We're Different

By the time Gavin came out of the Empty Classroom, it was completely dark outside.

He walked down the corridor, heading to find Cordelia.

He turned into the stone corridor outside the first-floor classrooms. Candlelight flickered in its wall sconces, making the shadows around the corner jump.

Then he saw a flash of red light.

It wasn't aimed at him.

The red light shot out from around the corner ahead and struck a figure walking away from him squarely in the back—Millicent Bulstrode.

The Slytherin girl didn't even have time to make a sound before she toppled straight forward.

Gavin stopped short.

He glanced toward the corner without thinking—

Hermione Granger leaned halfway out of the shadows, crouched low with her wand clutched in her hand. Her face shone with the thrill of having pulled it off.

She crept forward and grabbed Millicent by the arm, trying to drag her aside. After two steps, Millicent's foot caught in a gap between the floor tiles, and she wouldn't budge.

Hermione gritted her teeth and pulled again. This time Millicent's shoe came off, but her body moved only about two inches.

Gavin stood in the middle of the corridor, watching Hermione's smooth sequence of moves and her face, now red with effort. He could only think—

That's Gryffindor for you.

"What are you doing?"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin.

The back of her head almost hit a wall sconce. She had her wand raised by the time she turned around, but when she saw Gavin, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered it.

"Why don't you make any noise when you walk?!" she whispered, every word edged with the indignation of someone badly startled. "Do you know I almost—never mind. You're here at the right time. Help me move