Seeing Harry's surprised expression, Hermione wasn't surprised at all.
She then repeated word by word, "I said, have you ever thought about dating Ginny?"
Harry looked at Hermione, stunned for quite a while before reacting.
"Hermione, you know me."
He said somewhat awkwardly. "Of course I've never thought about that. I've always thought of Ginny as a sister."
"That's natural."
Hermione said with a smile. "You've always been a good brother, even better than Ron, her actual brother, but..."
At this point, Hermione suddenly changed tack. "What I mean is, have you ever considered that Ginny actually doesn't want you to be her brother?
Or rather, she doesn't want you to be only her brother."
This time Harry understood.
But understanding was one thing—he quickly began shaking his head vigorously. "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
He looked at Hermione and said firmly.
"Hermione, I know you've always been smart. But you still don't understand this aspect of feelings. How could Ginny possibly think that way—she's so young!"
Hearing Harry say she didn't understand, Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
"So, you really don't understand... You know what? Ginny has actually never given up on you."
Hermione looked at Harry and said gently.
"Never truly given up—she's always held onto hope...
It was I who told her to live her life, try getting along with other people, and relax a bit around you.
You should remember, before, whenever you were in the room, she couldn't even speak.
I thought that if Ginny had more of her own self, you might notice her more."
Harry looked at Hermione. Even as obtuse as he was, at this moment he realized Hermione wasn't joking.
"Hermione, you..."
"Ginny has actually done very well. If nothing unexpected had happened, she would definitely have been able to reach you naturally in the future...
But neither she nor I expected that Cho Chang would suddenly appear in your world."
Hermione paused, then continued.
"You know, I was fully involved in the case of Cho Chang's eye shadow.
But when Penelope brought Cho to thank Sherlock, I was still worried that Sherlock might end up with her!"
At this point, Hermione laughed self-mockingly.
"As it turns out, I was really overthinking it. Sherlock had no such thoughts at all. But none of us expected that you would unexpectedly hit it off with Cho, and then continue all the way to today.
So, Harry, you like Cho, right?"
Harry was stumped by Hermione's question.
Did he like Cho or not?
Did this even need asking? Of course he liked her!
She was not only beautiful, but also brave, upright, kind...
Harry could hardly find a single flaw in her.
It was just that, with a girl like this, who wouldn't like her?
"I don't know if you've noticed, but after that trip to Hogsmeade, Ginny became somewhat different from before."
Harry nodded lightly, recalling the changes in Ginny.
Since returning from Hogsmeade, she was no longer so uneasy, but instead had gained a certain firmness, with a light in her eyes he'd never noticed before.
Hermione saw this and a smile of encouragement rose to her lips.
"You see, Harry, this is why I need to remind you.
Ginny's feelings for you have never been those of a sister for a brother. She needs you to see her as a real girl.
The world of emotions isn't always so black and white."
She paused, continuing in a gentle tone. "Think about it—if Cho hadn't appeared, how would you have chosen?
Ginny has always been by your side, silently supporting you, like an undiscovered treasure.
Harry, I think you need to get to know her again, as a girl, not as your sister anymore.
Give Ginny a chance, that might just be the first step in helping her emerge from the shadows."
Harry looked at Hermione, the image of Ginny and Cho Chang's brilliant smile repeatedly overlapping in his mind.
He rubbed his already messy black hair somewhat irritably, his voice low and struggling. "Hermione... I understand what you mean.
Even if Ginny's feelings for me... might... indeed be more than sisterly..."
"Not might—definitely!"
Hermione leaned forward half a step, her voice carrying a rare urgency, not even noticing Harry instinctively shrinking his shoulders back.
"I already confirmed it with her this morning!"
Harry frowned, a hint of resistance in his tone. "Even so, I like Cho now, I can't just because of this..."
He didn't understand why Hermione wanted to tell him about this.
Wasn't this just creating trouble for him?
Now it was great—he knew about this, and indeed, as Hermione said, it was difficult to think of her as a sister anymore. But then what?
He couldn't just give up on Cho Chang because of this, could he?
Moreover, with Hermione making such a fuss, he'd probably feel awkward whenever he saw Ginny in the future.
"I'm not asking you to give up on Cho!"
But Hermione interrupted him at this moment.
However, the moment the words left her mouth, she herself paused.
Her fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of her robes, her ear tips slightly flushed, as if she too realized her tone had been too harsh.
But she didn't wait for Harry to respond, anxiously continuing, avoiding Harry's gaze and looking toward the reeds by the lake. "I'm not forcing you to see her as a girl, it's just... don't keep boxing her in with the label of 'sister' anymore.
You don't have to like her, but at least don't ignore her feelings—that would be too cruel to her.
Her feelings for you aren't a joke. You should at least..."
"Hermione, can you let me speak first?"
Harry finally couldn't help interrupting her, his brow furrowing tighter. "This is making me very confused, and... you seem to only be thinking about Ginny."
Harry's words were like a small stone thrown into water. Hermione's speaking pace suddenly slowed.
She opened her mouth, the reasoning she'd prepared suddenly stuck, her fingers gripping the corner of her robes loosening and tightening again.
After a moment, she took a deep breath, stepped back half a pace, and her speaking pace slowed. "Sorry..."
Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed her forehead, her gaze falling back to the wrinkled corner of her robes, her voice softening.
"I just... Ginny has hidden it for too long. Seeing her clearly like you but only able to watch you be good to someone else, I got a bit anxious... so anxious I forgot to ask if you wanted to hear this."
The certainty in her tone diminished by more than half, replaced by an uncertainty she herself hadn't noticed.
Harry was stunned.
After all, this was the first time he'd seen Hermione like this.
Forcefulness wrapped in panic, certainty hiding apology.
But he had to admit that even so, Hermione's words were like a stone thrown into a calm water surface, stirring up unprecedented ripples in his heart.
At least her description of his and Cho Chang's relationship was objective.
Even though it now seemed there was only a layer of window paper between them, but...
If it wasn't pierced, it wasn't pierced.
"However, there's one thing you haven't even considered—and that's Ron."
Harry stared at the ripples on the lake surface, his voice deepening. "If he knew..."
Hermione's brow furrowed subtly. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately only let out a soft "Oh."
She indeed hadn't had time to think about Ron's reaction—her mind was full of Ginny's grievances.
Harry also fell silent.
He felt a mixture of confusion and helplessness intertwining.
Since it was still relatively early, there was no one else by the lake besides them.
So only slight breathing sounds and the rustling of wind remained.
After quite a while, Harry suddenly raised his head as if awakened.
His green eyes still held a trace of complexity, but he didn't want to continue discussing this topic anymore.
He needed to pivot.
"Ahem!"
Harry cleared his somewhat dry throat.
"Alright, Hermione, I understand what you mean...
I'll try to pay attention. I mean, I'll think about it carefully..."
"Oh, right! Now it's my turn to tell you what I wanted to say!"
At this point, Harry's voice suddenly became lighter.
He vaguely swept past this topic, which made Hermione frown in dissatisfaction.
But seeing Harry change the subject, she realized she couldn't continue either.
At this moment, she could only silently say in her heart. Ginny, this is all I can help you with.
"So you're going to tell me about last night now?"
She was indeed very interested in what happened when Sherlock and Harry went to see Hagrid last night.
After all, for Harry to be so eager to explain to her just now, it must be somewhat interesting.
But what Hermione didn't expect was that Harry opened with a bombshell. "We saw Gemma Farley last night!"
Σ(｀д′*ノ)ノ
At this moment, Hermione's expression instantly changed.
Noticing Hermione's pupils visibly contract, Harry continued.
"That's right, it's Gemma. She's back!
She looks well. Um... she specifically asked about Sherlock."
o(￣皿￣///)
"Harry, are you doing this on purpose?"
Hermione said through gritted teeth, word by word.
Seeing his friend already showing signs of anxiety and irritation, Harry stopped teasing her, though he felt quite satisfied inside.
The two walked along the lakeside for a long time. Harry told Hermione everything about the dragons and what Gemma, Hagrid, and Charlie had said.
As Harry spoke, he observed Hermione's reactions.
At this moment, he seemed to have found a breakthrough to even the score, deliberately lowering his voice and encouraging her.
"So that's why I'm saying, it's no use just being anxious about me and Ginny—you need to care about yourself too!
Sherlock is like a block of wood when it comes to emotions, Hermione. You need to be proactive!
Look, Gemma just came back and immediately asked about him. Isn't this a great opportunity?"
"Opportunity? What opportunity?"
This time it was Hermione's turn to ask Harry to explain more clearly.
Harry smiled slightly. "You need to find a way to knock some sense into him, just like you're knocking sense into me now.
Some feelings need external force to push them before they can reveal their true form."
"Harry, are you joking with me?"
Hermione looked at her good friend with complete exasperation. "Me, knock sense into Sherlock?"
But connecting this to the second half of Harry's statement, Hermione immediately realized—Harry was hinting at her!
Sure enough, Harry looked at Hermione and smiled.
"No more joking—you should hurry and find an opportunity to act.
After the first task ends, they'll be able to meet."
"Thank you for telling me this, Harry.
You're right. In this world where tomorrow is increasingly unclear, we should indeed grasp some tangible emotions and connections within reach.
Even if... they don't ultimately lead to a single answer."
Hermione took a deep breath. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore—the priority now is still to figure out how to deal with the dragons."
Harry was startled at this.
Why did Hermione sound just like Sherlock?
Her mental adjustment speed was much faster than he'd imagined.
However, Hermione's next sentence made Harry understand the reason. "First we need to ensure you both can survive until Tuesday night, then we can consider other matters."
When Harry and Hermione hurried back to the Great Hall, there was already no one there.
They stopped at the entrance. Hermione instinctively tidied her wind-tousled brown curls while Harry scratched the back of his head.
The two exchanged a brief glance. Without wasting words, they reached a consensus and turned toward the library.
Sure enough, they spotted Sherlock at a glance, sitting in the second-to-last row by the window.
He had a thick leather-bound book spread on the table, his fingertips holding a quill, writing something rapidly on parchment.
It was clear that Sherlock seemed somewhat impatient at this moment.
But upon seeing Harry and Hermione, he still appeared quite pleased.
When the two came before him, Sherlock's gaze swept over Harry's somewhat messy black hair, then settled on Hermione's face.
His voice wasn't loud, but very clear. "I thought you'd come earlier. I've been getting rather impatient waiting."
"Sherlock, we..."
Harry was about to explain when Sherlock waved his hand.
"I know you've already told Hermione. You've come at just the right time. Let's begin now."
"Begin?" Harry looked at Sherlock in surprise, somewhat unable to follow his train of thought.
"To deal with dragons, we must first understand dragons."
As Sherlock spoke, he pushed the book on the table toward them. The pages displayed a blurry illustration of a dragon—it was a book called Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit.
His fingertips lightly tapped on the illustration, his tone carrying a hint of regret.
"Unfortunately, among the knowledge we've learned so far, there's very little content on this subject."
As soon as he finished speaking, his expression became sharp. "Harry, go find Cedric and tell him about last night, then go find Miss Chang."
"Cho?"
Harry was stunned again.
After all, he'd just talked with Hermione about this issue. His brow unconsciously furrowed, his fingertips instinctively tightening on the hem of his clothes.
"Yes. Ravenclaw has many knowledge-repository type talents. You need to ask for her help."
Sherlock nodded, then added.
"However, you must remind Cedric and Miss Chang to keep this confidential, otherwise our big friend is going to be in trouble."
Harry immediately nodded vigorously.
Both emotionally and rationally, they couldn't let Hagrid get into trouble because of this.
Only after Harry's figure disappeared through the door did Sherlock turn back to Hermione, his eyes sparkling.
"Dear Hermione, I need your help."
"I've always been doing just that, dear Sherlock."
Hermione replied softly, the corner of her mouth were curving into a faint smile.
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