Volume 3: A Tombstone Stained with Sin and Blood Chapter 132: Professors at Hogwarts
"Can I call you Jon?"
Gabrielle was obviously in a much more relaxed mood than before she chatted with John. She unconsciously swung her transparent white legs on the branches.
Jon said, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, I can call you Gabrielle too, right?"
The girl was obviously a cheerful person, and she soon became familiar with Jon.
"I have always wanted to go to a magic school. My sister is a student at Beauxbatons, and her grades are very good. Madam Maxime has told me that she has never seen a witch smarter than my sister. But my parents said that I am too young and I have to be at least 11 years old to enter a magic school."
"Then you can enter magic school early now," said Jon.
"But in my current condition, I won't be able to learn magic even if I go to magic school." Gabrielle supported her chin with both hands and said sadly, "My father originally promised to give me a magic wand on my birthday this year."
"You don't have to learn only magic in school."
Jon lay relaxed on the grass, chewing bitter grass roots in his mouth, and told Gabrielle about the people in the carriage.
"The people there are very interesting. Although there are no magic horses, the carriage is pulled by the Thestrals. Only people who have seen death can see this magical animal. Hagrid, who drives the carriage, has a Niffler named Beech, but he likes to steal things. If you are willing to share the cake with him, he will be your friend."
"Professor Flitwick, who teaches Charms, usually keeps some cakes in his office drawer. If a student encounters something sad, he will take out his cakes to comfort him. The cakes he makes taste much better than Hagrid's rock cakes."
"Professor Potter asked Professor McGonagall for a small part of the greenhouse, where she planted all kinds of flowers. Professor Potter never locked that room. If you are in a bad mood, you can go to the greenhouse full of flowers and be alone for a while. Look behind the flower pots and you may find a talisman made by the professor herself. If you like, you can take the talisman away. The professor will not ask you to return it, but she will make a new one and put it in the same place when she is free."
"Professor Dumbledore has a phoenix named Fawkes. It looks very proud, but I have found it sneaking into the kitchen to eat chocolate more than once. But it's best not to let it know that you know about this, otherwise it might become petty and not take you with it when it Apparates."
"If you see a cat with patterns around its eyes like glasses passing by in a carriage in the future, don't touch her head or try to tease her with food like dried fish, or else Professor McGonagall will look at you in a strange way."
"The new Professor Lupin is not in good health. He is very weak for a few days , but he is really nice. He gave me a book when we first met. But I suggest you not to go to his office easily. Recently, he is preparing teaching props for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Those are not fun creatures."
"As for Filch, the coach manager, he has a bad temper and likes to scold students, but if you talk to him about raising cats, his voice will become very gentle. But don't ask him why he knows so much about raising cats but doesn't have one. He actually had one before."
"If the teacher was still here..."
Jon looked at the blue sky and spoke softly.
"If Mr. Slughorn is still here, you can ask him to go to the storage room and bring you a lot of candies that you can't eat until Christmas dinner. The teacher favors talented students, but he has always known that there are many such students in the school, and no one else loves them except the professors."
He actually didn't notice that he had unknowingly memorized so many habits of the professors in the carriage.
Ever since he was brought into the carriage, he had begun to get used to life in it and was now very familiar with everyone on it.
As Gabrielle listened to Jon's story, her originally sad expression gradually eased. She tilted her head and looked at Jon lying on the grass.
"When are we going to Hogwarts?"
Jon spat the grass root out of his mouth, sat up, and looked at Dumbledore walking towards them not far away, answering Gabrielle's question.
"We'll go back today."
Dumbledore's trip to France with John ended in the evening.
They used Floo powder to return to the Floo Network management branch where they handled the formalities when they left the UK. After all, Williams' identity would definitely be useful in the future, and Dumbledore had no intention of giving up this fake identity.
After listening to Jon's story at noon, Gabrielle was very much looking forward to the Hogwarts carriage.
After they left Wales, Dumbledore used Apparition to take them to a road not far from the carriage.
The two men and the ghost did not wait here for long. Before the sky became completely dark, they saw the carriage galloping towards them.
Hagrid stopped beside them in his Thestral and greeted Dumbledore and John happily.
"Good evening, Mr. Dumbledore, and Jon, and this..."
He saw Gabrielle floating beside John and Dumbledore. Hagrid, who had worked as a gamekeeper in Hogwarts Castle for decades, had obviously seen a ghost, but he was not sure how to address Gabrielle.
Although she had become relaxed enough after knowing Jon for a few days, Gabrielle still seemed a little shy and awkward when meeting strangers.
"Gabrielle Delacour."
She looked at the wizard who was almost as tall as Madame Maxime, and said her name while hiding behind Jon.
Hagrid smiled and waved at her.
"It's the first time we meet. Hello, Miss Delacour. You can just call me Hagrid."
"You can call me Gabrielle, too."
They briefly got acquainted, and then Hagrid turned his gaze back to Dumbledore, his expression becoming slightly more solemn.
"Sir, there is something I must tell you. During the time you were away, the magic on the surface of the carriage was damaged for some reason."
Dumbledore did not continue chatting with Hagrid here.
"I'll come back to you later to find out more about the situation, Hagrid. Now let's get on with our journey."
