days at Hogwarts

Chapter 234 The spring of 1993 is here

Professor McGonagall marked the test papers even slower than they expected. Whether it was the Transfiguration class or the Transfiguration Club, she did not reveal any information about the results.

On the first weekend of February, Lee Jordan fell into a hole in the ice while skating on Black Lake and was eventually lifted ashore by the tentacles of a giant squid.

This event announced the beginning of the thaw of the frozen Black Lake and the arrival of spring in 1993.After a few months, the reappearance of the giant squid aroused cheers from the little wizards.

All the snow has melted away, no longer covered by ice and snow. Under the warm sun, the stone walls of Hogwarts are once again slightly heated, making people notice that the temperature is gradually getting warmer.

At dusk, the third greenhouse.

Loren, Harry and Ron had just finished checking the growth of the mandrake.

After staying away from the mandrake, they took off their gloves and put the gardener's apron and earmuffs back into the tool house, leaving only the boots on their feet. The three of them stretched their legs and lay at the door of the greenhouse to bask in the sun while waiting here. Hermione.

"I originally asked Neville to stay and help us, but he seemed to have forgotten about it and ran away as soon as get out of class was over." Ron raised his neck to let the golden sunlight shine on him more fully.

Harry swung his feet, and the hard soles of his gardening boots made a dull sound: "Maybe he is too anxious. Professor McGonagall's exam results have not been released for several months, and Neville can hardly sleep. .”

"It seems like he's worried about more than just test scores..." Loren was already lying down, squinting his eyes to feel the afterglow of the sun. Even with his eyes closed, he could still feel the red glow.

Harry swallowed the last mouthful and turned his head to look at him in confusion: "Why?"

"I seem to have not adapted to the life of being a professor. I have trouble sleeping and am worried about affecting the class, so I use this to refresh myself." As he said that, Sirius took another sip.

In March, several mandrakes held a lively and noisy dance in the third greenhouse, which made Professor Sprout very happy.

This is not a hint. It is simply naming Dumbledore as a mysterious person.

Hermione said with some uneasiness: "What if, what if Professor McGonagall's matter is very urgent and cannot be delayed."

Harry and Ron immediately gathered around and saw the signature on the envelope: "Dwarf Choir?"

"You're only telling half of the story, you..."

Next to them, Harry and Ron had finished reading the letter, both of them with expressions that were difficult to explain.

"According to the letter, Lockhart has been planning this since Halloween. He hired twelve dwarfs and planned to have them deliver Valentine's Day cards to students. They would recite the love letters and even sing them to music. come out."

Hermione: "..."

"Because you don't know which couples will kiss secretly where." Loren answered for him.

As they moved forward, the four of them once again caught up with the pebbles, and Harry added a kick.

"Then you're going?" Loren couldn't figure out what was going on with your expression. Those who didn't know thought it was Snape who asked you to go.

By the time he came back, Loren's robe had been clean, he had put on his gardening boots, and the four of them set foot on the road back to the castle.

But this time it was a little different. Not long after Professor Sprout left, an owl flew in and landed on her shoulder.

Hermione grunted twice, pulled Loren up from the ground, and patted the grass blades and dirt on the back of his robe with great force.It was just that all the strength was removed by the fabric, so Loren didn't feel any pain.

"Ha!" Ron felt that his guess was very reasonable, "She must be studying Animagus behind our backs. When Professor McGonagall announces the test results and Hermione gets No. 1, she will stand up and tell Us, she has actually learned the Animagus."

Ron and Seamus also hurried forward to state the pros and cons, saying that they did not use this service at all.

In a panic, Hermione's eyes drifted toward the Forbidden Forest from time to time, and Loren caught this detail... If she really wanted to see Hagrid, why would she worry about missing the appointment? No matter how late she was, Hagrid wouldn't care.

"you are the best!"

"Daily Prophet", a photo of Hogwarts Castle occupies the center front page, with Dumbledore's shadow and a giant basilisk floating above the castle on the left and right. The headline of the news is "Basilisk? Mysterious?" people?".

After rubbing the owl's head, Hermione took the letter from its leg, a small note.

"What do you mean?"

The little witch was pitiful. Loren sighed: "You go to the Forbidden Forest first. I'll go to Professor McGonagall to explain the situation. If there's anything, I should be able to help."

Standing at the door of Professor McGonagall's office, Loren knocked on the door, heard the answer and pushed the door open.

"Don't say I didn't remind you. Don't go to the edge of the black lake tomorrow, don't go to the bushes in the courtyard, and don't casually enter the abandoned classroom." Seamo said listlessly.

Hermione's sarcastic and threatening voice sounded above them, and the next moment, the light of the setting sun was blocked by a long-haired figure.

"Actually, mandrakes are rapidly outgrowing their childhood, and they're becoming a bit taciturn." Ron kicked away a pebble.

“Then you can cut the mandrakes and put them over the fire to make soup.”

Harry and Ron: "..."

Quidditch, flying cars, flying motorcycles... They have been playing together for almost a month and are already familiar with each other.

"Not entirely. Some of the precocious mandrakes have reached the rebellious stage, and they are moody. If they find out that someone is not wearing earmuffs, they will definitely learn a lesson they will never forget."

Sirius raised his chin and motioned for them to look down. He reached into his pocket, took out a curved tin can, brought it to his mouth and took a sip.

As soon as her thoughts changed, Loren understood her concerns.

Harry and Ron asked a few more questions, but they couldn't get any results, so they had to give up.Finally, we lay lazily on the ground together with him, matching the faint smell of fermentation coming from the third greenhouse, like three salted fish basking in the sun.

Something even more cruel almost happened later, on February 13th, the night before Valentine’s Day.Loren and others finished their dinner and were enjoying the sweet after-dinner pudding.

When Professor McGonagall flattened the newspaper, Loren stood on tiptoes and glanced at the titles on several pages.

Sensing Loren's scrutinizing gaze, Sirius knew that he had acted like a drunkard just now. He smiled and explained: "I also prepared the potions that Madam Pomfrey helped prepare, the diluted Bafe Awakening Potion and other things. not sure."

"It's a letter from Professor McGonagall." Hermione frowned, showing a difficult expression, "Professor McGonagall asked me to go to her office immediately."

"Speak quickly!"

Loren didn't detect any signs of injury from Hermione. After feeling reassured, he kicked the pebble away.

Harry and Ron sat up suddenly. They pointed to Loren on the far right and said in unison: "It has nothing to do with us, he said it."

The matter was so outrageous that the little wizards around him were silent as they took time to digest the matter.

Loren stood on tiptoe again, and this time stretched his neck to look more carefully.Sure enough, the news reporter was Rita Skeeter.

Watching him tiptoe again and again, his neck was almost stretched out in front of him.Professor McGonagall's temples were bulging, and she casually took a stack of documents and pressed it on top of the newspaper to block his prying eyes.

The sun has been completely blocked by the distant mountain peaks, leaving only a large patch of gradient color from orange to red on the horizon, which is the same as the representative color of Gryffindor on the little wizard's belt. The shadow lengthened by the setting sun, as the The steps were jumping like burning flames.

Harry's face was complicated: "You know, this sounds a bit cruel."

"I haven't finished reading it yet." Loren muttered quietly.

Professor McGonagall took a deep breath: "Why are you here, where is Miss Granger?"

Harry didn't have the gift of prophecy, but he had a strong, ominous premonition.Driven by this premonition, he finally persuaded Sirius to give up his strange thoughts.

"Hermione couldn't move away, and she was worried about your urgent matter, Professor, so she asked me to come."

Nevertheless, Harry and Ron continued their previous work, checking the growth of the mandrakes and recording them.

Loren was not surprised. The illusion only caused nightmares for Sirius, rather than completely depriving him of sleep. For the wizard, this was not a big problem.

Rarely, Professor McGonagall was not grading papers or reviewing any documents, but was taking some free time to read newspapers.But her face was serious, and the news in the newspaper might not make her happy.

Meeting their incomprehensible looks, Loren asked doubtfully: "Is there any problem?"

"Tell me, what has Hermione been busy with recently? She can't always find anyone when she's not in class." Harry twisted his neck and changed to a more comfortable position.

Harry coughed violently, and the pudding hit his tracheal opening: "No, no, no, you don't even need the original service."

Hermione complained for Percy in a slightly hurt voice. She was in a good mood today.

"is it?"

Loren was confused.

Hermione followed up with a kick, and her strength was so strong that it went the furthest: "This is good news. According to the information, as long as they develop acne and recover, you can change them to a bigger basin, etc." As they mature."

Sirius was very interested in this and waved his hand, "I'm here to ask if you want to add some other services. I think twelve dwarfs are too few."

Although Sirius's eyes were a little red, their pupils were bright and he seemed to be in good spirits.

"What do you mean, Sirius-" Ron paused, "Professor Black."

<divclass="contentadv">"Come and take a look at this. It should be left by your Professor Lockhart." Sirius took out a beautifully wrapped letter from his arms.

Harry got up and went to padlock the greenhouse. Professor Sprout gave him a key because he was skilled at the job.

"I, I -" Hermione couldn't say it. She couldn't say that she had made an appointment with Professor Flitwick to meet at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Going to find Professor McGonagall would mean breaking the appointment.

"Ask the owl to bring a message to Professor McGonagall, saying that you will be late for a while, and you can take care of things over there first." Loren nuzzled towards the Forbidden Forest.

"You also think they should be more bold, right?" Sirius walked over from the side and sat down between Harry and Ron.

After the herbal medicine class that day, Sprout said to Harry and others who were left behind: "When they want to move to other flower pots, we will know that they are fully mature. Then we can let the hospital Those poor people came alive.”

"Lockhart has paid a deposit in advance, and the dwarf wrote to me asking if I want to continue this service. I guess the mailing address Lockhart left is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office."

According to past experience, Loren would stay to help them, while Hermione would mysteriously disappear for a period of time.

Ron smiled and continued teasing: "Seriously, Hermione, don't be like Percy. Prefect, President of the Student Union, first in every subject, Tom Riddle is also like this, it sounds terrible."

……

Professor McGonagall: "..."

After some persuasion, Sirius still hesitated: "Neither of you are in love...Besides, Lockhart has been voted the most popular many times...I mean, his plan should have some merit, right? "

A circle of little wizards around heard it, and they all burst into secret laughter.

"Then she will turn into a little squirrel, or a little lion..." Loren was immersed in his fantasy, unaware of the approaching danger.

"Tell me about your work. Professor Sprout has been asking you to take care of mandrakes lately. How are your ears?"

I wonder when Dumbledore will get the results of his investigation, Hermione thought to herself. She thinks Loren is very good, and the new Professor Black is also very good...

The two stood close to each other, and Loren's nose moved. He could easily smell the smell of the little witch. In addition to the smell of a slightly sweaty girl, there was also a faint smell of white fresh essence.

Harry paused, "In front of everyone."

With that said, Hermione slapped Loren's robe again, just to tease him.When he expressed his condemnation with his eyes, Hermione immediately showed a serious expression:

Hermione's lips were pressed into a straight line, and even the strawberry pudding felt unpalatable.She cautiously looked at Loren next to her, and she was inexplicably relieved when she saw that his expression was the same.

……

Even though she briefly covered it up, Loren could still smell it.He quietly moved closer to Hermione, wanting to see if there were any newly healed wounds on her body, or any other clues...

"Listening to what you said, the above results seem to be something not very good. If Percy knew that his biological brother said this about him, he would be very sad."

Loren sat down at his desk, imitating Hermione's movements in class, sitting upright like a good student, and said impassionedly, "Is there anything I can do for you, Professor?"

There were not many things to deal with today, but Professor McGonagall suddenly felt tired. She just wanted to send Loren away as soon as possible.

He took out four notices from the drawer and handed them to him. Professor McGonagall said briefly: "The candidates who have passed the Animagus exam have been selected. Post these lists in the common room."