Harry Takes the Blame

"But, but Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster! What if he gets angry and expels you?"

Hermione said with concern.

She couldn't even imagine what she would do if Bell got fired. Should she leave with Bell?

"Don't worry, he can't fire me. I'm the one who should fire him."

Bell waved his hand dismissively and said.

If anyone else heard this, they would definitely think that Bell was bragging.

"As long as our Headmaster Dumbledore, who is known as the 'greatest White Wizard of the modern era,' does not intend to become the 'most terrifying Dark Wizard of the modern era,' then Hogwarts will not be under his sole control."

And I'm pretty sure he won't change jobs.

Whether for the sake of his years of dedication or for his lover who had imprisoned himself in Nurmengard for nearly 50 years, he would not choose to become Dark Wizard.

Of course, this is only the superficial reason. The fundamental reason that prompted Bell to do what he did today, which is similar to a complete falling out with Dumbledore, is that he is no longer afraid of Dumbledore's power.

Although Bell's strength is still far from that of Dumbledore, he is now confident that he can escape from Dumbledore's clutches. And once he escapes, it will be like "an Cloud Piercing Arrow, and a thousand armies rushing to meet him."

What if you can't win a one-on-one fight?

Let's gang up on them!

"Professor Dumbledore's lover!?"

Hermione was very curious! She was extremely curious! It was the first time she'd ever heard that Professor Dumbledore actually had a lover!?

Seeing the thirst for knowledge shining in his girlfriend's eyes, Bell regretted his loose tongue.

While it is his personal freedom to decide who someone likes, whether it is the opposite sex or the same sex, as an outsider, he has no right to make unwarranted comments.

But! He absolutely does not want his girlfriend to develop any strange hobbies or spend all day fantasizing about unhealthy things.

And the thought of him becoming the protagonist of those fantastical stories would send chills down his spine.

"No, it's nothing. This is the professor's personal privacy, and we shouldn't gossip about him behind his back."

Bell decisively cut off the topic, leaving Hermione no room for negotiation.

"Oh, right, Hermione."

Bell suddenly remembered something important.

"Now that the Basilisk has been dealt with, return the Ten Thousand Snakes to me."

"No!"

Upon hearing her boyfriend's sudden request, Hermione gripped her right wrist tightly with her left hand. She crossed her arms over her chest, took two steps back, and distanced herself from Bell.

Bell was very relieved that the Little Wizard were all gathered in the Great Hall to celebrate the resolution of the Basilisk problem, so only he and Hermione were in the corridor.

Otherwise, if others saw Hermione in her current state, they would definitely think he was a pervert planning to molest a young girl. He would then be truly devastated.

"Uh, why? Didn't we agree that after the Basilisk incident was resolved, the Ten Thousand Snakes would be returned to me?"

"Back then was back then! Now is now! We were just friends then, but now we're lovers! How could you ask your girlfriend for a gift you gave her before?! That's awful!!!"

Hermione glared at Bell with a look of disappointment, as if she had entrusted her with the wrong person.

"..."

"Bell ~ Please give Ten Thousand Snakes to me, okay? I know Ten Thousand Snakes is very valuable~ but I really like it~ I'll make it up to you later~"

Seeing Bell fall silent, Hermione, realizing that the "disappointment" route wouldn't work, decisively switched to the "coquettish" route.

She had read about this in her roommates' storybooks; usually, if the woman in a couple acts cute, the man will fulfill all her unreasonable demands.

Hermione knew that her request was somewhat excessive and capricious. She could tell that Bell truly valued Ten Thousand Snakes.

However, she was truly reluctant to return Ten Thousand Snakes to Bell.

It wasn't because the Ten Thousand Snakes was valuable or anything like that. With Hermione's current level of knowledge, she couldn't possibly distinguish between the Ten Thousand Snakes and those magical trinkets in terms of value.

Whether it was the magical trinkets or the Ten Thousand Snakes, what Hermione truly couldn't bear to return to Bell was the sentiment Bell held for her, which he wanted to protect.

Whenever she sees the snake-shaped bracelet on her wrist, she feels a surge of happiness that instantly fills her heart.

Watching his girlfriend, who was acting like a complete drama queen, Bell felt... so cute!

Ahem, he wasn't thinking about anything just now, delete this part.

Watching his girlfriend act cute, Bell felt a headache coming on, but also a little... secretly pleased! Cough cough cough... However, he couldn't compromise on matters of principle.

Bell put his arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Hermione, like I said before, the Ten Thousand Snakes is still only a work in progress. I need to research and refine it, and this is really important to me! So, can you give it back to me first? I'll give you a complete Ten Thousand Snakes after I've finished my research, okay?"

"...Really?"

"Of course! When have I ever lied to you? Don't worry, once the research is complete, I will definitely deliver the brand-new Ten Thousand Snakes to you as soon as possible."

"All right..."

Hermione pouted and reluctantly agreed to return the Ten Thousand Snakes to Bell.

Although she still preferred the current one to the more powerful and precious Ten Thousand Snakes that might appear in the future, she wasn't one to make unreasonable demands.

Since Bell has said it's "very important," then no matter how reluctant she is, she won't continue to be willful.

Bell leaned down and kissed Hermione's cheek, comforting his girlfriend.

As Hermione loosened her grip on her left hand, the Ten Thousand Snakes on her wrist immediately came to life and crawled back into Bell's hand.

The days that followed returned to a long-lost peace. At least, peace prevailed for Bell.

As for the Little Wizard who had lost interest in their studies due to previous events, or even worried that Hogwarts might close at any time, they were dismayed to discover that their final exams were less than two weeks away!

It's worth noting that many people believed that, under those circumstances, the final exams would definitely be canceled.

But now that the Basilisk is dead, then naturally the exam should proceed as scheduled?

Mao's idea was perfectly reasonable! But who was so impulsive as to kill the Basilisk?

What? It's said that Harry did it again?

Couldn't he have killed the Basilisk later?!

The angry Little Wizard' eyes would quickly turn bloodshot whenever they saw Harry. This had also caused Harry to inexplicably feel a chill down his back frequently in recent days.

Poor little Harry had no idea that he had unwittingly taken the blame for Bell's misdeeds.