After time moved into early spring, the weather had already become much warmer.
The snow covering the surface of the world slowly began to melt, and the water vapor and pooled water brought by the melting snow moistened the air and watered the land, beginning to repay nature in a new form.
Although this made Filch's work especially difficult, students always brought muddy water back on their boots after going outside, splashing it everywhere.
Still, he had to admit that the arrival of spring put him in a much better mood.
At the same time, green finally burst forth on the withered yellow branches in the Forbidden Forest, and the animals that had been hiding in burrows to hibernate were slowly waking up. Almost all living things were rejoicing at the arrival of spring.
Harry, however, was an exception.
Ever since Dumbledore had rejected his judgment that time, Harry's mood hadn't been very good these past few days.
He didn't even have the heart to eat his favorite veal steak at lunch.
You could tell just from the way he was stabbing at the steak with his fork, as if he were stabbing some sworn enemy.
Suddenly, a hand reached out, snatched the fork from Harry's hand, and saved the already mangled piece of steak.
"Harry, don't waste food!" Hermione said with a serious expression.
"Don't you know? There are still people in this world suffering from famine! Take African refugees, for example, they can't even get a piece of black bread, let alone a steak!"
Harry rolled his eyes and impatiently turned his head away.
He really hated the way Hermione lectured him. It reminded him of Professor McGonagall.
Yes, he didn't like Professor McGonagall right now.
The reason was that the last time they were in the headmaster's office, not only did Professor McGonagall not speak up for him, she had also scolded him harshly.
Of course, Harry knew that Professor McGonagall was right and that he himself was the one in the wrong.
But the unity of knowing and doing was an ideal state humans could never truly achieve. In his heart, he couldn't help but develop some resentment toward Professor McGonagall.
Seeing him like this made Hermione furious as well. She raised an eyebrow, looking as if she were about to grab Harry's head and force it straight before continuing.
Just then, Ron, who was sitting beside them eating enthusiastically with a face full of delight (and grease), sighed.
He reached out with his greasy hand to grab Hermione's arm. Before his hand even touched her, Hermione recoiled in fright.
Ron awkwardly wiped his hands and mouth, then tried to speak to Harry, "Harry, I think you don't actually need to be this upset. Even if Dumbledore doesn't believe what you said, at least Link believes you, right?"
"He's no different from Dumbledore, he's just brushing me off too!" Harry said gloomily.
"If he really took this seriously, he should've warned the Ministry of Magic right away and kicked Snape out of Hogwarts, so that guy wouldn't be trying to grab me every day and use Legilimency on me!"
Ron pursed his lips and said, "I think, at least when it comes to warning the Ministry, it probably isn't Link's fault."
"Maybe Link already warned the Ministry a long time ago."
"But you know what the Ministry is like."
"Those idiots are so stupid they refuse to believe that You-Know-Who has already returned. How could they possibly believe a warning that he might attack the Department of Mysteries?"
"As for Snape..."
"Snape is something you can't blame on Link at all!"
Hermione cut in coldly. "Ask yourself, if someone said Sirius was a spy sent by You-Know-Who into the Order of the Phoenix, could you bear to personally drive him out?"
Harry frowned and waved his arm.
"That's different! Sirius is my godfather, and Snape..."
"What's different about it?" Hermione roared, forcing her voice down. "Have you forgotten the rumors from a few years ago about Snape giving Link and the others special tutoring every day?"
"All of that was real! Occlumency, Potions, even the magic Link uses most often now, Snape taught him all of it!"
"Link, and that Miss Victoria, care about Snape no less than you care about Sirius!"
"Didn't you notice how vicious that woman's eyes were when you said Snape might be a spy in the Room of Requirement?"
"In my opinion, Link was already being restrained by not punching you on the spot!"
"And you still want him to personally kick Snape out of Hogwarts?"
Harry was left speechless by Hermione's words.
Instinctively, he wanted to argue back, but no matter how he thought about it, he felt that Hermione made a lot of sense.
Link had already done very well.
From his position, there really wasn't much he could do to Snape.
Being able to get Harry to leave the matter to Dumbledore's judgment was probably already Link's limit.
Harry wanted to apologize, but when the words reached his lips, he just couldn't say them. His face turned bright red instead.
Just then, Ron suddenly raised his hand and said weakly, "I'm not trying to argue with you, Hermione, but I really don't think Miss Victoria is some 'nasty woman.' You're just jealous..."
"Oh? Could it be that you like that nasty woman too?" Hermione suddenly exploded like a lion.
"If you like her, then go after her! We'd all help you, especially George and Fred! How about I go talk to them later about how to help you with this?"
Ron said in horror, "No! I don't like Miss Victoria at all! Uh… no, I mean I don't have even the slightest improper thoughts about Miss Victoria!"
"Merlin's beard, Hermione, are you trying to get me killed?"
"If Link really thought I had any ulterior motives, I'd definitely die!"
Hermione continued to stare at Ron coldly.
That word "jealous" Ron had blurted out earlier had completely offended her.
It wasn't until Ron kept apologizing and begging that Hermione finally let it go.
This scene made everyone around them burst out laughing.
Everyone treated it as a joke. No one thought Ron actually had the guts to try to steal Link's girlfriend.
Amid the cheerful laughter, Harry seemed to think of something, and his face turned even redder.
Hermione didn't pay it any mind. After lecturing Ron, she lightly knocked Harry on the head and said, "Since you don't feel like eating lunch, then don't eat. I need to hurry to Arithmancy Divination class, and you two should be heading to the Divination classroom as well."
With that, Hermione stood up first and headed toward the exit.
Harry lowered his head, said nothing, and followed her gloomily.
Bringing up the rear, Ron saw that Harry hadn't been cheered up by the deliberately funny scene he had just created. He scratched his head in confusion.
Still, he quickly caught up and leaned close to Harry, whispering mysteriously, "Harry, I bet Hermione really regrets giving up Divination now!"
"Are you talking about the new Divination professor?" Hermione said without turning her head. "I never really liked horses."
"He's not a horse, he's a centaur!" Ron argued. "And a very handsome centaur at that. I heard that quite a few girls in Parvati's group already have a crush on that professor."
Harry's attention was finally drawn. He frowned and shook his head in confusion.
"But… they're human, and that professor is a centaur. How could they..."
As he spoke, Harry brought his two thumbs together, making a kissing gesture.
"This just shows how narrow-minded you are!" Ron said casually.
"There are plenty of wizards in the magical world who've gotten together with magical creatures."
"Hagrid is a classic example, isn't he?"
"But seriously, have you ever thought about how Hagrid's father managed to have Hagrid with a giantess?"
"Did he use an Engorgement Charm?"
"After using an Engorgement Charm, could that still..."
"That's enough! Shut up, you filthy creep!" Hermione snapped.
"Instead of worrying about cross-species reproduction, you should go take another look at Professor Trelawney!"
Ron shrank his neck after being yelled at and said quietly, "I actually did go see her, with Parvati. But Trelawney isn't in very good shape."
"She's been crying the whole time, saying she'd rather leave Hogwarts than continue staying in the same castle as Umbridge."
At this point, Ron deliberately lowered his voice even more.
"But I think she's just making excuses. The real reason she wants to leave Hogwarts is probably because Link and Dumbledore found a centaur to replace her, so she feels humiliated."
"You know how it is, old-school pure-blood witches like her always care about this kind of empty reputation."
"I seem to recall that you're also an old-school pure-blood wizard, Mr. Weasley."
Hermione suddenly said lightly, making Ron's eyes instantly turn red.
He stammered there for a long time before finally squeezing out, "I… our family isn't like those people!"
Seeing that Ron was truly upset this time, Harry quickly tried to smooth things over.
"All right, we all know that Hermione was just joking with you. It's fine."
Ron's emotions gradually calmed down, while Hermione pursed her lips and stood there without saying a word.
After a while, she finally spoke in a slightly gentler tone, "Why are you two following me for no reason? If I remember correctly, the Divination classroom is in the North Tower."
"How do you think Firenze is supposed to climb stairs?" Ron said indignantly. "We're having class in Classroom Eleven. It was posted on the notice board days ago!"
Hearing this, Hermione's chest rose and fell sharply a few times. She glared at Ron before saying, "Perfect. Then it's about time we went our separate ways!"
With that, Hermione turned and walked up the stairs without looking back.
Harry wanted to say something else to her, but Ron pulled him into another corridor leading to Classroom Eleven.
"Go our separate ways? Ha! I couldn't be happier. I've had enough of her already!" Ron whispered.
Harry frowned slightly and said awkwardly, "Don't say that, Ron. Hermione… she was really just saying it out of anger."
"Out of anger? I don't think so!" Ron said angrily. "Even angry words should have limits! And what about her?
She only knows how to bully us! Normally, getting hit by her a couple of times is one thing, but this time she even dared to bring my family into it!"
Harry's frown deepened.
He actually felt that Ron and Hermione were both about equally at fault.
After all, Ron was the one who started making dirty jokes in front of Hermione, and even teased her with such a disgusting topic.
But he couldn't really say those things to Ron's face.
Beside him, Ron seemed to grow angrier the more he thought about it, until he finally gritted his teeth and said, "So I've decided! I'm going to ignore her for a full two days and let her taste what it's like to have no friends!"
Ron seemed to think this would be an excellent form of revenge. After saying it, his whole mood brightened, and he even started humming a little tune.
The two of them walked all the way toward Classroom Eleven.
Classroom Eleven was actually a typical abandoned classroom.
Hogwarts had many abandoned classrooms like this.
They felt like easily overlooked closets or storage rooms, often piled high with thick dust and all kinds of clutter you might never remember to use.
But after truly entering the classroom with Ron, Harry was stunned.
Because what appeared before his eyes was not the moldy, dilapidated classroom he remembered, but a sea of green.
The floor of the classroom was covered with damp moss and trees growing straight out of the ground. Their lush branches spread across the ceiling and windows, filling the room with soft, dappled green light slanting in through the leaves.
Standing here felt like being in the middle of a forest in spring.
At this moment, quite a few students had already arrived for class.
They all looked a little nervous, either sitting uneasily on the dirt floor or leaning against tree trunks and rocks, arms wrapped around their knees.
And the professor for this Divination class, Firenze, was standing in the center of the room, bathed in sunlight.
"Harry Potter."
He seemed to notice Harry's arrival and turned with a smile, extending his hand as he spoke.
"Uh, hello."
Harry shook his hand, feeling a bit flustered.
The centaur Firenze's large hand was warm and dry.
His platinum-blond long hair gleamed in the sunlight, and combined with those pure, sapphire-like blue eyes, Firenze's current image was incredibly close to that of a holy angel from legend.
"Everyone should be here now. Let's begin the lesson."
Firenze said with a smile, then guided Harry and Ron to sit on a tree stump beside a wastepaper basket.
It was worth mentioning that Harry noticed his classmates were all looking at him with reverent eyes.
Clearly, they were deeply impressed by how friendly he was with Firenze.
After all, to most people, a centaur like Firenze was still something frightening.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Parvati and her close friends had their gazes locked firmly on Firenze, their eyes practically sparkling with little hearts, looking completely lovestruck.
This made Harry start to suspect that what Ron had jokingly said earlier might actually be true.
But Harry could understand it.
After all, if you ignored the fact that he had four hooved legs, Firenze was the kind of person whose looks and bearing were elegant to the extreme.
A gentleman like that was absolutely the white knight of young girls' dreams.
Especially since Firenze was literally "man and horse as one".
Even Harry himself felt a bit influenced by Firenze's presence.
Ever since shaking hands with Firenze, Harry felt his previously restless emotions had calmed down quite a bit.
"Maybe this time, I came to the right place." Harry whispered to himself.