In the end, Pansy's question was left unanswered as Malfoy's ramblings diverted his attention.
The dust of the secret room incident had settled. As the petrified students returned to their original states, Hogwarts also began to regain its normal order. The rumors of Dumbledore's expulsion also subsided as the "truth" came to light.
After this incident, it was said that Lockhart, who played the role of the "hero" in this incident, received a huge blow to his head, which greatly affected his spellcasting. Although it wasn't to the extent that his spellcasting became useless, many of his spells were more or less hindered. This was Dumbledore's conclusion to the outside world. That was why the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was suspended for the second half of the semester. In fact, due to this incident, the school even decided to cancel the final exams. For some people, this was truly good news.
"Sigh, I wanted to see Professor Lockhart beat up the old bat a few more times. Looks like I won't have the chance now." Ron, who was sitting at the dining table, sighed as he took food from the plate in front of him. He seemed to be very sorry for Professor Lockhart's injury. It was said that because of this problem, the Defense Against Black Magic class teacher for the next semester would be changed. Naturally, the Duel Club would not continue to operate.
"Hermione, do you really not remember what happened then?" Harry asked. He had asked this question many times, but the final answer was always Hermione shaking her head helplessly.
This time was no exception. She said, "I only remember some things that happened before I drank the medicine. For example, you helped me lure Pan Xi away." Her brows were tightly furrowed as she tried desperately to recall what happened at that time. She had been surrounded by praises for the past few days. They all said that she had displayed the courage that belonged to Gryffindor, but she could not recall anything at all. This made her blush every time she accepted the praises, and she felt that she deserved it.
"Could it be a side effect of the compound decoction?" Ron took a cup of honey tea and drank it. He said in annoyance, "If I was there, perhaps I could have been of some use."
"The compound decoction does not have such a side effect." Hermione said, as if to prove that there was no problem with her memory. However, her voice seemed to be a little louder, which attracted the attention of the surrounding students.
"Hermione, lower your voice. Snape is looking over here." Harry looked around and saw Snape's annoying face looking in their direction.
"Don't worry," Hermione said. Even so, she still lowered her voice. "I've confessed everything to the headmaster."
"What?" Ron and Harry exclaimed, almost jumping up in fright.
"Isn't everything fine now?" Hermione said. "Stealing is always wrong. We had no choice at the time, but now that it's over, we shouldn't hide it any longer, should we? Even if we stole Snape's things. "Hermione lowered her voice even further.
"Alright." Ron held his forehead helplessly. "Does Old Bat know?" he asked worriedly.
"The headmaster has already taken care of it," Hermione said briskly.
"That's good." Harry also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to be punished for this in the future.
Suddenly, the sound of chairs moving could be heard from Slythrin's table.
Ron looked in that direction and sneered. "Those Slythrin students are acting like he's the hero."
The cause of such behavior was naturally Malfoy, who came to eat. Many Slythrin students stood up to salute him when they saw him. Some even bowed.
"They definitely won't have a chance in this year's School Championship. Moreover, we still have Hermione's two hundred points," Harry said happily, not minding the behavior of those Slythrin students.
Hermione looked at Malfoy, who was not far away, with a complicated expression. Then, she remained silent.
"Professor, are there any side effects of the compound decoction?" Hermione asked Dumbledore after a class because she felt that something was wrong with her.
"Oh, Miss Granger, it seems like you've encountered some problems?" Dumbledore stopped in the middle of the corridor and asked as he shook his silver beard.
"I realized that there's something wrong with my emotions," Hermione said. "You clearly said that it was Professor Lockhart who saved me, but I don't want to see him at all. Instead, I feel disgusted whenever he's mentioned. What's going on? Is there something wrong with the compound decoction that I brewed? "
"Hmm …" Dumbledore muttered to himself and thought for a while. Then, he smiled and said to Hermione, "How should I put it? As far as I know, compound decoctions don't have such side effects. There's a saying that every Wizard is a prophet. Perhaps you can try to trust your intuition? Miss Granger. "
Hermione was a little confused by this answer, but she felt that Dumbledore wouldn't lie to her, so she chose to believe him. However, she said hesitantly, "But isn't this impolite? He clearly saved me and paid such a big price for it."
"I have to say that your idea is good, but now I think you can't find where he is." Dumbledore shrugged, expressing his helplessness. "He has now been transferred to St. Mungo's hospital. If you want to, you'll have to wait until the holidays to see him. Maybe he's preparing for an interview now."
Dumbledore added, "Maybe you'll have a chance to stand on the auditorium stage with him at the end of the semester. He should be back, and we'll commend the two of you. Perhaps this way, you'll be able to know more clearly if there's something wrong with your emotions."
"Okay, Professor." Hermione nodded.
"Miss Granger, other than that, do you have any other emotional problems?" Dumbledore asked.
Hermione's face stiffened, and then she slowly said, "Thank you for your concern. Other than that, there are no other problems."
"That's good." Dumbledore said with a smile, then turned around and dragged his loose robe in the direction of his office.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I lied." Hermione silently apologized to Dumbledore in her heart.
This was because other than the unfounded hatred she had for Lockhart, she realized that she could not bring herself to hate the person who had started all of this.
In fact, she even had a faint trace of …