So There Really Was a Clue?

"No problem!"

Everyone present nodded. They had disliked Lockhart for a long time, and after learning he was a fraud, they were even more outraged.

As soon as Anduin left, Hermione grabbed Ron and Harry and rushed out with the crowd.

"Hurry! We need to get there first and investigate the scene!" Hermione reminded them in a low voice as she ran. "That monster hasn't been gone long. If we move quickly, we might still catch up with it!"

"Do we really have to rush?" Hermione's yank made Ron stumble, and he nearly fell flat on his face.

"This is your fault!" Hermione shot him a glare. "You actually used such a dangerous, wide-area spell in a duel. You almost hurt us."

"I'd just learned something new and wanted to show everyone," Ron protested, pouting.

"I'd say you were showing us how to lose a hundred points in one go!" Hermione's words dripped with venom as she urged them on. "Come on, before that thing gets away!"

"But I can tell it isn't on this floor anymore. I can't hear it now!" Harry thought Hermione was being too hasty and hurried to reason with her.

"What?" Hermione stopped in her tracks. "You can hear that monster?"

Harry realized he might have let something slip, but he didn't want to lie to them, so he admitted quietly, "Yeah. I've been able to hear that monster whispering for a while, but it was too far away for me to make out what it was saying."

"But now the sound's completely gone, which means it's probably far away from us."

"What?"

Hermione wasn't the only one staring at him in surprise; Ron and Neville were, too.

"You mean you can understand that monster's language? Are you kidding?"

"No!" Hermione suddenly seemed to catch