Exposed Movements and Intelligence Analysis (1)

"Always sticking your nose in. Those Mudbloods are too busy hiding to be dangerous, like you said?" Hermione-as-Pansy snapped back in the vicious tone unique to pure-blood students. Then she patted "Crabbe" and "Goyle" on the arm and headed for the common room entrance. "We're leaving first. This is so annoying."

Harry and Ron hurriedly got up and followed. Ron moved so abruptly that he nearly tipped the sofa over.

Malfoy glanced at him with a knowing look, but said nothing. He merely lifted the Butterbeer that had gone completely cold and took a sip.

"Have fun, Pansy," Malfoy's lazy voice called from behind them.

He said the words "have fun" especially slowly, as though savoring something.

Harry did not look back. He walked toward the stone door with Crabbe's heavy, slightly pigeon-toed gait. Ron followed behind him, his steps even heavier and more hurried than before, as if he meant to stomp straight through the floor. Hermione led the way, but she could still feel Daphne's gaze on her back like a needle.

The moment the stone door shut behind them, he nearly collapsed.

"Move." Hermione's voice returned to normal, though she kept it very low. "It isn't safe here. How much longer will the potion last?"

"Twenty minutes at most." Harry tugged at his collar. It was choking him—Crabbe's neck was far thicker than his, and even with the robe fastened as loosely as possible, it was still tight.

"That's enough. From the dungeons to Gryffindor Tower, it'll take ten minutes if we don't detour. Hurry."

The three of them moved swiftly down the corridors. Hermione went first. Before coming here, she had memorized the castle's routes: which corridors teachers patrolled at night, which corners had portraits that loved tattling, which staircases suddenly changed direction—all of it was