Caesar said evenly, "He went to the Himalayas. He said he was investigating an important ancient magical ruin."
"The Snowy Plateau..." Hermione murmured, repeating the words. Her grip on his robes loosened slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on his face. "Why didn't he come to me? Why did he... take you on as a student instead?"
She looked Caesar up and down, her tone full of indescribable pain and a kind of almost jealous fury, as though she were inspecting a shoddy counterfeit.
Then, as if she had suddenly come to her senses, she released him with a jerk.
She stepped back, her face twisting into an expression of disgust and resolve. Her voice was as cold as ice.
"You think you're worthy of being his student? You weren't even threatened, and you told me everything about his whereabouts!
"From now on, you're not to call yourself his student again! Or else..."
Before she could finish, she raised her wand slightly, its tip pointed straight at Caesar.
"Is there something you need my teacher for?"
Caesar remained calm as he asked the crucial question. He needed to know the answer before he could plan his next move.
"Are you still in contact?" Hermione asked instead of answering. Her tone softened a little, but she was still tense. "Get him to come here, or tell me how to contact him."
Caesar's mind raced. He glanced at Luna, who was quietly watching from the side, and a mischievous idea suddenly occurred to him.
"We have a few special ways of contacting each other, but they're not very reliable.
"Teacher mentioned that he wanted to visit Ravenclaw House at the end of the year. He'd heard there was a clever new student there.
"He wanted to assess them and consider taking them