"Hey! How's it going, Hermione?!" Casper Honeydew waved at her as she walked from class to the Gryffindor common room, making her way through the noisy, laughter-filled corridors. It seemed like everyone could feel the end of the school year coming, and the excitement was everywhere.
"Good, how about you?" Hermione stopped, smiling back. She was genuinely happy to see Casper. Since the Relicium Club meetings had ended, they didn't see each other as often. Despite some issues with his magic, his laid-back attitude and support always helped her, even on the roughest days, and she was really grateful for that.
"Everything's awesome! I can already taste the freedom!" he said excitedly. His enthusiasm was infectious. Hermione nodded, and Casper went on, "Oh, by the way, I met up with Elliot last night. We were talking about some cool articles on artifacts when we saw you and your friends practically running out of Hagrid's hut. Everything okay? He didn't upset you, did he?"
"No, no, not at all!" Hermione was caught off guard and scrambled for a reply. "We just…" She tried to come up with something, but nothing came to mind.
"Just what…?" Casper pressed.
"I… I can't tell you, sorry." Hermione looked down, unable to think of an excuse, and felt her cheeks turn red. "But everything's fine, even better than before! Much better!" she finished confidently.
"Better than before?" Honeydew asked, intrigued. He looked at her closely and added, "Yeah, you do seem calmer... I can see it."
"You're pretty observant!" Hermione replied with a smile. "But please, don't ask me why."
"Alright, I won't…" Casper looked at her, and Hermione thought she saw a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he added, "I just hope Elliot's wrong about you and you're not planning any rule-breaking again…"
"Elliot?" Hermione asked, suddenly alert. "What does he have to do with this?"
"Yesterday, when he saw you guys, he was sure you were up to something again. So, I really hope that's not the case. I think he's still mad at you and won't miss a chance to cause trouble if he can, so be careful," he said, giving her a concerned look. "Honestly, that's why I stayed after class—to warn you. Please, don't get into any more trouble."
"Thanks, Casper, I'll be more careful," Hermione said with a smile. "But don't worry, I've got it under control."
"No problem!" After a brief pause, Honeydew added, "But maybe… you could still tell me what's going on? It'd be a lot easier for me to help if I knew what's happening..." he said with a slightly hurt smile.
'Maybe I really should tell him,' Hermione thought. 'I was even planning to ask him for blood for the potion.' But her thoughts were cut off by Ron calling out to her.
"Hermione, we've been looking for you everywhere! It's time to study, remember?" Ron looked at her with a bit of reproach. He didn't even say hello to Honeydew, acting as if he wasn't there.
"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, then turned to Casper and added, "Sorry, Casper, maybe I'll tell you everything later. See you."
"See you," he replied, sounding disappointed, and gave Ron an unfriendly look.
'They really don't like each other,' Hermione thought, and for some reason, that lifted her spirits. As they walked away, Ron looked back and said irritably, "I hope you're not planning to tell everyone about your amulet! We've been keeping it a secret for months, remember?"
"Casper isn't everyone," Hermione shot back with a bit of defiance. "But I haven't decided yet... And by the way, since when did you get so keen on studying?" she asked, now smiling.
"I'm not... we... exams are coming up!" he suddenly blurted out. "You said so yourself!" Then, pouting, he turned and quickly headed toward the library.
Hermione, smiling even more, called after him, "Yeah, you're right!" and, feeling great, hurried after him.
***
Settling down in the library, as they had most days recently, the trio got back to studying for exams. Hermione, surrounded by textbooks, was pleased to see that Harry and Ron weren't groaning every day from the workload anymore. Now, they were just trying to get through everything as quickly as possible so they could finish early. Hermione proudly took credit for this, confident that one day they'd thank her for being so persistent.
Smiling to herself at the thought, Hermione tried to get back to studying. 'To turn any object into a bag...' she read from a large Transfiguration book, but her mind was elsewhere. Elliot was making her uneasy again.
The last few days had been full of events. The unexpected arrival of the dragon Norbert and the challenges with brewing the potion had briefly distracted Hermione from the danger posed by the League of Light's agent hiding at Hogwarts. But Honeydew's words had brought back the anxiety she'd felt not so long ago. Thoughts of Elliot's sneaky and potentially dangerous plans started to haunt her, making it hard to focus on her studies and other tasks.
Her biggest fear was the possibility of facing the pale-faced Nightshade again. Compared to that, even the dark shadow of the long-gone Voldemort, who still somehow scared the entire magical community, seemed less terrifying. And the upcoming task of sending the dragon to Charlie felt like a walk in the park by comparison. The friends had managed, with some effort, to convince Hagrid to send Norbert to Romania to Ron's brother. And just yesterday, they finally got confirmation from Charlie that his friends would be coming to collect the dragon this Saturday.
Lost in her uneasy thoughts, Hermione realized that her eyes were just skimming over the pages of her textbook without taking in a single word. The sentences blurred into a mess, and she couldn't make sense of any of it. Unable to stay silent any longer, Hermione snapped the book shut, pushed it aside, and turned to Harry and Ron. They were deep in their studies, completely unaware of her inner struggle.
"We have to do something about Elliot," she whispered.
Her friends stared at her, confused. Harry frowned, and Ron froze, his quill in midair.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at her with concern.
"Honeydew is sure that Elliot is planning to hurt me again," Hermione whispered anxiously, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "He saw us coming out of Hagrid's and might have gotten suspicious."
Ron pulled a face at the mention of Honeydew, but Hermione, used to it, ignored him. Harry, seeming worried about Hagrid, frowned even more.
"Do you think he knows about the pet?" Harry asked quietly, using their code word for Norbert.
"Probably not. But he could find out if he keeps sticking his nose into my business," Hermione replied just as quietly.
"Saturday can't come soon enough..." Harry muttered, sounding a bit desperate.
She nodded, while Ron just pressed his lips together. They were quiet for a moment, but then Hermione broke the silence:
"In any case, we need a plan to expose Elliot," she said, staring thoughtfully at the closed book in front of her. "Without proof, no one will believe us!"
"Do you have any ideas?" Harry asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Not yet," Hermione admitted, glancing up at him with a bit of embarrassment. "I was hoping you two could help me come up with something."
Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise, but then he looked away, thinking. After a few seconds, he looked back at Hermione and suggested:
"I think we should follow him—find out what he's up to, who he talks to, and where he goes in his free time."
"That could work," Hermione said, though she sounded doubtful. "But he'd notice us right away. It needs to be someone else."
"Like Honeydew?" Ron said sarcastically.
"Exactly," she replied without hesitation. Ron immediately scowled and started staring out the window, focusing on something outside.
"But I doubt Elliot would do anything suspicious with him around," Hermione continued. "Or with anyone else, for that matter. I think we need a different plan."
"So, what do you suggest?" Ron asked skeptically, turning back to her.
"Here's the thing!" Her eyes lit up with a new idea. "Grimm has to communicate with his pale-faced boss somehow, right?" She looked at her friends.
"Well, I suppose," Harry agreed.
"And what's the most obvious way to do that?" Hermione continued.
"Owls!" Ron guessed.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed, as if that settled everything.
"And then what?" Harry wasn't impressed. He quickly added with a smirk, "Are you suggesting we intercept owls in the Great Hall right over his head? Or shoot them down as they fly in?"
"Well..." Hermione hesitated; it seemed she hadn't thought that far ahead. "Maybe we don't need to catch the owls themselves. We could try to read his messages when he opens them. I can look up some spying spells. There must be something like that," she suggested.
"And how long are you going to watch him?" Harry still wasn't convinced. "We don't know how often he communicates with the pale-faced one. It might only happen on special occasions. And besides, why are you so sure he's using owls? Nightshade's a wizard too. They have other ways to communicate."
"Maybe you're right," Hermione admitted, looking a bit down. "Do you have a better idea?"
Harry couldn't think of anything else. The friends fell silent again, trying to figure out what to do about Elliot. Outside, the sun was nearing the horizon, signaling the evening's approach. Ron was getting a bit bored with the discussion, and his thoughts drifted off with the setting sun. Resting his head in his hands, he thought about how nice it would be to relax in the common room already. He was also wondering what would be for dinner—his stomach was starting to remind him it was almost time to eat.
Lost in thought, he absentmindedly looked around the room: the old library ceiling, the slightly dusty windows, a cobweb in the corner where a fly was hopelessly struggling to get free. Suddenly, he lifted his head from his comfortable perch, as if something had caught his interest, his eyes brightened, and he said:
"I've got it! We need to spin a web and catch Elliot in it!"
Harry, who had been skeptical all day, responded with a smirk, "Genius! Trap him and don't let him out until he confesses!"
Hermione gave them both a reproachful look.
"No, no!" Ron said, trying to explain his idea more clearly. "I mean it like a metaphor. We need to set up a trap, so he gets caught and exposes himself!"
"A trap?" Hermione repeated, now interested. "But how?"
"We need bait, and then he'll walk right into it without realizing he's caught," Ron continued, thinking on the fly. "Like your potion—he needs it, right?"
Hermione nervously clutched the vial of potion under her cloak. She hadn't let it out of her sight since she'd brewed it, eagerly waiting for the required three days to pass so she could finally drink it.
"Don't worry!" Ron quickly said when he saw how his suggestion had affected her. "We're not going to give him your potion, we'll just hint that it's somewhere nearby. He'll come running after it."
This didn't completely calm Hermione, but she admitted that Ron's idea had some logic to it. Still holding onto the vial, she asked:
"But... we're not leaving the castle, right?"
Ron nodded. Harry seemed on board with the idea too and started thinking it through out loud:
"So, we need someone to drop a hint about the potion, someone he trusts..." Harry said, thinking. "That way, Elliot will act faster, knowing he only has three days before you can use the potion yourself."
Hermione nodded in agreement and, after a pause, said:
"Maybe Honeydew could do it?" She looked at Ron apologetically. He reluctantly nodded.
"Just please don't tell him what the potion is for," he asked. "I don't trust him."
"Okay," Hermione agreed. "But just mentioning the potion isn't enough. We need an actual trap to make him expose himself."
They spent the rest of the evening in a heated discussion. Each of them offered ideas and suggestions, trying to come up with the perfect plan. But the more they talked, the clearer it became that they hadn't found a good solution yet. As they grew tired, they decided to put off the discussion until the morning.
The next day, Norbert suddenly bit Ron on the hand. This incident distracted them from all their plans, especially with the day of sending the dragon to Romania fast approaching. To make matters worse, Malfoy stole Charlie's letter that detailed their plan to send Norbert away on Saturday, making the situation even more dangerous. After a quick discussion, the friends decided to postpone setting a trap for Elliot until later.
***
Finally, Saturday evening came, which meant it was time to send Norbert to Charlie. 'By tomorrow morning, that'll be one less problem,' Hermione reassured herself on the way to Hagrid's. As usual, her mind was spinning with all sorts of possible scenarios, like a kaleidoscope. For some strange reason, all of them ended badly. To be honest, Hermione wasn't very confident in the success of their nighttime plan.
She and Harry decided to leave the common room early to make sure they wouldn't be late. But as often happens when you're in a hurry, unexpected obstacles always seem to pop up. This time, Peeves was amusing himself by playing tennis against himself in the first-floor hall, and the friends decided not to risk trying to sneak past him. The poltergeist had proven time and time again that his presence meant trouble.
Watching him from a safe distance and muttering under his breath, Harry kept glancing at his watch, looking more and more worried. Finally, seeing they were running out of time, he whispered to Hermione:
"I'm afraid we have no choice but to try and sneak past Peeves. Hopefully, we'll get lucky."
But Hermione didn't need to respond. As if expecting those very words, the poltergeist shot up to the ceiling and disappeared.
"Finally beat himself, I guess," Harry joked, and they moved forward.
When they reached Hagrid, they found him standing over a large crate, crying. Inside the crate was Norbert. Hagrid looked at them sadly, and Hermione thought he seemed upset to see them. But he quickly pulled himself together and told them he had taken care of the dragon, leaving him some food, brandy, and a teddy bear for company.
Looking at the size of the crate, Hermione started to doubt their plan again.
"Are you sure we can handle this?" she whispered to Harry as they lifted the crate. Harry nodded, trying to convince both her and himself.
Each step with the heavy crate was getting harder. When they reached the castle entrance, they stopped to catch their breath. Norbert, apparently tired of the brandy, started moving around inside the crate, making a lot of noise. Hermione silently prayed for him to settle down; with all this noise, no invisibility cloak would help them. Luckily, the dragon calmed down soon, and the friends quickly grabbed the crate and hurried to the tower.
Climbing the stairs, Hermione felt every step. Her muscles ached from the strain and exhaustion, but they couldn't stop—they were running out of time. Suddenly, they heard the sounds of a struggle and stepped back into the shadows, away from the hallway. A lamp lit up, and Hermione was horrified to see Professor McGonagall just a few steps away. 'That's it, we're caught!' she thought in panic, almost dropping the crate. At the last moment, Hermione noticed that McGonagall was holding Malfoy by the ear as he squirmed and tried to break free.
It didn't get much easier. Draco kept trying to convince Professor McGonagall that Hermione and Harry would soon show up with a dragon. And, ironically, he was telling the truth. They were saved only by the invisibility cloak. Hermione held her breath, silently praying that Norbert wouldn't move or make a sound at this critical moment. This time, luck was on their side: the dragon stayed still, and Professor McGonagall, not believing Malfoy, led him away, clearing the path to the tower.
"That was close," Harry whispered in relief, and they quickly headed upstairs.
With her legs shaking from the tension, Hermione practically flew up the tower steps with Harry, forgetting her exhaustion. Once on the roof, they threw off the invisibility cloak, enjoying the cool breeze and fresh air. The hardest part was over; now they just had to wait for Charlie's friends to take the dragon. Hermione felt like singing with joy, still amazed at their luck. Especially since Malfoy, who had threatened to expose them, got caught and wasn't believed. She felt great!
Soon, Charlie's friends appeared out of the darkness on broomsticks. They picked up Norbert, waved goodbye to Harry and Hermione, then flew off and disappeared into the night sky. And with them, their problem disappeared too. It was done! Tired but happy, they started heading back down the stairs. Hermione's face was glowing with a smile. 'Finally, we got lucky, and everything went smoothly,' she thought. But it didn't last long. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a creaky voice that made them freeze:
"Well, well, well. We are in trouble." It was Filch. His eyes gleamed with triumph as he looked at them. And only then did Hermione realize they had left the invisibility cloak upstairs. The smile fell from her face, replaced by a look of despair and fear.
Hermione, barely shuffling her feet, trudged after Filch to Professor McGonagall's office. None of her worst-case scenarios had ended like this. It seemed like everything was done, but... To get caught in such a silly way! Who could have imagined?! 'That Malfoy!' Hermione thought. Because of him, they had relaxed and gotten so cheerful that they forgot everything. And now…
Even last time, when she admitted to sneaking to the library at night, she hadn't felt this scared and upset. And back then, she had a good excuse, but now she had no idea what to say! 'Maybe something about astronomy? Or astrology? `I was showing Harry how Jupiter's movement affects the chances of passing exams...` no one's going to believe that… and now our chances of passing the exams are in question too, especially if we get expelled.' Thinking about this, Hermione almost started crying right there in McGonagall's office, waiting for her fate. Only Harry's presence kept some hope alive. After all, he'd gotten into all kinds of trouble and always managed to come out of it okay. Maybe they'd get lucky this time too?
Finally, McGonagall came into the office… bringing Neville with her. Hermione even forgot about her own situation for a second, she was so surprised to see him there. And Neville, just stepping through the door, shouted:
"Harry! 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-"
He stopped, seeing Harry desperately shaking his head, warning him to stop. But it was too late. The professor had seen and heard enough to figure out what was going on. She demanded an explanation.
Hermione couldn't bring herself to lie to McGonagall about astrology, especially since even she wouldn't believe it. Standing in front of the professor, she lowered her head, afraid to meet her eyes. Deep down, Hermione felt that McGonagall was especially disappointed in her—after all, she was considered the professor's favorite. She wished she could sink into the ground rather than feel that burning gaze...
In her mind, Hermione was already saying goodbye to school. It seemed ironic that after overcoming all the challenges with the potion and escaping Nightshade's traps, she'd get caught over something so foolish. But to her surprise, McGonagall offered an explanation herself: that they had outsmarted Malfoy, set him up, and then decided to check if their trick had worked. Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it seemed that a story about a dragon sounded even less believable to the professor.
When Professor McGonagall announced their punishment, adding that Gryffindor would lose fifty points from the House cup because of what they'd done, Hermione thought, 'Oh no!' All her hard work, all the points she'd earned now seemed for nothing. 'And how upset the girls will be!' They had often talked in their room about the tight competition with Slytherin for first place, and now they were finally ahead...
"Fifty?" Harry asked, feeling crushed.
"Fifty points each," McGonagall clarified, looking straight at Hermione.
"Professor - please..." Hermione pleaded.
She couldn't have imagined this in her worst nightmare. She thought about how the other Gryffindors would react the next day when they found out what had happened. 'Maybe it would have been better if we'd just been expelled,' she thought, imagining the anger and disappointment of her housemates.