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Chapter 24: Christmas Plans
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 08:36:14 +0000 UTC
Hermione finally joined the League of Mages mentioned by Noah and became the first non-Ravenclaw member of this organization.
Hermione was not stupid. When she heard Noah explain that this matter had been approved by Professor Dumbledore, she was basically convinced to join.
The conditions here were so good, and there were so many outstanding students in the school gathered together—only a fool would refuse!
As for the Memory Charm?
Although Hermione was a little concerned—after all, this spell was not easy to control, and even adult wizards could accidentally erase important memories—she wisely chose not to ask too many questions.
Even though Professor Dumbledore had agreed to the existence of this "League," it was under certain conditions.
If the people invited by Noah and his team did not intend to join, then it was reasonable for them to take precautionary measures.
Otherwise, once word got out about this wonderful place, curious students would inevitably try to find a way in.
If that happened, the "League of Mages" would lose its exclusivity and, in turn, its purpose. Now that she was part of it, Hermione naturally would not allow that to happen!
In the following days, Hermione began studying here with Noah and his group, and she quickly realized how big the gap between herself and them was!
However, she was not discouraged—after all, she had just joined and was only getting started.
So Hermione worked very hard these days, just like Noah and his friends. Apart from regular classes and meals, she spent all her time in the Room of Requirement.
Noah and his team took good care of Hermione. Noah even summoned a few professors from the Room of Requirement to help her.
The Room of Requirement could create magical representations of people, but Noah knew exactly which professors to "summon" based on his knowledge of Harry Potter's history.
He knew which professors were more reliable, so the ones they conjured were always of the highest caliber.
There was just one thing Noah couldn't quite figure out—for example, right now, it was lunchtime after class.
Although students from all four Houses ate together in the Great Hall, each House had its own designated table, and students rarely sat at other Houses' tables.
But now, Hermione was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, right in the middle of Noah and his group, drawing plenty of curious stares and whispers from other Ravenclaws.
This made Noah and the others a bit uncomfortable.
"Hermione?" Noah scratched his head. Kenn and the others were silently urging him to handle it, so he had no choice but to ask.
"What's wrong?" Hermione took a doughnut, dipped it in some sauce, and looked at Noah curiously.
"Uh... why aren’t you eating at the Gryffindor table? Won't your friends think it's odd?" Noah asked awkwardly.
"Isn't this place welcoming to me?" Hermione hesitated for a moment, then asked back.
"Of course not! Listen, you're our friend—a good friend. How could we not welcome you? It’s just that..."
"If we’re friends, then it shouldn’t be a problem for me to eat here, right?"
"Of course it’s fine."
"Besides, I don’t have any friends in Gryffindor."
No friends? Noah and the others were momentarily stunned, but Noah soon understood.
At the beginning of the school year, Hermione had few friends in Gryffindor, with Harry and Ron being the only exceptions.
But since their trio had been disrupted, Hermione naturally wouldn’t be close to them anymore—even if their relationship was still friendly, it wouldn’t be the same as in the original timeline.
Thinking of this, Noah sighed and said, "Hermione, you really should have been in Ravenclaw. It would have been the best fit for you."
"Yeah, I honestly don’t understand what the Sorting Hat was thinking, putting you in Gryffindor," Evan added. It was clear he felt Hermione was wasted in Gryffindor.
"I don't know either." Hermione's face turned slightly red. She couldn’t exactly admit that she had asked to be placed in Gryffindor.
"You can always stick with us from now on. As long as you want to, you’re always welcome here," Noah concluded.
While it was rare—almost unheard of—for students to regularly sit at other Houses' tables, there were no actual rules against it.
For Noah and his group, Hermione was their companion. Her House didn’t matter.
After Noah spoke, Evan and the others immediately voiced their agreement, making Hermione feel much better.
Though other Ravenclaw students still whispered about it, Noah knew that, in time, everyone would get used to it.
Habit was a powerful thing—once people got used to something, they stopped questioning it.
From then on, Hermione was fully integrated into their group. She even stopped watching the Quidditch matches she had previously been curious about.
"Speaking of which, Harry’s flying skills are impressive. He made the Quidditch team at such a young age and even helped Gryffindor beat Slytherin," Evan commented while twirling his fork in his pasta. His own flying skills were subpar.
"Flying is great and all, but he keeps losing points in Potions class. If I were him, I wouldn’t be so happy," Kenn shrugged indifferently. He really didn’t care about flying.
"Hermione, what do you think?" Lance turned to Hermione, curious about the perspective of a Gryffindor.
"No opinion, really. I just hope he loses fewer points in other classes. At least that way, I don’t have to work so hard making up for it," Hermione said lightly.
She was happy that Harry had won the match for Gryffindor, but only because it meant earning House points.
"Alright, everyone—Christmas is coming up. What are your plans?" Noah changed the subject.
He had no interest in Quidditch. If he had a choice, he’d rather watch football in the Muggle world.
With the holiday approaching, Noah was considering how to spend the break.
He could stay at Hogwarts, but the break wasn’t long, and he was short on money—otherwise, he’d have considered visiting America.
Still, Noah was grateful. Growing up in an orphanage in this world had been much better than the horror background he had read online.
The people there had treated him well, and the headmistress had even covered his tuition for the semester.
He owed her a visit.
"We’re going home for the holidays. What about you, Noah?" Evan and Kenn exchanged a glance before answering.
"I'm heading home too. Noah, I heard you come from a Muggle background?" Hermione looked at him curiously.
"Yeah, I do. I grew up in an orphanage. I'll be going back to visit for Christmas. I also need to thank the headmistress, Ms. Heifen, for helping me with tuition. If it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here."
"Really?" Hermione looked surprised but then smiled. "Then how about we go together?"
"Of course. Having a travel companion will make the journey a lot less boring."
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