With an official name, this group that had initially just come together by chance suddenly felt formal. The group discussed some rules together—like any new members must be approved by everyone, no destroying each other's belongings, and SSC members should protect each other when facing professors or other students, among others.
Vid initially thought this was somewhat like a game—such a small group, gathering when they felt like it and leaving when they didn't, so why set rules? But everyone else participated seriously, which gave Vid a strange feeling.
As if he had really joined some secret organization.
...
"Valerian was used in Ancient Greece as an antidote, and discoveries in the 16th century—up to now, its medicinal values have been known as follows: the extract of its stems and leaves can expel toxins—the pollen can resist the poisonous gas emitted by a basilisk—Valerian has been widely cultivated, and the method of cultivation is—care must be taken during cultivation—"
Vid put down the last letter on the parchment, finishing yesterday's Herbology assignment. As for other subjects' assignments, he had already completed them all on the day of the lessons. Vid checked the grammar again, and after the ink dried, rolled up the parchment.
"Vid, have you finished your homework?" Hermione leaned over and asked.
"Yes."
"I need to tell you something," Hermione said in a low voice.
The two moved to the other side of the classroom, and Vid waved his magic wand: "Muffliato."
—so that no matter how loud they spoke, others would only hear a slight buzzing.
Vid looked at Hermione's worried expression and asked, "What happened?"
"It's like this, the day before yesterday afternoon, that guy Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel at midnight in the trophy room. I knew right away that guy wasn't up to any good, because he doesn't have the guts!" Hermione said angrily, "But Harry and Ron wouldn't listen to my advice, all for—male pride—they're just too selfish! They didn't even think about how many points would be deducted if they got caught! Not considering the house's honor at all!"
Hermione took a few deep breaths, suppressing her anger before continuing, "Of course, that's not the point—because luckily we didn't get caught, although it was close—"
"—'We?'" Vid caught the key word.
"Yes. When I was stopping them from doing something stupid, I accidentally got locked outside the common room and had no choice but to go with them," Hermione frowned, saying with disgust, "Turns out Malfoy didn't go to the trophy room, and he even tipped off Filch—that mean guy! Then when we were running away, we stumbled into a locked room—"
Hermione suddenly lowered her voice and asked, "Vid, do you remember what Professor Dumbledore said at the beginning of the term?"
Vid thought for a moment; Dumbledore's speech was generally brief, but he remembered most—
"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak?"
"Oh, not that!" Hermione rolled her eyes and reminded him, "It was—Anyone who does not wish to encounter a nasty death—"
"—shouldn't go to the third-floor corridor?" Vid remembered, "You went to the third floor? What did you see?"
"Yes. We accidentally ended up on the third floor and saw a—" Hermione swallowed, still a bit scared, "a three-headed dog as tall as a house!"
"—how did you survive?" Vid was speechless. He barely remembered these details and hadn't expected Hermione and the others to encounter such adventures so early. He said, "I remember reading about such a creature in a book. Though today's three-headed dog is not the legendary Hellhound, its teeth can easily crush a skull, and they are covered in corrosive poison that makes wounds hard to heal."
"At first, it might not have reacted, but then it roared and lunged at us, we were almost eaten by it!" Hermione clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly, "It's unbelievable that the school would keep such a dangerous creature in the castle! Even if it's for guarding something, what if another reckless student stumbles in?! Does the school not care about the safety of its students at all?"
Vid made a casual joke, "Maybe the Magic School has some death quota or something? A few students dying each year is trivial; it just reminds others to take professors' words seriously!"
"—That kind of thing!" Hermione exclaimed in horror, grabbing her face and speaking incoherently, "But I didn't see that in 'Hogwarts: A History'—of course, such things wouldn't be in books—it's too terrifying! How could the Ministry of Magic allow—"
Vid hadn't expected her to take his words seriously and quickly raised his hand to apologize, "Sorry! Hermione, I was just joking. Don't take it seriously—"
Hermione stared at him, her brown eyes even welling up with tears.
This time, Vid genuinely felt a twinge of guilt. He sincerely said again, "I'm sorry, I just thought you seemed scared, so I made a joke. But it turned into a morbid joke—I'm such an idiot! Don't be mad—"
Hermione kept quiet with a stern face, not talking to Vid for quite some time out of anger.
It wasn't until practice ended and everyone else had left that Vid stopped Hermione to apologize repeatedly, finally getting the girl to relent.
Hermione lowered her head and said gloomily, "Actually, I know—everyone doesn't like me—but I consider you my friend, don't tease me like others do—"
Vid's heart softened completely, and the guilt nearly drowned him. It was at the level where he'd slap himself awake in the middle of the night—because he knew Hermione was having a hard time in Gryffindor lately, which made her sensitive and fragile. He raised two fingers as if taking an oath and earnestly said, "I'm sorry, I promise it won't happen again."
Hermione looked into his eyes for a long time before she softly said, "A joke is only a joke if both sides find it funny."
"I'll remember that," Vid said, feeling ashamed. Such a simple truth, yet he needed an eleven-year-old girl to teach him. Had he really taken himself as a carefree little boy in this new life?
Looking at the cowlick on top of his head, Hermione smiled slightly.
"Alright, I'm not mad anymore," the girl said, clearing her throat, "back to the three-headed dog—actually, I wanted to discuss with you whether I should tell Professor McGonagall."
"You want to tell Professor McGonagall about the safety issue with the three-headed dog?" Vid instantly caught her meaning.
"Yes." Hermione frustratingly messed up her already messy hair and said, "Though they locked the room, anyone could open it with an Unlocking Charm. What if a curious student goes in—oh, I want to suggest to Professor McGonagall to magically hide that room strongly, but that would expose that we violated the school rules—"
"Why not think about it from another angle, Hermione?" Vid considered for a moment before saying, "Maybe the door is meant to be opened by someone."