Countdown to Parting

An ordinary morning.

Wendell sat in his chair as usual, legs crossed, holding up a full-page copy of the Daily Mail to cover his head.

Monica poured the warm milk into a cup, and Hermione and Loren took their cups one after the other, sipped their milk, and drank a small amount. The white milk foam on their lips looked like two white mustaches as they enjoyed their breakfast.

Although the breakfasts at Granger house weren't as lavish as those at Hogwarts, their hot and delicious taste was a big plus.

Monica placed a glass of milk in front of Wendell and noticed a full-page newspaper hanging around his neck. She couldn't help but get angry; breakfast was already in front of him, and he was still reading!

She slapped Wendell's thigh hard.

Snap!

The thick flesh of the palm collided with the flesh of the thigh, making a loud sound.

Wendell put down his newspaper, revealing a pained expression. "Oh, it's the first day of the clinic's opening, I need to get myself some painkillers."

Monica took a bite of bread with a blank expression. "Then you should always keep painkillers on hand."

Loren and Hermione ate their bread, feeling like they were superfluous, and tried to minimize their presence.

Wendell ate his food and said in a wronged tone, "Yesterday we were talking about our trip to Australia, and today I'm told to always have painkillers on hand."

Monica ignored him and looked at Hermione and Loren, saying, "The clinic will be very busy today, so we might not be back for lunch. I've left some food for you in the Kitchen. Can you take care of yourselves?"

"No problem!"

"Can."

Hermione and Loren nodded vigorously.

"Call us if you need anything."

After saying goodbye to the Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione went to the courtyard to practice her Patronus Charm, her daily morning exercise.

Loren sat on the sofa flipping through his notes, still trying to find commonalities among Memory Magic and organize them into a systematic approach.

The most troublesome thing is that Loren can't find anyone to test his Legilimency or Memory Charm, and he can't let anyone else test his Occlumency either.

The practice has stalled here.

He didn't know if the Ministry of Magic accepted interns from lower grades, but he could try for the position of Memory Eraser. Memory Eraser were a specialized position in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, which handled cases of leaked magical signs.

Loren unconsciously twirled the pen, his mind wandering as he pondered how to improve his proficiency in Memory Magic.

Hermione returned from the courtyard and saw Loren sitting on the sofa in a daze. Her eyes darted around, she gently closed the door, tiptoed behind Loren, and peeked out to look at the contents of his notebook.

Loren snapped out of his daze, reached out and pushed Hermione's fluffy head away, saying with disdain, "Go read your own book. What kind of behavior is it to always be spying on other people's privacy?"

"Hmph! Fine, I won't read it then." Hermione snorted, walked around the sofa, picked up the book she had been reading for the past few days, plopped down next to Loren, and began to read her own book.

Loren felt the sofa fabric sink a little to the side, shook his head with amusement, and continued writing in his notebook: Memory Magic affects both the brain and soul simultaneously, which is extremely dangerous. The mechanism by which it affects the soul is still unclear. Within the brain, misuse can cause deep memory damage, neuronal apoptosis, and severe symptoms include aphasia, forgetfulness...

Hermione craned her neck to look over again, only managing to make out the words "extremely dangerous," and her heart skipped a beat.

Loren moved a short distance to the side without making a sound, and Hermione followed suit.

Reluctantly, Loren decided to close the notebook and continue his research that evening.

Hermione grabbed the notebook with lightning speed and shouted, "I see danger! Don't cover it up. As your classmate, it's my responsibility to protect you."

"There's no danger! Don't be so self-righteous, what responsibility do you have to bear!" Loren snatched the notebook forcefully and retorted gruffly.

He stood firmly, his shoulders and neck in unison, and exerted all his strength in his waist and hips, but he couldn't budge it no matter how many times he tried.

Just as Loren was about to struggle a few more times, Hermione threw the book in front of Loren with a threatening look on her face.

The words "Krav Maga Analysis" stung Loren's eyes, and despite the sweltering summer heat, his hands and feet felt icy cold.

Can this ever get any better? Gryffindor's Gift is amazing! If he weren't afraid of Splinching, he would be learning Apparition right now.

"Let go!"

"Let go!"

Just as the two were about to start arguing, they heard the mailbox click; a letter had arrived.

Loren and Hermione exchanged a wary glance; whoever went would lose.

"Go get it."

"You go."

"Don't push me!" Hermione threatened, reaching out to touch her.

Loren dodged Hermione's hand that reached for his cheek to avoid being pinched, released the notebook, and went to the door to retrieve the letter.

Given Hermione's personality, it would be fine if she didn't see the danger, but since she did, she can't live without knowing what happened.

Hermione looked smug and opened her notebook to see what the extremely dangerous matter was.

A little owl perched on the mailbox in front of the door, its head adorned with a ring of white eye markings that made its small eyes look incredibly cute.

"Hānhan?" Loren exclaimed with delight, "You're finally back!"

The little Spectacled Owl tilted its head back and softly called out, "Coo-coo."

"Why would you put the letter in the mailbox at home?" Loren took the letter out, tucked it under his arm, and carried the Hānhan into the room.

"Coo coo".

"Why have you been gone for so long? Did Grandpa Bates go abroad?"

"Coo coo".

"Would you like something to eat, cookies, an apple?"

"Coo coo".

Actually, Loren didn't care about Hānhan's answer, and he couldn't understand what Hānhan was saying, so he put a little of everything next to Hānhan.

The little Spectacled Owl quietly lowered its head to peck at its food, nodding its little head little by little.

"Who did you write to?" Hermione came over and stroked the feathers on the back of the Hānhan.

She glanced at it and saw that it said the Memory Magic was dangerous, not that Loren was in any danger, so she felt relieved.

Loren rolled his eyes at her, opened the letter, and glanced through it.

"It's Grandpa Bates! He said he'll be back soon!" Loren said happily.

Hermione's eyelids drooped, her eyelashes obscuring her eyes, and the light in her eyes dimmed. "So, are you going home?"

Loren was so caught up in his excitement that he didn't notice Hermione's disappointment. "No, Grandpa Bates is coming to London too. He said it would make it easier for me to start school that way."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat thankful that she wasn't leaving immediately. Then, remembering a question, she tilted her head and asked, "But your grandfather doesn't have an owl, how will he let you know he's in London?"

Loren stood there stunned for a moment, then said, "It's alright, I'll write another letter right away, with this address and phone number attached. Grandpa Bates can find me when he gets back."

Hearing this, Hānhan, who had just returned from a long journey, stopped pecking at his food, raised his head, and clucked, "Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!"

While cursing, the Spectacled Owl Hānhan its wings, determined to give this heartless capitalist who exploits his employees a good beating.

Loren covered his head and begged for mercy, "Tomorrow, I'll write it tomorrow, please stop scolding me."

It wasn't until Hermione produced a handful of nuts and demanded an apology from Loren that the Hānhan stopped beating the capitalist's righteous claws. But the little Spectacled Owl wasn't appeased. He cracked open a nut and clucked at Loren, strongly condemning Loren despicable behavior.

Hermione chimed in, cracking a few Queensland Chestnut in the process, and concluded that it was a pleasure to gnaw on nuts while cursing Loren.

After Loren and the Hānhan had eaten and drunk their fill, they helped the old postman to rest on a tree in the courtyard before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Hermione peeled another Queensland Chestnut and put it in the tray next to her to collect it. She liked to collect a bunch and then eat them to her heart's content.

Her eyes followed Loren as he returned from the courtyard and sat down on the sofa. With a smile, Hermione asked, "So, may I ask, why has the wicked Loren been studying Memory Magic lately? It's not even part of the Hogwarts curriculum."

Why?

Because the professor for next semester is a conman who is an expert in Memory Charm.

Because next semester we'll encounter a notebook Horcrux that uses Dark Arts to manipulate our inner desires.

These were things that weren't easy to tell Hermione. Loren hesitated between lying and refusing to answer, but ultimately chose to tell part of the truth.

He hesitated for a moment, then said carefully, "Because, because we might encounter bad things next semester, and we might need to use this magic."

Hermione frowned and asked suspiciously, "How do you know about next semester?"

"Aren't Headmaster Dumbledore and the professors at school able to deal with that wizard?"

"Is the bad thing related to Memory Magic? Why? What exactly is it?"

The little Witch's barrage of questions gave Loren a headache. He replied dismissively, "There aren't that many whys. Headmaster Dumbledore can protect his students, right?"

Considering the Basilisk's record, Loren wasn't entirely sure if Dumbledore had completely protected it.

But they were all petrified, so there was no danger to their lives. Not even a single cat died, so they were still well protected.

Snap!

Hermione slammed her hand on the table and placed the book "Krav Maga Analysis" in front of Loren, letting him experience the wisdom and principles within the book for himself.

Loren, consumed by malice and rage, slammed his hand on the table, shoved Hermione peeled Queensland Chestnut into his mouth, and then covered his face, groaning, "Mmm, mmm..."

"Ugh! I've been peeling for ages! And you come back like this!" Hermione's hair stood on end with anger, and she rushed over to teach this guy a lesson.

A real fight was out of the question, and it was impossible to actually make Loren spit it out. Hermione had to hold Loren down while also preventing him from biting her, and the situation remained deadlocked.

The two wrestled and rolled around on the sofa before finally rolling onto the floor.

The two, whose hair and clothes were in disarray, eventually reached a settlement, ending with Loren peeling a plate of fruit as compensation.

And so, Loren's days of staying at Granger house began to count down, and he tried to figure out how to start practicing Memory Magic.

Hermione often dragged Loren to practice the Patronus Charm, and Loren also taught Hermione some knowledge of Memory Magic. The two would often argue, and when Hermione couldn't win an argument with Loren, she would take out a book on Krav Maga and start reading, at which point Loren would fall silent.

However, Hermione was also intimidated by some kind of attack and could not easily take action, leading to a peaceful situation between the two sides.

On a sunny afternoon, Loren and Hermione sat side by side, looking at the contents of their notebooks with concern.

After realizing they couldn't find anyone to practice with, Hermione suggested, "We can practice Legilimency and Occlumency on each other."

Forget about the Memory Charm; if the two of them don't handle it well, it could easily cause serious damage.

"Um."

Loren pursed his lips. Hermione's suggestion was a sign of entrusting her with trust. Practicing Legilimency meant revealing all one's secrets, emotions, and thoughts to each other without reservation. This kind of emotion was as heavy as gold.

But he could not accept this trust and affection, so he could only refuse, "For some unspeakable reason, you can understand it as, there is a protective magic in my memory, and others who peek into it will be cursed, a curse that Dumbledore cannot break."

"There's a curse in my memory!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise, as she had never heard of such a thing before.

Loren nodded sadly. If it weren't for this reason, learning Memory Magic would have been much easier for him.

Hermione opened her mouth, wanting to ask about the inside story and details, but then stopped herself. Since Loren said he couldn't say, then he really couldn't say.

She complained, "You're a wizard from Muggle family, yet you always have so many secrets."

Loren dared not respond.

Hermione sighed. "I just can't do anything with you. Fine, you practice Legilimency, and I'll practice Occlumency."

Loren looked up into Hermione's eyes, which shone as brightly as if they were filled with stars.

Hermione's eyes darted left and right, feeling that Loren's gaze was too intense. She dared not meet his eyes and said in a panic, "It's just practicing magic. We're classmates. Haven't we practiced like this before?"

Is the previous magic the same as Legilimency...?

Bite!

Ding ding!

Suddenly, the doorbell rang urgently.

It wasn't yet time for Wendell and Monica to get off work and go home, so the two of them turned to look at the door.

Bite!

Ding ding!

The doorbell rang in the quiet house.

"Who is it? It's here!" Loren responded, standing up to open the door.

Soon, Hermione heard a joyful shout from the doorway.

"Bates! Grandpa?!"

Loren was initially pleasantly surprised, but upon closer inspection, his expression turned to astonishment, and he almost couldn't recognize the old man in front of him.

His hair was styled so smoothly that it wasn't a speck of dust, and he looked like he'd used half a bottle of mousse. He wore a linen suit, a red tie, and a white shirt, and his outfit was trendy and stylish.

But when it came to Grandpa Bates, Loren always found it very strange.

Wait, who are you, handsome?

Loren was stunned. Could revisiting a familiar place really have such a profound impact on a person?

But it's understandable. After decades of self-imposed confinement on the mountain, with his emotions constantly suppressed, he reunited with his blood relatives in his old age, who had been with him as he grew up. Just when Bates thought he was about to be laid to rest, his grandson suddenly received an acceptance letter from a magic school.

The world suddenly changed. Loren brought him the Wolfsbane Potion, allowing him to leave the High Mountain and the prison he had built for himself, so that he could live freely in the sunlight.

The trip back to his old haunts allowed Bates to rediscover his lost youth. After learning that there was a possibility of a complete cure, and that he wouldn't even need medication anymore, Bates became even more carefree.