Upon seeing Kael, Hermione reluctantly pulled a corner of her mouth into a semblance of a greeting.
But with those heavy dark circles under her eyes and a face that seemed on the verge of tears, it was hardly a look of happiness...
Kael thought for a moment, then walked over to sit opposite her.
"Hello, Kael." Hermione's voice was somewhat dry.
Kael glanced at the open book on her desk, "On Why Muggles Need Electricity," among others about Arithmancy and Ancient Runes...
"So, you chose to use the Time Turner, didn't you?" Kael asked softly.
Hermione's hand flipping through the book paused.
"Yes." She nodded, "I can't give up any courses, I just can't..."
"But you don't look in great shape right now." Kael said, "Are you sure you can last until the end of the school year?"
Hermione looked just like Lupin on the train, a state where she might faint at any moment.
If things went on for a few more months, Kael had no doubt she'd fall asleep during the exams.
"I don't know..." Hermione scratched her head, saying this somewhat despairingly.
Her voice was a bit loud, drawing some discontent from people nearby, but luckily, Madam Pince was a bit far away and didn't hear her.
"Can you tell me how you did it before?" Hermione asked, "You took all the courses but got very high scores, even perfect scores...
"I always thought with a Time Turner, it wouldn't be difficult, but after using it, I found it was quite the opposite."
Hermione scratched her head again, "Using the Time Turner more often, I find my memory getting worse, and it's hard to concentrate in classes.
At this rate, I'm sure I'll get a lot of E's on my exams, thinking of not getting all O's is something I just can't bear, Professor McGonagall would be so disappointed."
Hermione was on the verge of breaking down as she spoke, and ultimately did cry.
She hadn't talked to anyone much recently, particularly after Christmas when she told Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt incident, causing Gryffindor to lose to Slytherin in Quidditch.
Almost overnight, she became the least popular person, even Harry and Ron stopped talking to her.
However, Hermione didn't mind; at that time, her heavy coursework had already been suffocating, leaving little room for these minor concerns...
Only recently, after they won against Hufflepuff, did things somewhat improve.
But the issue was, Ron and Harry were of no help, only adding to the chaos, so much so that she preferred when they weren't speaking.
At least back then, she wouldn't get angry over matters outside of academics... like Harry sneaking off to Hogsmeade and getting caught by Professor Snape in the end.
Hermione couldn't understand, including Harry himself, everyone knew Sirius Black was after him, yet he had to go to Hogsmeade.
Could it be that putting oneself in danger was amusing?
Sitting opposite her, Kael didn't know she had thought so much, he merely assumed she couldn't endure the suffering brought by the Time Turner.
That was completely normal; Percy was the same back then, a bit hysterical throughout the academic year due to using a Time Turner, quickly returning it once any break began.
According to Diana, the Time Turner can take your body back several hours, but not your mind.
And human vitality is limited, using it frequently leads to eventual breakdown.
Kael tapped the desk with his fingers, "May I ask, are you using the Time Turner every day?"
"Every day." Hermione nodded.
"How much time?"
"Before Christmas, around two to three hours, now it's six hours." Hermione replied.
Six hours?
Kael shook his head.
That means Hermione doesn't sleep for at least twenty-two hours a day, and she's been doing this for nearly three months, no wonder she has such heavy dark circles.
"My advice remains to drop two subjects... Divination and Muggle Studies."
Kael said, "These two subjects are of no use to you, it's just wasting your time."
This time Hermione didn't argue.
Earlier she didn't believe it, but now she realized Kael was stating facts.
"Also, besides classes, avoid using the Time Turner as much as possible." Kael continued, "I think your schedule doesn't repeat itself daily, right?"
"Three times a week." Hermione said.
"Then what do you use your time for besides classes, reading, homework?"
"No." Hermione shook her head, "Mostly for studying Ancient Runes, which is interesting but hard, one class a week is far from enough."
Upon saying this, Hermione suddenly looked up, "I heard from Professor Babbling that last year during the Ancient Runes exam, you scored a perfect score; the last student achieving a perfect score was fifty years ago.
So did you genuinely grasp everything taught by the professor without using a Time Turner?"
This was a question Hermione had wanted to ask for a long time; she spends countless hours daily on Ancient Runes yet doesn't measure up to Kael's one class a week... it's hard for her to accept.
"Well, our situations are a bit different."
Kael said ambiguously, "Mainly during the holidays, I met someone very eager who constantly taught me Ancient Runes, almost like having a private professor one-on-one, I studied with him throughout the holiday, so good grades are understandable."
"Private professor?" Hermione was astonished, looking envious with her mouth agape.
"Was it Professor Babbling?"
"No." Kael shook his head, "It was another person, who initially wanted to apply as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but Headmaster Dumbledore didn't agree."
"Oh, why didn't he choose Ancient Runes class!" Hermione said wistfully,
She looked at Kael and asked with hope, "Is that person still teaching you, can you recommend him to come to Hogwarts?
"If another professor could be added, perhaps this class could be held more often weekly."
"Unfortunately." Kael said, "He left last year and I can't find him."
Hermione was somewhat disappointed; she truly wanted more Ancient Runes classes.
"Here's a suggestion." Kael looked at her and said, "Forget everything from the first Ancient Runes class, it's useless to you now, just follow the book's sequence.
Then you'll discover the course isn't as challenging as you imagined..."
"Forget?" Hermione couldn't understand, "But the formula for Talismans is crucial, the book says it's the most important part."
Talisman formula?
If Kael remembered correctly, that should be the last chapter in "Advanced Magic Text."
In other words, this content won't be covered until the end of their sixth year.
Professor Babbling's peculiar humor hasn't changed at all.
"Forget it." Kael said, "Before mastering the arrangement and writing of Magic Texts, regardless of how much time you spend, you won't understand those Talismans.
"It's like Transfiguration Technique, you first learn to turn a match into a needle, not a teacup into a rabbit."
"But." Hermione blinked, "If that's the case, why did Professor Babbling teach us that in the first class..."
"It's her peculiar humor." Kael laughed, "Think carefully, has she mentioned anything related to Talismans in later classes?"
Hermione thought for a moment.
With Kael's reminder, she realized Professor Babbling really hadn't talked about Talismans again, and the content became much simpler.
Hermione slapped the table loudly, unintentionally exclaiming, "Could it be I've been wasting my time all this while?"
…