The story of Flobber caterpillars collectively climbing up the Whomping Willow and forming cocoons had been spread long before Maka came back. When those anxious and irritating crises slowly subsided over time, seemingly dispensable anecdotes like this became an indispensable spice in the busy study life of the little wizards.
If in normal times, someone like Luna, who was sincerely curious about some strange biological phenomena, would have put aside her homework and rushed over to observe them non-stop.
However, this time Luna did not run to enjoy the spectacle immediately. Instead, she went to the school library immediately after class.
"Hermione?"
If you want to find someone in the huge Hogwarts Castle, it is actually not easy. Even if everyone has the same schedule every day, and where they will be when and where they will be, it is basically determined by the course schedule, but it is still not easy to find.
But if you want to find Miss Hermione Granger, then go to the library! This idea is absolutely correct. Even though she may not be there yet, as long as you wait patiently for a short while, she will probably appear in your sight as usual, straddling her big schoolbag and raising her chin slightly.
When Luna walked briskly and rhythmically to the door of the library, she just took a glance and saw Hermione sitting at the reading table, writing furiously on various textbooks and materials.
That was her best friend recently. Since having this friend, Luna's mood has become more and more cheerful. Well, although she didn't know why Hermione came to befriend her that day, what did it matter? It was enough for her to understand that Hermione had no ill intentions.
"Oh... Luna?"
The quill in Hermione's hand paused for a moment, she raised her head, smiled and nodded at Luna who was walking towards her.
"Hermione, dinner time will be here in a little while, do you want to come with us today?" Luna pulled out the armchair next to her and sat down gently, "I hope today's dessert will be peach-bottom milk." Crispy.”
"Really?" Hermione lowered her head and wrote a few more strokes, then echoed casually, "That sounds good."
Whether it's Hermione or Luna, everyone is growing up with each passing year. But even though these two little girls who could only be described as "cute" have now become slim girls, and the changes can be said to be quite huge, their characters still seem to be as clear as the past.
Especially Luna, her slightly ethereal voice still has a purity that seems to penetrate people's hearts, like dewdrops dripping into a clear pool in the morning, crisp and clear.
The more time she spent with Luna, the more Hermione could feel that there was always an indescribable tranquility when she was with this girl. She believed that even if Hogwarts was still reeling under the threat of Voldemort, just being with Luna could easily wash away the uneasiness in her heart.
Just as Hermione was looking at Luna's long pale golden hair and thinking inadvertently, Luna looked at her with her calm gray eyes.
"Hermione, why didn't you say everything you wanted to say when we went to find Maka today?"
That day upstairs at the Three Broomsticks bar, the two of them actually talked a lot. As the topic gradually deepened, Hermione finally told Luna some of her thoughts.
Most of these ideas are different and point to various aspects, but in the final analysis they are basically related to Maca. In fact, the employment course selection issue they mentioned today was one of those ideas.
But some decisions are difficult to make without adequate preparation. Especially Hermione, a rational girl like her is more likely to become stubborn because of trivial issues.
"Wait a little longer... wait a little longer..." She pursed her lips slightly, shook her head and said, "I'm not ready yet, and... you know, it's really difficult..."
"Hermione," Luna suddenly stretched out her palm and gently covered Hermione's hand holding the quill, "You have always been smart. If you are the one, you will definitely be able to do it - you can ask others , everyone will tell you so.”
"Oh, thank you...but..."
"I will also accompany you, and we can work together." Luna took her hand and said, "Besides, we also have Maka. He is so powerful and can definitely help us solve many problems. As long as your idea is completed , everyone can really live a carefree life... "
"Well..." Hermione hesitated, and finally nodded, "Yes, you are right, I was too careful this time... Although caution is always necessary, courage is also indispensable. When you should go When you try, every second counts and you start as early as possible!”
"Wisdom, courage, shrewdness and hard work, Hogwarts is the place where everything is done well." Luna still squeezed Hermione's hand and conveyed a hint of warm encouragement to her, but her eyes were He drifted off to another place in a daze.
…
Hermione's academic performance is certainly enough for her to occasionally put aside her homework and chat with others casually. But for Harry and Ron, the most important thing right now is homework and exercises.
At this moment, the two of them were in the common room, facing piles of books, materials and parchments, working hard for the exam.
As for what Fred and George just said, "The Whomping Willow is covered with white cocoons, but they are actually Flobber caterpillars", they have no time to think about it.
Soon it will be the last holiday of the school year - the Easter holiday. And by that time, there will only be six short weeks left before the end of the term.
The OWLs exam can be said to be imminent.
However, they discovered at this time that both of them were still hovering between passing and failing in their history of magic. They might face the miserable reality of failing the class, making up the exam, or even repeating the grade.
In normal times, the study life at Hogwarts is actually quite relaxed, but correspondingly, it can be particularly strict during exams. Each failed subject has one and only one chance to take a make-up exam. Failure to pass will inevitably result in repeating the grade.
I believe that no matter which student you are, you would not want to be treated as a junior fellow student by classmates who enroll in the same year. It would be too bad if that happens!
It's a pity that both of them probably put too much effort into Voldemort's attack before, so that in the past period of time, they only practiced hard to improve their dueling strength, and gradually fell behind. Many purely written courses.
What's even worse is that all those things need to be memorized!
"Harry, I think I'm finished..." Ron said angrily, "I didn't think there was any problem before, but now when I see such a thick book "History of Magic", I know I'm finished."
"Stop talking nonsense," Harry on the side didn't even raise his head, just stared at the book and said feebly, "Stop worrying about face matters for a while, let's go and beg Hermione together! If you just memorize notes, Maybe we two can still be saved..."
"What is face? Is it the staple food for tonight's dinner?" Ron flipped through the pages of the book and muttered, "Add some sweet sauce, it might taste good..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Harry said angrily.
Ron curled his lips and quickly turned through a few more pages, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.
"If I really fail in the exam, my mother will kill me!" he said sharply, "Merlin is the best! The prefect of Gryffindor needs to make up the exam. What will others think? Maybe he will repeat the grade. … oh… "
"Don't worry! Too many things have happened this semester, and you have rarely done what a prefect should do. As long as you don't mention it yourself, few people will remember that you are actually a prefect..." Harry waved his hand. He said, "For example, I only remembered it after hearing you say that."
"Oh..." Ron couldn't help but wailed when he heard this, "Don't say it so clearly, it's too cruel."
Now everyone has rushed to the auditorium, and few people are still in the common room. Only Harry and Ron, the two brothers in distress, were worried about their exam results, and they both had a slight loss of appetite.
Of course, it wasn't for this reason that they didn't go to the auditorium to dine with everyone. After all, no matter how anxious they were, there were still more than two months left, so they could still find time to fill their stomachs.
"Oh, so...why hasn't Hermione come back yet?"
Ron closed the book in his hand with a "snap", stood up and glanced towards the doorway, obviously he was a little anxious.
"Sit down! Didn't she say she would go back to the lounge first? Since she said so, she will definitely come back. We just need to wait."
Harry wrote a few more words on the parchment in front of him, then threw the quill into the ink bottle, picked up the parchment and blew on it.
It was at that moment that the Fat Lady's portrait opened gently.
"Are you in a hurry? Sorry, I was delayed because of something just now..."
As expected, it was Hermione who came in. She hurried past the two of them and walked straight to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory.
"Since you've waited until now, just wait a little longer!" She said casually as she walked quickly, "I'll put down my schoolbag and come down. Soon..."
In the eyes of Ron and Harry, she blew through the common room like a gust of wind, and disappeared at the top of the stairs in the blink of an eye, leaving only the two of them staring blankly on the spot.