The next week was pure torment for the Gryffindor students.
The shadow of Hogwarts' Petrification Incident had yet to fade, and under Hermione's observation, Harry seemed to be getting worse—his face was terribly pale, he often drifted off during lessons, and once in Charms, he even mistook Professor Flitwick's quill for his own wand.
Ron and Hermione suspected that Harry had secretly opened the cabinet and used the diary. But no matter how they checked, there was no sign that the combination lock had been turned, and even detection spells found nothing wrong. For the moment, they could only believe the diary's earlier explanation of "excessive mental exhaustion."
Given the situation, Hermione began throwing herself into the Restricted Section as if possessed, searching for The Shackles of the Soul: On Ancient Binding Magic and Vessels of Consciousness.
Whether it was deliberate or not, every time Hermione went to Lockhart's office, he was "coincidentally" absent.
And she had no chance to speak up during Defense Against the Dark Arts, because Malfoy always seemed to know what she intended to do. He would urge the surrounding Slytherin students to crowd around Lockhart and ask him all sorts of questions, forcibly cutting Hermione off from him.
He was like a venomous snake that had caught the scent of blood, constantly casting meaningful, malicious looks her way. Every one of them made Hermione burn with rage, yet left her helpless.
She tried all kinds of excuses to apply to Madam Pince, and even attempted to have Harry use his "Savior" reputation, but the impartial librarian turned them all away. Ron's twin brothers, George and Fred, offered several "unconventional" "brilliant ideas" for getting into the Restricted Section—including, but not limited to, using Stink Bombs as distractions, invisible-ink maps, and bribing Peeves—but Hermione rejected them all