He would set aside the matter of investigating the extra light bulb in his head for now.
The most important thing at the moment was to find Hermione and let her know he was safe. He had disappeared for so long without saying anything, and he could already imagine how angry she would be.
Anyone would have felt the same. He needed to think of a way to get her to listen to his explanation.
Come to think of it, he had imagined countless times what kind of trial Helga Hufflepuff would leave behind, but reality often differed wildly from imagination.
None of the trials he had imagined had materialized. Instead, a poke from Hufflepuff had put him to sleep for over half a month.
Su Er had yet to work out how to explain his disappearance of over half a month to Hermione when, after descending the marble staircase, he unexpectedly heard a clatter of footsteps and voices around a corner on the castle's fourth floor.
Without the slightest warning, Su Er rounded the corner and came face-to-face with Hermione in the crowd.
She stopped in her tracks, holding her books in a daze. She blinked several times, then raised a hand to rub her eyes, the delight and bewilderment in them undisguised.
Su Er laughed at the sight. There were plenty of Gryffindor students nearby, but he paid them no mind. Even when Harry, Ron, and Neville raised their hands to greet him from the crowd, he ignored them.
He strolled forward and, under a sea of astonished gazes, pulled Hermione straight into his arms, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear.
"I'm back."
She was still dazed, but the Gryffindors around them had already reacted.
"Wow."
"Oh my goodness."
"That's bold."
"Badass!"
Words like these poured