As the holiday drew to a close, on the final evening of the break, all the students gathered in the Great Hall to listen to a speech from Acting Headmistress McGonagall.
This was a Hogwarts custom and tradition.
Predictably, the old lady once again emphasised numerous tedious safety issues.
For example, techniques for defending against Death Eaters and Werewolves.
Even though the witch had emphasised them countless times before.
The students who had chosen to remain at school had spent what was perhaps their most boring holiday ever.
The older students, in particular, faced greater pressure than ever.
Not only did they have to prepare for their examinations, but they also had to learn increasingly difficult defensive magic.
Occasionally, a few students would run to Hogsmeade in the hope of getting into the village, but most of the shops were closed.
Furthermore, the teachers repeatedly reminded them that they should try not to leave the school grounds.
Soon, the Christmas and New Year holidays came to an end, and the students resumed their studies for the new term.
Clusters of candles still floated above the Great Hall, eternally giving off just the right amount of light, as though they would never burn out.
The Christmas trees in the corners, decorated with stars and gifts, had been removed, and all the elaborate decorations had been taken down.
Christmas was over.
Everything was returning to normal.
"Where is Severus? Hasn't he come back yet?"
Professor McGonagall, sitting in the staff section, noticed an empty seat.
She had not seen Snape for quite some time.
After giving his colleagues Christmas gifts, the man had disappeared from Hogwarts under some pretext, boarded the Hogwarts Express, and vanished without a trace.
"We don't need to wait for him. He should know what he's doing."
Professor McGonagall looked around.
Today, she wore her usual dark-green robes and a black pointed hat.
Time had taken its toll.
Wrinkles covered her face and arms, and there was a hint of weariness in her eyes.
She sat among the teachers, looking at her students.
She wondered how many of them would still be alive in the future.
At the long tables of the various Houses, conversations were also taking place.
"I feel like you're a little different, Hermione."
Luna walked briskly past Hermione before suddenly stopping.
"And… you have a very unpleasant smell about you, and…"
Luna's grey eyes furtively glanced towards the Slytherin table.
She hesitated for a moment before falling silent.
"Never mind. Forget I said anything."
Luna spoke softly.
Then she wandered over to an empty seat at the Ravenclaw table and sat down.
"She's still acting crazy."
Ron rolled his eyes and gave Luna a disgusted look.
The girl was always saying strange things.
"I don't think you've changed much either, Hermione."
Harry also glanced at Hermione.
"We just haven't seen each other much during the holiday. Nothing much would change."
For boys, the only obvious change would probably be a new hairstyle.
Of course, Hermione's appearance had not actually changed at all.
She still had the same tousled, slightly messy brown hair, amber eyes sparkling with intelligence, and simple Gryffindor uniform.
"Of course I haven't changed."
It was, of course, a lie.
In fact, after learning to become an Animagus, especially during the early stages of training, one would inevitably develop certain similarities to the habits of their animal form and be influenced by them.
The blizzard had arrived almost exactly as predicted, and she had successfully completed her first transformation without incident.
However, she had paid a price.
For example, she had been extremely sleepy over the past few days.
She had spent at least half a week sleeping in bed before she finally stopped feeling unusually tired.
She had slept enough today.
Otherwise, she would have asked for leave again and stayed in the dormitory to catch up on sleep.
But these were all minor details.
She had mastered the Animagus technique.
Now she could begin her surveillance plan.
And the person about to be monitored was completely unaware of it.
"Do you really like chocolate that much now, Draco?"
Pansy asked Malfoy with a puzzled expression as they sat at the Slytherin table.
She then noticed that the boy was holding a piece of bread coated in chocolate.
"It's not that I like it."
He took a sip of black tea, making the dry bread easier to swallow.
It was almost as though he were eliminating some kind of enemy.
"Actually, I'm enduring it."
Malfoy answered sincerely.
His gaze drifted towards Snape's empty seat.
He knew the man would not be coming back.
"Did you go home for the holiday?"
"I went to visit the old house. The manor."
His answers were perfunctory.
Revealing this information was meaningless anyway.
"All right."
Seeing that Malfoy had no intention of revealing anything, Pansy essentially gave up hope of getting information out of him.
Her gaze became melancholy and blank as she stared at the plate in front of her.
Food appeared.
It was eaten.
Then more food appeared.
And it was eaten again.
The cycle continued until no more food appeared.
It was not that the house-elves had run out of food.
Mealtime had simply ended.
Professor McGonagall walked up to the podium.
"Christmas is over, and it was not exactly a pleasant holiday…"
McGonagall spoke in a serious tone, her eyes sweeping across the hall.
"Is she too tired?"
Hermione asked worriedly.
She keenly sensed that something was wrong.
Professor McGonagall seemed strange today.
There was a noticeable weakness in her voice.
Then Hermione's gaze unconsciously met Luna's for a moment.
The girl's eyes were also filled with worry.
The Headmistress's duties had once been relatively simple, consisting mostly of routine matters.
But now they had become particularly troublesome.
She had to handle and coordinate countless matters from every direction while simultaneously dealing with pressure from the Ministry of Magic.
"Article Seven of the Prohibited Items…"
With a thud, Professor McGonagall collapsed before she could finish reciting the seventh prohibition.
Her withered hand tried to grasp the table, but quickly slid down limply.
"Professor McGonagall has fainted!"
One of the students was the first to shout.
"Take her to the hospital wing!"
Flitwick jumped onto the table, ready to instruct the students not to panic.
But suddenly, his expression began to change.
"Hahahahahaha…"
He began laughing uncontrollably.
"Damn it!"
He cursed angrily during a brief pause in his laughter.
It was not simply a loss of emotional control.
The muscles in his throat were moving uncontrollably.
He drew his wand and quickly pointed it at his throat.
Then he stopped.
The students around him watched in horror as his throat visibly convulsed.
The diminutive Flitwick jumped down from the table again and ran out.
His unrestrained laughter sent chills down everyone's spine.
In the blink of an eye, this unexpected turn of events left everyone stunned.
"Ominous! This is what I meant by ominous!"
Trelawney screamed as she stood up and kicked over her chair.