"Yes!" Ron nodded, agreeing. "Malfoy is the most suspicious. That guy was never any good to begin with."
"But we don't have any proof. We can't just guess without anything." Even though Hermione also hated Malfoy, especially since he had insulted her, she could still stay calm and reasonable, and look at things fairly.
"Damn, that guy would never leave any proof behind!" Ron grabbed his hair, feeling troubled.
"Maybe... we need Polyjuice Potion." Hermione thought for a moment, then suggested it.
"Polyjuice Potion?"
"What's that?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other, confused. They clearly didn't like reading, especially books about potions.
"It's a potion you make!" Hermione sighed helplessly. "It's like a transformation. After drinking it, we can turn into someone else."
"Wow, cool!"
"If we had this potion, we could approach Malfoy openly!"
Ron and Harry looked happy and cheered loudly.
"But we don't have the recipe." Hermione shook her head, sounding helpless. "It's also hard to get the recipe."
Polyjuice Potion is a strong potion and is in the restricted section of the library. To get it, you need permission from the professors. But the professors aren't stupid. They wouldn't be tricked that easily.
"Okay, so we're back to where we started." Harry sighed, sounding discouraged. "After talking for so long, we haven't made any real progress."
"Maybe we can ask Professor Zickrein for help." Hermione suddenly said.
"Do you have a way?" Ron looked at her with hope.
"When it's seven o'clock tonight, I'll go help him organize the magic circle materials." Hermione sighed in relief, and slowly said, "I can try to ask him for help."
"Then we're counting on you!"
The sky gradually darkened, and the lights in Hogwarts castle turned on.
Holding a notebook, Hermione arrived at Gerald's room and knocked on the door.
Creak.
The door quickly opened slowly.
Hermione was happy and ready to say hello to the young professor, but she stopped talking when she saw who opened the door. It wasn't Gerald, who she was expecting, but a girl with blonde hair.
The girl had very white skin, and a strange cork necklace. Her wand was stuck behind her ear, held by some strands of hair like reins.
"You are..."
"Luna Lovegood." The blonde girl said in a clear voice, "Zickrein's helper, I help him sort out the magic in the magic circles."
Helper?
Hermione looked surprised, as if struck by lightning. Is this the new helper? Professor Zickrein, doesn't need me anymore?
Thinking this, Hermione clearly looked sad. Besides sadness, there was also a strange feeling she couldn't explain.
"Is Miss Hermione here?" Just then, Gerald's voice slowly spoke. "Let her in. Luna, you can go back now. Thanks for your hard work today."
"It's okay, Zickrein." Luna blinked at the room and said softly, "I like the work you give me." She stepped aside, brushed past Hermione, and walked towards the Ravenclaw common room.
At this time, Hermione still looked frozen, as if she hadn't recovered from being "fired." She walked into Gerald's room slowly, like she was carrying heavy weights, and closed the door.
"You seem worried?" Gerald turned to look at her and asked.
"No, it's okay." Hermione shook her head and said, "I know it's my fault, Professor Zickrein. My actions today disappointed you. I understand your decision..." As she spoke, her eyes became red, and tears started to flow.
"Huh?" Gerald froze and asked, confused, "What decision are you talking about?"
"You... you're not going to change helpers?" Hermione wiped the corner of her eye, trying to stop herself from crying loudly.
She's an adult, she can't cry! She definitely can't cry!
"Where did you hear that I was going to change helpers?" Gerald gave her a tissue, looking helpless. "Oh, I understand now. You're talking about Luna?"
Hermione took the tissue and nodded gently without speaking. She didn't use the tissue to wipe her tears, but secretly put the tissue in her pocket.
Professor Zickrein gave me this tissue, I have to keep it.
"First, you have to understand that building magic circles is a huge task." Gerald noticed her small action, but didn't say anything. "It's divided into many small parts, and we can't finish it with just the two of us. And Luna is very knowledgeable about magic variables, she is a good helper."
"So, you didn't plan to leave me out?" Hermione asked carefully.
"No, you are a great helper." Gerald smiled and took out his magic circle design. "You helped find these materials, it's your achievement."
"I, I'm just doing what I can." Hermione blushed a little, and said quietly. "But, what does the R system here mean?"
"You can think of the R system here as rebirth." Gerald explained with a smile, "When the R system is complete, maybe it can really bring people back to life."
"Bring people back to life?" Hermione froze, looking shocked. "Are you saying that the main purpose of your magic circle is to bring people back to life? Wow, is that true?"
"Maybe." Gerald nodded slightly. "It's just a concept, an idea. As for whether it will succeed... we still need to test it through practice."
"So, Professor Zickrein has someone he really wants to bring back to life?" Hermione seemed to have thought of something and asked gently, "They must be very important to you, right?"
The little witch didn't know what she was thinking, and her expression became a little sad. Maybe in her mind, she was imagining a very strange family story.
"I guess." Gerald responded vaguely, and the two began to simulate building the magic circle today.
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