"Look, there they are." As the two left the History of Magic classroom, discussing the matter, the hallway was packed with students. Hermione stood on tiptoe, scanning the crowd for Harry and Ron. The two boys, having sat in the back row, had been the first to leave and were now being pushed to the front by the throng of students exiting the classroom.
Judging the distance, they were about forty or fifty meters ahead.
"They're a bit far from us…" Hermione murmured, turning to Glenn. "What should we do?"
"Let's follow them. It's better to clear things up sooner rather than later," Glenn replied, starting to move forward.
Suddenly, he felt something soft bump into him—it was Hermione.
"Ugh, so many people! I got pushed over here," Hermione muttered, clutching Glenn's arm in frustration.
Glenn ignored the fact that there was actually a wall beside Hermione. Instead, he reached out to steady her, wrapping an arm protectively around her.
Experience had taught him that at times like this, it was best not to argue with the little girl. Just go along with her—Hermione was always right.
...
"Why on earth are they here?" Even after squeezing through the crowd, Hermione showed no intention of letting go of Glenn's arm. Following Harry and Ron's trail, they found themselves back at the site of Mrs. Norris's attack on the second floor. Hermione's expression turned serious.
Silently releasing Glenn, Hermione took out her wand and slipped on her Hand of Sorcery.
At Glenn's signal, she joined him in hiding in the shadows of the corridor, keeping a cautious distance behind the two boys.
Harry and Ron had stopped, staring blankly at the writing on the wall.
"Filch has been standing guard here all this time." Suddenly, a voice—strange yet oddly familiar—spoke behind Hermione, startling her as she peeked out to observe.
That wasn't Glenn's voice!
Hermione spun around, her expression hardening as she pointed her wand at Glenn's head.
Wait.
She blinked and realized that Glenn, his face blank, was holding his wand to his throat, his lips moving silently.
"Oh, you scared me—it's just a Voice-Changing Charm…" Hermione let out a sigh of relief, lowering her wand and patting her chest lightly.
But why was Glenn suddenly using a Voice-Changing Charm?
And wasn't this something they already knew?
Though puzzled, Hermione didn't interrupt Glenn. She knew that if he was suddenly bringing this up, he must have a reason.
Sure enough, Glenn's next words revealed what he was doing.
"Now that Filch isn't here, we might as well take a look around," Glenn said, his wand emitting a faint glow. His voice changed again, and this time Hermione immediately recognized it.
It was Harry's voice.
Hermione quickly peeked out again and saw Harry shrugging off his bag and crawling on all fours along the ground, searching for something.
She was now certain of what Glenn was doing.
Yes, Glenn was maintaining his Heightened Perception to observe Harry and Ron while relaying their conversation.
As for why he wasn't using a Disillusionment Charm or other concealment spells, it was because Glenn considered this location—where the serpent's attack had occurred—far more dangerous than other parts of Hogwarts. Especially with Hermione by his side, Glenn was fully focused on using his Heightened Perception to monitor their surroundings while simultaneously eavesdropping on Harry and Ron.
Understanding Glenn's actions, Hermione decided to simply keep her eyes on the two boys as they searched for clues.
From her vantage point, she saw Ron suddenly jump back in fright, his face pale as he pressed himself against the wall behind him.
"Waaah!" Glenn mimicked Ron's voice, narrating, "Sp-spiders!"
Hermione couldn't help but twitch at the corners of her mouth. The combination of the scene and the voice was just… too mismatched.
Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Hermione continued to watch Harry and Ron's movements.
"Spiders… what about them?" Harry's voice asked.
"I—I—I don't l-like—spiders," Ron's voice stammered.
"What are they doing?" Glenn switched to Harry's voice again. Hermione squinted, following Harry's gaze to a window where a cluster of small spiders was squeezing through a crack.
"I don't want to know. Let's get out of here. Just looking at them gives me goosebumps," Ron's voice said from a distance as he rubbed his arms.
Hermione rested her chin in her hand. "That behavior is definitely unusual for spiders. I've never read about spiders migrating before…" she murmured softly.
Glenn didn't respond, continuing to diligently relay the boys' conversation.
"Ron, do you remember that puddle of water on the ground—right by Mrs. Norris's feet? I think I saw a trail…" Harry's voice said.
"It's over there, I remember." Ron, as if suddenly struck by inspiration, bolted away from the unsettling spiders, heading deeper into the corridor. Clearly, something had clicked in his mind.
Harry immediately followed without hesitation.
Hermione, seeing the two boys running off, stomped her foot in frustration and turned to Glenn, her eyes questioning.
Hermione: Should we follow them?
Glenn nodded.
The two of them didn't follow too closely, stopping at a spot where they could still see Harry and Ron's actions.
Harry and Ron had arrived at a large wooden door.
"This is it," Ron said, grabbing the brass doorknob. He opened the door briefly before shutting it again, his expression uncomfortable.
"We can't go in. This is the girls' bathroom," he said, stepping back.
Harry hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against entering the girls' bathroom.
"Well, at least they're polite…" Hermione nodded approvingly before glancing at Glenn. "...Unlike someone."
Glenn had, of course, already traced the serpent's trail back to this location. When they had previously returned to the scene, he had thoroughly searched the abandoned girls' bathroom.
Standing before the wooden door, Glenn hadn't hesitated for a moment. He had pushed it open and started searching without any regard for gender distinctions.
Fortunately, Glenn's appearance was so deceptively innocent, and his silence so convincing, that the ghost who lived there—Moaning Myrtle—hadn't doubted his gender for a second.
"Someone this cute must be a girl!" Myrtle had thought.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to ( 90 ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/DarkGolds
Happy reading, everyone!