Hermione sat in the corner of the library, absentmindedly flipping through a book.

Meanwhile, during the break between classes, Aileen continued to try teaching Reserve Grain how to read in the library.

"For heaven's sake, Aileen."

Hermione watched as Aileen handed the quill to the little chubby chicken and began directing it to stumble and fumble through arithmetic on the parchment. Finally, she couldn't help but snatch up Reserve Grain, hug it in her arms, and glare at Aileen.

"It's just an owl! If you really intend to train a helper to write your homework, why not go to the research institute outside the school and help with researching magical computers?"

"So, you finally couldn't resist—"

Aileen said with a mischievous smile, "Then let's go outside the school and take a look? Professor Lockhart should still be there."

"I'm not—"

"Children who lie will be punished 'a hundred times', a hundred times, mind you."

Aileen glanced at Hermione, whose face instantly turned red, and calmly grabbed her little chubby chicken and stuffed it into her collar.

As time passed, Reserve Grain had grown a little bit.

Now it was at least a B+.

So, they quickly packed their bags and left the library, heading towards the school gate.

Tomorrow was the Christmas holiday. Thick, gloomy snowflakes danced in the sky, sealing every window. The castle was darker and quieter than usual during the day, and the students in each classroom were clearly distracted. As they passed those classrooms, they overheard Professor McGonagall unhappily reminding everyone to concentrate, but the chaotic responses from inside indicated that the effect was not good.

Aileen restrained the urge to peek in at the door and followed Hermione forward.

Hogwarts holidays were approaching, and she didn't want to be caught by the mature cat-woman and have points deducted or be given detention at this time.

A moment later, they passed through the empty entrance hall and walked out of Hogwarts Castle.

Just as Hermione and Aileen were about to cross the Hogwarts gate with the winged boar statues, heading to the research institute, a semi-transparent figure suddenly blocked their path, stopping them from moving forward.

"Sorry, ladies—you can't pass through here."

The ghost rider said softly with a smile, the feathered hat on his head winking flexibly in his hand.

"Explore the area ahead later!"

The ghost guard who joined the school after Halloween this semester—Hogwarts' ghost patrol.

Unlike the house elves and professors who supervised and guarded the castle, these ghost hunters from the Headless Hunt were more accustomed to patrolling the outskirts of Hogwarts. In addition to monitoring the Forbidden Forest and any uninvited guests outside the castle, their job also included promptly dissuading and recording students who attempted to sneak out of school.

Hermione subconsciously turned to look at Aileen, wondering what excuse Aileen would use to sneak out this time.

After all, running out this morning was a spur-of-the-moment plan.

Even if they were to ask Professor Dumbledore and others to write "permission slips," they would need to prepare in advance.

"Well, it's class time now, and I'm here to see Professor Lockhart," Aileen replied obediently.

"Professor Lockhart?" The ghost rider raised his eyebrows. "The professor is busy right now; you should go back…"

"No, he's coming right over, isn't he?"

Aileen smiled slightly and, as she spoke, pointed her wand lightly at the front.

"Kenaz—"

A pillar of orange light surged from the tip of Aileen's wand like a wave, instantly cutting through a hundred meters and engulfing the low concrete houses outside the school gate. The scorching flames pierced through the cold air in an instant, and the original snowflakes transformed into a dense mist.

Out of sight, Lockhart was explaining the protection plan during the Christmas holiday to a group of wizards.

Different from the defenses in the non-magical world, the magical defense network constructed in the wizarding world was obviously more flexible and abstract.

Just then, suddenly, a shocking magical power came from not far away.

Accompanying the surge of magic was a boundless orange sea of fire.

"Okay, you guys continue to strengthen the defense as previously discussed, and I'll go pick up Miss Aileen…"

Lockhart looked up, watching the surging orange flames stop in mid-air above the research institute, licking the invisible magical barrier.

Obviously, Aileen Kaslana's talent in flames had improved significantly. If it weren't for this magical protective wall jointly cast by several elite wizards, Lockhart's own spell attainments might not have lasted even ten seconds.

And further away, on the tower of Hogwarts Castle, the window of the Headmaster's office suddenly opened, and Dumbledore leaned out in a panic.

Ever since Grindelwald taught Aileen the ancient fire runes, Dumbledore had one more worry: if Gellert Grindelwald in his human wizard form had the chance to burn down Paris, then it wouldn't be too difficult for a certain young succubus to set Hogwarts on fire.

"You see, with a temporary greeting, the professors will know,"

Aileen said casually, putting down her wand, and waved to the old radish in the distance.

"Judging from the situation just now, the magical protection of the research institute should have been successfully activated, so that means Professor Lockhart's main work here is almost finished. What remains are just some trivial details. He can come over and introduce the specific progress to us."

She turned back to the ghost knight who was stunned in mid-air not far away and smiled, then turned to Hermione to explain.

"Of course, I have a sense of proportion—if the magical protection hadn't been formed, there wouldn't be any danger."

"That just now, Aileen, you didn't cast some kind of dark magic, did you?"

Hermione swallowed, her expression a little dazed, as if the dazzling orange light still lingered in the depths of her amber eyes.

"Of course not." Aileen said solemnly, "Just a flame charm with a slightly higher temperature and a longer flame tail. It looks a bit flashy, but do you think a wizard as powerful as Professor Lockhart would be burned to death by ordinary fire? Just a long-distance greeting…"

"But don't you think it's a bit too flamboyant and exaggerated—"

"I'm twelve years old."

Aileen glanced at Hermione quietly and said calmly.

"Remember the stories I told you before? The fairy tale of the fox borrowing the tiger's might. But in reality, without the tiger always behind the fox, the deterrent effect won't be so direct and effective. Sometimes, letting people know that you are another tiger is not only protecting yourself, but also protecting others—in this magical world, there's no need to hide your strength."

As a Major Arcana, especially a Major Arcana in the magical world, power is essential.

This is a test that Hermione, Luna, and Hannah will inevitably go through, but on the other hand, it is also the biggest uncertainty.

In the long-standing magical society, the judgment of a wizard's strength has always been full of subjectivity and chance. For example, the danger level of dark wizards depends on how many heinous crimes they have committed, while the strength of white wizards comes from how many bad guys they have defeated.

But for Aileen, the cost of both methods was too high.

Therefore, Aileen chose some gentler methods from a long-term perspective.

Some truths Hermione may not understand now, but that doesn't prevent Aileen from showing them to her in advance.

"Oh, Miss Kaslana, Miss Granger, you're here?"

Just as Aileen was talking to Hermione, Lockhart's voice came from afar.

The blond wizard walked over quickly, nodded with a bright smile to the ghost hunter next to him, revealing a hearty smile.

"Leave it to me here, thank you, sir. This is a specially approved off-campus study session. I'll remember to annotate it in the Hogwarts registration book the day before next time, so as to avoid similar misunderstandings. But, things will occasionally have accidents, right?"

"Uh, um, understandable. After all, this young lady is so—excellent."

The ghost hunter passed his head back and forth between his hands, and finally, after thinking about it, put it back on his neck.

"The area outside the school is yours. Since there is a formal professor accompanying you, I will continue to patrol around the school."

As a new member who had just joined Hogwarts, he didn't quite understand "Nearly Headless Nick's" and Albus Dumbledore's advice about Aileen Kaslana being "extremely dangerous" and it being best not to provoke her easily.

After all, in his opinion, living young wizards, no matter how dangerous, shouldn't be too outrageous.

However…

The ghost subconsciously glanced at the white mist still lingering in the air, trying to suppress the tremor that had involuntarily surged in his heart just now.

The boundary between the living and the dead is not as far and distinct as people imagine.

When magic and skill reach a certain range, even a ghost can be injured, or even killed completely.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that she can create delicious "ghost dishes." Compared with the so-called flashes of inspiration from children, the birth of this "soul food," which has never appeared in thousands of years, in the hands of a top wizarding star once in thousands of years, is obviously more logical.

"Good morning, Professor Lockhart, I hope I didn't disturb your work."

Aileen said sweetly, without the queenly aura she had when casting spells just now.

"Granger has a long-standing question that has troubled her for a long time. After much thought, she still intends to get the answer from you."

"A long-standing… question?"

Gilderoy Lockhart's expression froze slightly, and he politely looked at the girl standing next to Aileen.

Perhaps in the eyes of most people, these two little witches are as lovely as angels from heaven, but in Gilderoy Lockhart's eyes, they are even more terrifying than his mother—ever since he learned that Hermione Granger had been promoted to a probationary Major Arcana, he had been worried about this day.

Every Major Arcana, even a probationary Major Arcana, inevitably symbolizes the owner of the throne at the top of a certain field.

In fact, Lockhart had been paying attention to this little witch, who was so close to Aileen, for a long time.

As one of the few geniuses in Hogwarts who could match Aileen, Hermione might be just an outstanding student no less than Aileen in the eyes of the students, but in Lockhart's eyes, she was very likely another witch who had not yet revealed her horns and fangs.

"Hello, Professor Lockhart," Hermione said a little embarrassed, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about this since the beginning of the semester…"

Sure enough! It finally came, didn't it?!

The color on Lockhart's face disappeared by more than half in an instant.

And with last week's temporary meeting and today's surprise visit, the thing he was most worried about was obviously confirmed.

You should know that behind each of the Major Arcana's main cards lies a rather intriguing hint, such as his "Hanged Man."

According to Nicolas Flamel, and the explanations Lockhart had seen in various *Tarot Divination* books: the Hanged Man is an extension of justice. Those who truly administer justice in reality make people afraid, so those who are guilty try their best to frame justice.

So justice is hung upside down and becomes the Hanged Man. Although he is tied up, this obviously won't become his trouble.

The "Hanged Man" can use this time to reflect on his life. After being upside down, he can re-observe the world.

For the "Hanged Man," struggling is useless; it will only exhaust him before he regains his freedom.

His best way is to contemplate, and then go with the flow, to understand more deeply who he is and what he should do.

This card means that he is ready to give up what he has so that he can do what he should truly do in his life.

And all of this corresponds exactly to everything Lockhart has experienced during this time.

Whether it's the position, the reverse position, or even the meaning interpretation, everything matches as if this card was made for him. Even the origin of this tarot card in more ancient documents, the ancient wizards hanging themselves upside down to comprehend the runes and inherit magic, has begun to become similar.

Then, by analogy—

When the real "Justice" Miss, that Major Arcana, appears, the first stop will inevitably be here.

Wait, wait!

Think about it from the good side first, Gilderoy!

Maybe it's just some ordinary questions about grammar and rhetoric, or about dark wizards!

"Ahem, Miss Granger, what troubles you?" Lockhart tried to make his voice calm.

"Well, it can't be considered a trouble—"

Hermione subconsciously imitated Aileen's habit, scratching her cheek embarrassedly, and said softly.

"I want to talk to you about your autobiographies, and some highly confidential handovers that may be involved…"

"!!!"

This action is exactly the same as Miss Fool—

The last bit of luck in Lockhart's heart shattered in an instant, and the last trace of color disappeared from his lips.

Is this… going to silence me?!

————

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Yay!