Chapter 225

Time flies.

The first month at Hogwarts is coming to an end.

Aside from some minor trouble right at the start of the term, this month has passed quite normally.

The only thing worth mentioning is Umbridge.

She hasn't stirred up any new negative news during this time.

During this period, she seemed to intend to regain power.

But Dumbledore did not let her have her way.

It must be emphasized again here that Hogwarts is not the Ministry of Magic's territory.

The reason Umbridge could serve as a professor at Hogwarts was entirely a compromise Dumbledore made because he didn't want to completely break ties with the Ministry of Magic.

Even if Umbridge was acting like a fox assuming the tiger's might, throwing her weight around at Hogwarts relying on the power granted by the Ministry, he could only turn a blind eye.

But once Umbridge made a major mistake, Dumbledore naturally wouldn't let slip the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.

Therefore, the public opinion John stirred up last time has left Umbridge unable to fully shake off that stain to this day.

Even with the support of the Ministry of Magic behind her, and even some pure-blood families who couldn't wait for Hogwarts to fall into complete chaos.

There were still vast numbers of parents who loved their children dearly and couldn't stand Umbridge's educational methods that involved cruel punishment of students.

So Dumbledore leveraged public sentiment to repeatedly reject the Ministry of Magic's demands to continue adding power to Umbridge.

The Ministry of Magic could do nothing about this, because they didn't dare to go against the general public.

Finally, the first Hogsmeade week arrived.

Light snow had already begun to drift in the sky.

Regarding the gathering Hermione mentioned earlier, the first recruitment meeting will be held this time at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade village.

Or rather, a two-way interview session.

They notified some like-minded students and invited them to attend.

As for exactly how many people would come, they didn't know either...

"Woo-hoo!!"

"Hogsmeade! Here I come!"

As third-years coming to Hogsmeade village for the first time, John and his little friends were extremely excited.

As soon as the four of them got off the carriage, they crunched through the snow and ran toward the village entrance.

The other third-year students weren't much calmer than them.

One by one, they were all running excitedly toward the village entrance.

This is a village composed entirely of wizards.

Inside, there are not only wizards, but also the figures of some goblins and house-elves.

Even having seen Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley, areas with extremely high magical purity, one would still be struck by the magical, bustling atmosphere of Hogsmeade.

It felt as if they had suddenly traveled into a world from a medieval fairy tale book.

No Muggles, no technology; those coming and going were all residents of the wizarding world, and what they chatted about were all gossip from the wizarding world.

Looking at the scene of Hogsmeade at the village entrance, they all felt a sense of novelty.

"Let's go! To Honeydukes!"

Titus shouted first.

They had long wanted to go there and look around in person.

I heard they recently released new lollipops, so we have to go and taste them!

So the few agreed one after another, but just as they were about to take a step, John was suddenly grabbed from behind.

Looking back, it was Hermione with one hand on her hip.

Her head and shoulders were still covered with a thin layer of fresh snow.

Clearly, she had been waiting at the village entrance for a while.

Because before they, the third-years, set off, they had received a ten-minute safety lecture from Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts.

So they, the third-years, were the last to arrive.

"Where are you going?"

"Didn't we agree to accompany me to the Hog's Head Inn for the gathering first?"

Hermione stared at John's guilty eyes and said coldly with a blank expression.

"Uh... this... that..."

John scratched his head awkwardly; he had just gotten carried away and forgotten.

He hadn't noticed at all that Hermione was standing at the village entrance waiting for him...

"... Actually, I was planning to go to Honeydukes to find you..."

John argued solemnly.

*Pia! *

Hermione slapped him on the back of the head.

"Hiss... I was wrong, I was wrong, I just wanted to buy a lollipop before going."

After being hit, John hurriedly admitted his mistake.

However, Hermione didn't buy John's act and dragged John toward the Hog's Head Inn.

Titus and the others looked pitifully at John being dragged away, shaking their heads and clicking their tongues.

Because they had already been promised a spot in the gathering, they wouldn't be attending the recruitment.

"Luckily I didn't find a girlfriend," Titus muttered to himself.

"It's not certain you'd have one even if you wanted to find one," Ethan laughed.

"Your mom!"

Hog's Head Inn.

A pub with a severed pig's head sign hanging outside.

The door panels were crooked, and the copper ring was covered in rust.

Hermione pushed the door open, and the door hinge made a harsh "creak—" sound.

A small, dark, and very dirty pub appeared before their eyes.

"Wow, you guys really know how to pick a place..."

"This place looks intense at first glance."

John followed behind, teasing with a lollipop in his mouth.

This was candy Hermione had prepared for him in advance, saying it was to keep him from constantly thinking about the sweets at Honeydukes.

Hermione really understands me.

At this moment, in a corner of the pub, about twenty boys and girls were gathered.

Among them were quite a few familiar faces.

Like Luna, Neville, Ginny, and the twins; they all knew them.

There was also Qiu Zhang from their Eagle House, pulling a handsome guy from the Badger House over.

"You're finally here."

Seeing Hermione and John arrive, Harry, who had been timid all along, finally said with a sense of relief.

He was the nominal initiator of this gathering, although the actual operator was Hermione.

But he still had to shoulder the responsibility of conducting this gathering.

According to Hermione, Harry had refused at first.

But he was stubbornly persuaded by Ron, who kept saying how cool this kind of gathering was.

Harry finally lived up to his good brother's expectations and agreed.

"Hmm, if everyone is here, let's begin."

Hermione pulled John to the very front and sat down.

Although John was only dragged along to make up the numbers, many people became even more interested in this gathering when they saw John had come too.

"Ahem, hello everyone..."

After settling John down, Hermione went straight into character and spoke to the crowd below.

"Since everyone is here today, I believe you all know the purpose of this trip."

"In view of Umbridge's inaction, we believe that everyone needs a new teacher..."

"Not for Transfiguration, not for Potions, and not for Charms, but a teacher who teaches us how to resist Dark Magic and danger."

I originally thought the first question would be a challenge.

A challenge to the meaning of this so-called gathering, but as it turned out.

"Then who is the teacher? Senior Harry? Or John?"

The one asking the question was a third-year little Badger, who was clearly here for John's sake.

"It's Harry."

Hermione said directly.

Harry, who was sitting upright, was suddenly stunned and looked at Hermione.

This isn't right, didn't you say before that John would also help?

"Of course, the learned are teachers; if anyone knows more, we can also guide each other."

"Am I right, John?"

As soon as the first sentence was finished, Hermione smiled at John again.

John, who was watching the show from the side, was also stunned, and the lollipop in his mouth instantly lost its flavor.

He looked at Hermione's smiling, beautiful eyes in disbelief.

No way, you're setting me up here.