Chapter 394

The gaze returned to Hogsmeade Village.

"What should we do, John? Ryan shouldn't have seen you just now, right?"

Hermione and John were hiding in an empty alley, and Hermione anxiously said to John.

"No way, I just buried my head in your embrace..."

Regarding Hermione's worry, John scratched his head, saying somewhat uncertainly.

Because today is a rare Hogsmode Week.

Everywhere is filled with a relaxed atmosphere.

So John discussed with Yaomei, letting him come out after a long time to be close with Hermione.

Although she wanted to refuse, she hadn't been close with John in person for several months, and she really missed it.

In this relaxed atmosphere, she agreed to the proposal.

As a result, unexpectedly, just as they were being close, Ryan bumped into them...

At this moment, Hermione's face flushed red, and she immediately said.

"Then, what should I do?"

"You've only been pretending to be dead not long ago, and now Ryan saw me with another man—what will they think of me..."

"Ah..." John really hadn't expected this; he originally just wanted to come out after a long time to be close and recharge.

He didn't expect to be seen by someone.

He had even specially picked a secluded corner.

John now understands what it means to let emotions cause trouble.

At the least, it's Hermione being misunderstood; at the most, the news that he's still alive could leak.

John thought while changing his appearance.

In an instant, he turned into Yueer's appearance.

However, he didn't let Yueer come out, still controlling the body.

"They seem to have recovered quite well recently."

"What should be mourned has been mourned; it's time to move on."

"Maybe now we can tell them the news that I'm still alive?" John said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Hermione froze upon hearing that, just about to shake her head and say: "No, Dumbledore said......"

She wanted to say Dumbledore's arrangement, not to let John's identity be exposed, but she stopped herself mid-sentence.

She bit her lip, a flash of complex emotion crossing her eyes.

Titus and the others are John's best friends; there was originally no need to hide from them.

It was just to make their reaction to John's death more genuine, so those Slytherin Death Eater Reserves would be more convinced.

Now that so much time has passed, perhaps we can indeed tell them.

After all, they are John's best friends.

John also didn't want to keep hiding from them, especially seeing them grieve and get angry for him, which made him feel uneasy as well.

Moreover, after all said and done, it's also because the two of them couldn't bear the loneliness, causing this accident.

They themselves couldn't hold back from exposing themselves, so how could they demand others to do so?

"... Well, at least let's report to Dumbledore..."

In the end, Hermione still didn't stop John, merely reminding him softly.

John also nodded.

In the afternoon, when returning to school.

Hermione and Yueer walked side by side toward the Great Hall.

They planned to go find Dumbledore after finishing dinner.

But at the Great Hall's entrance, they unexpectedly ran into Titus, Ryan, and Ethan, who were also preparing to go eat.

Except for Yueer, both groups' movements paused when they met.

Hermione's expression was somewhat unnatural; Ryan and Ethan merely glanced, then chose to look away, pretending not to know them.

But Titus stared straight at Hermione, then glanced at Yueer, narrowing his eyes.

On the contrary, Yueer greeted the group loudly and casually.

Rui'an Yisen, who had intended to pretend not to know them, had to stop their steps and politely nod.

Then they pulled Titus away and left.

This made Yueer a bit embarrassed; he looked at Hermione and lowered his voice.

"Sister-in-law, they really seem to be angry..."

Hermione let out a sigh.

"They are John's best friends; it's normal for them to be angry for him... we'll explain later."

"Come on, let's eat first."

Hermione tugged at Yueer's sleeve, and the two walked side by side into the Great Hall.

During dinner, Titus ran to the long table at the Eagle House to eat.

Luna happened to be there as well.

They didn't originally want to gossip, but they couldn't help complaining in low voices.

"Luna senior... we saw Hermione (Senior) together with another guy today..."

Hearing Ryan's words, Luna blinked slightly and tilted her head.

"Really? Who did you see?"

Ryan, stop talking...... Without Luna senior, Ryan might have been mistaken; that person just looks a bit like John. I think the senior sister probably just misses John too much.

Ethan beside him quickly stopped Ryan from continuing, then explained a few sentences himself, and also spoke up for Hermione.

Although he also had some dissatisfaction with Hermione's behavior, he didn't want to gossip about her behind her back.

After all, she used to be John's girlfriend; he didn't want to make things too ugly.

Ryan pursed his lips, said nothing more, and lowered his head to pick at the food on his plate.

But Luna, hearing his description, curled the corners of her mouth slightly, as if confirming some guess, while muttering to herself.

"Hermione's grades have plummeted since this semester began."

"As soon as school ends, she hides in the Library to study obsessively, yet there's still no improvement."

"Sometimes I think it's normal for her to be in a bad state after John's death, but it couldn't possibly be this bad, could it?"

Titus, who had been silent all along, sensed there was more to Luna's words, looked at her and asked for clarification.

"Then, Luna senior, what you mean is......"

"Shh."

Luna suddenly raised her index finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

Her eyes, however, blinked twinklingly.

"Seeing Hermione able to walk out of her grief, you should be happy."

"Lately, besides studying, she's been putting her thoughts into taking care of that transfer student."

"I suppose that transfer student has helped soothe much of Hermione's pain."

Having said that, Luna didn't continue further.

Titus, meanwhile, furrowed his brows in thought, as if recalling past details.

Ryan and Ethan, however, were in a fog, not knowing what they were talking about.

They just felt that Luna senior had something more to say.

But that transfer student is female, right? Are they talking about Hermione's 'new male companion'?

Finally, Luna didn't say anything more.

Just let things take their natural course.

They also had no choice but to drop the topic.

Headmaster's Office.

Yueer and Hermione came together to find Dumbledore.

And they told him what had happened today.

After listening, Dumbledore didn't blame them for their carelessness, merely nodding.

"Alright, then find a time to bring them together to talk."

He agreed readily.

Because this really is just a minor, harmless situation.

The outside world now firmly believes John is dead.

As long as John doesn't reveal his true identity in public, it won't cause too much of a stir.

"Let's set it for tomorrow," said John, who had taken over for Yueer.

Dumbledore didn't object and agreed.

"By the way, John, I think Voldemort might be about to make a move soon."

Hearing this, John and Hermione both perked up and asked, "Has Voldemort made any moves?"

Dumbledore nodded and pushed a few reports toward them.

"Before, John, you've destroyed his hideout more than once, dealing a heavy blow to the Death Eaters' forces."

"So during this time, Voldemort has reached abroad, recruiting troops overseas."

"Already, not a few foreign wizards who have been tempted or intimidated by Voldemort have come to Britain, becoming part of the Death Eaters."

"Their forces have now expanded to be even larger than at their peak."