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Chapter 697: Another Way
Chapter 697: Another Way
Felix’s vision suddenly went blurry, and he whispered:
“Jane?”
Hermione froze, feeling a wave of dizziness. She took a step back and struggled to keep her voice calm, “Professor, it’s Hermione, Hermione Granger.”
“Your middle name isn’t—”
“Jane!” Hermione blurted out. She smoothed her hair, her thoughts gradually clearing, “I heard Ministry of Magic staff mention that Umbridge’s middle name is Jane. I really dislike her, so I changed my name.” She reiterated, “I’m now Hermione Jane Granger.”
“Oh, uh, that’s fine.”
A strange emotion surged within Felix, a hollow feeling, as if a long-time friend, whom he had always kept in touch with but never met, had vanished forever. Just as he was about to speak, Sirius, Bones, Dedalus Diggle, the diminutive Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and students like Neville, Harry, Ron, and Seamus gathered around him.
Sirius threw an arm around Felix’s neck.
“You gave us all a scare, mate! We almost thought you weren’t coming back.” He grinned widely, “Tell us, what did you see on the moon? We can’t have waited for nothing.”
“Yeah, Professor,” a student chimed in.
Felix glanced at Hermione, who had been pushed to the back, and waved his hand in front of the crowd. Moon soil and two containers appeared out of thin air. With another wave, a large, floating, and spreading blue bellflower-like fire appeared above their heads, illuminating the items in his hands.
“What is that?” Bones gasped, her breath caught in her throat.
“I brought it back from the moon,” Felix said. The crowd fell silent for a moment, trying to grasp the meaning of his words, then they erupted into loud cheers, clapping enthusiastically. The commotion drew students from inside the castle, who streamed into the courtyard one after another.
Harry clapped along, his excitement palpable. It was true; there were indeed traces of wizard activity on the moon. Neville’s eyes sparkled with excitement, “That’s amazing! I want to go to the moon too.”
He wasn’t alone in this desire. Harry felt the same way, and he even regretted his poor performance on the Astronomy O.W.L. exam. The tedious star charts and tongue-twisting celestial names suddenly became vivid and captivating, hovering in the vast, cold expanse of the night sky, so alluring.
Besides the moon, what would be Professor Hep’s next target?
Mars?
Titan?
Ganymede?
Harry looked around for Hermione to get her opinion but couldn’t find her. He turned to look behind him and saw Luna calmly handing Hermione a pale blue handkerchief. Hermione took it, and Luna patted her back haphazardly, as if tending to a sick creature. Harry suddenly understood.
He turned back to see Professor Hep being celebrated by the crowd. It was night, and the blue bellflower fire illuminated the professor’s face clearly and brightly. The professor’s lips curved into a gentle smile, just like when he taught his classes. Harry had seen that smile countless times in Dumbledore’s Pensieve.
On the other hand, the people surrounding the professor, standing with their backs to Harry, were just black silhouettes.
“He’s so radiant, isn’t he?” Luna asked dreamily.
Hermione didn’t respond, only returning the handkerchief. Luna stood quietly beside her, both of them watching the crowd around Felix, “He looks so calm and intelligent. That’s what the wizarding world needs right now.” She hummed softly, “Exceptional wisdom is humanity’s greatest treasure.”
“What are you trying to say?” Hermione asked curtly.
“You seem a bit upset,” Luna said bluntly, “I think you need some comfort.”
Hermione rolled her eyes. She should have known. Luna’s reactions were different from most people, and she sincerely hoped Luna’s articles wouldn’t influence too many others. But her mood improved slightly, and she asked curiously, “Luna, have you never had any worries?”
“I have,” Luna said.
Hermione listened intently, but after several seconds, there was no follow-up. She blinked, realizing that in Luna’s mind, she had already answered the question. “I mean, how do you deal with life’s troubles?” Hermione patiently clarified, offering her own method, “I usually find answers in books, but I don’t think it will work this time.”
“Think of something that makes you happy,” Luna said, shaking her head. The small carrot earrings on her ears almost hit Hermione, “A person can only focus on one thing at a time. When your mind is occupied with something else, worries won’t bother you. I like to draw, and I’ve recently become obsessed with writing articles.” She nodded affirmatively.
“But the problem still isn’t solved!” Hermione exclaimed. She actually wanted to counter that her favorite thing was to daydream alone, completely immersed in her own world, but she anticipated that if she said so, the conversation might veer off into Luna’s fantastical creatures.
She didn’t want to spend the next hour debating whether Blibbering Humdingers and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks existed. Hermione glanced at Felix, oh right, and the Moon Frogs! She bet Luna would find a way to ask about them.
Luna’s pale eyes stared at her intently, large and protruding, exuding a calm madness. “It will be solved eventually, though perhaps in a way we don’t expect—”
“Like what?” Hermione raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do after graduation,” Luna said seriously, “A regular job might not be suitable for me—”
Hermione covered her mouth and chuckled softly. She found it hard to imagine Luna's future career; compared to her, Fred and George Weasley seemed mature and reliable.
"Have you found what you want to do?"
"I think I'll become a magical creatures researcher, traveling all over the world", Luna said calmly. "I can search for undiscovered magical creatures in my free time, draw them, and document my discoveries. I already have my first target."
"Where is it?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"The Arctic", Luna said, excitedly. "Felix told me there's a magical creature there that resembles a ferret and loves to eat hot dogs."
"That's impossible!" Hermione said decisively. "How could a magical creature enjoy human food?"
"Nothing is impossible", Luna countered unexpectedly. "What about Voldemort?"
"That's different; Voldemort was raised by a professor", Hermione said, almost instinctively. She suddenly felt an urge to drag the professor over and grill him about what he had told Luna.
Luna paused, then mumbled, "I'll prove it to you." She then seemed to drift off, pondering what kind of hot dogs she should prepare. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality and asked, "What about you?"
"Me? What about me?"
"I heard you want to become the Minister of Magic."
"Oh, oh, yes."
"I hope you succeed", Luna said earnestly. She seemed to have an idea and asked, "You don't like goblin pie, do you?"
"Luna", Hermione said softly, "there's no such thing."
The conversation fell into an awkward silence. Hermione decided to change the subject before Luna brought up the Aurors' tooth decay conspiracy. Perhaps she could talk about dental health for a bit? Hermione considered herself an authority on gum disease, but she reluctantly abandoned the tempting idea.
"Have you ever thought about working at the Ministry of Magic? Maybe in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures? If it weren't for Ms. Bones starting a new department, I would have chosen that after graduation—plus, you'd see many old friends like Harry, Ron, and Neville, even though they're in different departments."
"I'm friends with them already", Luna said.
Hermione knew that Luna only engaged in conversations about topics that interested her. When she wasn't interested, she would retreat into her own world, appearing absent-minded, or, as now, veer off to another topic. Hermione gave up trying to convince Luna and watched as she excitedly counted off a list of club members on her fingers, "… and Firenze, Hagrid, Grawp, Winky, Whinny—"
"Who's Whinny?" Hermione asked reflexively. "I know the others, but I'm surprised you know Grawp through Hagrid. And Winky, I've seen her in the school kitchen; she loves experimenting with recipes." She rattled off the information as if answering a question in class.
Luna waited for her to finish before saying, "Whinny is a thestral. Hagrid calls him Whinny."
Hermione thought for a moment, "That sounds familiar. Hagrid mentioned it in class… Oh, right, have you found the King of Thestrals?"
"Yep", Luna said.
It felt strange. Hermione had never imagined having an open conversation with Luna (she found Luna's interests too ethereal), but when it happened, she realized it wasn't so bad, like whispering secrets to a Halloween pumpkin.
Luna wandered off to a corner of the courtyard as the crowd began to disperse. Professor Hap handed the moon soil and the two containers to Ms. Bones. "I'll take it to Gringotts for appraisal. By the way, Bill Weasley mentioned the Pan-Magical Alliance earlier. The goblins are being quite ambiguous", she said, shaking her head.
The Pan-Magical Alliance?
Hermione's eyes lit up. She hurried after Ms. Bones.
Felix cautiously stopped her, hesitating, "Granger—"
"I've made up my mind, Professor!" Hermione said and darted off. Felix was taken aback, wondering if he had misunderstood something.
He watched Hermione's figure, the moon and the courtyard torches casting two shadows that first overlapped and then separated. Hermione then turned into Hogwarts Castle.
A few moments later, Harry stealthily pulled Ron into the entrance hall.
"What's going on?" Ron looked around the door. "Neville and Dean went to the kitchen to get some food for a celebration."
"We'll talk later", Harry said uncertainly. "By the way, are you still in touch with Collins?"
"Sure, I think so", Ron said, thinking for a moment. "I saw her at the Ministry of Magic a few days ago. She's a squad leader now…"
"Right."
A few minutes later, Hermione returned.
"Ms. Bones agreed!" she announced excitedly.
"Agreed to what?" Harry asked, surprised.
"I asked Ms. Bones about the Pan-Magical Alliance. She said the progress has been slow, so I offered to help, and she agreed!" Hermione said as she headed up the stairs. "The Ministry staff are stuck in negotiations with the centaurs and goblins. The centaurs aren't interested in an alliance; they prefer to keep to themselves and don't treat anyone well. They especially dislike the idea of hags and vampires being part of the alliance…"
"But the biggest issue lies with the goblins. They want to remain neutral, but Bill Weasley has learned that there are different factions within the goblin community, and their stance could change at any moment. This stems from the long-standing, contentious relationship between goblins and wizards, which dates back to the early days of Hogwarts."
"I didn't know that", Ron interrupted.
"Gryffindor's Sword", Hermione said succinctly. Harry and Ron immediately understood. Goblins have a pathological view of ownership, insisting that anything made by a goblin belongs to them, even if wizards pay for it. Once a wizard dies, the goblins believe they have the right to reclaim the item.
Gryffindor's Sword was forged by a goblin king. Would Hogwarts hand over the sword to the goblins? Absolutely not.
"The Ministry of Magic won't agree to the goblins' so-called neutrality, which is essentially a way to separate themselves from the magical world, especially since they control the economy and minting of currency! Before we negotiate with the government, we must first reach an agreement with the goblins."
"Alright, I think I understand", Ron said slowly, "but what does this have to do with you?"
"I wrote the initial essay!" Hermione exclaimed, as if someone had stepped on her tail. "I spent a lot of time researching the cultures and taboos of different races. Now, we need to find a way to communicate that both sides can accept..."
"That won't be easy", Ron muttered. "And I didn't say anything, so don't get so worked up."
"Right, Hermione, you've been a bit moody lately", Harry chimed in, half-jokingly. "I thought you might be in love."
Ron's eyes lit up, and he glanced at Hermione eagerly. "Really? With who?"
Hermione glared at Harry.
"That's not important", she said fiercely. "If you think I spent my whole life reading so many books, learning so much magic, and enduring so much hardship just to fall in love, then you're wrong! The current situation is far more complex than anything Voldemort brought us. One mistake, and everything we value could be destroyed. This is a change not seen since the founding of Hogwarts. We can't expect the professors to handle everything alone."
"I talked to Luna", Hermione continued. "She wants to become a magical creature expert and travel to the Arctic to find ferrets that love hot dogs." Harry and Ron widened their eyes, had they heard correctly? Hermione raised her voice. "If the world is engulfed in war, can her dream still come true? Will she be forced to join the Ministry of Magic, raise her wand against Muggles, and die in some conflict?"
Harry felt a heavy weight in his chest. He couldn't imagine that scenario.
Luna Lovegood, quirky and kind, always calm and collected, but if Xenophilius Lovegood were to die in the conflict... He shook his head, unwilling to think further. He didn't want to know what Luna would become.
"Luna's dream to become a magical creature expert isn't bad. I want to become the Minister of Magic and participate in the significant changes that will occur after peace is achieved. You two want to become Aurors—coincidentally, we can protect others' dreams while pursuing our own—"
She suddenly turned to Ron. "Didn't you ask if our names would be in Professor Hap's legendary stories?" Ron was taken aback, trying to recall. "Um... yeah, Neville said there would be more than one person in the story."
"Actually, there's another way", Hermione said.
"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Everyone—" Hermione pointed at Harry and Ron, then at herself, "you, me, every person in the magical world, we are all part of this legendary drama. We are all legends!"
---
As the story approaches its conclusion, the main character's romantic relationships must be addressed. It can't be ignored. Either there's a single romantic interest, or there's none. We've decided that Hermione is the main romantic interest.
The time traveler's identity was uncertain until the fourth year plot was almost over. Both Harry and Hermione had the same information, and either could have been the time traveler. The author couldn't decide until the last moment (if it had been Harry, Mrs. Johnson's storyline would have been nullified).
The sixth year plot was added temporarily, not in the original outline. The plan was for Dumbledore to die in the battle against Voldemort, and Grindelwald to escape from his cell, causing chaos. Why did it change? Because the author couldn't bear to leave Dumbledore with regrets.
That's why there's a fourth year.
This subplot is crucial as it connects to the earlier hints, the convergence of the magical and non-magical realms, and the Golden Trio's coming of age.
Due to the timeline, Hermione's growth has been moved to the present.
I previously said I wouldn't write romantic subplots, and I still believe the last chapter didn't count as one. It was more about showing Ron's character flaws to set up his growth.
Of course, there's another reason. Since Hermione is confirmed as the main romantic interest, some memorable moments need to be arranged to avoid a rushed and jarring conclusion.
Why choose a single romantic interest over no romantic interest? Because it's hard to imagine the main character living for many years, becoming the Headmaster, retreating behind the scenes, exploring the stars, and overlooking the world's changes, all alone.
(End of Chapter)
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