A flash of golden light streaked past. As Fawkes departed, Jon turned around, picked up a silver instrument from the desk, and gently ran his fingers over it—
His expression shifted—turning slightly awkward.
"What's wrong?" Hermione sensed it too—the atmosphere in the Headmaster's Office had suddenly become strange.
In an instant, everything fell silent, an odd, almost eerie stillness settling over the room.
The portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses lining the walls, who had been dozing with their heads tilted, began whispering among themselves. The sounds were faint and subtle, but enough for her to notice.
"Ahem…" Jon cleared his throat lightly, his expression subtly changing.
"Miss Granger…" he said solemnly, "on behalf of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix, I thank you for your help in this matter…"
"It's nothing…" His overly serious tone only made Hermione more confused. She replied softly, "But Rita Skeeter is quite—"
Before she could finish, Jon cut her off rather hastily. "However, I'm sorry—I still have matters to deal with shortly, so if there's nothing else—"
The blunt dismissal left Hermione even more bewildered.
She could only swallow the warning she hadn't managed to voice, nodding stiffly. "All right… I won't disturb you any longer."
"Goodbye!" Jon showed no intention of keeping her, nodding without hesitation.
Still puzzled, Hermione turned and walked toward the exit… but the moment she opened the oak door of the Headmaster's Office and saw who was standing outside, she immediately understood.
"Hello, Miss Granger!" Astoria greeted her calmly, her expression unreadable.
Hermione bit her lower lip. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
In the end, she simply gave a slight nod and hurried down the spiral staircase as if fleeing.
"Careful, Miss Granger," Greengrass's voice called from behind her, a touch of "kindness" in her tone. "Don't rush—you might fall on the stairs."
Hearing that voice, Hermione felt as though her chest tightened with a surge of emotion—It felt awful.
...
"Good afternoon…" Jon quickly stood up as the girl pushed the door open and entered.
"Good afternoon, Headmaster," Astoria said softly, blinking, her tone carrying a faintly teasing edge. "You look very busy… I'm sorry to interrupt…"
"I…" Jon said awkwardly, "I didn't know when you'd returned to school… you didn't tell me in advance."
"So I accidentally interrupted your private time?" Astoria smiled, circling him once as she continued in that same peculiar tone,
"My apologies for the inconvenience… Next time I visit, should I send an owl ahead of time, Headmaster?"
Jon stood there, flustered and at a loss for words, only able to spread his hands helplessly.
On the walls, the portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses burst into laughter.
"Oh, do stop that, Miss Greengrass… just look at the state of our headmaster… I swear… they were only holding hands. Nothing else happened."
"Are you trying to stir up trouble on purpose, Phineas? What exactly are you swearing on—"
"I swear on the honor of the sole surviving heir of the Black family… er…"
As the ever-mischievous portraits continued to egg things on, Jon could only stand there, looking at Astoria with an innocent expression. She suddenly let out a soft laugh. Then took Jon's hand, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "I was just joking."
Astoria kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I was only using her… to hire Skeeter as a special correspondent for the Order of the Phoenix," Jon explained. "You could say she's Rita Skeeter's nemesis."
At the same time, he returned the gesture, kissing her cheek as well.
"I don't like her!" Astoria's face, which had just been smiling, suddenly turned serious.
"Huh?" Jon froze, completely caught off guard.
"I hate her… Granger… I don't know why, but I really, really hate her!" Astoria said firmly.
"…" Jon hesitated, unsure how to respond.
"Of course!" Her serious expression quickly melted back into a smile. "It has nothing to do with you, Jon… after all, you're the headmaster…"
...
Fortunately, the dangerous topic didn't last long. Astoria clearly had no intention of discussing the other girl further.
The two soon shifted to more pleasant subjects—
"My sister and I arrived at school at noon…" She sat down across from Jon, and he poured her a cup of black tea—or rather, had a House-elf prepare a fine cup and bring it over.
Astoria continued, "After lunch, I came straight here… At first, I was wondering whether the stone guardian at the door would let me in, since I didn't know the new password…"
"…Selwyn asked me about you at noon. She seems to already know that you were the one who helped bail Mother out of Azkaban… She must care a lot about this—after all, her father was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban two weeks ago… But I told her that even you would probably be powerless to do anything about it…"
"…I also heard Professor Slughorn has returned to the school. He's now the Head of Slytherin, right? Of course, I'm not saying Professor Septima Vector isn't good—but I've never taken her classes…"
The two chatted back and forth like this.
"How has your mother been lately?" Jon asked casually.
"…She's doing quite well. Although she still can't leave the estate for now, she's been in good spirits… During the entire Easter holiday, she's been tutoring us—honestly, my sister isn't as good as me in quite a few areas…"
"Oh, right—she asked me to bring this to you…" Astoria suddenly remembered something. "To be honest, I have no idea what's inside."
As she spoke, she took a small glass bottle out of her pocket.