#25 - Hermione's fear of magic

Living in Xilin since childhood, Muen had never truly seen the face of war.

However, he knew that the Gracia Federation was built upon the corpses of his fathers.

The Federation and the Melani Empire had waged war for a full decade, and the Scallett family had been reduced to only Uncle Neil, Jay, and him.

Now, only eleven years after the war ended, Fabian XIV, the so-called "Mad King," was unexpectedly about to launch another war.

The day before returning to Hogwarts, Muen saw the conscription notice on the street.

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All men who have reached the age of twelve must enlist and go to the Snow Eagle Mountain defense line.

......

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Returning to Hogwarts, Muen felt a sense of urgency. Next May, he would turn twelve, and then he would also be sent to the battlefield.

That night, Muen stared at the three small saplings on the windowsill, unable to sleep.

Bouncing, who was sleeping in the treehouse, sensed his friend's unusual mood. It crawled out of the treehouse, slowly came to Muen's pillow, and gently patted the little boy's face with its small paws.

"Cheep~"

"Thank you, Bouncing."

Indeed, one always feels empowered when accompanied by someone.

The next morning, Muen resumed his early rising habit. Having already finished reading "Wand Making and Maintenance," he now focused on "Modern Magical Phonetics" in the morning.

Muen only read three chapters in two hours because the further he went in learning magical phonetics, the more awkward they became, and he had to try reading the newly learned words several times.

As the new week began, Muen was gradually able to keep up with the professors' lectures, thanks to the "Oxford Reading Tree" that Hermione had lent him.

Although this set of readers had a relatively large number of volumes, the content was simple and easy to understand, and it also had many illustrations.

This allowed Muen to quickly master a large amount of basic Muggle knowledge, and his spoken English also improved. Now, he rarely made mistakes in the key points he recorded in class.

However, to be on the safe side, he would still borrow Hermione's notebook after class to compare it with his own.

After the History of Magic class on Monday morning, Muen went to the Great Hall with everyone for lunch.

"There are no mistakes in your notes, but you'd better practice your handwriting first."

Seeing Muen finish checking, Hermione took the notebook and began to critique it like a little professor.

Muen was now used to this little witch's way of speaking. As long as it was about learning, she always took the lead.

And when other students didn't understand something, she would actively correct them, but her tone was very direct.

"Okay, thank you for the suggestion, Professor Hermione."

Muen jokingly picked up a croissant from the table and started eating it, and a blush appeared on Hermione's face.

Harry and Ron secretly laughed beside them. Seeing Hermione's unfriendly gaze, Muen was about to explain when a strange voice interrupted him.

"Are you Muen Scallett?"

The speaker was a senior student whom Muen had seen at the Hufflepuff table next door.

"That's right, I am."

Muen stood up and shook hands with the other party.

"My name is Cedric Diggory, and I'm the new secretary of Professor Sprout's [Crabapple Club]."

Every professor at Hogwarts has their own club, which is an organization they set up for their favorite students to communicate with each other.

Muen didn't know what the Hogwarts clubs did, and he looked at the other party somewhat blankly.

Hermione and Ron next to him obviously knew something because their mouths and eyes widened slightly when they heard [Crabapple Club].

"It seems you're not very clear, but it doesn't matter. I heard you're completing a special assignment for Professor Sprout?"

Cedric's tone was unhurried, completely like a very cultivated and refined boy.

"That's right, I'm planting three saplings. Professor Sprout said that it will be determined in seven days whether they survive, but I'm not sure if they will survive."

Muen sincerely expressed his opinion. Although the saplings were growing very well now, no one could say for sure what would happen in the end.

"That's right, saplings are always very fragile, but I still hope you can succeed. If that's the case, the club will welcome the youngest wizard."

"I will try my best."

Muen didn't know what the benefits of joining the club were, but he could guess from Ron and Hermione's expressions that it shouldn't be a bad thing, and he didn't want to disappoint Professor Sprout's expectations.

Watching Cedric walk out of the Great Hall, Ron couldn't wait to lean over.

"Muen, you're so amazing. You can join a professor's club in your first year."

The envy in Ron's eyes almost overflowed when he spoke.

"Is joining a club that great?" Muen asked in confusion.

"Of course, Bill, Charlie, and Percy all joined Professor McGonagall's [Transfiguration Hut] club in their third year, and they're always so proud whenever they talk about it."

Ron's news about the professors' clubs all came from his older brothers.

Muen didn't know Bill and Charlie, but Percy was now the Gryffindor prefect, and he heard that his grades in all subjects were excellent.

"But you're much more amazing than them now. When I get home, I must tell my family about this and see how Percy will show off in the future."

Ron had always disliked Percy, which was no secret in their dormitory, but Muen felt that it was a little too early to boast about an achievement that he had not yet obtained.

Hermione was completely different from Ron. She had a very good relationship with Percy, and they could often be seen discussing learning in the common room.

"Ron, I think you should respect Percy a little."

Hermione frowned and looked at Ron, who was talking and laughing with Harry.

"This is our own family matter."

It must be said that Ron could always hit the other party's weak spot every time he quarreled. Watching Hermione angrily sit back in her seat, Ron was still eating as if nothing had happened.

Scribble, scribble.

The sound of Hermione flipping through the book became louder and louder, but her eyes kept drifting between the book, Ron, and Muen.

......

If there was one thing that was most exciting this week, it must be the upcoming flying lesson.

This was also what Muen looked forward to the most. Having accepted the once-every-seven-day inter-world travel, compared to the flying lesson, Muen no longer had the initial fear.

But he wasn't as excited as those who kept saying they would race brooms and airplanes.

Most of the little wizards were still afraid and worried, even if they were saying they would race brooms and airplanes, Muen thought it was just a way to relieve their fear.

Among this group of people, the most unexpected was Hermione.

She had read "Quidditch Through the Ages" three times this week, and she was even nagging about the flying rules in it while eating.

Whenever Muen asked Hermione for some obscure magical knowledge, she would always steer the conversation to flying knowledge.

"You see, that's what the book says, both feet off the ground, it's not difficult, right?"

Muen didn't need to agree with her words because Hermione had already gained a loyal listener.

Neville.

He would agree with every word of Hermione's, but he would always forget the previous few sentences.

But the more he was like this, the more nervous Neville became. Now, this child was so nervous that he had become a little stutterer like Quirrell.