Winter sunlight often did nothing useful, but whenever it made an appearance, it always brought the feeling of a long-awaited reunion.
The Basilisk's venom had reached the point where even a drop of blood could seal one's throat. Although Eli had narrowly escaped death after being wounded by the snake venom on the sword yesterday, the damage it had done to his body was very real. Even potions could not restore his vitality in such a short time, so he slept until noon without even noticing when Hermione Granger had left the room.
With his bleary eyes, everything looked blurry. Eli stumbled out of his room in a daze and finally found the missing Hermione in the sitting room.
When Hermione saw Eli drift out unsteadily, her expression sharpened. She rose from where she had been whispering with Tonks and pulled Eli over to the sofa.
"How are you? You look exhausted. You still need some potions," Hermione said worriedly.
Sitting on Hermione's other side, Tonks's gaze grew increasingly strange. Her eyes kept darting between Hermione and Eli, and a subtle curve appeared on her lips as her hair turned a suggestive peach pink.
"I say, what exactly did you two do? You even need potions..." Tonks's tone became more and more teasing, making Hermione flush crimson as she earned a reproachful slap from Hermione.
At that, Eli straightened his back and declared loudly, "Potions? Who needs potions? I don't need any potions!"
Smack!
Hermione withdrew her hand and said in embarrassed anger, "You talk too much!"
Tonks was practically turning into a Niffler that had spotted jewelry. Gossip burned fiercely in her eyes. "Who would've thought, Hermione? You're quite wild..."
The more they tried to explain, the worse it sounded. Hermione simply stopped talking and kept pinching the flesh