0172 Help

0172 Help

It took about ten minutes before Hermione, who was sweating profusely, finally came in from outside with her backpack and a bucket of water, staggering. As soon as she entered, she saw Harry and Ron sitting on the edge of Hagrid's bed, looking at her with a strange expression. They had been waiting for her impatiently, wondering what had taken her so long. Hermione felt a wave of panic wash over her, hoping they had not noticed anything unusual.

"Oh, why are you looking at me like that?"

She tried to sound casual, but her voice was slightly hoarse. She casually threw her backpack at the foot of the table, and slowly approached them with half a bucket of water.

"Did you get lost in the water tank, Hermione?"

Ron frowned in surprise, looking at Hermione's cheeks wet with sweat, trying to control her breathing. He could not understand why she was so exhausted, as if she had just run a marathon. He also noticed that her hair was more bushy than usual, and had some shiny things stuck in it.

"We just called you a few times, Hermione, and your hair..."

Harry also raised his eyebrows, pointing to the shiny things in Hermione's messy hair.

"Don't mind that, Harry, it's just a few beans from the bubble branch."

Hermione quickly fiddled with her hair, trying to remove the beans without drawing too much attention. She cursed herself for forgetting to check her appearance before coming in. She had been too busy hiding something else in her backpack.

"Bubble branch beans?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other, puzzled. They had never heard of such a thing before.

However, realizing that the more she said, the more flaws she would reveal, Hermione changed the subject. She took Hagrid's dirty handkerchief from Harry's hand, washed it in the bucket, and wiped Hagrid's saliva with one hand while pushing away his beard with the other. This might have tickled Hagrid, who gasped a few times and then sneezed violently. His sneeze was so loud that it shook the whole hut, and made the three friends jump. Hermione hoped that this would distract them from asking more questions.

"Oh, this is really... I mean, kind of disgusting."

Ron touched his robe and face with the shiny sticky substance, looking like he was going to throw up. It took some time for Ron to clean himself up, but by then, it was too late to catch up with Professor Sprout's herbology class. When Harry and the others returned to the greenhouse, there was not a single student in the large greenhouse, and even Professor Sprout had returned to her office in the castle. Having missed the whole lesson, they knew they would have to face the consequences. They hoped that Professor Sprout would be understanding, and that she would not give them a hard time.

This morning, the third year Gryffindors had two classes, in addition to Professor Sprout's herbology class, they also had to take a charm class with Professor Flitwick, along with the Hufflepuffs. In order not to get two detentions from two professors on the first Friday of the school year, they had to postpone the apology. They decided to go to Professor Flitwick's class first, and explain their situation later.

It was not until lunchtime that they saw Professor Sprout at the staff table in the Great Hall, but they never had a chance to go up and explain, because all the professors, including the four heads of houses and Professor Lupin, were craning their necks towards Dumbledore. They seemed to be discussing a very serious matter, and they did not notice that almost all the young wizards were attracted by their discussion.

The students could not hear what they were saying, but they could sense the tension and urgency in their voices. They wondered what was going on, and if it had anything to do with the News they had read in the Daily Prophet that morning.

"I didn't hear very clearly..."

Neville whispered to them, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Neville had been sitting near the staff table, trying to eavesdrop on the professors' conversation. He had a worried look on his face, and he kept glancing nervously at the headmaster.

Neville was easily frightened, and he often imagined the worst possible scenarios. Until the Great Hall was almost empty, the professors did not end their discussion. Harry and the others had to leave the Great Hall first and look for another opportunity.

He looked at Harry, who was staring at the courtyard with a fixed expression. He followed Harry's gaze, and saw what Harry had seen. He was also surprised, and a bit suspicious.

"Look, Ron!"

Harry ignored Ron's grumbling, and quickly pulled him to the side of the door, pointing to the two figures under a large tree with lush branches and leaves in the courtyard, who were talking. They were two people that Harry and Ron did not like at all, and who did not like them either.

"Snape and Malfoy?" Ron was not surprised, "Are they plotting something?"

He asked Harry, who nodded in agreement.

"We can find out."

Harry quickly pulled out his heirloom invisibility cloak from his backpack. He had inherited the cloak from his father, who had used it to sneak around the castle and play pranks with his friends.

According to his usual habit, Harry would usually hide his invisibility cloak under his bed in the dormitory, but the failed experience of tracking Professor Watson during the summer vacation and Professor Watson's instructions before the start of school made Harry change this habit.

Harry had tried to follow Professor Watson one night, using his invisibility cloak, but he had been discovered and caught by Professor Watson, who had scolded him and warned him. He told Harry that his invisibility cloak was not perfect, and that there were ways to detect it, or to see through it. He had also suggested Harry to carry his cloak with him, instead of leaving it in his dormitory, where it could be stolen, or tampered with.

Harry had taken Professor Watson's words to heart, and he had started to keep his cloak in his pocket, where he could access it easily, and where he could protect it better.

Taking advantage of the wind in the courtyard, which masked the sound of their footsteps across the grass, Harry and Ron crouched down and walked lightly and quickly. They did not want to alert Snape or Malfoy, or anyone else who might be around. When they got close enough, Malfoy's figure became clear, and Harry's face immediately turned pale with anger.

"See, Ron, Malfoy is really just pretending!"

Harry said through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of rage and disgust.

"Shh, Harry, be quiet!"

Ron nudged Harry's ribs, signaling him to shut up. He also saw Malfoy's fake injuries, and he also felt angry. But he knew that they had to be careful, and that they had to listen to Snape and Malfoy's conversation.

The conversation in the courtyard was coming to an end. Harry and Ron held their breath, and only heard Snape's final question from the faint wind. They strained their ears, trying to catch every word that Snape and Malfoy uttered.

"If you still refuse to tell me who is threatening your parents, Draco"

Snape's tone was a bit impatient, but still more humane than when he spoke to other young wizards.

"Then what do you think I should do to help you?"

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