I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 483 Tonks

"Irving."

Hermione turned to look at him only then; the little witch had been silent the whole time.

She knew her current influence; if even she declared that she was on Owen's side, Professor Slughorn would definitely faint from anger.

So she just sat there silently, though she was also looking forward to the future vision that Irving had planned, but for the sake of the professor's health, she ultimately chose to remain silent.

"If you can't even accept something this small, who can you blame?" Irving waved his hand dismissively.

"A small matter?" Hermione glared at him. Before the semester even started, you almost drove a professor away. You call that a small matter?

"Alright, let's go if there's nothing else."

The party ended abruptly, despite its promising start.

When Slughorn left, the look in his eyes as he looked at Owen was not only angry but also somewhat fearful.

The young wizards present all noticed it.

They didn't care; it was normal—every new professor goes through this process, and after a few months they become numb to it and get used to it.

Harry, Hermione, Owen, and the rest of the group left the carriage.

The train was rattling along, and the aisle was almost empty; nearly everyone had gone back to their carriages to change into their school uniforms and pack their luggage.

"It's strange that Slughorn didn't invite Malfoy and his henchmen." Harry said with some regret after returning to his compartment. He had just heard from Ron that Owen had "taught" the guy a lesson, and he really wanted to see what Malfoy's expression was like.

"He just wants to curry favor with people who are related to important figures," Ginny said. "The Slytherins are a given. As for the others—Luna is probably because of her father; 'The Quibbler' is selling far more than 'The Daily Prophet' and is available throughout Europe. Cho Chang—I heard the Chang family are also pure-blood wizards; maybe they hold high-ranking positions somewhere."

"Slughorn isn't really stupid enough to want to get entangled with the Death Eaters."

"That's true—" Harry nodded. Then he sat back down in his chair.

Ginny didn't go in; she went to another cubicle with Hermione, Hannah, and Koyatl, apparently to change clothes.

As for Irving

Ginny had no intention of leaving him in Harry's cubicle, so she forcibly dragged him to find a cubicle by himself.

After changing into their robes, the group regrouped in a separate room.

Time flew by as we chatted about the situation in Europe.

The sky outside the window changed from bright to orange, then to the last hint of roses, and then it dimmed completely.

At this moment, the train slowly came to a stop.

Several people got off the train together.

I bumped into an acquaintance right in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised. He had seen this man frequently during the first month of summer vacation.

"As arranged by the department, I am currently stationed at Hogsmeade to provide additional protection for the school."

Tonks walked towards us. She looked terrible; her pink hair had turned grayish-brown, and her face was haggard, as if she hadn't slept well for days.

The clothes she was wearing were no longer the ones worn by the eccentric sisters.

She became much more reserved, dressed in a black robe, shirt, and trousers, a stark contrast to her previous appearance.

"What's wrong with her?" Hermione whispered, her voice barely audible to Owen.

"Maybe she's been poisoned by love!" Owen said softly, unsure of the exact nature of Tonks' relationship with Lupin.

They probably never had any interaction—at least not this summer.

Professor Lupin has been in Sweden the whole time, while Tonks is Harry's bodyguard. How could the two develop a romantic relationship while they are hundreds of kilometers apart?

Unless, unless they had been dating before this summer.

Professor Lupin's decision to persuade Dumbledore to go to Sweden may have been partly to avoid Tonks.

If that's the explanation, then it makes sense.

"It's the first day of school, so I thought I'd come and see..." Tonks said flatly, without any energy or spirit.

"You're the only one here?" Harry looked around but didn't see the familiar face, Hagrid.

"No, Prout, Savage, and Delilah are all here too."

"Isn't Bill here? Didn't he come back?" Ron asked.

"Sorry—" Tonks said, "He's in Paris right now."

Upon hearing this, Ron fell silent again.

The group got off the train.

Following the tracks on the ground, we walked towards the direction of the carriage.

Ginny secretly observed Tonks. Last year, she was so inquisitive (sometimes even a little annoying), so cheerful, and so fond of telling jokes. Now she seemed to have aged several years, appearing much more serious and resolute. Was this all a consequence of the events that had unfolded in Europe recently?

Hermione, on the other hand, was questioning Owen.

"What do you know about love?"

"Not necessarily accurate," Irving murmured. "I'm not entirely sure either; perhaps it has something to do with Professor Lupin."

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Tonks and Professor Lupin?"

No wonder Hermione was surprised.

After all, there is a significant difference in age and seniority between the two.

Tonks is the only daughter of Ted Tonks (Muggle-born) and Andromeda Black Tonks (pure-blood).

Her mother, Andromeda Black, was Sirius's cousin.

The Black sisters are Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. Sirius Black's closest relationship with her is with Andromeda, who, like him, married a Muggle due to her contaminated bloodline.

Tonks is Sirius's niece.

What is the relationship between Lupin and Sirius?

It would be a miracle if he could accept Tonks' love.

Of course, this is also related to Lupin's werewolf identity. He fears marriage and having offspring, and he is afraid that his werewolf blood will be inherited by others.

In the original story, it was only after the Second Wizarding War intensified that everyone—especially the members of the Order of the Phoenix—was on the verge of collapse, and all the formalities were eventually abandoned, which is how the two came together.

But now—although the fighting in Europe is fierce, Lupin and Tonks themselves are not in any real danger, and—and Sirius is still alive, isn't he?

Although it's somewhat unethical, Sirius's death was a major reason why the two were able to get together in the original story.

In the original story, fifth-year Harry infiltrates the Ministry of Magic and battles the Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries, after which the Order of the Phoenix arrives to provide support.

Tonks' opponent was Bellatrix, but she was certainly not as strong as Bellatrix and was defeated, seriously injured, and fell into a coma.

This indirectly led to Sirius's death.

After that, she was consumed by the grief of Sirius's death and her own guilt. Perhaps it was Lupin's comfort and care that made her fall in love with this frail man.

But in this world, many things haven't happened yet, so Owen isn't sure what their relationship is right now.

Owen whispered his guess to Hermione.

Ginny, meanwhile, was comforting Tonks, naively believing that the European war was what had made her so down.

However, Ginny's words of comfort didn't seem to do much good.

Tonks offered a few forced smiles and then fell silent again.

She didn't speak again until they got into the carriage.

He gazed into the distance, lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

Hermione, after hearing Owen's account, was shocked by what happened between Tonks and Lupin.

But just as she was about to speak to Tonks, Irving stopped her.

"These are just my guesses. If it's not true, that would be so embarrassing."

"Oh—that makes sense." Hermione nodded.

However, she kept this matter in mind and planned to investigate it after a while.

A dozen minutes later, the convoy pulled by Thestrals drove all the way to the main gate of the North Wing of Hogwarts and stopped.

This is the only way for young wizards to leave the castle. Except for first-year students who enter the castle by boat, all other grades must enter through the North Gate.

At this moment, many young wizards are queuing up in front of the iron gate, and it seems that something is being checked in front of them.

Tonks got out of the car and joined the inspectors.

Irving saw that the iron gate in front of him was covered with quince, and the people there were singing happily.

Although it has no meaning whatsoever.

However, the lead inspector still required the senior wizards to cast the Guardian Charm in turn.

This might be for double insurance.

In addition, Owen saw the young wizards' luggage piled up next to the flower bed by the door, and two wizards were waving their wands and checking something.

"That's really strict," Irving said.

"I've never seen such a big scene before. The security at Hogwarts this year is insane." Suddenly, a black-haired boy appeared from the line behind him.

He walked up to Irving. He glanced at him, and then...

I glanced at it again.

?

One more glance?

"Look again, and believe me, I'll gouge your eyes out," Irving said.

"Um," Justin laughed awkwardly, "I feel like you've gotten even prettier—um—why don't you have a separate dorm room by yourself?"

"Hmm?" Owen glanced at the guy sideways. "What's wrong? Does being in the same dorm as me make you lose face?"

"No—it's just—for mental health reasons."

"What does that have to do with me? I'm perfectly healthy!"

Justin and Susan are really into each other. They were inseparable the moment they met on the train and didn't spend any time with them.

"I" am someone who has a bitter pill to swallow.

The inspection proceeded at a moderate pace, and it was their turn in no time.

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

It was unexpected—really unexpected.

As Owen stood before the iron gate, in the garden in front of the castle in the North District, he saw the person who shouldn't have been there.

A woman, dressed in a light blue robe that was quite different from that of European wizards, appeared to be some kind of modified Chinese clothing.

Wearing white boots, her hair swayed gently in the breeze, and her bright brown eyes were watching him with a hint of cunning.

"Wait—where's Snape? Wasn't he supposed to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Academic exchange—" the visitor said.

"Academic exchange?" Irving said dismissively. "Do you think I'd believe that?"

"Whether you want to or not is irrelevant; I came here at Dumbledore's invitation."

"Dumbledore?" Owen stared intently at the woman. "He's looking for you?"

Hmm—maybe it's because she inherited the magic of the Outer God, so the old headmaster wants to use this to study it?

That's possible.

Currently, there are very few wizards who have obtained the power of the Outer Gods; apart from Koyatl, only Voldemort remains.

The "purgers" left behind quite a bit of research material.

However, Zhang Xiaolin's condition is not the same as the human alchemy technology of the "Purgers".

It's clear that Zhang Xiaolin is closer to Voldemort's current situation.

She is an excellent source of information for observation.

"Hey—what kind of attitude is this? No matter what, I'm the professor and you're the student. Show me some respect."

"I saved your life! Is this how you treat your savior?"

"Owen—" Hermione tugged at his sleeve from behind.

She didn't recognize the woman in front of her, but she seemed to be a professor.

Professors should be treated with the respect they deserve.

"Oh—is this your little girlfriend? Humph—at such a young age, she's already having a relationship."

"None of your business, just let us through," Owen said impatiently.

"No way—" the woman refused outright. "Right now, I seriously suspect you're the 'Impersonator' in disguise. Go over there, take off all your clothes, and let me check you out."

The woman's eyes gleamed with a sharp light. "Today, I'm going to see if you're a man or a woman."

"."

Irving took a half step back, then looked up cautiously. "You damn pervert!"

Although he possessed most of the person's memories, he had no interest in examining the everyday memories, except for those related to magic.

He really didn't know that the other person would have this kind of personality.

"Professor—" Hermione frowned, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked at the woman before her. "Owen couldn't possibly be impersonated."

She's right. How could that "imposter" possibly defeat him, who possesses ancient magic?

"Oh dear." A playful expression appeared on the woman's face. "Your little girlfriend is jealous."

"."

"Hey Zhang, if you don't want the whole Hogwarts community to know, you started secretly reading the 'Spring' book that's currently sitting under your bed in your bedroom when you were twelve."

"Stop—" Zhang Xiaolin's expression instantly turned unnatural. She glared fiercely at Owen, feeling that this guy could keep her secret for the rest of his life.

"Get out of my sight now!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Owen led Hermione and the others into the castle grounds.

After the group had traveled some distance, Hermione finally spoke, asking, "Who is she?"

"Zhang Xiaolin," Owen said frankly, without hiding anything.

"It's her?" Hermione said knowingly. Owen had told them about what had happened in Australia during the summer holidays.

"Is she also a mortal chosen by the gods?" Koyater asked at this moment.

She glanced back and saw Zhang Xiaolin sitting back down by the flowerbed, her long black hair fluttering in the wind, much like her.

(End of this chapter)