Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

The Director of the International Department of Magical Cooperation refused to cooperate with the investigation, adopting a tough and confrontational attitude, suggesting the presence of ulterior motives.

Unexpectedly, the day after Sirius Black was exonerated, the Daily Prophet broke another shocking story.

Didn't they say before that the Ministry of Magic was going to hold Barty Crouch accountable for his misjudgment of Sirius Black?

This incident was essentially a power grab by Minister Fouché against Old Man Barty.

It was originally just a show, to make Old Batistuta lose face.

Unexpectedly, Barty the Elder strongly resisted the investigation and refused to allow Ministry of Magic staff to enter his home.

As the former Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the current Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Old Barty should have seen his fair share of ups and downs.

Even if Fudge wanted to use those old grievances to put him down, old Barty wouldn't have lost his composure like this.

Does he really have some unspeakable secret?

This made Fudge even more excited.

His greatest hobbies were cultivating relationships with powerful figures and suppressing his rivals to solidify his position.

The next day, another sensational news report was published, putting Barty in the spotlight.

Old Barty's unusually guilty attitude aroused public curiosity and speculation.

Fudge's tactic worked perfectly, and a wave of public opinion about Barty the Elder immediately swept through the wizarding world.

Some speculate that Barty the Elder might have colluded with the Dark Wizard, helping Pettigrew escape responsibility, and perhaps there were other people who were wrongly accused.

Some speculate that Barty, having held a high position of power for so many years, must have accumulated countless shady dealings, and now Fudge has caught him red-handed.

In short, opinions vary widely.

But none of this concerns these junior wizards.

Hogwarts remained a peaceful and serene place.

......

weekend.

The day arrived when she had arranged to meet Hermione at Hagrid's Hut.

Snow has begun to fall in the Scottish Highlands.

John was wearing a heavy wizard's robe and a blue and white woolen scarf around his neck.

It added a touch of solidity to the small John.

In Hermione's eyes, she became even cuter.

Outside Hagrid's cottage, wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.

As soon as the two reached the door, Hagrid opened it with a smile.

He had just seen the two of them arrive through the window.

"Come in, children."

Hagrid waved to them and smiled.

Hagrid's cottage was warm and cozy, with crackling flames in the fireplace and a rich aroma of pumpkin pie filling the air.

"What brings you two here today?"

"Isn't Buckbeak going to trial in a month? We've come to talk to you again about Buckbeak."

Hermione gave a brief response to Hagrid's question.

"Really? It's all thanks to the two of you that I didn't give up on Buckbeak."

Hagrid sighed softly, rubbed his rough hands together, and laughed.

Hermione's defense and advice greatly helped Hagrid and gave him some confidence.

Hermione and Hagrid discussed Buckbeak's affairs, while John wandered around the house aimlessly.

When he had free time, he would go outside to chat with Buckbeek; he had nothing to do with anything else.

I always felt that Hermione called him over just to be a mascot.

"Wuhu!!"

Just then, a familiar Wuhu sound came from the horizon outside the window.

I think I heard it on the first day of school.

Several people leaned out of the window to look.

A dark shadow flashed across the horizon—it was Harry riding a flying broomstick.

His flying broom was incredibly fast, darting around the castle.

"Oh, Harry, do you have a new flying broomstick?"

Hagrid had heard that Harry's broom had broken before, but now he's riding a flying broom so happily, so he must have gotten a new one.

Hermione wasn't quite sure either; ever since Sirius reunited with him, he'd been happy every day.

However, I haven't heard him mention the new flying broom.

But putting that aside for now, Harry's constant running around the school is bound to get him scolded by the professors.

Sure enough, a flash of blue light appeared shortly afterward.

Harry's plane crashed.

He disappeared into the sky; it seems some professor pulled him down from the heavens.

I guessed in a second that it was Professor Snape who made the move.

Only he would knock Harry down so directly.

"Hermione, it looks like you guys probably won't be making it to the House Cup this year."

"Shut up."

Hearing John's teasing, Hermione said irritably.

"Maybe it was Sirius who gave it to him. It's almost Christmas, so it's normal to give it to him early, since Harry still has to practice Quidditch."

John gave a brief analysis, and Hermione found it to make some sense.

The godfather and son finally reunited after more than a decade, and Sirius must want to do more to make up for the lack of companionship over the years.

But when we talked about Christmas...

Hermione glanced at John, who was leisurely sipping his hot tea.

"John, are you going home for Christmas break or staying at school?"

"Go home."

John took a sip of hot tea and said.

"Oh, I see. By the way, John, where do you live?"

"London."

"Really? My family also lives in London, in the northern suburbs."

Hermione sat down next to John and said with a light laugh.

"Would you like to come over to my house during the holidays?"

"Hermione, you're too late. I just promised Titus yesterday that I would go to his house for the holidays."

John said in a very serious tone.

Hermione: "...Okay."

How embarrassing! It was the first time I invited a guy to my house, and I got rejected...

Hermione blushed slightly and was about to say something to change the subject when John spoke again.

"However, my house is right next to King's Cross Station. Hermione, you can stop by and visit me. I'm sure my family will welcome you."

Hearing John's words, Hermione was slightly taken aback, but then she gave him a sweet smile.

"It's a deal then."

Hermione nodded slightly and said with a smile, looking quite happy.

Suddenly, an owl flew in through the window, carrying a letter in its beak.

"Hmm? Hermione, your letter."

John took the envelope from the owl's beak, glanced at the recipient, and saw it was from Hermione.

Hermione wasn't surprised, since she had just sent a letter to her family yesterday, so receiving a reply today was perfectly normal.

She took the letter, opened it, and sure enough, it was a reply from her parents.

The first few sentences were just everyday greetings, but the second half made Hermione pause for a moment, and then feel disappointed.

John noticed Hermione's expression gradually shift from happiness to disappointment and felt somewhat puzzled.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"It's nothing. My parents said they have something urgent to attend to and have to go out of town. They won't be back until after Christmas, so they told me to stay at school for the Christmas holiday."

Hermione shook her head, put down the letter, and said somewhat dejectedly.

"I see."

No wonder they're disappointed; they probably had all the Christmas activities planned, but now things have changed at the last minute, and they can't go back.

John pondered for a moment after hearing this, "He won't be going back until after Christmas..."

In this case.

"Hermione, why don't you come over to my house for Christmas?"