It took about ten minutes before Hermione, who was sweating profusely, finally came in from outside with her backpack and a bucket of water, staggering. As soon as she entered, she saw Harry and Ron sitting on the edge of Hagrid's bed, looking at her with a strange expression. They had been waiting for her impatiently, wondering what had taken her so long. Hermione felt a wave of panic wash over her, hoping they had not noticed anything unusual.
"Oh, why are you looking at me like that?"
She tried to sound casual, but her voice was slightly hoarse. She casually threw her backpack at the foot of the table, and slowly approached them with half a bucket of water.
"Did you get lost in the water tank, Hermione?"
Ron frowned in surprise, looking at Hermione's cheeks wet with sweat, trying to control her breathing. He could not understand why she was so exhausted, as if she had just run a marathon. He also noticed that her hair was more bushy than usual, and had some shiny things stuck in it.
"We just called you a few times, Hermione, and your hair…"
Harry also raised his eyebrows, pointing to the shiny things in Hermione's messy hair.
"Don't mind that, Harry, it's just a few beans from the bubble branch."
Hermione quickly fiddled with her hair, trying to remove the beans without drawing too much attention. She cursed herself for forgetting to check her appearance before coming in. She had been too busy hiding something else in her backpack.
"Bubble branch beans?"
Ron and Harry looked at each other, puzzled. They had never heard of such a thing before.
However, realizing that the more she said, the more flaws she would reveal, Hermione changed the subject. She took Hagrid's dirty handkerchief from Harry's hand, washed it in the bucket, and wiped Hagrid's saliva with one hand while pushing away his beard with the other. This might have tickled Hagrid, who gasped a few times and then sneezed violently. His sneeze was so loud that it shook the whole hut, and made the three friends jump. Hermione hoped that this would distract them from asking more questions.
"Oh, this is really… I mean, kind of disgusting."
Ron touched his robe and face with the shiny sticky substance, looking like he was going to throw up. It took some time for Ron to clean himself up, but by then, it was too late to catch up with Professor Sprout's herbology class. When Harry and the others returned to the greenhouse, there was not a single student in the large greenhouse, and even Professor Sprout had returned to her office in the castle. Having missed the whole lesson, they knew they would have to face the consequences. They hoped that Professor Sprout would be understanding, and that she would not give them a hard time.
This morning, the third year Gryffindors had two classes, in addition to Professor Sprout's herbology class, they also had to take a charm class with Professor Flitwick, along with the Hufflepuffs. In order not to get two detentions from two professors on the first Friday of the school year, they had to postpone the apology. They decided to go to Professor Flitwick's class first, and explain their situation later.
It was not until lunchtime that they saw Professor Sprout at the staff table in the Great Hall, but they never had a chance to go up and explain, because all the professors, including the four heads of houses and Professor Lupin, were craning their necks towards Dumbledore. They seemed to be discussing a very serious matter, and they did not notice that almost all the young wizards were attracted by their discussion.
The students could not hear what they were saying, but they could sense the tension and urgency in their voices. They wondered what was going on, and if it had anything to do with the News they had read in the Daily Prophet that morning.
"I didn't hear very clearly…"
Neville whispered to them, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Neville had been sitting near the staff table, trying to eavesdrop on the professors' conversation. He had a worried look on his face, and he kept glancing nervously at the headmaster.
Neville was easily frightened, and he often imagined the worst possible scenarios. Until the Great Hall was almost empty, the professors did not end their discussion. Harry and the others had to leave the Great Hall first and look for another opportunity.
As they were making their way back to the common room, Neville said to them, "I only heard a few words from Professor Dumbledore, young wizards, safety, and something about negotiating with the board of governors…"
"Maybe the Daily Prophet this morning made Professor Dumbledore think that Black could break into Hogwarts and slaughter us at any time!"
He said in a trembling voice, remembering the headline that had shocked the whole wizarding world. The short article also said that the Ministry of Magic had failed to recapture Black, and that they had no clue about his whereabouts or his plans. The article suggested that Black was a master of disguise, and that he could be anywhere, even inside Hogwarts.
"Don't be silly, Neville!"
Hermione glanced at Harry's gloomy expression and quickly said, "Black can't break into Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore said on the first night of school, no disguise can fool the eyes of the Dementors, as long as we stay in school, no one can hurt us!"
Neville blinked his wide eyes, and from his expression, he seemed to think that the person who did not understand the situation was Hermione.
It was not until the evening that Harry and Ron, who had finished their day's classes, finally managed to rush to Professor Sprout's office. They had been busy all day, attending lessons, doing homework, and practicing Quidditch. They had almost forgotten that they had missed the herbology class in the morning, and that they had to apologize to the head of Hufflepuff.
Because Professor Lupin had warned them beforehand, Harry and Ron did not dare to make up any excuses to deceive the head of Hufflepuff. They honestly confessed why they missed the herbology class, and this honesty also earned them a bit of luck. Professor Sprout did not give them detention, but she asked Harry and Ron to find a way to complete the papers on Bubble branch cultivation and how to safely extract the fruit from the pink pods. She also gave them a stern lecture on the importance of herbology, and the consequences of skipping classes.
"Bubble branch and fruit–"
Ron looked confused as he came out of Professor Sprout's office. He scratched his head, trying to remember what they had learned about Bubble branch in the previous classes. He had a vague impression that it was a plant that produced bubbles when touched, and that the fruit was edible, but he could not recall any details. He wondered how they were going to write the papers, and how long it would take them.
"If my brain wasn't muddled by Hagrid's alcoholic breath, Harry, wasn't Hermione with us to visit Hagrid this morning? How did she get herself covered in beans?"
He asked Harry, who was equally baffled by Hermione's strange behavior. They had no idea how Hermione had gotten herself into such a mess, and she went straight to the library after dinner. She didn't seem to care at all that Professor Sprout might give them three detention, that's not her style.
"And, she went straight to the library after dinner,"
Harry's face was no less puzzled than Ron's, he added,
"She didn't seem to care at all that Professor Sprout might give us three detention, that's not her style."
Hermione was usually very conscientious and diligent about her studies, and she hated to miss any classes or assignments. She had acted very oddly today, and Harry and Ron could not figure out why. They discussed for a while at the office door, but they couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. It was still early, and after a brief consultation, They decided to go to the library to find Hermione and ask her.
In order to take care of the flowers and plants, Professor Sprout arranged her office on the first floor of the castle, which was quite a distance from the library. Harry and Ron ran along the corridor on the first floor, and when they reached the entrance hall, Harry's eyes were drawn to the courtyard, where the moonlight cast a silver glow. Just one glance, he stopped, looking surprised. He saw something that caught his attention, and made him curious.
"Oh, watch out, Harry!"
Ron, who was following Harry, did not notice, and his freckled nose and Harry's back of the head had an intimate contact. He rubbed his sore nose and said unhappily.
"What's the matter, Harry? Why did you stop so suddenly?"
He looked at Harry, who was staring at the courtyard with a fixed expression. He followed Harry's gaze, and saw what Harry had seen. He was also surprised, and a bit suspicious.
"Look, Ron!"
Harry ignored Ron's grumbling, and quickly pulled him to the side of the door, pointing to the two figures under a large tree with lush branches and leaves in the courtyard, who were talking. They were two people that Harry and Ron did not like at all, and who did not like them either.
"Snape and Malfoy?" Ron was not surprised, "Are they plotting something?"
He asked Harry, who nodded in agreement.
"We can find out."
Harry quickly pulled out his heirloom invisibility cloak from his backpack. He had inherited the cloak from his father, who had used it to sneak around the castle and play pranks with his friends.
According to his usual habit, Harry would usually hide his invisibility cloak under his bed in the dormitory, but the failed experience of tracking Professor Watson during the summer vacation and Professor Watson's instructions before the start of school made Harry change this habit.
Harry had tried to follow Professor Watson one night, using his invisibility cloak, but he had been discovered and caught by Professor Watson, who had scolded him and warned him. He told Harry that his invisibility cloak was not perfect, and that there were ways to detect it, or to see through it. He had also suggested Harry to carry his cloak with him, instead of leaving it in his dormitory, where it could be stolen, or tampered with.
Harry had taken Professor Watson's words to heart, and he had started to keep his cloak in his pocket, where he could access it easily, and where he could protect it better.
Taking advantage of the wind in the courtyard, which masked the sound of their footsteps across the grass, Harry and Ron crouched down and walked lightly and quickly. They did not want to alert Snape or Malfoy, or anyone else who might be around. When they got close enough, Malfoy's figure became clear, and Harry's face immediately turned pale with anger.
"See, Ron, Malfoy is really just pretending!"
Harry said through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of rage and disgust.
"Shh, Harry, be quiet!"
Ron nudged Harry's ribs, signaling him to shut up. He also saw Malfoy's fake injuries, and he also felt angry. But he knew that they had to be careful, and that they had to listen to Snape and Malfoy's conversation.
The conversation in the courtyard was coming to an end. Harry and Ron held their breath, and only heard Snape's final question from the faint wind. They strained their ears, trying to catch every word that Snape and Malfoy uttered.
"If you still refuse to tell me who is threatening your parents, Draco"
Snape's tone was a bit impatient, but still more humane than when he spoke to other young wizards.
"Then what do you think I should do to help you?"
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