Adelaide forcibly suppressed the tidal wave of fear surging within her, struggling to squeeze a trace of a smile onto her face before lifting her hand to give Hermione a gentle wave.
"(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ Hi, Hermione—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Hermione pounced on her like a fierce lioness.
In the blink of an eye, Adelaide felt a massive force pinning her down; Hermione's slender yet powerful arms were like iron pincers, tightly constricting her body. Adelaide felt her breathing grow difficult, and she could even clearly hear the creaking of her own bones.
Not again!
Adelaide groaned inwardly, her already bloodless face turning as pale as snow.
Recalling the terrifying experience in Chinatown where she nearly had her ribs crushed by Hermione, Adelaide hadn't expected this nightmare to repeat itself—and this time was much worse; she feared her ribs might actually be cracked.
At this moment, Hermione's eyes were bloodshot, making her look like a wild beast driven to madness.
Her left hand firmly gripped Adelaide's waist, while her right arm reached around Adelaide's back to lock onto her shoulder.
Hermione pressed her face close to Adelaide's ear and whispered in a low, slightly manic tone, "I finally found you—no, I should say you finally came to find me..."
Hearing these words, Adelaide felt a chill run up her spine.
She really couldn't understand what kind of shock the usually proud and intelligent Hermione had suffered to become like this; she was almost as crazy as Bellatrix.
Mrs. Granger stepped forward with a kind smile and said to Adelaide, "Adelaide, you've come back at just the right time. Quickly, help me persuade Hermione; this child has always listened to you the most since she was little."
"Huh? What?"
Adelaide slowly snapped out of her daze, as if waking from a dream.
She felt as though her body had been hit by a Body-Bind Curse, heavy and stiff, but she still struggled to turn her head and look at Mrs. Granger.
She opened her mouth and asked with a slightly trembling voice, "Mrs. Granger, please tell me, what exactly happened to Hermione? Please feel free to tell me everything. If it's within my power, I will certainly help without hesitation; even if it's beyond my ability, I will find a way to get help!"
Adelaide spoke with great confidence; after all, she had Dumbledore and Gellert backing her up. She didn't believe an ordinary girl like Hermione could encounter a problem that even Dumbledore couldn't solve.
Professor McGonagall, who had been silently observing the interaction between Adelaide and Hermione, suddenly broke the silence and suggested, "In my opinion, it would be better if we went inside to talk slowly."
Mrs. Granger slapped her forehead as if suddenly waking up, an apologetic look instantly appearing on her face as she said repeatedly, "Oh dear! Look at my memory, how rude of me! Please, both of you, come inside."
As she spoke, she didn't forget to turn and shout at Hermione, who was still clinging to Adelaide, "Hermione! Let go quickly! If you keep hugging Adelaide that hard, you're going to squeeze the life out of her!"
Hermione reluctantly released her arms from around Adelaide, then quickly shifted her hands into a standard and powerful grappling hold, firmly locking onto Adelaide's right arm.
Adelaide was clearly caught off guard and was momentarily at a loss, but she had no time to argue with Hermione. She just took deep, greedy gulps of the fresh air and submissively followed Hermione's movements, being ushered into the house.
Mr. Granger had gone out fishing with friends early that morning, leaving only Hermione and Mrs. Granger at home.
The moment Adelaide stepped into the living room, her gaze was immediately drawn to a table cluttered with admission brochures; the colorful papers were piled high, occupying almost the entire surface of the table.
It was already summer break, and logically, the entrance exams and interviews for various private secondary schools should have concluded long ago. Why were there still so many flyers in Hermione's house?
This truly baffled Adelaide.
As soon as they entered, Mrs. Granger headed straight for the kitchen. When she emerged, she was carrying an exquisite tray with fragrant Earl Grey tea and cakes for snacks.
Mrs. Granger gently placed the tray on the coffee table and then looked up at the elegant and dignified Professor McGonagall standing beside Adelaide.
From their previous interactions, Mrs. Granger had spoken with Adelaide and gained a basic, superficial understanding of her family background.
She knew Adelaide came from a wealthy family and was likely accustomed to luxury and refinement—so seeing Adelaide bring such an extraordinary and powerful woman into her home, Mrs. Granger couldn't help but feel nervous.
Looking at the simple tea and cakes on the table, Mrs. Granger thought to herself: Would this modest middle-class hospitality seem too meager?
At this thought, she said to Professor McGonagall with a hint of guilt, "Respected lady, are you an elder from Adelaide's family? I am truly sorry! I didn't expect Adelaide to visit so suddenly, so I didn't have time to prepare more abundant and delicious food and drinks to entertain an honored guest; if there is any lack of hospitality, I ask for your understanding."
Hearing Mrs. Granger's apologetic words, Professor McGonagall smiled slightly and replied gracefully, "You misunderstand, Madam. I am not related to Miss Grindelwald by blood. I am simply a Professor at her school. I've come to visit today primarily because your daughter, Hermione Granger, has been accepted into our school. I wonder if she would be willing to attend Hogwarts to study magic?"
As she spoke, Professor McGonagall took an exquisite envelope from her handbag, which bore the unique crest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As soon as Professor McGonagall finished speaking, Hermione shouted, "I'm willing!"
Her response was so swift and firm that everyone present couldn't help but look at her in surprise.
Mrs. Granger's reaction was a bit slower. She was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening.
After a few seconds, she finally snapped out of it and looked at her daughter in amazement, asking incredulously, "You agreed just like that? In the past six months, we've visited eighty-seven schools! You rejected every single one after visiting them in person, so why this time..."
Facing her mother's question, Hermione didn't explain immediately. She bit her lip tightly, her pale cheeks flushing with a faint red glow from excitement.
Hermione clung to Adelaide like a koala, her hands unconsciously wrapping around Adelaide's waist; her bright eyes stared straight at Adelaide's face, her gaze so deep it seemed as if she could see through everything.
After a long while, she spoke again, answering softly in a tone that was almost like a dream, "Mom, this is different... I want to go to the same school as Adelaide."
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