Walking down the stairs of Hogwarts, Amanda quickly arrived at the corridor by the Castle entrance.
Looking up at the Castle gates with an indifferent expression, Amanda waited quietly for them to open.
At twelve o'clock noon, the Castle gates opened on time, and Amanda took two more steps forward.
Appearing before her were Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had rushed to Hogwarts accompanied by Headmaster Dumbledore.
The couple's emotions seemed relatively stable, but the anxiety in their eyes and the worry shown in their micro-expressions did not escape Amanda's gaze.
The aunt and uncle were worried—worried about the petrified Hermione.
Amanda didn't need to think at all to reach this conclusion.
It was because she hadn't mastered her skills well enough and failed to completely eliminate the Basilisk, which was why Hermione had been petrified by it.
Although Professor McGonagall, Cho Chang, and several others had tried to counsel Amanda before,
telling her it wasn't her fault, Amanda—who had been taught from a young age to immediately look for her own faults when problems arose and to take responsibility for mistakes—could not be so easily swayed.
Her brain kept telling her: this is your fault, this is your fault.
You cannot escape; you cannot run from your mistake.
As the gates of Hogwarts Castle slowly opened, Mr. and Mrs. Granger's expressions did not ease; instead, their micro-expressions magnified into full-blown distress.
Anxiety was written plainly on their faces. Amanda watched their sudden change in expression, her mind racing, and she reached a conclusion in the next second.
To ensure safety, Hogwarts Castle looks completely different in the eyes of Muggles.
In their eyes, Hogwarts Castle is just a dangerous building with a sign saying, "Danger, Ruins, Do Not Enter."
So, the sudden magnification of the aunt and uncle's micro-expressions must be because they saw Hogwarts as a ruin and were worried about Hermione.
However, in the next moment, her thought was instantly shattered; Mr. and Mrs. Granger weren't just worrying about Hermione.
"Good God," Mr. Granger snapped out of it and rushed toward Amanda, "Amanda, don't stand there, it's dangerous!"
Mrs. Granger also raised her hand to cover her mouth, turning to look at Headmaster Dumbledore with a terrified gaze.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, aren't we going to Hogwarts? Why is it a ruin, and why is Amanda still inside the ruins!"
Headmaster Dumbledore was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately reacted.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, it was my oversight."
Forgive this hundred-year-old man; since Hogwarts was built, this was the first time the parents of a Muggle-born student had come to Hogwarts.
Therefore, he hadn't thought ahead that in the eyes of Muggles, Hogwarts would appear as a ruin.
After all, not everyone is like Amanda, who can memorize every detail of every book and automatically recall them when needed.
Headmaster Dumbledore waved his hand, and the Hogwarts before Mr. and Mrs. Granger's eyes immediately changed.
From a dilapidated, dangerous building, it transformed into a magnificent and glorious Castle.
"Oh..."
Mr. Granger stopped in his tracks and looked somewhat awkwardly at Amanda, who was coming out of the Castle toward them.
"I forgot, this is a magic school," Mr. Granger reached up to scratch his hair and smiled at Amanda, "But it's good that you're alright."
Amanda blinked, her chest feeling inexplicably warm. After Headmaster Dumbledore led Mrs. Granger over as well, she politely nodded to the three adults.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, Auntie, Uncle, good afternoon."
"Good afternoon," the three adults responded with smiles.
Headmaster Dumbledore turned to look at Mr. and Mrs. Granger. "Please forgive me; this old man's memory is indeed getting worse. Hogwarts shows itself as a ruin to Muggles to protect its existence."
"I should have remembered and informed you in advance. I am very sorry."
Mr. and Mrs. Granger quickly waved their hands, smiling to indicate it didn't matter.
Amanda waited until the conversation between Headmaster Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Granger ended before bowing deeply to the Grangers.
"I'm sorry, Auntie, Uncle. It's because I didn't completely eliminate the threat of the Basilisk that Hermione was petrified. It's all my fault."
Mr. and Mrs. Granger were stunned for two seconds by Amanda's sudden apology. Then Mrs. Granger reacted and immediately stepped forward to help her up.
"Silly child, what are you saying? You don't need to apologize."
"That's right, we should be the ones thanking you." Mr. Granger also stepped forward, squatting down to look Amanda in the eye.
"Just like we said to your Professor McGonagall before, if you hadn't pointed out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a Basilisk, Hermione wouldn't have used a mirror to look around the corner."
"In that case, she might not have even had the chance to be petrified."
"But based on the situation that day, if she hadn't been worried about me, Hermione wouldn't have left the Gryffindor Common Room."
Amanda's tone had no ups or downs. As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Granger gently pulled her into an embrace, stroking her back.
"That's even less your fault, good child. Isn't it normal to worry about your friend? It was only right for Hermione to go out and look for you."
"As long as one has a proper sense of right and wrong, they won't feel this is your fault."
Mrs. Granger let go of Amanda, putting an arm around her shoulder as she and her husband followed Headmaster Dumbledore into Hogwarts.
"And we also heard that you went to find the Basilisk alone after Hermione was petrified. A giant serpent that kills with a single glance... you child, how did you dare..."
Mrs. Granger's voice couldn't help but tremble. Such a good child.
She didn't dare imagine what would have happened if something had gone wrong when Amanda faced the Basilisk.
"Hermione was petrified... the Basilisk did it..."
Amanda stared straight ahead, her tone dull and mechanical.
Mrs. Granger's eyes flickered intensely, and her hand on Amanda's shoulder tightened slightly.
"Meeting you is truly Hermione's greatest luck."
Amanda's brain worked rapidly, yet it couldn't calculate why meeting her would be Hermione's luck.
After all, as in this case, if she hadn't existed, Hermione wouldn't have left the Gryffindor Common Room and wouldn't have been petrified.
But since Mrs. Granger said so, she could only respond politely.
"Thank you, Auntie."
After following Headmaster Dumbledore to the Hospital Wing, Mrs. Granger looked down at Amanda and reached out to pinch her cheek.
"We have prepared two Christmas gifts for you. One is from us, and the other we are giving you on Hermione's behalf. You will receive them tomorrow."
"Thank you, Auntie, Uncle."
Amanda allowed Mrs. Granger to pinch her face, responding with her usual flat tone.
Arriving at Hermione's bedside, Mr. and Mrs. Granger gathered around.
Seeing her petrified daughter with her own eyes, Mrs. Granger could no longer hold back her tears.
"Oh my God..."
Mrs. Granger reached out to touch Hermione's hand holding the mirror, but what she felt was not her daughter's usual warmth, but the coldness of stone.
"Hermione..." Mrs. Granger bowed her head, her forehead gently resting on her daughter's cold hand as tears slowly dripped and "shattered" against Hermione's petrified abdomen.
Mr. Granger's eyes were also red as he tried to hold a strand of Hermione's hair.
"My darling... when have you ever been as dull as you are now? You've always been so cheerful."
Amanda lowered her eyes. She realized that, according to etiquette, she should leave now.
So she and Headmaster Dumbledore left the Hospital Wing silently together.
Walking out of the Hospital Wing and gently closing the door, Headmaster Dumbledore stroked his beard and looked at Amanda.
"Perhaps you can accept now that this matter isn't your fault? Miss Amanda?"
Amanda stiffly raised her head to look at Headmaster Dumbledore, her eyes like deep pool water looking at him without reaction.
"Well..." Headmaster Dumbledore smiled helplessly, "It seems we'll have to wait for Miss Granger to wake up and tell you herself."
"You're going to wait for them here too, aren't you?"
Headmaster Dumbledore looked sideways at Amanda, who nodded expressionlessly.
"Yes."
"Then we might as well sit for a while. I imagine Mr. and Mrs. Granger have a lot they want to say to their daughter."
Headmaster Dumbledore pulled out his wand and gave it a wave, and two comfortable-looking chairs appeared out of thin air before them.
Sitting in a chair, Headmaster Dumbledore looked at Amanda, who remained standing. The light glinted off his glasses as he was about to ask why she wasn't sitting down.
He then saw Amanda's body transform on the spot into a dinosaur that looked robust and sleek.
Amanda tilted her large head slightly, selecting from the feathers in her right front claw.
Choosing one that was the most beautiful and the perfect size for a quill, Amanda bit it with her mouth and pulled it out with force.
Headmaster Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at this scene, only speaking once Amanda had returned to human form, standing there with the feather in her hand.
"Miss Amanda, what is this?"
Amanda turned around and tucked away the feather. "Making a Christmas gift for Hermione. A quill."
Just now, when she heard Mr. and Mrs. Granger say they had prepared two Christmas gifts for her, she had subconsciously started thinking about what kind of Christmas gift she should prepare for Hermione.
For the others, including the Professors, she had already ordered Mr. and Mrs. Granger's Christmas gifts through the Owl Post Office long ago.
After all, thanks to the world consciousness, she didn't lack money. Under such a premise... preparing gifts for everyone was easy.
A Christmas gift pack from Honeydukes was very suitable—enough candy to last half a year. Sending it was definitely thoughtful enough.
But only Hermione's gift—Amanda had instinctively left it for last.
Because she could vaguely feel that Hermione's gift, just like last year, couldn't be the same as what she gave everyone else.
From that moment on, her brain automatically partitioned a part of its spirit to think about what gift she should give Hermione.
It wasn't until just now that she reached a conclusion: to give Hermione a quill made from her own Animagus feather.
She just didn't know if Hermione would be satisfied with this gift she was giving.
After hearing Amanda's explanation, Headmaster Dumbledore looked at her and nodded inwardly. Even without her emotions restored, Amanda's seriousness and care for Hermione were instinctive and beyond reproach.
Once her emotions are restored in the future... Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and shook his head; that would probably be a young person's love, sweet and passionate.
It was already half past twelve when Mr. and Mrs. Granger walked out of the Hospital Wing; they had spent thirty minutes with their daughter.
Amanda quickly stood up when she saw them come out, and Headmaster Dumbledore also waved his wand to make the two chairs disappear.
"We can go to the Great Hall now; lunch at Hogwarts hasn't finished yet."
"Alright, thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore," Mrs. Granger smiled with red-rimmed eyes. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"When parents are seeing their child, no amount of time is considered a long wait."
Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head, while looking seriously at Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
"And speaking of apologies, I am the one who should apologize most here."
"As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I failed to ensure the safety of the students. This is my mistake."
"I must apologize to you and Miss Granger, and of course," Headmaster Dumbledore turned to look at Amanda, "I also need to apologize to Miss Amanda."
Amanda shook her head and said matter-of-factly, "No one can ensure everything is under control and that no mistakes are made. This is not your fault, Headmaster Dumbledore."
"That's the truth of it, Headmaster Dumbledore. You don't need to apologize."
Mr. and Mrs. Granger also waved their hands; accidents can happen at any time.
Although they were heartbroken for their daughter, they were not unreasonable parents.
Anyone would feel heartache when an accident happens to their child, but Hogwarts, as a school, had done what it should.
Immediately after Hermione was petrified, Professor McGonagall had rushed to their home with a thick letter detailing the incident.
She explained the situation to them in detail and apologized, without a single shred of concealment throughout the process.
And she stated that Hogwarts would certainly cure Hermione and have her return home healthy and lively by the summer holidays.
Furthermore, she and Headmaster Dumbledore had argued their case to the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot so that they could come to Hogwarts to see Hermione.
This was what gave them the chance to know the truth and even visit their daughter at Hogwarts, rather than staying at home knowing nothing.
With Hogwarts as a school and Headmaster Dumbledore having gone to such lengths, how could they have the heart to accept another apology?
In the end, this wasn't the school's fault; all the blame lay with that Dark Wizard who deceived an eleven-year-old girl and never stopped doing evil.
As well as the Basilisk that actually harmed Hermione.
"Thank you for your tolerance, but facts prove that these old bones of mine should have been more vigilant."
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled, his eyes glinting slightly. "Alright, let's hurry to the Great Hall. The food at Hogwarts is quite plentiful; it should satisfy you."
The group of four passed through several corridors and entered the Great Hall. The floating candles and the ceiling that looked like the sky outside made Mr. and Mrs. Granger gasp in admiration.
At the same time, the gazes of many Young Wizards in the Great Hall shifted to these two adults who were clearly not wearing wizard robes.
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