After saying goodbye to Nicolas Flamel, Dracula couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts Castle.
Ever since he had the idea of going back to the past to kill himself, the thought of wanting to get a time converter himself and see if it could really succeed has been lingering in Dracula's mind for a long time.
So he set his sights on the little wizard who held a time turner.
…
Dracula thought about it for a moment, and then decided how to trick... No, outwit the Time Turner.
He first returned to his office, took out a pack of blood-flavored lollipops that he had taken from Dumbledore from the drawer, took out one and put it in his mouth, then placed the parchment of the Hogwarts title deed on the desk and stared at the picture on the deed.
At this time, there were still two Hermione figures appearing on the deed screen at the same time.
One Hermione was still studying in the library, while the other quietly came to the lawn outside the castle to practice spells.
"Is this the little wizard who is willing to study seriously? He is really hardworking."
Looking at the hard-working Hermione in the title deed, Dracula couldn't help but sigh, "It's just that the way you study is not right. Making yourself depressed will have the opposite effect on your learning state."
Dracula first spotted the two Hermiones on the deed around nine in the morning, when he had just finished a fight and was about to use the deed to look for the hooded man, but in the process he discovered the secret of the time-turner.
Now that I think about it, the hooded man should be himself who used the time turner to go back to the past.
Thinking of this, Dracula's thoughts jumped to other places.
"If I control myself and don't go back to the past to fight with my past self, then will I not meet the previous hooded man and discover the secret of the time turner?" He thought with interest.
If we do this, would it also be considered an alternative way of changing the past
While Dracula was thinking about whether or not to go back to the past, he stared at the scene shown on the deed.
During this time, Dumbledore sent a message through the Patronus, asking him to go to the principal's office for a discussion, but Dracula decisively refused.
Not long after, Hermione in the title deed picture suddenly made some other movements.
Hermione, who was studying in the library, looked up at the clock hanging on the wall, was stunned for a moment, then jumped up from her seat, hurriedly packed up the books in her hands, and returned them to the librarian, Madam Pince.
Then Hermione hurried out of the library and came to the entrance courtyard in front of the hall, and found a secluded corner close to the cliff.
At this time, another Hermione was standing in a remote corner of the entrance courtyard.
This Hermione had finished practicing spells for the day on the deserted lawn, and went to the hall to have lunch with Harry and Ron. Then she came to this remote corner and took out a necklace from her arms.
The first Hermione carefully hid behind the stone pillar of the entrance courtyard and watched the second Hermione fiddle with her necklace, then turned into a mottled point of light and disappeared on the spot.
She then breathed a sigh of relief and walked out from behind the stone pillar.
"Hermione, you were eating peacefully just now, why did you suddenly run out?" A little wizard's voice suddenly sounded from the entrance courtyard, scaring Hermione.
Harry and Ron were seen sliding over from the direction of the auditorium. Ron was holding a chicken leg in his hand and gnawing on the chicken bone as he walked.
Hermione hurriedly came out from the corner and looked at her two friends with a somewhat awkward expression.
"Oh, I was just tired of eating and wanted to go out for some fresh air." She said without any confidence.
"Blowing the Wind?" Harry was stunned for a moment. "Does Blowing the Wind need to run so far to the cliff?"
"Harry, you don't understand!" After a brief moment of dullness, Hermione gradually regained her composure and retorted, "The cliffs on the Hogwarts side are close to the Black Lake. The wind from the lake will blow close to the cliffs, and will be cooler than the wind in other places."
"Is that so?" Harry nodded, not quite understanding.
"Now that we're here, we can just go down from here. We should be able to find a deserted lawn by the Black Lake." Ron finally finished eating the chicken leg. He rubbed his greasy hands on his clothes and prepared to lead Harry and Hermione along the steps next to him.
This staircase is the only way for first-year students to arrive at Hogwarts Castle for the first time. It connects the boathouse on the Black Lake and the oak gate of the entrance courtyard.
Every year, Hagrid would lead the new students up these steps and hand them over to Professor McGonagall.
"Wait, Ron, why are we looking for the lawn?" Hermione asked in confusion as she watched Ron's actions.
"Hmm?" Ron stopped and turned to look at Hermione suspiciously. "Didn't you just bring it up? You said five minutes ago that you would take us to an open lawn to practice spells after dinner."
"Is... is that so?" Hermione smiled awkwardly and immediately changed the subject, "Oh yes, there is such a thing, I almost forgot..."
…
Dracula watched the conversation between the three little wizards, chewed the blood-flavored lollipop in his mouth thoughtfully, and threw the stick aside.
He then Apparated to the stone steps that connected the boathouse to the entrance courtyard and walked up them nonchalantly.
After a while, Dracula and the three little wizards ran into each other head-on.
"Ah, what a coincidence, Professor Dracula." Seeing the silver-haired figure strolling on the stone steps, Harry thought of the fear of being dominated by the Dueling Club last semester. His face suddenly turned pale and he hurriedly greeted Dracula.
"It's quite a coincidence indeed," Dracula said with a meaningful smile, "I just happened to go to the boathouse."
"Strange, why would Professor Dracula go out in this weather?" Ron looked up at the sunny sky and muttered in confusion.
With Dracula's hearing, he could easily hear what Ron was mumbling, and his face froze for a moment.
He shouldn't be exposed by Ron before he achieves his goal...
"Ahem..." Dracula changed the subject imperceptibly, "Why didn't you three rest in the common room at noon on the weekend? What were you doing outside the castle?"
Of course he knew what the three little wizards were going to do, but in order to pretend that they met by chance, Dracula still asked the question whose answer he already knew.
After hearing Dracula's question, Ron was no longer puzzled about why Professor Dracula went out in such weather. He just raised his head proudly.
"We're going to find a lawn by the Black Lake to practice spells," Ron said loudly.
When he was finally willing to study seriously with Hermione, he of course tried hard to show off in front of the professors and leave them with the impression that he was a good student.
"You are quite hardworking." Dracula chuckled and nodded, then turned his gaze to Hermione, who looked a little tired. "It just so happens that I have something to ask Miss Granger. Now I don't need to ask others to help me convey it."
"Come on Potter, Weiss, you two go practice your spells first. Miss Granger, come to my office," he said.
…
Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office.
Dracula sat behind his desk, looking intently at Hermione who was standing in front of the desk in a panic.
"Ms. Granger, there seems to be something wrong with your listening in class recently." He gently shook a tall wine glass and said lightly, "Being distracted in class... This kind of thing shouldn't happen to you."
"I'm sorry, Professor Dracula." Hermione grabbed the corner of her clothes guiltily and admitted her mistake to Dracula with a wronged look on her face. "I will never make such a mistake again in the future."
"You can't just avoid making this kind of mistake if you don't want to." Dracula shook his head and chuckled. "If you don't even sleep well during normal times, how can you ensure that you won't feel sleepy during class?"
Hermione lowered her head and said nothing.
But Dracula had no intention of letting her go and kept asking her questions.
"I heard that you signed up for all five elective courses?" he asked. "Adding the seven normal required courses, you will complete a total of twelve courses this semester, right?"
Hermione nodded and said, "Professor, I think I have the ability to complete twelve subjects!"
"Actually, I'd like to believe that you have the ability." Dracula waved his hand and continued, "But your current mental state clearly doesn't seem like you can complete all the subjects. You're putting too much pressure on yourself."
"But I..."
"Don't rush to refute." Dracula raised his hand to interrupt Hermione's words, then showed an intriguing smile and said softly: "The time turner has exhausted you, Miss Granger."
Hermione's eyes suddenly widened.
"Professor, how did you know I have a time converter?" She was shocked and asked quickly, "Professor McGonagall told me before that only she and Headmaster Dumbledore knew about this, and they wouldn't even tell ordinary professors..."
"But I'm not just an ordinary professor," Dracula chuckled, "I naturally have my own unique sources of information."
"Of course, the point now is not how I know you have a time-turner, but to solve the problem of your mental state!"
Dracula's face gradually became serious, and he said to Hermione, "You don't even know how to rest on weekends, and you have to use a time-turner to study and practice spells at the same time. Under such high pressure, how can you not have mental problems?"
"But the more I study, the more I feel I am still far behind, and I can't spare any other time to do my homework..." Hermione said sadly, "So what else can I do except use the time turner to save a few more hours?"
"You have learned well enough, Miss Granger." Dracula said soothingly, "Now what you lack is a thorough rest and a good rest. Only by replenishing your energy can you better learn new knowledge."
"If I hadn't stopped you, would you have continued studying with the Time Turner this afternoon and tomorrow?"
Hermione pursed her lips, hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded.
"For the sake of your mental state, Miss Granger, you must listen to the professor this time." Dracula said patiently, "In order to prevent you from continuing to use the time turner, I have decided to confiscate it."
As he spoke, he extended his hand to Hermione. "Hand it over, Granger. I'll keep it for you for two days. Go back and have a good rest during these two days. Don't be too nervous. You should understand the principle that too much is as bad as too little, and too much steel is prone to breakage, right?"
"But... Professor McGonagall won't let me give the Time-Turner to anyone else," Hermione hesitated.
"Why, am I considered someone else?" Dracula said with a frown on his face.
"But, but..." Hermione was still hesitating.
"Don't say buts. This is all for your mental state." Dracula continued to deceive him. "Think about it this way. If I hadn't kept the Time Turner for you, would you be able to control yourself from using it?"
Hermione lowered her head and thought carefully, and finally shook her head after a long while.
As a little wizard who loves learning, she is certainly not satisfied with the basic content taught in school. She wants to learn something new whenever she has the chance.
However, the twelve major courses this semester completely filled up all of Hermione's time. After finishing the twelve homework assignments, her rare weekend time was basically fully occupied, and she had no chance to read other books she liked.
Therefore, the time-turner was a huge temptation to Hermione. She couldn't just leave the treasure by her side without using it, even if she was sleepy or weak!
"It seems that you also know your own self-control?" Dracula smiled, "In that case, hand over the time converter."
Hermione's face showed struggle and hesitation. After a long time, she finally let out a long breath and nodded at Dracula.
Then she untied the rope around her neck and handed the golden necklace to Dracula.
"Professor, you must keep it well." Hermione bit her lip and said nervously.
She felt a little uncomfortable when the time-turner she had worn for a long time suddenly left her side.
"Don't worry, I will return it to you before your class on Monday," said Dracula.
Then, all his attention was focused on the necklace in front of him.
…
After sending Hermione to rest, Dracula began to look at the item in his hand over and over again.
"Is this the Time Turner?"
He looked at the whole thing, which was light gold in color and looked like an exquisite hourglass hanging on a golden necklace, with a delighted expression.
It was worth his painstaking efforts to guide Hermione and trick the Time Converter from her... No, he kept it for her. This little thing did look quite interesting.
There was a faint ray of light flowing in Dracula's eyes, and his gaze was fixed on the ancient runic characters and the operating status of magic engraved on the surface of the time converter.
"Can you turn back time by five hours at most?" He stroked the complex pattern on the time converter and laughed happily.
Five hours ago, almost the same time when the hooded man was seen on the shore of Black Lake early this morning!
In that case, let’s go back to the past and fight with myself again!
Today's sunrise was too early, and he was far from having enough fun!
…
…