practice.

Thanks to Hermione's excitement, Loren saw many of her childhood memories through Legilimency, indicating that his Legilimency had reached the first stage, with the remainder being the probing of her emotions and thoughts.

That evening, Loren dragged his tired body home. After asking Bates and learning that London had a large aquarium, his plan to skip school gradually took shape.

Filled with anticipation for a bright future, Loren returned to his bedroom.

Loren was startled by Flamel's presence in the room as soon as he opened the door. Looking at Flamel's faint glow in the darkness, he couldn't resist reaching out to touch him. His hand passed through the illusory image, and he asked, "Is this also a new feature after the upgrade?"

"Upgrade?" Flamel immediately understood the term. "The right word; it is indeed a newly emerging ability."

Loren perked up and asked eagerly, "Can other things from the Book of Fantasy appear outside?"

Flamel shook his head: "No, even I can only move around the Book of Fantasy; I don't have the ability to influence reality."

"What is the maximum distance?"

"Around 33 feet."

That's about 10 meters. Loren asked thoughtfully, "Can other people see you?"

"Muggles are completely blind, some wizards can see, and some can't?"

"Why is that?" Loren asked in surprise.

Flamel spread his hands to display the body: "This is a phantom projected by magic. My true image is still the picture on the cover. Some wizards can sense the presence of magic, while others cannot."

"Where's your voice? Can they hear you?"

"No, you can hear my voice because you have a unique connection with the Book of Fantasy."

Loren clapped his hands and exclaimed in delight, "From now on, you can help me cheat on exams!"

His tone was very excited, "Others can't see you, they can't hear you, but I can. You help me see other people's answers and then tell me, so no one can detect the cheating."

Flamel looked at Loren without answering, then turned and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the Book of Fantasy. He expressed his refusal through his actions.

"It's just a suggestion, I'll think about it..." Loren skipped onto the bed, his consciousness entering the Book of Fantasy.

……

The next morning.

After being ambushed by Loren, Hermione delayed her arrival at Loren's house and also avoided the second breakfast. Under her supervision, Loren's Patronus Charm sphere expanded slightly, but still showed no signs of solidifying.

On the sofa in the living room, the two shared a bar of chocolate, a selection from Granger Dental Clinic, which was more bitter than sweet, and Loren ate it with a furrowed brow.

With difficulty, Loren swallowed the last bit, pursed his lips, and said earnestly, "It's delicious. Remember to bring some for Headmaster Dumbledore after school starts; he'll definitely like it."

Hermione tossed the wrapper into the trash can, took a small sip of water to rinse her mouth, and said, "Less sweet chocolate is better for your teeth, and don't you think this kind of chocolate is richer and more flavorful?"

Loren scoffed. "How about we go to the aquarium this weekend? I heard there's a dolphin show."

Hermione was intrigued, yet hesitated: "But, our study plan..."

She made the plan based on a whole vacation, and a sudden change might prevent her from completing her study plan.

Loren gasped. School had weekends off, yet Hermione's study schedule was completely uninterrupted. This plan had to be sabotaged. He offered a perfectly legitimate reason: "Your Patronus Charm is a dolphin. Go see some real dolphins; it might help."

After some back and forth, Hermione finally gave in, and the two agreed to go to the aquarium on the weekend.

(End of this chapter)