The small room at the back of the Great Hall is locked most of the time, and Harry last saw him unlock it on the evening that Hermione was selected as Hogwarts' champion.
Harry entered with curiosity.
The fireplace directly opposite was blazing, making the room quite a bit warmer than outside. It was furnished simply, with a few sofas and a long table. There were a few portraits on the wall on one side that seemed to be asleep. The room's far wall, close to the innermost part of the room, was jarringly interrupted by several narrow, square-ish changing rooms. They clearly appeared to have been put together on an ad-hoc basis.
"You can choose a racing suit that fits your size."
"Ah, you see those racing suits on the table there?" Amos pointed to a few suits stacked up on the table. "They come in different sizes. You can pick one that fits you."
"Professor Briar,"
Harry asked urgently before Audrey Chou had entered the room.
"What's going on, Professor? And me and Ron, does that mean that Hermione needs to rescue two people?"
Having got a positive answer, Ron also shouted.
"This isn't fair!"
"At the time we chose a rescue for Hermione, we all agreed that both of you qualified as 'important people' - treasure, in this case. But Professor Karkaroff seems to think that forcing you to choose one might cause embarrassment to the one left out and would sever your friendship. Therefore, he suggested that you participate together."
Amos smiled and said.
This explanation left Harry and Ron speechless for a few seconds, looking at each other in disbelief. Ron took a deep breath and made a few chilling noises.
"We're going down to the Dark Lake," he said. "I'd rather stay up here and watch the match!"
Harry grinned, but the furrow between his brows remained unsmoothed.
"But doesn't that make it harder for Hermione?"
"Don't take things so superficially, Harry," Amos said calmly.
"Two close friends being in danger might ignite her spirit and strengthen her resolve."
"This."
Harry and Ron hesitated, but Audrey Chou had already pushed the door open, making the conversation seem inappropriate to continue. Harry walked over to the table and picked a random suit, heading straight for the changing room closest to the edge. He twisted the handle, but the door didn't open.
"That door might be broken. Try another one."
Professor Black's voice came in timely, Harry shrugged and walked over to the neighboring room with the suit in hand.
Autumn Chou entered with a suitable racing suit as well, and then Gabrielle finally strolled in.
It was evident that the fair-haired girl with blue eyes was still scared; she bit her lower lip and her eyes held tears, but she didn't utter a word of retreat. Instead, she tightly clutched her delicate white fists and walked to the table to choose a suit, toeing up on her tiptoes.
Harry and Ron left the changing room around the same time, and when they came out, Gabrielle, the last to enter, had already changed into her suit and was waiting by the table.
The thought that this cute little girl would be joining him on the dark and foreboding bottom of the Black Lake made Harry feel a twinge of sympathy. When Gabrielle looked at him, he offered her a friendly smile.
To Harry's surprise, Gabrielle seemed to have overcome her fear, and she smiled back at him sweetly as well.
"Cough cough--"
Maybe he was afraid they were nervous, Professor Black's voice was even more gentle than before. He smiled and said.
"I'm sorry, everyone, as we're pressed for time, we don't have much time to waste on who goes first. I can assure you there will be no pain. So, Harry?"
Harry mumbled a reply, which was blurry and seemed unwilling, but he stood up at the summon and obediently followed.
Twenty minutes later, Amos led out a row of floating young wizards, and the few waiting outside immediately rushed up to greet them.
Mrs. Maxim touched Gabrielle's temple, her eyes showing a hint of compassion.
"Are you sure nothing will go wrong, Professor Black?"
"Oh, of course, uh…M-mrs. Maxim—"
Amos explained.
"I used."
"Amos' magical skill is trustworthy, Ollim, "
Dumbledore smiled and interrupted Amos's explanation, gesturing to everyone with his hand.
"Come along, everyone, we must quickly arrange everything. Perhaps we can still find time for breakfast."
The tension of the race kept Hermione up all night. She couldn't stop thinking about those terrible assumptions.
For instance, what if, despite her attempts, her not particularly skilled magic should fail during the actual race? Or what if, given the size of the Black Lake, she couldn't find the 'treasure' within the allotted time?
Additionally, Hermione still didn't understand the meaning of the 'treasure' mentioned in the clues.
For a while, she had been particularly careful with the items around her, but with the race starting tomorrow, so far, she hadn't found anything of importance missing.
With this lingering unease and the rational thought that she needed to rest, Hermione drifted into a restless sleep for the latter half of the night. Until, with the first light of dawn, brightening over the beds of Parvati and Lavender outside her room, and piercing her face for a moment, her long-held body instincts from habit caused her to sit up abruptly from the bed.
Rarely, Lavender and Petunia woke up earlier than Hermione. When Hermione put on her robe, she suddenly realized that she should wear a racing suit today, and when she was in a mess of changing clothes, her two roommates had already finished getting ready to go downstairs.
"Good luck, Hermione!"
"We'll cheer you on!"
The two friends sent their blessings, and after thanking them in a gasping voice, Hermione quickly ran into the washroom, taking care of her hygiene at a much faster pace than usual. She rushed down the stairs as quickly as possible.
Hermione had to admit that she was disappointed not to see Harry and Ron in the common room as soon as she got downstairs.
During the first race, it was Ron who was arguing with her and Harry, but on the day of the race, Harry had been sent by Professor Black to greet visitors at Hogsmeade station. The feeling of going alone to the tent prepared for the champions was not a pleasant one.
But this time, their misunderstandings had been resolved. Harry and Ron should both be very clear about the importance of the competition to her. She thought that the two boys should have already been in the common room, offering her an encouraging smile as soon as she saw them downstairs.
But unfortunately, it didn't happen.
A sense of despondency lingered in Hermione's heart, making the sleep-deprived girl look even more tired.
"Hey, Hermione!"
While Hermione stood there dealing with her little mood, from the boys' dormitory staircase, Neville spotted Hermione in the common room. From across the room, he waved at her. And Neville's reminder also drew the attention of Seamus, Dean, Ginny, the Weasleys brothers and others beside him to her. The group ran over to her.
"Oh!"
George looked at Hermione's black circles for a few seconds, then broke into a sinister grin.
"You look simply radiant, my warrior lady!"
"Now's not the time for jokes, George."
"Always the butt of jokes from the Weasley brothers, Neville displayed a serious face, looking at Hermione with a rapid tone, "
"We're discussing this, Hermione. Maybe you'll know something.”
"What?"
While witnessing Neville's transformation firsthand, the serious face he displayed still made Hermione feel somewhat uncomfortable. What he said made her feel even more confused.
"The situation is this, "
Seeing Hermione's expression, Neville knew what he had to do and quickly explained.
"Last night, around four o'clock, Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared in our dormitory. She looked pretty angry. She woke up Harry and Ron without giving any explanation and took them away. Me, Seamus and Dean also saw it. So far, they still haven't come back. I thought you might know something!"
Professor McGonagall took Harry and Ron away?
On the day of the competition?
Gradually, Hermione's face turned pale.
(The end of this chapter)
