When Hermione left her dorm room, it was almost curfew time, and lingering outside would be a violation of school rules.
But Hermione can't care about that now.
After leaving the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione first went to the Room of Requirement.
"Silan usually stays here; perhaps he's already back from Professor Snape's office," Hermione thought.
When she arrived at the Room of Requirement, she found it empty, so Hermione had to change direction and head towards Snape's office.
"Excuse me, sir... please address me as Professor; it's more respectful that way."
"Excuse me, Professor, I'm here to see Silan."
As Hermione mentally prepared her story for when she met Snape, she carefully made her way down the corridor, hugging the wall.
By the time she reached Snape's office, it was completely dark outside.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione knocked on the door.
She shouldn't have lingered outside at that time, much less let a professor see her lingering outside.
She had already mentally prepared herself for Snape's scolding.
Even so, Hermione still had to ask Snape what the reason was for locking Silan up in solitary confinement.
The knocking sounded abrupt in the quiet corridor, extending along the thick stone bricks before abruptly stopping at a dark corner.
No one answered from inside.
Just as Hermione raised her hand to knock again, the office door suddenly creaked open.
Snape stood behind the door, his face grim, as if he had been interrupted from something important. His emaciated appearance and weary demeanor made him look even more frightening.
Hermione's carefully prepared speech seemed to have vanished completely at this moment, leaving her speechless for a moment.
"What is it, Miss Granger?"
Snape seemed somewhat surprised to see Hermione, but instead of blaming her, he calmly asked...
"Excuse me, Professor, I'm here to see Silan." Taking a breath, Hermione finally uttered the prepared words.
Snape glanced outside and saw that it was already dark.
He then realized that he and Prewett had spent several days in the office correcting the steps involved in making the Wolfsbane Potion.
"Miss Granger probably came to pick up Silan because she was worried or missed her?" Snape guessed to himself. "It seems she cares a lot about Silan..."
Snape felt as if he had mistakenly drunk a cup of Dumbledore's honey water, but his face remained cold and menacing.
Hermione looked at Snape's expression, which appeared even more sinister in the darkness, and noticed his eyes were fixed on her, which made her a little scared.
"Did I arrive at the wrong time? No, precisely because of that, I arrived at the perfect time."
Hermione gritted her teeth and prepared to squeeze in, but Snape interrupted her.
"Come in." Snape opened the door, then turned and walked back to his office.
Hermione felt relieved and followed him inside.
Hermione walked into the office and looked around.
Snape's office was filled with bookshelves and cabinets, crammed with bottles and jars. Near the window was a huge table, and on the wall next to it hung a Slytherin crest banner.
Apart from the very exquisite flag, the desks and chairs in the entire office all looked rather old.
Only one chair stood out, exquisitely new and somewhat out of place.
"Sit down." Snape sat in his chair, his hands resting on the armrests, and quietly looked at Hermione across the desk.
Hermione glanced at the unusually exquisite chair and thought, "This is probably for entertaining important guests."
With that in mind, she deliberately avoided the chair.
"Sit in that chair." Snape slightly raised his chin, gesturing for Hermione to sit in the exquisitely crafted chair, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Hermione hesitated for a moment, then obediently sat down in the chair.
Snape was very pleased. "Prewett and Granger are both well-suited to this chair; it was well worth the effort."
Not finding Silan in the office, Hermione glanced at the workroom door and couldn't help but ask, "Professor, what exactly did Silan do wrong that you're putting him in solitary confinement like this?"
Snape paused, then said in a low voice, "That's a baseless accusation, a foolish rumor."
Seeing Hermione's still tense face, Snape sighed helplessly and explained, "Prewett is helping me test and improve the Potions -making process."
Hermione glanced instinctively at the workshop and was taken aback. "Silan's Potions- making skills are already good enough to help Professor Snape?"
He's a Potions Master!
Snape's tone became light and proud as he continued, "Unlike those idiots with Troll snot in their heads, Prewett's Potions talent is something even I admire. Besides, his meticulousness, caution, and composure are rare indeed."
"That's exactly what I valued about him, which is why I had him help me with the experiments."
"To be honest, this experiment has already been a great success. Once the paper is published, it will probably cause a stir in the academic world."
Hermione stared blankly at Snape in front of her, her little head spinning, feeling that Professor Snape was a complete stranger.
She had never seen Professor Snape speak so much at once, especially praising a student!
That's even more impossible!
It's worth noting that Professor Snape's evaluations of his students in Potions were usually along the lines of "Your heads are Troll snot," "Even Flobberworm knows more Potions than you," or simply, "Take your head to the desert, and you probably won't die of thirst."
What Hermione found even stranger was that Professor Snape was clearly praising Silan, yet the proud expression on his face seemed to be praising himself.
That's really strange...
For a moment, the joy of Silan being put in solitary confinement and the shock of Snape praising Silan were mixed together in Hermione's mind.
Just as Hermione was lost in thought, Silan came out of the workshop.
"Professor... Hermione? What are you doing here?" Silan asked curiously upon seeing Hermione.
Before Hermione could speak, she suddenly heard Snape say sarcastically, "Looks like Miss Granger misses you so much that she's come knocking on my door asking me for you."
Hermione was about to speak when Snape's sudden mockery choked her back, and she hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, I..."
Silan slapped his forehead. He'd been so busy with experiments these past few days that he'd completely forgotten how many days had passed outside.
"Leave the rest of the work to me. You and Miss Granger can go back now." Snape stood up, took another stack of Parchment, and headed towards the workshop.
Silan, step aside. "Goodbye, Professor."
Snape simply waved his hand without saying a word, but when he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, there was a hint of nostalgia and envy.
After Snape entered the workshop, Silan and Hermione quietly slipped out.
Looking at the pitch-black night outside, Silan glanced at the time, "September 19th, 7 PM..."
September 19th?!
Upon seeing the date, Silan was startled. "Isn't this Hermione's birthday? I forgot?"
The professor misled me!