A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 622 A Clump of Hair

"You scared the first-year students!"

Hermione nudged Charles, who was engrossed in eating, with her elbow, her tone tinged with helplessness.

Charles then looked up from his plate and glanced in the direction Hermione had indicated.

Sure enough, not far away, a first-year student with a pair of particularly striking big ears was staring at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open, and an incredulous expression on his face. He was obviously shocked by the way the boy was eating or how much he was eating.

Charles simply shrugged indifferently, refocusing his attention on the plate of fried sausages in front of him, and said calmly to Hermione, "Rather than being frightened, I'm just back to my most normal self now."

After saying that, he reached into the plate and took a steaming, fragrant chicken and mushroom pie, picked up a large piece with his fork, and began to chew it with relish.

Hermione watched him wolf down his food and couldn't help but sigh softly, her tone carrying a familiar teasing tone: "Your appetite... it seems like you're eating even more than before?"

Charles, his mouth full, could only mumble a vague reply: "High energy expenditure."

Just then, Hermione's sharp eyes caught the unusual sight.

On Charles's head, where his hair had been lying flat, a small tuft of hair had somehow stood up, like a tiny antenna, and it even swayed slightly.

To Hermione's even greater surprise, the tuft of hair deftly pointed to another plate of pork chops on the table, which emitted the aroma of oak smoke.

Overwhelmed by curiosity, Hermione carefully picked up a perfectly roasted oak-smoked pork chop with charred edges with her tongs and gently placed it on Charles's empty plate, right next to the chicken and mushroom pie he had eaten most of.

Her eyes were fixed on the peculiar tuft of hair.

What happened next almost made her gasp. The tuft of hair actually shook and nodded towards her, making a tiny bow, as if to politely thank her!
This discovery completely shocked Hermione.

Then, she began to observe the tuft of hair discreetly and, as instructed, frequently served Charles various foods—fried sausages drizzled with onion gravy, baked potatoes cut in half and filled with cheddar cheese, and herb-roasted chicken legs, all of which arrived in front of Charles a second before Ron's hand reached them.

That tuft of hair was very polite, always thanking Hermione.

Their frequent food-passing activities quickly attracted the attention of nearby first-year students.

Those young faces were filled with confusion and curiosity, their gazes constantly shifting between Charles and Hermione, and whispers could be faintly heard.

"Hey, stop overthinking it." Dennis Crevey, a sophomore sitting across from the freshmen, waved his hand at the gossipy freshman sitting directly opposite him with an air of knowing wisdom, and said with certainty, "Those two are definitely not the kind of relationship you're imagining right now."

Among the seats where the fifth-grade students were gathered, many remembered that Charles had ordered a snack cart for Hermione on the train to school.

Therefore, when they saw Hermione constantly handing food to Charles, they mostly assumed that Hermione was simply expressing her gratitude for the generosity on the train, and went about their business.

When Charles finally put down his knife and fork with satisfaction and let out a soft sigh of contentment, the tuft of hair on his head that had been unusually active seemed to have exhausted its energy, slowly and silently lying down again, blending into the surrounding hair, becoming indistinguishable from the rest of his hair, and no longer showing any abnormality.

Hermione wanted to reach out and pluck the tuft of hair that had just been alive to see what was going on.

But there were too many people around, and she keenly sensed that no one else seemed to have noticed this peculiar detail. She suppressed her intense curiosity and impulse, deciding to hold back and wait for a suitable time when no one was around to investigate further.

At that moment, all the leftover food and delicious desserts on the table vanished instantly as if by magic, leaving the table spotless.

The buzzing conversations in the cafeteria gradually subsided, and the senior students all tacitly turned their gazes toward the professors' seats—meaning that the principal's speech for the new semester was about to begin.

When Professor Dumbledore slowly rose from his golden high-backed chair, the entire noisy dining hall seemed to be silenced instantly, as if a silencing spell had been cast.

“Alright,” Dumbledore’s voice was loud and clear, carrying his characteristic gentleness and authority, echoing in every corner of the dining hall, “since we are all currently digesting yet another incredibly sumptuous and delicious meal, I humbly request that you all be quiet for a moment, so that I may, as usual, address the important points for the new term…”

He explained the various regulations for the new semester clearly and slowly.

The first-graders listened with exceptional focus, their little faces filled with seriousness and awe as they tried their best to remember every word.

In contrast, the older students seemed much more relaxed and at ease. They exchanged knowing glances and let out suppressed, light laughs, clearly having long been accustomed to these repetitive, year-after-year clichés and not paying much attention to them.

Hermione couldn't contain her curiosity and turned to ask in a low voice, "Charles, what's with that tuft of your hair? I noticed it seemed to be moving, like it was alive."

Charles was intently watching Dumbledore, waiting for him to introduce this year's new professor, when he was startled by the question. He turned around abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief, and asked, "You can actually see that tuft of hair? That's so strange!"

Hermione, seeing his strange reaction, couldn't help but move closer out of curiosity and examine the top of his head carefully, but found nothing, as if the hair from before had never existed.

She recalled, "Just now I saw it talking to me about what I wanted to eat. When I handed it to it, it gently shook itself to thank me, just like a little life."

Charles looked surprised at first, then nodded and said in a serious voice, "Oh, that's hair that only idiots can see. Smart people can't see it."

Hermione glared at him immediately, thinking to herself that there was definitely something wrong, and said seriously, "Hmph, then I'll listen to it the other way around."

"It looks interesting, can I have one?"

"It can find what you want to eat, and maybe it can help me find the books I need, such as those hard-to-find magic books in the library."

She regarded the hair as some kind of magical artifact and pondered its uses.

Aside from finding books, I should also be able to pick out clothes and jewelry while shopping.

Charles shook his head without hesitation and said firmly, "No, it's incompatible with you and might have the opposite effect."

Hermione, upon hearing this, assumed he was being petty. She simply pouted, turned her head away in dissatisfaction, and stopped speaking, silently continuing to listen to Dumbledore's speech, though a trace of resentment lingered in her eyes.

Charles also turned his attention to Dumbledore, and then proceeded to introduce this year's new professor.

(End of this chapter)