I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 393 Awarding of Medals

Irving spent a few peaceful days at the Rozier family's estate.

Many things happened during that time.

First, it was his maternal grandmother who tried several times to talk to Merlin, but was refused each time.

But Vynda Rozier always finds a way.

Owen had no idea how his grandmother had convinced Merlin.

But in the end, the two still had a normal conversation for several tens of minutes.

During the several tens of minutes of conversation, the surrounding green light flashed like a camera shutter without stopping. Several times, the grandmother lost control of her emotions and wanted to rush over and strangle the other person.

Unfortunately, no matter what methods were used, it seemed that nothing could be done to Merlin.

Irving was unaware of the specifics of what happened.

He only saw his grandmother standing alone in the garden for a long time, several hours, without speaking to anyone.

They didn't leave; they just stood there.

It wasn't until night fell that he reluctantly went to call her for dinner, and only then did she come to her senses.

Surprisingly, when Wenda saw him, she was quite surprised and then gave him a hug.

Did this make Irving slightly aware of a hint of familial affection?

I wonder what kind of spell Merlin cast on her.

However, he didn't dare to ask, fearing he would get beaten up, so he let it go.

The second thing was that her grandmother announced that she was leaving the estate to him.

Well, he did manage to reclaim some of the Rozier family's assets.

But what Irving was more curious about was what Merlin had said. Surely he hadn't used the Imperius Curse?

The next day, when Master Mei went to the wine cellar, he was met with a setback, because he didn't know when all the hundreds of barrels of red wine in the cellar had disappeared.

He laughed and accused his grandmother of being stingy and petty, saying that at least he had given her an eternally youthful appearance as compensation.

Meanwhile, Miss Granger has been asking him how to cast the Apparition Charm.

Over the next couple of days, Owen also started practicing the spell again and asked his grandmother for several manuals on practicing the Apparition Charm, which served as theoretical references for Hermione.

Actually, Hermione wanted to learn magic from Merlin more.

That was a living, breathing great magician!

A figure standing at the pinnacle of wizardry.

Merlin repeatedly stated that he did not know how to chant spells, and that he actually preferred to beat people up with his holy sword rather than cast spells.

Therefore, there was almost no magic that could be taught to Hermione.

Because most of his magic was based on ancient magic, he really couldn't teach Hermione anything.

Miss Granger was very disappointed by this; she was young and had a treasure trove of knowledge, but she could only watch from the sidelines.

Is there anything more upsetting than this?

Have it?

Are there any more?

Of course there are more!!!

Hermione soon received even more distressing news from Vanda.

————————————————————

Compared to the tranquility of the manor.

The outside world had already been in an uproar because of the four monsters Sirius brought back and the information they provided.

The first reaction from the Ministry of Magic in many countries was—are you kidding me?

How could there possibly be such a monster?

I don't believe it!

They didn't want to believe that there was a strange, monstrous creature among the wizarding community that could disguise itself as someone else.

How long have they been out of the aftermath of the War of the Sea Gods?

The peace and quiet lasted only a few days before this kind of thing suddenly broke out, which is simply testing the limits of what countries can bear.

Most importantly, after the War of the Sea Gods, all the Aurors in various regions devoted themselves to maintaining local order.

Especially with the extortion from the Italians and Greeks, it's really difficult for them to spare any more manpower to deal with this matter.

So regardless of the facts, even if such a monster really existed, they decided to bury their heads in the sand, thinking that as long as I didn't investigate, it definitely didn't exist.

Unfortunately, this idea was quickly and ruthlessly exposed.

Sweden – Headquarters of the International Federation of Wizards.

At a conference, Vice President Babajid Akinbad publicly displayed and dissected a bloody monster, and announced the testimonies of four monsters.

This time, the idea of ​​ostriching was completely ruined.

Subsequently, under the leadership of the Federation, European countries squeezed out a portion of their already insufficient Auror forces to form the International Wizarding Alliance Action Group.

This can be considered the prototype of Dumbledore's envisioned international wizard peacekeeping force.

The first major move of this joint task force was to move into Egypt.

Hundreds of Aurors joined forces, determined to find the monster hiding beneath that land.

This war, which at this time showed no end in sight, was later referred to by some as the "Dark Holy War."

This is the first time in so many years that wizards have united to fight against the evil that threatens their lives, rather than a war of mutual slaughter, and it deserves the name "Holy War".

Those monsters, on the other hand, have been given a new name, which the Alliance calls "The Imposters".

Being good at disguising oneself as others is quite suitable.

However, official history refers to this war, which lasted for more than a decade, as the "First War of the Wizards' Purge".

Decades later, when wizard historians summarize this glorious history, there is one name that is absolutely indispensable.

She is destined to be remembered in history.

He is credited as the first wizard to discover the "Impersonator's" conspiracy.

------

Two days later at the manor—

On the morning of the fourth day, the courtyard suddenly became lively.

It's noisy outside.

A large crowd gathered.

There were well over a hundred people in the crowd.

They erected a huge platform in the courtyard, and reporters from all walks of life aimed their magical cameras at the gates of the manor.

Waiting for someone to enter.

Awakened by the noise, Irving listlessly leaned against the window, gazing down...

Among the crowd, he saw several familiar figures.

Luna's father was Xenophilius Lovegood, and the editor of the Daily Prophet was Barnabas Goufel.

And there was Professor McGonagall, her face cold, sitting with an equally aged wizard—Celsuth Quinrath, the editor of the Alchemy Today newspaper, a master alchemist whose book, The Natural Alchemy, is hailed as the greatest alchemical work of the twentieth century.

He was a master who was known as a "sage" and was renowned throughout the world.

This gentleman also has some knowledge of Transfiguration and is a master of it.

In truth, Dumbledore's alchemical achievements have always remained at the level of discovery. Although the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood was indeed unprecedented, Dumbledore did not systematically organize or conduct in-depth research on his findings.

This resulted in him only discovering a new magical material. Although countless achievements might be developed based on his discovery, in short, his discovery did not fundamentally change the contemporary alchemy system. His work was merely patching things up, so he did not earn the title of "Sage".

In addition, Owen also discovered several wizards whose attire was distinctly different from that of other wizards, suggesting they were from South America and South Asia.

He even saw a Japanese sorcerer dressed in a modified kimono.

Well, it's nothing.

Hogwarts is relatively familiar with Japanese wizards; decades ago, the school's flight professor was a Japanese wizard.

But what are all these different kinds of wizards doing at his manor?

Is it a gathering of nobles?

What kind of gathering could Professor McGonagall possibly attend?

Could this be the wedding scene of Dumbledore and his grandfather?

Just as Owen was wondering what was going on, he saw through the window that the manor gates had opened and his grandmother, Wenda Rozier, was smiling as she led Miss Granger out of the manor.

Hermione today is meticulously dressed from head to toe.

The clothes were clearly from his grandmother's wardrobe.

It was a completely different style from the dresses he had given Hermione before.

It was a dark blue silk dress, with a very fitted design at the neck, cuffs, and waist, which accentuated the wearer's figure.

She was wearing a pair of black travel boots.

The overall style is elegant and understated.

Her originally messy hair was put up and styled into a bun at the back of her head.

Around her slender neck was a ring necklace shaped like a grapevine, which she had bought in Egypt.

An awkward, forced smile graced her meticulously made-up face.

"Slurp—" Irving sat on the windowsill, took a bite of the apple in his hand, and the juice exploded in his mouth instantly.

As Irving ate his apple, a question arose in his mind.

When did his grandmother and Hermione become so close?

Strictly speaking, Wenda Rozier doesn't believe, like the Death Eaters, that Muggle-born wizards are all Mudbloods, or Muggle gaps poaching wizarding power.

The Saints organization treats all wizards equally.

But Grandma was, after all, a wizard from a pure-blood family. She might not persecute wizards of Muggle origin, but such closeness was absolutely impossible.

It seems that something has changed about her since her conversation with Merlin.

This made Irving even more curious about what Master Mei had said.

Under Irving's gaze.

Grandma, who had just emerged from the manor, stood below the platform and handed Hermione's hand to Professor McGonagall.

Then Professor McGonagall led Hermione up to the platform.

"Oh—it's an awards ceremony."

By peering out the window, Irving could see clearly because he spotted Babajid Akinbad, the vice president of the federation.

Beside him, a witch held a box containing seven or eight medals of various kinds—the most dazzling of all being the green ribbon engraved with a sword and wand, with countless names engraved around it, including Arthur, Gawain, and Lancelot's Order of Merlin, First Class.

"So grand?"

Irving now had a magical viewing mirror at his side.

Through it, everything happening not far away seems to be right in front of you.

Professor McGonagall, who was clearly unhappy, kept whispering to Hermione.

Even someone with Justin's brain would know it wasn't something nice.

They're definitely going to be warnings or something like that, or something like being locked up when you get back.

Irving guessed.

On the other side, Babajid Akinbad, the vice president of the International Federation of Wizards, and his female assistant also went up to the awarding platform.

He first shook hands with Professor McGonagall.

Then, with a broad smile, he shook hands with Hermione in a friendly manner.

The next moment, countless flashes went off, clicking so loudly they were almost blinding.

In fact, the flashes of light hadn't stopped since Hermione left the manor; now they were just more frequent.

The flash lasted for a full minute or two.

Kyrie Irving had already finished eating an apple when the other side finally stopped.

Babajid Akinbad did not present the award immediately. Instead, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to read aloud Miss Granger's achievements.

From her book on alchemy, "Ancient Alchemy Revealed," co-authored with Irving.

Then there was his outstanding performance in the Battle of Hogwarts in his third year.

And the stunning performance at the World Cup, winning the Trophy of Fire.

Finally, Babajid Akinbad went on and on for five or six minutes, recounting the goddess's descent from the sea during the war of the sea gods, and how he had uncovered the "Impersonator's" conspiracy.

Only when the reporters on the ground grew impatient and their faces darkened did he reluctantly put the paper back in his pocket.

Then, amidst everyone's anticipation, the investiture ceremony for Hermione began.

at this time.

Then everyone noticed the president's female assistant; she had quite a lot of medals in the box she was holding.

There were many of them that they had never even seen before.

There are also some whose very appearance tells you they are definitely not wizard medals.

Because several of them were actually shaped like a cross.

Wizards would not use this style.

As expected, this was accompanied by the continuation of the awarding of medals.

Only then did everyone realize that a large portion of those medals actually belonged to the Muggle government.

The first medal awarded by Babajid Akinbad was the British George Cross.

It was a silver medal with one side engraved with an image of St. George slaying the dragon and the words "Heroic" and the other side with a cross bearing the Queen's portrait.

The second one is the Greek Order of Honor.

The third one.

Weird—

All the wizards present looked at Babajid Ajinba with astonishment.

Some politically astute wizards have already noticed a different political trend emerging.

This is a signal—it's not difficult for wizards to obtain Muggle medals, or rather, it's something prohibited by the Ministry of Magic and unacceptable in the magical world.

On the contrary, people are actually quite proud of it.

Who would be hostile to honor?

Many people, especially those from pure-blood families, were already nobles of the kingdom before the Secrecy Act was implemented. The Malfoy family even had the hereditary title of British Viscount.

However, the current British royal family certainly won't recognize titles conferred by the previous dynasty.

The Rozier family also held titles in various French kingdoms, but no one mentions it now.

But these are all personal honors.

The Ministry of Magic won't interfere as long as individuals don't use magic to force Muggles to award them medals.

But now—Babajid Akinba, in full view of everyone, is awarding a Muggle medal to a wizard.

This is clearly politically motivated.

However, compared to the more cunning wizards, Hermione is much more pure.

She was very happy. Even happier than when she received the Order of Merlin, because it was an honor she could share with her parents.

No matter how great one's achievements are in the magical world, one will always remain unknown in the Muggle world.

But with the British George Cross, her parents could truly feel proud.

Babajid Akinbad then continued to present awards to people from Italy, Egypt, Greece, and other countries.

In short, countries along the Mediterranean coast all sent a medal.

With so many medals, Hermione even felt a tightness around her neck.

She secretly cast a lightness spell on the medals to make them feel lighter.

After all the miscellaneous medals were awarded.

Finally, it was time for the prestigious Order of Merlin, First Class, to make its appearance.

However, at that moment, a strange change occurred at the scene.

Someone broke into the awards ceremony.

Security personnel rushed onto the stage to try and stop them, but Hermione stopped them.

The man climbed the tower without any hindrance, and then took out the last medal from the box held by his female assistant.

"I really miss those days."

The newcomer was none other than the great magician Merlin.

At this moment, he was examining the medal in his hand.

Looking at the sword and wand, those names, and Camelot carved on the back.

"The person in charge of designing these medals was a little Celtic witch, haha—she especially loved the legend of Camelot and insisted on having all those names engraved on the medals."

Merlin smiled.

"In the blink of an eye, that was five or six hundred years ago."

He weighed the medal in his hand. Then he murmured, "Now this is the only trace of their existence."

"Sir—" Hermione called out.

"Oh—I was a little distracted." Merlin looked up again and smiled apologetically.

"Sometimes I really envy you. You can live such a carefree life. As for me—" He stretched out his hand and held the medal above his head. In the sunlight, the image of the royal city of Camelot on the back of the medal shone brightly.

Those purple eyes reflected Hermione's figure, and also Camelot's radiance.

"I am a man who can only watch from the sidelines."

I like the stories humans tell, hey—the only time I became a story, but it didn't even have a happy ending. How pathetic." He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Then he picked up the ribbon and hung the medal around Hermione's neck.

"That's all we can do now."

"Mr. Merlin." Hermione wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say. She could only hold the medal in her hands, feeling helpless for a moment.

Merlin reached out and ruffled her hair.

The smile on her face never disappeared.

"Take it, but don't believe it," he said. "Like that kid said, don't believe in Merlin, it will bring misfortune."

"But you've saved countless people, haven't you?" Hermione stammered, finally managing to say, "Although I don't know your and Owen's plans, they're definitely for all of us, right?"

Professor McGonagall, standing to the side, gazed at the unfamiliar wizard before her. Although he appeared very young, his eyes—those eyes told her that he had been through many hardships.

She had only ever seen such eyes on one person's face, and that was Dumbledore.

"Yes—it's for everyone—but, well—I'm the kind of person who brings misfortune to others."

He patted Miss Granger on the shoulder and said calmly, "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"I am destined to take away your most precious thing."

"Hmm?" The little witch looked puzzled.

Merlin offered no explanation; with a smile, he turned and left the award ceremony.

He left behind a silhouette surrounded by barriers.

This incident did not attract the attention of the many wizards present. The wizard clearly knew Miss Granger, so it was not unreasonable to give her face.

Babajid Akinbad is neither Fudge nor MacArthur, and he wouldn't be angry if someone stole his thunder.

Finally, he declared the federation to be the title of "war hero" belonging to this young witch.

The awarding ceremony then came to an end.

Next, is the main event.

The interview process by reporters from various newspapers.

However, it was quite obvious that Miss Granger seemed to have received expert guidance—she dealt with those reporters with ease.

In summary, they either say "no comment" or "no comment."

Or, she simply ignored the questions posed by the reporters and kept elaborating on her own views, such as the cruelty of the battlefield and the bravery of the Aurors.

When reporters start pressing her about her background, Hermione smiles and says that's not the point, then repeats her earlier acceptance speech in which she thanked Hogwarts.

The main feature is that it is watertight.

This is clearly due to guidance from a master!

Otherwise, even though Hermione is very smart, she wouldn't be so cunning.

The most likely candidate is her maternal grandmother.

Irving, puzzled, began eating breakfast by the window.

After the reporters finished their interviews indignantly, representatives from various countries to the Federation and prominent figures came forward to express their gratitude.

Everyone showed great friendliness towards this rising star.

After all, judging from the current situation, the witch in front of us is destined to grow into a legendary wizard who surpasses Dumbledore.

As for whether she can safely grow to that level.

Well—Dumbledore is still alive!

He's only a little over a hundred years old; by wizarding lifespan standards, he's barely middle-aged. If he's thinking of resorting to underhanded tactics, you probably haven't seen how fast Dumbledore can cast spells.

Therefore, in the eyes of all the representatives, the girl in front of them is a real and genuine rising star. This legendary little witch, known as the "Stargazing Girl," is destined to grow into a great meteor shower that will sweep the world.

The banquet lasted until noon.

However, the officials present did not focus all their attention on Hermione afterward. In fact, the little witch was freed an hour after the awarding ceremony ended.

The remaining time was used for small-scale discussions among the officials, a common scene in diplomacy where things often turn out differently at the dinner table when negotiations fail.

Owen didn't see Hermione again at lunch. His grandmother said that Professor McGonagall had apparently taken her back to her country.

Ah—poor Granger, suffering such a harsh lesson from Professor McGonagall so early on. And think of himself—well, he still has a dozen or so days of good life ahead of him.

After lunch, her grandmother also left the estate.

She still holds the position of principal of Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, although he only heard today from some Federation officials that it was just a temporary measure, and they simply couldn't find a better wizard.

In the turbulent magical world, there are very few wizards who have survived wars, stood firm, and even risen again.

Well—I wonder how much longer his grandmother can hold onto her position. It seems unlikely she'll be replaced this year, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a hurry to leave the estate for Sweden. (Demstrand's location)

(End of this chapter)