Charlie and Hermione arrived at the Headmasters Office.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his fingers interlaced on the surface.
On the day Hermione was rescued, Dumbledore understood everything by comparing Hermione's memories with Charlie's memory of finding him—Charlie had succeeded.
"Please sit," Dumbledore motioned for the two of them to take the chairs opposite him.
Charlie didn't dawdle; he immediately pulled out the remaining six time-turners and placed them on the desk. The golden sand was dull and lifeless, as if its vitality had been drained.
"The energy is completely depleted," Charlie said.
"I don't know if they can be restored."
Dumbledore picked up a time-turner and carefully examined the golden sand inside the glass tube.
"The golden sand has completely run out of energy. This material is very difficult to find now," he said, putting down the time-turner.
"But that is not important. What matters is that you both returned safely."
Charlie briefly recounted the events, while Hermione supplemented with her experiences in that dimension.
After listening, Dumbledore looked at Hermione.
"Miss Granger, how did this experience feel?"
Hermione was silent for a few seconds, then said seriously, "I was very scared at first, but now I feel I benefited greatly."
"This truly was a great adventure." A hint of satisfaction flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.
"These experiences will become your invaluable treasure, allowing you to go further and further on the path of magic. I am proud of your determination and courage in saving your friend, Charlie."
Charlie waved his hand, "It was nothing. Just give me seven or eight hundred points, and maybe a few certificates and medals while you're at it."
Dumbledore smiled, but it didn't look very kind.
"Speaking of points, Charlie, can you tell me why you blew up the Ministry of Magic?"
Hermione whipped her head around to look at Charlie. Wait, did he really start a fight?
Charlie looked completely innocent.
"I was trapped in the Department of Mysteries at the time. To avoid being caught and causing the Principal to lose face, I had no choice but to resort to that."
"I thank you so much," Dumbledore said, rubbing his forehead.
In Dumbledore's view, with Charlie's strength, he could have easily planned ahead and kept the commotion to a minimum.
But now, the incident was known to everyone. The entire Wizarding World knew someone had infiltrated the Department of Mysteries, and the Ministry of Magic didn't even know who the culprit was.
Dumbledore strongly suspected that Charlie had done it on purpose.
However, Dumbledore had visited the injured. They had mostly sustained minor scrapes, and the spells used were harmless ones like Stupefy, which left no lasting effects.
Therefore, Dumbledore knew that Charlie had not intended serious harm.
Listening to their conversation, Hermione realized that Charlie had stolen all those time-turners from the Ministry of Magic.
Her fingers clenched the hem of her robes, and her eyes felt slightly warm.
To save her, Charlie had not only risked entering that dimension but had also risked infiltrating the Ministry of Magic and blowing up the Department of Mysteries.
"Speaking of which, Charlie," Dumbledore's tone became serious.
"The origin of these time-turners is not entirely legitimate, so this entire experience must remain a secret and cannot be mentioned to outsiders."
Charlie shrugged, "Understood. I wasn't planning on broadcasting it everywhere anyway."
Hermione, however, frowned.
She looked down at her fingers, the cold sensation from that dimension still lingering on her fingertips.
The despair, the loneliness, and the surprise and emotion when Charlie appeared—all of it had truly happened.
Why did it have to be hidden?
Especially Charlie's actions. He risked being trapped in that dimension forever and rushed in to save her without hesitation.
In the final moment, he relied solely on his own strength to drag her out.
Such a legendary experience, such a marvelous feat, had to be buried in the dust of time, unknown and unremembered.
The more Hermione thought about it, the more unwilling she felt.
"Principal, I understand."
She nodded obediently on the surface, but she had already made up her mind.
If she couldn't speak of it, she would write it down.
She would record this experience, word for word.
Every detail, every line of dialogue, must be preserved completely.
Maybe it couldn't be made public now, but one day, the world would know what Charlie White had done.
Hermione raised her head, a determined light flashing in her eyes.
Dumbledore seemed to sense something, gave her an extra look, but said nothing... The consequences of losing the time-turners quickly became apparent.
Hermione's timetable was completely ruined. Divination Class and Arithmancy Class overlapped, and Muggle Studies Class clashed with Ancient Runes. She could only choose between the two, opting for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.
Addressing this situation, Professor McGonagall sought her out.
"Miss Granger, where is your time-turner?"
Hermione's heart sank.
"I..." She lowered her head.
"I miscalculated the time and traveled back more than five hours."
Professor McGonagall's expression instantly became serious.
"What?" She quickly walked up to Hermione.
"Are you hurt? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," Hermione quickly waved her hand. "The time-turner just broke."
Professor McGonagall's frown deepened. She reached out and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, carefully scrutinizing her face.
"This is not a trivial matter," Professor McGonagall said, her voice laced with worry.
"Time magic is extremely dangerous. You shouldn't have—"
"Professor Dumbledore knows about this," Hermione interrupted her. "He has already examined me and confirmed that everything is fine."
Professor McGonagall paused.
"Dumbledore knows?"
Hermione nodded.
Professor McGonagall was silent for a few seconds, finally letting out a sigh.
"Since Professor Dumbledore has confirmed it, I am relieved." She released her grip. "However, your current class schedule will likely need adjustment."
"I know," Hermione whispered.
"It just so happens that you previously applied to drop Divination Class and Muggle Studies Class. Why don't you drop those two?"
Hermione nodded.
After dropping those two courses, Hermione finally felt a little more relaxed toward the end of the semester.
Exam week was approaching.
Gryffindor's final Quidditch match was held as scheduled, with Slytherin as their opponent.
On the field, Harry caught the Golden Snitch using his superb flying skills and the firebolt, and Gryffindor won.
However, the score difference was small, and accounting for the season's total points, the quidditch cup ultimately fell into Hufflepuff's hands.
After the match, Wood stood in the center of the pitch, looking up at the sky, silent for a long time.
"Captain, I'm sorry," Harry walked over, his voice filled with apology.
Wood turned around, but the look of disappointment he usually wore in previous years was absent. He patted Harry's shoulder:
"You did very well."
"But the quidditch cup—"
"The quidditch cup is important, but I've realized something this year." Wood looked at the cheering Hufflepuff students in the stands.
"Failure is always a part of life. This was my only chance, but I didn't seize it, so I can't blame anyone else."
Listening to Wood speaking profound words about life, Ron pointed at his own head and then at Harry.
"Oh no, Wood must have been knocked senseless."
Not two days later, the final exams were held as scheduled.
Charlie sat in the examination room, looking at the History of Magic paper in front of him, when a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.
He pulled a small vial of Felix Felicis from his pocket; only a tiny bit remained at the bottom.
He tilted his head back and drank the remaining Felix Felicis in one gulp.
[Your Majesty is spending recklessly. Using Felix Felicis for an exam earns you: tyrant points +100]
As the warm liquid flowed down his throat, a marvelous feeling instantly surged through him.
Charlie didn't even need to think; his pen immediately landed on the correct options.
It was as if someone were whispering the correct answers in his ear.
On the day the results were released, Charlie's score reached a new high: he actually achieved an A (Acceptable) in History of Magic.
Of course, apart from History of Magic, his scores in all other subjects were, without controversy, O (Outstanding).
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