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Hagrid had learned something extraordinary.
In the following days, despite appearing busier than usual, whenever he had the chance, Hagrid would take some time to train Norbert as if he were training a hunting dog. This made Norbert, who had been carefree since birth, feel a sense of farewell to its carefree days. It even tried to commit suicide, such as throwing itself into the fireplace with the intention of roasting itself alive, only to fall asleep in the warm hearth...
Tom noticed Hagrid's abnormal behavior. Hagrid spent more and more time in the Forbidden Forest, sometimes staying until near curfew. When Tom returned to the castle, Hagrid was still outside. Moreover, his expression grew more serious, with a rare smile appearing only when he was playing with Norbert.
Lately, Hermione's mood had become irritable for no apparent reason. It wasn't due to any special reason, but rather because the final exams were approaching—in precise terms, there were still ten weeks left. Hermione, in addition to Norbert, now had more things to worry about. She had already devised a study plan and repeatedly wrote and drew on her notes.
"Hermione, exams are still ten weeks away! If you start revising now, according to the forgetting curve, you'll have forgotten everything by the time the exams arrive."
Hermione retorted, "Then when do you plan to start revising?" She lowered her voice a bit, "And I've noticed you've been dealing with that silly dragon all this time. Pull yourself together and go study, okay?"
Tom: ...
Hermione: "I'm talking to you, did you not hear me?"
Tom nervously rubbed his hands, "Hermione, there's something I'm not sure whether to tell you or not..."
Hermione:?
"In fact, I've already taken the final exams with the professors..."
Hermione:??
"Did you get your results?"
"I did."
"How did you do? Why are you being so evasive!"
"All O's."
Hermione:...
She fell into silence, feeling that she didn't want to deal with Tom anymore. "Tom, you're just too much!" she thought angrily.
A strange emotion arose in Hermione's heart: clearly, Tom participating in exams had nothing to do with her. To put it bluntly: who are you, Tom? What does Tom participating in exams have to do with you? But she was still angry, feeling a sense of betrayal.
"Why... didn't you invite me..." Hermione felt a bit wronged.
"I... I was afraid the professors wouldn't agree to assess me, and it might affect you if they scolded you—I wasn't sure!" Tom tried to explain his reluctance to Hermione.
Hermione became somewhat dejected. She now felt a great deal of pressure. While her study buddies had finished their exams and moved on, she was still struggling in the quagmire. This made her quite frustrated.
She buried herself in her studies, ignoring Tom. Tom could only awkwardly sit aside, pretending to read a book. However, his unchanged experience bar exposed him—he wasn't absorbing anything. Of course, not only was he not absorbing anything, but Hermione, too, hadn't read even half a page of her notes during the entire time.
One afternoon passed quickly. When Tom wanted to go to dinner with Hermione, her emotional dam burst. She looked at her notes that she hadn't flipped through for the entire afternoon, and tears suddenly flowed.
"Why are you suddenly crying?" Tom, seeing Hermione crying, was somewhat flustered. He quickly squatted in front of her, looking at her face.
"I... I wasted another afternoon..." Hermione's tears fell drop by drop onto her notes, gradually smearing the ink, "I'm actually not very smart... I can't understand many things and can only memorize them. Even with the same study, I'm far behind you. You've finished your final exams, and I'm still here studying! I didn't even read a few pages this afternoon!"
Tom took out a tissue, gently wiped away the tears at the corner of Hermione's eyes, and then softly patted her back to help her regulate her breathing.
"You're just too nervous. The final exams have put too much pressure on you. In fact, you're super smart; you just lack a bit of confidence. You're not much different from me. I just took advantage of having just revised—besides, what's the point of comparing with others? People should compare themselves. Moreover, even if you were still a bit slow, what about other little wizards? Compared to them, you're outstanding." Tom comforted her repeatedly, persuading her for a long time before making Hermione feel slightly better.
When the two walked out of the library together, Hermione's eyes were still red, her hair a bit messy, and her cheeks slightly flushed. Some passing senior students looked at them with surprise. The just-now younger siblings, shouldn't they be no more than third years? Should we report this to Professor Flitwick...
However, before they could walk to the Great Hall, they received a note: Your detention is tonight at ten o'clock, in the entrance hall, find Mr. Filch.
Hermione's emotions, already in chaos, were overwhelmed by the impending detention.
"Our study tonight is completely ruined," Hermione complained with a furrowed brow. "Detention really knows how to pick the time. Where do you think we're going to be punished? And who do you think is giving us the detention?"
"It should be Hagrid; recently, it seems like he's worried about something. And if we were to be punished by another professor, what would Filch be doing?" Tom analyzed.
"So, are we going to enter the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione noticed the most critical information.
Tom nodded. Hermione took a deep breath; for her, going to the Forbidden Forest late at night was still an exciting thing. But at the same time, there was an inexplicable sense of excitement deep in her heart.
"This is a blessing in disguise. Usually, we can't enter the Forbidden Forest, but today we can go in openly and aboveboard." Tom revealed her little secret.
At ten o'clock that night, they left the almost deserted common room, descended the stairs, and came to the entrance hall. Filch was already there, holding a lantern.
The trio crossed the dark grass and headed toward Hagrid's cabin. Along the way, Filch kept telling them how the former castle caretakers used to punish students—"Hang them by their wrists, hanging from the ceiling, hanging for several days. I've always insisted on oiling the chains!"
Looking at Filch's expression, he was surely regretting not being born decades earlier.
Hagrid wasn't waiting for them in the cabin—he stood outside his yard, holding a lantern, with Fang trailing behind him. He also carried a giant crossbow on his back, and his quiver was full of arrows.
He saw Filch's lantern from afar and walked over.
"Alright, your task is complete," Hagrid, not very politely, dismissed Filch, "From now on, they're my responsibility."
After Filch grumbled and disappeared into the darkness, Hagrid led Tom and Hermione towards the Forbidden Forest.
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(End of this chapter)