great-warnovel Chapter 47 Be Patient
Chapter 47 Be Patient
When Hermione entered the common room, she saw three dejected boys, clearly having been severely reprimanded by Professor Potter.
When they saw Hermione return, they quickly surrounded her.
"Dumbledore didn't fire you, did he?"
"It's all our fault. If we hadn't insisted on dragging you to see it, with your Disillusionment Charm..." Harry said with a look of regret.
Hermione couldn't help but smile. Even though she was being punished, she was still worried about her companions. Could it be said that these elites gathered around the White Wizard were very successful in educating their children?
"I'm fine. Dumbledore called me there for something else." She didn't reveal the matter of the Brilliant Stone; it was a Hogwarts secret, and their parents would tell them when they were old enough to know.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief: "Great, our parents are both in the Order of the Phoenix, so even if they get caught, they'll just get a scolding. But if you get fired..."
"But it's so late, what does Dumbledore want with you? Is it related to Hagrid?" Harry asked curiously.
"Professor Potter forbids us from seeing him anymore, saying he's recovered and needs to work for Dumbledore," Neville said from the side.
"Dumbledore was talking to me about the Brilliant Stone magic. As for Hagrid, he's fine. I specifically asked the professor about it," Hermione replied.
Her thoughts weren't on that. In fact, although Dumbledore had cleared up many of her confusions tonight, there were still quite a few mysteries that remained unsolved, such as what the ghosts were doing. At least tonight, she hadn't seen any ghosts guarding the bright stone, nor had she sensed any hidden death aura, which meant that the ghosts were at least not on the fourth floor.
And Hagrid, even if he recovered from his injuries and left the cave, why did he have to dig up the ground as well?
And then there's Dumbledore. Tonight is a crucial moment for the safety of Hogwarts, and he still sent the phoenix to represent them. That's very strange.
She didn't ask McGonagall these questions because she could sense that the professors had many things they didn't want to talk about, like a huge weight pressing on their hearts, so she wisely refrained from asking.
Just like Hikari, once she demonstrates enough talent, she will be invited to the center of the event and learn the whole story, even if she doesn't ask.
"Speaking of which, Hermione, could you teach us Brilliant Stone magic?" Harry asked, full of envy.
"Your paper is too profound; we've been looking at it for a long time and still can't understand it," Ron complained.
Neville, needless to say, struggled just to keep up with his peers.
Hermione looked at them in surprise. These three boys who were always thinking about going on adventures actually had a day when they wanted to improve themselves?
When she saw the longing in Harry's eyes, she understood something. Talent and strength, these tools for achieving glory, in the little boy's mind, were about gaining attention from others, becoming the person surrounded by a halo, and being the hero in his imagination. This was one of the characteristics of Gryffindor.
Harry, in particular, was constantly being lectured by Lily and compared to other children because of Hermione's presence. To Harry, the radiant Hermione was exactly the kind of person he dreamed of being.
In his mind, perhaps as long as he learned the magic of the Radiant Stone, he could also become outstanding and dazzling, becoming the kind of child that his mother praised.
However, Hermione's paper, completed with Flitwick's help and as an adult soul, was still too obscure for an 11-year-old.
"Of course," Hermione chuckled. "But my magic isn't easy to learn. Are you really that determined? You won't have as much time for night outings afterwards."
"Oh, don't say that. They only got a week of Potions detention, while I got a month," Harry wailed.
Professor Potter didn't confiscate his invisibility cloak, but instead deprived him of his pent-up energy in another way.
Hermione smiled without saying a word. She pondered what kind of magic she should teach the three boys. It seemed that teaching them all the same magic, such as the Radiant Stone, was not enough to tailor their teaching to each individual.
Harry, who likes to charge upwards with his iron flail, would be well-suited to learning the magical weapons and spells of the Cuckoo Knights to increase the damage of his flail. As for Ron and Neville, their traits need to be observed further to choose magic more suitable for them.
On the other side of Hogwarts, McGonagall left the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the headmaster's office.
She walked in from outside. The headmaster's room was dimly lit by candlelight. The portraits of the former headmasters on the wall were all asleep. Dumbledore sat in a high-backed chair behind the candlelight, hidden in the dim light. Only his long beard and reflective crescent-shaped spectacles could be seen.
The phoenix looked even more listless; it sat on the shelf, dozing off, with feathers falling from time to time.
"Albus, I still think the same thing. Maybe we're rushing things. She's only a first-year student after all," McGonagall said frankly, expressing her concerns.
"The pyroxene is too important and too dangerous. Even if you and all of us professors work together, we have to be extremely careful. But now you are entrusting this heavy responsibility to an 11-year-old child who has only been away from the Muggle community for half a year."
In the dim candlelight, McGonagall abandoned her usual strong and serious demeanor, appearing like a worried old woman. Only then could one remember that this vice principal was no longer young; she had witnessed the entire process of the world's decline from prosperity to apocalypse. The deep, bone-deep scars in her Animagus form were testament to the cruel struggle for survival she had endured over the years.
The mirror behind her reflected the flickering candlelight, her hunched figure, and Dumbledore's deeply lined face.
The greatest white wizard slowly raised his head: "If you ask me, relax, Minerva. You've been too tense these past few years. We, this school, are putting more and more pressure on you."
Dumbledore picked up a piece of candy and handed it to her: "Don't take all the burdens on your own shoulders, okay? At least I'm not dead yet, and you should learn to give your students some confidence."
"We've been observing her for a long time, from the moment she entered school until she displayed her talent for Radiant Stone magic. Wasn't all of this decided together? As you said, Miss Granger is the best student you've ever seen. I believe in her, and you should believe in her too."
McGonagall popped the candy into her mouth, savoring its sweetness, and her tense heart gradually relaxed: "I'm just worried, you know, Albus, we don't have a second chance, just like you once trusted me..."
"Tom..." Dumbledore murmured, "He just went astray. It's my fault. I didn't guide him better."
"I'm sorry, Albus, I didn't mean to criticize you," McGonagall said apologetically.
"I just think we should be more cautious, at least until she's a little older."
Dumbledore chuckled. "But Tom isn't going to give us any more time, is he?"
The Green Flame Party lurking in the castle, their recent calm doesn't mean they've completely forgotten about this matter.
McGonagall took a deep breath: "We could have easily found him, but why?"
"Because the time is not right... You understand, Minerva, even if the situation is urgent, we must have enough patience..." Dumbledore's cloudy eyes gleamed with a dark light, as if everything was within his calculations.