I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 409 Partners

"We just met—death!" Owen said bluntly.

"What?"

"Death!" Hermione stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

She rushed forward and carefully examined Irving.

Then he reached out and touched here and there, and patted there.

It was confirmed that he was not injured.

Do you know what you're saying?

“Of course, honey,” Owen said. “We—oh—wait—I just recorded it, I can show you.”

As he spoke, he took out a pocket watch for taking photos.

Hermione expressed her doubt.

However, she was struck by Owen's sudden sweet talk and immediately relaxed a bit.

As for Harry—he was taken aback at first.

Then, upon seeing Owen pull out that familiar gold pocket watch, he immediately showed a look of horror.

Then—instinctively, he reached out, ready to snatch it.

Unfortunately, that can't compare to Irving's speed.

He had been preparing for this for a long time.

He dodged Harry's hungry tiger pounce with a simple sidestep.

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry, who looked rather disheveled.

"Him?" Irving raised an eyebrow and said jokingly, "He's dead."

Then, in front of Hermione, he shook the commemorative pocket watch in his hand.

As clever as Hermione was, she immediately guessed that Owen might have footage of Harry's embarrassing moment.

Boys—they really have no sense of propriety.

Miss Granger shook her head, a slight smile finally appearing on her lips.

However, she did not intend to watch the video.

"Most of the young wizards will be going home," she said.

"Harry, aren't you going to get ready? The train is about to leave."

"Huh? I haven't even had lunch yet," Owen said, sounding a little annoyed.

But suddenly, he seemed to realize something.

Miss Granger hadn't boarded the train yet. Was she waiting for him here, besides greeting him, perhaps hinting at something?

"Want to spend Christmas together?" He took Hermione's hand. "If it's convenient."

It's Christmas, after all! A day for family reunion, she should be with her family.

I should have discussed this with Hermione earlier.

Now—it's almost time to leave school.

By this time, Hermione should have already made arrangements with her family.

If I speak up now, it will probably be too late.

To his surprise, Hermione glared at him first, then her expression became unnatural.

He hesitated a bit.

It took her about three or four seconds to become honest.

"Otherwise, what do you think I'm waiting for?"

"I received the letter several days ago," she said haltingly. Her gaze darted away from Owen, avoiding his direct look.

"Whose letter is it?" Owen asked, then—"Could it be? Grandma? No way, would she care that much?"

Upon hearing who it was referring to, Miss Granger nodded, her face slightly flushed.

"It really is her." Owen put the pocket watch back into his pocket.

This surprised him somewhat.

This was the third time his grandmother had told him to bring Hermione home for Christmas.

One was the letter that came this morning.

The second time was just at the Federation headquarters.

Now, Hermione is saying that she received a letter from her grandmother several days ago.

Does she like Hermione that much?

That shouldn't be happening!

Accompanied by doubt and Hermione's embarrassment.

The three of them returned to the auditorium side by side.

Although it was past lunchtime, the little elves would be happy to prepare a special meal for them.

Before long, several neatly arranged plates appeared on the long table in the auditorium.

Owen, Hermione, and Harry sat together, eating and chatting.

Harry recounts what happened after Dumbledore took them away.

This quickly attracted Ron and the twins Ginny, who were heading from the stairwell to Hogsmeade Station at the foot of the mountain.

They sat with Hermione in chairs, listening to Harry recount his experiences in the dreamlike realm.

"Aren't you in a hurry to catch the train?" Hermione asked after listening for a while, noticing that there were only a few minutes left before departure.

She then quickly reminded him.

"No need!" George waved his hand.

"We can Apparate home," Fred said.

Hearing this, Hermione realized that the twins were already in seventh grade.

They have already attended Hogwarts' Apparition training course and received their certificates.

"Wow! How profound—the afterlife!" Ron exclaimed, intrigued. "Harry, I bet very few people have experienced such a wondrous adventure."

"Who said that?" Irving looked up. "Everyone goes through this, it's just that you can't come back."

"Oh! You're right. Well, I hope it arrives later! I haven't played it yet. By the way—" Ron looked at Owen, "You're going home this year too, right, Paris?"

"What's wrong?"

"Percy asked me to go to Paris for Christmas, saying that Bill was looking for me. If we happened to run into each other, I wouldn't need to send a letter home."

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked, looking at Harry again.

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

"I don't know?" Harry shook his head. He had originally planned to spend the holidays with Sirius, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to make it back this year. He was planning to spend the holidays at the Weasleys' house and the Burrow—but now he heard that Ron wasn't going back either.

This made him a little embarrassed—he couldn't possibly be going to spend Christmas at the Dursleys' house!

"If you don't know, come to my house," Owen said.

Then two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance of the auditorium, and he reached out his hand to signal them to come over.

The visitors were Neville and Luna.

I had promised Neville that I would transfer his parents to another hospital, and they should have arrived in Paris by now. I was going back to the hospital anyway because of the patient, so I took him with me.

As for Luna following

"The Quibbler is going to expand into the French market." Luna held up a thick stack of magazines, all of which were their Quibbler magazine.

Wearing a blue cotton hat and with two bunny ears sticking up on her head, she sat adorably next to Owen.

"My dad will be spending Christmas in Paris. Neville asked if you're going back to Paris for Christmas?"

"No problem, I'll take you." Owen picked up a bowl of hot soup, took a big gulp, and then readily agreed.

What he didn't notice was the slight change in Miss Granger's expression.

However, she quickly dismissed those concerns with a sigh.

This kind of worry is beyond human control; even she might inexplicably feel jealous.

On the other hand, Owen noticed that Harry Potter had already finished introducing the first half of his time in the Enchanted Realm, but hadn't honestly revealed the key points that followed.

To help him.

Owen quietly took out his camera pocket watch again and pressed the playback button. This time, no image appeared because he didn't open the pocket watch, but the sound came out in a stereo and loud way.

"You will meet Anubis."

First, Irving's own voice came through.

Harry was like a frightened bird.

A wary look immediately flashed across their faces.

The next second, a familiar voice rang out; it was his voice.

"I stole Dali's chocolate, I..."

The voice coming from the commemorative pocket watch was so clear that it even caught the speaker's faint tremor.

The young wizards around were taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

That voice—isn't that Harry?

This is what he is doing.

"Harry Potter's heartfelt confession." Owen suppressed a wicked grin and winked at the other young wizards.

Soon, the other young wizards sitting there, including Ron Hermione, realized what was happening.

Ron was the first to live in Bengbu.

He opened his mouth and let out a loud, drawn-out laugh.

That's what good brothers are like—they'll definitely come up and mock you when you're down.

The others, including the Gemini, burst into laughter.

They stretched out their hands on either side of Harry's neck and said, "We never knew you were such a little rascal since you were a kid!"

Haha—it suits us perfectly.

The twins' laughter made Harry blush.

He felt he could no longer stay at Hogwarts.

He's already thinking about changing countries and schools.

"Shut up, you two."

Just then, Ginny, standing next to Hermione, glared angrily at her two brothers. Her eyes were fixed on Harry, and she quickly said, "I don't think there's anything funny about it."

"The Dursleys treated Harry so badly, yet he remembered every little harm he had caused and confessed in the end—though I don't think there's anything to confess about. I think that's called honesty, and even more so, goodness."

"That's right, that's what I think too," Hermione chimed in, supporting her.

Then she turned to Irving with a scrutinizing gaze, "I wonder what you'll end up regretting?"

"Me?" Owen, who was stuffing a meat patty into his mouth, was stunned for a moment. Huh? Why is the fire suddenly being directed at him?

His mind raced, and he immediately came up with a solution: "Hmm—I will repent, and I will love you more today than I will tomorrow."

Irving said it almost off the cuff.

The young wizards around were all taken aback when they heard this.

Wow!

That's a brilliant answer!

Hermione blushed instantly.

She glared at Owen, then lowered her head, a slight smile playing on her lips, looking both shy and sweet.

However, not everyone focused their attention on Hermione and Owen.

Ginny kept staring at Harry.

And Harry's gaze also fell on Ginny after she spoke up for him.

When Irving said those words, he clearly noticed a flicker of expectation, or perhaps regret, in Ginny's eyes.

In short, it seemed to be the first time he noticed that the girl in front of him had grown into a beautiful young woman.

Fiery red hair, slightly curved brown eyes, and fair skin.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that Ginny's skin seemed whiter than most of the girls in school.

In short—the two of them started exchanging strange glances.

Meanwhile, a house-elf suddenly Apparated from behind Owen.

It stretched out its withered, thin hand and tugged at Owen's clothes. When he noticed and turned around, the little elf asked him if he needed a snack.

Because there are so many people here.

"No need," Owen replied. He was about to turn his head, but then seemed to remember something and continued speaking to the little sprite, "Tell Lucius for me—um—that he needs to be in touch, he'll understand—the location is, um—near Hagrid's Hut, as soon as possible!"

"Yes, sir," the little elf replied, and then disappeared from the spot.

"Lucius?" Hermione looked at her questioningly. She had originally intended to bring up the issue of house-elves' rights again, but after hearing what Owen said, she changed her mind. "Isn't that Draco's father?"

"yes!"

"How come you're still in contact with him?" Ron leaned in, asking the same question that had been on Hermione's mind. "Their family are all Death Eaters!"

"Yeah!" Irving said.

"Hey—Death Eater!" Ron raised his voice. "You and Malfoy were just business associates before. I thought you had cut off all contact with Void after his resurrection."

"Keep your voice down—" Irving raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid people won't hear you?"

He sat up straight, picked up the black tea beside him, took a sip to moisten his throat, and then said, "How many years has the Malfoy family been entrenched in England?"

What do you think their survival tactics are?

"Isn't this just being a sycophant? A fickle opportunist?" Ron launched into a tirade of sarcasm without pausing for a moment.

"That's right!" Irving nodded seriously. "So that means they're destined not to put all their eggs in one basket."

"What do you mean?" Harry's attention was also drawn to Owen's words, and he quickly broke off his gaze from Ginny's.

"What I mean is that he could become our informant—of course, I mean possibly—there's no need to trust him, and we can't believe any of the information he provides, but it's okay to have him pass on a message."

Judging from the current situation, Voldemort is carrying out a secret infiltration plan in the wizarding world. We must integrate all useful wizards; as for the future trials of pure-blood families like the Malfoys, we can only deal with that after the war.”

Harry pursed his lips. To ask him to cooperate with the Malfoys was worse than killing him, but there was no denying that Owen made a lot of sense.

No one else, not even the Weasleys who were often at odds with the Malfoys, could refute Owen.

That's just how reality is; their grudges can only be left for last.

The heavy topic suddenly silenced the room.

Everyone snapped out of their recent joy.

Owen didn't seem to care. He continued eating, turning to look at Hermione, who was staring at him.

"By the way, what will your parents say if you don't go home for Christmas?"

Hermione's eyes flickered, then she said, "To be honest, I told them that a classmate invited me to his house for Christmas."

Ms. Rozier seems to have written to my parents as well, and they readily agreed.

"Huh?" Owen was genuinely surprised. His grandmother sending a letter to Hermione was already beyond his expectations, but she also sent letters to her parents explaining the situation.

When did Miss Granger become her precious darling?

So concerned?

"My parents know that I will be working in a magical field and drifting further and further away from the other world, so they are very supportive of me integrating here. They don't want me to be an outcast in the other world," Hermione explained, her words filled with determination and resolve.

"They really are very understanding!" Irving said gently, noting that few parents are so supportive of their children.

Hermione is practically cutting ties with the Muggle world. Of course, this doesn't mean she'll never go to the Muggle world again, but rather that it's a departure from her lifestyle and life path.

As parents, this means they have lost a daughter in a social sense.

This situation is quite rare.

For example, Justin's parents did not intend for their son to be completely separated from the Muggle world, but instead chose limited integration.

The last person to be so supportive of their child—Owen—suddenly looked at Harry.

It was his mother—Lily Evans' parents, Harry's maternal grandparents.

"My parents are going to America for Christmas," Hermione added. "It'll save them a lot of trouble if I'm not there."

She said calmly.

It wasn't that Hermione had any conflict with her parents; it was just that it was too troublesome for a wizard to enter the country.

In addition, given her reputation outside, any slight exposure would attract a large group of wizards.

She can't be driven away, so she must feel uncomfortable while traveling. It's not as comfortable as her parents going on a romantic getaway.

"Going on vacation again?" Owen remembered that Hermione's family wasn't exactly wealthy.

Where does the money for these two-week trips abroad every few months come from?

Hermione noticed the confusion in Owen's eyes and quickly explained, "Didn't I receive many medals?"

"Besides the medal, there was also a large sum of money, all Muggle money, which I didn't need, so I gave it all to my parents."

Irving nodded after hearing this, realizing that's how it is.

Then he couldn't help but sigh, "Daughters are definitely better." He then gave Ron and the twins a sharp look. "Look at these three brothers, they've lost all their conscience, they never bring any of their earnings home."

"Hey—that's complete slander!" The twins shook their cloaks. "We're an industry still in its development stage."

"Alchemy inventions require capital!" George said.

"The money we're making now is barely enough to cover daily operations," Fred said.

"And we also sent some money home," George added.

"So please cut us off while you're humiliating Ron," the twins said in unison.

"Really?" Irving expressed serious skepticism.

These three guys.

Gemini had a good idea of ​​how much money he had made in the past year or so, since he received a share of the profits and could calculate it backwards.

As of today, their total profit is approximately six thousand Galleons.

This is a huge sum of money; Mr. Arthur, the head of the Ministry of Magic, only earns about seven hundred Galleons a year.

Clearly, the twins are among the wealthiest young wizards at Hogwarts.

If they don't have the money to invest all in research and development, they definitely want to open branches—after all, Hogsmeade Village's customer traffic can't compare to London's Diagon Alley, let alone Paris's Hidden Place.

Using 6,000 Galleons to expand the market is a fairly reasonable explanation.

Perhaps it won't be long before Weasley's alchemy workshops are blooming all over Europe?

Who knows?

Afterwards, Irving joked around with the twins for a few more minutes.

When it was almost time, and we had eaten and drunk our fill, we...

He was finally ready to get down to business.

"Hmm? Where are you going, Owen?" Hermione asked.

"Of course it's Hagrid's cottage! What did I just tell the elves?" he replied, then ran out of the castle.

"How can that be?" Hermione doubted the speed at which the house-elf could deliver messages, but she still quickly got up and chased after Owen.

The others—Gemini—didn't follow.

The two of them seemed to notice Harry's gaze constantly shifting towards his sister at the long table.

He immediately became interested and kept teasing him with his words.

Luna and Ginny were talking to each other.

It was probably a topic of conversation among girls, and Ginny's entire cheeks turned bright red.

Neville seemed somewhat worried, perhaps concerned about his parents; the uncertainty of the future made him a little afraid.

On the other side, Owen and Hermione were not walking very fast.

They huddled together, walking along the snow-covered mountain ridge, their steps uneven.

At this moment, the sky was hazy.

Thick clouds and fog.

Light snow was falling from the sky.

This is typical winter weather in Scotland.

The endless heavy snowfall like last year is extremely rare.

Both of them were wearing hats, and Owen was also wearing gloves, all of which Hermione had just given him as Christmas presents.

Compared to last year, her knitting skills have greatly improved this year. The yarn is so fine that it perfectly blocks the cold. She can even knit some intricate patterns on gloves and hats.

If it's not a curse—then they must have consulted a master.

Although knitting is a traditional British skill that everyone, regardless of age or gender, can do, he had never noticed who in the castle was good at knitting.

Hannah is quite nice; he saw her knitting a sweater last year.

Luna would likely be excellent as well; she's covered in handmade jewelry, so knitting would be a piece of cake for her.

However, Owen still felt that Hermione must have learned from Ginny. Although he didn't know if Ginny knew how to knit, Mrs. Weasley was an expert at it, so she probably learned by observing her.

He unconsciously gripped Hermione's hand even tighter.

Warmth isn't just something that gloves and hats provide.

It was also the burning heart he held dear.

After walking for a while, they crossed a ridge and were getting closer to Hagrid's cabin. However, a tall figure in the distance caught their attention.

It's Hagrid.

He was dragging a thick, high-quality fir tree toward them.

As they approached, he happily greeted the two, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Hagrid," Hermione said. "What are you doing—"

"Oh!" Hagrid laughed heartily. "This is this year's Christmas tree, the biggest and best one, to be placed in front of the main table. I spent the whole morning searching for it in the Forbidden Forest."

He said with great enthusiasm, "To celebrate your victory, that wretched woman has finally left Hogwarts, oh—I can finally relax for a few days."

Hermione and Owen both knew who the woman Hagrid was talking about was.

That would naturally be Umbridge.

but

Hermione looked at Hagrid with some pity; he must have been in the Forbidden Forest all morning, so Professor McGonagall hadn't informed him.

"That Hagrid," she said cautiously, "the school isn't planning a Christmas party this year. Everyone's going home."

(End of this chapter)