Jokes and Secrets

With an official name, the little group that had only come together by chance suddenly felt formal. They discussed a few more rules together—for example, any new members had to be approved by everyone, no one could damage another member's belongings, and SSC members had to stand up for one another when dealing with professors or other students.

Wade had originally thought it all felt a bit like a game—a group of just a few people, together when they got along and apart when they did not, so why bother setting rules? But everyone else took it very seriously, and that gave Wade a strange feeling too.

It was as though he had really joined some secret organization.

"Rue was used as an antidote in Ancient Greece. It was discovered in the sixteenth century—so far, its medicinal properties have been found to include the following: extracts from its stems and leaves can dispel toxins—its pollen can resist the Poisonous Gas sprayed by a Basilisk—Rue can be widely cultivated, and its cultivation method is—during cultivation, care must be taken to—"

Wade wrote down the last letter on the parchment, finishing yesterday's Herbology homework. As for his assignments for the other subjects, he had finished them all on the same day as the lessons. Wade checked the grammar once more, then rolled up the parchment after the ink had dried.

"Wade, have you finished your homework?" Hermione leaned over and asked.

"Yes."

"There's something I want to tell you," Hermione said quietly.

The two moved to the other side of the classroom. Wade flicked his Wand. "Muffliato."

—No matter how loudly they spoke, others would hear only a faint buzzing.

Wade looked at Hermione's worried expression and asked, "What happened?"

"It's like this. The afternoon before yesterday, Malfoy challenged Harry to a midnight duel in the Trophy Room. The moment I heard it, I knew he was up to no good, because he doesn't have the nerve for it!" Hermione said angrily. "But Harry and Ron wouldn't listen to me at all, all because of some—male pride—it's so selfish! They never even considered how many points would be deducted if they were caught! They didn't care about the honor of the House at all!"

Hermione took several deep breaths before managing to suppress her anger and continue. "Of course, that isn't the point—because luckily, we weren't caught, though it was very close—"

"—We?" Wade caught the key word.

"Yes. While I was trying to stop them from doing something stupid, I accidentally got locked outside the Common Room and had no choice but to go with them." Hermione frowned and said with disgust, "As expected, Malfoy never went to the Trophy Room. He even tipped Filch off—the despicable coward! Then, while we were running away, we broke into a locked room—"

Hermione suddenly lowered her voice and asked, "Wade, do you remember what Professor Dumbledore said at the beginning of term?"

Wade thought for a moment. Dumbledore's speech had not contained much to begin with, and what had impressed him most was, of course—

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak?"

"Oh, not that!" Hermione rolled her eyes and reminded him, "It was—anyone who does not wish to suffer an accident and die a painful death—"

"—should stay away from the Fourth-floor Corridor?" Wade remembered. "You went to the fourth floor? What did you see?"

"Yes. We accidentally ran up to the fourth floor, and then we saw a—" Hermione swallowed, traces of lingering fear still on her face. "A Three-headed Dog as tall as a house!"

"—How did you survive?" Wade was speechless. He had long forgotten such details, and he had not expected Hermione and the others to begin having these adventures so early. "I remember reading about that kind of monster in a book. Modern Three-headed Dogs may not be the Cerberus of legend, but their teeth can crush skulls with ease. Their fangs also contain corrosive venom, and wounds from their bites are very difficult to heal."

"It might not have reacted at first, but then it roared and lunged at us. It almost ate us!" Hermione clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly. "The school actually—actually keeps such a dangerous monster in the castle! It's unbelievable! Even if they wanted it to guard something, what if another reckless student wandered in?! Does the school not care about ordinary students' safety at all?"

Wade casually made a joke. "Maybe Magic Schools have something like a Death Quota? A few students dying every year is no big deal, and it even serves as a warning to everyone else! It lets them know not to take their professors' words lightly!"

"—That's a thing?" Hermione grabbed at her face in horror and said incoherently, "But I never saw anything like that in Hogwarts: A History—right, of course something like that wouldn't be written in a book—this is terrifying! How could the Ministry of Magic allow—"

Wade had not expected her to believe him without the slightest doubt. He hurriedly raised his hands in apology. "Sorry! Hermione, I made it up. Don't take it seriously—"

Hermione stared at him blankly, and tears even welled up in her brown eyes.

Now Wade truly felt a measure of guilt. He apologized again sincerely. "I'm sorry. You looked like you were scared, so I made a joke. But I guess it turned into a hellish joke—I'm an idiot! Don't be angry—"

Hermione kept a straight face and said nothing, so angry that she ignored Wade for a long while.

It was not until practice ended and everyone else had left that Wade stopped Hermione and apologized repeatedly, finally persuading the girl to relent.

Hermione lowered her head and said gloomily, "Actually, I know—nobody likes me—but I thought you were my friend. Don't make fun of me like everyone else does—"

Wade's heart melted, and guilt nearly drowned him whole. It was the kind of guilt that would make him slap himself if he remembered it in the middle of the night—because he knew Hermione had not been having an easy time in Gryffindor lately, which was why she seemed so sensitive and vulnerable. He raised two fingers as if taking an oath and said seriously, "I'm sorry. I promise there won't be a next time."

Hermione looked into his eyes for a long while before saying softly, "A joke only counts as a joke when both people find it funny."

"I'll remember that." Wade felt ashamed. Such a simple truth, yet he had needed a real eleven-year-old girl to tell him. After living a second life, had he really started thinking of himself as a carefree little boy?

Looking at the cowlick on top of his head, Hermione smiled faintly.

"All right, I'm not angry anymore." The girl cleared her throat. "Back to the Three-headed Dog—I actually wanted to ask your advice. Should I go talk to Professor McGonagall?"

"You want to talk to Professor McGonagall about the safety issue with the Three-headed Dog?" Wade immediately understood what she meant.

"Yes." Hermione scratched at her already messy hair in distress. "Although they locked that room, an Unlocking Charm would open it. What if some overly curious student went inside—sigh, I want to suggest that Professor McGonagall conceal the room with powerful magic, but that would expose the fact that we broke the school rules—"

"Why not look at it from another angle, Hermione?" After thinking for a moment, Wade said, "Maybe the door was sealed so carelessly because someone was meant to open it."