A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 641 What Happened to Him
In late September, Hogsmeade Village was shrouded in autumn rain. Although it was Hogsmeade Week, most students preferred to stay in the warm common room.

They claimed it was because of bad weather, but actually they were preparing for the upcoming monthly exam.

The villagers kept sticking their heads out of the doors and windows, looking around, and found the road deserted, even less crowded than when the Dementors were active.

"Umbridge is more ferocious than a Dementor!"

Many people sighed.

Dancing Grass Restaurant was bustling as usual today, with guests from all over the world dressed in all sorts of colorful outfits, creating a unique scene in themselves.

Percy Weasley, dressed in a well-tailored suit, stepped out from behind the fireplace, the warm air mingling with the aroma of toasted bread and hot mead.

A humanoid figure from Shanghai flew over and asked enthusiastically, "Mr. Weasley, are you going to the usual place today?"

Percy shook his head and said, "I have an appointment with Miss Granger today."

"The Granger Family Box on the fourth floor," the Shanghai-style figure gestured for you, "Miss Granger is already waiting for you."

Percy's footsteps were almost silent on the deep red carpeted stairs. He quickly arrived at a carved wooden door on the fourth floor and knocked three times gently.

"Please come in," Hermione's voice came from inside.

Percy pushed open the door, then abruptly stopped in his tracks.

His mouth was slightly open as he adjusted his glasses, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The interior of this box was completely different from the austere style of the Weasley family box; it felt like stepping into a palace.

A crystal chandelier hangs from the gilded ceiling, its thousands of exquisitely cut crystals refracting rainbow-like light.

The walls were covered with vibrant tapestries embroidered with intricate gold thread patterns.

The furniture is made of heavy rosewood, and the chair cushions are made of silk that looks expensive.

Even the fireplace frame is carved from marble with gilded patterns, and the firelight dances merrily within it, casting a warm glow.

"Hiss..." Percy gasped, carefully stepping in, afraid of damaging the incredibly soft Persian carpet beneath his feet.

Hermione turned around from beside a huge floor-to-ceiling window, smiled helplessly, and said, "It's exaggerated, isn't it?"

"Charles insisted on assigning me this box, saying he had only done a little decorating."

“Slightly?” Percy’s tone rose unconsciously. “It looks like a combination of the Palace of Versailles in France and the palace of an Arab sheikh!”

"Are those candlesticks made of pure gold?"

“I hope not,” Hermione sighed, gesturing to the tea and snacks on the small table beside her, “otherwise this pot of tea might cost a hundred gallons.”

"Would you like a cup? It's Darjeeling tea."

Percy sat stiffly in an overly ornate armchair and took the delicate porcelain cup that Hermione offered him.

His gaze still uneasily swept over the room's luxurious furnishings; as a child raised in a humble dwelling, this level of opulence was beyond his imagination.

When it comes to family connections, he completely lost to Hermione.

Hermione stirred her tea gently, breaking the brief silence, and said, "You said you wanted to talk about Ron?"

Percy snapped out of his daze, his expression turning serious.

He put down his teacup and carefully took out several letters from his briefcase.

The parchment was already somewhat wrinkled, clearly indicating that it had been read many times.

“Yes,” he unfolded the letter, “I receive a letter from Ron every week—you know, we’ve kept in touch since I left home to work.” “Although we have a correspondence notebook, some things are better left to letters.”

“I’ve noticed that Ron’s tone and thoughts have been very different these past few days.”

Hermione leaned closer for a closer look, her brows furrowing slightly.

The handwriting on the letter was indeed more illegible than usual, with ink marks that were sometimes dark and sometimes light, as if the writer was experiencing great emotional fluctuations.

“Look here,” Percy said, tracing a line of text, “'That old bat Umbridge has deducted another fifty points from Gryffindor. I really want to tie a bow around her neck with her pink ribbon.'”

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle: "That sounds just like Ron."

“But look here,” Percy pointed to another passage, “'Neville messed up again in herb class, and I almost shoved his Raphthong up his nose.'”

"Luckily Harry stopped me, otherwise I might have done that."

Hermione's smile vanished. She had noticed it when it happened, but by the time she turned around, Harry had already taken care of it.

She took the letter and read it carefully, her expression growing more and more serious with each reading.

“And here,” Percy added, “He said in Charms class, ‘I almost yelled at Professor Flitwick when he corrected my pronunciation. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been getting angry very easily.’”

Hermione put down the letter and looked thoughtfully at Percy.

“You know what’s going on, don’t you?” Percy asked sharply, his gaze fixed on Hermione through his glasses. “Has something happened to Ron lately?”

He sensed that something was wrong with Ron, so he asked the observant Hermione about it, something that probably no one else had noticed.

Hermione sighed and said slowly, "Something has happened, Percy."

"Ron has been dealing with some tricky things lately."

"You know, the fifth grader is in charge of students from grades one to four."

Percy nodded.

Hermione paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, and said, "He used contract magic to resolve the problem with those two third-year students."

"Those two boys who always fight over a girl."

Percy raised his eyebrows high and said incredulously, "Contract magic? That's seventh-grade stuff, how does he know it?"

“He saw a relevant book from me,” Hermione said softly, her voice tinged with guilt. “Later he also borrowed several advanced reference books from the library’s restricted section.”

“I advised him against trying overly complex contracts, but you know Ron’s temper…”

Percy's expression became very complicated, and he said worriedly, "So he's using magic that he hasn't fully mastered yet?"

"This is too dangerous! If the contract magic goes wrong, the backlash will be severe."

“No!” His expression suddenly turned serious. “The contract magic itself isn’t the problem, but it needs to be infused with a punishment spell.”

“I suspect the magic used to punish him is the reason for his bad temper,” Hermione said, frowning. “I’ve always been worried that he’s using dark magic.”

"Dark magic can affect people's emotions, which naturally makes people more prone to anger."

Percy stood up and paced back and forth on the overly luxurious carpet.

The third Weasley knows much more than Hermione. The most important point is that three years ago, the fourth, fifth, and sixth Weasleys emptied a Slytherin study, and everything inside was now owned by the Weasleys.

(End of this chapter)