Homecoming from Hogwarts

As we approach the end of May, the end of the school year is in sight.

The joy brought to the students by the approaching summer vacation and the final match of the Triwizard Tournament in more than two weeks diluted the tension created by the final exams that were also approaching.

"Stay focused, Mr. Potter!"

But Professor McGonagall would not give the young wizards a chance to relax. In the Transfiguration class, when Harry and Ron took the opportunity to transform the dried cod, they whispered to each other about Hagrid's return that night. When they went to visit him, Hagrid refused to tell them about the wound on his face.

"And Mr. Weasley—"

Professor McGonagall strode towards the front of the classroom with her lips pursed and a stern expression on her face. When she passed by Seamus, she glanced at the codfish that was starting to smoke after Seamus's fancy manipulations, and subconsciously moved away from it, then glared coldly at Ron who was sniggering at her.

Professor McGonagall's eyes fell on the dried cod on the two people's table. According to the requirements, they should now be in the shape of a pen holder, but the dried cod on the two people's table was just curled up into a tube, and the appearance was still completely cod.

"If you can't successfully turn your cod into a pen holder before the end of get out of class, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, then I have to regretfully tell you that you need to write a separate 20-inch-long paper on how to adjust the intermediate Transfiguration spell when converting across species--"

Professor McGonagall said,
"In addition, you will need to come to my office this weekend to practice, and you can't leave until you have successfully mastered this Transfiguration spell."

Harry and Ron looked unhappy.

"This is definitely directed at, Harry—"

Ron muttered.
"Simo's cod is worse than ours. At least ours is in a pen holder shape. If we can't finish it, we have to write an extra paper. Then, Si..."

Bang! Eye rolls filled the air, an explosion resounded throughout the classroom, and Seamus, whose face was completely black, rolled his eyes and fell over.

"Mr. Longbottom—"

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath.

"Please take Mr. Finnigan to the school hospital. When he wakes up, tell him that he needs to complete the same homework as Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley."

"At your service, Professor McGonagall."

Neville put down the exquisite pen holder in his hand and said with a smile. Then, he easily carried Seamus on his shoulder and left the classroom amid laughter.

Ron was speechless and had nothing to say.

"Help us, Hermione!"

While Professor McGonagall was cleaning up the mess on Seamus's desk, Harry anxiously asked for help from Hermione, who was glancing at the two of them.

"Humph--"

Hermione snorted with a bit of pride, then turned her head away. But a few seconds later, she turned sideways again, restored her already formed pen holder to a cod, and demonstrated it to the two crazy boys.

In the end, Harry and Ron were lucky enough to successfully deform the stockfish two minutes before the get out of class ended.

"call--"

Harry, who successfully saved his weekend, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled at Hermione, but Hermione rolled her eyes in return.

The spiral staircase was crowded with students heading to the auditorium for dinner, and Harry and the other two followed the large group and slowly moved down.

The weather was extremely hot, and the wind blowing into the castle from the corridors embedded in the walls of the tower was warm. Harry looked out at the Black Lake, the surface of the lake was full of luster, and the waves were like a piece of silver silk fluttering in the wind, and the Forbidden Forest. Forbidden Forest
Harry squinted his eyes and looked at the vast primeval forest, and suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

During this period of time, the students have been discussing the items of the third round of the championship. Unlike the first and second rounds, the warriors did not get any revelations this time, and even Hagrid knew nothing about it.

Now, there is probably only one person who knows the exact content of this competition, and that is Professor Brian, because the plan of this competition was entirely designed by him.

Harry came back to his senses and prepared to discuss the possibility of a competition in the Forbidden Forest with Hermione and Ron.
For example, the warriors were asked to hunt down those terrifying eight-eyed spiders, but they were surprised to find that the team on the crowded spiral staircase had not moved for a long time. Ron and Hermione were both standing on tiptoe to look down, wondering who was blocking the way.

"Damn it--"

Ron rubbed his stomach and complained quietly.

"I desperately need chicken drumsticks and a nice pudding to settle my stomach and let me know which idiot is blocking my way."

"Don't be so mean, Ron -"

Hermione said calmly
"Maybe one of the freshmen got his foot stuck in one of those trap stairs."

"Even so, it doesn't change the fact that the unlucky guy is a fool--" Ron continued to sarcastically,

"It's almost the end of the school year, isn't it? Harry and I never got tricked in our first year."

Harry pursed his lips and avoided Hermione's teasing gaze with a guilty conscience.

"Hey, Ron--"

Lavender, who was in front of them, seemed to have found out what caused the traffic jam. She turned around and waved excitedly at Ron.
"It's your brother, Ron!"

"My brother?"

Ron still couldn't get over the idea of ​​having an intimate conversation with Lavender in public, and he flashed a look at Hermione and Harry, frowned, and shouted,

"You mean, something happened to Fred and George? That's unlikely. They can avoid all the traps with their eyes closed."

"Not them!"

Lavender fluttered her eyelashes and called out in an excited voice that Harry and Hermione couldn't understand.

"It's Percy, he's back and Professor Blaine is talking to him!"

The slow procession finally began to move, and students flowed slowly down like a torrent.

Harry and the other two looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.

"Percy?"

Ron frowned.

"He definitely didn't come back to reminisce about his school days. You all know his style. He doesn't want to leave his job for even a second."

"Could it be related to the competition?"

Harry looked at Hermione and guessed,
"Isn't it time to communicate with Professor Brain on behalf of the Ministry of Magic about the next game?"

"But as far as I know--"

Hermione thought for a few seconds.
"Percy has been transferred out of the Department of International Magical Cooperation since Barty Crouch died. Oh, where is he now, Ron?"

"I haven't asked."

Ron shrugged innocently.

There was a moment of silence, and the three of them quickened their pace in unison, trying to squeeze through the crowded crowd. After reaching the third floor, the three did not continue down the stairs, but turned and entered the corridor on the third floor.

"We'll have a good excuse, won't we, Hermione?"

Harry asked nervously.

"I mean, if Professor Brain asks us what we want from him—"

"We have a ready-made excuse, Harry—"

Although she was running, Hermione's breath remained stable.
"It was the night Hagrid came back--"

"Oh!"

Ron raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Are you going to have Harry reveal that he saw You-Know-Who again when his scar hurt?"

"Maybe the situation is just the opposite. It hurts because I saw the mysterious man's scar. Anyway—"

Hermione slowed down her pace and looked at Harry, who was a little hesitant, with burning eyes.
"I can't think of any reason why Professors Blaine and Dumbledore shouldn't know about this, can I, Harry?"

(End of this chapter)