How to Persuade a Half-Grown Brat

"Ah? Oh, okay," Harry replied perfunctorily. He still felt awful. The scar on his forehead made it impossible for him to care about what Hermione meant by Assignment One, Two, or Three.

"I-I'll do them tomorrow." Harry stuffed the handouts and draft paper he had just taken from his bag back inside.

"Write them in your Homework Planner!" Hermione suggested. "That way you won't forget!"

Harry and Ron exchanged a look. He had no choice but to obediently pull out his planner and carefully open it.

"Don't say you'll do it later, you second-rate hack!" the notebook scolded. Harry hastily wrote down the requirements for Tierra's calculation problems, and Hermione smiled in satisfaction.

"I-I'm going back to sleep first." Harry shoved the Homework Planner into his bag, thinking that he would throw it into the fire the first chance he got.

He crossed the Common Room and made his way onto the quiet, cool stone stairs leading to the boys' dormitory.

Harry felt terrible now, as though he were sick—but worse than being sick. He also felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness...

Harry thought that maybe he would feel better after lying down for a while. It was already seven or eight o'clock, so he might as well get some sleep.

Harry got up early the next morning. He turned his head to glance at the alarm clock—

It was only half past six, but Harry was not sleepy at all. He could only get up, get dressed, and reluctantly pick up his bag, intending to have breakfast first and then read for a while.

After a night of sleep and rest, the exhaustion and pain in Harry's body had eased considerably, but that feeling of loneliness had become even more deeply etched into him.

Especially when he saw, early