Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 233 Growth

Three days before the end of the semester, Hermione and her friends were finally cleared to leave the school hospital. They couldn't wait to get out; they were all quite tired of being there for so long.

The hottest topics in the castle were still the Dark Lord's return and the changes in the Ministry of Magic. Fudge was having a very difficult time; Rita had gone all out, publishing a daily article in the Daily Prophet attacking him with sharp words. And she always seemed to have something to say about him, since Fudge had many political enemies who were happy to see him in such a state.

Moreover, given the current situation, Fudge's downfall is inevitable, so who will become the next Minister of Magic is a matter that those ambitious individuals are well worth investing most of their energy in.

Back in their dorm, the little lions threw them another grand party, which was to be expected. At the party, Ron became the star, loudly recounting his battle at the Department of Mysteries, portraying himself as incredibly heroic. For those unaware of the details, this was quite captivating. Those who knew the inside story were used to leaving such glamorous stunts to Ron.

Hermione sat in the common room for a while, drank a butterbeer she hadn't had in a long time, and then returned alone to her empty dorm room. Sitting on her bed, her gaze fell on the worn-out suitcase in the corner.

I hesitated for a long time, but in the end I didn't open it.

After taking a short break, when I came out again, the party in the lounge was still going on, or rather, Ron's story wasn't finished. I quietly left, walked through the corridor and stairs, and headed towards the auditorium.

"Hermione, wait a minute..." A voice rang out from behind as they walked into the corridor outside the Great Hall.

Hermione turned around at the sound and saw Stuart, Terry, Michael, and Anthony jogging over.

"Are you free now? I have something I'd like to ask you..." Terry asked somewhat reservedly.

"Okay," Hermione said with a smile, pointing outside. "But let's go outside first. I think I know what you want to ask..."

Stuart and the others followed Hermione out of the hall, across the lawn to the Black Lake, and stopped only when they saw that there was no one else around.

"This is fine, no need to worry about being overheard." Hermione said, waving her hand. A white light shield enveloped everyone before disappearing. "Now we don't have to worry at all."

As Stuart watched the familiar technique, a flood of emotions welled up inside him, but what came out of his mouth was a simple question: "Is he really like what the newspapers say?"

"What do you guys think? You've been with him day and night for four years, what do you think?" Hermione didn't answer, yet it seemed like she did answer. All four of them visibly breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions calming down slightly.

"Well..." Stuart was about to ask something when Terry pulled him.

"Alright, no need to ask anymore. It's not a good thing if we know some things," Terry said. "After all, we don't have the means to keep secrets from being exposed." After saying that, he nodded slightly to Hermione and said, "That's all we want to know. In fact, your safe return already says a lot."

Hermione paused for a moment, then smiled, raised her hand to remove the protective barrier, watched Stuart and the others leave, then sat down on the ground, staring blankly at the calm Black Lake, her hand naturally falling on the pendant.

Just like before, there was still no reaction.

"So you're here." Harry's voice rang out, but Hermione didn't turn around. Harry didn't seem to care and sat down next to her, his gaze also falling on the Black Lake.

"Why aren't you still partying in the lounge?" Hermione asked.

“Ron can handle that, and I’ve already made too much of a splash,” Harry replied, pausing before continuing, “I just got back from Hagrid. Gropp has left the Forbidden Forest; Hagrid took him to some mountains, but didn’t say exactly where.”

"Sirius also sent a letter. The Death Eaters captured that day have all been imprisoned in Azkaban, but it seems there have been some changes among the Dementors. I wonder if we can keep them under control..."

"Don't get your hopes up too high. If Azkaban can be breached once, it will be breached a second time. Those people will eventually return to the Dark Lord," Hermione said softly.

Harry frowned slightly at her words, hesitating. Hermione's words reminded him of some of the contents of Sirius's letter. After a long pause, he finally asked, "You learned his magic, didn't you, Hermione...? I saw your battle at the Department of Mysteries, it was almost..."

"Almost identical, isn't it?" Hermione turned her head slightly. "Yes, I learned his magic, but in the end, I still can't compare to him."

"Great!" Harry suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed excitedly, "That's fantastic! Next time we run into them, you can continue..."

"Harry..." Hermione looked at the excited Harry, her expression turning somewhat cold.

Originally, she thought that Harry would have grown up after experiencing so much, especially after that thrilling battle with the Department of Mysteries, but now it seems that Harry is still Harry and hasn't changed.

My mind was full of thoughts, but when it came to my lips, they all came out differently.

"No problem, I'll catch him."

Harry was even happier to receive Hermione's affirmative answer. He chattered on and on about what he had heard from Sirius and Hagrid, about what Dumbledore had told him, and about his plans for defeating the Dark Lord. Hermione remained silent, listening quietly, her expression growing increasingly calm.

After a long while, he suddenly smiled again.

"Let's go back," Hermione said.

Harry paused upon hearing this, but seeing the smile on Hermione's face, he smiled and nodded as well.

It was indeed getting late, almost dinnertime. They went straight to the Great Hall, where the lion cubs were already there, and Ron was still speaking loudly as usual. Judging from the content, it seemed they were starting over from the beginning. Of course, there were many more listeners now, including Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaws.

Instead of disturbing Ron, who was engrossed in his conversation, they found Ginny and Neville hiding in a corner. As soon as they sat down, Ginny complained, "He's really gone too far. I don't know what the point of all this is."

"Don't worry about him," Hermione said with a smile, then greeted Neville across from her. "If he likes it, let him be."

"Thank goodness Fred and George aren't here," Ginny sighed. "They certainly won't let Ron get so carried away."

Hermione thought about it and realized it was true. The twins were always keen on undermining Ron, but they were also the ones who loved him the most. It was a real contradiction.

Thinking of this, he asked again, "By the way, how are Fred and George?"

"It's alright, they did open a joke shop," Ginny said, "but Mom was really furious."

At this point, she suddenly remembered something and whispered, "Oh, right, there's one more thing..."

"Percy's back..."

(End of this chapter)