0482 Unexpected
Words : 2257
Updated : Dec 2nd, 2025
Chapter 482 of "Harry Potter: The Golden Viper" kicks off revealing secrets: 0482 Unexpected A Tribute to Maggie Smith (1934 - 2024) Before diving into this chapter, I just... Keep reading!
0482 Unexpected
A Tribute to Maggie Smith (1934 - 2024)
Before diving into this chapter, I just wanted to take a moment to honor Dame Maggie Smith, who brought Professor Minerva McGonagall to life in a way that touched us all. Her portrayal was a perfect—everything we imagined Professor McGonagall to be. The magic she brought to the Harry Potter world will always stay with us. Rest in peace, Professor, and thank you for all the memories.
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"Oh, no!" Hermione blurted out nervously. Her anxiety made her unaware of what she was saying, but Professor Watson's calm purple eyes seemed to see through all lies. Hermione lowered her head, her face turning crimson. She stammered,
"Seamus, Dean, and Lavender too... So many people regret giving up the physical education class." Her voice wavered, thick with emotion. "Professor Watson, if you'd be willing to give them another chance—" She paused, struggling to find the right words, her fingers nervously intertwining as she spoke.
Hermione couldn't continue. Professor Watson's calm, steady gaze felt like an immense mountain pressing down on her head, making it impossible for her to look up.
In the suffocating silence, a faint wailing sound could be heard. The sound was as weak as a gentle breeze brushing against one's cheek. Hermione didn't hear it, but Bryan glanced towards a dilapidated classroom with a rusty door hinge, his expression slightly moved.
In the suffocating silence that followed, a faint wailing sound could be heard, barely audible above the ambient noises of the ancient castle. The sound was as weak and ethereal as a gentle breeze brushing against one's cheek, easily mistaken for the wind whistling through the drafty corridors.
Hermione, lost in her own thoughts and anxiety, didn't register the sound. However, Bryan's keen senses picked it up immediately. He glanced towards a dilapidated classroom with a rusty door hinge, his expression shifting slightly.
Gathering her courage once more, Hermione pressed on, her voice gaining a hint of desperation. "Of course, Ron regrets it too. They didn't expect—" She trailed off, realizing how weak her argument sounded even to her own ears.
"Didn't expect my class to become interesting?" Bryan interjected, his tone level and composed as he redirected his piercing gaze to Hermione. There was no anger in his voice, just a calm curiosity that somehow made Hermione feel even more uncomfortable.
Hermione's anxious heart sank, already anticipating Professor Watson's response. Sure enough, Bryan sighed softly and said slowly,
"Your noble qualities are touching, Hermione, but I think you must have known what my answer would be before you approached me, didn't you?"
Hermione's cheeks were flushed red, her slightly protruding front teeth biting her lower lip until it bled a little. This was indeed a very difficult situation for her. First, she knew clearly that she couldn't help Ron get another chance from Professor Watson. Second, she, who had always followed the rules, was now actively seeking Professor Watson to overturn them.
"Everyone wants to become better," Bryan said earnestly, his voice taking on a gentler tone, as if sensing Hermione's inner turmoil. "But often, effort alone isn't enough to solve problems." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "It also requires vision, wisdom, luck... that is, a series of opportune factors to help us get a chance to change our fate. Do you understand what I mean?"
Hermione nodded with difficulty.
Professor Watson meant that the students who gave up this class lacked these qualities he mentioned.
Seeing Hermione's crestfallen look and reddening eyes, Bryan pursed his lips and continued,
"Life is a very wonderful journey, Hermione. No one can determine exactly how to live it happily or meaningfully. Perhaps now you think your friends who gave up my class have lost a precious opportunity, and it's a terrible loss. But if you could look at the problem from a higher perspective, it might actually be a good thing for them. So, I don't think you need to worry too much about this matter. Everyone's life can only be controlled by themselves; you can't intervene—"
Hermione listened to Professor Watson's words in a daze. For her, only becoming more excellent could reflect her own value and bring happiness. For young wizards of this age, mediocrity was also very frightening. She couldn't understand how losing such a precious opportunity could possibly be a good thing for Ron or any of the others.
"Mmph!"
Hermione was lost in thought, still trying to understand Professor Watson's words when suddenly, the intermittent groaning she had mistaken for wind whistling through the corridor windows became clear. She realized it wasn't the wind at all, but painful wailing.
Hermione's face showed a hint of panic. She quickly turned to look at the classroom behind her, its door covered in cobwebs, her mouth slightly open.
"Who's in the room?"
No answer came, but the pained noises continued, growing more intense with each passing moment. Hermione could hear the person in the classroom trying desperately to suppress their cries, but the pain had clearly exceeded the limits of endurance and couldn't be suppressed by willpower alone.
"Is someone hurt?" Hermione's voice rose an octave, panic seeping into her tone. She stepped back involuntarily, the color draining from her face until she was as pale as the Hogwarts ghosts. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed Professor Watson's sleeve, her fingers clutching the fabric tightly as if it were a lifeline. "Professor, what's going on?" she asked tremblingly, her eyes wide with fear and concern.
"Oh—" Bryan's mouth twitched a few times, his face full of complex emotions. The usual calm and composed demeanor he wore like a cloak seemed to slip for a moment, revealing a hint of uncertainty beneath. "It's not someone being hurt. How should I put this... This situation is indeed quite rare. It's my first time encountering it, but since we have—" Bryan frowned, "We can't ignore it—"
What exactly was going on?
Hermione tilted her little head up, staring at Professor Watson's face. She had never seen the confident, composed Professor Watson speak with such a difficult tone. What situation in this classroom could make even Professor Watson look so troubled?
"There's a situation in there, Hermione. I need to go in and deal with it. You see—" Bryan began, his tone suggesting he was about to dismiss her.
Hermione was stunned. She hadn't expected Professor Watson to suddenly send her away. Her eyes couldn't hide her disappointment. Hermione nodded slightly, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Her footsteps were slow and reluctant as she began to walk back the way she came.
In any case, she tried to reassure herself, she didn't need to worry about Professor Watson. Whether in Hogwarts or in the wizarding world outside, there probably wasn't anything that could truly harm him.
The words burst from Hermione's lips before she could stop them. She had only taken a few steps, her feet moving of their own accord as her mind raced. Suddenly, as if possessed by a force beyond her control, she stopped and turned to look at Professor Watson, who was rolling up his sleeves, and abruptly asked.
The decaying curtain rustled, and a weak little creature crawled out on all fours from behind it.
The moment Hermione saw the little thing clearly, she immediately covered her mouth to stifle a cry, but her eyes still instantly welled up with tears.
The house-elf wore only a single garment that looked like an apron, its sole piece of clothing. Now, even this was soaked and stained with blood. Something was protruding from the lower half of the elf's body, and after a moment's thought, Hermione understood what it was.
"Most honored Professor Watson... Esteemed young witch--"
Even in this condition, driven by some deep-seated instinct or training, the house-elf trembled as it tried to pull itself up against the wall to bow to them. The effort was clearly excruciating, and Hermione wanted nothing more than to rush forward and stop it.
"How... how may Reega serve you?" the house-elf asked, its voice barely a whisper, pale from blood loss.
"Lie down!" Hermione's tears flew as she shouted, her voice almost breaking, She turned to Professor Watson, her eyes pleading. "Is there any way, Professor Watson? We have to help it!"
"Calm down, Miss Granger--" Bryan glanced at Hermione, adopting the serious tone he usually used in class. He looked at the house-elf, his brow furrowing involuntarily. "Your name is Reega, is that right?"
Reega nodded timidly, but when she saw Bryan approaching, she suddenly panicked.
"Oh, Reega is dirty, Sir--" Reega cried, "Reega is not a good house-elf, Reega has caused trouble for the Most honored Professor Watson and Esteemed witch."
"What are you saying?!" Hermione was almost driven to despair by Reega's words. She wanted to ask this little elf if it truly understood what it was going through, yet it was still apologizing to them!
"Lie down, move slowly. This is my order, Reega--" Bryan looked at the emotionally charged Hermione, his voice steady. He knew that using the language of orders was the surest way to get the house-elf to comply, even if it sat uncomfortably with him. "And you, Miss Granger, if you can't control your emotions, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."
Hermione's sobbing was cut short. She turned to glare at Professor Watson, her eyes full of disbelief and anger. Was it possible that seeing this scene didn't affect Professor Watson at all? Was he like those other wizards who believed it was perfectly reasonable to order house-elves around?
Reega continued to whimper softly that she had caused trouble for the great Professor Watson, that she was an unqualified, shameful house-elf. But at the same time, she had to obey Professor Watson's order, slowly lying down on a clean, soft cushion that suddenly appeared behind her.
"Close your mouth, don't waste your energy--" Bryan gave Reega a second order. He crouched beside the little elf, examining her for a few moments, his expression growing serious.
Hermione took a few deep breaths to suppress her emotions. She knew clearly that right now, in this place, only Professor Watson could be of help.
"Wh-what's happening, Professor--" Hermione asked, her voice trembling. She didn't dare look at the bloody scene, only focusing on Professor Watson's serious profile and Reega's pained face.
"Hmm-- based on my assessment," Bryan hesitated before saying, "Simply put, its baby is too big and, well, it's stuck."
"What should we do now?"
As it turned out, no one is an expert at everything. There will always be things you're not good at.
Bryan scratched his head, looking quite troubled. Which serious wizard had ever done this sort of thing?
The feet of the house-elf's baby was coming out first. He wanted to simply pull Reega's child out, but feared such a rough method might cost both elves their lives.
The soft cushion Bryan had conjured was already stained red with blood. By the looks of it, this house-elf wouldn't last much longer, so there wasn't much time to hesitate.
"Miss Granger--" Professor Watson's voice remained steady, which calmed the anxious Hermione somewhat. She took a deep breath and said, "What can I do, Professor?"
"This--" Bryan rummaged in his space bag for a moment. He pulled out a vial of potion glowing with a blue aura and handed it to Hermione. "Feed this potion to the house-elf. It should help restore some of its energy--"
Hermione took the potion and hurriedly pulled out the cork. She carefully slid one hand under Reega's head, gently lifting it, while bringing the vial to Reega's mouth with her other hand. The little elf clearly understood what Professor Watson and the young witch were trying to do, and looked terrified, as if she believed it was shameful waste for a house-elf to drink a wizard's potion.
However, Hermione didn't give her a chance to refuse. She poured the potion into the house-elf's mouth without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Bryan stood up. He took out his wand and traced complex, mysterious patterns in the air. Dreamlike, brilliant starlight burst from the wand tip, drifting down like snow towards Reega and quickly absorbing into her overtaxed body.
Hermione didn't know what spell Professor Watson was casting, but it was clearly related to healing. She noticed Reega's pale, furry body regaining color at a visible rate. The dullness in her lamp-like eyes began to fade, replaced by a spark of life.
"Oh, it seems to be working, Professor!" Hermione exclaimed joyfully. Her palm was pressed against the back of Reega's head, and she could feel the little elf's body, which had grown cold from blood loss, gradually warming up. She could even sense the rapidly returning vitality in that frail body.
"You have to do this yourself, little one--" Bryan said without interrupting his spellcasting, looking into Reega's eyes.
Finally, after five minutes--
Accompanied by a high-pitched, sharp, and painful wail, a tiny creature slid from the cushion onto the floor.
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