I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 299 Look at your witty remark!

No one has a moment of peace during this period.

Everyone has their own things to do.

With the new school term starting, there are less than two weeks left until the next match. Hermione is fully focused on preparing for the next game.

You should know—she still hasn't solved the mystery of the funeral box, although after she opened it, she found a small note inside, which was an ancient ballad.

—Countless noises, countless struggles,

Former best friends have become enemies.

Then one morning,

The old man suddenly left.

Although the conflict had been quelled by then,

He left us disheartened.

Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. Search! It's in the most inconspicuous places, yet it's everywhere in the castle.

Miss Granger saw this, but not every warrior saw this text. The other three non-Hogwarts warriors had much clearer hints.

"Clearly, this refers to the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin."

Before Christmas, Miss Granger had already guessed the location the riddle referred to.

This wasn't difficult; in fact, she easily associated it with the secret room.

Because in their second year, Ravenclaw's Chamber of Secrets was opened.

That's the Room of Requirement. (Hermione always thought it was Ravenclaw's secret chamber.)

And indeed, the legend of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin has always existed in the castle, but no one knows its exact location.

"Perhaps we should go and ask Malfoy?" Many Gryffindor and even Hufflepuff wizards had this thought.

That's Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, after all; that guy must know something.

However, if Miss Granger were to seek help from Malfoy, she would rather withdraw from the second match. After all, the competition is based on points, and as long as she gets enough points later, she still has a chance to win the championship.

Meanwhile, Irving wasn't idle either; he was busy setting up the exam venue.

— Carve a small green snake on the castle wall to guide the warrior to that place.

Of course, there are still many difficulties in getting it to the top, but it's a championship! Cheating is a tradition, and who knows, the other principals might have already started frantically hinting to their warriors.

Finally, it was Ron.

This kid has really grown up lately.

He grew from a boy into a man.

He had overexerted himself and was completely exhausted. His face was deathly pale, and there was no blood on his lips. During the few times Owen met with him, he was drinking Mrs. Pomfrey's tonic and was sweating profusely.

The twins just laughed it off, patting Ron on the back for his aching body and praising him for being so capable. Their Weasley family was about to flourish in America.

The others—besides envy, the sense of distance they inadvertently revealed was also real. Unbeknownst to them, a huge chasm had appeared between them and Ron, a thick barrier separating them into two worlds.

On one side is a boy, on the other a man.

As for the girls—you can tell their attitude towards Ron from the disgusted expressions they mostly showed.

Miss Granger even took the time to come see Owen and tell him to stay away from Ron lately, because she was afraid that he would be corrupted by Ron.

What if Irving gets corrupted?

Unfortunately, Owen was unaware of the little witch's ulterior motives. If he had known, he would have definitely smirked and laughed. His theoretical knowledge was overflowing; who was leading whom astray? Did Ron have the ability to do that?

No! I don't have that ability, you know that, right?

But the real Irving doesn't have time for all that; he has his own work to do.

He didn't envy Ron; in fact, he felt some sympathy for him.

Hey—this kid, so young—doesn't know how to control himself! We should find a chance to talk to him; he can't keep pushing his body like this, he needs to think about the future.

There's plenty of time ahead of them; they have a long road ahead of them. They can't let a month of intimacy ruin their happiness for the rest of their lives.

Yes, yes—as everyone's father, he has a responsibility to think about the future happiness of his children.

Then one dark and stormy night, he led Harry and the others in a surprise attack on Ron, who was returning from the Ivermony starship. The group beat him up while masked, and the kid didn't dare leave the castle for a week afterward.

The effects of the treatment were obvious, and Irving's understanding of his "Restore His Reason" punch reached a new level.

After that, Hogwarts was peaceful for a while.

It was January, a month of wind and snow. Time passed slowly, and two weeks had already gone by since the Christmas party.

The castle was still full of men and women, in pairs.

It's as if you'd be embarrassed to leave the lounge without a female companion.

The peaceful times were disrupted once again.

Justin and Ernie, those two lads, have started to resemble Ron since the ball. The innocent teenagers are experiencing their first crushes and spend all their time cuddling with their dance partners. This worries Owen, the Hogwarts student council president. If Ron and his ilk are allowed to continue down this path, won't Hogwarts become a fantasy romance drama?

So he immediately took action, uniting several idle young people who were bored, single, envious, and jealous of Hogwarts' campus culture, and under the instruction of Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, the two heads of the school, to carry out a week-long campaign to crack down on campus romance violations.

In this event, within a timeline primarily centered on Hufflepuff and supplemented by the other three houses, Owen led his team in a proactive attack. Using a variety of methods including surprise attacks, ambushes, baiting, intimidation, and bribery, they successfully broke up seven couples, forcing four to go underground. Several other couples, though still putting up a fight, are like candles in the wind and reflections in water—they won't last long. It's believed that before long, those heartbroken men and women will understand that love is a luxury in life, and that life can still be wonderful without it.

Miss Granger is still busy.

They haven't met up for a whole week.

This damn game is such a waste of time.

Irving felt a pang of resentment and subsequently intensified his efforts to crack down on early romantic relationships on campus.

Besides that, Harry seems to be doing much better these days, because so much time has passed and the Ministry of Magic still hasn't made a move.

The absence of any Aurors to arrest him and the lack of a summons from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement eased his mind somewhat; at least Hagrid wouldn't be imprisoned in Azkaban. However, he still didn't attend class.

Perhaps he can't get over the psychological barrier of being a mixed-race human—that's what Irving thinks.

Then one evening, he led Harry and Hermione, whom he had dragged out, to raid Hagrid's hut.

From a distance, as they walked down the ridge, they could see that Hagrid's cabin was still tightly shut.

The young wizards, having trudged through the snow, couldn't help but frown. Two whole weeks had passed since the Christmas ball, and Hagrid had been rarely seen during that time. Had he really locked himself in his house for two weeks?

Is he planning to visit Merlin?

Immediately, everyone began to worry about Haiger's health, and their pace gradually quickened, eventually leading them to jog down the ridge.

As Owen entered the pumpkin patch, he didn't slow down. Facing Hagrid's oak door, he took a leap and kicked it hard.

The door was closed.

His right leg was almost broken.

"Ooh!" Owen let out a scream like Tom the cat.

Squeezing out tears and feeling the burning pain in his calves, the anger that had been building up for two weeks suddenly surged up. Immediately, limping, he pulled out his magic wand, intending to demolish the illegal building in front of him.

"Owen!" Miss Granger exclaimed in surprise. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed him.

It took a lot of effort to comfort him before Owen finally put his wand away again.

Then she spoke up, telling Harry to knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang!" The banging on the door continued for quite a while.

But there was still no response from inside.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry shouted from outside the door, then began pounding on it. "Open the door!"

Hagrid didn't answer; they could hear the teeth scratching at the door and whimpering softly, but the door didn't open.

Irving, limping, peered through the gap in the curtains at the window. Hagrid was definitely inside.

"Hagrid! Don't hide inside and stay silent, I know you're home—"

"Bang bang bang—" It was Harry knocking on the door.

"You're so capable of stealing men—ugh, I mean, you're so capable of raising dragons! Why aren't you capable of opening the door?" Owen roared at the window, his voice filled with anguish.

"I'll give you three numbers. If you don't open the door, I'll demolish this illegal structure!"

"Three!" he roared.

"Two!" Hagrid's voice still didn't come from inside the room.

"Hey, I've got a short temper!" Owen said, quickly pulling out his wand. Before Miss Granger could stop him, the tip of the wand was already shining with a dazzling blue-white light.

"Soul Torrent!!!"

Destructive magic, mixed with terrifying ancient spells, danced on his crystallized phoenix wand; it was the scent of death.

The next second, a dazzling light burst forth, spitting out a massive comet that swept across the obstacle in its path.

In an instant, Hagrid's cabin was blasted open, leaving a gap about seven or eight feet in diameter.

"Bang!" This time it wasn't Harry knocking.

It was the sound of the oak door collapsing after losing the support of the wall.

"Enter!"

Irving swung his arm forward with an imposing gesture, then stepped over the wreckage and went inside.

"Hmph, do you think a wall can stop us?" he said angrily, rubbing his leg. "We are wizards, not baboons wielding wands."

The dimly lit, dusty room obscured the view, but Hagrid's figure was still clearly visible. Owen spotted him immediately. "And—I've been wanting to do this for a while now! Professor Glapland didn't discriminate against me at all; he even gave me a few unicorn tail hairs as souvenirs!"

"You'd better pack your things and get out of here right now! Because I'm going to demolish this illegal structure completely."

"Thud!" That was the sound of wood from the ceiling falling to the floor.

Hagrid sat at the table with two large teacups in front of him. He looked disheveled, his face stained with spots, his eyes red and swollen, and his hair unkempt for days, his beard and hair tangled together like two twisted electrical wires.

"Okay!" he said in a very hoarse voice.

Then, his body, which was several feet tall, suddenly stood up, and he actually began to pack his things.

"Hey—" Owen rushed over and kicked the suitcase he'd just pulled from under the bed back up. "What are you doing! What are you doing! Why don't you understand a joke?!"

He continued, "If you leave, wouldn't I have one less person to outwit? Cough cough—I mean, the organization has decided to conduct a period of evaluation on you. If there are no problems during the evaluation period, your professorship will be retained."

"I'm no longer qualified to be a professor," he said dejectedly, his eyes lifeless.

"What are you talking about!" Hagrid's words made Harry forget the shock Owen had just given him. He strode forward and shouted, "If you're not qualified, who is?"

"We will not believe that despicable Skeeter's slander."

"But my mother was indeed a giant!" Hagrid suddenly roared with what seemed to be his last voice, tears streaming from his swollen eyes as if countless heavy burdens were weighing on his shoulders.

Harry paused, but didn't show any other expression. "So what! Nobody cares if your mother is a giant!"

"I think it's cool to have a giant mom, at least I'd love to be over 5.5 feet (170 cm) tall."

"You don't understand Harry, you don't understand!" Hagrid choked out, more and more tears streaming from his eyes and soaking into his beard. "You didn't grow up in the wizarding world, you don't know how people here view people of my blood. They would kick me out of Hogwarts, or even England."

"Nobody's going to kick you out!" Hermione barged in, looking at Hagrid with a serious expression. "Whatever your mother is like, whether she's done anything to harm the wizarding world or not, it's none of your business."

"Everyone is born into this world as an independent life, and people should not and cannot transfer hatred from one person to another."

"As for the half-giant thing—" Miss Granger said, gently nudging Owen's chest with her elbow.

"It's just a half-giant! No big deal." After receiving Hermione's hint, Owen said, "I'm a complete mixed-race mess, did I say anything? You only have one magical creature bloodline, I have at least seventeen or eighteen. What's the big deal?"

Hearing this, Hagrid suddenly stared blankly at Owen, "Your mother isn't human either?"

"?"

"Your mother's not human!" Owen blurted out, but then instantly realized, "Oh! Your mother really isn't."

"About my mother." He stroked his chin, feeling the smoothness of his fingers. "She may have undergone my grandmother's alchemical bio-modification experiments, or she may have been an alchemical android to begin with. I don't know for sure, but one thing is certain: she was definitely not a pure-blooded human, because my grandmother was not the type to marry other men and have children."

"In short, when it comes to mixed-race individuals, you're nothing. Do you think anyone in the castle would look down on me just because I'm not a pure-blooded human? That's outrageous!"

"But—" Hagrid was still a little conflicted. Although his expression was much better than before, he still had a long face.

"That's bullshit!" Owen rudely interrupted him. "I'm warning you! If you don't come to class next week, you'll never see Bakal again. And those magical little beasts you keep in the forest—I heard the venom of the eight-eyed giant spider has gone up in price recently, and the hippogriff, the winged demon, the horned beast, and that man-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast you've been hiding. I'm going to capture all of them; I'm sure I can make a fortune from them."

"Whoosh! I'm rich!" Owen shouted happily, his face full of joy.

Hagrid, however, seemed to have cheered up a little. He wiped the tears from his face and a smile returned to his lips.

Then, looking down at Owen, who was sharing his happiness with Granger, her red and swollen eyes revealed a gentle gaze towards the boy for the first time.

For the first time, Hai Ge thought this kid seemed like a good person.

"Oh! I thought Hagrid would be sad for a long time."

At that moment, outside the door—well—outside the gap that Owen had blasted open, a wizard with a smile on his face suddenly appeared.

The visitor was none other than Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and the greatest wizard of all.

"Are you renovating the house?" Old Deng greeted them from outside the door. Then, behind his half-moon shaped glasses, his gaze fell on the gap in the wall. "Are you planning to add two more doors? Hmm—it's very smooth, round doors? Pretty good."

As he spoke, the old headmaster walked in. Seeing Hermione and Harry's expressions of utter dismay, he noticed Hagrid's real door lying on the ground, covered in dust. Well—the door was still intact, only the wall had collapsed.

Instantly, Old Deng made a connection, a wry smile appearing on his face. He then glanced at Owen, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. "But this is an old house after all, and renovating it would be a hassle. Why not buy a new one? I remember Owen seems to own some properties in Hogsmeade. You can ask him; I think he'll give you a satisfactory discount."

"Huh?" The moment money was mentioned, the man perked up immediately, a fleeting flash of happiness crossing his face. He didn't even have time to give the reclaimed land a warm name before turning to Dumbledore. "What discount? What discount? 120% off?"

"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked at him too. "I think destroying a house and compensating for a house should be considered equal."

"ha?"

"Oh! My dear Joan of Arc! I can't believe it—"

"Look at the witty remarks you're making! He wants to trade this dilapidated house for my five-bedroom, two-living-room, three-story villa? Even my foolish roommate, Mr. Justin, wouldn't say such a thing. Oh—it's hard to imagine that this would come from the mouth of a well-known wise man. Have you been kidnapped?"

"I'm fine!" Dumbledore waved his hand, then took out his wand and waved it gently. Everything in the room seemed to be on rewind. The broken walls were like roses that had closed again, and the debris quickly returned to its original position.

The author is away in another province attending his older sister's wedding, so there will be only 5,000 words updated today and tomorrow. Updates will resume to 6,000 words upon his return.

(End of this chapter)