Chapter 72: Research on Digital Fortune Telling
By Tuesday morning, Hermione was looking much better.
Her cheeks were rosy and full of life, and she had stopped sneezing. She smiled and raised her glass of orange juice to the sleepy boy two tables away, as a greeting.
Draco forced himself to cheer up, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and nodded slightly at her.
There was another Care of Magical Creatures class in the morning.
"Give me a break!" Draco said gloomily to Crabbe and Goyle.
But the latter two seemed quite interested in Hagrid's courses.
"That big fool isn't as difficult as Professor McGonagall," Crabbe chuckled. "All you have to do is bow."
"You don't need to hand in any homework yet." Gao Erle said leisurely.
Ever since the Hippogriff's "great success" in class, the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher's enthusiasm for teaching has never been higher.
This lesson, they will learn about the Bowtruckle, a tree-guarding animal found in certain forests in western England, southern Germany, and Scandinavia.
The class's task was to describe the characteristics of the Bowtruckle as best as possible. Hagrid gave each group a small, potted tree with the Bowtruckle nestling in it. The eight-foot-long creature was a novelty, and the class was lively.
"Actually, he wanted to teach the Blast-Ended Skrewt first... but Hermione persuaded him to put it off until later," Ron whispered to Draco.
Draco gave the little girl an admiring look—she was engaged in a lively discussion with Susan Bones.
Hermione Granger's clever little brain had saved the world from so much darkness! She could probably tell at a glance that those things were of no practical use.
Draco never wanted to experience the nightmare of the skrewts again in his life.
"I think Hagrid lacks the judgment a teacher should have when it comes to the dangers of animals. You should make him aware of this. If he doesn't want to lose his teaching position after just a few days, he needs to understand one thing: not everyone is as tough as him." Draco was not very interested, and his expression was a little indifferent. "You know, the school board has always been very concerned about the safety of students."
Ron curled his lips, but instead of refutation, he nodded. "Percy said that when he was our age, he had just learned Flobberworm - that's a big difference - if Mum knew we were learning Hippogriff on the first day, she would probably be horrified."
"It's a blessing that nothing happened." Draco observed the hawthorn tree in front of him, identifying the bark of the Bowtruckle and the green twigs, and said lazily, "Imagine if a student was attacked by those big birds."
Ron shuddered, refusing to consider the possibility.
"Who can tell me about Bowtruckle's personality?" Hagrid asked with a smile. "Hermione?"
"The Bowtruckle is a peaceful, extremely shy animal that feeds on insects..." Hermione, standing in the front row, answered fluently, "But if the tree it lives in is threatened, it will leap down and pounce on the loggers or tree repair experts who try to destroy its home, digging out their eyes with its long, sharp fingers."
Crabbe and Goyle in the tree next door wanted to try to break off a branch for some reason, but they secretly withdrew their hands after hearing Hermione's introduction.
Draco couldn't help but laugh. His depressed mood eased a little, and he gently stroked the Bowtruckle in front of him. The little creature nodded its head curiously at him, its small brown eyes looking at him from behind the hawthorn tree.
The teaching content of this class is well chosen.
"Excellent, five points to Gryffindor," Hagrid said with a smile, and a smug look crossed Hermione's face.
"Is her cold completely healed?" Draco asked Ron beside him.
"Perfectly fine," Ron shrugged unhappily. "I reckon she's either cold or just in a bad mood. After all, Professor Trelawney said that to her, she can't stand it..."
"What?" Draco suddenly turned to look at Ron, his lazy look gone.
"Professor Trelawney herself told her in Divination class that she 'didn't have the right aura,' and she was very unhappy about it. I told her she was used to showing off and didn't want to fail at anything..." Ron muttered dissatisfiedly, "I was telling the truth! And then she ignored me all day. How could she be so petty?"
"Wait, is she in Divination class?" Draco asked in shock.
"Of course I did. I went there early yesterday morning, and I said hello to you before we left, didn't I?" Ron said curiously.
"Wow, that's very interesting," Draco muttered, gazing at her as she taught Neville Longbottom how to spot a Bowtruckle for Hagrid.
"What are you interested in?" Ron was puzzled.
"Nothing. I suddenly remembered something interesting." Draco did not continue the topic, but followed Hermione's every move with an inquiring eye.
As Ron later described to Harry, he was like a cat that had been startled from its sleep, its expression suddenly becoming focused, and it was determined to find the end of its favorite ball of yarn.
Draco Malfoy was watching Hermione Granger's every move closely.
After lunch, he saw Harry and his companions rushing to the North Tower. The way through the castle to the North Tower was very long. There was no way she could get there and back in the blink of an eye.
However, at the same time that Harry and his friends were having Divination class, Hermione suddenly appeared in classroom 7A on the eighth floor and sat steadily in the seat to his right.
She looked unhappy, and Draco vaguely saw the book "Seeing the Future Through the Mist" through the gap in her schoolbag.
"Divination class isn't going well?" he asked casually.
"Yeah, it's so boring," Hermione said unconsciously.
"I'm curious how you can take two classes at the same time?" Draco said casually.
"Oh, of course not." Hermione looked at him uncomfortably, and cautiously stuffed something hanging around her neck into the clothes in front of her neck, and a flash of golden light disappeared.
Draco gave her a meaningful look. She was hiding something again.
They didn't have the chance to continue their conversation because Professor Setima Victor hurried into the classroom and asked them to open the book "Numerology and Graphics".
"We just learned in the last class that digital fortune-telling is based on two very ancient concepts. Can anyone repeat to us the basic content of these two concepts?" Professor Victor asked the few students in the audience with great interest.
Hermione raised her hands, eager to try.
"Miss Granger?" Professor Victor smiled at her.
"The first is that people's names hold important clues to their personalities and destinies," Hermione said clearly, her face brimming with confidence. "The second idea was first proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras over 2,500 years ago. He believed that each number from 1 to 9 has its own unique personality and can help us understand everything."
"Exactly! Five points to Gryffindor," Professor Victor said kindly.
She cleared her throat and continued her introduction to the students. "Those proficient in numerology have combined these two concepts. After centuries of practice, they have developed many complex systems that convert names into numbers and then analyze the results. Today, we will practice one of the most widely used systems. We will extract three main numbers from a person's name: the personality number, the heart number, and the social number."
Professor Victor is a middle-aged female professor with a rational temperament. Her style is very different from Professor Trelawney.
She has mysterious black hair, wears a maroon wizard robe all year round, and wears a pointed wizard hat of the same color on her head. She looks very serious and often treats lazy and stupid students rudely, but is very kind to students with mathematical talent.
Draco was very happy with both the course and the classroom.
The classroom was clean and tidy, with a few simple equations written on the front blackboard and a large multiplication chart on another blackboard. There were no floral armchairs or bulging futons, no hot, suffocating red light, no dirty candle stubs, playing cards, crystal balls, or tea leaves.
Please, please, he really doesn't like messy environments.
Next, Professor Victor distributed a number chart to each table and asked them to pair up with their deskmates to interpret each other's names based on the theories and methods of hermeneutics.
The classroom was filled with the rustling of quills and the rustling of pages. Draco and Hermione were writing each other's names on parchment.
"Draco, what's your middle name?" she asked as she wrote.
"Lucius, after my father," Draco said casually. "Yours is Jean, right?"
"Oh, no, it's Jane, after my mother." Hermione smiled at him.
"Really?" Draco raised his eyebrows lazily, and without saying anything, he made a few changes to the words on the parchment.
The next step was to calculate based on the charts and numbers in the textbook. Every student in the classroom was mumbling to themselves and calculating very hard.
"How are you getting on?" Hermione asked him after half a quarter of an hour. She was writing a series of numbers quickly on the last line of her parchment, and it was obvious that she was almost done.
"Okay. Hermione Jane Granger, personality number is 7, strong cognitive ability, smart and insightful. Likes hard work and challenges... Interested in all mysterious things. Originality and imagination are far more attractive to you than money and wealth. At the same time, you may be pessimistic, sarcastic and insecure..." Draco identified the digital comparison chart and read slowly.
"I don't think I'm a pessimist," she couldn't help but say, "I'm also sarcastic and insecure, but that's not at all—"
Draco glanced at her, and couldn't help but recall her past life's sarcasm towards him - she had shown him no mercy at all back then. "Oh, when it comes to 'liking sarcasm', I suggest you don't underestimate your potential."
Hermione snorted, "What else? What about the mind number?"
"Your soul number is 1," he said approvingly. "You're very independent, focused, honest, and determined. You're the type of person who goes it alone. You set a goal for yourself and then go all out to achieve it. You don't like working with others, and you're not willing to give orders. You might be self-centered, willful, and domineering..."
"Self-centered? Willful? Draco, you're right, aren't you? And, have I ever been domineering? That seems a little inaccurate. You're not making this up to tease me, are you?" Hermione was even more unconvinced. She leaned over and, looking over his shoulder, read the chart with densely written small characters.
"I'm absolutely sure I calculated correctly." Draco shrugged, raised the parchment and chart in his hand, and pointed them to her. "See? It's written here, I didn't make it up. Also, your social number is 6. The characteristics you show to the outside world are harmony, friendship, and family values. You are loyal, responsible, and loving. You have a good ability to adapt to the environment..."
"That's more like it." Hermione put her chin close to his shoulder, her eyes fixed on the table, and whispered, "At least there are some good things to say."
Draco wanted to turn around and tease her, but when he turned around he realized how close she was to him.
The girl's face, completely absorbed, was close at hand, emitting a sweet fragrance. He could see the tip of her nose, her bright eyes unblinking as they stared at the parchment and chart in his hands. Her chin rested lightly on his shoulder, and she mumbled something softly, her chin vibrating against his shoulder as her lips moved.
In an instant, all the mocking words in his mind disappeared; even his mental fatigue and laziness seemed to be alleviated.
He couldn't help but stare at her and smile.
Hermione finally finished checking the numbers and charts.
"Well, you're right," she said reluctantly. "I never thought I had such a hidden personality in me—"
She turned her head helplessly, wanting to put on an unwilling expression to him, but suddenly found that he was turning his head to stare at her, with a beautiful arc at the corner of his mouth.
Ah, he smiled. She blinked rapidly, feeling slightly surprised and nervous.
He was close. Close enough to see the light in his gray eyes. Close enough to see that his pupils were filled with her face.
Hermione was caught off guard. Her cheeks flushed slightly from his faint breath.
She quickly turned her face away from his shoulder and frantically moved the parchment on her desk. "Ah, I've already calculated yours. Do you want me to read it to you..."
Draco felt a sense of relief on his shoulders, and felt lost.
But seeing her face flush slightly, he felt a little happier. "Okay, I'll give you the chart."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, personality number is 9." Hermione hurriedly flipped through the chart and began to read the analysis, speaking as fast as a rabbit running. "It represents completion and perfect achievement, and a willingness to provide services to others. You are suitable to be a teacher, scientist, or humanitarian. You are determined and work hard and never feel tired. You often inspire others. But at the same time, you may be arrogant. When things don't develop in the established direction, you may act rather self-righteously..."
"Wait a minute!" Draco said incredulously. "Arrogant? Self-righteous?"
Hermione ignored him and read on word by word, gradually feeling the heat on her face fade. "The number 2 is the soul number, which means you have good inner harmony, are loyal and willing to take responsibility, and are very fair. But '2' also represents contradiction, a mixture of positive and negative aspects. It often represents two completely opposite aspects of things: day and night, justice and evil, etc. -"
"What nonsense!" Draco interrupted her, not bothering to look at her anymore, a faint blush spreading across his pale face. "You make me sound like a - what do Muggles call it - schizophrenic!"
Hermione laughed out loud.
At this moment, her mentality returned to normal, no longer as inexplicably flustered as before. Intrigued by his personality analysis, she continued to read with a smirk, "People with this number may be more introverted, lonely, moody, indecisive, and more introspective..."
Draco made a toothache sound.
She glanced at him in amazement, a meaningful smile on her face, "Oh, my poor little one, so introverted and lonely..."
"Don't say that, please." Draco said with a bitter face, suddenly understanding her disbelief just now.
"Your social number is 7. The characteristics you express to the outside world are strong cognitive ability, intelligence, and understanding. You like hard work and challenges. You are serious, scholarly, and interested in all things mysterious. For you, originality and imagination are far more attractive than money and wealth..."
When she read this, she couldn't help but smile and turned to look at him, "Really? Draco Malfoy, would give up money and wealth for imagination?"
"Imagination..." Draco had given up on the struggle. He glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so, unless it's some kind of unique imagination."
She glanced at him quickly, then looked away quickly, continuing to read with interest: "Also, it may be characterized by pessimism, sarcasm, and insecurity..."
She briefly gave a cute, slightly surprised expression as she read this. "Insecure?"
"Don't forget that your personality number is also 7, and you also possess these characteristics. In essence, there is no difference between us..." Draco reminded her to prevent her from teasing him again.
Hermione shrugged, unconcerned. She stared at the chart with fascination, not arguing with him.
"Listen, what's going on with your class schedule?" Draco asked her a few more questions while she finished her calculations and saw Professor Victor checking his calculations with a group of students behind him. "I know you're also taking Divination, but how is this possible? Your classes overlap, don't they?"
"Draco! We're still in class! How can we discuss gossip?" Hermione put on a reproachful expression, turned around and grabbed Professor Victor, and asked her seriously about the calculation method.
Draco looked at her concentrated profile and felt helpless.
She was clearly avoiding the topic and had made up her mind not to say anything!
This cunning girl.
In the following time, whenever he showed any sign of wanting to ask her about her "class schedule", Hermione would start to show the "willful and domineering" traits in her character.
She began to look at him with pity, calling him an "introverted, lonely, insecure little poor thing."
"Keep your voice down, it's embarrassing. I won't ask anymore, okay?" Draco's face began to flush. He was afraid that his personality traits would be heard, but he was also a little embarrassed that she called him "poor little thing" - a subtle name, with a hint of intimacy in the awkwardness. He was a little overwhelmed.
Hermione looked at his rare awkwardness with satisfaction and decided to let him go.
After class, she went even further. As if afraid he would change his mind and continue to question her, she quickly ran away with a pile of books on her back.
Draco was left sitting there dumbfounded.
For the first time since his rebirth, his self-esteem suffered a subtle blow - he was pitied by a girl for an entire class, and then she had to avoid him!
Just because he asked a "harmless" little question.
That's what she meant by "friends should be honest with each other"!
He wrinkled his nose and finally decided to get a little help.
After thinking for a while, he pulled a piece of parchment from the desk that had not been cleared yet, hurriedly wrote a few words, swept all his things into his schoolbag, and walked straight to the Hogwarts Owl House.
Joan, idly tending her tail feathers with her beak, sat on an ornate central perch. She had recovered from her long journey to Egypt and was delighted to see Draco.
"Please help me deliver the letter to my grandfather, okay? Be careful and don't get caught by dangerous people." He touched Joan's head, rolled the letter into a small paper roll and tied it to one of her legs.
The letter read:
"Dear Grandfather,
I'm glad to hear from you. I've arrived at Hogwarts safely, so don't worry.
There is something I want to ask you. Is there a kind of magic that can make a person appear in two places at the same time?
I respectfully ask for your advice.
Your confused grandson,
Draco."
Joan looked at him with trusting eyes and gently pecked the back of his hand with her beak lovingly. She flapped her wings skillfully from the owl shed, broke through the sky, and quickly disappeared on the horizon.
After leaving the Owl House, Draco planned to go to the library to finish his half-written Arithmancy homework. When he walked to a corner of the library, he inadvertently heard the chatter of several boys and girls: "Yes, Professor Sybil Trelawney said -"
"——This year someone will leave forever——"
"That's a bit too scary!"
"That's not necessarily true! Think about Peter Pettigrew. I heard someone saw him in a town not far away."
"Oh, this is horrible! Is he coming for Hogwarts?"
"I guess he's here for revenge. Guess, is it Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy..."
"When will you decide who is leaving?" Draco approached them and said in a bored tone. They were startled and buried their heads in their books. No one dared to speak again.
very good.
Sybill Trelawney, that crazy witch, and her group of weird mobs.
Whether it was Divination or Arithmancy, Draco would never admit that his mood was affected.
It was definitely not because of those rumors, nor was it because Hermione was playing tricks on him and keeping her little secret from him!
He expressionlessly brushed off the non-existent dust on his robes, suddenly lost interest in the library, turned around and wanted to leave, but bumped into Marcus, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"You're here! Great! I was just looking for you!" A smile appeared on his sturdy face. "The Quidditch tryouts will be held next week. Perrikin, Lucien, Miles, and the others have signed up..."
"I'll sign up for one too," Draco said.
"Excellent," said Marcus gratified. "I can't think of anyone better suited to be a Seeker than you. If we want to win the Quidditch Cup this year, you'll have to be our go-to. Have you been practicing well over the summer?"
"Of course," Draco smiled at him, "rain or shine."
"Very good. I look forward to your wonderful performance in the trials. I still have to inform Adrian, Graham and the others..." Marcus said gruffly, handing Draco an envelope before leaving: "Professor Dumbledore asked me to give it to you."
"Thank you." Draco took the envelope, a wave of confusion in his heart. Why did Dumbledore suddenly look for him?
Draco opened the envelope with little interest and unfolded the note:
"Draco, please come to the headmaster's office at 4:00 PM this Tuesday. Password: Big Cockroach Pile."
He sighed. What a bad day.
He was not in a good mood today. He did not want to meet this wizard with a sharp vision and keen senses under such circumstances.
Besides, why would Dumbledore, a busy man, summon him, an ordinary, well-behaved third-year student?
It was definitely not a good thing to think about. Draco yawned lazily and staggered towards the headmaster's office.