cycle

Hermione refused to help me return the Invisibility Cloak to Harry, much to my annoyance.Although she tried to explain why she thought it should be left to Harry and me to figure it out in the same tone as she was explaining addition, subtraction, multiplication and division within ten, I insisted that her help would make things a lot easier—as I thought it would be if Telling Harry I was going to borrow his Invisibility Cloak to break into the Slytherin lounge would have made things far more complicated.

"What does it have to do with whether I believe him or not?" I wrote a few papers on potions, but I still find it inconceivable, "The point is that I got back my Occlumency notes, maybe Neville can feel less uncomfortable— I never asked to be praised—”

"Alice, Alice." Hermione simply put down her pen. Anyway, she was just reviewing and supplementing notes. The table we were sitting at was in the corner of the library, which allowed us to talk in a low voice a little more freely.She pinched the bridge of her nose and said softly, "I don't think that's the point of the matter."

"I passed on his words to you." I repeated the last words Harry left before he left, and we hadn't seen each other since. "But it seems to me—"

"He can't tell you he's angry because he found you with Malfoy, for God's sake, Alice, he's angry about that! You sneaked off to a boys' Slytherin dormitory, to a boy with you Stealing one from a man so complicated that he might have written five—”

"—Take back a copy." I corrected her, "It was originally my thing."

"Sneakily get back a notebook!" Hermione stuck out her index finger and poked my head, "Here's the point, Alice Snape, don't you think that Harry is a little bit concerned about what happened between you and Malfoy?" Don't you care?"

"Then why didn't he just tell me that he was angry about this?" I asked suspiciously, "If he said it directly, I would tell him that it was all in the past, and I just wanted to get the notes back to help Na Wei. And Draco doesn't like me anymore, he told those Slytherins himself that there are plenty of good women who can match him."

"What capacity did you ask him to tell you that he was angry?" Hermione asked me calmly, "As a friend? Friends are not suitable for meddling in personal matters of emotion. As a boyfriend? It seems that your relationship has not yet come to an end." That’s the point. I’ve told you a long time ago to get this matter sorted out, look at it now, you always don’t listen to my advice.”

"So what do I do now?" I buried my face in the ink-smelling parchment, and now I replaced Ron as the withered Meebu Meebo.

"Honestly, I don't know." Hermione shook her head. "Harry... he got angry... Remember when he used to fight with Ron? When he was just chosen as the champion of the Triwizard Tournament?"

"He doesn't talk to Ron anymore," I replied gloomily, "I see."

Soon this matter was temporarily forgotten by us, and there was a shower of owls on the long table in Gryffindor on Monday morning. They rushed to get up in front of Harry and Neville trying to lift their feet, Excitedly stretched out its big wings to beat the slippery head who tried to jump in line.Our milk, porridge, and bread were all covered in owl feathers, and we all craned our necks curiously to see what was going on.

"Oh!" Hermione grabbed a long-eared owl with a long-shaped bundle, "I think the article has finally been published!"

Harry and Neville unwrapped the package together, and inside was a tightly rolled March issue of The Quibbler. The cover was no longer grotesque stick figures of animals and plants, but photos of Harry and Neville, Neville Looking tense and shy, Harry was smoothing the curls of his head with his hands, though he looked more relaxed.Printed on the photo are exaggerated red letters: The truth finally chosen to be made public - Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter: We saw the mysterious man resurrected that night.

"Dad made several covers." Luna's trance voice wandered to our table with her, "I think this one is the best, so he adopted it. It seems that these are letters from readers."

"Can we open the letter for you!" Tallus asked eagerly. "That's cool!"

"Open it." Harry dazedly took a sip of the orange juice that was full of broken owl feathers, and Neville had already started to open the first letter, "Be careful if someone puts a curse in it-I really hope they don't send it. Letter to my family."

"This guy suggested that you all go to St. Mungo's for treatment." Ron curled his lips and threw the letter aside.

"Hey, this man is a bit contradictory. He said he didn't want to believe it, but he has to admit that what you said makes sense—it's a waste of parchment." Talus enthusiastically stretched out his arms and hugged several owls to his bed. On the leg, "Yo, Harry, there's a girl here who says she believes you and wants you to write her back—tsk, with a picture!"

There was more than one girl with a photo. I looked at the long letter in my hand that said "We think you are all real heroes!", and two twin girls in light summer dresses were smiling charmingly at me. The back of the photo was signed "To Harry Potter" and "To Neville Longbottom" respectively in cursive script. What did they think they were doing?

"What's going on here?" A sweet little girl's voice sounded behind us, "Why are there so many owls?"

"Is it illegal to receive letters now?" Fred raised his eyebrows.

"Pay attention to your attitude, Mr. Weasley." Umbridge continued to ask with a smile, "Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter, please explain."

"Someone wrote to us," Neville replied frankly. "They read our interview."

"What interview?" Umbridge's voice suddenly sharpened, and the smile on her face disappeared without a trace.

"It's just some questions, and we'll answer them." Harry slammed the Quibbler in Umbridge's face hard, and there was a burst of cheers from the Gryffindor table that he was trying to suppress.

Seeing the cover of the magazine, Umbridge's lips trembled, and her face turned an ugly purple like poison, which complemented the bright bow on her head. I noticed that the teachers on the staff desk were also going Look here.Umbridge's voice was so piercing that it could tear through the ceiling, she was so outraged that she could hardly speak, and it took a while before she asked, "When... when did you..."

"The last time I went to Hogsmeade," Neville replied cheerfully.

"You are not allowed to go to Hogsmeade anymore!" Umbridge looked like a toad that was hit by a rock, struggling to maintain her balance so as not to fall into the water, she took a deep breath, "How do you Dare... I have been teaching you to be honest with all my heart, since you can't listen to it—75 points will be deducted from Gryffindor, and you two will be locked up for a week each."

"Then let's move on to the letter, Professor," Harry said sarcastically.

"No—get away! Get away!" Umbridge took out his wand and pointed at the owl that was still flying in from the window and landed on the Gryffindor table. The attacked owl was frightened and flew up. They quickly understood who was hindering them from completing the task assigned by their master, and they flew around Umbridge in unity and began to peck her with their sharp beaks.

"Go away—" Umbridge screamed, but the teachers at the staff table seemed to be eating their breakfast very seriously, and Umbridge's hat covered with bows was picked up by a snow-white owl , Filch with a mop shuffled towards her, and when the owl was chased away, the mop slapped Umbridge hard in the face several times as if uncontrollably.

"I'm getting better at using silent spells," Hermione whispered in my ear before History of Magic class.

"I really want her to feel what Vivien was going through," I said to her through the corners of my mouth. "It's a pity Filch only brought a mop."

"Can the DA teach you the silent spell next time?" Tallus looked eagerly at me and then at Harry. "I want to hit Umbridge with a mop too."

"It's fine," Harry said simply.

"What's the matter with you two?" Tallus tilted his head, "Did you quarrel?"

"No." Harry and I answered in unison, walked into History of Magic classroom and began to fall asleep.

Before noon, huge notices were posted all over the school, and Umbridge issued Educational Order No. 20 Seven prohibiting any student from carrying The Quibbler magazine, even the old ones.However, this move aroused everyone's great curiosity. Every corner of Hogwarts seemed to be discussing the interview in a low voice. During the arithmetic and divination class, several people watched Hermione and me eagerly. Ask questions around us after class.

"I'm going to study ancient runes." Hermione hurriedly checked the time, leaving me to those classmates with sparkling eyes.Not so much a question as an expression of approval, they excitedly took pictures of a completely blank magazine (in order to avoid Umbridge's inspection) and said that this could explain the large-scale escape of the Death Eaters before, but I couldn't get in. You can only nod when they express their admiration and express that they will convey it for them.

"It's so handsome." A Ravenclaw girl nodded, "By the way, I want to ask for my friend—does Potter have a girlfriend now? She used to think that Potter played Quidditch very well. "

"Let's ask him this question directly." I replied irritably. "You can bring your friend's photo for his reference - anyway, he has already received a stack today."

"It's really rare that Trelawney didn't predict Neville's early death today." Back in the lounge at night, Ron said while giving us the screaming sugar mouse that Professor Frivy gave to Harry and Neville in class, "Guess What did she say about Neville today?"

"Tell me." Hermione showed a very interested look.

"She said Neville was destined to live a long life and have twelve children." Ron laughed. "She must have read that interview too! You should have seen the look on Umbridge's face, especially Trelaw's." When Ni looked into Harry's crystal ball and said he was going to be Minister for Magic someday - absolutely."

"Professor Sprout gave Gryffindor twenty points for Neville handing her the watering can." Tallus rubbed his hands expectantly. "I hope McGonagall will give us some points tomorrow."

Harry and Neville were the center of attention in the Gryffindor lounge this evening - although they hadn't been able to step out of the limelight, it had been a long time since they had this kind of eager, trusting gaze.We were most pleased when Seamus came over and stammered an apology to Neville, said he regretted what he had said, and sent a copy of The Quibbler to his mother.It wasn't until Harry stood up to block Neville's classmates who were still eager to know more details, that he had a chance to sit down with me and look through Dad's notes.

"You still dream about those things, don't you?" The smile faded from his face as I knew the answer without Neville needing to answer.

"Yes." Neville replied nervously in a low voice, keeping his back straight.

"No no, don't face me like you face my dad." I wanted to cover my face with a knitted cushion to make him relax, "I think, you need more self-confidence, to believe that you have the ability to control yourself The brain - er, I read what is written here - imagine a container, your emotions can't get into that container, and the memory in the brain is just a substance, you can pour it into all kinds of containers .”

I think Neville has been trying very hard to keep up with me. After an hour, our foreheads are covered with sweat, but to be honest, I don't think it has any effect-because my teacher doesn't really understand. the deep meaning of these words.

"Sounds like restraining emotions and looking at memories objectively?" Hermione concluded after listening for a while.

"Then it's no different from what Professor Snape said." Neville said dejectedly. "He always said I was not concentrating."

"I think this is the meaning of 'can't control your own brain'." Hermione thought thoughtfully, "I think this is a kind of confrontation, the intruders are looking for loopholes, and the resisters need to know every opening that may be destroyed."

"Or just don't think about anything and empty your mind." I rubbed my temples, "Of course, this way others will know right away what you want to hide."

"But Professor Snape always asked me to clear my mind before going to bed." Neville said confusedly.

"I think it's because you have to learn how to close the door first." Hermione nodded, "You said that you can only perceive when the mysterious person is emotional. I think the relationship between you is passive, so you don't There needs to be something specific to hide, you just have to not be bothered by that connection."

"This is really an interesting and easy-to-understand teaching lecture." Ron clapped his hands beside him, expressing that he didn't understand a word.

"I'll give it a try." As if trying not to disappoint Hermione and me, Neville managed to force a smile, "I still have two weeks."

At least he didn't try that night, and the next day I heard him telling Harry that he had another nightmare - this time he even dreamed that he was You-Know-Who himself, and he mentioned a man named Rookwood , it seems that the mysterious man is very satisfied with his report.

"I'm thinking that what Neville saw wasn't entirely worthless," I couldn't help telling Hermione during a class break.

"I know what you mean." Hermione said after seeing that there was no one around, "but he shouldn't have seen this. Dumbledore asked Professor Snape to teach him Occlumency Dreams... are very dangerous. The priority is to get Neville to sever these ties, not to think about their meaning."

We spent two full weeks studying the notes we finally got back, but Neville didn't have the time to spare after dealing with heavy homework and revision like Hermione and I did.Two weeks later, before I had time to ask Neville if he had made any progress in Dad's class, the news broke that Professor Trelawney had been fired.We've never seen Trelawney so out of control—in my short memory with her, she's wrapped in a vaguely glowing cocoon.But now she looks like an out-and-out lunatic, the shawl is scattered on her arms, the tassels are stepped on the ground by her, and she is holding the wine bottle in one hand and messing around in the air with the other. Pointing, the glasses were tilted to one side because of the big movement, and the hair was completely blown up.

"Oh my god." Hermione grabbed my arm in discomfort. It's the end of dinner time, and people keep trying to squeeze forward to see what's going on. We can only see Trelawney through the tall boy in front of me. Falling down on a suitcase and screaming heartbroken. "Umbridge...she really..."

It was hard to see where Umbridge was standing at my height, and she announced the dismissal order issued by Fudge to Professor Trelawney in that disgusting and triumphant tone, and she seemed to think it was a rare event. Same as victory.But other people present obviously didn't think so. Most of the students showed shocked expressions, and Patil and Brown were already sobbing sadly.McGonagall pushed through the crowd towards the trembling Professor Trelawney, who had no idea what they were saying, and those of us standing outside heard Umbridge's sharp laughter - but the laughter almost stopped abruptly , the oak door of Hogwarts opened suddenly, Dumbledore appeared in the misty night at the door, he just revealed a silhouette in the fog, all the buzzing discussions disappeared, the whole Trelawney's staccato sobbing was the only sound left in the hall.

"I think Dumbledore did it on purpose," Tallus said when we got back into the common room. "When the centaur showed up, it was like Umbridge ate ten toads alive."

"He's good-looking." Lavender Brown was crying now.

"Harry," I said to Ron when I finally caught him two weeks later, while he was still muttering to Ron that he needed to remind Hagrid to be more careful. Bring it back to you."

"Oh." He seemed to have just remembered this, "Okay."

When I came down from the girls' dormitory, Ron and Talus had already left, and Hermione who promised to wait for me to go to the library with her was gone (she must have done it on purpose), and the place where we used to sit was only left After getting off Harry, he was looking down at the Potions paper that was just handed out today, and it looked like my dad had given him another bad grade.

"Thank you." When I handed him the package with the invisibility cloak, he said politely, the same as his attitude towards me in the past two weeks-he didn't refuse to talk to me, in fact we discussed it together DA doesn't need to teach everyone silent spells, something that sixth grade will definitely learn. He listened to me as gently as before, and nodded in agreement-but everyone felt awkward, even Cedric asked after DA training I said what happened.

"Also." Before he stood up and left, I hurriedly handed over the letter and photo of the admirer who didn't find a chance to give to him. He frowned when he took it and read it, and put it in the He quickly took it out of the pocket, and then took out another notebook as if he wanted to clip it in, and finally he threw it into the bottom of the schoolbag casually under my gaze.

"Is there any more?" He asked me in a helpless tone.

"No more." I shook my head.

He turned around and walked a few steps, and then turned around again. I thought he had left something behind, but he half-knelt down and looked up very seriously to me sitting in the armchair: "Is there really nothing?"

Confused, I thought for a while and said, "Then I have a question, can I ask?"

After he nodded in agreement, I asked cautiously: "Are we arguing? I don't quite understand, you still look angry, but you still talk to me, you don't ignore me, you don't lose your temper with me, Yelling at me or something."

He showed the expression of biting a sour lemon, and after a second of silence, he said slowly: "What if I admit that I'm still angry?"

"Then how can I make you not angry?" I looked at him sincerely, "I know that I did something wrong and I lied, so how can you make up for this mistake?"

He didn't answer the question directly, but rephrased: "When my parents used to quarrel—"

"Do your parents fight too?" I asked curiously, "They seem to have a good relationship."

"Of course," he said, looking puzzled by my question, "if there's a lot of noise, my dad will run away and go to Tallus's to sleep, but usually the next morning he'll be knocking on the door in his pajamas— As soon as he left my mother put a spell on him to keep him out. It happened about once a year when I was a kid, two or three times a year at the Tallus house, much less now."

It’s embarrassing to say, but I probably didn’t really believe until after I got married that there are too many and trivial places where conflicts can break out between husband and wife, and this kind of daily bickering and disputes are not my son’s. What I think of as "painful mutual torture" when I look at my parents from time to time is rather a normal state when two people support each other and move forward together.Although I kicked my husband out of the bedroom not long before I wrote this, because he relented again and told our daughter where I hid the candy jar-is it really necessary to force me to bring it? Let her go to Hermione's parents to see how Muggles cure toothache?I really don't want to look like a horrible and unkind mother.

"Ah, when your parents were fighting." I found myself interrupting Harry, "And then?"

"Forget it, that's going too far that way—I mean, you can try coaxing me." He had a small smile on his face.

"Coax?" I thought for a long time, then stretched out my hand and gently stroked the upturned hair on his head. I have only seen this action "coax an angry owl that blows its hair" in the "Owl Breeding Introductory Manual" , give them a nut as a reward after they've calmed down," "Um, is that what you mean?"

"That's what it means." He shook his head and reached out to hold my wrist that was still above his head.

"I won't lie to you next time, I promise." I whispered, "You don't have to lend me the invisibility cloak again... It doesn't matter if you get angry for a while, but until the next DA meeting? They have all conjured Patronus, but I still can't, it's quite shameful."

"Okay." He laughed, "Listen to you."