Ultimately, Hagrid still didn't tell Charlie who Aragog was, and he kept avoiding Charlie.
After class, they returned to the Great Hall, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione had also just finished their classes.
The three sat at the Gryffindor long table, with Ron slumped over the table, looking as if all the life had been drained from him.
Harry wasn't much better, with dark circles under his eyes.
"I can't take it anymore," Ron's voice was muffled.
"After adding the electives, it feels like a day's worth of classes is more than two days' worth before."
Hermione sat opposite them, flipping through a thick textbook, and said without looking up, "You're just not used to it yet; you'll be fine in a few days."
Ron looked up, his eyes full of resentment as he stared at her.
"You actually chose all the electives. I can't imagine how tiring that must be."
Hermione rolled her eyes, ignoring him.
Ron casually picked up Hermione's timetable from the table, glanced at it, and froze.
"Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes..." His voice was incredulous.
"These three classes are all scheduled together. How can you be in three classrooms at once?"
Hermione had no intention of explaining, simply stating.
"Of course, I won't be in three classrooms at once. I've already discussed with Professor how to attend classes."
"Then you..."
"Hey, Charlie, good evening." Hermione greeted Charlie, interrupting Ron.
Charlie walked into the Great Hall and sat down beside them.
"Good evening."
Ron, not giving up, turned his head and continued to ask:
"Hermione, how exactly do you attend classes?"
"No matter how full my timetable is, I can finish all my classes. Why are you worrying about it?"
Hermione's voice was fierce.
"It's none of your business. I've already told you that I've discussed with Professor how to attend classes."
Ron froze, his mouth opening and closing. Finally, he picked up a chicken leg, looking wronged, bit into it fiercely, and mumbled.
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't. Why be so fierce?"
Just then, Charlie said, "Actually, I'm quite curious too. How exactly do you attend classes?"
Hermione suddenly looked conflicted, hesitated for a moment, then leaned in close to Charlie, lowering her voice and saying:
"Actually, Professor McGonagall gave me a device."
Ron suddenly felt his nose burning red.
He had asked for ages, and Hermione seemed unwilling to engage, but as soon as Charlie asked, she was ready to tell everything.
What kind of preferential treatment was this?
He felt like the joker in a deck of cards, or the one standing guard at the circus.
He sullenly bit into a chicken leg, feeling a bit aggrieved.
Charlie continued to ask, "What device?"
Hermione looked left and right, confirming no one was paying attention, then pulled out an hourglass hanging on a golden necklace from her robe, covering it with her hand, and whispered:
"It's this Time-Turner. Every time I finish one class, I use it to go back before the class started to attend another one."
Harry and Ron's eyes widened simultaneously.
"What?!"
Ron nearly jumped off his stool, his voice suddenly rising, causing several nearby students to turn their heads.
Hermione quickly stuffed the hourglass back into her robe, glaring at Ron through gritted teeth: "Keep your voice down!"
No wonder others didn't tell him; he almost made it known to the whole school because of him.
Ron immediately covered his mouth, but his eyes were still wide like brass bells.
Harry was also incredibly surprised, asking with some disbelief.
"So you... went back in time?"
Hermione nodded: "That's pretty much it."
Charlie stared at the hourglass for a few seconds, his mind racing.
"magic involving time should have a lot of restrictions, right?"
Hermione immediately nodded, her tone becoming serious:
"Professor McGonagall told me that the Time-Turner cannot change things that have already happened, and it can only go back five hours, otherwise, serious time accidents might occur. Also, when going back, you cannot appear in front of your past self, or unpredictable situations will also arise."
Charlie pondered inwardly.
It seems this isn't about becoming your past self, but physically traveling back in time, creating two of yourself in the past timeline.
Then this time travel seems to have little meaning; it can't change the past, and it carries the risk of being discovered when traveling back, leading to unforeseen accidents.
Hermione said solemnly:
"Only with approval from the Ministry of Magic can a Time-Turner be borrowed. Professor McGonagall told me not to tell anyone, so you absolutely cannot spread this."
Charlie, of course, had no interest in spreading it around.
But Ron, with his big mouth, was another story.
Hermione also realized this, and she stared at Ron with sharp eyes: "If you dare to tell anyone, you'll have to do all your homework yourself this semester!"
"I swear, I'll keep it absolutely secret."
Ron immediately raised his right hand, his expression incredibly sincere.
Without Hermione's tutoring, those assignments and essays would be like ancient texts... The next day, Gryffindor and Slytherin's first class was Care of Magical Creatures Class.
It was still the same enclosure, but this time Hagrid clearly had experience.
He stood by the fence, saying in a booming voice, "Everyone take out your monster book of monsters."
The students all pulled out their monster book of monsters, tightly bound with ropes, from their bags.
"Remember, stroke the spine downwards with your index finger," Hagrid demonstrated once.
"And they'll quiet down."
The students did as told, and the monster book of monsters indeed became docile.
Hagrid nodded with satisfaction:
"Good, you all wait here for a moment, I'll go bring today's magical creatures."
With that, he strode towards the depths of the forest.
As soon as Hagrid left, Draco yelled at the top of his lungs, "What an idiot! How can such a fool teach at this school?"
He deliberately raised his voice, ensuring everyone around could hear.
"When my father finds out, he'll definitely get him fired."
Harry whirled around, his eyes blazing: "Shut up, Malfoy!"
He didn't want Hagrid's class to be disrupted by Malfoy.
Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, shaking his head and mimicking Harry in a sarcastic tone.
"Oh, shut up~ Malfoy~"
"You should worry about yourself, Potter. Don't get scared by the Dementors again."
Harry genuinely wanted to punch his arrogant face.
The surrounding Slytherin students burst into laughter.
Goyle, nearby, was a bit curious.
"What animal will that big oaf bring?"
Draco pouted, "He already taught a class yesterday, said it was some Hippogriff. If you ask me, those things are really stupid, and they even expect me to bow to them."
He lifted his chin, looking disdainful.
"Whoever wants to bow can bow, but I'm not."
A Slytherin student immediately cheered.
"Good for you, Draco! I heard Charlie didn't bow yesterday either."
Draco's expression grew even more smug, his chin raised higher.
Charlie didn't bow, and I didn't bow, so I = Charlie. Victory!
He said arrogantly.
"Just watch, I'll go up there in a bit and put that horse-bird in its place."
Ron muttered softly beside him, "He's just an egomaniac."
Just then, a rustling sound came from deep within the forest.
Hagrid's figure appeared, followed by a dozen furry creatures.
Those creatures were enormous, each one as big as a small elephant.
Eight thick legs moved across the ground, making dull thudding sounds. Their bodies were covered in black fur, which shimmered with an eerie luster in the sunlight.
The most terrifying thing was their eyes—eight eyes, densely arranged on their heads, like black beads, staring coldly ahead.
Ron's face instantly turned pale, and he froze in place.
Draco wished he could slap himself.
Hagrid waved with a smile.
"Don't be scared, everyone, these are Acromantulas. Say hello!"
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