It was Harry, but he looked visibly on edge, his eyes darting nervously around.
"Harry? Why are you still out here?" Hermione asked, her voice tinged with surprise. She was already suspicious of his behavior. Out so late? Was he planning another one of his nighttime escapades?!
Harry jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice, his face going pale as he pressed himself against the wall. When he saw who it was, he let out a small sigh of relief, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.
"You scared me! Oh, it's just you two," Harry said, his tone a mix of frustration and exhaustion. He glanced briefly at Glenn, who stood behind Hermione, but didn't bother to engage. With a dismissive wave, he added, "Don't even ask. You probably heard about the fight between our Quidditch team and Slytherin this morning. Because of that, Professor McGonagall punished me. She sent me to the hospital wing to see Lockhart—he specifically asked for me."
At this, Harry's frustration boiled over. He couldn't believe that Lockhart, lying in the hospital wing, had summoned him just to help reply to fan letters. It was absurd!
Harry vented about how he'd spent the entire evening copying replies. "I've never written so much in my life," he said bitterly.
"Wow, that's really rough," Hermione said sympathetically. For once, she refrained from lecturing him. The poor boy had suffered enough under Lockhart's torment.
"But since you're here, I wanted to ask you something," Harry said, his thoughts returning to the matter at hand. His expression turned serious as he asked Glenn and Hermione, "Did you hear a voice just now—a creepy, cold, and malicious voice?"
"What? Could you say that again?" Hermione asked, puzzled. She wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly. A voice? What kind of voice? She and Glenn had walked quietly toward the Gryffindor common room without speaking. If there had been such a voice, she would have noticed.
Seeing the confusion on Hermione's face, Harry impatiently repeated himself. But deep down, he knew Glenn and Hermione probably hadn't heard it.
Harry began to doubt himself.
What was going on? This was so bizarre. Lockhart hadn't heard it, and now these two hadn't either. Was he imagining things?
Harry's confidence wavered.
"No, Glenn and I didn't hear any strange sounds," Hermione said. Glenn nodded in agreement, indicating the same.
"Alright, forget it. I'm going to bed. I've got more letters to help Lockhart with in the coming days. Goodnight." Harry, his face dark, muttered the password and disappeared into the passage leading to the Gryffindor common room.
"Good luck," Hermione said sympathetically, watching Harry's lonely figure vanish. Poor guy.
Turning to Glenn, Hermione let go of his hand and smiled. "Alright, you can stop here. You can't enter the girls' dormitory anyway." She adjusted her hair and waved at him. "I'm heading back now. Be careful on your way back. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Hermione," Glenn nodded, assuring her he'd be careful.
After exchanging goodnights, Glenn returned to his dormitory without encountering anything unusual along the way.
When he arrived, Draco was already dressed in tactical gear, ready to go, sitting on the sofa and reading a textbook by the light of a small lamp.
"You're back? Shall we go?" Draco stood up as Glenn entered, asking.
"Let's go." Glenn snapped his fingers, instantly changing into his own gear.
Evening training waits for no one.
---
The next day, Glenn finished installing all the recording devices at Hagrid's place, hiding them among the leaves and casting concealment charms over them. After that, he left the matter alone.
There was no need to check on it daily. Once a week, or after a few more of Hagrid's roosters died, would be the right time to review the recordings.
In the meantime, Hermione and Hagrid decided it would be safer for Hermione to skip her cooking practice sessions at Hagrid's until the mystery was solved.
Glenn fully supported this decision.
Not for any other reason—just because it was safer for Hermione. Increasing the number of trips outside the school would raise the risk of accidents. Unless absolutely necessary, it was better to stay within Hogwarts.
Really.
No other reason.
"Are you sure you're not just happy you won't have to eat the food Hagrid and I cook?" Hermione asked suspiciously. She noticed Glenn seemed unusually enthusiastic about this decision and questioned him.
"I'm supporting this because I agree with Hagrid's reasoning. Venturing outside Hogwarts when we know nothing about the danger is unwise," Glenn explained seriously. "Besides, Hermione, you and I both know that even within Hogwarts, there have been incidents proving it's not entirely safe. We shouldn't take unnecessary risks—"
Hermione stared at Glenn, her eyes narrowing into a deadpan expression. "But Glenn, you don't usually talk this much. Are you sure you're not feeling guilty?"
Glenn: ...
When did this little witch become so sharp?!
With a blank face, Glenn replied, "No, I'm simply analyzing the situation logically. We shouldn't leave the school unnecessarily."
"Oh, alright then." Hermione stood up, grabbed a handful of Glenn's hair, and playfully ruffled it. "In that case, the time we would've spent at Hagrid's can be used in the Room of Requirement, where you can tutor me one-on-one."
Glenn: ...
"Fine."
Fortunately, Hermione's cooking, when she followed a recipe step by step, was actually decent. As a studious overachiever, she'd even started using chemical equipment Glenn had bought for her to precisely measure ingredients and seasonings. Her cooking was more meticulous than her potion-making, and the results were definitely edible. At least Glenn was willing to share the meals she prepared with her.
"So it really was Hagrid's fault, wasn't it? I knew it! There's no way my cooking, after all this effort, could taste that bad. It wasn't my fault that Harry and the others got sick from it," Hermione said, venting her frustrations to Glenn as she tasted her own cooking. That incident had bothered her for ages.
Though she wouldn't admit it outright, Hermione had been quite upset about it!
Hmph!
Glenn didn't offer any words of comfort. He simply continued his role of guiding, tasting, and providing honest feedback.
Even so, Hermione's progress was visible to the naked eye.
It really was Hagrid's fault!
This only strengthened her conviction.
Hermione's journey as a chef was just beginning. The little witch still had a long way to go!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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