The small accident caused by the amber had triggered even more ripples.
The recovery speed of an adult witch's body and will was evidently much stronger than Aileen had imagined.
After borrowing the restroom for a few minutes, Mrs. Abbott quickly recovered from the small incident.
Subsequently, the three of them quickly tidied up and organized the remaining areas of the bedroom, returning to the Hufflepuff common room just before curfew.
"So, Mr. Benitez, are you really not disappointed at all? I mean, after all, most of the other parents are..."
Mrs. Abbott smoothed her hair, looking at the priest sitting in the armchair next to her with curiosity, her gaze sweeping over the angular muscle lines on his arms.
Compared to the other physically weak wizarding parents, Mr. Benitez was like a colossus shrouded in mist, steady, mysterious, and exuding a dangerous aura of power.
As the current owner of the Leaky Cauldron, she had heard too many strange tales of the magical world, but had encountered almost no "mysterious stories" from the non-magical world. Xenophilius Lovegood's vague guesses, and Aileen and Hannah's sporadic introductions, were like an unquenchable wildfire, constantly stirring Mrs. Abbott's旺盛 curiosity.
"Disappointed? Why? That is the girls' dormitory after all – twelve or thirteen-year-old young ladies, they should have their own secret spaces."
Benitez closed the book in his hand, speaking frankly and nonchalantly, "Besides, you're here, Mrs. Abbott. Rather than going in and being a hindrance, I might as well stay here quietly and read a book."
"But..."
Mrs. Abbott's lips moved, various questions swirling in her mind, but she didn't know how to continue pursuing them.
After all, as a member of the wizarding community, she couldn't very well directly ask him why he didn't take the opportunity to scout for information about the magical world within Hogwarts Castle, could she.
"Hmm – 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection'? I didn't expect you to be interested in carefully reading a textbook for lower-grade students..."
Her gaze swept over the cover of the book in Benitez's hand. If she remembered correctly, this should be the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook for Hogwarts' first to fourth years.
The next moment, Mrs. Abbott suddenly realized a problem - Benitez didn't need to wander around, the Hogwarts textbooks were enough for him to understand most of the important information.
And more importantly, Defense Against the Dark Arts...
"Oh, the content above is very insightful, and quite relevant to me—"
Before Mrs. Abbott's vague thought in her mind could surface, Benitez shrugged and replied.
As a newly transformed werewolf, he obviously needed to understand the relevant content, such as the magical world's identification and treatment methods for werewolves.
On the other hand, as he gained "magical perspective," the world he perceived naturally became larger - it was not enough to just see magical anomalies; he had to at least be able to understand what they were when he witnessed their appearance. This could be considered a basic "pre-job training" that Aileen had arranged for him.
Very... insightful? Quite... relevant?
Accompanied by Benitez's answer, Mrs. Abbott nodded slightly thoughtfully.
Just as she had heard rumors, there were many mysterious "monster hunting organizations" in the Muggle world.
They were not only targeting wizards, they were targeting all magical existences that could harm the non-magical world.
Obviously, as a member of the "religious inquisition," Mr. Benitez's work in peacetime might be the same as the Aurors – combating dark magical forces.
"I understand, I understand..."
Mrs. Abbott said softly, glancing at Aileen subconsciously.
"No wonder Miss Caslana performed so well in Defense Against the Dark Arts class..."
She suddenly remembered the story Hannah had told her last summer about the brawl between Hufflepuffs and Slytherins.
At the time, she thought little Hannah was exaggerating, after all, how could a first-year student beat down several upper-year students, but now she might understand the reason behind it:
Aileen Caslana, this little witch from the non-magical world, was no ordinary Muggle-born witch.
If nothing unexpected happened, she should have been carefully cultivated by the non-magical world, a demon-hunting nun!
It was just that, due to the plans of the big figures, she was able to enter Hogwarts to study magic.
Wait a minute!
Mrs. Abbott was briefly stunned for half a second, and then quickly realized the source of her previous inexplicable unease.
She turned her head and glanced at the silver-haired witch who was fooling around with Hannah, while recalling the amber trap that even adult wizards could not escape.
So...
Hannah had become best friends with a demon-hunting nun?!
"Mr. Benitez, I have something I want to talk to you about alone."
After pondering for a moment, Mrs. Abbott sat up straight and looked at Benitez, speaking softly with great earnestness.
"I know it might be a bit abrupt, after all, your identity is special – but as a mother, I need to confirm a few things..."
"When the parents' meeting is over, I hope you can come to the Leaky Cauldron, or I can come to your place, I want to talk to you about the two children."
Eh?!
Meet alone... talk in detail?!
At the same time, Hannah and Aileen, who were pretending to fool around while eavesdropping, suddenly froze.
The two looked at each other blankly and shook their heads in unison.
Oh no?
Could it be...
Aileen glanced at Mrs. Abbott, who looked grave.
From the beginning, she had noticed that the witch would occasionally glance at her.
Could it be that the iron-headed Hannah told her mother about the "vow," and then this lady was planning to ask the priest-father for an explanation?
Thinking carefully, "as a mother," "two children"... these words combined together sounded like a terrifying scene where both sets of parents were meeting.
Aileen, who was already feeling a bit guilty, swallowed and tentatively asked softly.
"Um, Old Dad, you guys—"
Bang!
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.
"Even if you're a wizard, I hope you maintain the most basic learning attitude."
"No, Dad, listen to me... this is not the same as what I originally learned..."
"You still dare to quibble?! Math, the most basic math you don't study properly, what exactly are you doing usually?!"
Mr. Finch-Fletchley's voice suddenly became louder, banging on the table somewhat excitedly, looking at Justin with disappointment.
"I didn't want to blame you, after all, you have the right to allocate your study time – but I can't tolerate deception and evasion. Do you think I haven't studied math? That basic content, you tell me it's difficult? Then why can other students learn it well—"
As if a signal, with Mr. Finch-Fletchley's decibels increasing, the parents' reckoning began completely.
The average score of Hufflepuff students was not high to begin with, and after the groundwork laid by the parents' meeting, many parents were already somewhat anxious.
With the inquiry of usual grades, and the poor performance in certain "simple courses," and the children's stubborn retorts...
The string that was originally taut in the parents' minds snapped - no one wanted their children to be eliminated by the magical world in the future.
Especially... being eliminated because of their own lack of effort, this was what all parents were unwilling to see.
"Hiss—these adults seem, a little too sensitive..."
Aileen looked around with a strange expression, creating "anxiety" and appropriately "involution," which was originally her plan.
However, in her original idea, even if the students' parents were anxious in their hearts, they would at least not behave too aggressively for the time being.
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Yay!