"This taste—"

"It's Gordygan grass, I added Gordigen grass......"

When Hermione smelled the familiar scent and was about to ask something, Miriam immediately guessed what she was trying to say and quickly answered.

"Isn't it a special scent?" "To be honest, I wasn't used to the thick grassy smell at first, but when I paired it with cocoa powder and licorice, I immediately fell in love with it. ”

"Oh, yes......"

Hermione nodded slightly, looking a little distracted. After coming back to her senses for a while, she held the cup in both hands and asked in a daze:

"Did Maca tell you how to drink Gagodigenweed?"

"Ah, that's right." When Miriam heard this, she suddenly showed a smile, "I drank it once in his office, and I thought it was very tasty, so I asked him to tell me." ”

It can be seen that she does like this new way of drinking hot cocoa.

In fact, Hermione, from the time she smelled the very characteristic smell of Gordigandha, had already thought that it was mostly related to maca.

After knowing that Miriam and Maca met, she immediately felt a sense of relief, because the trust that Maca brings to people can even be placed directly on the friends next to Maca.

But at the same time, Hermione began to wonder what had happened between Miriam, a woman, and Maca.

"I see." Hermione thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Did Maca bring you to Hogwarts?" ”

By the time Hermione asked, Miriam was already sitting across the table with her glass. She took another sip of hot cocoa, her rosy lips looking fuller in the glow of the fireplace.

"So to speak!" She quickly replied, "But, in reality, I begged Mr. McLean to bring me here, and I need his shelter and help." ”

"'Shelter and help'?" Hermione was surprised, "You mean, what terrible danger you encountered before this?" ”

"Yes, very terrible ......," said Miriam, pausing suddenly, "Oh, sorry...... I shouldn't have said these things, so please forget what I said! ”

Don't look at the fact that she seems to have remained calm since she met Hermione at the top of the Astronomy Tower, but don't forget the image of her standing silently outside in the cold wind and snow.

In fact, her heart was far more chaotic than the composure on her face, so much so that she followed Hermione's words without paying attention.

If it was usual, how could she be tricked by Hermione? After all, the fact that she was hiding at Hogwarts was her only secret now.

However, since Hermione had already heard the beginning, how could she not follow up?

Miriam...... Miss? She pondered for a moment, then tried to explain, "I'm a friend of Maca, we used to be classmates, and now he's mine—"

As soon as she said this, a conundrum lay in front of Hermione - what could Maca still be after leaving Hogwarts?

“…… Well, it's my professor," she hesitated for two seconds, followed by a little more stubbornness in her tone, "So, you can tell me, it's okay...... He told me a lot of things himself. For example...... Uh, isn't it the 'dastardly Helbo' that caused you to come to Hogwarts for a while? ”

Hearing Hermione call out the name clearly, Miriam was immediately a little surprised.

"You know?" She was surprised, "How could it be...... Did Mr. McLean himself tell you to listen? How could he do that? ”

In Miriam's opinion, someone like Maca would not easily tell ordinary wizards about this kind of thing, after all, it is too dangerous.

For civilian wizards in the wizarding world, the mere knowledge of Helbo's name can be fatal.

But Hermione herself was the exact opposite of what Miriam thought - she wished she could know more about Helbo! Because this is undoubtedly a path to be able to get to Maca.

It's a pity that because her strength is always limited, she also understands that this is not in a hurry.

"Maca told me it was because of his trust in me."

Hermione said this first, her tone rising slightly, and she looked a little happy. But immediately after, she pursed her lips and said:

"But I know that there are a lot of things I really don't know much about - Maca just told me everything he thought she could tell me."

"So, can you tell me what you think you can say? Just take advantage of the fact that we can't seem to sleep today, so we just tell a story? ”

Miriam listened, took another sip of hot cocoa, and then looked at Hermione carefully. It wasn't until Hermione turned her face a little uncomfortably that a knowing smile appeared on her face.

"Oh," she said as if abruptly, "Gran...... Well, I mean, Hermione...... I think I kind of understand what you're trying to hear. But to be honest, my encounter with Mr. McLean wasn't very pleasant, and I don't think you'll like to hear it. ”

Seeing that some of the thoughts in her heart were slightly debunked by the other party, Hermione couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, but she still shook her head decisively.

"If you don't mind, please—"

At Hermione's suggestion, Miriam was also very generous, picking out her several encounters with Maca.

And as the two of them talked and listened in this room, the time of the night passed quietly, but not only did they not sleep at all, but even became more energetic for some different reasons.

At last, Miriam said:

"I'm grateful to Mr. McLean for helping me at the end, and if it weren't for him, I'm afraid I'd have died on top of my stubbornness. I've always thought that if I had asked him for help sooner, even Asaph might not have been in trouble. ”

"And such a strong man who can help his former enemy, but I have been following the orders of my elder to constantly make trouble for him......"

At this point, Miriam was clearly truly ashamed. After a short silence, she picked up the cup and took a big sip of cocoa, only to find that the cup had already been empty unconsciously.

It's just that when facing the same story, everyone often has their own understanding and ideas.

Like Maca, who was also an experiencer of the incident, he felt that he owed something to Miriam and Asaph.

Because at that time, he agreed with Old Eun's plan in hesitation, and allowed the two of them to become a "victim" who was not very necessary.

On Miriam's side, she didn't know anything about Maca's thoughts, so she naturally felt that Maca obviously had no "obligation" to stop herself who decided to go to the headquarters at that time.

But now that Hermione is here, as an "irrelevant person" who listens to the story, her focus has not fallen on the place of "helping or not helping" at all.

"So...... Your friend Asaph, he may have ......"

Seeing that Hermione's eyes had already turned red, Miriam couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I think he's gone," she said, looking up at the tapestry on the wall, "but it's okay, if you have to...... Thanks to the blessing of that elder, in fact, we have already been mentally prepared for this. I was just...... I just don't want that empty headquarters to be the last place I see him. ”

"Don't worry, Maca will help you find his ......" Hermione said with both emotion and sadness, "yes, Maca is so powerful, she will definitely find it sooner or later!" ”

"I believe," said Miriam with a smile, "that Mr. McLean is really strong, incredibly strong...... Like the amazing pillar of light I saw on the top of the tower just now, I think it must be his handiwork! ”

"What?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise when she heard Miriam coldly mention such a sentence.

"Pillar of light? Just now? Where is it? ”

Maca's beam of rule power wasn't a secret at Hogwarts anymore—or at least the way it looked was deeply imprinted in everyone's minds.

When Dumbledore died, it was one of his beams of light that broke through the thick clouds and dispelled the gloom in everyone's hearts.

As for Hermione, not to mention her relationship with Maca, of course.

Seeing that her expression seemed to be a little anxious, Miriam couldn't help but wonder a little, but she quickly replied:

"It should be at the school gate...... Although it was hidden by the wind and snow, it was difficult to see clearly, but the light probably came from the direction of the school gate. An oblique pillar of blue-white light shot straight into the sky......"

"Oh, thank you - then I have something to do, so I'll go first!"

Hermione didn't even bother to find a reason, so she put down her glass with a casual remark and hurried to the door. It wasn't until she reached out and grabbed the doorknob that she turned her head slightly.

"By the way, thank you for the hot cocoa, it was warm!"

With that, she immediately opened the door and rushed out, running a few steps before returning and closing the door.

Miriam looked in the direction Hermione had left and couldn't help but smile again - although she didn't know whether Maca was resigning or not saying goodbye, she couldn't help but feel a little cute about Hermione's hurried appearance.

However, after a dumb smile, Miriam's smile gradually faded by half.

"What the hell is going on?" She couldn't help but whisper to herself, "That pillar of light must be the magic cast by Mr. McLean—I've seen it a few times, and since he would cast that kind of magic at the school gate, doesn't that mean ......?"