"No! I wouldn't!"
Hermione began to pull off her robe, then paused and gave Richard a pointed look.
"Turn around!"
"I was rather hoping to watch," young Grosvenor said with irony, turning his back to her.
Hermione's cheeks flushed scarlet. But any worries that Richard might sneak a peek while she was in her underwear were instantly driven from her mind by the icy gusts of wind. Granger had never changed so quickly in her life—then again, she had never had such a powerful incentive not to freeze. The moment she slipped into the ninja suit, Hermione let out a quiet breath of relief as warmth spread pleasantly through her body.
"Richie, why are we going to your room? We could go to the library, for example."
"Oh, brilliant!" Richard replied with heavy sarcasm. "Shall we go straight to the professors while we're at it and confess that I smuggled a pile of artefacts into the school and flattened a troll? Hermione, saying we were in the library is a terribly flimsy alibi. This way, we may slightly tarnish our reputations—boy and girl spending time together in one dormitory—but at least no one will suspect we slipped off anywhere."
"That… actually sounds logical," Hermione admitted. "I'm ready."
"Excellent." Richie pulled a mask over his head and handed Hermione a pair of sporty-looking goggles with red lenses—he put on an identical pair himself. "Put on the enchanted thermal goggles. They'll let us see each other in the infrared spectrum. Put your things in my bag, activate invisibility, and we'll head down."
Hermione and Richard slipped unnoticed into the Hufflepuff dormitory. The door opening "by itself" caught the students' attention. But when it shut again and no one appeared, they quickly lost interest, deciding that a professor must have looked in and then left.
Nearly all the Hufflepuff students were gathered in the common room. They clustered in the centre, animatedly discussing the appearance of Quirinus Quirrell at dinner, his announcement about a troll in the castle, and the rather dramatic way the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had fainted.
The fact that everyone was bunched together in the middle played to the invisibles' favour. Richie and Hermione edged along the wall to the entrance of the first-year boys' dormitory and quickly slipped inside. Fortunately, their roommates were still in the common room, giving the pair time to throw on their robes and put themselves in order. Only then did they dare rejoin the others.
"Richie!" Justin Finch-Fletchley exclaimed, delighted to see his friend. "Where have you been? Oh—you're with Hermione!"
"Hello, Justin. Hermione and I were doing homework in our dormitory. What's all the noise about? Shouldn't you all be at dinner?"
"What, you haven't heard?" Justin asked in surprise. "A troll got into the school, and they sent us all back to our dorms. Though it seemed a bit odd—the Headmaster's decision, I mean. Professor Quirrell said he saw the troll in the dungeons. And our dorm is the closest to them, apart from the Slytherins'. Bloody Gryffindors were shoving past us, forcing their way through, even calling us idiots for being afraid to go back to our dorm! Easy for them to say, their tower's up high… Sorry, Hermione."
"It's fine," Hermione waved it off. "I actually wanted to be sorted into Hufflepuff, but it didn't work out—which I rather regret."
Richard's wizardphone rang. Lifting the receiver to his ear, he heard the unfamiliar, droning voice of a young man, with a hint of nervousness beneath it.
"Excuse me, Lord Grosvenor—this is Percy Weasley, Gryffindor prefect. I've been told that Hermione Granger is with you?"
"Percy, good evening. Yes, Miss Granger and I were doing homework in the Hufflepuff dormitory and have only just learned of the… situation. You needn't worry—Miss Granger is perfectly safe and is currently here in our common room."
"Thank you for the information, Lord Grosvenor," Percy said. "I'll come shortly to escort Miss Granger back to the Gryffindor dormitory."
"Thank you for the call, Mr Weasley. We shall be expecting you."
Padma Patil rushed up to Richard, her eyes gleaming. She stared greedily at the receiver in his hand.
"Richieee…" the Indian girl drawled. "You have a telephone—and it works? You'll let a girl call her parents, won't you?"
"Padma, dear," Richard said with a strained smile, "I'd happily lend it to you, but it isn't a telephone. It's a magical equivalent—one that can only call a handful of similar devices, and only a few witches and wizards even have them.. Think of it as a sort of walkie-talkie. A toy for keeping in touch with your own. I do have an actual telephone as well, but unfortunately there's no signal at Hogwarts."
"That's a shame," Padma said, disappointed. "I see you and Hermione have made up."
"Yes!" Hermione shot back. "We've made up…" she said, fixing the Indian girl with a cold stare.
"I'm glad," Padma said calmly. "My sister mentioned she tried to calm you down, Hermione. It's a pity you missed Charms today—Professor Flitwick was teaching the Levitation Charm, Wingardium Leviosa."
"Hold on, hold on!" Richard raised his hands. "Wait a moment. Padma, it's only just occurred to me—what are you doing in our House?"
The Indian girl burst into bright, melodic laughter.
"Richie, you've only just realised?" Padma asked. "Oh—and judging by your surprised expression, Hermione, you've only just caught on as well."
"Yes, and it is rather odd," Granger admitted.
"Nothing odd about it," Padma replied. "The Great Hall was terribly crowded. I got separated from the others, and by the time I pushed my way through the crowd, they were already far ahead. Susan noticed I was at a loss and suggested we go to your dormitory."
(End of Chapter)
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