Dumbledore: "..."
"Professor Lockhart, I think you should take a break today." Dumbledore noticed something strange about Tom, his cheeks were flushed, his eyes were sparkling and even his breath smelled of hormones. Dumbledore knew that the professor might have to do a hot dance on the podium, so he immediately gave him a vacation, "I'll take over your class today, you go back to your office and rest."
At the same time, Dumbledore marveled at the effects of the potion and, despite the slight accident, he could feel the vitality in Tom's body, his vitality, his energy, his life force almost bursting.
To put it in a fanciful way, it's "Qi and blood like a dragon."
Tom nodded and left the classroom at a faster pace, the cool breeze in the hallway calming him slightly as he made his way to his office while no one else was around, not daring to run, as his heart rate would increase and something would go wrong.
He changed into his unicorn form as soon as he reached his office, Tom had planned it well, unicorns were immune to negative effects and becoming a unicorn would naturally restore his sanity, but he had not expected Dumbledore's magic potion would not be a negative effect and his transformation would do nothing.
Yes, things that are good for the body are not negative things.
It was good that, with the added benefit of his unicorn form, Tom's mental strength was also a bit stronger, so he could maintain his sanity better than in his human form. As Tom struggled with his sanity in his office, the young wizards in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom were confused: what was going on? Why was Professor Lockhart suddenly gone?
Hermione was even more confused, she had a feeling that something was wrong with Tom, but what did his last look mean? It made her heart beat faster.
To add to the shock of the young wizards, Professor Dumbledore stood in for Professor Lockhart, entered the classroom and took the stand. It had been decades since Dumbledore had taken over as headmaster after the death of his last headmaster, Armando Dippet.
And today he was back at the podium!
The young wizards wanted to have a wild discussion and talk to their friends about their innermost thoughts, but with Dumbledore on the podium, they couldn't talk to each other until after class.
So when Headmaster Dumbledore announced that class was over, the whole classroom exploded like a hot frying pan that has had cold water poured on it. Everyone turned to their friends, who responded with even louder voices. so that their voices would not be drowned out by everyone else's.
In this atmosphere, Hermione spoke to no one and ran out of the classroom.
She ran to the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, knocked on the door and a faint voice came from the door, "Please come in!"
Tom had recovered from the "chill" of the class and the yang had finally subsided, but the yang had dissipated and he was even more tired, and now Tom just wanted a good night's sleep. Just then, he heard a knock at the door, and when it opened, he saw Hermione standing in front of the door in all her glory.
Hermione was in a hurry, she was a little out of breath, her chest was heaving slightly and there was a sheen of sweat on the tip of her nose, she rushed into the office, locked the door, hung her wizard's robe on the coat rack and looked at Tom without saying a word.
By this time, Tom had recovered his appearance and said to Hermione, somewhat wearily, "Hermione, sit down and I'll give you an explanation."
Hermione walked slowly over to Tom's desk, her heels clacking against the floor with a crunch as she pulled out her armchair and sat down, but this time not in a good girl position, but a sharper one.
Hermione rested her right arm on the armrest of the armchair, right hand on her chin, face slightly upturned, left hand drawing her wand and placing it in front of her chest. Her slender right leg was crossed and resting on her left in a graceful two-legged gesture.
Today Hermione was wearing tight black velvet pants that perfectly exposed her calves, in addition to the black sarong she wore on top, giving her a youthful and lively appearance.
Hermione's movements were fluid.
Without saying a word, her attack power increased by 90%.
The slightly raised pretty face increased the critical hit rate by 100%.
Leggings and boots, Hermione Granger cast elemental blast.
Tom Yodel Exe has stopped working.
"Speak, are you mute?" you could tell Hermione was really angry this time. You said you'd take me on your next adventure, and then you disappeared this weekend?
Unbeknownst to Tom, Hermione had waited for him all day Saturday, only for Tom to disappear. On Sunday, she arrived at his office looking for him after she had dressed up - she had bought those booties in an outdoor "net" with an owl on it! Instead, he expected an unresponsive wooden door and an empty office.
How could Hermione not guess where Tom had gone? he couldn't have been trapped in the washing machine! He'd gone on an adventure behind her back!
What happened to the promise to help us together? Hermione's anger and frustration at being tricked again washed over her and tears welled up in her eyes.
Tom tensed and, remembering their earlier agreement, said aloud, "It's all Dumbledore's fault!"
Now Tom, who had learned to blame, just like the blond chairman, was always the first to shout, "Take him down!
Can't you get a job? Knock him down. Bad law and order? Bring him down. Collapsed sanitation? Bring him down!
Tom had awakened this ability in a time of crisis, and when he had a problem, he would shout and blame it on Dumbledore to great effect. Hermione froze for a moment, and the gestated emotions were interrupted.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes, Dumbledore did this to me..." Tom immediately told Hermione about his weekend and this morning's experience.
At that moment, Dumbledore, who had just returned to the Headmaster's office, sneezed.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione was so shocked by Tom's experience at Burnham Hall that she covered her mouth, her anger subsiding, "Are you all right?"
"Of course I'm fine, Dumbledore even mixed me a magic potion afterwards to completely replenish the deficit," Tom said, yawning, "It's just that there's something wrong with the details."
He blushed, "Sorry about the morning...I lost my temper..... It's all Dumbledore's fault!"
Hermione also remembered Tom's strange behavior this morning and looked away sheepishly, adjusting her sitting position to that of a good girl.
"Professor Dumbledore, what a mess... but, can you tell me more about your previous adventures? I don't understand some of the details." Hermione brought up some details she hadn't understood when listening to the story.
After listening to Tom's answers, Hermione became engrossed: Rome, Caesar, the Celts, the curse, it sounded interesting, but there were still a myriad of mysteries behind it.
She found a mystery: "But why hasn't the curse from Caesar's time broken out until now? And they should have been in France and Italy, England was not a central Roman territory."
Tom shook his head wearily, "Vercingetorix couldn't do anything to Caesar when he was alive, what can he do when he's dead?"
Hermione could see Tom's tiredness, and when she went over the timeline, she discovered that Tom had been up all night and had had an intense battle in the morning, she felt a little sad, and felt from the bottom of her heart that Dumbledore had really gone too far this time.
Dumbledore pushed open the door to the infirmary, "Poppy, I think I have a cold. Do you have any cold medicine? I've been sneezing since the first class in the morning."
The words startled Madam Pomfrey: couldn't Professor Dumbledore cure a cold? This should be just a simple spell for him, right?
As she spoke, Dumbledore sneezed again.
Madam Pomfrey: "..."
...
Hermione walked behind Tom's desk, gently developed a roll of carpet and sat down on it cross-legged. She motioned for Tom to come over to her.
"Come on, get some rest!" she patted her thighs: "Turns out I've learned a little trick to ease the fatigue."
"How embarrassing," leaning back on the carpet lightly, Tom said, "It's too hard for you."
Hermione covered her mouth and let out a giggle, "Then lie down quickly." She held Tom's head and let it rest gently in her lap.
Tom shivered slightly.
Soft and comfortable, with a plush, silky texture, and an unmistakable aroma in his nostrils, Tom felt like his life had come full circle.
"Shhh..." Hermione put her index finger to her mouth to silence Tom. She had been a little nervous too, and she didn't know why she had acted that way, but Tom's trembling made her realize that Tom was more nervous than she was. So she stopped being nervous all of a sudden.
Instead, she felt a little naughty.
First she took a small comb out of her pocket and combed Tom's hair, smoothing out the loose strands, and then, noting the thin sweat on his forehead, she took out the white silk handkerchief and gently wiped it.
She wiped Tom's sweat gently, "Why are you sweating? Is it too hot?"
Tom: "Well..."
"Shh~"
Tom fell silent.
Hermione teased Tom, and she thought it was very funny! So she leaned over slightly, put her ear to Tom's and blew gently, and Tom shivered for a moment, his mind went blank and he couldn't move.
Hermione conjured a small ear cleaner and pulled Tom's ear out.
"Sha--sha--" The numbing sensation was like an electric shock, and it felt like someone was scratching the wall with a brush. Hermione stopped after a few strokes. She grabbed a glass and flicked the small ear cleaner rhythmically, twirling it a few times and then playing with Tom's ear. With this cycle of touch and sound, Tom calmed down and fell asleep to the delicious scent.
After a while, Hermione saw that Tom had fallen asleep, so she also stopped what she was doing and just watched him in silence.
For the moment, time seemed to have stopped.
Tom fell into a deep sleep, and when he woke up the sun was in the west, and Hermione was reading a book with great interest. Tom had just woken up, still not conscious, when he felt a warm, flexible object under his head, and what seemed to be something in each hand. When he looked, he saw that his left hand was unconsciously holding Hermione's calf and his other hand was resting on Hermione's ankle, just holding her right foot.
Hermione didn't take it off so as not to wake him up, but let it hang on her thigh like a Koala and act as a real lap pendant. Tom flinched, quickly released it and struggled to sit up, but in his haste his left hand patted Hermione's thigh directly.
Tom was also saddened to find that when he looked up, a thin line of glass hung from the corner of his mouth: he had drooled in his sleep!
"Ow!" Hermione shrieked as she was inadvertently slapped, smacking the book in her hand on Tom's head.
It took a few seconds for the two of them to return to normal, Tom sitting up on his knees and Hermione struggling to smooth out the folded pages of the book.
Seeing the small glimpse of shadow, Tom was a little startled.
"Are you awake?" Hermione tore her eyes away from her book, "Don't be so rough! You scared the life out of me. I'll tell you, the flying spell I learned a few days ago worked wonders this afternoon: it brings things from far away without moving" Hermione then noticed the smudge Tom had left behind, "Yeah.... You'll have to pay me for that! We're going to buy one someday, and you're not going to renege!"
He pulled out his wand, "Fregotego!"
Tom thought for a moment, "A commendable attitude to learn in the office, Ravenclaw gets ten for Miss Granger's diligence!"
Hermione was surprised by Tom's reason for the extra points, "You can't do this for personal gain! And don't try to divert attention..."
"At this hour, what about your afternoon classes?" Tom abruptly changed the subject, managing to divert Hermione's attention.
"Of course I'm asking the professor to help me ask for lisence~," Hermione said with a smile, "I've already studied that content ahead of time, so I'll just take someone's notes and read them then."
"Well...," Tom said, with a blank stare.
"By the way, I seem to remember you still owe me a box of chocolates." Hermione felt a little hungry, since breakfast she had only had mental food and now her stomach was empty.
Tom: "!!!!"
Oh no, I forgot to ask the old man to pay me back!
But his gaze wavered as he looked at his desk, what did he seem to have in his drawer? He opened it, and his face froze: the things he'd bought in Hogsmeade were neatly arranged in his desk drawer.
"It's old!" Tom gritted his teeth some more: how dare Dumbledore go straight to his office while he was gone!
If Dumbledore had known what Tom was thinking, he would have grabbed him by the collar and shouted, "And what do you want? If I have to bring it to you, and I can't go to the office, then I'll send Fawkes to bring it to you..."
Tom pulled the box of chocolates out of the drawer and handed it to Hermione, slipping his two bottles of the Pig's Head bar special butterbeer.
Hermione opened the box, tasted two of the chocolates and squinted with satisfaction, "I didn't think being a teacher was so convenient! Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to Hogsmeade until next year. By the way, are you still going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts next year?"
"Of course not, this year was just a rush, there should be a more reliable teacher next year and naturally I'll be retiring then." Tom shook his head, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he was good enough to be re-elected Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he had replaced Lockhart this year because Lockhart was so bad.
Besides, even if you were strong enough, you wouldn't be reelected, because the curse was there! If you don't want to end your career as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with dignity, the curse will help you end it in disgrace. There was once a professor who tried to get re-elected after an uneventful academic year, only to be killed by a wild boar on a vacation excursion!
When Tom heard about this, he immediately abandoned the idea of a second year. He wanted to live a little longer, so he didn't challenge the weapons of karma.
I think Dumbledore is writing his recruitment letter now. Dumbledore would have called Lupin once Snape had successfully reproduced the aconite potion. Snape had never imagined that the day he could make a werewolf potion would be the day he would have to face the Marauders again.
"What about you?" Hermione poked Tom's shoulder, "You've been lying in the school hospital the whole time."
"I'll take a make-up test when I 'wake up', and if I don't pass, you'll be my major," Tom teased, "And when I run into you in the hallway, I'll have to yell, 'Hello, major!"
Hermione was also amused by him, "Then, after repeating a grade, will you be so mad that you'll call me a major because you see someone you know well and you can't go to Hogsmeade and cry?" Hermione vividly mimicked Tom's crying tone, "Wuuuuu, Miss Granger, I'm repeating a grade, please bring me Hogsmeade chocolates~"
They both burst out laughing.
"By the way, Hermione, you're thirteen, right?" Tom counted the days and realized that Hermione was actually a year older than him.
"Yeah, what's up?" Hermione looked up alertly.
"So you're almost a real senior." Hermione's birthday, which fell on a wonderful line between being Tom's classmate and someone older than him.
"I see, boys like you, you only like elementary school girls?" Hermione shot him a withering look, pretending to be angry but with a bit of apprehension inside.
"No, we don't, we only like pretty ones!". Tom justified his dangerous outburst, only to have Hermione swat him like a fly with a book.
"By the way, what are you going to do about Lockhart?" after teasing, Hermione also became serious, "Now you've helped him gain a lot of fame."
Tom spread his hands, "Lockhart will pay the price, you can be sure.
You want Tom to marry Lockhart? You're right!
After a few more jokes and laughs, it was time for dinner and Tom and Hermione entered the Great Dining Hall step by step.
Harry and Ron were once again the center of attention, and curious young lions were all over them asking where they were going for the weekend, but apparently Dumbledore had given them both a gagging order, so they stammered.
When they finally obliged, they whispered, "Professor Lockhart caught us trying to jump over the wall into Hogsmeade, but instead of punishing us, he took us to Hogsmeade for two days..."
"What?!" The young wizards were shocked at the news: why didn't this happen to me when I was a junior!
"Keep your voices down!" Harry hastily clenched his hand to silence the students around him, "You'll only get the professor in trouble if you spread the news!"
At that moment, Snape's gaze swept across the Gryffindor table and everyone fell silent. But Fred lowered his voice, "Granting a wish for spirit of adventurer, is this man really a Ravenclaw? That's a very Gryffindor way to behave."
As the young wizards spoke, the professors at the teachers' table chattered.
"Professor Lockhart, are you looking better?" said Dumbledore to Tom, raising a glass.
"Yes, thanks to you, much better." Tom pronounced the word "you" with deliberate emphasis, but Dumbledore said with a smile as if he hadn't understood, "It's fine as long as you're comfortable."
Tom's mind wandered, "Professor, can I have those herbs? I'd like to do a little more research."
Dumbledore paused, apparently not expecting Tom to make such a request, but he still pulled a small bag from his arms, containing the remaining medicinal materials, and handed it to Tom, "Be careful."
"Thank you." Tom took the bag of herbs from Dumbledore.
...
"Thank you." Hacker took the bag of papers from Bernard.
"Minister, why do you want to investigate this case? I thought you had enough on your plate."
"Meetings, speeches, individual appointments... they don't really do anything." Hacker grumbled, he was no fool, and understood that the officialdom, with Sir Humphrey at its head, was trying to prevent him from doing his job by filling his schedule.
Ministers and civil servants were two groups that were born to oppose each other. The civil servants wanted things to stay the same, except for their salaries, while the ministers needed to make changes to fulfill their election promises. The tension between the two groups is like fire and water, and can only end with the submission of one side.
At the moment, Hacker's fire is still too small to compete with Humphrey, and needs time.
But coincidentally, Humphrey expected Hacker to grow. Because ministers are fire, civil servants are water, and you never know when a minister will resign: backstabbing, cabinet changes, elections... but civil servants will always be in place.
Once Hacker became familiar with the department and the methods of the civil servants, it was time to go.
Hacker opened the file and looked at it carefully.