Three days had passed since the curse. The screams that morning, the chaos of the moving staircases, the despair when Dumbledore declared "classes continue"—it all felt like yesterday. But fear is a terrible thing, and by now no one was screaming in the Gryffindor corridors anymore. Everyone was getting used to their changed bodies, still going to classes, eating meals, doing homework. Graves Hermione was the exception. She had no time to get used to anything. Every night she reread copies of "Permutatio Corporis," but the page with the countercurse was burned. All that remained were two lines: "related to the moon's phases" and "acceptance of emotion is key." She couldn't make sense of it. (There has to be more clues.) Every time class ended and night fell, the same thought circled her mind. "[whispers]…Hey, Hermione," A voice came from the corner of the common room. Reddish-brown curly hair, black-rimmed eyes—Wilkes Ronalda approached, holding a single Chocolate Frog. The same habit from before the curse, the mole on his right cheek visible even in the dim light. "[serious]You're going to the library tonight, aren't you," "[surprised]How did you know?" "[gentle]I saw three pieces of parchment in your bag. That's not your usual amount," Sharp. Hermione was a little surprised. Ronalda was shy and clumsy, but he noticed these small details. "[serious]I want to check the back of the Restricted Section. There was a part I hadn't read yet before the burned pages. But after closing—" "[excited]I'm coming too," "Um…" "[gentle]Two people are safer. Right?" It was a pretty weak excuse. But Ronalda's large green eyes were serious, and Hermione closed her mouth. She couldn't refuse. --- 9 PM. The library's front doors were locked, as expected. "[excited]Don't worry. I know a secret passage," Ronalda was confident. He walked along the east wall of the library, knocking carefully, and at one point whispered "Here!" pointing with his finger. "[serious]Can we really sneak in like this," "[excited]Leave it to me. A senpai taught me. There's a way to open it from inside—" That moment. Ronalda tried a subtle Lumos spell with his wand. The instant he whispered "Lumos!" he sneezed. The tip of the wand flared brightly. Beyond the library doors, it illuminated something like a mirror someone had left on the chair Madam Pince used. The reflected light spread across the entire corridor. Ronalda and Hermione pressed themselves against the wall. 10 seconds. 20 seconds. No sound from the corridor. (Madam Pince must have already left… probably…) Hermione exhaled slowly. "[serious]…No problem," "[laughing]Y-yeah. Just as planned," It was nothing like the plan. Collecting themselves, the two stood before the door to the Restricted Section. Ronalda pulled the handle. It didn't open. He pulled again with more force. The door didn't budge. "[whispers]…It's stuck," "[whispers]Maybe…" She reached out slowly and Hermione "pushed" the door. It creaked open quietly. Ronalda froze. His ears were red. "[whispers]I… I knew that. From the start," "[serious]…Of course," She sighed and went in first. --- Inside the Restricted Section, it was dim and smelled of burned paper. About 2,000 dangerous books lined the shelves. At night, a security charm made the books themselves scream, but once the door was closed, the corridor shouldn't hear it. "Lumos," she whispered, and white light bloomed at her wand's tip. Hermione examined the shelves carefully from end to end. Last time she was here, her mind was too full of the burned pages to check behind the shelves. The very back shelf. An old tall bookcase near the iron-barred wall. Something was wedged behind it. "[surprised]…This," Old parchment, folded and tucked behind the shelf. Handwriting from a hundred years ago. The ink had faded to brown, but the letters were clear. "[excited]What is this? A diary?" Ronalda came right beside her and peered over her shoulder. Hermione unfolded the parchment. It was a diary fragment. No name of the sender. But the contents— "[serious]…This is it," Her voice trembled slightly. She read aloud in a whisper. "Headmaster Everina performed a ritual in the stone chamber beneath the lake. She did not tell us the location, but the entrance to the chamber is beneath the rocks on the south shore of the lake—" "[excited]Amazing! The stone chamber was where the curse could be broken!" She spoke without thinking. She quickly covered her mouth. "[excited]It's the clue to breaking the curse! And it even says where!" Ronalda leaned in too. That was when— Neither of them had moved. Both leaning in to look at the diary at the same time, their shoulders pressed together perfectly. Moonlight streamed through the window. In the thin light, both of them went completely still. Ronalda's ears turned bright red before their eyes. Hermione tried to look back at the diary. But she couldn't. Seconds passed. Hermione moved first. She deliberately cleared her throat and shifted her shoulder slightly. "[serious]But… we'd need water-breathing magic to go to the lake bottom. In our current state with the curse still on us, it's dangerous," She tried to sound calm. She wasn't sure if it worked. Beside her, Ronalda looked up from the diary. Not his usual fidgeting self—he was looking straight at Hermione. "[serious]I'll go with you," His voice didn't crack. "[serious]I'll definitely protect you," It was quiet and direct. Hermione couldn't answer. Her throat felt tight, words wouldn't come. "[whispers]…Yes," That was all she said. Something warm bloomed deep in her chest. Hermione immediately decided not to think about what that was. Right now it was the diary's contents. Right now it was breaking the curse. (…It said "acceptance of emotion is key." I still don't understand what that means. Why am I remembering that now, of all times?) She told herself this while beginning to copy the diary. --- When she finished copying the parchment and Ronalda stood up saying "Let's go," it happened. His elbow hit the shelf. With a rumble, stacked books cascaded down. Restricted Section books were heavier than normal ones. Five, ten—a pile formed at Ronalda's feet. "[scared]Wh—!" "[scared]Quiet!" Both of them started picking up books frantically. Ronalda tried to return a thick book to the shelf saying "Was this one here?" Hermione quickly rearranged them saying "No, the spines have to be in order!" Ronalda caught another book. "[whispers]Not that one, this one—" "[whispers]Sorry, but I don't remember where—" Bumping and fumbling, they somehow got the books back in place. Minutes later, the shelf was roughly restored. Not perfect, but probably unnoticeable. Ronalda exhaled quietly, saying "Phew." His face was sweaty. He didn't seem like the same person who'd said something so cool about protecting her. Hermione realized she was smiling. Not out loud. But her mouth curved slightly. "[surprised]W-why are you laughing," "[serious]No reason," Hiding her smile, she left the library first. The corridor was dark and quiet. She heard Ronalda's footsteps following behind. As Hermione walked, she replayed his voice in her head just once. "I'll definitely protect you." (…Was he serious?) Her own voice was so quiet she couldn't tell if she'd spoken aloud or just thought it. (Never mind.) She pushed it away immediately. --- At the corner of the second-floor corridor, voices came. Two figures approaching from the other direction. Slytherin students. They hadn't noticed them yet. "You know that serious girl from Gryffindor?" "Yeah, um… Graves, right?" "I heard she's trying to keep the countercurse method all to herself." "A Muggle-born acting so important. How annoying." "Some Ravenclaw kids said it too. That she's being selfish not sharing information." The two voices faded into the distance. Footsteps disappeared. Hermione stopped in her tracks. (…Keeping it to herself.) (A Muggle-born acting so important.) The cold wall pressed against her palm. She'd touched it without realizing. Beside her, Ronalda said quietly. "[angry]Don't let them get to you. Just ignore it," "[serious]I'm fine," She said that and walked ahead. Ronalda said nothing. He just followed behind. She wasn't fine. --- Sitting on her own bed in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione looked out the window. The moon was out. Not full. But rounder than three days ago. (About seven days until the full moon…) The diary copy lay on her lap. "The stone chamber beneath the lake." The place to break the curse was finally found. A major breakthrough. Really, she should have been thinking about the next steps immediately. But those two voices kept repeating in her head. A Muggle-born acting so important. Keeping it to herself. She looked at her reflection in the window glass. Chestnut-colored fluffy hair. Brown eyes. A small star-shaped earring on her left ear—this was the only thing about herself that never changed. (I wasn't trying to keep it to myself.) (I just… wanted to share certain information. I didn't want to confuse everyone with wrong information.) Whether that was right or wrong, she couldn't judge now. She heard Ronalda's voice somewhere again. That voice saying he'd definitely protect her. Hermione folded the copy and placed it on her lap. The moon outside the window quietly tilted toward the west. --- The next morning. A notice appeared on the corridor bulletin board. "Unauthorized entry into the Restricted Section after closing was confirmed last night. Anyone with information should report to Professor Snape's office by end of day. —Severus Snape" Madam Pince had checked the magical entry records. (Could it be…) Hermione stared at the notice. Her stomach went cold. "[scared]What do we do," Beside her, Ronalda whispered, gripping a Chocolate Frog, his face pale. Hermione was about to answer when— A presence approached from down the corridor. Long silver hair swayed in the morning light, catching the sun. Cold silver eyes looked directly at Hermione. A green jade ear cuff on one ear—Slytherin prefect, Malfoy Dracona. Dracona stopped. "[cold]Graves," A low, quiet voice. "[cold]We need to talk about the information you found," Hermione couldn't move. Something pounded fiercely in her chest. Snape's summons, last night's whispers, and now Malfoy Dracona. She understood this single sentence was the beginning of the next storm.