Harry and Ron expressed no concern whatsoever about Hermione's troubles.
Someone had a crush on their friend. With something that entertaining, they were already being good friends by not joining in and making mischief. Expecting them to help ease her troubles? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Hermione could do nothing about it either.
But with both troublemakers absent today, Hermione could look for information in peace. Unfortunately, even when it grew very late and the Library was about to close and force everyone out, the three of them still had not found any clues about the things they could not even identify as writing or symbols.
"There's nothing anywhere..." Hermione said doubtfully as she walked toward the Common Room, carrying a hefty volume on the transmission and evolution of wizard and Muggle culture. "But I really feel like I've seen this writing before."
"We don't doubt that at all," Harry and Ron said, nodding together.
They truly never doubted Hermione's memory.
They trusted Hermione just as they trusted the school's professors. If Hermione felt she had seen it, then she definitely had. She simply had not yet remembered where.
"Let's leave it until tomorrow. Now that we have an initial lead, things should go more smoothly from here," Harry said.
Ron nodded along. Only Hermione kept frowning. Having an impression of something but being unable to remember it was a rare experience for her, and not one she enjoyed.
That night, Harry entered deep meditation again and once more touched one of those silver stars on the wall of his mental world.
At first, he had thought there were many such stars. Only later did he discover that whenever he touched one, a whole swath disappeared at once. Judging by that pattern, there should actually only be six or seven, perhaps even