It ended up being the day that the lions would give up the dragon and even though I said I wouldn't participate, that doesn't mean I wouldn't lurk in the shadows to make sure everything went smoothly.
My real body was in my room wondering if I should let myself be seen or not, at the same time that I had Gemma against the wall, repeatedly receiving my 'dragon'. Since the last time she passed out, she has started indirectly 'asking' me to switch holes from time to time.
My clone followed the Lions to Hagrid's hut but didn't go in, he stared from the window, seeing how the half-giant cried as he handed over his child. After getting the box with the dragon and covering it with the invisibility cloak, they both headed to the castle.
I followed them very closely without letting myself be seen in the slightest during the entire trip, and I wasn't planning on revealing myself under normal circumstances. Dumbledore should be aware of what they're doing and is possibly keeping an eye on them. If I were to show up and get involved with them, maybe the punishment of sending them to the Forbidden Forest not happen, and it's not what I want.
Harry and Hermione trudged the box through the castle. I didn't help, but I tried to use my healing abilities in a distance on Hermione to see if it at least made it easier for her, as well as to investigate if it was possible for me to do so.
Somewhere along the way, they ran into Professor McGonagall punishing Draco for wandering in the castle, while Draco was only trying to accuse Harry of the dragon. The teacher took him away to detention and present him to Professor Snape.
After that, the children climbed the spiral staircase of the Astronomy tower. They took off their cloak to breathe fresh air and smiled happily to finish this complicated mission.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!" Hermione said happily. Not only did she dislike Draco from her own experiences, but now that Pansy has joined the group, the girls have revealed every dirty rag they knew about him and have gotten together to complain.
After a while, Charlie's friends came over, and they were quite nice. I would have liked to tell them to send my regards to my brother, but I couldn't reveal myself.
Harry and Hermione were relieved to see them go off and take Norbert away, so relaxed that they went down the stairs, forgetting to put on the invisibility cloak. They ended up being caught by Filch and taken to McGonagall's office.
They were waiting for their Teacher, and both Hermione and Harry were very nervous and regretful. Hermione trembled not knowing what to do, thinking of excuses or reasons to justify herself, but she couldn't find one of her own, she was so desperate that she almost shed tears. Arriving at Hogwarts was the best thing that ever happened to her, she not only discovered magic, but she also had what she always lacked... friends... and many.
Seeing her so upset, I approached her (yes, I had followed them here) and took her hand. This startled her, but after she saw a small sphere of red liquid float in front of her and then vanish, she seemed to understand.
"R...!" She almost screamed, but I put my hand over her mouth.
"Don't worry, I'm here. If the worst comes to... we'll get through it together, don't worry" I leaned close to her ear and whispered. I knew this wouldn't go that far, but it doesn't take away my chance to take advantage of the situation.
She wanted to answer, but she heard the door open and Professor McGonagall and Neville entered.
"Harry!" Neville exclaimed as soon as he saw them "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag…"
Harry shook his head violently, to stop Neville from saying anymore, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked at him as if she breathed fire just like Norbert and loomed over the three of them.
"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were in the Astronomy tower. It's one in the morning, I want an explanation," the professor roared angrily, causing Harry and Neville to tremble in fear, not knowing what to answer.
Hermione was also terrified at first, but feeling my hand tightening hers constantly, she let go of all concern. She felt that at this point there was nothing she could do or say to make amends and, remembering my words, decided to just accept her fate.
She remembered when I had told her that there were other schools and that she could enter them if she was expelled. It was not what she wanted, but she had no choice, believed that with the dragon she would no longer be allowed to stay at Hogwarts due to the seriousness of the crime. She has already created a whole scene where she would be in another school, and would be secretly accompanied by one of my clones because she did not doubt that I would leave her alone. She also thought that thanks to my clones, she could be in communication with all the friends she made until now.
Hermione had a strange expression of indifference and peace caused by all that mental image that was formed, feeling that this is how it would end and that it would not be so bad. Such an expression surprised even the teacher for a moment before she continued speaking.
"I think I have an idea what happened," Professor McGonagall said. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. You made up a story about a dragon to get Draco Malfoy out of bed and into trouble. I've got you. I guess you thought it was funny that Longbottom heard the story and believed it too, right?"
McGonagall's theory could save them from so much trouble, but both I and Harry noticed that Neville seemed to really believe it, as he didn't know what was going on. Harry tried to explain to him that it wasn't true, without using words, but he couldn't and felt a bit regretful that he had gotten Neville into trouble since he had tried to warn them.
"I'm disgusted," Professor McGonagall continued, "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions... Yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous... and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor "
McGonagall's words left Hermione with a complicated expression. She was happy that things hadn't gone as bad as she imagined, but knowing that she had me by her side she couldn't help thinking that I always go out at night and that they never catch me, but that she only goes out once, and she's already lost 50 points for your house.
The idea of giving me away only lasted a second because even though she had some envy and frustration that they complained about her when there was someone else who did much worse things, she knew it was something silly and selfish.
"Fifty?" Harry gasped. They were going to lose the first place he had won in the last Quidditch match.
"Fifty points each," Professor McGonagall said, snorting through her pointed nose.
"You, you don't…" Harry tried to plead, but he almost seemed questioning.
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students"
The three lions returned to their bedrooms, tired and very affected. I was still holding Hermione's hand, and she didn't resist, I even walked into the bedroom with her. Once inside, Lavender and Parvati quickly got up, they knew Hermione was out for something, but they didn't ask and just waited.
I let myself be seen and let go of Hermione, this surprised the two girls who weren't expecting me, and after they used the sheets to cover their pajamas, they took the time to create a lot of stories about why Hermione and I were alone at this hour of the night.
"Are you okay?" I asked Hermione.
"No… yes… I don't know…" she said confusedly "I lost 50 points, 150 if we count Neville and Harry" she answered a little more concerned and annoyed.
"150!" x2
"Yes, I'm sorry" She apologized without the slightest intention of hiding it from her companions, since she knew that anyway they would find out later when they saw the hourglass that marks the number of points.
"What happened?!" Lavender and Parvati asked.
Hermione and I detailed what happened, including the dragon. It had already reached that level of trust, and since there was now no need to worry about the dragon being at Hogwarts as evidence, there was no reason to hide it from our close friends.
They were quite surprised by that story and a little jealous that they couldn't see the dragon, but they also felt sorry for her partner, not blaming her for the loss of points.
"Red! Why didn't you help us? If you had acted, this wouldn't be happening to us," Hermione complained now that she was thinking about my apparition. Knowing my experience with my nocturnal escapades, she believed that I must have my methods to save them.
"Hermione… I was just going on my normal nightly tour when I saw them being led away by Filch. I could have gotten you out of there, but you couldn't explain your disappearance when he tells the teacher and got us both into trouble. If you expected me to do something else, I could only attack the caretaker, and I don't think you want that"
"I..." She kept thinking, what I said was too logical to deny it "But you could have helped us from the beginning" she reneged crying a little now that she calmed down and was in her room with friends. She was a bit annoyed to show me her state, but she hid it with her anger "Even if you were going to ask for something weird like you always do... if you had participated none of this would have happened"
"I believed you had the ability to do it, so I left you alone. I don't want you to grow up in a glass house. I wanted you to have your own challenges and overcome them... I didn't want to treat you like a child who needs everything done for you"
She no longer knew how to respond to that, she understood it, and she didn't really want me to do everything for her either... only for a moment she wanted to shout 'but I'm a girl' as a complaint to release stress, but she didn't. She wanted freedom, but she also let herself be taken care of at times like these, she just didn't want to ask for it.
We continued to talk for a bit, and I made some hot chocolate to go along with the talk that calmed Hermione down. The atmosphere got much better, but Hermione said.
"Tomorrow, everyone will hate me for the points I lost..."
"I don't think so" I replied, earning the look of the three girls who didn't understand my statement, "Important people won't hate you. Do you think the friends you made would hate you just for that?" I said, opening my hands to Parvati and Lavender at Hermione's sides.
"He's right, Hermione. We don't hate you, and the points you lost belong to our house. You are our friend," Lavender replied.
"Yeah, I don't think any of the others will either," Parvati added.
This comforted Hermione, even more so when her classmates affirmed it, appreciating that she had been able to make such good friends.
"Besides, none of the girls in the lair will be against you unless they don't want to be able to go back in" I said, but Hermione's expression didn't improve with that, unlike what we had said before.
"I don't want you to do that" She denied me "I don't want you to threaten them like that. Friendship can't be based on interests... if they stayed with me just to be able to go, then it would be false feelings"
"But every friendship has interests, even ours"
"What?!" x3
"Yes, I am your friend because I want something from you" I nodded confidently.
"What thing?" They asked very dismayed, they did not expect those words to come out of my mouth. They know very well that I am not necessarily a good person, but I have always been very trustworthy and kind to them.
"If I tell you, I must warn you that I will leave here without giving you time to answer" I said very seriously, making the three girls tense. I leaned close to Hermione's ear, who was very nervous about what I was going to say, and whispered "I want your little ass..."
Before she could react, my clone fell apart, leaving only Lavender and Parvati at Hermione's sides, looking at her very curious as to what I had told her. On the other hand, Hermione's face twitched, but you could also see a bit of anxiety on it.
Hermione, not responding to the questioning look from her classmates, turned around and buried her head in the pillow, so she could hide her expression and her blush. She is used to a lot of things, but in this tense moment she didn't have her defenses up, and she fell into my trap.
"I should have assumed it wasn't a good thing" She muffled her scream into the pillow, not knowing how to accept those words or how to see me the next day without thinking that I was looking at her butt. Now, everything that happened tonight doesn't seem so bad, but it doesn't seem better either.
And to her classmates, without wanting to tell them what I really said, to avoid future teasing, she answered her questions with "Typical Red". Lavander and Parvati didn't ask anymore when they saw how hard Hermione got on the subject, plus they were tired, so they just assumed I said something perverted and went to sleep.