The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 604 Ron Hermione is my goddess!

"I remember now," Draco said, looking at Ron suspiciously. "Last semester, you and Pott were very close."

These words reminded Seamus, who nodded and said, "There was indeed a time when you and Potter were practically inseparable."

"Percy asked me to befriend Harry. You know, Percy likes to befriend famous wizards."

Ron quickly made up an excuse to get out of it. He didn't want his classmates to know what Harry had done before meeting him, otherwise he would have no leverage to blackmail Harry.

"Oh no!" Dean suddenly screamed, grabbed a stack of notes, and ran out, shouting without turning back, "Hurry, this afternoon's class is Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Pink Toads!"

Draco and Seamus's expressions changed, and without bothering to consider the truthfulness of Ron's words, they hurriedly jumped out of bed.

"Hurry up, Ron," Seamus kindly reminded him, "be careful not to get caught by that toad."

"What?" Ron was surprised again. "Shouldn't second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts classes be held on Wednesdays and Fridays?"

"Can you expect a wizard with the title of headmaster and professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts to only teach two classes a week?" Draco scoffed.

"She wished she could turn every single magic class at Hogwarts into a Defense Against the Dark Arts class!"

"Okay," Ron conceded, "I only took six months of sick leave, but it feels like half a century has passed. Can someone have some mercy and tell me which book I need to bring?"

"You don't need to bring anything except a shorthand quill and a notebook." Seamus dragged Ron out of the dormitory.

The four second-grade lion cubs rushed as fast as they could, but they were still late.

I ran into the classroom on the third floor and was met with Umbridge's cold gaze.

Umbridge arranged four quill pens on the podium.

"To all the late Gryffindor students, please write down 'I will not be late again.' Let's begin."

She spoke to Draco and the other three with a sweet, cloying smile.

Ron thought to himself: It's just being punished with copying, I didn't think it would be so terrible.

Ron was the first to step forward, but he was stunned when he saw the quill pen; it was out of ink.

Draco and his two companions, on the other hand, skillfully took the quills, went to the last row of the classroom, and began writing as punishment.

"How can we write without ink?" Ron whispered to Seamus beside him.

"Write it on your hand," Seamus said through gritted teeth. Ron was startled to see a line of blurry writing on the back of Seamus's left hand.

What was written is no longer legible, but the traces left behind indicate the extent of the bloodshed at the time.

"We all have. Almost every student here has been punished."

Dean said, holding a pen in his right hand, and wrote "I will never be late again" on the back of his left hand. Instantly, a faint mark appeared on his skin.

Ron understood, and picked up the quill pen with trembling hands, but he didn't have the courage to write the punishment on the back of his hand.

"Damn it, this is Hogwarts? It's worse than torture!" Ron said, about to throw the quill on the ground.

"I advise you not to do that. Look closely, Hogwarts has changed," Draco said quietly.

Ron looked around, his eyes widening in astonishment.

The once bright classroom now has black marble floors and the walls are covered with portraits of wizards—whom Ron has never seen.

Umbridge sat on a long-legged chair on the platform, looking down at the young wizards below.

All of this left Ron hardly believing his eyes. More than the professor, this place resembled…

Oh right, it looks more like the courtroom where the Ministry of Magic tries criminals! That's it.

Ron finally found a suitable metaphor in his barren brain, but his mood sank to the bottom.

Even the little wizards in the classroom have become strangers!

Ron glanced around and saw students in red and blue school uniforms sitting on either side.

Gryffindor...and Ravenclaw?

"Seamus, why? Aren't we supposed to take Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Slytherins?"

"Because champions come from Gryffindor and Slytherin, Pink Toad is trying to use Gryffindor and Slytherin to fight Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

"We have classes with Ravenclaw, Slytherin has classes with Hufflepuff, whatever the class, that's how it is."

Simo didn't move his mouth, yet he explained everything clearly, obviously having a lot of experience in gossip.

Ron was in no mood to accept it. He had planned to talk to Harry, but now it seemed his plan was ruined.

Wait, who is that?

Ron's gaze fell on a girl in the front row of the classroom.

Her light brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her slender waist and back were barely concealed by the oversized school robe. The side profile that occasionally peeked out as she turned the pages of her book was exquisitely beautiful; she would stand out in a crowd of thousands.

"A stunning witch!"

"who is she?"

"When did Ravenclaw get such a stunning girl?!"

Ron was stunned, a restless feeling welling up inside him.

Suddenly, Umbridge stood up, and Ron was so startled that he quickly pulled his head back in.

She waved a short, thick black wand and pointed it at the blackboard, whereupon lines of text appeared one after another.

"Please have Granger read aloud paragraphs 1 to 7 of section 8 of 'Defense Against the Dark Arts Theory'."

Then, Ron saw the girl who had just occupied his entire attention stand up gracefully, standing tall and elegant.

"In accordance with the Ministry of Magic's Education Order No. 25, this document is intended to guide second-year students at Hogwarts in the theoretical knowledge of defending against Dark Magic."

"Under the protection of the Ministry of Magic, students in peaceful societies do not need to fight against dark magic, and the cost of practicing spells needs to be compensated by theoretical knowledge."

"First of all, unlike practice, theoretical guidance requires every student to relax and be emotionally calm..."

Hermione's voice was like a clear spring, sweet and full of care.

It adds a touch of warmth to the hollow and cold theoretical knowledge of black magic defense.

Whether they were the Gryffindor lion cubs or the Ravenclaw eagles, they were all immersed in Hermione's recitation. It was as if a paradise appeared before their eyes, and their thoughts drifted far away with Hermione's gentle voice.

Ron felt like he was in a honey pot; Hermione's voice seemed to have a strange magic that made him feel comfortable all over.

He also discovered that he wasn't the only one like this; everyone was—Umbridge had become less disgusting, and it seemed she was spacing out?

Hermione spoke in a steady, clear, and unhurried manner.

She didn't want such foolish teaching materials to appear in Hogwarts, the holy land of magic, but she learned to be patient.

Hermione also rebelled against Umbridge in class, but she eventually changed her mind, comforting her classmates and secretly building confidence in her own way.

By adding emotion to the "loud voice" spell, Hermione improved upon the first spell.

There were many people behind the spell: Professor Flitwick provided the technical support, and Professor Snape provided the potion that kept Hermione calm.

Hermione earned the respect and help of the Hogwarts teachers and students in her own way.

"I wonder where your fantasies have drifted off to? But my motivation to keep going is to wait for my brother Moriarty."

Hermione would always encourage herself like this whenever she read aloud from "Theoretical Knowledge".

After the ten-minute recitation, the classroom was filled with peace.

Umbridge was also lost in his own thoughts.

Ron stared intently at Hermione, his heart pounding. He knew from her eyes that she was his goddess!

He poked Simo repeatedly until he woke him up.

"What are you doing?" Simo asked, looking displeased. "Miss Know-It-All's recitation is a rare treat. My soul was soothed like never before. It's all your fault for ruining this wonderful moment."

"She's the one you were talking about... the know-it-all girl who leads the whole school?" Ron's jaw dropped in shock.

He was immediately overjoyed, and his eyes suddenly turned greedy.

"Hey bro, you need my help to win her over."

"What?" Seamus thought he'd misheard. "What did you say?"

"I'm going to date Granger, you guys help me," Ron said to his three roommates, his face beaming with excitement.

However, his roommate's words made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"Are you having another episode? Do you even know who Miss Know-It-All's crush is?"

Simo eyed Ron warily.

"Stay away from our goddess!"

Dean looked furious, as if Ron had done something extremely offensive.

"Granger's existence is what keeps us going. Almost every boy thinks Granger is the goddess of Hogwarts. Put away your dirty thoughts—if you don't want to be isolated and ganged up on."

Draco said coldly that he now saw what kind of person Ron was.

(Ron continues his self-destructive behavior)

(End of this chapter)