When she saw Kael, Hermione forced a tight smile, as if she was trying to say hello.
But paired with her heavy dark circles and an expression like she was about to burst into tears, she didn't look happy at all…
Kael thought for a moment and walked over to sit across from her.
"Hello, Kael." Hermione's voice was hoarse.
Kael glanced at the books spread out on her table, "On Why Muggles Need Electricity," and next to them were some things about Arithmancy and Ancient Runes…
"So, you still chose to use the Time Turner, didn't you?" Kael asked quietly.
Hermione's hand paused in the middle of flipping a page.
"Yeah." She nodded. "I can't give up any of my classes, I just can't..."
"But you don't look so good right now." Kael said. "Are you sure you can make it to the end of the school year?"
Hermione now looked just like Lupin on the train, like she could faint at any moment.
Give it a few more months, and Kael had no doubt she'd fall asleep during exams.
"I don't know..." Hermione grabbed at her hair, sounding close to falling apart.
Her voice was somewhat loud, instantly drawing disapproval from others, but fortunately Madam Pince was a little farther away and didn't hear it.
"Can you tell me how you managed before?" Hermione asked, "You took every class, but got really high marks—even full marks...
"I always thought if I had a Time Turner, it wouldn't be so hard, but once I started using it, I realized it's nothing like that at all."
Hermione clawed at her hair again, "After using the Time Turner so much, my memory keeps getting worse, and it's hard to concentrate in class."
If I keep going like this, my exam results will be full of E's. I don't even dare imagine how disappointed Professor McGonagall will be if I don't get all O's."
The more Hermione spoke, the more she broke down, and finally she actually started crying.
Lately she hadn't talked to anyone for ages—especially after Christmas, since she'd told Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt, causing Gryffindor to lose to Slytherin in Quidditch.
Almost overnight, she turned into the least popular person—even Harry and Ron stopped talking to her.
But Hermione didn't care; back then, all the coursework was already suffocating, so she didn't have time to worry about such trivial things…
It wasn't until recently, after they beat Hufflepuff, that things started to improve.
But the problem was, Ron and Harry were no help at all—they only made things worse, so not talking to them before was probably better.
At least then she wouldn't get angry over anything but homework… Like Harry sneaking off to Hogsmeade and getting caught by Professor Snape.
Hermione couldn't understand it: even Harry himself—everyone knew Sirius Black was looking for him, so why would he insist on going to Hogsmeade?
Is throwing yourself into danger actually fun?
Sitting across from her, Kael had no idea she was thinking all this; he just figured she couldn't take the Time Turner anymore.
That was totally normal. Percy was the same back then—using the Time Turner, he was borderline hysterical all year, and returned it as soon as the holidays started.
According to Diana, the Time Turner lets your body go back a few hours, but not your mind.
And our energy is finite; use it enough times and a breakdown is inevitable.
Kael tapped his fingers on the table, "Can I ask, do you use the Time Turner every single day?"
"Every day," Hermione nodded.
"How much time?"
"Before Christmas, about two or three hours; now it's six hours," Hermione replied.
Six hours?
Kael shook his head.
So Hermione basically can't sleep for at least twenty-two hours every day, and she's kept this up for nearly three months; no wonder her dark circles are so heavy.
"My advice is still to drop two subjects… Divination and Muggle Studies."
Kael said, "Those classes are useless for you; it's a complete waste of your time."
This time Hermione didn't argue back.
She hadn't believed him before, but now she saw Kael was right.
"And besides going to class, try not to use the Time Turner at other times," Kael continued, "I guess your timetable doesn't repeat every single day, right?"
"Three times a week," Hermione said.
"So what do you do with the other time, read, homework?"
"No." Hermione shook her head. "Mostly it's for studying Ancient Runes. That class is interesting but way too hard, and one lesson per week isn't nearly enough."
At this point, Hermione suddenly looked up, "I heard Professor Babbling say you got full marks in last year's Ancient Runes exam, and the last student to get full marks was fifty years ago."
So you really didn't use a Time Turner and understood everything the professor taught?"
Hermione had wanted to ask this for ages; she spent hours every day on Ancient Runes and still couldn't match Kael's one lesson a week… she couldn't accept it.
"Well, our situations are a bit different."
Kael dodged, "Mainly, during the holidays, I met a really enthusiastic guy who kept teaching me Ancient Runes—it was kind of like private tutoring, and I stuck with him all break, so getting good grades was only natural."
"Private tutor?" Hermione gaped in surprise, her eyes turning red with envy.
"Was it Professor Babbling?"
"No." Kael shook his head, "It was someone else. He actually wanted to apply for Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Headmaster Dumbledore didn't approve."
"Oh, why didn't he pick Ancient Runes!" Hermione said in frustration,
She looked at Kael hopefully, "Is he still teaching you? Could you recommend him to Hogwarts?
If we had another professor, we could maybe get an extra lesson."
"Sadly," Kael said, "he left last year. I can't find him now."
Hermione looked disappointed; she really wanted more Ancient Runes classes.
"Here's a tip." Kael looked at her and said, "Forget everything from the very first Ancient Runes class—it's completely useless right now. Just follow the order in the textbook."
After that you'll see it's not nearly as hard as you imagine…"
"Forget it?" Hermione didn't get it, "But the combination formulas for Talismans are important! The book says they're the most crucial part."
Talisman combinations?
If Kael remembered correctly, that should be the last chapter in 'Advanced Magic Text.'
In other words, they wouldn't study that material until the end of sixth year.
Professor Babbling's twisted humor hadn't changed one bit.
"Forget it," Kael said, "without mastering magic text arrangement and writing first, you could spend all the time you want and still not understand those talismans."
"Just like Transfiguration Technique: first you learn to turn a matchstick into a needle, not how to turn a teacup into a rabbit."
"But," Hermione blinked, "if that's the case, why did Professor Babbling teach us that on the very first lesson…"
"It's her twisted sense of humor," Kael laughed. "Think about it—has she ever gone back to talismans in later lessons?"
Hermione lowered her head and thought for a moment.
With Kael's reminder, she realized Professor Babbling really hadn't gone back to talismans since, and the lessons were much simpler.
Hermione slapped the table with a bang and shouted unconsciously, "So I've been wasting my time all along?"
...