Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry adopts a fully boarding closed model.
Therefore, for most families, there are only two times a year when they can see their children:
If we compare the Christmas holiday and summer vacation to the school time in Eastern countries, the Christmas holiday is roughly equivalent to a winter vacation of only one month.
During this month-long "small" winter vacation, some young wizards at Hogwarts will choose to go home, while others will choose to stay in school or go out to play.
However, this year is obviously a special situation - due to the "castle clearing" plan, all students must leave the castle, and parents naturally received the news in advance.
The only difference is that at the same time that Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mr. Abbot received a letter from Hogwarts School, they also received an "announcement" letter from their daughter.
Obviously, it is impossible for Hermione and others to confess in the letter that they have become "Major Arcana Reserves", but if they want to stay in the castle, they still have to find a way to reassure their parents - so in Elena's
Under the "bewitchment", several little witches gathered together to figure out a few reasons that could fool their parents...
"Elena invited them to our place for...Christmas? The whole holiday?"
Benitez repeated strangely, his angular face full of confusion.
Unlike other parents of students, the owl that was supposed to fly to him encountered a small problem and accidentally lost the letter.
Therefore, the news he received was the same as last year. Hogwarts was on holiday as normal, and Elena chose to stay at school to celebrate Christmas with her classmates.
"...Well, maybe, um...didn't they make it clear, for example...that they would stay in school for the holidays this year?"
Benitez hesitated for a moment, looked at the two parents in front of him who had darkened faces, and tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"Isn't Christmas at Hogwarts Castle great? I heard Elena say before that they will have a big Christmas tree with magic snowflakes and all kinds of decorations..."
"Only not this year. Mr. Benitez, didn't you receive a letter from Hogwarts?"
Mr. Granger interrupted seriously, looking around the castle walls, frowning as he recalled the contents of the previous letter from the Hogwarts School.
"I heard that this year happens to be the thousandth anniversary of the founding of Hogwarts, and the castle will undergo extensive renovations, so——"
"Oh, that's just an excuse, Mr. Granger. It's just a reason that the Ministry of Magic and the school came up with to clear the place."
Mrs. Aibo shook her head, narrowed her eyes slightly, pointed at the soles of everyone's feet, and spoke in a lowered voice unconsciously.
"There is a basilisk squatting under the Hogwarts Castle... Well, it is a very dangerous and terrifying monster. It has caused the death of many students in Hogwarts -" She glanced at Gran who was standing next to her.
Mr. Jie added with a solemn expression, "I heard that they are all Muggle wizards. Well, just like Miss Granger, both parents are Muggle students..."
"Wait, there is such a monster hidden in this castle?!" Mr. Granger's expression suddenly changed. The professor never said this when he first enrolled in the school.
"Don't worry, it's dead now. The report has been in the newspapers for several days."
Mrs. Abbott glanced at Mr. Granger, whose expression changed drastically, and comforted him softly.
"Not long ago, a professor at Hogwarts discovered the hiding place of the basilisk, and immediately joined forces with the Ministry of Magic to formulate a battle plan to exterminate the basilisk."
"They eliminated the basilisk here this Christmas, and they cleared the place early to prevent any students from being affected by the aftermath of the battle——"
"So..." Benitez frowned and said thoughtfully. "They probably didn't spend the last Christmas vacation in Hogwarts Castle?"
"I hope not - that's a basilisk. That monster only needs to look at you from a distance to kill people!"
Mrs. Abbot said with a serious expression, her voice mixed with a hint of fear and anger.
"If they are really hiding in the school, it can only be said that they are lucky this time. If something unexpected happens, they..."
"But, well... on the other hand, if they weren't in school..."
Mr. Granger's face also darkened, and he looked at the few little witches who were still laughing and playing not far away with a sullen face.
"Where did they go to play during the whole Christmas vacation? This question must be clarified, otherwise I worry that sooner or later there will be big trouble in the future."
With the exchange of information between several parents, the lies of several little witches were easily exposed.
What followed was obviously almost identical anger and worry.
You know, even Hermione, the eldest of the four, has just turned thirteen this year.
"Uh-uh-ah-"
Xenophilius Lovegood looked at the three parents who shared the same hatred and opened his mouth hesitantly.
As the Major Arcana who knows all the truth, he should obviously do something now, but it seems he can't do anything.
"Well, do you have anything to say? Mr. Lovegood."
Mrs. Abbott turned her head and looked at the editor-in-chief of "The Quibbler" who had been silent since just now, and asked curiously.
"Speaking of which, why did Miss Lovegood write to you to explain... Well, I'm sorry, I just want to find out whether these children are colluding-"
"Well--"
Xenophilius blinked, his eyes passing over the witch who was still playing around not far away.
Obviously, it is not a wise idea to criticize Elena in front of everyone in public.
On the other hand, it doesn't seem right to make up lies temporarily or even directly take the blame - if someone is exposed, things will only become more troublesome.
Since Lockhart temporarily stepped down from the leadership of the "Black Wizards", as his replacement, he has taken on the task of erasing memories and organizing secrecy.
According to the rules, the most correct thing for him to do now is to draw out his wand and cast a Forgetting Curse on each of the other three parents, but if he really does that, perhaps what will happen to him will not be the Great Arcana Council.
Appreciation, but endless difficulties from "Miss Fool"... It may even be worse, because he may not only offend Elena.
After all, with Dumbledore's "active disappearance", there are now almost no wizards who can check and balance that terrible little witch.
"Actually..."
Xenophilius thought about his words and said slowly.
"Luna said in the letter that she wanted to accompany Elena to look for monsters in the castle when no one was around... I thought about it and agreed."
"What?!"
"Can you agree to this?!"
"So, it really is Elena?!"
Sure enough, before he could finish his words, the other three parents' voices instantly increased.