Loren: What Does It Have to Do with Me?

Beep beep!

Beep beep!

A blue Ford Anglia 105E luxury sedan sped along the snow-covered ground, fiercely chasing three flying broomsticks across the Quidditch stadium.

After the Basilisk incident was resolved, guided by Fang and the Centaur, they retrieved the Flying Car from near the lair of the Acromantula.

Since Arthur and Molly had gone abroad, and the car had nowhere to go, the Twins easily convinced everyone to leave the Flying Car behind for a while.

As for how long to play... that depends on when the adults remember the car.

Through the car's windshield, you could see George and Fred, their faces beaming with excitement. They sat in the front of the car, their mouths moving constantly, as if they were discussing something.

"Hurry up, it's my turn to take the wheel!" George turned sideways and reached out to try and grab control of the steering wheel.

"I know! But before that, tell me how to activate the magic brushes in front and get them moving?" Fred wasn't wearing a seatbelt at all because the swirling snow was hitting the windshield, and he had to stand up and keep looking left and right to see where he was going.

"Excuses! You just want to play a little longer! Get out of the way!"

"No, don't steal it, don't steal it!"

The old Ford Anglia wobbled precariously in the air, seemingly on the verge of falling apart. Whether it was due to the manufacturer's excellent workmanship or Mr. Weasley's superb modification skills, it didn't crash. Occasionally, its mid-air drifts would startle Ron was flying ahead, causing him to scream in alarm.

Ron rode the brand-new Nimbus 2001, and Harry, unable to resist his pleas, gave it up. He and Ginny rode the two Nimbus 2000.

Loren and Hermione sat on the edge of the stands, watching a car and the Three Broomsticks playfully chasing each other in the sky.

A cloak, clearly a size too large for the little Witch, completely covered her, its hood pulled up over her head, her cat ears hidden in the shadows, and her long, thin tail concealed by its trailing hem. Aside from her attire being somewhat out of place for the holiday, no one noticed anything amiss.

Wearing wool gloves, Hermione leaned back in her chair. The cold wind kept blowing into her robes, making her cloak billow. Icy snowflakes landed on her delicate little face, melting into icy water that flowed over her tender skin, making her cheeks red from the cold.

Despite the cold, Hermione, who had spent a week in the Hospital Wing, really enjoyed being outdoors.

Hermione exhaled a couple of breaths through her red, frozen nose and pointed at Ginny as she flew, exclaiming, "Ginny is just as good at riding a flying broomstick as her brother!"

She suddenly patted Loren's arm excitedly. "Do you think this talent might be hereditary? I heard Charlie led his team to win the Quidditch House Cup in his second year."

"Bill and Percy, they don't seem to be very good at Quidditch." Loren said lazily. Half an hour ago, he tried to pet Hermione's tail and got a beating. He was recovering now.

Just then, a sturdy fir tree with thick trunk and lush foliage slowly swayed as it approached from a distance. When the fir tree reached the two of them, they saw two large feet sticking out from under the tree and heard a loud, panting sound.

Hagrid was released from the Ministry of Magic's interrogation room just two days ago, just as Dumbledore had said, and he made it back to school in time for Christmas.

"Hagrid! Merry Christmas!" Hermione greeted him cheerfully, waving her hands excitedly. Emerging from the Hospital Wing, she saw everything and everyone outside seemed to be filled with excitement.

Hagrid released his large arms from the fir tree and peeked out from the dense foliage. "Oh, Loren, Hermione, Merry Christmas to you both too. I heard Hermione was sick, and I wanted to visit you, but Harry said you don't see outsiders. Are you feeling better—uh..."

Looking at Hermione in her cloak, he already knew the answer. He wanted to pat Hermione on the shoulder, but his hands were covered in mud, so he withdrew them. The hesitant movement seemed a little clumsy.

Hermione smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey said it will be fine soon."

Hagrid nodded, then turned to Loren and solemnly instructed Loren, "As a gentleman, you must take good care of her, understand?"

"It's in progress!" Loren shrugged.

Hermione looked at the thick tree trunk beside her and asked curiously, "Wasn't the Great Hall already decorated? When we came out, we saw Professor Flitwick decorating the Christmas."

Loren added, "I heard they were also moved in from the Forbidden Forest."

"Oh yes, I saw them too. But those are all pine trees. Don't you think the fir trees are prettier?" Hagrid patted the tree next to him, his expression showing a hint of pride.

Loren and Hermione couldn't see any difference and nodded as if they understood.

"Oh! Look! I started it up, what's it called again, the windshield wipers, right!" Fred's triumphant shout could be heard from a great distance.

"That naughty boy, Professor McGonagall will put him in jail if she sees him," Hagrid muttered, picking up the fir tree and continuing toward the Great Hall. Each step he took left deep footprints in the snow.

Watching his departing figure, Hermione rested her chin on her hands and said softly, "Actually, there's not that much difference between pine trees and fir trees. Hagrid just wanted to add something of his own to the Great Hall and Christmas, right?"

"Yes, those who wronged him will receive the punishment they deserve."

Harry, flying in the sky, spotted Hagrid on the snow. He reversed his direction, lowered his altitude, and flew toward Hagrid.

Ron, riding Nimbus 2001, was faster and flew to Hagrid's side first. He poked his head through the branches and asked, "Hey, Hagrid, need any help?"

Nimbus 2001 is very stable; even with Ron being so mischievous, its center of gravity didn't shift at all.

"Ron, don't think I can't tell you're not trying to help. You're just showing off your broom." Hagrid shook the fir tree, splashing snow all over himself.

Ron got soaked and flew away laughing.

"You guys play, I'm going back to the Castle with Hagrid," Harry called to Ron, then slid down from his flying broomstick and followed closely behind Hagrid.

Ron waved casually, indicating that he understood.

"Hagrid, have you been to Aragog?" Harry hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

Although Hagrid had been back for some time, they hadn't thought to tell Hagrid about the Acromantula until the Twins took the Flying Car out for a ride, which reminded Harry.

"Of course, I left the letter hoping you would go find it. I knew Aragog would know something." Hagrid's eyes were full of smugness as he walked with the fir tree in his arms, muttering about what happened back then. "When I was in school, I always hid it in the cupboard in the basement. One day it suddenly came to me in a panic and said it wanted to leave the Castle."

"Oh!" Hagrid said pitifully. "It wasn't even as big as Fang back then. How could such a tiny thing survive out there?"

Harry recalled the sights he had seen in the Pensieve and fell silent for a moment... A spider that big couldn't possibly be called tiny.

Hagrid continued, "But it absolutely refused to be alone in the basement, so I hid it in a box. Later, as you probably know... after being expelled from school, I asked it what it had sensed, but it wouldn't say—"

Harry interrupted him, forcing a smile, and said, "Well, you know what? Our interactions with the Acromantula weren't very friendly..."

"Well, it didn't say." Hagrid's voice was devoid of emotion. "But I saw the signs of battle in the Hollow, and I saw that its colony had lost many spiders. When I was getting the Fang, Firenze told me what had happened."

"Aren't you angry with us?" Harry asked.

"Harry, do you remember what the Centaur said?" Hagrid turned his head to look at Harry, giving him a good-natured smile. "This is a good thing for the people of Aragog."

As far as Hagrid was concerned, he had no feelings for those descendants of Aragog, especially since they were the ones who attacked Harry and the others first. In the end, it was only because Loren showed mercy.

According to the Ministry of Magic's laws, Fantastic Beasts that harm people should be put to death.

"That's how it is in the forest: eat and be eaten, hunter and prey, expansion and encroachment. A group cannot be allowed to reproduce freely; that will lead to disaster. That's the law of the forest..."

The two people, one big and one small, trudged through the snow, leaving behind footprints of various sizes and a long drag mark.

Harry suddenly realized that Hagrid wasn't as stupid as he seemed; at least when it came to forests and animals, he was like a wise man.

He had many questions he wanted to ask, about Tom Riddle, about Voldemort's student days... but looking at the satisfied smile on Hagrid's face, he didn't ask anything.

Harry followed Hagrid and his fir tree into the Great Hall. Loren and Hermione returned as well; they were unburdened and moved faster than Hagrid, who was carrying the fir tree.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were there, busy setting up Christmas decorations.

The Great Hall was beautiful and magnificent, with its walls adorned with colorful ribbons of holly and mistletoe. Around the Great Hall stood a dozen pine trees that formed Christmas, with glittering icicles hanging from them, their tips sparkling with colorful light, like candles made of ice.

"You've come at just the right time, Hagrid. What do you think of placing this fir tree in the center of the Great Hall?" Professor Flitwick greeted him happily.

Hagrid smiled happily and, without needing Professor Flitwick to use the Levitation Charm, easily carried the fir tree to the center of the Great Hall.

Professor Flitwick followed behind him, spraying strings of golden bubbles with his wand. The bubbles hung on the branches of the fir trees, reflecting the light of the Great Hall and sparkling brilliantly.

Hermione's eyes Winky as she looked at the Winky bubbles. Loren stood behind her, constantly brushing snowflakes off her wide cloak.

"Loren, Hermione, Merry Christmas!" Harry came over, considerately avoiding mentioning Hermione and Polyjuice Potion.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them stood together, admiring how Professor Flitwick used his fancy magic to conjure up all sorts of Winky and beautiful decorations, turning the fir tree into the most dazzling Christmas in the Great Hall.

Illumination Charm, Transfiguration, Fire Charm...

Loren identified which spells the ornaments were derived from. Although he couldn't replicate them at a glance, the derivative applications of basic spells and the flexible thinking behind them were very inspiring to him.

"You look beautiful, Hermione. I don't think you need to hide anything at all."

Dumbledore, wearing a lady's rabbit-ear hat, appeared beside them at some point and spoke gently. For the old wizard, this level of concealment was almost useless; he easily saw through the Catgirl's true form.

Hermione's face flushed red under her cloak, and she shook her head violently.

Loren stepped forward and coughed. "Professor, the decision of whether or not to cover it up is not based on what others think, but on her own opinion."

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, "What matters is not the opinions of others, but one's own thoughts. That's a truly philosophical statement."

He muttered to himself, savoring the sentence as if he were reading a beautiful poem.

Harry stared blankly at the old headmaster's bunny ear hat, feeling extremely awkward.

This fluffy, soft, creamy-white rabbit-ear hat is absolutely adorable; it can be worn by little girls and cute young women. However, it looks both childish and strange on an elderly person.

Although this wasn't the first time Harry had witnessed Dumbledore's eccentric behavior, he still couldn't accept this incredibly cute hat.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Dumbledore pinched one of the rabbit ears on his head. "It's a Christmas present from Loren."

Harry and Hermione turned at the same time, looking at Loren in horror, their eyes wide, completely unable to comprehend Loren and Dumbledore's aesthetic sense.

Dumbledore winked at them. "This is the best Christmas present I've received all year."

Loren smiled shyly, "I knew you would like it. I also know a kind of rabbit ear hat with mechanical parts. The ears move when you press a switch. I'll give you that one next time."

"I'm already looking forward to it," Dumbledore said playfully.

An old wizard and three young wizards stood together watching Professor Flitwick and Hagrid decorate the Great Hall, chatting and laughing in a lively and harmonious atmosphere.

But the pleasant atmosphere didn't last long. Professor McGonagall noticed the group and walked over with a serious expression. "Headmaster Dumbledore, do you have any results regarding that matter?"

Loren and the others took a few steps back in unison, feeling the air around them grow colder.

"Please, Minerva, it's Christmas today!" Dumbledore pleaded pitifully, wearing a cute bunny ear hat.

Professor McGonagall said sternly, "Hurry up, the holiday will be over soon!"

After the serious Professor McGonagall left, Loren and the others finally emerged. Harry asked curiously, "Is there something important at school?"

They defeated Voldemort once again, the Basilisk problem was solved, Crabbe was imprisoned by the Ministry of Magic, and Hagrid was released without charge. Harry couldn't think of anything to rush about with such a perfect Christmas.

Dumbledore gave Loren a sharp look. "It's Lockhart. He can't continue in his position. You still don't have Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor next semester."

Loren watched Professor Flitwick's magic intently, his face full of innocence.

Hermione noticed the headmaster's gaze. She glanced at the headmaster, then turned to see Loren, who was feigning guilt. The little Witch thoughtfully observed the two of them.

"That's great!" Harry blurted out, then quickly added, his face grave. "I mean, that's really a shame."

If you ignore the smile on his face, this statement is quite believable.

Seeing his pretentious manner, Dumbledore smiled silently, then suddenly remembered something and said meaningfully in a low voice, "I seem to have thought of a good candidate for professor..."