"I have two mothers, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff."
Amanda repeated her words from earlier, her voice flat and without any fluctuation.
Hermione let go of Amanda and exchanged looks with Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe.
"You mean the two Lady Founders, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, are still... alive and have become your mothers?" She swallowed hard and asked Amanda cautiously.
"Yes," Amanda nodded calmly, "it's them."
"That is truly... surprising."
Cho Chang wiped her face, trying to recover from her stunned expression.
Marietta Eckmore nodded blankly beside her, but the one with the biggest reaction was Hermione.
She had already begun to think about how much more study time she needed to add and how much new knowledge she had to learn to gain the recognition of the two Founders.
Before that, however, Hermione broke into a heartfelt, bright smile and reached out to pinch Amanda's cheek. "Congratulations! You finally have two mothers who love and pamper you."
"Mm!" Amanda nodded vigorously.
Behind her, the figures of two adult witches slowly materialized.
"Oh dear, if we had known our dear daughter was going to introduce us, we wouldn't have disappeared beforehand."
Rowena said with a smile, waving at the three girls.
"Hello there, little ones." Helga smiled kindly, leaning down to greet the three girls.
"Hello, Lady Ravenclaw, Lady Hufflepuff," the three of them said in unison.
The three girls shuddered and immediately greeted them politely. Standing before them were the two Lady Founders; even if Headmaster Dumbledore were here, he would greet them respectfully.
"Good children, you are all good children." Helga nodded, patting each of the three girls' heads. When she reached Hermione, she even winked at her.
"You are a wonderful girl, a wonderful Young Wizard. Keep it up, I have high hopes for you."
Hermione's eyes lit up. If Lady Hufflepuff said that, did it mean she was recognized?
"I—I will work hard!"
Rowena also smiled nearby, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I'll leave my daughter in your care, then."
"Okay!"
Amanda tilted her head mechanically. Mama Rowena's daughter was herself, so what did she mean by leaving her in Hermione's care?
Her face flushed slightly, but she couldn't quite figure it out.
Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore, the two Seniors, stood by with strange smiles on their faces as they watched this scene.
But they quickly snapped out of it, their eyes shining as they looked at the Founders of their respective houses.
The two Lady Founders chatted with the four Young Wizards until midnight. During that time, Amanda enjoyed a delicious dinner that Hermione had brought back for her.
It wasn't until midnight that the still-excited Hermione and the others went to bed at the urging of the two Founders.
"Children shouldn't stay up late," said the gentle Helga.
"Go to sleep early and grow taller, so you can pin our dear daughter against the wall and kiss her later."
That was Rowena, whispering to Hermione and effectively selling out her daughter.
As for Amanda, she had already climbed into bed to read after her shower.
In her world, learning was the fourth most important thing; unless it was something extremely vital, her study plan could not be interrupted.
Once it struck twelve, she said goodnight to her two mothers and the three other girls, then lay down and fell asleep quickly.
Hermione and the other two, however, remained excited for a long while before finally drifting off to sleep.
By the next morning, the initial excitement of knowing the two Lady Founders were alive and that Amanda had finally found a loving family of her own had faded slightly.
But it was soon rekindled by Penelope's shocked expression upon hearing the news.
"Merlin's beard," Penelope stared wide-eyed at Marietta Eckmore, who had told her the news. "This is simply unbelievable."
She didn't doubt her juniors were lying or joking; they would never do such a thing regarding something like this.
"Then why don't the two Lady Founders show themselves? Everyone would love to see them."
Penelope suppressed her excitement and whispered the question to Amanda.
"Because if my mothers show themselves, it might affect Voldemort's resurrection. It's best they wait until after he returns."
"To ensure the probability of any changes to Voldemort's resurrection is minimized."
"I see," Penelope nodded understandingly, then her excitement flared up again. "Does that mean they will appear next year?"
After all, according to Voldemort's plan, he would be resurrected at the end of this school year.
"Yes." Amanda nodded frankly.
By then, Hogwarts Castle would become a place Voldemort truly wouldn't dare to approach.
Of course, analyzing Voldemort's personality, Amanda didn't rule out the possibility that his arrogance would lead him to believe he could handle the Founders and Headmaster Dumbledore simultaneously and march on Hogwarts.
He was Voldemort, after all; any level of madness was plausible. As for herself, Amanda felt that Voldemort likely didn't even consider her a threat.
Hermione waited until Amanda and Penelope finished talking, then swallowed her pie and nudged Amanda's arm with her elbow.
"Amanda, Hagrid didn't come for breakfast." Today was the last day of the Christmas holidays; normally, Hagrid, as a Professor, would come to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Amanda glanced at the Staff Table and saw Hagrid's empty seat, her mind racing.
Combining recent events with Hagrid's personality, she reached a conclusion almost immediately.
"Hagrid probably doesn't want to show his face because of Rita Skeeter's report."
"Yeah," Hermione nodded, thinking the same. "I don't think this is what Hagrid should be doing."
With a long sigh, she looked toward the Gryffindor Table; clearly, Harry and Ron had noticed as well.
"I'm going to Hagrid's hut after breakfast."
"I'm coming too," Amanda replied without a change in expression. Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope also agreed.
After breakfast, the five girls walked together toward Hagrid's hut.
When they reached the door, they happened to see Harry and Ron, who had just arrived as well.
"You guys came too." Harry smiled and waved at the five girls.
"Harry, Ron, good morning." Amanda greeted them politely.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Harry stepped forward and knocked gently on the door of Hagrid's hut. "Hagrid, I know you're in there. Can you open the door?"
"Hagrid?"
After knocking for a full half-minute with no response from inside, Harry took a deep breath and stopped being polite, starting to knock loudly.
"Hagrid, what are you doing? Do you think any of us care about that stupid report Rita Skeeter wrote?"
"Why are you hiding in this hut? Hagrid, open up, we want to talk to you."
After a barrage of persuasion proved useless, Harry gritted his teeth and delivered his final ultimatum.
"Hagrid, if you don't open the door, I'm going to blast it open!"
"Potter! I'm a Professor, and you're actually going to blast a Professor's door!"
The wooden door of Hagrid's hut creaked open, and Hagrid peered out at Harry.
"Sorry, Professor Hagrid," Harry said with absolutely no remorse on his face.
"Since when did you start calling me Professor?" Hagrid squinted at Harry.
"Since when did you start calling me Potter?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
Two seconds later, they both burst into laughter.
"Harry," Hagrid opened the door fully, his eyes reddening as he looked at the seven Young Wizards standing outside. "You're all here."
"We felt we needed to come so you could see that none of us care about what that Skeeter person said."
Hermione stepped forward, looking at Hagrid with sincerity.
"Yeah Hagrid, do you really think we'd care about that cow Skeeter—"
A coughing sound came as Headmaster Dumbledore stepped slowly out of Hagrid's hut.
Harry's voice stopped abruptly. "Headmaster Dumbledore, sorry, I didn't know you were here... I mean, I shouldn't have been swearing..."
"Oh, it's quite alright," Headmaster Dumbledore looked toward the sky. "My hearing failed me just now and I didn't hear anything. Alas, as one gets older, the body always starts to have problems."
Except for Amanda, the other six Young Wizards' mouths twitched simultaneously. Headmaster Dumbledore having health problems? That was an absurd joke.
"Hagrid, you don't need to worry about Skeeter's report," Amanda said, looking at him seriously. "Skeeter was formally arrested yesterday. For being an illegal, unregistered Animagus and for publishing false reports, she will be locked in Azkaban for a long time."
Hagrid was stunned, a look of relief appearing on his face. "That's wonderful, but... I'm not sure if I should go back to teaching. You know, I..."
He shook his head, looking self-deprecating.
"Hagrid, you're the best Care of Magical Creatures Class Professor we've ever seen," Ron spoke up anxiously. "Please don't give up."
"Hagrid, no one cares about your parentage," Cho Chang also chimed in to persuade him. "Your classes are great, and you're good to everyone. That's enough."
"Exactly, we all want you to keep teaching." Marietta Eckmore held Cho Chang's arm and nodded vigorously.
"Think about it, Hagrid. If you leave, where would we find a Care of Magical Creatures Class Professor as good as you?" Penelope added, striking while the iron was hot.
"So it's just as I said, Hagrid," Headmaster Dumbledore said with a smile, spreading his hands. "The vast majority of people want you back."
"I showed you many letters, didn't I? So many parents still remember you and the help you gave them during their own student days."
"They even told me that if I dared to fire you, they'd give me a piece of their mind."
"Oh, oh," Hagrid lowered his head, looking at his large hands. "But there are still people who don't want me to teach."
"You can't expect everyone to support you, Hagrid," Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head with a smile. "There are still many people who insist on writing to me every day, telling me to get out of the position of Hogwarts Principal, yet here I am, perfectly fine."
"And I think," Headmaster Dumbledore looked at Amanda and the others, a wide smile appearing under his long white beard, "these young friends of yours won't let you stay depressed either."
"Oh..." Hagrid sniffed loudly. "I will. I'll continue teaching."
"That's excellent," Headmaster Dumbledore said enthusiastically. "Then I won't disturb you any further. There are some matters at St Mungos that I need to attend to."
As he spoke, he winked at Amanda. Amanda instinctively began to think. St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, a patient... so what kind of patient would require Headmaster Dumbledore's personal involvement and clearly have some connection to her?
Names flashed through her mind. Within two seconds, Amanda locked onto someone who would require Dumbledore's personal attention and involve her.
Barty Crouch Sr. It seemed Headmaster Dumbledore had rescued him and placed him in St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
But why did Headmaster Dumbledore reveal this to her?
Walking back toward Hogwarts Castle, Amanda looked down in thought. Hermione took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. "What are you thinking about?"
Amanda blinked and turned to Hermione, a sudden realization dawning in her mind.
"To pave the way for Hermione."
"What?" Hermione was stunned, looking at Amanda in confusion.
"Just now, Headmaster Dumbledore mentioned he had to handle some business at St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and he looked at me at the same time."
"At this stage, there's only one person who would require Headmaster Dumbledore to go to St Mungos personally and who also has a connection to me: Barty Crouch Sr."
"So Barty Crouch Sr. has been rescued and is currently hospitalized at St Mungos," Hermione nodded, understanding Amanda's point. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"It does," Amanda nodded firmly. "Because of Barty Crouch Jr., Barty Crouch Sr. himself has definitely lost any chance of becoming the Minister for Magic."
"But once he recovers, he can come forward to recommend you and provide political support."
This way, with the previous plan to topple Fudge and win public favor, the economic support from Amanda herself and all The Ravenclaws, the publicity support from Harry, and finally, the political recommendation from Barty Crouch Sr...
The prospect of Hermione becoming the youngest Minister for Magic in history now had even more weight behind it.
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