The strategy meeting ended in an oddly tense atmosphere, but no one suggested acting immediately.
After all, a lavish feast was waiting for them.
But after a full day of rumors spreading, the students had also heard about what happened the night before from Cedric and the other three.
Chaos was inevitable.
Some students panicked and immediately wrote home, telling their families what had happened and asking what they should do.
But even more of them ended up arguing.
"That's not very likely. If You-Know-Who can come back to life, why would he wait until now?"
"I mean, he's so powerful. He can even return from the dead. But he hid himself for all these years, then only decided to come back right in front of you, after his own followers were probably already starting to waver?"
Seamus sat across from Harry, and even in the noisy Great Hall, his voice carried clearly.
But that line of doubt obviously was not enough to convince everyone.
Ron was not about to miss a chance like this to show off, especially with so many people turning to look after hearing Seamus.
"Didn't you hear Harry? You-Know-Who brewed up a whole cauldron of, uh, potion to bring himself back."
"And for a potion that can bring the dead back to life, taking ten years or so to brew is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
Harry hurriedly tugged on his sleeve. That cauldron had looked eerie enough already. If it had really been boiling away for more than ten years, it would have burned through long ago.
"Remember first year? Headmaster Dumbledore actually thought Voldemort wasn't dead, just turned into... something like an imp."
"Oi, mate," Ron said irritably, shaking off his hand. "I guarantee my explanation sounds more believable than yours, even if you happen to be right."
And sure enough, none of the students there had any idea what a resurrection potion or its brewing process was supposed to look like. Even Seamus began to feel his own doubts sounded odd, and the discussion quickly shifted into arguing about resurrection potion instead.
Facing Harry's disbelieving stare, Hermione lowered the book in her hands.
"We're all students. How are we supposed to understand something as deep as the soul? But potion is different. Everyone has a simple idea about that. The stronger the potion, the longer it takes to brew."
"So," she said with a shrug, "of course they'd rather believe Ron."
That only made Ron even smugger.
"If I'd been the Champion back then, maybe You-Know-Who would never have been able to come back at all!"
Hermione irritably raised the book again, hiding the eye roll she had just given him.
"Exactly. Because you're not even You-Know-Who's enemy."
"No, seriously, at a time like this you're still reading?"
"Why can't I read?"
Ron pointed at Fleur, who had gone over to sit at the Ravenclaw table. A moment later he realized Hermione was not even looking at him and lowered his hand with a sulky expression.
"They're leaving tonight. Aren't you and Fleur pretty close? Why not ask her over for a chat or something before she goes?"
"There's no rush. We agreed to write to each other regularly. And Fleur's already graduated. She said she found a job at the British Ministry of Magic, so there'll be plenty of chances to see each other."
Hermione answered calmly, her face still hidden behind the book.
They still had no real progress on improving the status of intelligent magical beings. Neither of them was about to give up so easily.
At that moment, Harry finally noticed the title of the book.
"The Structure of the Soul. The Boundary of Death? Why are you reading something like that?!"
He stared at her in shock, startling Ron too, who had still been basking in his own cleverness.
"That's terrifying. Don't tell me you're trying to bring You-Know-Who back too?!"
Hermione could not help snapping the book shut and smacking both of them on the head with it. Fortunately, it was not a thick book, and the old-fashioned soft cover did not hurt.
"I'm just researching You-Know-Who's condition!"
She lowered her voice carefully and started whispering to them.
"I've always thought his state of not quite dying was strange. And with Dumbledore's and Professor Fawley's ability, destroying a wandering soul should be easy. So why didn't they do it?"
"And on top of that, Harry, you said Peter was a spy hidden beside You-Know-Who. If Professor Fawley probably knew about You-Know-Who's resurrection plan, why didn't he come out and stop it sooner?"
"Maybe Professor got there too late?" Harry guessed. "And he's always been protecting us. If you don't believe me, just ask Cedric."
"No, no, no, I'm not saying the professor helped Voldemort come back," Hermione said quickly, waving both hands.
"I just think there are some suspicious parts, and I want to understand them."
"So did you figure anything out?" Ron asked casually, only to hit Hermione right where it hurt.
Hermione let out a helpless sigh.
"The knowledge about souls is too deep. There are loads of concepts I can't even understand yet."
The little spark of curiosity that had just risen in Harry and Ron instantly died.
If even Hermione could not make sense of it, the two of them trying would just be walking in to get flattened.
"Souls? My ears aren't broken, are they? You lot are actually talking about that?" George suddenly leaned over, with Fred just as curious beside him.
The moment Hermione saw them, she brightened.
"Right, you've both studied imp magic. Can you tell me what exactly it is?"
"Oho." George and Fred immediately puffed up with pride.
Their performance in the club had only been average, but compared with Hermione and the others, who had not even been allowed into the club yet, the sense of superiority was overwhelming.
"Now that you mention it, I was actually the first one to control an imp and make it cast magic," George said proudly.
"Which does not change the fact that Cedric defeated your imp with ease later on," Fred said, completely ruining the moment.
"If Professor hadn't forbidden certain spells that attack the soul, you'd never have had enough soul left to waste!"
"Imps are souls?" Hermione murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Of course," Fred said smugly, taking the chance to lecture her. It was not often he got one like this. "According to Professor, mature imp magic actually involves a lot of advanced soul magic. It's not something ordinary people can manage."
"Otherwise Cedric could never have used an imp to block You-Know-Who's Killing Curse."
"Then that should make him the second wizard ever to survive the Killing Curse, right? Should we give him a scar too?" George suddenly suggested with a wicked grin.
"And make it ache every now and then?" Harry said irritably, shoving them back toward their seats and breaking Hermione's train of thought.
Because the professors had just come in.