Tearing Off the Roof and Opening a Window

Baked beans in tomato sauce, blood sausage, roasted mushrooms...

A good day starts with breakfast.

When Loren looked up after eating until his belly was round, he saw that the hardworking owl postman had finished delivering today's packages and letters, and was flapping his wings to return home with the food given to him by the little wizards.

Hermione had a piece of bread in her mouth and a magazine in her hand, engrossed in reading it.

Loren leaned closer and whispered the large headline on the cover, "Transfiguration Today, Animagus Special Issue?"

Hermione put down the magazine, her head peeking out from behind the pages with a piece of bread in her mouth, and said happily, "It contains the latest research on Animagus by scholars and experts from the past few decades, especially Professor McGonagall, whose papers make up almost half of it."

"I remember now, you mentioned this when we were stealing Mandrake Leaf, and you said that the answer to whether the Time-Turner would affect the Animagus Ritual was on them."

Loren nodded in recollection and asked, "So, does the Time-Turner affect the Animagus?"

"It has an impact, and a significant one..." Hermione lowered her head dejectedly, then took a big bite of her bread and explained, "For the user, the time added by the Time-Turner is real, not only in memory but also physiologically."

"What's the meaning?"

"That means if I use the Time-Turner to get through an extra hour, I will age by an hour; if I get through an extra month, I will age by a month." Hermione's expression was sorrowful, and she looked very resentful. "No wonder Professor McGonagall doesn't let me use it more often. Besides the danger, it will also make me age prematurely."

Loren felt a throbbing in his temples. "You're only 13. You can't use the word 'aging' at all. It's more like you're growing up—"

"That makes it even worse," Hermione wailed, her voice trembling with even more anguish. "If I spend my precious puberty growth and development during the day, it means less sleep, which will affect my height, intelligence... many things. No wonder Percy looks as tall as George and Fred ..."

"..."

Percy was caught in the crossfire.

Besides, why didn't you think of this when you used to stay up late?

Seeing that the girl was about to cry, Loren held back his sarcasm, patted her shoulder, and comforted her, "Then cancel the Divination Class and you won't need the Time-Turner anymore."

"No!" Hermione took another big bite of bread. "I want to wait until October 16th to see the outcome of Lavender's Prophecy."

"..."

Loren silently withdrew his comforting hand, took a spoonful of mango pudding, and quietly savored it.

After finishing her bread, Hermione wiped her hands clean and looked at the table. She wanted to get a pudding too, but she hadn't digested what she ate last night and couldn't finish a whole pudding.

So Hermione scooped up a spoonful of his mango pudding, smacked her lips, and looked at him with some regret. "Why isn't it strawberry flavored?"

Loren remained silent.

Go ahead and do whatever you want.

As night fell, Hermione walked towards the entrance of the Gryffindor Tower by candlelight, her mind still replaying the topic she had just discussed with Professor Bubage —the impact of transportation on social development.

"In Muggle society, transportation is a reflection of productivity, and the speed of transportation affects the speed of development to a certain extent..."

"But wizards have Floo Powder, flying brooms, Apparition... They solved the transportation problem a long time ago, but the production methods still feel very primitive."

The little Witch muttered some difficult words, which the figures in the portraits in the corridor occasionally overheard, but they found them hard to understand.

Unbeknownst to them, they had arrived at the Portrait Hole. The Fat Lady awoke from her slumber with a start and asked, "The password?"

"Transportation...mode of production...social development..." Hermione was still in a daze, muttering strange words.

The Fat Lady felt a headache coming on and screamed, "Password!"

"Good fortune is upon us," Hermione replied, finally snapping out of her daze.

The portrait popped open, Hermione crawled through the hole into the Common Room, which was full of excited little wizards on a weekend night. They were chattering and huddled together, some playing cards, some playing chess, and others stirring things up and giving bad advice, creating a lively atmosphere.

Hermione spotted Loren in the corner without much effort. He was lying on a single sofa, holding the special edition of "Transfiguration Today".

"... Special thanks to Ms. Minerva McGonagall for her generous support of this publication..."

Loren turned to the last page and saw his professor's name in the two-page acknowledgments. He smiled and read it aloud quietly.

He suddenly felt a slight vibration beside him, and someone pushed his arm away and sat on the armrest of the single sofa.

Smelling the familiar scent, Loren knew who it was without turning around. "Transfiguration is related to the Magic Power of the lunar phases; the key to Animagus lies in familiarity with the transformation of form and control over the animalistic instincts; the Animagus Transformation is related... Professor McGonagall has proposed more than all those old scholars have explored in the past few decades. Tsk, Professor McGonagall has really made a name for herself."

"What are you talking about? Professor McGonagall doesn't care about showing off," Hermione said with a laugh, nudging him. "Besides, the older scholars have also put forward many groundbreaking ideas—"

Hermione brushed his hand aside and flipped to the front of the page by the foot. "Look here, this expert suggests that the Animagus have a strong connection to the image of the Patronus, which is very helpful for the first Transfiguration."

Loren frowned and pondered, "If that's the case, then our Animagus Transformation are Orca and Dolphin. Wouldn't that be terrible? They can only move in the sea, which is not convenient at all."

Animagus animals have the advantage of being more agile than wizards, making them easier to hide in certain situations, such as Sirius Black's black dog, Wormtail Peter's mouse, or even Professor McGonagall's cat.

If it were an aquatic animal like Orca or Dolphin, there would be no convenience or cover. They might even get themselves stranded, resulting in only negative effects.

Hermione smiled and said, "Didn't the paper say that it's only related, not 100% accurate?"

"I can't speak properly for a month, I can't eat properly, and I have to keep chanting spells to my heart at sunrise and sunset..." Loren muttered to himself, "Suddenly I feel that practicing Animagus is not worth it."

Hermione's sly eyes darted around, and she took out a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from her pendant, opening the package in front of Loren.

"Are you hungry?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I didn't eat much for dinner."

"I want one too."

Just as I thought... Hermione was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm. "Open your mouth."

"Ah—" Loren opened his mouth happily, waiting to be fed.

Something icy cold and slippery was suddenly stuffed into his mouth, and the fresh scent of grass left Loren a little bewildered.

Hermione's soft, white hands pressed against his, one hand holding his head and the other covering his mouth. "Don't spit it out, and don't chew it."

"Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh!"

"It wasn't a sneak attack, it wasn't a sneak attack." Hermione patted his head like she was soothing a cat, coaxing him softly, "It was just so you could learn the Animagus."

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!"

"Yes, yes, I'm awful."

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh..."

"It's too long, I don't understand it."

"..."

Once Loren had gotten used to the Mandrake in his mouth, Hermione let go of his little hand and grabbed a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to feed him.

With leaves in his mouth, it was hard to chew. Loren smacked his lips, savoring the flavor of the Every-Flavour Beans: "The Full Moon has passed, so holding Mandrake in my mouth won't do any good starting today."

"Practice in advance and accumulate experience."

"Then why don't you practice?"

"The Time-Turner will affect the Magic Power of the Mandrake," Hermione explained seriously. "I think you're bound to fail. Practice beforehand, and then we'll officially begin together next Full Moon."

"You—" Loren wanted to glare at her fiercely, but after being fed a few Every-Flavour Beans, he couldn't muster a fierce expression.

"I won't do it, it's not fair." Loren sipped his Every-Flavour Beans. "If I manage to get through this month, and then next month, I'll be taking them for two months straight."

Hermione was in the wrong and couldn't refute him, so she just silently fed him Every-Flavour Beans.

The candy-bean cannonball came flying at him. Loren took the candy and returned the cannonball. "It's not impossible for me to practice, but I have to make some conditions."

"You say it." Hermione didn't eat any herself, but continued to feed the Every-Flavour Beans.

"You have to give me a kiss for every day you hold on."

"Ah!"

When feeding him candy, it was inevitable that her fingers would touch his lips. She hadn't noticed it before, but when he made this request, Hermione suddenly felt as if her fingers had touched a flint in the fireplace and been burned.

The girl stole a glance at the man's lips, which were slightly rosy from eating candy. Hermione felt her heart skip a beat as she recalled her mother's reply.

"... My lovely daughter, the stirrings of youth are one of the most beautiful scenes in life. There's no need to run away from them or panic... I believe you can maintain your balance."

Balance, balance.

Hermione blushed, shook her head, and whispered, "No."

"Once a week?"

Hermione's eyes widened slightly; she felt herself starting to waver, but after thinking about it, she shook her head.

"So, once a month?"

Hermione felt her heart pounding uncontrollably. She opened her mouth, but the words of refusal were blocked by another emotion.

Finally, the girl gave a soft, indistinct "hmm".

Loren was inwardly jumping for joy, but he didn't continue to provoke the little Witch. Instead, he pretended to be serious, grabbed a few candies, put them in his mouth, and started reading a magazine.

As one doctor rightly said, many people are naturally inclined to compromise and moderation. If you say the room is too dark and a window needs to be added, they will definitely object. But if you advocate removing the roof, they will compromise and agree to open a window.

In a corner of the bustling Common Room on a weekend night, a boy stared intently at a magazine he was holding upside down, his eyes unblinking. Next to him, a girl held a bag of Every-Flavour Beans, occasionally letting out a silly yet secretly delighted smile.

There might be more than one person who wants to tear down the roof.

As October progressed, the weather grew colder and rainier, and the nights became even darker. But neither the mud, the gales, nor the downpours could deter Wood's determination to lead Gryffindor to victory in the Winky Quidditch trophy in his graduation year.

That evening, after training, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team players dragged their tired bodies toward the Common Room.

Although they had already changed in the stadium locker room, the players were still enveloped in a chilly cold. The team's captain and goalkeeper, Oliver Wood, was giving his players a pep talk.

"We know ourselves that we are the best, the most outstanding team in the whole school..."

Fred shouted back, "Yes! We have three of the best Chaser!"

Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell smiled shyly, while Angelina Johnson gave him a back elbow and a warning look that he shouldn't act weird.

Fred was temporarily suppressed, George stepped up. "And there's also the awesome Seeker and the Goalkeeper!"

Harry smiled shyly.

Just then, George and Fred said in unison, "It's your turn. Praise your invincible Beater."

Their undisguised narcissism drew laughter from everyone, who chimed in with compliments, making George and Fred feign blushing and look embarrassed.

Wood was laughing too, and only after the laughter subsided did he continue, "Please help me, everyone, we must win the Quidditch Cup, this is our—this is my last chance."

"I'll be leaving at the end of this academic year, and there won't be another chance... So, even though you're facing OWLs exams, I still have to say—I'm counting on you all!"

Wood's suppressed tone revealed a resolute determination, and his words were so tragically moving that they touched Fred and George as well.

"We will succeed, Oliver!"

"It's bound to succeed!"

Standing in front of the Portrait Hole, the team members made a pact.

As Harry entered the common room, the fireplace blazing and radiating warm heat filled the air. He noticed that the Common Room was bustling with chatter and lively activity.

Harry found a few friends in their usual spot and asked, "What happened?"

No one answered him. Loren and Hermione were working on two Star Chart for their Astronomy Class, while Ron, sitting opposite them, held a notebook in his hands, looking serious.

Harry sat down in a chair next to Ron and craned his neck to look at the contents of his notebook. "A little trick for learning the Patronus Charm?"

Ron seemed startled, slamming his laptop shut and staring at Harry with a wary look.

Harry asked in surprise, "Why can't I see it?"

"Professor Lupin's Club is starting soon, and he's going to teach us the Patronus Charm." Ron pointed to a notice posted on the tattered bulletin board. "It's this Friday."

It seems like this has been mentioned before.

Harry scratched his head. "What does this have to do with me not being able to see your notes?"

"Of course! Loren and Hermione have already learned the Patronus Charm. You've had a few more lessons than me, and I don't want to be the last one to learn it." Ron straightened his back and said proudly, "That's why I'm sneaking in!"

Harry was somewhat speechless. "You asked Loren and Hermione for the notes, but I could have asked them too."

"No!" Ron said urgently.

Harry and Ron both turned their gazes to Loren and Hermione across from them, only to realize that something was off about the two of them; they looked rather strange.