December was fast approaching, and even Alice had been discharged from the Hospital Wing, yet Adelaide still hadn't managed to appease Senior Cho Chang.
No matter how Adelaide used her glib tongue and sweet words, Senior Cho Chang seemed determined to ignore everything, completely disregarding her.
This truly worried Adelaide; she felt as if she was trapped in an unsolvable dilemma, unable to break free no matter how hard she tried.
In this frantic situation, Adelaide suddenly thought of someone — Amandine.
This mature and steady elder sister from the romantic capital of France might be able to offer her some useful advice and help.
"Amandine, if someone very important to you stops talking to you because you accidentally made a mistake, what would you do?"
Amandine tilted her head, thought for a few seconds, then casually replied, "That's simple, there's nothing a Memory Charm can't solve. If one isn't enough, then add a love potion!"
Adelaide:???!!!
As expected of a descendant from a Pure-blood family with a prison record. Fine, she'd pretend she never asked.
After much deliberation, Adelaide walked with heavy steps to the door of the Human Observation Group's activity room. Three senior students were busy organizing the activity reports from Terence Higgs and Stephens from the previous week.
The investigation into the Death Eater mole had now entered its final stage.
Now, only concrete evidence was needed. Everyone dared not relax in the slightest, as even a minor oversight could alert the target, rendering all previous efforts futile.
They had to become exceptionally cautious, closely observing the daily behavior of the two target individuals, patiently waiting for the prey to accidentally reveal a flaw.
Adelaide gently knocked on the door, then entered the room and said, "Senior Penelope, a friend asked me to consult you on a question."
Hearing the voice, Penelope didn't even lift her head, merely responding indifferently, "Speak."
Adelaide hesitated slightly, then, as if having made a decision, began, "It's like this, my friend recently made some mistakes, which led to a conflict with her best friend—"
Before she could finish, Penelope suddenly interrupted, "Sorry, I can't help you. Why Junior Cho Chang isn't talking to you, you'll have to think hard about the reason yourself."
Adelaide's face immediately flushed crimson, and she angrily shouted, "I told you, it wasn't me! It was a friend of mine!"
That's why, if she had a choice, she really wouldn't want to ask these Human Observation Group senior students for personal advice!
Penelope perfunctorily took over, "Alright, alright, let's just say your friend asked you to inquire about this. Please tell your friend that if she can't deeply recognize her mistakes and treat her best friend with a sincere heart, then even if we talk ourselves hoarse here, it will probably be useless."
Tsk!
Adelaide bit her molars in shame and indignation, pulling out a stack of Parchment from her briefcase—it seemed she would have to resort to some tactics.
She shook the Parchment and loudly declared, "Actually, I just compiled a report on the riding experience and dragon training of the Hebridean Black Dragon—this is firsthand material, empirical, vivid, and readable, and it's an exclusive report!"
Swish!
At these words, the three senior students who had been engrossed in their work immediately looked up, their three pairs of eyes, as if drawn by a magnet, closely following the precious document, swaying back and forth.
"But then again," Senior Penelope said, putting down her quill with a righteous expression, "I think that in this situation, providing a tiny, insignificant hint to a junior student who is feeling lost is quite reasonable."
With the tables turned, Adelaide leaned against the wall and said, "Please enlighten me, Senior."
Penelope organized her thoughts and sharply questioned, "Professor MacFusty was urgently transferred to St Mungos Hospital for treatment due to severe injuries, Alice MacFusty was only allowed to leave the Hospital Wing yesterday, and you also lay in the Hospital Wing for a whole week! I want to know, have you actually told Cho Chang about what happened that night?"
Hearing Penelope's question, Adelaide couldn't help but be stunned, momentarily at a loss for words, not even having time to defend herself.
Before she could recover, Penelope continued mercilessly, "Clearly, you haven't. You always only know how to hypocritically admit your mistakes with sweet words—but don't forget, Cho Chang is a student of Ravenclaw House; she's not a little girl to be easily fooled."
"She has long seen through the lies and deception hidden behind your eloquent mouth; as the saying goes, 'Adelaide's mouth, a deceiving devil.' So, if you still refuse to show full sincerity and earnestness in this matter, hoping to gain her forgiveness is merely a pipe dream."
Hearing these words, Adelaide was first silent, then unconsciously reached out to gently rub her chin, falling into deep thought.
Thinking it over carefully, she had indeed hidden too much from Cho Chang... She had always thought she treated Cho Chang as her best friend, but in reality, she only treated Cho Chang as a companion for meals and chats, a savior who repeatedly helped with Astronomy homework, and someone to playfully tease when bored.
She had never told Cho Chang about the Death Eaters, nor had she told her about her relationship with Amandine—perhaps Cho Chang knew more from Dumbledore than Adelaide had ever voluntarily disclosed.
Somehow, Adelaide suddenly remembered a Sunday before she came to Hogwarts, when she and Dumbledore were having lunch at the Hogs Head Inn, Aberforth had warned her to stay away from Albus Dumbledore, saying, "He learned secrecy at my mother's knee; you cannot fully trust him."
It turned out Dumbledore had indeed kept from her for three months the fact that Death Eaters wanted to capture her. What was her reaction when she learned the truth?
She was so angry she didn't sleep all night.
Angry that everyone kept things from her, and also angry at herself for being too lazy before, not focusing on improving her strength.
And what was she now, different from Dumbledore who kept secrets? They were the same kind of people.
Adelaide handed the stack of Parchment to Penelope and turned to walk towards the Headmaster's Office.
She wanted to apply to visit Gellert Grindelwald at St Mungos this weekend; only that old man could resolve the confusion in her heart.
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