The days at Hogwarts

"What about Bill and Percy? They don't seem to be very good at Quidditch." Loren said lazily. Half a quarter of an hour ago, he tried to stroke Hermione's tail and was beaten. Now he is recovering.

At this moment, a fir tree with a thick trunk and lush branches and leaves slowly swayed and approached from a distance. When the fir tree came to the side of the two people, they saw two big feet stretched out from under the tree and heard the loud wheezing sound again.

Hagrid was released from the interrogation room of the Ministry of Magic just two days ago. Just as Dumbledore said, he returned to school in time for Christmas.

"Hagrid! Merry Christmas!" Hermione greeted happily, waving her hands. Coming out of the infirmary, she saw that everyone and everything outside looked excited.

Hagrid loosened his two big hands that were hugging the fir tree and showed his head from the lush branches and leaves: "Oh, Loren, Hermione, Merry Christmas to you too. I heard that Hermione was sick, and I wanted to go see you, but Harry said you didn't see outsiders. Are you well again - uh..."

Looking at Hermione in her cloak, he already knew the answer, and he wanted to pat Hermione on the shoulder, but his hands were stained with mud and water, so he took them back. The hesitant action seemed a little clumsy.

Hermione smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey said it will be fine soon."

Hagrid nodded, turned around and solemnly reminded Loren: "As a gentleman, you must take good care of her, understand?"

"Working on it!" Loren spread his hands.

Hermione looked at the thick tree trunk next to her and asked curiously, "Hasn't the decoration of the hall been arranged? When we came out, we saw Professor Flitwick decorating the Christmas tree."

Loren added: "I heard they moved in from the Forbidden Forest as well."

"Oh, yes, I saw that too. But those are all pine trees. Don't you think firs look better?" Hagrid patted the tree next to him with a boastful look on his face.

Loren and Hermione couldn't tell the difference and nodded as if they understood.

"Oh! Look! I started it, what's it called, the wiper!" Fred's triumphant shout could be heard from a distance.

"Naughty boy, Professor McGonagall will put him in detention if she sees him." Hagrid muttered, picked up the fir tree and continued to head towards the hall. He stepped firmly into the snow, leaving deep footprints.

Looking at his receding back, Hermione propped her chin with both hands and said softly, "In fact, there is not such a big difference between pine trees and fir trees. Hagrid just wants to add something of his own to the hall and Christmas, right?"

"Well, those who wronged him will get the punishment they deserve."

……

Harry, flying in the sky, saw Hagrid on the snow at a glance, reversed direction, lowered his altitude, and flew towards Hagrid.

Ron rode on the Nimbus 2001, which was faster, and flew to Hagrid's side first. He stuck his head through the branches and said, "Hey, Hagrid, do you need any help?"

The stability of the Nimbus 2001 is very good, and even though Ron is so naughty, the center of gravity does not shift at all.

"Ron, don't think I can't hear you. You don't mean to help. You're just showing off your broom." Hagrid shook the fir tree, shaking off the snow water on him.

Ron got drenched on the head and flew away laughing.

"You guys go have fun. I'm going back to the castle with Hagrid." Harry shouted to Ron. After getting close to the ground, he turned over and got off the broomstick, following Hagrid closely.

Ron waved his hand casually, indicating that he got it.

"Hagrid, have you been to see Aragog?" Harry asked after hesitating for a while.

Even though Hagrid had been back for some time, they hadn't remembered to tell Hagrid about the Acromantula until the twins took the flying car out to play.

"Of course, I left the letter hoping that you would go find it. I knew that Aragog must know something." Hagrid's eyebrows were full of pride. He walked with the fir tree in his arms, muttering about the past. "When I was in school, I had been hiding it in the cupboard in the basement. One day, it suddenly found me in panic and said it wanted to leave the castle."

"Oh!" Hagrid said pitifully, "It was barely big enough to use its teeth at the time. How could such a tiny creature survive out there?"

Harry was silent for a moment as he recalled what he had seen in the Pensieve... a spider that big couldn't be called small.

Hagrid continued to narrate: "But it just didn't want to stay in the basement alone, so I put it in a box and hid it. Later, you should all know... After being kicked out of school, I asked it what it noticed, but it refused to tell me--"

Harry interrupted him and said stubbornly, "You know, our communication with the Acromantula is not very friendly..."

"Well, it didn't tell me." Hagrid's voice was emotionless. "But I saw traces of battle in the hollow, and saw that there were fewer spiders in its colony. Firenze told me what happened when I took Fang in."

"You don't blame us, then?" Harry asked.

"Harry, remember what the centaurs said?" Hagrid turned his head to look at Harry and gave him a simple smile. "This is a good thing for Aragog's people."

For Hagrid, he had no feelings for Aragog's descendants, and they were the ones who attacked Harry and the others first. The result now was that Loren showed mercy.

According to the laws of the Ministry of Magic, magical animals that injure people should be put to death immediately.

"That's how it is in the forest, eating and being eaten, hunters and prey, expansion and encroachment. You can't let a group reproduce freely, or it will lead to disaster. This is the law of the forest..."

Two people, one big and one small, were trudging in the snow, leaving behind footprints of different sizes and a long drag mark.

Harry suddenly realized that Hagrid was not as stupid as he looked. At least when it came to forests and animals, he seemed like a wise man.

He still had many questions to ask, about Tom Riddle, about Voldemort's student days... but looking at the satisfied smile on Hagrid's face, he asked nothing.

When Harry followed Hagrid and his fir tree into the Great Hall, Loren came back with Hermione. They were not carrying any weights, so they were faster than Hagrid with the fir tree.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were both there, busy putting up the Christmas decorations.

The auditorium was magnificent, with holly and mistletoe hanging on the walls. A dozen pine trees stood around the auditorium, decorated as Christmas trees, with small sparkling icicles hanging on the trees, and colorful lights flashing on the tops of the icicles, like candles made of ice.

"You're just in time, Hagrid. This fir tree should be placed in the middle of the hall. What do you think?" Professor Flitwick greeted him happily.

Hagrid had a happy smile on his face, and without asking Professor Flitwick to use a levitation spell, he mustered up his strength and easily moved the fir tree to the middle of the hall.

Professor Flitwick followed behind him and used his wand to spray strings of golden bubbles. The bubbles hung on the branches of the fir tree, reflecting the bright lights of the hall, sparkling and sparkling.

Hermione's eyes sparkled as she watched the sparkling bubbles. Loren was behind her, brushing the snow off her large cloak.

"Loren, Hermione, Merry Christmas!" Harry came over and very sensibly didn't mention anything about Hermione and the Polyjuice Potion.

After greeting each other, the three of them stayed together and watched Professor Flitwick use his fancy magic to create all kinds of beautiful, sparkling decorations, turning the fir tree into the most eye-catching Christmas tree in the hall.

Illumination spell, Transfiguration spell, Fire spell...

Loren identified what spells those decorations were derived from. Although he couldn't replicate them at a glance, the derivative applications of basic spells and the flexible and adaptable thinking were very inspiring to him.

"You're so beautiful, Hermione. I don't think you need to cover up at all."

Dumbledore, who was wearing a lady's rabbit ear hat, came to the side of the few people at some point and spoke gently. For the old wizard, this level of concealment was almost useless, and he easily saw the true face of the little cat girl.

Hermione blushed beneath her cloak and shook her head violently.

Loren stood up and coughed: "Professor, what determines whether it should be covered up is not whether others think it looks good, but her own thoughts."

Dumbledore thought for a moment and said, "What matters is not the eyes of outsiders, but your own thoughts. This sentence is really - philosophical."

He murmured and savored the words, as if he were reading some beautiful poem.

Harry stared blankly at the old headmaster's lady's rabbit-ear hat, feeling extremely awkward.

This fluffy, soft, milky white rabbit ear hat is very cute. It can be worn on a little girl or a cute young girl. But when worn on an old man, it looks childish and weird.

Although this was not the first time Harry had witnessed Dumbledore's strange behavior, he still couldn't accept this extremely cute hat.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Dumbledore pinched a rabbit ear on his head and said, "It's a Christmas gift from Loren."

Harry and Hermione turned their heads at the same time and looked at Loren in horror, their eyes wide open, completely unable to understand Loren and Dumbledore's aesthetic taste.

Dumbledore winked at them and said, "This is the best Christmas present I have received this year."

Loren smiled shyly: "I knew you would like it. I also know a hat with mechanical rabbit ears. When you press the switch, the ears will move. I will give you that one next time."

"I am looking forward to it," Dumbledore said playfully.

An old wizard and three young wizards stood together, watching Professor Flitwick and Hagrid decorate the hall, talking and laughing, in a lively and harmonious atmosphere.

But the good atmosphere did not last long. Professor McGonagall noticed this group of people and walked over with a serious face: "Principal Dumbledore, do you have any results on that matter?"

Loren and his companions took a few steps back at the same time, and felt that the air around them had become a little colder.

"Please, Minerva, it's Christmas!" Dumbledore pleaded pitifully, wearing a cute bunny-ear hat.

Professor McGonagall said sternly, "Hurry up, the holiday will be over soon!"

After the serious Professor McGonagall left, Loren and the others showed up. Harry asked curiously, "Is there anything urgent at school?"

They defeated Voldemort again, the basilisk issue was resolved, Crabbe was detained by the Ministry of Magic, and Hagrid was acquitted. Harry really couldn't think of anything to worry about on such a perfect Christmas.

Dumbledore glanced at Loren with a knife in his eye. "It's Lockhart. He can no longer serve. Your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next semester has not yet been decided."

Loren was concentrating on watching Professor Flitwick's magic, with innocence written all over his face.

Hermione noticed the headmaster's look. She looked at the headmaster, then turned around and saw Loren, who was acting guilty. The little witch looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"That's great!" Harry couldn't help blurting out, then quickly added, with a heavy face, "I mean, that's a pity."

If you ignore the smile on his lips, this statement is quite believable.

Seeing him pretending, Dumbledore smiled silently, and suddenly remembered something. He whispered meaningfully: "I seem to have thought of a good candidate for the professorship..."

Chapter 225 Ron: Is the Disarming Spell all you know?

It was getting dark and the banquet officially began.

The fir tree in the center of the hall shone brilliantly, with thousands of glowing bubbles hanging from it, and from the ceiling, a streamer of mistletoe and holly dropped magical snowflakes, warm and dry.

Dumbledore left for a while, and when he came back, he changed into a red robe, with golden embroidery patterns shining in the light. His beard was tied up with a red ribbon, and he was wearing the lady's rabbit ear hat on his head.

With the old man's kind smile, the hat doesn't seem so eye-catching.

"Look what I see!"

Fred shouted as soon as he entered the hall. He and George ran up to Dumbledore excitedly and said excitedly, "Tell me, you must be the Santa Claus summoned by Dumbledore with magic."

Loren saw that their clothes were covered with black oil stains and they smelled slightly of gasoline. Needless to say, the twins must have opened the hood of the flying car and maybe even removed some parts.

Poor flying car, it stayed in the harsh environment of the forbidden forest for a whole semester without any damage, but if it is found again within a few days, it might be completely destroyed.

Hearing the twins' words, Dumbledore couldn't help but smile gently, "Oh, when I was young, I once thought about doing something like that. I even experimented with some magic for this."

"cool!"

George and Fred cheered and pestered Dumbledore to ask about the magic to summon Santa Claus.

Until the dinner was about to begin, Dumbledore still wanted to continue sitting at the Gryffindor table and enjoy dinner with the young wizards like a student.

However, he soon succumbed to Professor McGonagall's oppressive gaze, sighed deeply, and sat back in the guest of honor seat.

Seeing some grievance in Dumbledore's expression, Hermione felt a little dizzy. She turned her head and whispered in Loren's ear: "I think Professor McGonagall is more like the headmaster. Dumbledore is not even a professor. He is more like a student under Professor McGonagall's supervision."

Loren nodded... That's right, Dumbledore is like a child.

There was a sudden burst of laughter from the Gryffindor table. It was Percy who came.

Unlike the other children in the Weasley family, he did not wear the sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley outside. Instead, he wore a formal robe and combed his hair meticulously, like an adult.

What's funny is that the prefect badge on his chest was cast a spell at some point, and the prefect turned into a fool. Needless to say, it must have been the work of the twins.

But Percy deliberately held his head high and showed off his badge, which matched his serious attire, and made Ron laugh so hard that he almost fell under the table.

Percy was confused and asked the people around him stupidly: "What are you laughing at? Did anything funny happen before I got here?"

Harry stifled a laugh and pointed to the badge on his chest.

Percy looked down, and the word "idiot" made his head buzz. Thinking of the fact that he had been wearing this badge all the way... Percy's meticulously combed hair stood up in anger, and his fists clenched tightly: "George! Fred!"

Seeing that things were not going well, the twins immediately stood up from the long table and screamed, "Help! The stupid prefect is going to eat us!"

The three of them chased each other in the hall, running around the long tables of the four colleges. Occasionally, when Percy slowed down, George and Fred would tease him with fireworks and colorful firecrackers, which made Percy so angry that he wanted to die with them.

The banquet officially began with Dumbledore singing Christmas carols.

Not to mention the various grilled meats, lamb chops, and stewed beans... What attracted the little wizard the most were the various puddings. The soft and sticky puddings contained the pulp of various fruits, such as strawberries, mangoes, and yellow peaches... They sparkled under the lights and were particularly tempting.

In a short while, Hermione had finished three servings of strawberry pudding. The bright red jam stained her lips, making them shiny and moist.

Loren's plate was full of meat. Seeing Hermione sip the pudding from the spoon with satisfaction, he was a little tempted: "Is the pudding so delicious today?"

"What do you want to do?" Hermione's ears moved and she reached out to protect her pudding. "If you want to eat it, go get it yourself."

"Good things should be shared with friends!" Loren said righteously, pulling Hermione's arm apart and scooping a large piece with a spoon.

The pudding melted in his mouth without much chewing, and the sweet taste slid all the way into his stomach. Loren smacked his lips and said, "It's the same as before."

Hermione hit him on the chest angrily.

At the guest of honor table, Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall kept talking and discussing something. Snape, who was sitting next to them, seemed to have heard what they were discussing. His face was livid and he looked unhappy.

Hagrid was joking with Professor Flitwick, and the eggnog was poured into his mouth without restraint like water. The half-blood giant was very happy, but this kind of happiness seemed different from the happiness he had at Christmas before.

Ron and Harry continued to explode the lottery firecrackers and took out one white mouse after another from the blue smoke. But they were not discouraged, and occasionally they would shout with joy when they opened a small felt hat, not to mention small things like wizard chess, wizard cards, and magic candy.

The magic-decorated dome was overflowing with various colors of light. When the banquet just started, the scattered light was red with gorgeous gold. As the banquet gradually came to an end, the speed of the dome's flashing gradually slowed down, and finally stopped at a cold dark blue, just like the starry sky outside the castle.

The colorful bubbles and various decorations hanging on the Christmas tree did not change color, and still glowed with warm and warm golden and red light.

It seemed that Hermione was a little pent up in the school infirmary these days, and she ate countless servings of pudding in a row. She had a hard time swallowing the last bite. After finishing the last bite, Loren heard her sigh with relief and satisfaction.

After touching her belly, Hermione did not get up immediately. She leaned back slightly to rest in her seat, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes blank and dazed.