Hermione: Want to Take a Bath Together?

The four of them fell silent for a while. Harry was distraught, and Cyrus slowly walked over to the window. Outside, a light snow had begun to fall.

Cyrus was lost in thought too. For a time, the only sound in the common room was the crackling of firewood.

Before long, Harry and Ron went upstairs to rest.

Harry was probably worried that the club members would be back soon. Honestly, after what had happened, he had no idea what to do.

Avoiding them seemed like the easiest choice.

Only Cyrus and Hermione remained in the common room. The young witch picked up a book and read for a while, then began to feel sleepy herself.

"Shall we get some rest too?" Hermione asked Cyrus. "But how about a bath first? It's a bit cold."

Cyrus was baffled.

"Sure."

Many of the bathrooms at Hogwarts had bathing facilities. In fact, there were baths right in the dormitories. Unlike somewhere as luxurious as the Prefects' Bathroom, though, the dormitory baths were simply communal bathhouses with separate sections for boys and girls.

Cyrus was using Ginny's body, so naturally, he could only enter the Girls' Bathroom.

It wasn't cold in the bathhouse at all. Once the shower was turned on, warm water came pouring down. Hogwarts naturally had neither solar water heating nor water heaters, but magic could heat the water just as well.

Steam filled the bathroom. Cyrus sat beside another flat-chested little girl while Hermione carefully washed her bushy hair.

"Ginny, could you scrub my back for me? I can't reach."

"Of course," Cyrus said calmly.

He wasn't into little girls and had no interest in the flat-chested Hermione for the time being.

Early the next morning, Cyrus came downstairs in Ginny's body, which looked considerably more refreshed, and found Harry sitting silently beside the blazing fireplace. Ron and Hermione were playing wizard's chess.

"What's going on? Aren't you going to class?"

"We only had Herbology today, and it's been canceled." Ron turned his head. "There's a blizzard. Professor Sprout has to put socks and scarves on the mandrakes."

Then Hermione whispered in Cyrus's ear, "Harry's having a pretty rough time. You know, after what happened yesterday... everyone's avoiding him."

"I think I could help explain things to them," Cyrus said after a moment's thought.

But Harry had already risen from the sofa. "No, there's no need. Thanks. I don't care what they think of me. As long as you believe me, that's enough."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked when he saw Cyrus and Harry heading out together. As far as he remembered, Ginny's classes were in the afternoon today.

"To have breakfast."

"To get some air."

Cyrus and Harry left the common room together.

A blizzard was indeed raging outside the castle. Dense, gray snowflakes swirled through the sky, obscuring every window and leaving the castle far darker than it usually was during the day.

"Don't worry too much, Harry. I'm sure they'll soon realize you'd never do something like this. Everyone knows you're a decent person," Cyrus said reassuringly.

"Thanks, Ginny." Harry forced a smile. He wasn't very hopeful. Just as "Ginny" had said yesterday, those people didn't care about the truth. They just wanted something to gossip about. After everything that had happened, they needed an outlet for their emotions.

It made no difference whether he was responsible-and they would rather it was him!

After all, he was the famous Harry Potter. Linking someone famous to all those terrible things always gave people a particular sense of satisfaction, as though doing so made them seem more clearheaded than everyone else.

The two didn't stay together, but soon went their separate ways.

Cyrus didn't go to the Great Hall for breakfast either. Instead, he turned and headed for the bathroom on the third floor.

The attacks had to continue.

The attacks weren't an end in themselves. Only by creating panic would the events at Hogwarts attract attention, and only then could Cyrus find a way to have Dumbledore temporarily driven out of the school. Otherwise, even if he returned to life, he would still be no match for Dumbledore.

Soon, he emerged from the bathroom alone. By now, the basilisk was moving through the pipes. Cyrus walked along the corridors, searching for his next target.

Heavy snow fell outside. Dense, gray snowflakes drifted through the air, and wind flooded the corridors.

He soon found a target: Justin Finch-Fletchley, a second-year Hufflepuff wizard from the Muggle world.

He seemed to be heading to the kitchen for an extra snack, accompanied by a friend. Cyrus didn't know the other boy, but that didn't matter.

He cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then followed them.

"Ernie, do you think Harry Potter really is the Heir of Slytherin?" Justin asked his companion as they walked. "Honestly, I only found out yesterday that this Parseltongue thing you were talking about even existed."

"I'd say it's almost certain. That's an ability only Dark wizards have," Ernie declared confidently. "And you saw it too. He was terrifying when he spoke to that snake yesterday!"

"Maybe you're right." Justin nodded earnestly.

Cyrus had already drawn up beside them. He took out his wand and waved it near Justin's temple.

Imperio.

Justin's eyes immediately lost focus, as though Cyrus had drawn his soul out of him. He stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Ernie asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. I just remembered I have something to do, so I need to head back first. Could you get me a cup of hot pumpkin juice?" Justin said woodenly under Cyrus's control.

Ernie suspected nothing. "Then be careful on the way. I remember you told him you were Muggle-born, didn't you?"

"I'll be careful."

Cyrus guided Justin away. Fortunately, the weather meant there were very few people in the corridors today. It was too cold, and it was still snowing. Once the snow stopped, quite a few people would come out to wander around.

He led Justin through the castle in search of a ghost, and soon came across Nearly Headless Nick drifting about in a pitch-black corridor.

Then he lifted the Imperius Curse from Justin.

The bewildered wizard hadn't yet worked out what was happening and looked blankly around him.

"How did I... get here?"

"How did you get here? You really are confused. Didn't you walk here yourself?" Nick asked in puzzlement, tilting his head-which nearly fell off.

"You're the Gryffindor ghost? What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much. Helping people with their troubles," Nick said gloomily. "Also, I noticed the window here was open. I was going to close it for you, only to realize that I'm already dead, and a ghost-"

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed an expression of utter terror on Justin's face. Then the boy toppled over rigidly, as though his soul had been frightened right out of his body.

"-What? Is being a ghost really that frightening?" Nick looked incredulous. "I'm sure I make an appearance every year when the young witches and wizards first arrive."

With a bewildered expression, he turned his head-

Now he knew why Justin had been so terrified.