Hermione's Journey Through Time, Part Two

"Let's begin class."

"I'd like to start with transportation, as it's a window into the Muggle world. You've all certainly ridden the Hogwarts Express. Before the train service, students used to get to school in any way they found interesting."

Some students chose to ride brooms, but carrying suitcases on brooms became a chore. Some used enchanted handcarts, which later evolved into horse-drawn carriages. Some attempted Apparition, usually with disastrous consequences, as the Castle and school were protected by Anti-Apparition Jinx; others chose to ride various Magical Creatures ...

Professor Bubage on the stage spoke in great detail, at a steady pace, and occasionally paused to let the students take notes.

"Coo coo~"

"Coo coo~"

Hearing the rumble in her stomach, Hermione closed her notebook and fell silent.

I was too excited in the morning, and apart from eating a piece of bread and grabbing a little something from Loren's plate, I was too busy bickering with him afterwards to eat more than half full.

If it were a normal class schedule, after two classes it would be almost lunchtime, and the Great Hall would be open for lunch.

But she also had an Ancient Rune lesson and a regular Transfiguration Class.

Hermione touched the storage pendant with a touch of sadness and sighed dejectedly.

Loren always puts food in his pendant.

She doesn't have that habit.

"To resolve this thorny issue, Minister for Magic Ottling Gumper ultimately proposed a very bold, and highly controversial, solution. She had a keen interest in Muggle inventions and saw the potential in trains..."

"Gurgle~"

"The wizards' emergency transportation— the Knight Bus —is a modified Muggle bus. Muggle have a wide variety of modes of transport: airplanes in the sky, ferries at sea...and the most common on land: bicycles, cars, subways, trains. Students who have the opportunity can experience and compare them during their holidays; you can see most of them just by exiting King's Cross Station ..."

"Gurgle~"

The first Muggle Studies was quite basic, but Hermione learned more about wizards. Her notebook was filled with descriptions of wizarding vehicles, and she gained a lot, broadening her horizons and whetting her appetite.

An hour passed quickly, and when the bell rang, Professor Bubage was surrounded by young wizards asking questions and discussing with him.

"Coo coo~"

My stomach is growling again.

Hermione also had some questions, but she was in a hurry to travel back in time to Ancient Rune, so she could only ask them another time.

Avoiding the crowd, I walked back to the first floor with weak and sore legs, and it was already ten minutes later.

Driven by her craving for food, Hermione hid in the Great Hall.

The first class of the morning had just ended, and the Great Hall was empty at this time, which meant that there was still some time before lunch was served.

Turn the hourglass upside down, and travel back to before class, after breakfast. It's still empty; the other young wizards have left the Great Hall for their first lesson.

"Coo coo~"

My physical condition hasn't returned to what it was in the morning; I'm still very hungry.

Since meeting Loren, I've only ever been stuffed, never hungry.

The thought of going hungry for two more classes made Hermione feel that the air in the Castle was cold, and the benches in the Great Hall were also cold.

"Since we're already back in the Great Hall, why don't we eat something a little earlier?"

As Loren's voice rang out, a Chocolate Frog, its wrapper unwrapped, was brought to his lips, emitting a sweet aroma.

Hermione looked over with delight, and it was Loren again, the same person from the morning. He had caught his past self for the second time.

"Hmm..."

Hermione took a big bite of the Chocolate Frog, the rich aroma of cocoa beans bursting in her mouth, the sweet syrup coating her tongue, Hermione felt like she had come back to life.

While eating the chocolate, Hermione was distracted and thought back to the time when Loren said he would come back to get his notebook that morning, when she smelled the aroma of chocolate on him.

After finishing the last bite, Hermione wiped her mouth with her hands on his robes to remove the chocolate crumbs before answering his initial question, "Professor McGonagall said we can't be seen, and eating breakfast twice carries the risk of being noticed as unusual."

Loren fell silent, teaching three different classes in three different classrooms at the same time, and Professor McGonagall was hoping to keep it a secret.

That's outrageous. How did Percy manage to do that back then?

He could evade George and Fred, but could he evade the Marauder's Map?

Loren shook his head and took out snacks from the pendant. There was still more than half left of the candy gift bag Neville had given him, which would be just enough for Hermione's emergency food.

What classes do you have left?

"Ancient Rune and Transfiguration."

"Runes's classroom is in the main castle. After class, go to the Transfiguration classroom and wait for me."

"Um..."

Hermione unwrapped a Lemon Drop and put it in her mouth, a sweet smile on her lips.

Ancient Rune is primarily a theoretical course, studying Ancient Rune magical texts.

Runes is mostly intertwined with Alchemy, so the texts in the textbooks are mostly extracted from Alchemy, essentially serving as prerequisites for Alchemy.

Hermione pursed her lips as she flipped through the textbook, occasionally reaching into her pocket to grab a piece of Sherlock Holmes candy and popping it into her mouth, the sweet taste lingering on her tongue.

Professor Babbling entered, her long, flowing robes exuding an air of intellectual elegance. Her silver earlobes accentuated her delicate features, making her just as beautiful as Hermione had seen her in Egypt, even with a touch more carefree charm.

"I am Basildas Babbling, and from today onwards I will be in charge of teaching Ancient Rune..." She spoke crisply, breaking down the ancient and complex Runes. "This semester, we will begin by learning numbers..."

"... Demiguise (Demiguise), this animal symbolizes '0'."

Hermione casually popped a Snowball candy into her mouth and leisurely picked up a quill to write notes on the parchment.

"Can anyone tell me why the Demiguise symbolizes the number '0'?" Professor Babbling's gaze swept over the young wizards.

Hermione instinctively raised her hand, then suddenly remembered something and pulled it back.

"Granger, you answer." Babbling had already noticed Miss Know-It-All.

"!"

Oh no! The Snowball candy is still in my mouth!

Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

Is eating candy in class against school rules?

How many points will be deducted, and what will be the detention order?

Hermione took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and decided to struggle one last time before she died.

"Because it is invisible."

Use your tongue to press the sugar against the inside of your mouth, trying not to let it interfere with your speech, and reduce the number of words and phrases while increasing pauses, so that it sounds perfectly normal.

Professor Babbling nodded in agreement, "That's right, because the invisibility ability of the Demiguise symbolizes nothingness, representing the number '0'."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; she'd gotten away with it...