*Clap* *clap* *clap*
My applause echoed throughout the room. The girls looked at me, some with satisfied smiles, others with blushes on their cheeks, embarrassed by the intensity of my gaze.
"You're doing very well. In fact, I'm surprised by how dedicated you've been." I smiled, noticing the reddened cheeks of a few. "And because of that, I don't think you'll feel bad about me giving you this gift."
"Why would we feel bad about a gift?" Luna asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Because it might give you too clear a clue about the direction you need to look in," I replied, locking eyes with her.
"Red! Do you already know what's going on?" Hermione exclaimed, though it was clear everyone else thought the same.
"Yes, more or less." (Red)
"Since when?" Cho asked, a bit unsettled.
"For a while now, but for now, I think it's best not to tell you exactly when." (Red)
"But… why didn't you tell the professors or Dumbledore?" Hermione pointed at me, her irritation clear in her voice. "They could catch the culprit and save the petrified victims."
"I didn't want to." (Red)
"RED!" Hermione practically shouted, her anger exploding. "That's—"
"Shhh…" I silenced her with a gesture, though I could see many of the girls shared her indignation. "I clearly have my reasons."
A brief silence filled the room. I looked at each of them, seeing various expressions: disbelief, annoyance, curiosity.
"What reasons?" Hannah asked in a barely audible voice, but the silence was such that everyone heard her.
"Several… But to start, I wanted to solve this quickly, but I couldn't. Then I thought about letting you participate, and that idea worked out better than I expected. Honestly, I didn't think you'd get so involved at first, but I'm proud I made that decision. Really, this is something I can leave in your hands."
"Red, that's very selfish and dangerous." Hermione slammed the table. "You can't put your classmates in danger just to toy with us."
"I don't give three acres of cock about what happens to others." (Red)
My voice echoed firmly, coldly, making several of them shudder. Even those who didn't understand my exact words caught the meaning behind my attitude.
"That…" Hermione opened her mouth, but I didn't give her time to respond.
"Hermione, I know you have a kind heart, but I'm serious. While I don't like senseless suffering, outside of you and maybe a few others, I don't care what happens to the rest, no matter what you say."
I saw Hermione clench her fists, clearly on the verge of exploding. This went against everything she believed in. My complete indifference toward the safety of others was unacceptable to her, and perhaps, as my girlfriend, she felt the need to correct me. But I wasn't going to let her.
On the other hand, just as some supported her stance, there were also those who agreed with me.
"Let's drop this topic for now, Hermione. We'll have our couple's discussion later." (Red)
"This is NOT a couple's discussion!" she retorted, clearly embarrassed that the entire conversation was taking place in front of everyone else. "We're talking about the safety of Hogwarts! If you know something, you have to say it."
"Hermione, believe me, if it were truly dangerous, I'd do everything I could to resolve it immediately. I hate losing control of things. But since it's not, I prefer to use this as an opportunity for you to train."
"You can't toy with us like this…" she proclaimed, but I cut her off before she could continue.
"If you think this is a game, you're in more danger than you should be." I looked at everyone seriously before continuing. "Why do you think I'm doing all this?"
"To amuse yourself?" Hannah asked softly. Like the others, she had her own opinion, but no one wanted to intervene too much. Hermione was already shouting enough for everyone.
"I see…" I murmured, scanning the room before standing up and walking slowly. "Why do you think I train you so hard? Why do you think I got you involved in this investigation? Why do you think I work so hard to make you better?"
Silence took over the atmosphere. Some seemed to reflect on my words, but others simply couldn't find an answer. The seriousness with which I spoke now was much greater than before, and it seemed like they were missing something important.
"For our own good…" Penelope finally said, having remained quiet until that moment. She was sitting in the farthest chair, watching me attentively.
"Because I want you to be safe." I nodded. "Do you remember what happened last year?"
"Quirrell?" Parvati asked, hesitantly.
"Yes." I nodded again. "Do you remember what I told you about that? Some things were left out of the official report."
"Voldemort…" Pansy whispered. Though her voice was barely audible, everyone heard her.
"That's right. Pansy is correct." I gave a brief smile to my little secret lover.
"Quirrell was working for… you-know-who?!" Cho exclaimed, visibly shocked.
"Not exactly. Quirrell wasn't working for him… Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort." (Red)
"WHAT?!" Several girls screamed at the same time.
"But wasn't he dead?" Susan asked, her face completely pale.
"Yes and no," I replied calmly. "Right now, Voldemort is something akin to a spirit… neither alive nor dead. Do you know why Quirrell wore that turban despite his story making little sense? Because Voldemort resided in the back of his head. And the smell of garlic that always surrounded him was nothing more than an attempt to mask the putrid stench of an entity that shouldn't exist."
Some girls seemed incredulous, hoping it was a joke, a lie. But seeing my expression, they realized that, even if they didn't want to believe it, what I said was true.
"Potter said it at the time, but no one believed him… out of fear. They didn't want to accept it. But it was true. Voldemort is not dead, and, in fact, he plans to return. Last year, we managed to stop him, but he's still out there, waiting for the right moment to come back." (Red)
I let my words sink in, watching as the tension grew in the room.
"That's why I'm doing all of this… because when he comes back, things won't be as calm as they are now. There will be death and suffering. There will be… war. Just like there was in the past." I paused briefly before continuing. "I don't want to reopen old wounds, but Susan here lost her parents in that war. Ginny and I lost our uncles. Harry lost his parents. We've all lost something. And I… I won't let a lunatic take any of you away from me for anything in the world. That's why I want you to do this."
"To stop Voldemort?" Lavender asked, her voice trembling as she clumsily continued writing in her notebook.
"No. If that were the case, I could handle it myself. In fact, if you wish, I can keep all of you completely safe, but to do that, I'd have to remove you from the world entirely… lock you in a glass box where you'd be safe but cut off from everything. I don't think you'd want that." I paused, observing their reactions. "Some of you will surely want to get involved in this, whether out of bravery, principles… or sheer foolishness. But you will. And that's why I'm training you. Because even though I'm willing to protect you with my life if necessary… if I'm not enough, I want you to have the strength to defend yourselves."
"Red…" Hermione stammered my name. She looked at me with a mix of confusion and awe. She didn't know what to feel. The earlier argument seemed to have been forgotten, overshadowed by the weight of my words.
"So…" I continued, walking slowly among them, "I'm not doing this for fun, though if you want to see it that way, go ahead. But my real purpose is to forge you, help you grow, make you stronger for what's coming. I could tell the professors, but it wouldn't be as beneficial as you learning to solve it yourselves."
Several of the girls were starting to understand and accept my reasoning. Some gripped their wands more tightly, determination shining in their eyes.
"And I'm not the only one doing this. Dumbledore did it last year too." (Red)
"Dumbledore?" Tracey asked incredulously.
"Yes. He's also training Potter to defeat the Dark Lord again… though the first time, it wasn't really him who did it, but well, that's another topic. Hermione, do you remember the trials we had to face to reach the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell?"
"Yes," she responded somewhat hesitantly.
"Didn't it seem to you that those challenges were too simple for an experienced adult wizard? For a student, they might have been a challenge, but flying on a broomstick, solving a riddle, playing a chess match… They weren't trials meant to stop a real dark wizard."
"I… that was…" Hermione began to speak but suddenly stopped, as if a thought had just illuminated her. "Did Dumbledore do it to…?"
"Exactly. He created those obstacles to test Potter, to train him. He's preparing someone for the future, just as I'm doing with you. Do you now understand why, despite knowing certain things, I haven't told the professors?"
Silence fell over the room as everyone mulled over my words. Even Hermione, who minutes ago was furious with me, now seemed to be reconsidering everything.
"I won't insist further on this matter," I declared firmly. "If any of you want to abandon the mission, I'll accept it without reproach. If all of you decide to quit, I'll take care of everything myself. But if even one of you wants to move forward, I'll support you to the end."
The girls exchanged glances. Some whispers were shared between small groups, but when they finally gave me their answer, none chose to back out. Each had their reasons or felt the pressure of the group, but in the end, they all decided to continue. Still, I reminded them of the danger.
"So, do you know who's responsible?" Padma asked expectantly.
"Actually, no," I confessed with a hint of frustration. "I know almost everything else: the intention, the place, the method… but the name of the culprit has escaped me. It's the only thing stopping me from ending this once and for all. If I'd discovered it from the beginning, this would already be over, especially since that person has something I want. So I ended up delegating the investigation to you as part of your training… besides having even more important matters to attend to." I sighed but then smiled conspiratorially. "So, do you already have a suspect?" I asked, and there was a silent exchange of glances among the girls before they started talking again in their serious and professional tones.
"Not exactly," Hermione admitted, "but we have some clues."
"We got the list of students who signed up to leave for the holidays," Parvati explained. "If there's another attack during that time, the culprit must be someone who stayed at Hogwarts. That would narrow down the list of suspects a lot."
"We also have a plan to infiltrate our peers and get information using Polyjuice Potion," Lavender added, not stopping her note-taking.
"Risky, but I like it," I nodded approvingly. "But let me know when you're going to do it. I want to be prepared with some countermeasure, just in case something goes wrong."
"We might have a safer way to do it," Tracey suggested. "Recently, Potter and your brother came to us looking for information about a spell or potion that prevents someone from lying."
"Apparently, they're trying to catch the heir of Slytherin… though they're clearly far from the truth," Pansy commented disdainfully. "But we could use that to our advantage. Their main suspect is Malfoy, and we also have him in our sights. If we manage to get them to drink the Polyjuice Potion and do the work for us, we could get answers without directly risking ourselves."
"But that will only work if they're competent enough," I warned. "It's too risky to leave them alone in this. You should send one of you to watch them from a distance, without being noticed. Someone who can move stealthily and ensure everything goes smoothly."
A drop of sweat ran down my forehead. If I hadn't come and asked, their plan could have completely ruined my… could have put my precious Hermipussy at risk.
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