Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 370 Asia Conrad
Seeing the shoe floating on the lake, Hermione subconsciously stopped.
She looked in the direction of Asia and found that the girl, who was obviously older than her, was also looking at her timidly.
But the moment their eyes met in mid-air, Asia lowered her eyes in panic, as if she didn't dare to look Hermione in the eye.
Hermione stayed there for three or four seconds, but in the end she decided not to turn a blind eye to the matter.
She waved her wand gently, and the black leather shoe that was floating on the water like a boat flew out of the lake and was held in her hand.
Hermione cast a drying spell on the wet shoe and walked towards Asia.
She could see that this girl with long light blonde hair was very beautiful, with soft facial features that made people want to protect her, and a slim and beautiful figure. She was a good candidate for ballet dancing.
With such appearance, and being bullied by female students of higher status than himself, it goes without saying that any normal person can see the reason.
The reasons for school bullying are often very simple. It is nothing more than students' vanity and jealousy. It is rare for conflicts to arise from conflicts of interest like those among adults.
Hermione did not walk up to Asia, but put the shoe on the ground after getting close to her.
"Why not try to resist?"
She looked at the girl and asked calmly.
The different styles of school robes of the two Hogwarts made it easy for Asia to identify Hermione's identity. She was pale and did not dare to look up at Hermione's face. It seemed that she was afraid of the rules in the castle and was unwilling to talk to Hermione.
In fact, Hermione didn't expect to hear any answer. She just asked casually after seeing what Asia was going through now and thinking about the days when she was enslaved in this castle.
In fact, Hermione now couldn't understand why the Muggles, who were oppressed and enslaved so miserably, still wanted to resist and maintain their independent thoughts in such an environment as Hogwarts Castle, while these half-blood wizards who were also bullied and discriminated against just wanted to be content with the status quo and never had any intention of changing the current situation.
Hermione asked Jon this question after learning from him that Cedric was an anomaly among half-blood students.
Jon also gave her some of his own insights.
He said that human nature is always moderate. When the mafia are enslaved and at the bottom of society, they will try their best to resist, because if they don't resist, they may die, and if they resist, they may also die. But if they succeed in the resistance, there may still be a glimmer of hope to survive.
But for half-blood wizards, although they also suffered discrimination from pure-bloods, it was far from being life-threatening, and if they dared to resist, they would most likely die.
In addition, there is an even more miserable Muggle class that provides psychological comfort and exchange of interests, so they also suffer unequal treatment. Almost no half-blood wizards want to try to overthrow Voldemort's bloodline rule.
Hermione could understand part of Jon's explanation. She put herself in the position of a half-blood wizard and thought about it. If she had been treated like a half-blood student when she first entered Hogwarts Castle, she would definitely not be content with the status quo. But even if she rebelled, it would not be to overthrow Voldemort's rule. Instead, she would try her best to reform the system and improve the status of half-blood wizards in order to fight for equality.
After thinking about this, Hermione actually no longer had much contempt for these mixed-race students, but instead was filled with pity.
Compared to the muggles who seemed to be oppressed to death, these half-blood wizards were the ones who would forever be enslaved by this bloodline rule and unable to turn over.
After putting her shoes on the ground, Hermione turned around and prepared to go back to the Hogwarts carriage without expecting any decent answer from Asia.
But just after she took two steps forward, she faintly heard a weak voice coming from behind.
"Thank you, thank you..."
Hermione didn't stop, she continued walking forward with her back to the girl.
After this incident, Hermione didn't take it seriously.
In addition to attending classes, she also had to devote a lot of her energy to tasks in the castle. In her spare time, apart from reading, she basically kept her eyes on the active map, observing the movements of the various characters in the castle.
After the first project, even though Voldemort did not find anything in the castle, he seemed to have sensed something and became more vigilant. He not only increased the surveillance of the entire school, but also transferred more Aurors from the Ministry of Magic to enforce a strict curfew and patrol the castle at night.
This made it more difficult for Hermione to sneak into the castle again. She had to first find out the Aurors' usual patrol habits before thinking about the next infiltration.
On the third day after meeting Asia, one morning, when Hermione got off the carriage and walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest to try to find some herbs that might be of some use to enrich the greenhouse on the carriage, she saw the girl who looked very suitable for ballet dancing for the second time.
It was obvious that Asia came to find her on her own initiative, otherwise no students in the castle would come to where the carriage was.
Even though Barty Jr. and Snape didn't make any explicit rules, this area had spontaneously become a taboo in the students' minds. Not to mention coming to the carriage, even approaching that direction had to be done with extreme caution.
And Asia found a good opportunity. It was class time and she seemed to have no classes. She saw Hermione walking on the edge of the Forbidden Forest from a distance in the castle tower. Then, like a frightened deer, she avoided the sight of the Aurors guarding the castle and came over nervously with a red face.
"What do you want to do?"
Hermione became alert when she saw her.
She was not fooled by the girl's appearance. Ever since she was taken away from her parents at the age of eleven, Hermione had always been suspicious of any stranger.
Even when she confirmed Jon's identity, it took her a full three months, and she finally made a big gamble to establish initial trust between the two of them.
But the girl in front of him was obviously far from this level.
"Asia..."
Asia stopped about five meters away from Hermione. Her voice was still weak, but she sounded like she was easy to bully.
"My name is Asia Conrad."
Hermione still looked at her with a distant look in her eyes.
"Then what?"
"Thank you for helping me pick up my shoes that day..."
“It’s a piece of cake.”
"I want to, I want to... can I get to know you?"
It seemed as if Asia mustered up her courage to say this.
Hermione did not answer immediately. She just looked at the girl. The dark green Hogwarts Castle robe with the silver edge symbolizing the Half-Blood College looked very appropriate on her. Her long light golden hair was meticulously groomed and she wore a white pearl bracelet on her wrist.
When Hermione saw the bracelet, her gaze paused for a second. The style of that thing was somewhat special. It was obviously not a medieval style creation like most accessories in the wizarding world.
"Hermione Granger, if you only wanted to know my name, then now you have achieved your goal."
Axia showed a somewhat excited smile on her face, but she didn't seem satisfied with just leaving after knowing Hermione's name, and continued to ask.
"What are you looking for?"
Hermione no longer looked at her, but lowered her head to check the bushes around her.
"Herbs, or plants with magical powers."
"There are very few of these things on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Professor Grubbly-Plank told us that only in the depths of the Forbidden Forest can we find precious resources."
"If I could enter the forbidden forest, I would certainly search deep inside, but obviously I can't do that now."
Hermione said casually. She didn't show much of a sex talk with Asia, but rather a distant attitude.
"Don't you like me either?"
Asia clearly felt Hermione's estrangement, and she asked timidly with a hint of grievance in her voice.
Hermione said without looking up.
"It's not about liking or disliking. It's just that the camps we are in are not suitable for us to have more exchanges. If you just want to get to know me and express your gratitude to me, then today is enough. If you want to make friends with me, then I suggest that we wait until we liberate Hogwarts Castle before we formally get to know each other."
Asia pursed her lips.
"Mr. Principal, he is very powerful..."
"Of course, no one would deny that, but he's not invincible, right?"
Hermione seemed to have found her target. She stared at a plant with yellow leaves among the bushes, then took out a small shovel from the pocket of her robe.
"In the past, he could only carry out some underground terrorist activities in the UK. Even if he defeated Professor Dumbledore later, didn't he lose once not long ago?"
"But if you fail, you will definitely die..."
“Without freedom and dignity, it is better to die than to live.”
After Hermione said this, she seemed to have completely lost the desire to talk to Asia. Instead, she squatted beside the plant she had identified and began to carefully dig it out of the soil with skillful movements.
Asia looked a little distraught. She did not stay here to pester Hermione, but turned around with red eyes and trotted away towards the castle .
Only after her footsteps had completely disappeared did Hermione, who had successfully transplanted the herb into the conjured flowerpot, turn around to look at Asia's back which was gradually approaching the edge of the Black Lake. Then, instead of staying outside the Forbidden Forest, she returned to the carriage holding the herb.
She delivered the herbs to the greenhouse, then returned to her dormitory, stayed there for about three minutes, then left the dormitory and walked straight towards the principal's office.
After that, Hermione never met the girl named Asia again.
The conversation between them seemed to have made the weak girl completely give up, and she no longer had any intention of getting to know and becoming friends with Hermione.
Time came to the end of October.
During this period, Jon would go to the Black Lake to wait whenever he had time, but more than a month had passed and he still hadn't found anything there.
During this period, he also learned some things from Cedric about this lake which was always calm and like a mirror. He learned that after Cedric entered Hogwarts Castle, he had never heard of any rumors about giant squids.
The huge creature seemed to have disappeared from the bottom of the lake after the castle changed hands, and never appeared in front of the students again.
Sometimes Hermione would come to the lake with Jon, but while Jon was fishing, she would read a book and observe the movements on the Marauder's Map.
"It looks like today is going to be another fruitless day."
Jon lifted his fishing rod, sighed , and threw the nearly four-pound fish that had bitten the hook back into the lake.
Hermione, who was also sitting on the grass, raised her head. She habitually glanced at the Marauder's Map first, then comforted him.
"There is still some time before the second project starts, so don't be too anxious."
"How is the task that Professor Dumbledore assigned to you going?"
"Still waiting for an opportunity. I can't make any moves for now. I need to see what happens in the castle."
"You still have to be cautious. If you are faced with a situation where you need to make a choice, you must choose the one that can guarantee your safety. Learn from me. Staying alive is the most important thing."
Hermione rolled her eyes calmly at Jon's last, rather proud words.
She could feel that Jon seemed to really think that he was a person who valued his life very much, but in fact, whether in her heart or in the hearts of other students, Jon was the most reassuring and the most worrying every time he went out to do something.
What makes me feel reassured is that he can always solve all difficulties satisfactorily, but what makes me worried is that when he encounters situations that require sacrifice, he always puts himself first.
Just like when he was exiled on the sea, every time he got off the boat he assured everyone that he would prioritize protecting his own life, but every time he basically put himself in the most dangerous situation and let other students go first.
But Hermione couldn't hate John for his "lack of self-awareness".
Because in this respect, they are actually the same people, just like Hermione once thought about giving up on herself and letting Jon rescue the other lower-grade Muggle-born students.
Just as they finished their relaxing time by the lake and were walking towards the carriage, Hermione suddenly seemed to have discovered something when she was looking in the direction of the castle and stopped.
