Time passed quickly after Halloween, and in almost the blink of an eye, it was time for Christmas.
This year, Hermione wrote to her parents early, stating that she would spend Christmas at Hogwarts.
During Christmas, they could visit Hogsmeade again. This would also be the first time she and Lynn went to Hogsmeade during Christmas, and Hermione believed she absolutely could not miss this opportunity.
Coincidentally, she wasn't the only one who thought so; the three seniors, Maranhao, Marietta, and Penelope, all felt the same way.
Seeing that their junior sister's condition had improved, they naturally wanted to be by her side during this Christmas now that she was doing better.
As for the trip to Hogsmeade during Christmas... the three seniors were all very "considerate" and stated they would not go with Lynn and Hermione.
They were certain that they should leave a bit of private space for their two juniors.
During the period between Halloween and Christmas, the news that Lynn's permission slip was signed by Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff had spread completely.
Now, except for the Ravenclaw Little Eagles, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and the Professors who actually knew the truth about Lynn's background, almost everyone else thought Lynn was a descendant of Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff from many generations down.
As for the combination of these two ladies, no one said anything, nor did anyone dare to say anything.
So what if they were both women? Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff must have been very happy together.
The only one who still had some complaints about Lynn's permission slip was Filch.
He seemed determined that Lynn had used some improper means to get her permission slip signed.
He was also certain she wouldn't be able to resist doing something else that violated school rules. Therefore, whenever he had the chance during this time, he tried every possible way to search for Lynn's figure within Hogwarts Castle.
He attempted to catch evidence of her breaking school rules, but unfortunately, let alone catching her in the act...
He couldn't even manage to see Lynn herself again.
Wherever Lynn was, or wherever she was going, Filch would never appear.
Thus, Lynn herself actually had no idea that there was a person "jumping up and down" in Hogwarts Castle every day trying to catch evidence of her breaking school rules, only to come up empty-handed every time.
Right up until the day before Christmas, Filch still hadn't given up on the matter he was so sure about.
"Sigh..."
After who knows how many sighs, Hermione finally couldn't help but turn to look at Ron beside her.
"Please, Ron, I just came back to the Gryffindor Table to eat breakfast once, and I've already heard you sigh more times than I can count. You can just say what happened, but can you please not keep sighing like this?"
"If you tell us, maybe we can help you solve it. What's the use of sighing all the time?"
"Scabbers... it's Scabbers."
Ron looked up with a miserable expression at Harry sitting opposite him and Hermione sitting beside him.
"Scabbers? What's wrong with Scabbers?"
Harry, who shared a Dormitory with Ron, asked somewhat confusedly. It was mainly because they, as roommates, didn't usually pay much attention to Ron's pet rat, Scabbers.
So it was normal for him to know nothing right now.
"He... he ran off to somewhere unknown."
Ron pursed his lips tightly. It was clear that although he had constantly complained about his pet rat Scabbers before...
In reality, he still had quite deep feelings for Scabbers.
"He ran off to somewhere unknown? When did this happen?"
Hermione frowned, putting down her knife and fork as she looked at him with a serious expression.
"About... a week ago?"
Ron gave a rough estimate of the time.
"That shouldn't be," Hermione shook her head categorically. "In the Wizarding World, even if a Wizard's pet leaves its owner, it will return within a few days. It's impossible for it to be gone for too long."
This was something she had read in a book after the incident where Neville lost his toad in their first year.
"That's why..."
Ron spread his hands, the expression on his face seemingly growing a bit more sorrowful.
"Hey, Ron, look on the bright side."
Harry patted Ron on the shoulder, comforting him. "Scabbers is already very old. Maybe he left you just because he wanted to pursue a richer, more colorful life in his old age."
As they say, your friends are the ones who know you best. After Harry said this, the worry on Ron's face unconsciously dissipated a bit.
"You're right, Harry. Anyway, there's no sign that Scabbers is dead."
"I'll just assume he went out to play on his own."
"That's the spirit. Tomorrow is Christmas, so everyone needs to be happy."
Harry nodded with a smile and lowered his head to eat a whole sausage.
"Do you need me to bring anything back for you, Harry?"
His state of mind having adjusted, Ron looked at Harry, who was eating breakfast.
"Hmm... please help me bring back two bottles of butterbeer. There's only pumpkin juice in Hogwarts, and I'm really getting tired of drinking it."
"So you think so too, Harry!"
Hermione immediately arched her eyebrows at Harry, as if she had found a supporter.
Harry raised a hand to touch his nose. "Yes, having only pumpkin juice all the time is indeed a bit monotonous."
"Alright, I'll bring back butterbeer for you—lots of butterbeer."
Listening to Ron's words, Harry's brow twitched violently as he thought of the large bag of snacks currently under his bed, not even half-finished.
"No need to buy too much, really."
He looked at Ron with a sincere gaze, and Ron nodded seriously in agreement.
The casual chat ended, and Lynn arrived at the Gryffindor Table accompanied by the three seniors. Hermione, who had already finished her breakfast, stood up and took Lynn's hand with a smile.
"Let's go, let's explore Hogsmeade together."
"Okay," Lynn responded in an indifferent voice, nodding mechanically.
Led by Hermione to the gates of Hogwarts Castle, Filch was already standing there.
Seeing Lynn step forward, he pursed his lips tightly, seeming as if he wanted to say something but didn't quite dare to speak out.
During the time he hesitated, a gust of wild wind actually began to blow inward from outside the gates of Hogwarts Castle.
It blew him so hard that he was unsteady on his feet. "Crazy, crazy..."
Filch muttered in a low voice, "Just go on, all of you, go on quickly. Don't dawdle."
Seeing that Filch no longer intended to block them, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and led Lynn out of the Hogwarts Castle gates.
Looking at the silver-clad surroundings and the snowflakes like goose feathers falling from the sky, Lynn suddenly remembered her past experiences of having snowball fights with Harry and Ron, and building snowmen with the three seniors.
As these memories flashed through her mind, a trace of a smile surfaced at the corners of her mouth.
"What did you think of that made you so happy?"
Maranhao, who was still walking with them, turned her head to look at Lynn and asked softly.
"I thought of the scenes from before when I had snowball fights with Harry and Ron, and built snowmen with the seniors."
"Those scenes... were very, happy."
Although she was a bit halting, Lynn still spoke the thoughts in her mind.
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