The students were all crowded around the entrance to the Castle. As Professor McGonagall approached with Harry and Ron, the crowd parted to let them through.
The young wizards still grumbling about the match being canceled fell silent too. Harry followed close behind Professor McGonagall, his head bowed low, keenly aware of one suspicious, astonished look after another.
But Harry himself had no idea what had happened.
"Ron, where's Hermione?" Harry asked quietly, suddenly realizing that Hermione was not there.
At that thought, Harry suddenly began to tremble. "Nothing's happened to Hermione, has it?"
"I don't know." Ron shook his head gently.
With an anxious look on his face, Harry climbed the marble stairs. Professor McGonagall led them purposefully toward somewhere that was not on any route to an office.
This way... led to the Hospital Wing!
Sure enough, Harry's judgment was correct. As they approached the Hospital Wing, he felt his whole body beginning to shake.
Professor McGonagall stopped and said in an unusually gentle voice,
"This will come as a shock..." She paused, seemingly weighing her words. "There has been another attack..."
Harry's mind went numb, and his vision darkened. He could barely stay on his feet...
"Is... is it Hermione?" he murmured.
By then, Professor McGonagall had pushed open the door, and Harry and Ron walked in together.
Madam Pomfrey was bending over to examine something, and the figure standing beside her could not have been more familiar to Harry.
"It's not Hermione." He breathed a sigh of relief, only for his heart to rise into his throat again. "If it isn't Hermione, who is it? Neville? No, Neville was at the pitch just now. Seamus? Or..."
Thinking this over, the two of them drew closer.
"Su Er..." Ron exclaimed.
Su Er lay motionless on the bed,