Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 202 New Semester, New Professor

Thea's coughing made Hermione uneasy during her rounds, and she didn't recover until she returned to Harry and the others' carriage.

She kept telling herself not to be soft-hearted, that Thea was no longer the Thea she used to be, but the more she tried to convince herself, the more those muffled coughs echoed in her mind.

How could a person change so quickly?

Thea I know is gentle and considerate, very kind to her friends, has no pure-blood tendencies, and even restrains bullying behavior at school because of her!

How could someone like that possibly become Voldemort's accomplice?

Blood ties cannot be changed, but one's stance can!

Why did she choose to side with Voldemort?!

The question that had troubled her for a semester resurfaced, and even the little witch, who was second in the entire grade, couldn't find the answer.

"...Hermione?"

Hermione?

Harry and Ron looked at Hermione with some concern; they had never seen each other so absent-minded before.

"Huh?" Hermione finally came to her senses.

"What's wrong? You seem distracted," Ron asked with concern.

“It’s nothing,” Hermione shook her head, but under their clearly disbelieving gazes, she hesitated and said, “…I just heard her cough…”

Before Hermione could finish speaking, Ron jolted awake, almost jumping out of his seat. "You're still worried about whether she's coughing or not?"

His tone was so surprised, as if he had just seen a giant monster.

Harry realized who Hermione was talking about.

Is she sick?

“Hermione, you haven’t forgotten Professor Moody’s warning, have you? If we’re talking about who Hogwarts wants to kill most right now, it might not be Snape, but Black!” Ron continued.

“Ron, but she’s still just a student! In the same year as us!” Hermione retorted.

“Classmate?” Ron’s face darkened further. “You still consider her a classmate, but I’m not! I’ll never forget those two uncles who died at the hands of the Death Eaters!”

Hermione's momentum gradually weakened.

Ron went on, even mentioning Harry, "Harry's parents were like that too, and countless other families have experienced similar tragedies!"

"Hermione, I swear I have no prejudice against Muggles! But you have to admit, the fear that the Muggle world feels towards...Vague is nowhere near as profound as ours!"

Ron's unusually generous speech made Ron's eyes gleam.

When Harry's parents and the Wizarding Wars came up, Hermione found herself at a loss for words for the first time.

"Why...why is she like this?!"

Hermione couldn't help but sob.

Meanwhile, the four private rooms just around from them were nowhere near as lively.

When Hermione's sobs came from a metal object on the table, Thea couldn't help but be distracted.

Yes, why is she like this?

Is it because she wanted to live too much?

"Shut it down..."

Thea said coldly, she didn't want to hear their incomprehension of her actions anymore.

Draco immediately pressed a key, and the room quickly fell silent.

“Thea… how about I go and teach them a lesson?” Theodore suggested tentatively.

"There's no need to act like we're irreconcilable enemies so early," Thea pondered.

A moment later, she looked up and surveyed the people in the private room.

Draco, Gala, Theodore, Zabini, Daphne... one is missing.

"Where's Pansy?" Thea's indifferent tone revealed neither joy nor anger.

"...She got a new boyfriend during the holidays, and she's probably with him now," Daphne said cautiously. She was exhausted by her friend's inability to see the bigger picture.

"Then we won't bother her," Thea decided.

These words made the others' eyes flicker.

There was no way to save her. Daphne came to this conclusion. This was no longer the childish game they played in first grade. Thea was serious, so she didn't ask any questions and simply announced the answer.

"Theodore, how's your understanding of those potions going?" Thea got down to business.

"A 90% success rate," Theodore said succinctly.

Thea nodded.

"Draco, how many listening devices do we have now?"

“There aren’t many finished products yet, about five that are usable, including the one we just had,” Draco said.

"Next, focus all your efforts on making the communication bracelet," Thea issued the order.

“Okay.” Draco didn’t ask any more questions and lowered his head to plan his course schedule.

"Zabini, you did a great job just now." Thea praised Zabini with a smile. He was the one who had just planted the bug in Harry's private room.

“It’s nothing, it’s what I should do,” Zabini said modestly.

“Daphne and Gella, next you should focus on Potter and the other two... oh, and Longbottom and the Weasley twins.”

Although they didn't know why Thea wanted to pay attention to Longbottom, the two readily agreed.

The train slowly arrived at the station, and the group got off without even glancing at Harry and his friends, heading straight for the Great Hall.

------

The school's Quidditch team selection will be held at—

Dumbledore suddenly stopped talking and looked questioningly at Professor Umbridge, who had just been introduced on the stage.

“Ahem, ahem.” Umbridge cleared her throat, signaling the young wizards to be quiet—in fact, she didn’t need to do that, because the young wizards were already stunned by her “amazing” action.

Harry looked up at the professors' table. Professor McGonagall's lips were tightly pursed, something Harry had never seen her do before.

“Well, I must say it’s wonderful to be back at Hogwarts!” she grinned, revealing her sharp teeth. “It’s so good to see you all looking up at me with such happy faces!”

"I eagerly hope to get to know all of you soon. I believe we will become very good friends!"

After some rather affected pleasantries, Umbridge finally got down to business, her voice changing from a shy, girlish tone to a more serious one.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered educating young wizards to be a very important matter. Your innate talents may be wasted if they are not nurtured and developed under careful and meticulous guidance..."

"Therefore, it must be protected, supplemented, and perfected by those fortunate enough to engage in the noble profession of education..."

Harry wasn't interested in listening anymore; he hated this kind of roundabout way of talking, it felt like a riddle.

He began to observe the actions of other people.

Ron was so bored that he started counting Hermione's hairs in front of him.

Hermione pursed her lips, her serious expression mirroring that of Professor McGonagall.

Parvati was chatting and laughing with the girl next to her, her eyebrows raised excitedly, as if she was complaining about someone.

Harry's gaze slowly drifted toward Slytherin.

Thea sat up straight, but the impatience in her eyes was unmistakable.

Draco completely ignored Umbridge and was now discussing something with Theodore.

Harry still didn't know what Umbridge had said until the dinner ended.

"Harry, don't you understand? The Ministry of Magic has begun to interfere with Hogwarts!"

Hermione's words immediately reminded Harry and Ron of what Professor McGonagall had said at Black's Old House.

"It's very possible that we're about to face an even bigger problem than Black becoming prefect—"

"Perhaps having Black as prefect would actually limit this problem—"

How ridiculous, Black might become the savior of Hogwarts.

Harry wanted to laugh, but couldn't. Tonight's dinner party inexplicably gave him a sense of impending storm.