days at Hogwarts

Wednesday, Herbalism class.

In the shed outside the greenhouse, Professor Sprout finished his demonstration on the landfill of slow-release fertilizer for black hellebore. The students in the advanced herbal medicine class dispersed and worked in groups to take care of the black hellebore in each garden.

Compared to the knotty vine I dealt with some time ago, this little flower is much cuter. The flowers with stamens facing downwards are visible from between the sturdy and tender leaves. The sepals are slightly long, there are no waving vine tentacles, and there is no sticky and disgusting slurry. The fermented slow-release fertilizer has basically no smell. The course content is relaxing and enjoyable.

The gardens in charge of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students were adjacent to each other. Susan Bones was next to Loren, dressed in a brown gardener's uniform, looking neat and capable. Her hair was very long, braided and dragged on her back, and she walked unsteadily.

She came over with a small bucket filled with slow-release fertilizer and greeted the two people in the neighboring group with a smile on her face:

"Loren, Hermione, good morning!"

"Good morning, Susan." Hermione said with a smile, "You seem much more cheerful than before."

"Hannah said so too," Susan Bones explained briskly as she picked up a shovel to turn the soil for the black hellebore. "I received a letter from home this morning saying that the Ministry of Magic had successfully rescued my aunt, so I was very happy!"

"I see..." Loren nodded thoughtfully.

Many people in the school knew that Susan Bones' aunt was Amelia Bones, a senior official of the Ministry of Magic and a member of the Wizengamot. She was captured by Voldemort while staying at the Ministry of Magic on Halloween, and there had been no news about her before.

It appears that the prisoner exchange between the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort has begun.

According to the information revealed by Dumbledore, the first batch of prisoner exchanges should take place during the Christmas holidays, and Amelia Bones was obviously not in the plan.

Is this considered a deposit before the transaction between the two parties?

Hermione quietly observed her expression and asked in a low voice: "How is your aunt now?"

"He is currently recuperating in St. Mungo's Hospital. His injuries are quite serious, probably from the Cruciatus Curse. His mental state is not very good, but there is no damage that cannot be cured. He is conscious and will be discharged after recuperating for a period of time."

"We wish Ms Bones a speedy recovery."

"Thank you, I will pass on your blessings!"

"..."

The news about the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort spread, and quickly became a hot topic within the school. During the meal in the Great Hall, almost every long table in the school was discussing the matter, with all kinds of speculations. Some said that Scrimgeour organized an attack to rescue him, and some said that the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort had reached a deal...

The Daily Prophet also published some notice-style messages, informing the majority of wizarding residents that the Floo Network had been restored from today, but that it was still not possible to connect new fireplaces to the Floo Network.

Whether this was good or bad for the Ministry of Magic is unclear, but it helped Loren to some extent, covering up the turmoil caused by his victory over the professor.

School life seemed to have returned to normal.

Go to get out of class, eat and sleep.

May came in a blink of an eye.

……

Breakfast time, auditorium.

Loren, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were sitting at the end of the long table, almost done with their meal.

There was no class in the first period of the morning, so it was a rare free time, and a few of us chatted to pass the time.

Prefect Neville came over from not far away, bypassing Seamus who was practicing silent spells, holding a register with an unclear title in his hand.

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning, Neville."

"You don't even want to call us by our names, Neville." Loren stroked Crookshanks in his arms, his tone inexplicably affected.

"..."

Neville knew he was joking, but his cheeks were still a little red. This prefect had lost a lot of weight, and the baby fat on his face was gone. His tall and thin appearance was completely different from a few years ago. His temperament was more stable, but his personality had not changed much.

Hermione punched someone with a bad temper, turned around and said, "Ignore him, Neville, what do you want from us?"

Neville breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a grateful look. "It's like this, the Christmas holiday is coming soon. Professor McGonagall asked me and Parvati to compile a list of people who will stay on campus. I want to ask you, do you plan to go home during the Christmas holiday?"

"Christmas vacation..."

"Stay in school..."

Harry and Ron seemed to have discussed this matter before. Without much hesitation, they shook their heads and said, "We both choose to stay in school and not go back."

Neville turned to look at Loren and Hermione: "What about you?"

The two looked at each other and quickly reached an agreement: "We will stay in school too."

"Ok."

Neville wrote down the names of the four people in the blank column for those who stayed on campus, closed the register, and walked away briskly.

Loren fed an egg yolk to Crookshanks and looked at the two of them: "Why don't you go back?"

"I don't want to go back and cause trouble." Harry sighed deeply, "It's a mess outside right now. If I go back, they will have to take care of me and keep an eye on my safety at all times. I think pregnant Betty needs more care."

"What about you?"

Ron blushed, lowered his head and whispered, "I want to wait until Aunt Muriel's matter is over, at least until George and Fred forget about it."

Loren and the other two nearby fell silent at the same time.

Poor Ron, homeless at such a young age.

Just as they were thinking about how to comfort Ron, a hearty old man's voice suddenly rang out: "Kids, I heard that you all chose to spend Christmas at school!"

"Professor Slughorn?"

Slughorn sat down next to Harry, put his arm around his shoulders, and looked at them with a smile: "Cheer up, my Christmas party will tell you that this is a wise choice!"

The professor's closeness made Harry feel a little awkward. He scratched his head and couldn't help asking, "Isn't the Christmas party scheduled for after we return to school after the holidays?"

"Christmas party, Christmas party, of course it has to be held on Christmas to be worthy of the name." Slughorn smiled, "It just so happens that you all stay in school during the holidays, so let's spend a lively and happy Christmas together!"

"But..." Harry paused and said tentatively, "Wouldn't that ignore the other club members? I think most people will go home during the Christmas holidays."

"That's okay, I can still have other parties when they go back to school, so I can plan them now, how about an Easter party?"

"..."

After a cordial conversation, the Christmas party was settled and Professor Slughorn left with a happy smile.

Loren watched the short and fat figure stagger away, then turned around and asked them thoughtfully, "Do you feel that Professor Slughorn seems to have unloaded some burden and feels a lot more relaxed?"

"Really?" Harry tilted his head.