Hermione's brow slowly furrowed.
Something was definitely wrong.
Nicolas Flamel had calibrated her journey to exactly seventy years, yet she had returned much later than expected.
Something she knew nothing about must have happened at Hogwarts while she was away.
Without alerting anyone, she silently left the Great Hall.
There wasn't even a ghost in the corridors. Hermione floated along and discovered that several large classrooms, not just the Great Hall, were packed with students doing independent study.
Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and the others were nowhere to be seen. In their place stood unfamiliar wizards in black trench coats at the front of the classrooms.
Hermione had dealt with far too many wizards like these. One glance told her exactly who they were.
Aurors!
Her brow furrowed deeper. Desperate to find someone who knew what was going on, she headed straight for the offices.
But all the professors' offices were dark, their doors shut tight. Clearly, no one was there.
Only when she reached an out-of-the-way room did she finally spot a faint light coming from inside.
Snape's office.
The old bat was still working overtime at this hour?
Hermione was about to push the door open and ask Snape what was happening when faint footsteps suddenly sounded from farther down the corridor.
She raised an eyebrow and floated silently toward them.
At a side door leading to the Greenhouses behind the castle, the lock was jiggling in every direction, as though something was trying to pick it, yet no one was visible.
Her gaze shifted slightly, and her eyes lit up with an eerie blue glow.
The next second, figures appeared before her.
Three furtive figures were crouching on the floor.
"Hurry up. That pink toad isn't in the castle tonight. We need to get moving."
After watching