Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 726 A Peaceful Summer Vacation

The last day of June, Monday.

Grandpa Bates was in the backyard, wearing an old vest he used to wear when he was herding sheep. It was torn in several places, and there was a rip in the pant leg, revealing loose threads. Whether it was intentional or accidental, he somehow managed to make the ranch farmer's clothes look fashionable. Meanwhile, this stylish old man was watering his trees in the backyard with a water hose and sprinkler.

Summer temperatures are high, and trees evaporate moisture quickly, requiring regular watering. Watering is a delicate task; some areas need to be thoroughly watered, while some delicate trees cannot be watered too much, as the roots are prone to rotting.

The old man was very patient and watered the plants meticulously.

I don't know how many trees died to gain this experience.

"Tsk..."

After watching for more than ten minutes, Loren clicked his tongue, staring at the gushing water from the showerhead. Feeling a bit thirsty, he turned around, went inside, opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of Coke, and was about to leave when he noticed a sticky note stuck to it.

That was the summer vacation plan Loren made at the beginning of the break, outlining his daily schedule: studying with Hermione in the mornings and completing his summer homework on time and in full each day; researching teleportation in the afternoons, exploring magic different from Apparition; and reading the Book of Fantasy before bed and discussing the properties of the strange Imperishable Stone with Flamel…

"Emmm..."

Two weeks of vacation have passed, and it seems like I haven't accomplished anything and still owe a lot of homework that I should have finished.

Loren paused for a moment, thought for a moment, then opened the refrigerator and took out another bottle of cola.

Hermione should have finished her Charms assignment by now. I'll borrow her paper for reference, and this Coke will be a thank you gift.

……

The Granger family.

Today is a workday, and the Grangers went to work at the dental clinic early in the morning.

Hermione finished washing the dishes, walked out of the kitchen, wiped the water droplets off her hands, and felt a little complicated.

After returning from vacation, perhaps spurred on by Loren, her parents somehow noticed her lack of skill in housework and started letting her do some age-appropriate chores. Before, she would occasionally help with tasks like cleaning the oven, tidying the storage room, and doing a full house cleaning, but she was mostly in a supporting role; her parents were the main breadwinners. Now, she's the main breadwinner. She washes the dishes in the morning and helps prepare ingredients for dinner…

Before I knew it, I had taken on quite a few household chores.

Hermione sometimes tries to use magic to slack off, but her mother always tells her to do it herself, saying that she's an adult now and should get some training.

A slight popping sound was heard in the air, followed by a slight ripple in the airflow, and then a figure carrying two bottles of cola appeared in the living room.

Hermione put down the handkerchief and slowly turned around, tilting her head slightly and revealing a puzzled look.

Loren handed her the opened can of cola: "Hermione, let's do our homework."

"?"

Hermione gave him a strange look, but still followed him to the study.

Soft light illuminated the room, and beige-gray parchment and reference books were laid out on the desk. Both students' assignments were here, arranged in the order of the courses, but one student was still stuck on the very first page, while the other had already finished Transfiguration and Charms.

Everyone took their seats and began to study!

The quill pen, soaked in ink, left smooth lines on the paper.

During a pause to dip her brush in ink, Hermione looked up and saw that the man was referencing her Charms paper. In his words, he was extracting the dross from it, removing the valuable essence, and halving the length so that it could pass the professor's review without being noticed.

"..."

Hermione thought for a moment, but decided not to interrupt him.

It's already quite good that she can sit down and do her homework in peace. If it were a few days ago, I would have already dragged her to watch fantasy movies for inspiration.

But I always find myself convinced by his strange and bizarre reasons.

A dozen minutes later.

Loren dusted off the parchment, quite pleased with himself. The first draft of the paper was already done; the rest were just simple steps: collecting examples, refining the wording, and finalizing and copying the manuscript.

Anyone can do it!

Loren thought for a moment, put down his quill, and looked up at the outstanding student: "Hermione, Hermione, I exceeded my quota for today's tasks and plan to reward myself with a nice lunch. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

Before the girl could answer, he immediately added, "How about braised beef brisket with potatoes? The beef your mom bought was good, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time that day to make the stew."

"..."

Hermione was somewhat exasperated, and even more exasperated was the saliva welling up between her lips and tongue: "Couldn't you just finish your paper first?"

"I promise I'll finish my thesis today!" Loren solemnly promised, then quickly changed the subject, "But the ingredients are freshest in the morning. If we don't go grocery shopping now, they'll wilt by the afternoon, and the meat will deteriorate. We can buy the meat and stew it, and while we wait for it to stew, I can copy my thesis. What do you think?"

Are you sure you can finish the paper?

"Don't you believe how fast I can finish my homework?"

"I don't believe your attitude."

"Um……"

Loren hesitated for a moment: "Your suspicions are quite reasonable, but I'm really craving braised beef brisket right now. I advise you to cooperate and save time."

"..."

Hermione wanted to say something in rebuttal, but the man had already come over, snatched the quill from her hand, threw it into the ink bottle, grabbed her hand and walked out, turning off the lights and closing the door as he went. When they got to the living room, he had already put on his shoes.

He sighed silently to himself and let the man lead him to the fresh food supermarket.

……

"Stir-frying the beef in a pan before stewing will make it more fragrant."

Loren gripped the spatula, stirring the chunks of beef brisket inside. The spices and hot oil released a unique aroma. "Sometimes I think the potatoes are even tastier than the meat, but the best part is the broth. I used to mix the broth with rice, but now I've learned from you guys and use it to soak bread. You know what, the bread absorbs the broth better, and it's actually quite delicious."

"Why dry the meat that's been soaking in water until it's bleeding? Aren't we going to add water later?"

"It needs to be stir-fried before stewing, and there can't be any water in it when stir-frying."

Why can't potatoes be cooked with meat at the same time?

"Potatoes cook quickly, and they'll disintegrate if stewed for too long."

"I see..."

Hermione stood by, silently memorizing the recipe. Her face glowed rosy in the firelight, and a glimmer of light shone in her eyes, both for the delicious food she was about to taste and for the person in front of her.

"alright."

After completing all the preliminary steps, Loren covered the pot, washed and dried his hands: "Now let it simmer slowly until it's cooked and fragrant..."

Hermione helped him untie his apron while mentally reviewing the recipe, nodding gently and looking into his eyes: "So, are you going to write your paper now?"

"certainly!"

Loren turned to head towards the study, but suddenly stopped, frowning and looking serious. "There's meat stewing in the kitchen, the fire's so strong, and I'm going to my room to write my thesis. What if something goes wrong? Burnt food is a minor issue; what if there's a gas leak?"

"I've finished my thesis, I can stay in the living room and keep watch."

Loren was startled, frowned, and pondered how to retort: ​​"Then let me ask you, let me ask you... how do you tell when the meat is cooked?"

"You tell me a time, and I'll come and wake you up then, or I can wake you up every fifteen minutes."

"I'm still worried. Never mind, I'll stay in the living room and wait."

"Then I'll go back to my homework."

"No, I feel uneasy if you do your homework alone. You have to watch TV with me."

"I knew it."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him; she was used to it.

For the past two weeks, it had been like this. He could always find various reasons to interrupt his study plans, and at the same time, he could also interrupt hers. They would watch movies, chat, and play video games. She was able to finish her Transfiguration and Spells assignments, all of which she rushed to finish after dinner. However, she did not dislike this feeling of being together, and even secretly enjoyed it.

The television made a very faint electrical hum when it was turned on, and the light and sound brought the room to life. Loren casually put his arm around her shoulder; it was soft and warm, and the two of them sank into the sofa.

Hermione leaned naturally against his shoulder, gently nuzzling her head to find the familiar spot to rest her head on.

……

The revision of the first draft is progressing a little slower than expected.

On July 3rd, Loren went to his neighbor's house again, knocked on the door of the outstanding student's study, and spent nearly an hour searching for examples. After deleting and revising, he copied them down, and the Charms paper was completed. However, Hermione had not yet finished her next paper on Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was probably because she was striving for perfection that she spent more time on it.

Loren had used up his work quota for the day and was reluctant to start a new paper immediately, especially since he didn't have Professor Granger's sample paper to refer to.

I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was just past 10 a.m., two hours before lunch.

The lunch menu for today was decided last night, and Hermione thoughtfully prepared the ingredients, including convenient pasta and salad, so there was no need to start preparing two hours in advance.

Loren couldn't find a reason, so he had to open his notebook and look at the assignment Professor Bashat had given: Read the recommended books (see Appendix 17 of the textbook) and try to analyze the magical animals that might appear in the swamp jungle environment and how to deal with them.

She still needs to read recommended books; no wonder Hermione hasn't finished writing yet.

Flipping through the book list again, there's a series of books whose titles sound boring.

Loren sighed, rubbed his temples, and began to study the literature.

Hermione glanced at his movements, a slight smile playing on her lips. As long as the preliminary preparations were thorough enough, he wouldn't find an excuse to interrupt his study plan.

"Hermione, it's been two weeks since the holidays started. Do you think there's been any progress on Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape's visit?"

"I don't know." Hermione's expression was somewhat complicated.

"Let me ask."

Loren took out his communicator and, considering that Professor Snape had arrived in Iphamony earlier, sent him a message first.

Loren: "Professor, how's the Serpent Tree? Have they found the living Horcrux?"

After waiting for half a minute, there was still no reply.

Undeterred, Loren immediately sent Dumbledore the exact same message.

While waiting for a response, Loren incorporated copy-paste and long-press forwarding into the communicator improvement plan, intending to collaborate with Weasley's Trick Room on two separate upgrades, each a year apart.

Of course, as a conscientious business, the price remains unchanged.

Just as they were preparing their grand business plan, the principal's reply arrived.

Dumbledore: "We have confirmed that the Snake Tree is not a Horcrux and there is no trace of a Soul Shard. However, the Snake Tree is suffering from a decline in vitality. This year, it has sprouted fewer new shoots than in previous years, and its leaves are also sparser. Some leaves have already turned yellow and fallen before autumn. Newt and Pomona are trying to treat it."

Loren: "Is it related to Voldemort?"

Dumbledore: "That possibility cannot be ruled out, but no trace of dark magic has been found so far."

Dumbledore: "Also, the Magical Congress of the United States has discovered traces of Death Eaters, and the Aurors are hunting them down. I will let you know if there are any other leads."

Loren: "Oh, I see."

He gently stroked the communicator, his mind filled with many questions. However, being separated by the Atlantic Ocean, he could not obtain any detailed information through text communication alone, so he had no choice but to say goodbye to the principal.

"How is it going?" Hermione, sitting opposite, looked up.

"..."

After hearing Loren's account, the little witch looked thoughtful, somewhat surprised that Professor Sprout had also gone to Iphamoni, but then she thought it was quite normal, after all, she was a professor of herbalism.

"I'll ask Harry again," Loren said, pressing the communicator.

Loren: "Harry, how have you been lately?"

Loren: "How's your Legilimency training going?"

Loren: "Any news about living Horcruxes?"

This demonstrates how to conduct oneself in society. When facing a friend you haven't contacted in a long time, first extend a warm summer greeting to give them some breathing room before getting into the conversation. Sincere roommate friendship makes the conversation less awkward, and the other person will be more receptive.

Perhaps sensing his affection, Harry replied quickly and urgently.

Harry: "You finally remembered me!"

Harry: "We agreed to keep in touch by letter before the holidays, but two weeks have passed and only Ginny has written to me!"

Harry: "You bunch of bastards!"

Harry: "If it weren't for Voldemort and the Horcruxes, would you guys only remember me when school starts again?!"

I underestimated Harry's resentment. The opening remarks should have been longer to make the roommate relationship seem more genuine. Loren looked thoughtful as he carefully pressed the Bronze Nate button.

Loren: "So, did Legilimency find a clue to the Horcruxes?"

This time, it took several minutes to receive a reply.

Harry: "With Hagrid and Gropp's help, the Legilimency practice went smoothly, and I've basically mastered it. However, trying to Legilimulate myself using the Mirror of Erised wasn't going so well. The reflections of my family members kept reminding me of memories of being with them, and I couldn't elicit anything else."

Loren: "The Mirror of Erised doesn't always reflect your desires. Remember, Dumbledore hid the Philosopher's Stone inside it. You can try using the mirror in other ways. Also, what do the preceding letters mean?"

Harry: "It's nothing. I just had too much cursing at you guys, and I couldn't delete it all, so I just posted it like this."

Loren shook his head, regretting ever asking.

He then put the communicator back on the pendant, relayed the message to Hermione, glanced at the clock on the wall, and realized it was almost lunchtime. He put away his paper and pen, got up and went to the kitchen; even the meat sauce for the pasta was something special.

Hermione watched his retreating figure, a glint of light in her eyes.