Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 132 Subtle and Very Subtle

Watching Peter disappear into the woods, Ike quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he told Snape, Peter was important, a crucial part of his plan.

Ike wasn't worried that Peter wouldn't go to Albania; his fear of Sirius and Lupin would drive him to find the only person who could protect him. Besides, Ike had a double guarantee.

A curse will only disappear if Peter completes the task given to him by Ike; otherwise, he will suffer torment from his soul every other day.

That kind of pain is only slightly less than that of the Crucifixion.

Of course, the merciful Ike postponed the time when the curse would take effect, so Peter could have two more weeks to enjoy.

How to choose is actually very simple...

When I returned to the common room, some news had already gotten in. Hogwarts was indeed "airtight," and although there were some slight discrepancies, the general information was basically the same as the truth.

"Unbelievable! Sirius Black is innocent!"

"What's truly unbelievable is that Professor Lupin is a werewolf! Good heavens, I thought he was the most qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts professor! How could Dumbledore allow such a dangerous person to be our professor!"

"Um... actually, with the wolfsbane potion, werewolves can maintain their sanity while transforming. And... he is indeed a very competent professor, at least the best I've encountered in all these years."

"That's right, Professor Lupin doesn't have much to say. Let's talk about Sirius instead..."

Well……

Ike hadn't expected the hawks to think that way. Logically, shouldn't they be writing home immediately to flood the principal's office with angry letters from parents tomorrow?

In some ways, Ike wasn't wrong. Many students were doing this; with final exams over, parents had fewer concerns.

Ike hadn't even had breakfast; the owls filling the hall had made a complete mess of everything. He witnessed an unidentified flying object land directly in Stuart's glass. Seeing that Stuart hadn't noticed and had just picked up his glass, Ike stopped him, otherwise…

Incredible.

There's still about a week of leisure time before the exam results are announced. The timing of this big piece of gossip is perfect, satisfying the young wizards' boundless energy.

Ron stood limping in front of the Gryffindor table, loudly boasting about his energy from the previous night. Even though he mostly shouted, it didn't stop him from receiving admiring glances from the other lion cubs.

He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling.

She got up and went to the entrance of the Great Hall, waved, and Hermione greeted Harry next to her before coming over.

They needed to return the Time-Turner to Professor McGonagall, as agreed upon at the beginning of the semester.

Throughout the journey, it was clear that Hermione was in a good mood, with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, though it was unclear what she was thinking about.

"Bakbek was rescued, right?" Ike asked in a low voice.

"What? How...how is that possible? I don't know what you're talking about." Hermione turned her head to the side.

"It's alright, I'll go ask Hagrid."

"You're not even close to Hagrid! He won't tell you."

"So..." Ike stopped and stared intently into Hermione's eyes. After a moment, Hermione gave in and nodded resignedly.

"How did you guess?" Hermione asked, looking much more relaxed.

"It's easy." Ike started walking again and said as he walked, "The whole of Hogwarts knows about what you and Harry have been doing for so long. With Malfoy spreading the word, the news of Hagrid's defeat has also spread."

"Minister Fudge and the executioners arrived at the castle yesterday. If Buckbeak were really dead, you wouldn't be like this."

"In conclusion, there's only one truth... You used this, didn't you?" He tapped his finger on the time converter on his chest, his expression inscrutable.

Hermione was stunned for a moment, and looking at Ike's face, she inexplicably got angry and kicked Ike in the shin.

"Ouch!"

Ike acted as if he'd been hit by a train, grimacing as if in great pain. Hermione, seeing this, let out a cheerful laugh, turned her head, snorted, and walked away first.

From behind, the footsteps were light and cheerful.

Outside Professor McGonagall's office, the two finally stopped smiling. They knocked on the door and only went in after receiving a response.

"Professor McGonagall, we've come to return the Time-Turner." Hermione took the Time-Turner from Ike and placed it on Professor McGonagall's desk along with her own.

"Very punctual, Miss Granger, Mr. Strad." Professor McGonagall checked it briefly and found it in the box she had seen at the beginning of the semester.

"By the way, perhaps I can congratulate you in advance; you are still the top two in the grade."

"So, Professor McGonagall, who's number one?" Hermione has always been diligent and serious about her grades.

Professor McGonagall did not give a clear answer, but simply looked at Hermione and shrugged, the answer being obvious.

"Alright, don't worry about it too much. You're not that far behind, and compared to many others, your results should put them to shame!"

"My God! I haven't seen so many Ds and Ps in all these years!"

Professor McGonagall began recounting the laughable transfiguration results she had witnessed during her transfiguration exams, and unfortunately, Ike recognized one of them as being by Stewart.

His vacation is probably not going to be pleasant.

Ike and Hermione didn't stay long. Professor McGonagall had work to do, so she took her leave after listening for a while.

They walked out of the castle in perfect unison and returned to the shore of the Black Lake.

"That's not a Stunning Curse, is it?" Hermione suddenly said.

"What?" Ike, who was in a daze, was taken aback.

Hermione stopped and looked Ike straight in the eye: "I said, last year in the Shrieking Shack, that wasn't a Stunning Charm, it was a Forgetfulness Charm!"

"You...remembered?" Ike's eyes flickered. Even though he knew this day would come, he never expected it to come so soon.

Which direction should I run in?

"Don't even think about running! Ike Strayder!" Hermione grabbed Ike. "This time, you're not getting away!"

"Okay, I admit it, it really is a forgetting spell." Ike decided to give up and play it safe, prepared to pay any price.

"I knew it!" Hermione kicked Ike again, this time much harder, and the grimace on her face was no joke.

"If I can't remember... will you never tell me the truth?" Hermione asked seriously.

"Yes, now that you've remembered, you should know about that kind of thing..." Ike was interrupted by Hermione before he could finish speaking.

"Ike..."

"kindness?"

"Never again shall you use the Oblivion Charm on me!"

I said forever!

Looking at Hermione's serious face, Ike suddenly smiled, his eyes unconsciously narrowing slightly, and nodded.

"kindness!"

(End of this chapter)