"Ron, are Dean and Seamus asleep yet?"
Around half past eleven at night, Harry suddenly sat up in his bed and whispered to Ron, who was sleeping in the bed next to his. Not everyone was as lucky as Dudley, who could have a room to himself. Harry lived in a four-person dorm in Gryffindor.
Earlier that day, during their flying lesson, Harry had gotten into an argument with Malfoy again, and they ended up chasing each other on their brooms, didn't they? They were chasing each other in the air for ages but couldn't seem to get a clear winner, and it all ended rather uneventfully because of Madam Hooch. After class, Malfoy furiously 'challenged' Harry to a duel, setting the time for midnight and the location as the Trophy Room.
Since the agreed-upon time was in the middle of the night, the two of them went to bed early right after dinner, which was perfect since it meant they missed Hermione returning to the common room. Harry wasn't aware of what had been happening to Hermione in Gryffindor; Hermione hadn't even told Dudley about it, so Harry certainly didn't know. As for what he'd observed himself, you can't expect a straightforward guy like Harry to notice such details. Besides, lately, his mind was completely focused on Malfoy—er, rather, on how to kick Malfoy's butt with his shoes.
The two of them secretly got dressed and tiptoed out of the dorm in the dark, trying to navigate their way out of the common room by the light of the moon outside the window. Unfortunately, Ron wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into a table by the fireplace, making a loud noise.
"Who's there?"
A voice suddenly rang out in the quiet room, startling both of them. They thought some strange creature had appeared and almost clung to each other in fear. When they finally calmed down, they realized it was Hermione.
"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Harry asked curiously.
Because of what had happened earlier, Hermione didn't really want to go back to her dorm. Cormac's words had given her a warning. She didn't know who in the dorm had done what happened that morning, but she was certain someone had. She had intended to read on the common room sofa, but perhaps she was too tired from playing in the Forbidden Forest during the day. In any case, Hermione dozed off while resting on the sofa.
"Where are you two going?"
After she woke up, Hermione didn't answer Harry's question but instead asked her own. She could say she fell asleep reading too late, but what were Harry and Ron doing up so late? By the light of the moon outside, she looked them up and down and saw that they weren't wearing their pajamas.
"You're going on a night-time wander?" Hermione saw through their plan and exclaimed, "I can't believe it. You two want to go out in the middle of the night?"
"Shhh! Quiet down!" Ron said, afraid Hermione would wake the others.
Hermione ignored Ron and stared at Harry. "Don't you know doing this will lose points for Gryffindor? You want to hand the House Cup to Slytherin?"
"I can't let you do this." Hermione blocked their path with her hands. Even though she was being ostracized, she was still trying her best to protect the interests of her House, even if no one else seemed to care.
"You're breaking school rules!"
If it had been anyone else, Harry probably wouldn't have listened, but this was Hermione. He and Hermione had a pretty good relationship, and Hedwig was a gift from both Hermione and Dudley. He also knew that Dudley and Hermione were very close, so close that it made him a little unhappy.
He's my brother, after all.
Of course, it was only a little bit of unhappiness.
Should he back out?
Maybe he could. After all, he could always beat up Malfoy another time. So, he wavered.
However, Ron's attitude was exceptionally firm at that moment. He retorted without a hint of weakness, "You've broken school rules yourself, haven't you? Don't think I don't know—I saw you skipping class this afternoon."
At these words, Hermione was instantly speechless. All her arguments got stuck in her throat. It was true that she had skipped class that afternoon. Although she could have explained that even if she were caught, she could make up the lost points, she couldn't be a hypocrite. She couldn't very well say, "I can do it, but you can't," could she? That wouldn't be very convincing. Dudley had told her that to earn someone's trust, you have to lead by example.
"Nothing to say, huh? Then move out of the way and go back to sleep." Ron saw that Hermione didn't respond and thought he had stumped her. He pulled Harry and was about to leave.
"Wait..." Hermione's voice came again. "I'm coming with you."
"What?" Harry thought he had misheard her.
What was going on? What was wrong with Hermione today, the very person who usually feared losing even a single point for breaking a rule? Skipping class with Dudley in the afternoon, and now wandering around at night with them? Since Harry wasn't as good at school as Dudley, he wasn't chosen to be an exchange student at Oxford Dragon, so he didn't know that this wasn't the first time Hermione had skipped class with Dudley.
"I said I'm coming with you." Hermione sighed and took out her wand. "Dudley was right. If you don't get caught, it's not breaking the rules."
Seeing that they hadn't reacted, she urged them, "Hurry up. The later it gets, the higher the risk of getting caught."
Ron and Harry exchanged a look.
"Just so we're clear," Ron said, "you can come, but I'm not going to look out for you. If we get caught, don't rat us out."
Hermione retorted indignantly, "I know more spells than you do. You just worry about yourself."
The Trophy Room was on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle, a bit of a distance from the Gryffindor common room, but overall closer than the Slytherin dungeon. The main thing to watch out for during a night-time wander was Filch, the caretaker. He was a stooped and grim-faced old man who was especially strict with students. If he caught you, losing points was a given.
Of course, there was also Peeves, who could pop out at any time. He was a ghost who loved to play pranks and was particularly annoying.
Hermione certainly proved her words were true. She knew a completely different number of spells than the two boys. Midway through, if it weren't for a simple little spell Hermione cast to help them avoid the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, Harry and Ron would have been caught shortly after leaving the common room.
After a close call avoiding Mrs. Norris, the three of them walked briskly down the corridor. Moonlight streamed in from the high windows, creating silver bricks on the floor.
When they reached the third floor, they tiptoed and pushed open the Trophy Room door. It was silent inside, and no one was there.
"Looks like we're early," Ron said, as he was the first to walk in. He added, "When Malfoy and his friends get here, I'm going to have a good laugh at them."
The three of them found a spot to rest in the Trophy Room, waiting quietly for Malfoy and his friends.
Time passed slowly.
It was still quiet all around. Forget Malfoy, not even a mouse was there. After what felt like ages, Ron's face finally showed impatience. He grabbed his hair in frustration and spoke with perfect hindsight, "Damn it, I knew this would happen. Malfoy and his friends aren't coming. Slytherins are cowards, I should have known."
"Harry, we've been played."
Just as Ron said this, the Trophy Room door opened once more.
"Who said I'm a coward?"
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