Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 232 A Rare Moment of Comfort

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Hermione sat up abruptly in bed, panting heavily. Her whole body ached terribly, especially her head, which throbbed as if it were about to split open.

After a while, Hermione recovered somewhat. She looked around blankly, feeling a little relieved. She was safe in Hogwarts' infirmary.

It was late at night, and only a few dim oil lamps provided a small amount of light in the entire school hospital. Rubbing her head and gathering her hair into a tangled mess, Hermione's hand naturally rested on her chest.

But then, he froze.

"Where did it go!"

She was startled, touched it again, and then looked at the bedside table next to her, finally calming down. There, a necklace lay quietly.

He reached out, picked it up, and hung it around his neck. His palm naturally covered the pendant as he silently sighed, his mind replaying the battle in the Time Hall.

"It's so different..." Hermione tilted her head back and fell back onto the bed, but perhaps she fell too hard, and a strong feeling of weightlessness came over her, and she unconsciously closed her eyes.

"Hermione, are you awake?" A faint voice came from next door. Hermione looked in the direction of the voice and then, in the dim light, she could vaguely see a person sitting on the curtain next to her.

"Luna... are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"It's nothing," Luna tilted her head, her voice sounding as if it came from her forehead. "It was just a stun spell; I woke up before I even got back to school."

"Oh, I see..." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. When she saw Luna fall straight to the ground, she thought she was dead, but it turned out to be just a Stunning Curse.

"A lot of people are injured. I just went to check on Ginny and Ron, and they're still not healed..." Luna said. "You should talk to him and tell him not to go too far..."

"Him? What...he..." Hermione was so startled that she couldn't even speak coherently.

"Ike," Luna's voice suddenly became cheerful, "I know he means no harm, unlike those Death Eaters who really want to kill us."

"How...how did you know? Legilimency?" Hermione asked quickly.

"I could sense it... Sometimes, I can sense other people's emotions, and back then I only felt surprise in Ike," she said. "But now it seems like you're going to hit me?"

Hermione closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm her complicated emotions. When she opened them again, her eyes were lifeless.

"...Oh dear, I can't feel it anymore..." Luna said, lying back down on the bed. After a long while, she softly asked, "Hermione, do you think we can defeat that person who can't say their name?"

"We can definitely do it," Hermione replied. "We have Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry. We can definitely do it."

Her voice was very soft, more like she was talking to herself than answering Luna.

Luna remained silent, and Hermione paid no attention. She stared blankly at the white ceiling, her mind a complete void. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep again.

The next morning, she was woken up by noise. Half-asleep, she thought she heard many people talking, a cacophony of voices, quite loud. Hermione got up, rubbed her eyes; her body wasn't so sore anymore. Pulling back the curtains, she saw the bed next to her was crowded with people.

Luna, Ginny, Neville, and Ron, all dressed in hospital gowns and bandaged to varying degrees, were in high spirits. The two girls sat on the bed, while Neville and Ron stood beside it, surrounded by a pile of snacks: pumpkin pie, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and many more. Near the bedside table, Harry stood, and he was the first to spot Hermione getting out of bed.

"Good morning, Hermione. How are you feeling?" Harry asked, offering her a pumpkin pie. "Want some?"

Hermione waved her hand, a smile spreading across her face, and said, "Much better, not needed for now." She sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the excited group, and asked, "What are you all talking about, so happy?"

Ginny pulled a newspaper from under the snacks and handed it to him excitedly, saying, "Look, yesterday's story is in the paper! Fudge finally admitted it!"

Hermione took the newspaper, and even though she was mentally prepared, she was still shocked after reading the contents.

"The person whose name can't even be mentioned has returned."

Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that the person whose name couldn't even be mentioned had returned to the country and resumed his activities.

The front page only featured a portion of the content; pages two through four included "The Mysterious Man's Last Effort to Seize Power," page five was "What the Ministry of Magic Should Tell Us," and pages six through nine were "Why Nobody Listens to Dumbledore." The entire issue of the newspaper revolved around one theme.

She flipped through the pages, reading through each article, but stopped abruptly when she reached page thirteen. The bold, black title read:

The Successor to the Dark Lord?

He closed the newspaper without changing his expression, casually put it aside, and said, "Great, isn't it? Our efforts have finally yielded good results."

“That’s right,” Ron said. “I heard this issue has sold like hotcakes, and now all of Britain knows Mysterio is back!”

"Dumbledore has been reinstated, becoming the Headmaster of Hogwarts, a member of the International Confederation of Wizards, and the Head Wizard of Wizengamor..." Harry said. "He said things are moving in a positive direction."

"Very good." Hermione nodded, then asked, "How's school?"

"Not bad," Harry replied. "Professor Flitwick cleared the swamp that Fred and George created, but left one section untouched, and even fenced it off, saying it was a very beautiful spell..."

"...In general, everything returned to normal after Dumbledore returned. He abolished all the school rules that Umbridge had set up, just this morning at breakfast," Neville concluded.

"Umbridge...right, where is she?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hermione saw Harry and the others nudge behind her with their lips. Turning around, she saw Umbridge lying there. Her eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling, her once neat clothes and hair were now a mess, covered with leaves and twigs.

Ron leaned closer to Hermione and whispered, "Dumbledore rescued her from the Forbidden Forest all by himself last night, and she's been like this ever since. Madam Pomfrey said she's been traumatized and needs to rest." He then pursed his lips.

Hermione glanced at Umbridge, who was no longer as arrogant as before, and then turned back.

Harry and his friends stopped discussing the potentially unpleasant topic and instead started talking about what had happened at the Ministry of Magic the previous night. Ron loudly recounted his bravery, praised Neville for holding out until the end, and said that he would have held out too if he hadn't been ambushed by the Death Eater.

No one called Ron out on his boasting; they all listened with smiles, including Hermione.

She clutched the necklace pendant in one hand and held a pumpkin cake in the other, taking a small bite every now and then.

It's very pleasant and relaxing.

Hmm... only one update today.

(End of this chapter)