In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 373: Thank you, Miss Granger (2 in 1)

Floyd's body fell straight backwards, her body wrapped tightly around with magic ropes created by the Incarcerous Spell, unable to make any movement except for using her mouth to speak.

Her two henchmen only dared to raise their wands in their hands and hadn't even had the guts to fight back until now.

Only when Hermione turned her gaze on them did one of the girls falter and try to use a Stunning Spell, but the spell didn't even brush the edge of Hermione's dress, it just flew off into the distance and hit the grass on the ground.

Without any difficulty at all, Hermione had dealt with the three pureblood girls straight away, and to be honest she was a little surprised that the pureblood students had been so ruined in Hogwarts Castle under Voldemort's control.

But of course, it's not that all purebloods are rubbish, rather, it's that Hermione encountered a few girls who happened to be good for nothing who were only good at a few hexes and jinxes that can be used in bullying, and who were afraid of a "notorious" and "infamous" dark wizard like Hermione, that they didn't even dare to fight back.

Floyd didn't dare to scream out because she was afraid, and the place they chose to torment Assia was particularly well-chosen, exactly in line with the statement "No one will come to save you even if you scream loudly."

"You, you shouldn't do anything to-to us, do you think you're saving that little bitch by stopping us? No, you aren't! As soon as the professors find out about this and learn that you cast a spell on us just to save this half-breed student, she'll surely be tortured to death as well!"

As if thinking of something, Floyd sounded nervous and rushed to tell Hermione the consequences of doing something like this, trying to salvage the situation.

"Just don't hurt me, and those two friends of mine, and set us free, then I promise we won't tell the Professor about today and the little bitch won't be harmed. Granger, your name is Granger, isn't it? I make a promise on the honour of the Floyd family!"

Hermione didn't bother to look at her from the beginning to the end but just sat down next to Assia.

"See? That's how they are, not only them, but the Professors in this Castle as well, no matter how hideous and horrible these people normally act, the moment they lose their force, they are a pile of rotten meat."

The short period of ups and downs had made Assia's emotions fluctuate a lot now.

She was constantly shedding tears and whimpering like a timid kitten not even daring to make her sobs louder.

After Hermione sat down next to her, she buried her head in Hermione's lap without any control and wrapped both arms around her slender waist and cried out in anguish.

Thinking that Assia was shocked by what she had just said, and feeling sure that Hermione would be softened by the way Assia now behaved, Floyd said more excitedly and sharply.

"Not only will I not tell anyone about what happened today, I swear Granger! I will never bother with this half-breed again! Surely you are unable to kill us, right? Surely Dumbledore doesn't want to get into conflict with Sir Headmaster since he's willing to participate in the tournament, so if you can't kill us, you have to trust me! Let us go, Granger!"

Hermione didn't push Assia away, allowing her tears to soak her robes while still reaching out and gently stroking the hair of the girl who was clearly two years older than she is.

"Have you forgotten that there is a spell in the magical world called the Obliviate?"

At Hermione's words, Floyd's eyes narrowed sharply, but she soon put on a reluctant smile again.

"But you've only just studied magic for less than two years right? Obliviate spell is very advanced magic, not something that even any random seventh-year in the castle would necessarily be able to master, let alone the fact that you're only a fourth year and have been a slave in the castle for a year, to begin with, don't try to scare me, Granger, letting me go is the only thing you can do!"

The more she spoke, whether she had convinced Hermione or not was unknown, but it was as if she herself had been convinced by her own words, her tone becoming more and more firmed up, as if she was sure Hermione wouldn't do anything to her.

"She can't, but I can, right?"

A voice that didn't belong to anyone present there rang out abruptly.

Floyd turned her head sharply and looked at the boy who had appeared on the grass at some point, her shock turning to horror at the sight of the face that had appeared in the Daily Prophet who knew how many times!

Hermione also looked up at the unexpected visitor, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curving in a slight curve and Assia, who had buried herself in her lap, also looked up with red eyes and frozen in fear at the sight of the student who had the entire castle, during this period, scorning and cursing in fear.

"When did you follow me here?"

"Hey, we've known each other for so long Hermione, you don't really think I haven't noticed that you've become a little moody since we got back to the wagon."

"Then why didn't you ask me then?"

"If I had asked, you would have told me straight away, how pointless would that have been. I kept it to myself and then popped in when you needed me, that way you got the surprise and I got the satisfaction, we both win, don't we!"

"...Has anyone ever told you that your hobby is quite bad?"

"It seems not, but there are so many people here, so we'll just have to ask a random one to find out the answer. This young lady, I think I remember your name is Floyd? Do you think my hobby is quite bad-natured?"

Jon walked up to Floyd with a raised eyebrow and asked a question, his mere approach caused the noble pureblood to scream in fear, just like Assia who they had cornered earlier, constantly trying to back away desperately further away from him.

"Don't kill me! Please! Don't kill me!"

"So she's a victim of paranoia." Jon shrugged with a spread hand, then casually waved his wand, and the next moment Floyd's eyes suddenly became hollow.

Floyd's two followers followed suit and cried out, but unfortunately, this place was exactly where they had chosen to bully someone, so even if they cried out loudly, no one came to their rescue.

As he did, Jon also made both of their eyes go hollow, erasing the memory of them seeing Hermione and himself here today, then weaving a false memory of Assia herself running away from them and padding it in.

"Let's move to a different place, Heroic Miss Granger, or it'll cost me another swing when they come to their senses."

In response to Jon's teasing, Hermione simply reached out and hammered his shoulder, then lifted up Assia and followed Jon towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest near the wagon.

They couldn't get too close to the wagon, it was a priority surveillance area for the Aurors and the two of them going over there with a student from the castle like that would definitely cause trouble for Assia afterwards.

After helping Hermione with the aftermath, Jon didn't stay around, he wasn't exactly in charge of everything, he had just noticed Hermione's complexion on the wagon and went along to help, now that it was over, he had no intention of interfering with Hermione's social life.

He had met Cedric in the Forbidden Forest before, so couldn't Hermione also play a heroic role in saving a girl's day?

So Jon had no intention of making a scene, and after a brief goodbye to Hermione and a reminder not to forget that it would soon be dinner time, he left in the direction of the wagon.

By this time, Assia had also gradually settled down, still whimpering and with her head down she whispered her thanks to Hermione.

"Thank you, Miss Granger."

"So why not just resist, anyway?" Hermione asked the question once again as she looked at her calmly.

Assia gripped the sides of her robes with both hands.

"If I fought back... They'd bully me even more, along with my mum and dad, and get them into trouble, and mum taught me not to get into trouble at school"

"So you can live with the fact that she's going to use the curse on you and turn you into an inhuman beast later?"

Tears flowed again from Assia's eyes and her eyes, which had become red and swollen, looked up at Hermione.

"But, but the only person who would have to endure the torture like that would just be me, wouldn't it? At least I wouldn't be causing trouble for my mum and dad."

Hermione fell silent.

She looked at the seemingly weak girl quietly, as if she were looking at herself a year or so ago.

The difference between the two of them was simply that Hermione was trying to sacrifice herself to save more of her peers, while Assia was now trying to sacrifice herself to stabilize her parents' lives.

She didn't have the right to accuse her of being weak, because both of them had made the same choice.

It was just that Hermione was lucky enough to meet Jon at that time, but is it possible for Assia to have the same luck now to meet someone like how she met Jon when she most needed it?

Or maybe can 'Hermione' now be who 'Jon' was to her at that time?

Hermione didn't have that in mind, and it was fair to say that Hermione couldn't think of that for the time being; this time at Hogwarts Castle, not only did Jon need to work hard to win the Triwizard Tournament, but Hermione herself had an equally important task.

There wasn't much she could do regarding Assia these days.

"That's a nice string you have there."

There was a long silence before Hermione changed the subject and fixed her gaze on the string on Assia's left wrist.

Assia huffed and set her gaze on her own wrist as well, her eyes unnoticeably froze for a moment after seeing the string, but the next second she was back to her normal self.

"My mother gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday."

"She bought it at a muggle ornament shop, I guess." Hermione said staring at the string, "My mum was wearing a string exactly like the one you have on her hand back when I was brought to Hogwarts Castle, it was given to her by her dad for her wedding anniversary years ago."

Assia, a sensitive girl at heart, heard something unusual in Hermione's calm tone, and she asked in a small voice.

"Is it possible that-that you are missing your mum and dad?"

"Of course, I'm missing them." Hermione didn't hide her feelings, "But I can't reconnect with them yet, but Professor Dumbledore told us that when this Triwizard Tournament is over, maybe the Memory Charm on our parents will be lifted, or at least when it has been determined to be safe in France, I will be able to reconnect with them at that time."

Assia's eyes shone up.

"Congratulations."

"Such early congratulations mean that you too think that we are sure to win this tournament, don't you?"

"Your friend, the boy called Jon Green- He's very formidable, I've heard a lot about him in the Castle."

"He's actually normally pretty off the mark, but he's more reliable than anyone else when it matters. So if you also believe that in the end, he will win this tournament then you will actually get your situation changed after the tournament is over."

Hermione said softly.

Assia looked up as if she didn't really understand what Hermione meant by what she said.

"Don't forget that the bet between Professor Dumbledore and that Headmaster of yours is not just about the ownership of the French wizarding community, but this Hogwarts castle as well."

Hermione looked up at the towering castle.

"Whoever wins this tournament will gain the sole ownership of the school name Hogwarts and the right to own this castle, and when that time comes, the professor will surely be fighting to keep most of the students as well, and after that, you'll be able to have a normal school life."

"Is that really possible?" Assia asked in a thin voice, with hope in her gaze, but in a tone that was clearly a little unsure of herself.

For some reason, Hermione suddenly remembered Jon's comment to herself in the Castle that "the professors at the other Hogwarts never lie" at this moment.

She smiled and made a promise in the same way.

"It'll be fine!"

As if moved by Hermione's promise, Assia's whole self became cheerful and bright, and she looked at the smile on Hermione's face and smiled back as well.

This girl, who was obviously two years younger than her, gave her a sense of security she had never felt before.

Assia had been absent from the Castle long enough that she couldn't continue to talk with Hermione here, and without waiting for Hermione to say anything, she offered to go back herself.

"Try not to be alone when you get back, avoid those people who are bullying you, and if they still try to tie you up and leave the castle to use the curse on you, then cry out for help and I will hear you."

It was a promise that shouldn't have been voiced at all; Although Hermione had cautioned herself at first not to get too involved with the students in the Castle at this point in time, she hadn't been able to resist saying it in the end.

Assia, whose reddened eyes had obviously not yet dried up, looked at her with a smile that was as bright as the sun.

"Thank you, Miss Granger!"

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