Being a passerby in HP female protagonist fanfiction

The dragon egg incident progressed much faster than I expected, and was quietly resolved while I was engrossed in my studies.

I happened to be helping Professor Sprout with some work those days. She wanted to clean the greenhouse and rearrange all the flowerpots, which was hard work. But I happened to be there when the professor was looking for someone, and the pots I was looking after were also in there, so I volunteered to help.

"Don't worry, Professor, I can do it!" I said, head held high and chest puffed out.

“Oh, thank you, Claire.” Professor Sprout smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents, and patted my shoulder with her large, warm hand. After learning my English name, she started calling me Claire too. “Of course you can, good girl. Don’t overwork yourself; the others will be with you.”

"Okay!" My eyes lit up, and I nodded.

I would be happy to help Professor Sprout; she truly is the best dean ever.

When I arrived at the meeting time, I realized there was a problem. The other students who came to help were all older students, and I was the only younger student there. I felt like a little panda peeking out from a group of giant pandas, and I seemed a bit out of place.

Among the others were some upperclassmen Hufflepuff students, including Cedric, who smiled and was the first to see me, waving at me in surprise.

I returned the smile and wave.

As soon as Cedric made a move, the other upperclassmen with him noticed me, and their eyes all lit up.

What, what's going on?

Oh my, they're looking this way.

I laughed a few times, then suddenly felt the pressure increase. I tried to suppress my wandering gaze and continued to wave stiffly.

"Hello, seniors..."

...I hope everything is alright.

I think about it uncertainly.

It's normal for a girl with black hair and black eyes, who is obviously young, small in stature, with stiff eyes, and pretending to be calm, to attract attention. People are naturally curious and will take a second look.

I tried to comfort myself and ignore everyone's gaze.

Well, okay, I miscalculated.

Everyone who walks past me can't help but glance at me, then gives me a strange smile, like they've seen something cute and want to mess with it, wanting to reach out and poke it. But they hold back, just hovering around in front of me, hoping for some kind of reaction from me... It's rare for me to be stared at like that, so I blush a little. I act like nothing's wrong on the surface, but my inner monologue is quite rich.

This is so embarrassing.

cough cough.

(*￣ro￣).

Everyone was very friendly. Cedric smiled helplessly as they surrounded me. One girl bluntly complimented me on being cute. She was a senior from Ravenclaw and was very bold. Seeing that I didn't mind, she came right up to me with her eyes sparkling, as if she had really seen a little panda.

They also assigned me relatively easy tasks, which I didn't refuse. I was well aware of my small stature and didn't want to cause any trouble.

Because some flowerpots contain magical plants that cannot be levitated, as it may affect their growth, such as the mandrake or another plant I can't name that spews sparks, protective measures should be taken when moving them.

Cedric took the lead, taking off his somewhat cumbersome coat and carefully lifting the flowerpots to carry them outside, with the others following closely behind.

While the Ravenclaw senior and I were counting the number and types of flowerpots and plants, we used spells to clean up the rotten leaves and mud on the ground. Professor Sprout arrived after finishing his own business and joined us, waving his strong arms and making a lively scene.

“You’re all good kids.” Professor Sprout said happily, his cheeks flushed, and he walked briskly through the greenhouse. “Oh, this needs to be moved like this. Come on, be careful.”

Everyone followed the instructions with peace of mind.

“You will learn about this plant in a while,” Professor Sprout said in a loud, warm voice. She would occasionally hug a student, pat them on the shoulder, and tell them about the amazing properties of the herb.

A student who wasn't paying attention got his face splattered by a plant that sprays water.

Everyone laughed, and the student himself couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This was really hard physical work. I felt that my task was already quite light, but I still broke out in a sweat. However, the smile on my face grew even brighter, and I laughed and chatted with everyone while we were working.

I don't know if it's because Europeans have higher body temperatures, but I feel like most of the people around me are warm and cozy. In winter, they're all like little heaters, and they're still radiating warmth now.

I was busy for several days, not only helping Professor Sprout, but also spending all my spare time in the library. I was so tired that I would fall asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. My schedule was very healthy. I never thought I would be so self-disciplined in my life.

The dragon egg incident certainly wouldn't stop because of me. Harry thought of Charlie and found a solution. The three little ones began to persuade Hagrid to hand Norbert over to Charlie, and Hagrid agreed with tears in his eyes.

“Nober will be alright.” When I met Hagrid, I comforted him earnestly. “He’s a very strong little dragon, and he’ll grow stronger and stronger. His scales will become harder and shinier, just like we saw in the book.”

“Hagrid, you’ve taken good care of it, but we all know you wish it could be even better. No one loves it more than you, and although it’s heartbreaking, it’s necessary.”

“I know you’re right, but Norber is still so small, he’s still a little kid.”

Hagrid was on the verge of tears again when Norber's passing was mentioned. He was depressed and held Norber's favorite toy bear in his arms.

"It's okay." Not knowing what to say, I patted Hagrid's back (thankfully he was sitting down) and tried to comfort him with body language.

Draco was very unwilling to accept this, and secretly grumbled about Hagrid for a long time, regretting that he might never see a dragon again. He also started to feel angry and sad. Unfortunately, no one comforted him. He and the three little ones, Hagrid and Draco, did not get along. Willow was very busy lately, and he was not very comfortable talking to Willow. So he came to me and chattered on and on.

"That stupid half-giant! Ha, I knew he'd do this, he's completely incompetent."

Perhaps he genuinely felt I posed no significant threat to him, even though we weren't actually that close. Draco still came to me to complain, his arrogant tone attempting to gain some validation, while I struggled to find time to deal with him within the limited available time.

Me: "Haha, really... Hmm, that's not a good way to put it..."

I'm so tired. Why do I feel like I'm just going through the motions with my colleagues?

Everything went according to plan. Because of Draco's presence, the three little ones concealed the specific transportation plan. I took the time to remind them to be careful not to be caught by Filch.

"Be careful during nighttime operations," I said, patiently reminding Hermione several times.

“No problem.” Hermione said firmly.

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Secrets Revealed in the Mini-Theater:

Willotte: Busy investigating Quirrell and the fourth-floor corridor.

Claire: Busy with greenhouse maintenance, final exams, dealing with Draco, and reminding the three little ones.

Draco: Busy complaining and being dealt with by Claire.

The three little ones: busy getting rid of the dragon.