Dedicated to Agnes-Potterhead
Absolute silence
There was no smiles, no cheering, nothing. Hermione felt unable to talk, or move, or do anything. How is this possible? Harry stared at her and Ron
"I didn't put my name in" he spluttered "You know I didn't"
Neither Hermione or Ron responded
Dumbledore, after a quick discussion with Professor McGonagall, had stood up again
"Harry Potter!" he called "Harry! Up here, if you please!"
"Go on" Hermione hissed, shoving him slightly
Harry slowly got up and walked over to Dumbledore. The students of every other house was glaring at him, and some kind of angry buzzing was echoing through the Hall. On the Gryffindor table, however, the looks of blank shock were slowly becoming grins as they worked out what had just happened. Just as Harry left the room, the Gryffindor table erupted into cheers. Hermione did not join in, and neither did Ron
When the cheers died down, Dumbledore got up again. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime were both glaring at him
"Can all students return to their dorms" he said "as quickly as possible"
There was the normal deafening scraping noise, and Hermione spotted most of the teacher's run into the side chamber Harry had just disappeared into
Hermione found it impossible to get to sleep that night. For one thing, the rest of the Gryffindor's were holding a party downstairs, and nobody seemed to want to stop. For another, she had too much on her mind. Surely Harry would be forbidden from playing? People much older than Harry had died competing in this tournament and they had volunteered! How would a fourteen year old cope? Dumbledore must be able to do something to stop this!
The next morning, Ron came downstairs to breakfast by himself, which surprised Hermione. What surprised her more was how surly and moody he looked. Hermione raised her eyebrows as he sat down. Ron sighed
"Harry and I argued last night" he said
"What?" Hermione cried "you can't think he put his name in the Goblet himself, do you?"
Ron didn't answer. He rested his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands
"Why is it always Harry?" he said after a while
"Sorry?"
"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived" said Ron, avoiding Hermione's eye "Harry Potter, saviour of the Philosopher's Stone. Harry Potter, vanquisher of the Chamber of Secrets monster. Harry Potter, Quidditch Star. And now Harry Potter, Triwizard Champion. What am I? Ron Weasley, Harry's Potter's best mate"
"Don't talk rubbish" said Hermione "You're lots of things. You're much better than Harry at-"
"Exactly" interupted Ron "you can't finish that sentence. I can see where the Hufflepuffs are coming from, really"
The Hufflepuffs were all sitting with their backs to the Gryffindors, and every so often one of them would send a glare in their direction
"But-"
"I mean, you're fine" Ron continued "you're Hermione Granger, top in every class. I'm just nothing"
Hermione had no idea how to respond
"You are good at things, Ronald" said Hermione "and I'll prove it soon, but right now, wouldn't it be better to help Harry? He'll be in a lot of danger-"
"Why do I need to?" said Ron "that's all everyone else seems to want to do"
He got up
"I'm going to find Fred and George" he said "can you tell Harry I'll make with him if he apologises for calling me stupid?"
"He called you stupid?" Ron nodded "you know that he can't mean that, Ron!"
"Hmm" Ron clearly didn't believe her "you're still my friend, aren't you?"
"Yes, of course" said Hermione, shocked by what Ron was implying. Ron smiled
"Thanks" he said "it's nice to know someone's on my side"
And with that, he walked away
Hermione sat there, shellshocked, for a while, before taking some toast and spreading butter on it. As Harry was now one friend down, Hermione decided she'd need to temporarily take Ron's place. Harry had always trusted Ron most and, now they had argued, he had no one to confide in, and he needed a plan
About five minutes later, she wrapped the toast up in a napkin and headed off in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Just as she reached the Fat Lady, the portrait opened and Harry climbed out. He looked exhausted, and sympathy flooded through Hermione. Harry jumped at the sight of her
"Hello" she said feigning brightness "I brought you this..." she held up the toast "Want to go for a walk?"
"Good idea" said Harry, apparently glad of something to do
They headed out into the ground and walked around the lake, as Harry told Hermione everything that had happened after he had left the Great Hall. Apparently, Mr Crouch was forcing him to play, which Hermione found frankly ridiculous. Moody had theorised that whoever had put Harry's name in the Goblet wanted Harry dead. Harry seemed to find this amusing, but Hermione could see his point
"Well, of course I knew you hadn't entered yourself" she said as he'd finished by telling her the date of the first task - the 24th of November "The look on your face when Dumbledore read out your name! But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody's right, Harry... I don't think any student could have done it... they'd never be able to fool the Goblet, or get over Dumbledore's-"
"Have you seen Ron?" Harry cut in
"Erm... yes... he was at breakfast" she said slowly
"Does he still think I entered myself?" asked Harry
"Well... no, I don't think so... not really" Hermione muttered
"What's that supposed to mean, 'not really'?"
"Oh Harry, isn't it obvious?" Hermione exclaimed "He's jealous!"
"Jealous?" says Harry blankly "Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?"
"Look" said Hermione "it's always you who gets all the attention, you know it is. I know it's not your fault, I know you don't ask for it... but - well - you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous - he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many..."
"Great" said Harry darkly "Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap any time he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it... People gawping at my forehead everywhere I go..."
"I'm not telling him anything," Hermione said. She didn't have any intention of passing on Ron's message either "Tell him yourself. It's the only way to sort this out"
"I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up!" Harry said angrily "Maybe he'll believe I'm not enjoying myself once I've got my neck broken or-"
"That's not funny" said Hermione "That's not funny at all. Harry, I've been thinking - you know what we've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get back to the castle?"
"Yeah, give Ron a good kick up the-" Harry started
"Write to Sirius. You've got to tell him what's happened. He asked you to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts... It's almost as if he expected something like this to happen. I brought some parchment and a quill out with me-"
"Come off it" said Harry, checking for eavesdroppers "He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me in the Triwizard Tournament-"
"He'd want you to tell him" said Hermione "He's going to find out anyway-"
"How?" said Harry, who didn't seem to know the function of newspapers
"Harry, this isn't going to be kept quiet" said Hermione "This tournament's famous, and you're famous. I'll be really surprised if there isn't anything in the Daily Prophet about you competing... You're already in half the books about You- Know-Who, you know... and Sirius would rather hear it from you, I know he would"
"Okay, okay, I'll write to him" Harry sighed, throwing his last piece of toast into the lake
"Whose owl am I going to use?" Harry said when they reached the front door "He told me not to use Hedwig again."
"Ask Ron if you can borrow-"
"I'm not asking Ron for anything" Harry said
"Well, borrow one of the school owls, then, anyone can use them" said Hermione, rolling her eyes. She could tell this was going to be a long few weeks
***
She could've been more right
Harry wasn't talking to Ron and Ron wasn't talking to Harry. Hermione was not enjoying trying to bridge the gap between them. Both of them refused to apologise to the other until they apologise to them. Hermione was yet to find some kind of loophole to this. She was tempted to get them to write apologies to each other, but she didn't want to suggest it to Harry, who was very likely to blow up these days
Hermione's only lifeline was Ginny. With Harry and Ron acting like idiots, Hermione was spending a lot more time with Ginny and her friends. She and Ginny got on very well, having a lot in common and sharing a sense of humour. Ginny had very funny stories about Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw girl in her year, who seemed to only believe things only when there was no evidence for them whatsoever
She was not looking forward to double Potions the next Friday, and her spirits fell even lower. They had already had one Potions lesson after the Halloween feast, but now they'd have to endure two hours of Snape and the Slytherins
They reached the dungeon and found that the Slytherins were all wearing the same round badges. Written on them, in bright red letters:
SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY -
THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!
"Like them, Potter?" yelled Malfoy, drawing everyone's attention to the badges "And this isn't all they do - look!"
He pressed his badge, and the message disappeared, to be replaced with one that glowed green:
POTTER SINKS
The Slytherins howled with laughter and changed all their badges messages
"Oh very funny," Hermione snapped and the gang of Slytherin girls, glaring at Pansy Parkinson "really witty"
"Want one, Granger?" said Malfoy "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up"
Hermione simply rolled her eyes, but Harry pulled out his wand
"Harry!" Hermione warned
"Go on, then, Potter" Malfoy hissed, raising his own wand "Moody's not here to look after you now - do it, if you've got the guts-"
They glared at each other for just a moment, and then-
"Furnunculus!" roared Harry
"Densaugeo!" yelled Malfoy
Both curses hit each other, and changed direction. Harry's boil curse hit Goyle, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to him, as Malfoy's curse - the teeth growing jinx - had hit her full on the face. Hermione felt an odd chill run down her front teeth. She yelped as she saw herself in someone's conical flask and saw that her teeth had started growing at an alarming rate, hopelessly trying to cover her mouth with her hands
"Hermione!"
Ron's worried face came into Hermione's line of sight. He dragged Hermione's hands away from her face and recoiled slightly in shock. Hermione let out a terrified cry as she desperately tried to remember the counter curse, but came up short
Snape had appeared, but Hermione wasn't paying attention to their argument, as she was more interested in her teeth, which had now grown down below her neckline
"Malfoy got Hermione!" she heard Ron say "Look!"
He dragged Hermione's hands away from her face. Snape looked at her for a long moment
"I see no difference" he said coldly
Pansy Parkinson shrieked with laughter. Hermione's eyes filled with tears, and she ran up the stairs to the Hospital wing without being dismissed
By the time she had reached the Hospital wing, her front teeth had reached her collarbone. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey didn't ask questions; she rarely did. She fired some kind of charm and Hermione's teeth stopped growing at once
"I can shrink them, but it will take a while" said Madam Pomfrey briskly "you'll probably miss dinner. Did you have enough at lunch?"
Hermione nodded. She'd have to ask Ginny to let her borrow some of her hidden chocolate stores
"Good" Madam Pomfrey held up a mirror "tell me when they're are back to where they were before"
It was an excruciatingly boring few hours. Hermione was forced to sit still and do nothing, while feeling like someone was dragging a nail file across her teeth. After about six hours, she was allowed to go. After she left the Hospital wing and found a empty bathroom. She removed her temporary brace and threw it away. Grinning, she walked over to a mirror and looked at herself. She'd always wondered what it would be like to have normal sized teeth. She knew her parents would be mad at her for letting Madam Pomfrey shrink her teeth smaller than they were before, but she'd missed a whole afternoon of lessons, as well as dinner - surely something good had to come from it!
The next day was a Saturday, and so Hermione was surprised to see Harry get up just as early as she did. He explained that he didn't want too many people watching him, before showing her a letter he had received the previous day:
Harry-
I can't say everything I would like to in a letter, it's too risky in case the owl is intercepted - we need to talk face-to-face. Can you ensure that you are alone by the fire in Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock in the morning on the 22nd of November?
I know better than anyone that you can look after yourself and while you're around Dumbledore and Moody I don't think anyone will be able to hurt you. However, someone seems to be having a good try. Entering you in that tournament would have been very risky, especially right under Dumbledore's nose.
Be on the watch, Harry. I still want to hear about anything unusual. Let me know about the 22nd of November as quickly as you can.
Sirius
Hermione was glad that Harry had something to look forward to, as his days at Hogwarts were going from bad to worse. While Hermione had been at the Hospital wing, Harry had been called out of Potions. This would have been good, had it not been because they needed to perform the Wand Weighing ceremony, were a wand maker, Mr Ollivander, presumably, checks that the Champions wands were in full working order. Unfortunately, Rita Skeeter had been there, and had published an interview with Harry a few days later. Hermione was pretty sure that Harry had never said anything in the article in his life, but that didn't stop Skeeter from printing it
I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it... I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me...
Not only from that did he have to endure even more jeers and taunts, but it seemed to confirm, in Ron's eyes at least, that Harry was enjoying all the attention, and it seemed even less likely that they'd ever make up. That didn't stop her from trying to bridge the gap between them, but she wasn't getting very far
"I didn't start this" Harry said angrily one evening "It's his problem"
"You miss him!" Hermione said despairingly "And I know he misses you-"
"Miss him?" said Harry "I don't miss him..."
That was a downright lie and Hermione knew it, but she didn't breach the subject again. Not that evening, at least
Of course, Hermione wasn't faring very well either. Rita Skeeter seemed to have made it her personal goal to talk trash about everyone close to Harry and that, unfortunately, meant herself:
Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.
Hermione had rolled her eyes and groaned when she'd first read this, but Ron hadn't seemed to have taken it so lightly. He was hanging out with her less and less these days, and spending even more time with Fred, George and Lee. Hermione would've been glad that he had made new friends, if it wasn't for the former point
Nowerdays, Hermione spent most of her time cooped up in the library. Not that that wasn't where she spent all her time before, but now even she was pretty sure she was there an unhealthy amount. Harry sometimes joined her and when he did they generally tried to practice the Summoning Charm, which Harry seemed to have some kind of mental block on, and when he wasn't there, Hermione scanned the many shelves looking for something that might help Harry in the 24th of November but, as they had no idea what to expect, it was very hard
Annoyingly, Viktor Krum spent a lot of his time in the library as well. Unless he had somehow found out what the first task was (Hermione didn't think Karkaroff was above cheating) she had no explanation as to why he was there. It would have really bugged her, had a group of older girls not taken to following him wherever he went
"He's not even good-looking!" she complained one night to Harry "They only like him because he's famous! They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that Wonky-Faint thing-"
"Wronski Feint" Harry muttered angrily
On Saturday the 22nd, two days before the first task, all Students Ginny's year and above were allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Ginny was clearly thrilled to be going for the first time, and Hermione left the Dormitory with a smile on her face
Hermione thought that Harry would benifit from leaving the castle for a while and, to her relief, he didn't take much persuading
"What about Ron, though?" he said "Don't you want to go with him?"
"Oh... well..." Hermione stuttered, her cheeks flushing "I thought we might meet up with him in the Three Broomsticks..."
"No"
"Oh Harry, this is so stupid-"
"I'll come, but I'm not meeting Ron, and I'm wearing my Invisibility Cloak"
"Oh all right then..." Hermione sighed "but I hate talking to you in that cloak, I never know if I'm looking at you or not"
They gathered their things and set off down the lane. Hermione kept getting odd glances, which she was not pleased about
"People keep looking at me now" she complained "They think I'm talking to myself."
"Don't move your lips so much then" came Harry's disembodied voice
"Come on, please just take off your cloak for a bit, no one's going to bother you here"
"Oh yeah? Look behind you"
Hermione turned to see Rita Skeeter walking down the road behind them. Hermione had never seen her before, but it didn't take a genius to work out who it was, judging by the photographer behind her and the fact that Harry recognised her. Her blond hair was in tight curls and she was wearing scarlet robes. She clutched what looked like a crocodile skin handbag with a highly manicured hand, her nails painted blood red and filed to look oddly sharp
"She's staying in the village" said Harry "I bet she's coming to watch the first task"
"She's gone" said Hermione, watching Skeeter turn a corner and head down a side street "Why don't we go and have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, it's a bit cold, isn't it? You don't have to talk to Ron!" she added irritably, as Harry didn't answer
They walked into the Three Broomsticks and went to go get drinks. She then headed over to the only empty table and she heard a yelp as she accidentally stood on Harry's foot
"I look like such an idiot, sitting here on my own" she hissed, sitting down "Lucky I brought something to do"
She pulled out her notebook and opened it to the right page
Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare
Members:
• Hermione Granger (leader)
• Ronald Weasley (treasurer)
• Harry Potter (secretary)
• Ginny Weasley (I.C. of Inter-House cooperation)
• Dean Thomas (I.C. of leaflet campaign [good at painting - Potter for President banner])
• Neville Longbottom
• Hannah Abbott
• Anthony Goldstein
• Natalie McDonald
• Colin Creevey
• Dennis Creevey
"You know, maybe I should try and get some of the villagers in- volved in S.P.E.W." Hermione wondered aloud
"Yeah, right" said Harry sceptically "Hermione, when are you going to give up on this spew stuff?"
"When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions!" she hissed "You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens?"
"No idea, ask Fred and George" said Harry. Hermione glanced at the twins, who were sitting with Lee and Ron. Sneaking into the school kitchens was against the rules, but maybe it would be worth it...
Hermione looked up again
"Look, it's Hagrid!" said Hermione
Hagrid had lost the suit and bunches, and was sitting next to Moody, who was drinking out of his hip flask, much to the general annoyance of Madam Rosmerta. They both got up, noticed Hermione and went over to her. Hermione tensed as Moody looked at exactly where Harry was
"All right, Hermione?" said Hagrid brightly
"Hello" said Hermione, beaming at him
Moody limped to Hermione's other side
"Nice cloak, Potter" he muttered
Hermione jumped. Moody was grinning
"Can your eye-" Harry stuttered "I mean, can you-?"
"Yeah, it can see through Invisibility Cloaks" Moody whispered "And it's come in useful at times, I can tell you"
Hagrid bent down and whispered something to Harry. He straightened up and winked
"Nice ter see yeh, Hermione" he said loudly. They both left
"Why does Hagrid want me to meet him at midnight?" said Harry
"Does he?" said Hermione, her eyes widening "I wonder what he's up to? I don't know whether you should go, Harry..." She checked for eavesdroppers before whispering "It might make you late for Sirius"
"But surely it's important, if he wants me to go so late" Harry whispered back "besides, It will be a whole hour before Sirius will show up"
"Alright" Hermione mumbled "Just make sure you're in time"
They spent the rest of the day discussing strategies for getting people to leave the Common room, so Harry could be alone with Sirius. That night, just as they'd planned, Hermione waited outside the Common room until half past eleven, while being watched by a very irate Fat Lady
"Balderdash" she whispered
"Took you long enough" said the Fat Lady, swinging open. She heard movement in the tunnel and, just after hearing Harry's whispered "Thanks!", she climbed into the Common room
She scanned the common room and sighed. Most of the people who were still there were first and second years. She had spent the day before researching drowsing charms, but the only ones she could find were pretty weak. Though, she was pretty sure they would work well enough on a group of eleven to thirteen year olds who were probably already pretty tired. She got out her wand
"Vospostulo somnum!" she whispered. The effect was immediate. Some of the students started yawning, while others stretched and leant back on their chairs. Hermione now turned to the only students the charm hadn't effected: Fred and George, who were sitting at a desk talking quietly to each other
"Hello!" she said brightly, making them both jump "what are you doing?"
"It's, erm" George swallowed "it's private, Hermione"
"Oh, right, okay"
Hermione sat down and Crookshanks lept on her lap. She turned again to the twins, who were still watching her
"You know" she said "If you want whatever it is to be private, wouldn't it make more sense to go to your dormitory?"
There was a pause
"You know, George" Fred said slowly "that does make sense"
"But Lee-"
"Lee's asleep, I checked" said Fred "and Kenneth is still at the Hospital wing. He had to stay overnight while his ears grow back"
"I suppose that does make sense... Thanks Hermione!" said George
"No problem" said Hermione, grinning as they packed up their stuff and went upstairs. Hermione looked round. All the first and second years had disappeared in the space of their conversation. Smiling to herself, Hermione put Crookshanks down and went to bed herself
Hermione went to breakfast with Ginny and found that Harry wasn't there. When he did come down, his face was pale and he looked like he hadn't slept a wink. He didn't say anything while Ginny was there so, when Hermione had finished her porridge they went for another walk along the lake
"What did Sirius have to say?" asked Hermione
"He doesn't think everything that's been happening are just coincidences either" said Harry "the Dark Mark... my name coming out of the Goblet of Fire... and he doesn't think the alleged attack on Moody the Day before we came back to Hogwarts was a false alarm"
"Right" said Hermione tersely
"No, their's more" said Harry grimly "Karkaroff, you know, the Durmstrang headmaster? He was a Death Eater"
"What?!" Hermione yelped
"Yeah" said Harry "apparently when he was caught and sent to Azkaban, he snitched on a bunch of other Death Eaters and they let him out. He's been teaching the Dark Arts to the students at Durmstrang ever since"
"So Sirius thinks Karkaroff put your name in?" said Hermione
"He wasn't sure" said Harry miserably
"What did Hagrid want?" said Hermione, trying to distract them from the news of the Death Eater at Hogwarts. To her dismay, the colour Harry had gained from the walk drained out of him in an instant
"Dragons" he said quietly "he wanted to show me dragons. That's the first task. We have to get past one each. Sirius said a simple spell should be able to beat it, but I don't know how I'm supposed to survive this with Karkaroff rigging the tournament"
"Well... let's just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening" said Hermione "and then we can worry about Karkaroff"
They walked around the lake three times, trying to think of a simple spell that would work against a dragon. When that didn't work, they went back inside and headed to the library, picking up every book on dragons they could find
"'Talon-clipping by charms... treating scale-rot...'" muttered Harry This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..."
"'Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...' But Sirius said a simple one would do it..."
"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then" said Harry
He went into the library and returned with armfuls of spellbooks. Hermione's discarded Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland and picked up one of the books Harry was carrying
"Well, there are Switching Spells.. but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped its fangs for wine-gums or something that would make it less dangerous... The trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon's hide... I'd say Transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven't got a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall... unless you're supposed to put the spell on yourself? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But they're not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of those in class, I only know about them because I've been do- ing O.W.L. practice papers..."
"Hermione" said Harry "will you shut up for a bit, please? I'm trying to concentrate"
They worked in silence for over an hour, before...
"Oh no, he's back again, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" said Hermione angrily. Viktor Krum had just walked in. He glanced at the two of them before disappearing into the shelves "Come on, Harry, we'll go back to the common room... his fan club'll be here in a moment, twittering away..."
As they left, Harry sprung more information on her
"Cedric is the only one who doesn't know what's coming" he said "Karkaroff was eavesdropping on Hagrid talking to Charlie Weasley about the task, and he'd brought Madame Maxime with him"
"Strange idea of a date" said Hermione quietly. Harry seemed to attempt a smile, but it didn't work
The next day, Harry looked even more sick than the day before. Hermione noticed him staring at something and turned to see Cedric leaving the Hall with his friends. He, as well, looked a lot paler than the last time Hermione had seen him. Harry's eyes weren't leaving his back
"Hermione, I'll see you in the greenhouses" he said "Go on, I'll catch you up"
"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring-"
"I'll catch you up, okay?"
He sped off in Cedric's direction
"Where's Harry going?"
Hermione jumped and turned. Ron had appeared at her side. He seemed to have been waiting for Harry to leave before talking to her
"I'd guess he's gone to tell Cedric what to expect in tomorrow. He's the only one who doesn't know" said Hermione. Tomorrow, the first task was tomorrow
"So Harry knows?" said Ron. Hermione nodded briefly "what is it?"
Hermione paused, wondering what to say. Ron gave her a pleading look
"Dragons" she whispered, trusting Ron not to tell tales "Harry has to get past a dragon"
Ron stayed silent for a very long time. They could see the greenhouses in the distance when he talked again
"Has... has he got a plan yet?"
"No" Hermione admitted in a small voice. Ron gave her a peircing look, but didnt reply
Harry reappeared a few minutes into the Herbology and, after a hurried apology to Professor Sprout, he rushed. To Hermione's surprise, the colour had come back to his face and there was a determined look on his face
"Hermione" whispered "Hermione - I need you to help me."
"What d'you think I've been trying to do, Harry?" she replied, listening all the same
"Hermione, I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon"