Homecoming from Hogwarts

"Come on, Hermione, sit down at the table -"

Hermione watched as several Slytherin students lined up and walked out of Professor Blaine's office in silence.

Only when she heard Professor Brian's call did she come to her senses. She quickly adjusted her frowning brows, dragged the tripod stool that Draco had just sat on, and sat opposite Professor Brian.

"So--"

Amosta scratched his head, rummaged through the pile of documents on the desk for a while, and pulled out a stack of parchment.

"I don't want to delay your participation in the traditional party for Gryffindor freshmen, so let's make it short--"

Amosta pushed a stack of parchment in front of Hermione.

"I suppose you haven't forgotten our last conversation before we parted in Diagon Alley?"

"Of course, Professor Blaine."

Hermione looked nervous and nodded quickly.
"You want me to make sure that the learning exchange group of intelligent magical creatures does not have any problems at Hogwarts!"

“We also need to encourage more students to put aside their prejudices and participate in exchange activities.”

Amosta nodded, and as he spoke, he opened a drawer, took out a purse and pushed it in front of Hermione.
"Overall, I still agree with your idea. I mean, give some practical encouragement to students who are willing to join the exchange activities—"

"But I have already—"

Amosta raised his hand to stop Hermione from continuing.
"I know you have a large amount of gold in your hands, which is the prize money you won in the competition, but now I hope you will host a public event, and it is not appropriate to ask you to make a selfless contribution, so the school should pay for this money.
But this matter cannot be made public. If it is done in the name of the school, it will cause greater controversy—"

Hermione thought for a while, then understood what she meant. She lowered her head and looked at the parchment that Professor Blaine handed to her.

“The things to be done are still quite complicated—”

Amosta held the teacup and spoke eloquently.
"For the wizards, what you need to do is to collect their basic information and regularly record the changes in their views on intelligent magical creatures. In addition, you must restrain their behavior and not allow them to actively provoke or verbally insult our guests--"

Hermione borrowed parchment and a quill from Amosita and wrote down everything word for word in beautiful handwriting.

"It's the same with magical creatures. We need to restrain their aggression due to emotional insecurity when they are in unfamiliar environments--"

Amosta pointed at a pile of parchment in front of Hermione.

"I have made a specific code of conduct for them. If they violate it, you can deduct points according to the code, 20 points per person. If all the points are deducted, they will be removed from the exchange group--"

Hermione quickly searched through the parchment and indeed found the code of conduct inside. To her surprise, the codes specified by Professor Brian were not consistent for each type of creature.

For example, he would not allow the house-elves to get involved in the cleaning work after the exchange activities.

But he assigned this job to the fairy, and made it clear that if the fairy refused to do it, he would be deducted points.

Hermione looked at the regulations while listening to Professor Blaine's talk.

“--Learning exchange activities are held twice a week, once on Wednesday night and once on Sunday night.

The main form is that all parties have a specific discussion on a certain magical subject. For example, in the Charms class, Hermione, you will choose a simple spell. At the exchange meeting, each party will talk about how the effect of the spell is achieved in various races. You need to record it and submit it to me. I will try to compile it into a teaching material -"

This task is no small undertaking.

Hermione was a little worried about her OWLS exam.

But on second thought, such an opportunity is rare, and she got this opportunity because of Professor Brian's trust.

One person speaks, one person records.

Before I knew it, the beautiful, detailed handwriting had filled an entire piece of parchment.

"--If you encounter any difficulties during this process, you can always come to me."

The candles on the candelabra on the corner of the table had burned down to the end, and a thick layer of solidified white candle liquid had accumulated on the tray.

The flickering light of the fire illuminated Amosta's face as he concluded his narrative with a few words.

Hermione nodded slightly, inserted her quill into the inkwell, and carefully held the freshly written notes.

Communicating with smart people saves you time and effort.

Seeing that Hermione had no questions, Amosita breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then let's stop here. Thank you for your dedication and sacrifice. Oh. Maybe you will be inspired by this."

"Professor Blaine?"

Amosta was just about to say a few words in a joking tone to end the conversation, but Hermione's sudden call made the smile on his face fade, and his gentle eyes slightly fixed.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

Across the table, the little witch had a look of deep worry on her face.

"Aren't you worried, Professor Blaine?"

Hermione bit her lower lip. "What do you mean?"

Amosta leaned back in his chair, his voice soft.

Hermione looked hesitant, as if she couldn't make up her mind whether she should remind him or not.

"If you haven't decided what to do to me."

"I mean Malfoy and the others."

The moment Professor Brain opened his mouth to persuade her, Hermione became more resolute.

"Aren't you worried that they might harm Hogwarts?"

The undulating sound of the forest outside the window suddenly quieted down. Hermione clenched her fingers nervously, waiting for Professor Brain to comment on her rash remarks.

"Yes, I'm not worried, Hermione--"

However, Professor Brain just said calmly.

A feeling of annoyance rose in her heart, and Hermione couldn't help but look into Professor Brian's eyes, but those purple eyes were still deep without a ripple.

Hermione resisted the urge to question him. She didn't want Professor Braine to think that she was prejudiced against the Malfoys, especially against Slytherins.

"That day in Diagon Alley, the day the demonstrations broke out."

Hermione took a deep breath, apologized to Harry silently in her heart, and then told Harry everything about his tracking of Draco.

"You - you already know. Harry can read You-Know-Who's mind, and he's been having that dream, um, You-Know-Who wants to open a door, and Malfoy goes to Borgin's to find a tool that can break powerful magical defenses. Harry thinks -"

Hermione stammered.

"Of course, I think Harry has a point. If - if Malfoy is getting that thing for You-Know-Who -"

Hermione couldn't continue, discouraged by Professor Brain's unmoved expression.

"Thank you very much for your honesty, Hermione—"

Professor Brian said calmly,
"But I trust Draco, just as I trust you, and Harry, and Ron, without reservation."

Hermione frowned again.
"but--"

"Okay, Hermione—"

A smile appeared on Amosta's face again.

"I believe you don't want to miss Gryffindor's annual welcome party, right?"

Hermione pursed her lips and nodded reluctantly.

"Did he really say that?"

The Gryffindor circular common room was not as lively as Hermione had expected. Of course, it was a mess, but there were not many people in the room. Only a few students were huddled in their own corners whispering.

When she told Harry and Ron everything that happened in Professor Blaine's office tonight, Harry's cheeks were flushed by the flames in the fireplace and vertical wrinkles appeared between his brows.

After a long silence, Harry slumped back on the sofa, mumbling,

"Trust him just like trust us. I don't understand what he is thinking. None of us have a Death Eater father."

"He even guessed that Greengrass was still secretly in touch with his family--"

Ron also frowned slightly.
"Oh, I bet if he keeps the Greengrass sisters under surveillance, the custodian can catch the Death Eater on the run in no time!"

Hermione did not refute Ron's statement. She raised her eyes and looked around the lounge shrouded in the light of the tipsy fire, and asked curiously,
"What's going on? Today's orientation party ended a little early. Is this your fault, Ron?"

"Before you came back, Professor McGonagall came by -"

Harry, who was feeling indignant, suddenly raised his head and moved his nostrils. The floral scent that he often smelled at Number 12 Grimmauld Place during the summer vacation entered his nostrils again.

Ginny looked to have washed up, her wet red hair hanging carelessly over her shoulders in a playful, seductive way.

She naturally sat on the armrest of the sofa next to Hermione, and her movement caused her nightgown to rise up. The tight, round, white calves made Harry's throat suddenly feel dry.

"Professor McGonagall?"

Hermione asked puzzledly.

"She came to give us the new schedule, but she didn't make it to the dinner party--"

Ginny played with her hair a few times, causing Ron to protest loudly, but Harry felt that it was like a drop of water in the desert.

"There's one more class that we've already discussed - meditation."

Ginny said. (End of this chapter)