Hermione blinked her eyes, glancing from the smiling Professor Bane to the flickering shadow on the wall, awkwardly opening her mouth in silence.
"You've seen it all, Professor?"
"Yes, it seems so."
Amosta crossed his fingers on the table, his eyes gleaming as he fixed his gaze on Hermione and spoke in a deep voice.
He had no idea that his appearance was almost the same as Dumbledore, who seldom appeared in the office all day.
"I noticed something was off when you walked into the Charms classroom. At first, I thought it was Black, and I was about to rush to Professor Babbing's class nearest this office to drag you out, then go to Professor McGonagall and Professor Vector..."
But luckily, I stopped myself in time. Otherwise, if this ever got out, I can't even imagine what your fate would be, Hermione. Perhaps you might be stuck in time, unable to escape!"
Looking at the terrified little witch, Asta sighed and said, "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into," he shook his head slowly.
"Last semester, when you tried to enroll in all the elective courses, I warned you, Hermione. One's energy is limited, even for me or for Headmaster Dumbledore, we can't be all things to all people..."
"With your intelligence and wit, since Fred and George thought I would turn on the surveillance, there's no reason you couldn't have foreseen that. It's just that you were too involved in too many subjects, making your brain too tired... otherwise, you should have warned me beforehand."
The instant Professor Bane revealed his plan, Hermione couldn't help but shiver in fear.
She didn't need anyone to remind her what the consequences would be if she couldn't escape the time loop; there were many precedents. Some wizards had tried to use the Time Turner to change things, only to make a mistake and meet their doppelganger, leading to being killed by themselves, unknowingly from up the timeline.
"I can't do it, Professor!"
Hermione let out a whimper and a broken sob, exclaiming in despair,
"Harry has advised me to drop some courses, but I can't just ignore all the fascinating knowledge. And, Ron's brother, Percy, has also used this before. I think I..."
Tears fell clear into the pale green tea liquid in her hand, creating a ripple effect that spread out in circles. Hermione lowered her head and cried softly, saying,
"I just wanted to prove, Professor..."
It's no easy task to persuade a young witch in her adolescence, with sensitive emotions and a tendency to break down, but fortunately, Asta had patience. He kept comforting her gently, listing her virtues over and over again. After half an hour, Hermione gradually calmed down, wiping away her teary eyes.
"Thank you, Professor, I feel much better now --"
"As I said, Hermione, even Merlin might not be as skilled in cooking as a humble house-elf. We must make some sacrifices --"
Relieved secretly, Asta made a decisive statement, but from Hermione's flickering eyes, he knew she was unlikely to give up on a few courses.
"I called you over, Hermione..."
Amosta sighed helplessly at Hermione's stubbornness. He sipped his tea, and his tone softened.
"I hope you can provide me with a copy of your schedule."
Explaining to Hermione's somewhat confused expression, Asta said,
"The incident that happened today didn't lead to serious consequences, but it doesn't mean that similar misunderstandings will not happen in the future. I must find out whether the you appearing on the surveillance screen is truly you or... some criminals who sneaked into the castle and disguised themselves as you."
This is a reasonable request, and Hermione had no reason to refuse.
"Also, there is another request I have for Hermione--"
After tapping her schedule with his wand and duplicating it, Asta stared intently at the faint gold chain peeking out from Hermione's collar.
"This is a personal request, Hermione. The Time Turner... such devices are strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. In reality, I've never seen one before, so I'm not sure if it's appropriate..."
Hermione blinked her eyes, looking at the somewhat curious Professor Bane. Suddenly, a hint of a smile appeared on her lips. She suddenly realized that Professor Bane had called her over for a lecture and comfort, and had taken her schedule as if it mattered. All of this might have been cover-ups, and his real purpose might be to see the Time Turner!
"Oh, no problem, Professor--"
Although Professor McGonagall had explicitly forbidden her from revealing the Time Turner to anyone else, since Professor Bane had already figured out the situation on his own... Hermione took off the glistening thin chain from around her neck. Due to a bit of confusion, some of her brown curly hair got caught in the link, and it hurt so much that she almost cried.
"This thing--"
Amosta carefully held the delicate hourglass with its surface overflowing with radiant light, squinting at the slightly hazy space inside it through a few weak beams of sunlight struggling to pierce the clouds.
The power of time -- before entering Hogwarts at the beginning of this year, in reality, Asta knew nothing of this power. However, after his journey to the Isle of Avalon, having personally experienced chaotic timelines, he had gained some insight...
In the wizarding world, around the ownership of time turners, which has been a matter of experience for hundreds of years, the Ministry of Magic has formulated hundreds of laws. At the same time, the most severe laws and punishments are imposed on those who abuse time turners. According to Asta's knowledge, all time turners are public items and are not allowed to be privately held for long. You can only apply for them through specific departments in the Ministry of Magic in exceptional cases.
The craftsmanship of the time turner, even the Ministry of Magic has not mastered it, but it is said that some of the knowledge related to this invention is still kept by a pure-blood family who invented it.
"How far back in time can it take you?"
While twirling the small hourglass around, Asta asked with interest.
"It can only take you back up to twelve hours, Professor Bane,"
Hermione watched worriedly as Professor Bane twirled the hourglass around his fingertips, fearing that he might accidentally time-travel himself.
"That's what Professor McGonagall told me when she gave it to me, but I haven't tried it yet. So far, I can only go back up to two hours..."
Upon hearing this answer, Asta's forehead furrowed with a few fine wrinkles, his eyes grew deep, and his spinning finger stiffened for a moment.
Nodding affirmatively, Asta asked in a conversational tone,
"The book I gave you, Hermione, have you been reading it recently?"
"Oh!"
Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly, and she awkwardly stared at the crack in the brick, stammering an explanation.
"I'm sorry, Professor, there are many... knowledge involving advanced level curses that are only taught in S-level courses in the book. I... um, I studied it during the summer vacation, but after school started... "
"You don't have to be nervous, Hermione. I'm not expecting you to memorize that book word for word. I just hope that in some future moment, it can help you."
Amosta smiled gently and then, together with the hourglass and the stimulating potion, he threw them to Hermione, indicating that she could leave.
"Oh, right, there's something else--"
With a heart full of gratitude, as Hermione stepped out of the office, something suddenly occurred to Asta, and he called out to her.
"Professor Lupin's Dark Magic Defense class... uh..."
"We've learned Bogert, the Red Hatter, Kabber and Grendelo, Professor!"
In a state of full consciousness, Hermione was controlled by instinct and shouted back, "Next, we should learn about Hinkypop, Professor--"
Hermione asked curiously, "Is there something wrong, Professor Bane?"
"Oh, Hinkypop, got it--"
What a curious coincidence, Asta smiled to himself, waving his hand to shut the door directly...
...
Library
