Not to mention whether Cassandra's plan with the canary would succeed or not, Harry felt the chances were slim.
After the first task ended, the school gradually returned to its peaceful routine.
Students continued attending classes as usual, still discussing the Triwizard Tournament and optimistic about Harry's chances of winning, but eventually, the excitement faded over time.
However, Kakaroff became the most unpopular person among the Hogwarts students, disliked by many even more than Snape.
Yes, even Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Gryffindor disliked Kakaroff because Harry was not just Hogwarts' champion but also one of theirs.
And Slytherin disliked Kakaroff more than Snape because Snape didn't attack them indiscriminately.
November passed quietly, and they welcomed the final month of 1994.
December brought gales and sleet to Hogwarts, with gusty winds blowing through the castle corridors, making the cold nearly unbearable.
The biting winds on the face were unpleasant, and even the female students switched to thicker cotton socks to combat the cold.
Just like in their first year, Hermione made lots of blue flame jars in the dormitory and distributed them to classmates for warmth against the cold.
Once people saw these jars, they eagerly approached to ask the students where they got them.
Upon learning that Hermione made them, the wind-chilled students rushed to the Great Hall to plead with Miss Granger for a jar.
"Not for free!" Lavender Brown, Hermione's dorm mate, raised her hand like Hermione was her best friend, "They cost five Sickles—"
But those five Sickles were not a huge expense for everyone; Hermione worked for a whole week to fulfill all the orders.
Of course, the profits were good; she earned nearly seventy Galleons in fees.
To her surprise, on the last day, a Bulgarian hunk appeared in front of her.
"Miss," Krum's voice was heavily nasal, "I need five of these little jars, I must pay one Galleon and eight Silver Sickles, right?"
Hermione looked up, never expecting the famous Bulgarian Chaser would come to her for flame jars.
"Sure, sure." She said, "But you don't have to pay money, maybe give me an autograph photo? Oh, I mean… uh…"
Halfway through, she realized it might not be appropriate, but she was tempted to get an autograph photo for Ron, so she hesitated.
Krum, however, interpreted her response differently and knowingly pulled out an autographed photo from his coat to exchange with her for five flame jars.
Hermione was thrilled with the autograph photo, immediately leaving the Great Hall to find Ron in the Gryffindor common room.
"Ron!" she called as soon as she stepped into the common room.
"What's up?" Ron, who was playing Wizard Chess, looked up and asked.
"Ta-da—" Hermione skipped over to Ron, handing him the autographed photo, "Look what this is?"
"Bloody hell!"
Ron stopped playing chess, shakily took the photo, wide-eyed as he examined it, then looked up at Hermione, filled with disbelief.
His reaction drew in other curious onlookers.
"Oh my God!" Lee Jordan exclaimed, "It's—"
He choked on his excitement, being a Quidditch fan, knowing all too well Victor Krum's worth.
"Where did you get this?" the twins asked on either side, "This is Victor Krum's autographed photo, and it looks like a collector's edition—it's completely different from those on the market…"
"I sold him one of those little jars, the one filled with flames." Hermione cheerfully explained, "He was going to pay, but I remembered Ron liked him, so I asked if he could give me an autograph photo…"
"Oh~" the twins teased in strange voices, "So that's it—you did it for Little Ronnie, right?"
Hermione's face flushed red, and so did Ron's, his little freckles becoming more prominent.
"You should properly thank her, Little Ronnie." the twins continued teasingly, "She was thinking of you specifically—"
Being teased so playfully, Hermione couldn't take it anymore; she ran off with a blush, leaving no trace.
"You two are too much!" Ron said, clutching Victor's autograph photo, his voice quivering.
In response, the common room erupted in good-natured laughter.
Besides the cold, nothing was more challenging for students than the Magical Creatures Protection Class.
Hagrid continually supplied Mrs. Maxim's horses with their favorite pure malt whiskey, and the temporary stable reeked of it, leaving the Magical Creatures Protection Class students slightly woozy.
But the point was that Newt loved those Exploding Snails, even though they shouldn't exist naturally, but these things… Newt was truly invested in them.