After giving Argus Filch a solemn warning, when Amanda returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room, what she saw were the Little Eagles sitting together in a circle discussing something, while Hermione, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore, and Penelope were surrounded in the middle.
Blinking her eyes with a calm expression, Amanda walked forward, and the Little Eagles automatically made a path for her.
Walking to Hermione's side, Amanda glanced at everyone around her. "Hermione, what's going on?"
"Everyone is discussing the Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Hermione explained in a gentle voice, reaching out to smooth Amanda's hair.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts class? Is there a problem with Umbridge?"
Amanda frowned slightly. Could it be that Umbridge had retaliated when everyone cast spells on her in class?
That was almost impossible. According to her calculations, even if it were first-year Young Wizards, once they were split into two groups—one attacking Umbridge and one defending—given Umbridge's personality and courage, there was no way she would look up to fight back.
"It's not that there's a problem," Cho Chang said, shaking her head as she stood nearby. "It's just that the lower-year Young Wizards are fine since those defensive spells are relatively simple and can be self-taught, but some of the spells for the higher years require formal instruction."
As Cho Chang finished speaking, all the Little Eagles present turned their gazes toward Amanda. That eager look caused Amanda's expression to shift for a brief moment.
"And then everyone thought of you. After all, when Lockhart was the defense against the dark arts professor, you had a precedent of teaching everyone, Amanda."
A Little Eagle in the same year as Amanda spoke up from the crowd, looking at her somewhat sheepishly.
After all, asking Amanda to use her spare time to teach them Defense Against the Dark Arts—it was only normal to feel a bit embarrassed.
"No problem," Amanda nodded expressionlessly without the slightest hesitation. "As long as everyone wants to learn, I can do it."
"That's wonderful!"
"Great! We can attend Amanda's classes again!"
The Little Eagles who had been taught by Amanda before cheered. Amanda blinked, not quite understanding why everyone was so excited.
Teaching them was just a matter of lending a hand. In any case, she didn't think she taught particularly well, as she was neither a Professor nor a teacher.
"Then it's settled," Penelope clapped her hands. "On Friday, everyone post the notices on the wall opposite the Great Hall and see how many people are willing to sign up then."
The Little Eagles immediately agreed, and then they went back to their dormitories, discussing excitedly among themselves.
In the Ravenclaw Common Room, the four girls—Amanda, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Marietta Eckmore—were suddenly pulled into an embrace by Penelope.
"You four little girls, you haven't forgotten what you promised me before, have you?"
Penelope raised her eyebrows, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the four girls in her arms, as if to say they were in trouble if they dared to forget.
Amanda, held by Penelope, nodded her head and answered in a voice without any fluctuations, "I remember. On the day Senior Penelope becomes an adult, we have to accompany you to drink real alcohol, which is strong liquor."
Hermione, Cho Chang, and Marietta Eckmore all nodded in cooperation. "We haven't forgotten either."
"Mm-hmm," Penelope smiled with satisfaction. "As it happens, my birthday is this Saturday. None of you little ones should even think about running away."
"It probably won't just be the four of us."
Hermione nodded slightly toward the direction of the Ravenclaw girls' Dormitory, looking at Penelope with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Senior Penelope, aren't you planning to get drunk directly, or pretend to be drunk, and then..."
Marietta Eckmore beside her immediately understood and followed Hermione's words with a giggle, making Penelope's face turn red as she reached out to tickle her and Hermione.
"You two little girls, you're not big, but you've got plenty of sneaky ideas!"
"Hahaha... We're just giving you a suggestion!"
"Pfft, hahaha, don't be shy, Senior Penelope!"
In the Ravenclaw Tower, the girls' laughter and playfulness echoed. In a certain girls' Dormitory above the stairs, Luna, with an ethereal smile on her lips, slowly closed her door.
Over the next few days, whether it was because Amanda's warning to Filch had worked or not, he clearly and deliberately distanced himself from Umbridge, and even his attitude when facing the Young Wizards was much better than before.
Umbridge also remained quiet for a few days after being publicly rebuffed by Professor McGonagall. However, everyone at Hogwarts understood that this pink toad would not settle down completely; she was merely pretending to be quiet for a few days.
As for the Love Education Class about to be launched at Hogwarts, the teachers and class time had been confirmed. Starting from next week, every Tuesday at eight o'clock in the evening, Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout would give the lectures.
At the same time, during these few days, the Little Eagles also informed the Young Wizards of the other three houses that Amanda would be teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Upon hearing this news, the Little Badgers didn't hesitate to express their desire to join, and the Little Lions and Little Snakes were the same. By now, the Young Wizards of Hogwarts were like a solid block.
Even if the Little Snakes still felt some defiance toward Amanda in their hearts, or held a grudge because she had caught their fathers or mothers, they no longer showed it on the surface.
There was no other way; their families had already sided with Amanda, so they couldn't exactly keep working against her.
Considering there might still be Young Wizards who hadn't heard the news, the Little Eagles prepared notices and posted them on the wall opposite the Hogwarts Great Hall on Friday morning.
After a few Little Eagles posted the notices and entered the Great Hall, a figure in pink clothes also walked past quickly, taking several looks at that notice as she passed.
The temperature around Hogwarts dropped rapidly as autumn deepened and winter beckoned. Amanda had already put on her winter wizard robe, though she wasn't wearing a scarf yet.
Walking on the road to Hogsmeade, Hermione linked her arm with Amanda's and turned curiously to look at Senior Penelope. "Senior Penelope, have you thought about what you want to drink in a bit?"
Penelope rubbed her hands together and blew a breath into her palms. "firewhisky."
"Wow, be careful, Senior Penelope, or you might not be able to walk back after drinking it."
Cho Chang said teasingly from the side.
Marietta Eckmore also patted Cho Chang's shoulder with a grin. "Oh, Cho, even Luna has come along. Wouldn't it be better if Senior Penelope couldn't walk on her own after drinking?"
Luna, walking beside Penelope, looked up at her and spoke in an ethereal voice after seeing Penelope's slightly reddened cheeks.
"It's alright, my strength isn't small. I can support Penelope."
Hermione, linking arms with Amanda, rolled her eyes and leaned into her ear. "Amanda, when you become an adult, do you want to try real alcohol? Not a beverage like butterbeer."
Amanda turned her head to look at Hermione, her expression calm and cool. "I can try it, but considering the actual circumstances, I won't drink too much. Because after drinking, alcohol might paralyze my brain, causing my thinking speed to slow down and even making me do things that are beyond my own expectations."
"Ah..." Hermione nodded reluctantly. "Well, you really never forget your calm thinking at any time. But it's clear that you being drunk might be quite interesting; maybe there are many things you could do..."
By the last half of the sentence, Hermione was muttering so softly that it was almost inaudible to anyone but herself. However, Amanda, who was pressed right against her, heard the sentence clearly.
Pursing her lips, Amanda spoke according to her heart. "Even if I'm not drunk, whatever Hermione wants to do, or wants me to do, is fine."
"Ahem," it was Hermione's turn to blush. She rubbed her cheek with her other free hand. "This, this is different. Being drunk is... more natural. It's fine, just leave all of that to me when the time comes."
Amanda tilted her head. More natural? What was more natural? What was Hermione talking about?
However, since she said to leave it all to her, that meant she didn't need to worry about it.
"Alright, I'll leave all of that to Hermione."
Nodding with an unchanged expression, Amanda calmly accepted Hermione's proposal.
Entering The Three Broomsticks pub, the five girls who hadn't reached the age of adulthood each ordered a butterbeer—the only thing they could drink—while Penelope ordered a firewhisky as she had said.
The moment the firewhisky was brought over by the proprietress of The Three Broomsticks, the strong smell of alcohol rushed into everyone's nostrils.
"Merlin's whisky bottle," Cho Chang sat back slightly, looking at the small glass in front of Penelope with a somewhat apprehensive gaze. "This drink smells like it has a very high alcohol content."
"I agree." Marietta Eckmore rubbed her nose while sitting close to Cho Chang.
Even Penelope herself, who had planned years ago to taste real alcohol on this day, couldn't help but swallow nervously as she looked at the glass of liquor in front of her.
If nothing else... this drink smelled nothing like butterbeer.
"It's okay, drink it," Luna sat beside Penelope, looking at her with misty eyes and speaking in a light tone. "If you get drunk, I'll be responsible for taking you back."
"Good luck, Senior Penelope." Amanda nodded to Penelope. Based on her estimation of Senior Penelope's height and weight, and considering the variable that this was Senior Penelope's first time drinking real alcohol...
Her final calculation showed that Senior Penelope had a 72% probability of getting directly drunk and a 28% probability of remaining somewhat sober.
"Good luck, Senior Penelope. We're all here, so don't worry."
Hermione, sitting next to Amanda, nodded solemnly. They were all here right now, so even if Penelope got drunk, no one could do anything to her.
"Alright, then I'll have a taste first." Penelope took a deep breath, picked up the glass containing the firewhisky, and took a sip, then frowned as she thought about how to describe it.
"Um... how should I put it? The taste is very spicy, and the mouthfeel is very stimulating."
"Hiss-ha," Penelope lowered her head and took another small sip. "It's not like butterbeer at all."
Seeing Penelope constantly sticking out her tongue from the spiciness, Luna naturally handed her a tissue. Penelope took the tissue and wiped the beads of sweat faintly appearing on her forehead, continuing to sip the liquor in the glass bit by bit.
Seeing that Penelope seemed to have "adapted," Amanda, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Marietta Eckmore also began to chat while drinking their butterbeer.
Amanda and Hermione discussed their Potion Class essays for the weekend, while Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore talked about whether they should visit each other's homes when they both became adults next year, and what they should bring if they did.
By the time everyone had finished most of their conversation and turned their attention back to Penelope across from them, they discovered that the usually gentle and reliable senior had already finished the entire glass of firewhisky. Her face was flushed red as she lay in Luna's arms, sleeping peacefully.
Amanda's gaze quickly swept over Senior Penelope's flushed cheeks to observe her facial state, then over her limbs to observe her muscle state, and finally rested on her abdomen to observe her breathing state.
In less than ten seconds, Amanda nodded in confirmation. "Senior Penelope is drunk, and she does not have alcohol poisoning."
"It really shouldn't come to alcohol poisoning from just one glass," Hermione said, caught between laughter and tears, as she reached out to pinch Amanda's cheek.
"Then Luna," Cho Chang lowered her voice, "you'll take Senior Penelope back?"
"Yes." Luna nodded, standing up and taking off her wizard robe to drape it over Penelope.
Amanda shook her head at the sight and lightly pointed with her right hand to cast a Warming Charm on both of them.
"Thank you, Senior Lin Yue." Luna smiled ethereally, and Amanda responded with a smile as well, watching as she deftly picked up Penelope, who was taller than her, and walked out of The Three Broomsticks pub looking quite effortless.
"Merlin above..." Marietta Eckmore was so shocked by the sight of Luna walking briskly while carrying Penelope that she even put down the bottle in her hand. "I thought Luna was just saying she was strong, but she's actually this powerful?!"
"Luna doesn't exercise any less than others," Cho Chang finished her butterbeer in one go and raised her eyebrows at the person beside her. "You need to work hard too~"
A rosy blush rose on Marietta Eckmore's face as she reached out to hug Cho Chang's waist. "My strength isn't small either!"
Glug... Hearing the voices beside her, Amanda reached out to help Hermione place her butterbeer bottle on the table, her voice gentle yet without any emotional fluctuation.
"I know, Hermione's strength isn't small either."
Although she wasn't quite sure why, her instinct vaguely told her that she should say that.
"Ahem," Hermione coughed twice and puffed out her little chest. "That's for sure. As for how strong I am, you'll find out later."
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