Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 231, Section 230: Hermione's Frustration

Having said what he needed to say and done what he could, Harry casually picked up his suitcase and left the podium.

He was also busy appeasing those regions where elemental spirits were unusually active, like Hogwarts. As for how to deal with the specific problems, that was a matter for Dumbledore and the Ministers of Magic to handle, and had nothing to do with him, a mere professor.

Harry arrived quietly, and after the meeting ended, he left quietly, leaving behind only a chaotic scene.

Now, whether the Secret Service Law can continue to be upheld has become a pressing issue that must be addressed—and it is extremely urgent. Negotiations with Muggle governments and specific countermeasures are enough to cause a lot of people headaches.

Harry laid bare a serious problem that the Ministers of Magic had been reluctant to confront. To be honest, many Ministers of Magic in various countries were even trying to stall for time, since the elements hadn't yet resurfaced to the point where they were everywhere and couldn't be hidden from Muggles. They just wanted to wait until their term ended—after all, once their term was over, any trouble would fall on the next Minister.

Unfortunately, this idea can no longer be realized.

Perhaps to shatter the illusions of those who were still clinging to hope or harboring wishful thinking, Dumbledore, in his capacity as president of the International Wizarding Federation, invited many ministers of magic to visit Hogwarts after the meeting.

Undoubtedly, the current state of Hogwarts, where elements are everywhere walking or flying, has left many ministers in disbelief—even on a global scale, Hogwarts, an area where Harry has been continuously conducting elemental awakening activities, ranks among the top in terms of the degree of elemental revival.

The Ministers of Magic, speaking different languages, stood at the edge of the Black Lake for only a short while, surrounded by the curious onlookers of Hogwarts students and teachers. They then saw an area near the shore of the Black Lake, which had been just a normal flow of water, suddenly become agitated. A water elemental appeared there, condensing itself in the lake water, and then sank to the bottom of the lake after glancing at the uninvited guests.

Not to mention when the briefcase full of documents carried by the German Minister of Magic's entourage suddenly bulged, and a paper elemental made up of various documents covered in writing jumped out from it in full view of everyone, and then ran away without looking back, these Ministers of Magic, who should have seen many big scenes, exclaimed in surprise one after another.

"...Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?" Ron said speechlessly, watching the adults shouting and yelling from afar. "I thought the ministers would be calmer. Hmm, what's that word again?"

"A bit more stylish?" Fred suddenly appeared from behind, draping an arm over Ron's shoulder and teasingly said, "I never thought our little Ronnie would say something like that."

“That’s right, but these ministers are really embarrassing themselves, to the point of being looked down upon by little Ronnie,” George chimed in, laughing heartily.

“Hey, you two, don’t think I can’t tell you’re laughing at me!” Ron said, frowning. “Weren’t you helping Professor McGonagall appease those elemental spirits? Why are you here—ah! You’re slacking off!”

“Of course we weren’t slacking off, Ron, you idiot,” Fred said irritably. “We’re just students, after all. Professor McGonagall isn’t going to make us help her all the time like she does with the other professors.”

“Yes, although I actually quite enjoy dealing with those strange elements,” George shrugged. “You know what? We just found a magical element in an empty classroom. Professor McGonagall said it was probably made of excess magic overflowing from the castle… Well, honestly, it’s much more interesting than class.”

"Enough! Can you all be quiet?!" Before Ron could answer, Hermione put down the book that had been blocking her way and said angrily, "Don't you have anything important to do? The magical world has changed so much, I thought you would at least feel some sense of urgency, instead of chatting here—or mocking the Minister of Magic."

“I must say your reaction when you first encountered those elements wasn’t much better than that of the ministers,” Hermione said bluntly. “You were just lucky to have experienced some things earlier.”

"...What's wrong with her?" Somewhat intimidated by Hermione's aura, Fred quietly poked Ron's kidney from behind and asked in a low voice.

“Don’t worry about it. She was in pretty much the same state when Harry left school. It’s just gotten worse now,” Ron said calmly. “You’ll get used to it.”

“This isn’t something you can just get used to, Ron!” Hermione’s anger seemed to have intensified. “While we’re having fun at school, Harry is out there working hard! He doesn’t even have time to rest!”

“If we acquire enough knowledge and become powerful enough, then wouldn’t we be able to fight alongside Harry?” Hermione said seriously, “instead of being left in school and just watching.”

“Seriously, Hermione,” George couldn’t help but retort, “I don’t think we can ever become like Harry—he’s truly—a very talented—next Dumbledore, you know? And how many Dumbledores are there in this world?”

“…At least Dumbledore had Grindelwald, who could be compared to him!” Hermione’s momentum faltered for a moment, but then hardened again. “But look at us, who can compare to Harry? He must be very lonely!”

George fell silent, only glancing at Ron, who shrugged—he'd developed a big heart.

It's not a big deal, stay calm.

The word "loneliness" was repeated over and over again. Fred looked at Hermione with a strange expression. Two seconds later, Hermione's face turned red. She held the book up in front of her again. "As far as I know, Harry hasn't been lonely at all lately."

Snapped! !

In an instant, Hermione slammed the book that had just been standing upright onto the table, her eyes wide.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" Fred chuckled slyly, feeling as if he had discovered some secret... well, maybe not really a secret?
Thinking about it this way, Fred suddenly felt bored again. "Know what?" Hermione asked, looking blank.

"Haven't you been chatting with the elements for a long time?" George said with a smile. "According to the elements, Harry is constantly trying to calm his companions who have suddenly woken up from their slumber and become more active."

"Huh?" Hermione's eyes widened even more. "Elementals—no, how did they know? Aren't they elementals from the Hogwarts area?"

“The elements also have their own ways of communicating,” Fred explained. “They are curious too. When they suddenly wake up from their slumber, they will naturally greet their neighbors or exchange information.”

“That’s right, Fred and I got the news from the earth elementals on the other side of the mountain. These guys who always bury themselves in the earth always spread the news faster,” George said. “According to that earth elemental, Harry seems to be in some country in Asia now, where there’s another volcanic eruption, and, well, it seems there are fire elementals causing trouble too.”

"And then?" Hermione clenched her fists and couldn't help but ask, "Is Harry alright?"

“Of course it’s alright, you have to have faith in Harry’s abilities, Hermione,” Fred continued. “That earth elemental said that Harry killed a lot of disgruntled fire elementals, so recently Harry’s reputation among many awakened elementals has been a bit bad. Uh, only some elementals say that about him. Don’t glare at me like that, it’s not me who said it.”

“There are more elements who are friendly towards Harry, after all, Harry has been comforting the elements who are awakening from their confusion and telling them what the world is like now,” George thought for a moment and said, “So there’s no need to worry so much.”

“…I understand.” Taking a deep breath, Hermione sat back down and said with a touch of melancholy, “I really need to learn more… Damn it, I’ve been focusing all my energy on spells lately and haven’t had much time to improve my shamanic magic… There’s never enough time.”

“Merlin’s stockings, you’re already the best of all my apprentices! Hermione!” Ron’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Even Luna, whom Harry publicly acknowledged as very talented, isn’t as good as you. What more do you want?”

“You were a Muggle who knew nothing about the magical world until last year! Sorry, I don’t mean any harm, but the fact is you’ve only been in contact with the magical world for two years—how much more powerful do you expect to become?!” Ron said he couldn’t understand his incredibly stubborn friend anymore.

“Harry has only been in the wizarding world for less than two years,” Hermione retorted.

“But he himself admitted that he went on an adventure to a magical world that no one else could go to! That’s why he’s so amazing and knows so much that we don’t!” Ron grabbed a newspaper that had been thrown onto the armrest of the sofa, pointed to the headline, and said, “Why can’t you accept this? We’re not from the same world as Harry anymore! Look at the kind of people he’s in every day!”

[A warning from Professor Potter: Is the Secrecy Act about to expire?!]

A bold, large headline followed by a photo of Harry giving a speech at the emergency meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards.

The animated photographs of the wizards vividly depict Harry's expression at the time, as well as the expressions of the many Ministers of Magic (the serious version) in the audience. Therefore, even the most indifferent ordinary wizard could realize the seriousness of this matter.

Is the secrecy law about to expire?
For every wizard, the law of secrecy is the law that constrains them at all times and has the greatest and most profound impact on their lives.

Since the International Law of Secrecy came into effect in 1689, the Muggle banishment spell has become a magic that every wizard must master and is most proficient in. They hide themselves from the public eye, whether in their homes or workplaces, and do whatever they want to avoid the sight of Muggles in accordance with the law of secrecy.

Every newborn wizard is taught to adapt to this rule, and to learn to hide their special qualities from a young age—but now, this rule, which has become like an instinct for modern wizards, is suddenly said to be invalid?

It's like someone suddenly not being able to breathe—it's unsettling, extremely unsettling.

The article, still written by Rita, the chief reporter of the Daily Prophet, details the origins of the Secret Law and why it is about to expire. It also imagines what might happen if the elements were to resurface and the Secret Law were to completely fail, putting the common wizards in their shoes.

Currently, not only the students still at Hogwarts, but also the reclusive wizards who have completely retreated to the mountains and isolated themselves from the world, are all discussing this issue enthusiastically.

Hermione had naturally read the newspaper long ago.

“The professors have also become very busy,” Neville, who had been observing from the sidelines without daring to speak up, said at this moment. “A student overheard Professor McGonagall complaining about the lack of manpower. After all, as you all know, there are elemental spirits everywhere in the school now, and anything can suddenly move on its own. Our current patrol professors simply cannot manage every part of the school.”

“I do know part of this,” Fred interjected. “Professor McGonagall has given up on the idea, supposedly because hiring a new batch of professors would be too expensive.”

“Ha! Your information is a bit outdated then,” Ron suddenly became excited. He said smugly, “Professor McGonagall came to ask us. She wants to hire some elementals as patrol assistants, to manage the elementals and prevent the newly formed elementals from causing any great destruction.”

“Well, actually Professor McGonagall’s initial idea was for us shaman apprentices to manage the elements,” Neville added somewhat awkwardly, “but as you know, Harry wouldn’t allow us half-baked shamans to go out and cause trouble.”

“…You’re right.” Ignoring the others, Hermione suddenly said, somewhat dejectedly, “We really aren’t from the same world as Harry…Look at what we’ve been busy with all day long?”

(End of this chapter)