Chapter 157: Hermione, Whose Heart Might Be Fluttering (Fourth More)

Christmas had arrived.

In an instant, the entire Hogwarts was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Although Ma Jun believed that such a holiday was far inferior to the Spring Festival, he had to admit that it was still a major celebration.

The school was already on break, though the vacation wasn't particularly long. Still, most of the students chose to go home and reunite with their families.

If they were back in his homeland, youngsters would probably be busy looking for boyfriends or girlfriends to hang out with.

Harry, much like the previous two years, chose to spend the holidays at school. The teachers also largely stayed behind, and it had to be said that they worked quite hard.

However, to Ma Jun's perplexity, Hermione had unexpectedly chosen to stay as well.

Sirius Black had already been captured and brought to justice, and the soul-sucking Dementors that fed on positive energy had also been withdrawn from the school.

This allowed the students to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a pleasant holiday.

In the warmly decorated Great Hall of Hogwarts, the remaining minority of students gathered together with the teachers to share a dinner.

As Ma Jun was clinking glasses and exchanging witty banter with the teachers, Professor Sybill Trelawney, the eccentric Divination teacher, finally drifted over. After sitting in a chair for a short while, she uttered a string of mood-killing remarks before quickly departing.

"Professor Trelawney loves predicting deaths!" Professor McGonagall said with wide eyes, looking at the others. "Pay no attention to her, let's continue eating!"

It was evident that she held a very poor opinion of the Divination professor.

Ma Jun, however, curiously stared and observed Professor Trelawney for a moment. According to the plot in his memory, more than a decade ago, Trelawney had fallen into a similar trance-like state and made a genuine prophecy right in front of Dumbledore.

That prophecy concerned Voldemort. It foretold that the savior had appeared, born at the end of July that very year, and that only one could survive between the savior and Voldemort!

Later, Voldemort learned of this prophecy and sought out Harry, intending to kill him. However, great maternal love saved Harry's life, causing Voldemort to be defeated instead and reduced to a wandering phantom, akin to death.

Yet, besides Harry, there was another young wizard born at the end of July that year—Neville!

If Voldemort had chosen to personally kill Neville back then, the outcome might have been the same! Neville would have become the savior.

In Ma Jun's analysis, he believed Professor Trelawney's prophecy was likely a curse—a form of miraculous magic!

Harry and Neville shared similar birth dates and years, and because of Voldemort's choice, Harry was bestowed with the title of the savior. This also forced Dumbledore to cultivate Harry and arrange his life path for him.

Judging from various subsequent events, although Neville missed the opportunity to be the savior, he lived much better than Harry. Nor was he ever a loser, despite what most students thought.

"Professor... Professor..." Suddenly, Hermione trotted over, tilting her maturing little face upward and calling out curiously, "What are you thinking about? Did you hear what I said?"

"Oh, apologies..." Ma Jun flashed a gentle smile. "I was just zoning out for a second. What did you say?"

"I was wondering..." A blush appeared on Hermione's face. "When the holiday comes this year, could I come visit you? To study the fourth-year curriculum in advance, just for studying..."

Ma Jun's smile grew brilliant, his eyes narrowing into gentle slits. Of course, this wasn't meant in a lustful way; he was simply observing Hermione like this.

"Ma Jun... Professor..." Hermione grew even more shy, mustering her courage in a soft whisper. "May I? You promised me last year, but then something came up and you turned me down again."

The professors nearby glanced over, their expressions rather strange, though no one spoke. In their view, if two people were truly in love, a teacher-student romance wasn't a big deal. Outsiders shouldn't voice opinions on the spot.

"Of course you can!" Ma Jun readily agreed, thinking to himself, Am I really that charming?

"That's wonderful, it's a deal then!" Hermione said excitedly. "You can't back out this time. As soon as the holiday starts, I'll figure out the way!"

With that, the young girl turned around and ran back to sit at the students' table.

The other students didn't know what Hermione had said to Ma Jun. Harry asked curiously, "What did you go to Professor Ma Jun for? To wish him a Merry Christmas?"

"Hmph... I think students should study hard and not think about other things..." Ron mumbled incoherently from the side, stuffing his face while speaking with a hint of jealousy.

They were all fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years old now—awakening to romance, with the earliest sprouts of affection between boys and girls beginning to show.

At the teachers' table, Dumbledore, who was sitting next to Ma Jun, blinked at him and said with a cheerful chuckle, "It seems our Professor Ma Jun is quite charming. I hear many female students have sent you love letters?"

"My personal advice, Professor Ma Jun, is that you must be cautious with such matters!" McGonagall said sternly.

"If I ever hear of anyone toying with a student's affections, I will make sure they are despised by all wizards!" Snape glanced at Ma Jun and said with extreme displeasure, reminded of his own youth when secretly loving someone had been agonizing.

Ma Jun shrugged. "I know I'm quite charming, but I have no intentions toward the students. I plan to find a Muggle wife in the future and live a harmonious and happy life!" He took a bite of a pumpkin pasty and continued, "Kids these days are just too wild; there's a generational gap between us!"

The Christmas dinner continued. After that, nothing particularly interesting happened; everyone ate their fill and went their separate ways.

After returning to his room, Ma Jun took a comfortable hot bath, then smoked a cigarette while preparing Christmas gifts for his friends. Aside from the owl he had promised Ron, for the rest—like Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the others—he simply dug out gifts students had given him the previous year and re-gifted them perfunctorily.

Mind you, ever since Ma Jun became a Hogwarts professor, he had received countless gifts from students during various holidays. He couldn't even be bothered to unwrap the packaging and simply stored them directly into his universe ring, because the gifts in there were enough to fill an entire house.

The brief holiday passed, and life returned to peace once more.

Ma Jun continued his leisurely routine of teaching classes every day, answering students' questions, and occasionally wandering over to the Room of Requirement.

Because hidden in there were many wonderful things preserved by generations of students.

Unfortunately, Ma Jun only discovered some long-forgotten spells and a few ancient potion recipes.

By now, Ma Jun's use of spiritual power—or telekinesis—channeled through the medium of spells, had given him a wide array of superpowers. It was much like learning combat skills and moves after mastering internal martial arts. Thus, even if the acquired spells were ancient, they were no longer of much use to him.

Amidst these leisurely days, time passed quickly.

Spring flowers bloomed, the snow-covered scenery of Hogwarts vanished overnight, and the surface of the lake rippled once again. In an instant, the students' trunks were packed to the brim, and the Hogwarts Express set off amidst billowing smoke.

Originally, Ma Jun had intended to Apparate straight home after reaching Hogsmeade, but he was persuaded by Harry, Hermione, and the others, and ended up taking the train back to London as well.

When bidding farewell to the students at the station, Hermione boldly stepped forward once more, confirming that she would visit Ma Jun's home in a week's time.

Ma Jun had no choice but to agree. Come what may, let's see what kind of tricks you're planning to pull!