This was Hermione's first time in the boys' dormitory.
Perhaps because magic made everyday life so convenient, the place was cleaner and tidier than she'd imagined.
That impression vanished the instant she spotted the smelly socks Ron had stashed under his bed.
Oh, and there was a notebook on the floor. Neville must have left it behind again.
Right now, most people, boys especially, were down in the Common Room celebrating the Gryffindor team's victory. When she slipped in, Harry's dormitory was silent and completely empty.
Hermione quietly lifted her Disillusionment Charm and searched the room from top to bottom. There was no sign of Scabbers.
After searching for so long, she realized she'd actually started to understand Ron. He'd flown into such a red-faced rage because he was worried sick about Scabbers, hadn't he?
Bent over for so long that her back ached and she could barely straighten up, she frowned and thought: at least he really cared about Scabbers, or he wouldn't have fought with her over it.
Hmph. Whatever happened, once she found Scabbers, Ron could no longer take it out on her Crookshanks!
With that thought, she finished going through the whole room, cast another Disillusionment Charm, and crept out.
"I told you we wouldn't find him."
The moment she stepped out, Kate caught her hand with uncanny precision, as if guided by some higher power, and pulled her to a secluded spot. "I told you we wouldn't find him," she said, arms folded.
Hermione glanced around. She'd only searched this one room, and there were a dozen or more left. Surely they weren't going to go through them one by one?
And even if they could, walking into a strange boy's room made her feel awkward. If she weren't on good terms with Harry, Ron and the others, she wouldn't have set foot in theirs either.
She wasn't Bai Zhantang, the Thief Saint from Kate's old bedtime stories, who made a habit of sneaking into ladies' chambers.
"Don't worry, I've got a way."
Kate pulled her behind her, then flicked and swished her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
In an instant, the entire Gryffindor Tower began to shake.
Hermione didn't react in time. She swayed, about to topple over, when Kate's hand shot out and yanked her back.
Once she got her bearings and realized what Kate had done, she clutched Kate's arm with both hands and hissed urgently, "What are you doing?!"
Hadn't she noticed? Everyone thought it was an earthquake and had come scrambling and tumbling out of their rooms.
"That's why I picked this corner," Kate said, patting her hand. "Don't worry, nobody's going to run into you here."
Hermione was speechless. Was that what she was worried about?
What she wanted to know was why finding Scabbers required this much fuss, and why people who had nothing to do with it were getting dragged in!
But before she could urge Kate to lift the spell, she spotted a familiar rat darting out from under the feet of several panicking boys.
"It's Scabbers!" Her voice rose before she could stop it.
Luckily, in the chaos, nobody cared that a girl's voice had turned up in the boys' dormitory.
Kate made up her mind at once. "Quick, throw the jar I gave you! If he gets away again, he'll be hard to find!"
Hermione didn't stop to think. She pulled out the strange glass jar and, heart pounding, hurled it toward Scabbers.
The fine golden threads inside the jar seemed to come alive. They writhed through the air as nimbly as tentacles, stretching toward the little rat still scurrying in every direction.
In a heartbeat, Scabbers let out a shrill squeak. His whole body was wrapped in golden threads, and the glass jar clamped down over him, pinning him to the floor.
Kate smiled silently and held out a hand. The jar flew over to her with Scabbers inside, and with another wave of her wand she ended the Levitation Charm.
She screwed on the lid without a hitch and tapped the glass. "Finally caught you, little pest."
"Aren't you going to give him back to Ron?" Hermione didn't quite understand why Scabbers had to be trussed up like that.
But with both of them still under Disillusionment Charms, she could sense Kate beside her without being able to see the expression on her face.
"Of course," Kate said gravely, tucking the jar into her pouch. "But I noticed Scabbers is hurt. So Ron doesn't blow up again, I think I'd better take him to David first."
At that, Hermione relaxed.
David was an expert in magical creatures. With him and Kate treating Scabbers together, he'd be better in no time.
Then she'd return Scabbers to Ron herself, and they'd see what he had left to say!
"We can't stay here. Let's get back to the girls' dormitory." Without waiting for more questions, Kate took her hand and cleared a path through the crowd of boys.
She couldn't see a thing, but leaning against Kate's back, letting herself be led against the flow of the crowd, a contented smile finally broke across her face.
When they finally made it back to the girls' dormitory, Hermione had barely lifted the Disillusionment Charm and hadn't caught her breath when her roommates followed her in.
"That was terrifying! What was that? An earthquake?"
"Impossible! Hogwarts is protected by magic all around. There can't be earthquakes!"
"Then what was that?"
"Who knows..."
The three of them talked over one another without pause. Lavender eventually noticed Hermione was still there and hurried over. "Hermione, are you all right?"
"Yeah," Parvati teased, eager for gossip. "Weren't you going to bring Shafiq in here... for a date?"
The moment she said the word "date," every hair on Hermione's body stood on end. She shook her head frantically at Parvati and looked wildly around the room.
"Kate? Kate!"
She searched the corners of the room, calling louder each time. "Kate, are you still here?"
Her roommates stood stunned. They all looked around, afraid there might be an invisible Kate they hadn't spotted.
But no matter how long Hermione called, there was no answer.
She sank back onto her bed, disappointed, fingers tightening around her wand.
Kate was gone.
She wasn't even sure when Kate had left, or whether she'd heard what Parvati said about a date.
If it really was that word that had driven Kate away... did it mean Kate had never had any thought of dating her?
Had all of this been wishful thinking on her part?
Her roommates finally noticed that something was wrong with her face. They gathered around to comfort her, but none of them knew what to say.
"... I'm fine." Hermione stood, her expression conflicted, and shut herself in the bathroom.
The sound of a tap running soon came from inside.
The roommates exchanged glances. After a long while, someone asked, "What's wrong with her?"
"A girl in love always gets like this, fretting over every little thing."
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