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Night, Hogwarts Castle, Hospital Wing.

 - Oh, Merlin. It's already so late! - Miss Poppy exclaimed in mock horror, throwing up her hands. "It's time for me to go to the side a long time ago." There's too much to do tomorrow," she shook her head in different directions.

 Watching this one-man show, I felt my eyes begin to twitch. For half an hour she has been trying to sneak out in every possible way, coming up with various reasons, while not forgetting to remind me about my "duty."

 Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down. Now empathy only gets in the way for me. By letting the teacher's emotions pass through me, I become more and more irritated. Her malice is making my teeth hurt.

 - Maybe it's not necessary after all? — once again tried to reason with her. -Who dares to invade your domain? Moreover, you have so many spells cast here that not even a mouse can slip past.

 "No, no, no," the witch shook her finger. "You need a variety of practice, so don't even think about running away." And it doesn't hurt to be extra careful.

 "Eh, okay," I agreed, sighing tiredly. We'll have to stay here and follow the "problem."

 - That's all right. Then I went," she turned around in a moment and went to her apartment. - Do not be bored.

 Following her gaze, I sighed again. Well, there's nothing to do. Walking over to the cot where Hermione lay, I placed several guard charms next to her. You never know. After thinking, I also "sprayed" my mana here. If, after all, someone comes for her, then his skills may well be at the level of Snape or McGonagall. I don't have the slightest chance against them, but I will have time to call the teacher.

 But who needs it? I think I was just masterfully duped. Eh, better not to think about it.

 Moving away from the girl and hiding behind the screen so that I would not be seen, I transfigured a soft pillow and a blanket. Having sat down and covered himself with it, he plunged into meditation. Lots to think about.

 Canon screws. Ron's death, Hermione's injury - it would all take too much of a toll on him. Ron is the main driver of the trio. He called Harry to save his sister. His rat became the trigger. Yes, and he helped the hero, albeit not as much as the girl.

 Hermione Granger. Perhaps this trauma, from which nothing remains but an enhanced aura, will radically change the girl. Apparently, she was burning in her mind; what psychological trauma she received is a mystery. From a banal fear of fire to horror aimed at magic.

 How the Wheel of Fate will turn next is unknown. Not only is the world itself very different, but there are also not enough heroes. Moreover, it is not clear how the loss of a friend affects the hero.

 Eh... Why is it so difficult? Of course, I won't delve into the story anyway, my plans haven't changed much, but how stressful it is. And the next course may not be exactly what I imagined it to be... Well, okay, this is a matter for the future, and on my agenda is preparation for the expedition, as well as finding a way to survive the meeting with my mother. The last one even made me shudder somehow.

 Since I'm here all night, I'll do some training, and also try to apply new knowledge from the books I've read on two new schools. Where can I get time for everything?

 *****

 Holding a metal ball on my hand, I once again try to "move" it with the help of space. I've been trying to do this for half an hour now, after a standard warm-up. The simplest practice in this school is to apply space to a small, non-living object.

 Concentration and will. Having merged into a single whole, they allowed this ball to be "compressed" by the vice of space for a brief moment. Opening my eyes, I saw only a crumpled piece of metal. Turning it in front of me, I tried to understand how I did it. Not exactly what I wanted, but it's the same result.

 Still, it's not for nothing that the magic of space is considered one of the most complex on an equal footing with time. The most important thing in these two schools is to feel these "phenomena". Agree, knowing about time and space and feeling them are not the same.

 A small detail distracted me from my thoughts. Having examined the room with my magical vision, I did not see anything that stood out from the overall picture. What distracted me?

 Literally moments later I realized what was bothering me. Someone invisible and imperceptible in all spectrums was walking towards Hermione. My mana, which was "hanging" in the room, collided with this someone. During training, I did not concentrate my attention on her, and apparently in vain. If it weren't for my "success", I wouldn't have noticed it.

 It took me a measly second to think everything over. The body was instantly put into combat readiness. The mind was accelerated, the shell was changed, and mana and prana began to circulate at a higher speed.

 Step - the guest is six meters away. The second one is at five. The third is at four. Having waited until he came to a distance of three meters, he instantly sent an "overflowing" stun spell. Without bothering to look at the result, in a single jump he found himself between Hermione and the guest.

 Raising my wand, I send another spell to the guest. But alas, my actions were useless. All the spells "flowed" from the guest's silver aura, without harming him in any way.

 Since energy doesn't work, let's try physical influence. Pass - the wind mixed with pieces of ice throws the figure towards the wall with such force that in just a second he flew to the wall.

 *Bam* The collision was brutal.

 "Ay," a girl's voice was heard. Girl? I'm not thinking about that. He needs to grab her.

 Straining his legs, he jumped in her direction. Right in the air, I was met by a ram that threw me back.

 Having been blown up from the screen I had fallen into, I ran back, but I was distracted by a fire of an unusual black color that was pointing straight towards the sleeping Hermione.

 "Damn," I blurted out. We must save her first.

 Finding himself next to her, he sent a huge stream of water into the fire. However, this did not help at all, the water only evaporated, and the flame continued to "creep" towards us.

 Concentrating, he sent an avalanche of snow to the target. When confronted with the fire, it began to melt, thereby slowing down the fire. Without allowing the fire to gain strength, with a wave of my hand I turn all the evaporated snow into an ice prison.

 At the same moment, the teacher ran into the room with a wand at her disposal. Noticing me, she walked towards me.

 I must have looked rather unusual now. A dark figure with amber eyes, placing his hands on the ice, held the dark flame encased in it. But they still didn't let up. The fire was devouring my dungeon, becoming stronger and hotter every second. Mana was flowing away at an alarming rate. Another minute and I would have been empty.

 - Teacher, do something! — I shouted to the woman who approached. - I can't stand it for long!

 "At my command, dispel the prison," she said after one second of contemplating the flame. Sweat was pouring down my forehead and my hands were shaking from tension. It was very difficult. - Now!

 A moment after her scream, I dispelled the dungeon. The ice disappeared, releasing furious flames. It, like a swarm of locusts, began to devour all the mana nearby, growing exponentially.

 With a wave of her hand, the teacher "pulled out" all the mana within a radius of three meters from the fire. Without receiving a subscription, it began to weaken. Literally five seconds and all that was left from the fire were black sparks that scattered in the wind.

 Tiredly sitting down next to the bed, I dispelled the masking spell and took on my usual appearance.

 - What happened? - The witch asked turning to me.

 "Someone undetectable by magical sight and sense," I began. — He made his way into the room and moved in the direction of Hermione. There was only determination and a slight thirst for murder in my emotions," under her questioning gaze, I continued. "Recently, I have learned to feel the emotions of other people," the teacher glanced at me slightly, and with a nod asked me to continue. — I tried to detain the uninvited guest. At first everything was fine, but as soon as she was driven into a corner, she used this flame - with a wave of her hand she pointed to the floor, which was black with soot.

 - She?

 "During a collision with the wall, after my spell," he nodded at the wall. "I heard a girl scream. Without a doubt, this is a girl. Age does not exceed sixteen years, although I could be wrong. You never know what ways there are to change your voice.

 Having finished the story, I fell silent. This short battle was difficult, or rather not the battle itself, but the fight against the flames. He ate my mana like crazy. Due to such a sharp outflow of it through magical channels, they ached slightly. I think they will be back to normal in a day.

 Raising my head to the ceiling, I thought about the identity of the attacker. Who could it be? Someone connected to Granger's injuries. The question is why? What did she witness that they decided to kill her? Somehow I like this story with the stone less and less.

 Crazy school...

 "Teacher," I turned to the woman, who was thinking hard about something. After waiting for her to pay attention to me, he continued. — There is one more important detail.

 - And what?

 — At the beginning of the battle, I sent a stunning spell to the guest. I didn't spare any mana for it," falling silent, I remembered this moment again. "But the spell didn't work." It is simply glass with a silver aura that envelops the figures. Like all other spells sent that caused direct physical damage. Oh yes, the aura was visible only at the moment of contact with the spell. The rest of the time she was not visible.

 - Silver aura, you say...

 Having fallen silent, I once again turned my gaze to the ceiling of the hospital wing. I told him everything I remembered and gave him enough food for thought. That's all. I'm not going to go into this story any further.

 - How can you continue to sit with the patient? "The teacher said after a couple of minutes, nodding her head at Hermione. "I need to report what happened to Headmaster Dumbledore."

 After thinking a little, I answered:

 "No problem," I agreed. And after a second he added. "Only teacher, can you not talk about my participation in this incident?" I don't want any more attention. The fame of your student will last me for a long time," I answered the question asked.

 - I hope you understand why I did this?

 "I had half the night to understand this," he shrugged. - All this is in order to legitimize my status as your student and protect me from attempts in my direction from other persons.

 "And not only that," said Poppy. "With the acquisition of the status of your teacher, I also become your guardian in the magical world." Therefore, for now, all sorts of suspicious individuals will not approach you.

 - Bye? — I got hooked on the word. Oh, she said that for a reason.

 "I have enough enemies who will want to test your strength," she explained. "But don't worry, we have time." Until the fourth or fifth year, for sure," she tried to reassure me.

 "Well, thank you," I couldn't resist.

 "You knew what you were getting into," she smiled softly. - Okay, don't be boring here. I went.

 After saying goodbye, she headed out. I got up from my place, put all the kitchen furniture in place, and then sat down on the pillow and wrapped myself in a blanket. There's still half a night ahead.

 I won't make such a mistake again.

 *****

 The next morning, as well as the whole week, passed incredibly eventfully and quickly.

 Aurors have once again invaded Hogwarts. Ministerial bureaucrats checked everything they could and couldn't. Molly Weasley's cry was so filled with grief that even the amulet could not cope with such pressure for long. Her accusations towards Dumbledore were so furious that even he could not object. This was entirely his mistake. He got too busy playing, or didn't learn some detail. I don't know for sure.

 Hermione was interrogated, but nothing intelligible could be obtained. She was either silent or referred to memory loss. In my emotions, I clearly felt the lie, but I couldn't do anything and didn't want to. She spent the rest of the week in the Hospital Wing, who knows how, having asked permission from the teacher.

 The fact of my apprenticeship was somehow lost behind all this. And I was incredibly happy about it. Of course there were those who asked about this. At first, Nev was generally offended that I didn't tell him anything. But the very next day he left.

 So, in a series of interrogations, exams, disputes and training, a week passed before departure. Having boarded the Hogwarts Express, we headed towards London. Hermione was next to me and Nev the whole way. The teacher asked to accompany her and hand her over to her parents. Why me and not Potter is not clear. However, it's not difficult for me.

 The girl herself has already grown her hair back. The shaggyness in them has diminished. However, there was something else. On the right side she had a gray lock of hair. I don't know what she experienced there, but she seems to remember it for the rest of her life. At least there was no longer a glare in her eyes.

 Having arrived in London, we, Hermonna and I, said goodbye to Nev and went to the usual part of the station. Having passed the barrier, we began to look for our parents. Surprisingly, we found them quickly, literally in a couple of minutes. And they us.

 "Hello Calder," my father greeted me while my mother once again, with tears in her eyes, began to hug me. Her stomach was giving her quite a hard time, but she tried. - Good to see you, son.

 "And I you," I smiled at him.

 Somehow tearing ourselves away from our mother, the whole family and I went to the car.

 "Wait, Call," Hermione called to me. Under the cheerful gaze of my father and mother, I approached her. Glancing at her parents, I noticed the fear on their faces. Still, the changes in the girl are too noticeable.

 - Yes, Hermione? - I asked her. These were her first words that day.

 - Thank you for saving me.

 - I did not do anything. All thanks to the teacher.

 "I know that you saved me last night," she dumbfounded me. How? I remember that she was sleeping. Or I just didn't pay attention to it. Can't be…

 "You're confusing something," I objected. "It was Miss Pomfrey who slept with you, not me."

 Smiling sadly at me, she hugged me. I was taken aback by surprise.

 "Well," I patted her on the shoulder. "It's all over, everything's fine."

 But something happened that left me frozen in shock. The words she said shocked me.

 Smiling sadly at me, Hermione ran back to her parents. And I still stood there.

 - Calder, did something happen? - asked the father who approached. - You are not yourself.

 "No," I answered. - Everything is fine. "We'd better go, let's not keep mom waiting," and setting an example, he went forward himself. The puzzled father followed me.

 We got into the car and drove home. All the way I told my parents how I spent my time at school, omitting some details, of course.

 Only the last phrase Hermione said was spinning in my head: "Harry killed Ron, and then tried to kill me. I won't come to Hogwarts, I'm a pathetic coward, I couldn't say anything. "I'm scared, Kol," she smiled sadly, and I felt moisture on my cheek. These are her tears, I guessed. "Thank you for everything, Sid."

 What the fuck is going on here???