Gryffindor Common Room.
As if to highlight just how vastly different the two houses' ideals were, Gryffindor stood in direct contrast to Slytherin's deep, underground location. Perched on the eighth floor of the castle, it was also known as Gryffindor Tower.
Likewise, entry into Gryffindor House required a password.
And just like any other house, if Hermione wanted to sneak back to her dormitory, she had no choice but to pass through the Gryffindor common room…
After passing the entrance guarded by the portrait of the Fat Lady, the first thing that greeted you was a room filled with soft armchairs and low tables, along with a massive fireplace that occupied an entire wall.
In winter, curling up here would probably make anyone feel lazy enough to never want to lift a finger.
On top of that, unlike Slytherin's location beneath the lake, the elevated Gryffindor common room offered wide views through its windows. From here, you could even see the Quidditch Pitch, still awaiting renovation.
And this common room, with its view over nearly the entire school, welcomed back a just-returned Hermione Granger at the stroke of midnight…
...
The ever-burning fireplace.
It kept the common room bright and warm at all hours of the day.
Even at a time when everyone should have been tucked into bed, it showed no intention of going out.
Who knew whether, when it was designed this way, someone had already anticipated that Gryffindor students would never be particularly well-behaved.
Much like Hermione, who was deliberately softening her footsteps right now…
"Hm? Who's there?"
She had assumed she would slip in unnoticed, just like before. But the moment Hermione stepped into the common room, she spotted a figure standing in front of the fireplace.
Startled, her heart skipped a beat.
And her sudden appearance seemed to shock the unexpected figure as well…
"Hermione??"
"…Harry Potter?!"
Hermione wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but the color of the flames in the fireplace seemed different from usual. Harry Potter deliberately shifted his position, blocking her line of sight with his body. The way he moved made it seem as though he were hiding something.
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Hermione looked straight at Harry Potter.
"I left a book here. But at this hour… why are you here?"
As she spoke, Hermione casually picked up a book from the nearby table and gave it a small shake.
Realizing that Harry Potter hadn't seen her come in from outside, Hermione took the initiative to question him first, placing herself in the more reasonable position.
And the book on the table wasn't a spur-of-the-moment choice or quick improvisation.
In fact, careful yet bold as she was, Hermione had deliberately left this book here before her date. Harry Potter, for his part, didn't seem to suspect a thing…
Something's definitely off.
Her doubts growing, Hermione hugged the book to her chest and slowly edged closer to Harry Potter.
That probing movement made Harry Potter instinctively glance back at the crackling fireplace.
"Uh… I couldn't sleep, so I came out to walk around a bit. I'll head back soon."
"I see."
Though Hermione said that, her eyes clearly didn't believe a word of his explanation.
Still, she didn't call him out. She simply nodded, then turned and headed toward the staircase leading up to the girls' dormitory.
Only after Hermione disappeared up the stairs did Harry Potter finally let out a sigh of relief…
Little did he know.
If he had just stopped to think calmly for a moment, he would have realized that the direction Hermione had appeared from wasn't anywhere near the girls' dormitory stairs.
More importantly, her robes were slightly disheveled, and her cheeks still carried a lingering, lovely flush that hadn't fully faded.
But flustered as he was, Harry Potter noticed none of it, nor did he register these details that were, by any standard, highly suspicious…
...
She slipped quietly into her dormitory, and only then did Hermione finally let out a soft breath of relief.
It had to be said that everything she'd experienced tonight wasn't just something worth remembering in the future. It carried a different kind of excitement as well…
She deliberately lightened her footsteps.
Hope they don't wake up.
After checking that no one else had been disturbed, Hermione carefully changed out of her robes and formal dress. If anyone had seen the clothes she put away, though, they would have noticed that something seemed to be missing from that outfit.
Once she'd changed into her pink pajamas, the seductive air she'd carried atop the Astronomy Tower faded away, replaced by the youthful liveliness fitting for her age…
"Mmm~"
Hermione let herself sink into the soft, springy bed, letting out a comfortable little sound.
In that moment, it felt as though all her exhaustion vanished at once. She'd thought she would fall asleep immediately, but instead, she found herself wide awake, not a hint of drowsiness in sight.
I actually… really… it feels like a dream.
Lightly touching her lips, Hermione's beautiful eyes drifted, unfocused, as her thoughts wandered.
The next second, she hugged her pillow and began rolling around on the bed.
The sight was undeniably cute.
Whether anyone saw it or not was another matter, but the noise she made ended up accidentally waking her roommate…
"Is… that you, Hermione?"
"Huh?!"
"Did you lose another book today?" In the dim light, a figure could be seen sitting up and rubbing their eyes while looking in Hermione's direction. Judging by the tone, this clearly wasn't the first time.
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Hermione stopped rolling around and replied in a voice deliberately made to sound sleepy.
"Ah… yeah. We still have class tomorrow. Go back to sleep early."
At that point, one thing became perfectly clear.
That excuse about losing a book in the common room hadn't been made without reason…
...
Elsewhere.
At the very moment Hermione was racking her brain to keep everything from being discovered, another figure stood before a fireplace.
In the Slytherin common room.
Naturally, this wasn't the Chosen One Harry Potter, who was far away in the Gryffindor common room, but Draco Malfoy, who had only just parted ways with Hermione.
Holding Crookshanks in his arms, Draco gazed into the fire, the flames reflected in his eyes making them look unusually deep.
What was strange, though, was that the color reflected there wasn't the normal fiery red, but an eerie, sickly green…
And just then, in this otherwise empty common room, a voice suddenly rang out, its tone exaggerated and distinctly unserious.
"Ah-ha! Well, if it isn't our little Malfoy."
Staring into the green flames of the fireplace, Draco idly stroked Crookshanks as he settled into an ornately carved chair by the hearth…