The three of them chatted and laughed all the way back to the castle.
Harry went to Quidditch practice, Ron followed him to the stands. They didn't return to the Great Hall for dinner until dusk.
After dinner, I finished my homework in the common room. By then, the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the common room was warm and cozy.
Ron finished writing the last line, looked at his parchment, and smiled with satisfaction. His handwriting was crooked and there were several places where the ink had bled through.
But he clearly had no intention of rewriting it; he stuffed the parchment into his satchel and turned to rummage through his robe.
"Come on, Harry, get your Magic Cards out!"
Hermione looked up from her book and glanced at him. " Ron, you were so diligent last semester, why are you so lazy this semester?"
"No card rewards this semester either." Ron waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, it's only been a short time since the exams ended; everyone needs a breather."
He reached into his robe pocket and rummaged around for a bit, then stopped.
He reached into his other pocket, but it was empty.
Ron's expression changed. He stood up, shook his robe, and turned both pockets inside out, finding nothing but a few sugar crumbs stuck to the lining.
"Where's my Magic Cards?!" His voice suddenly rose, "There's also a live Quidditch Pitch in there!"
Harry had just put his homework into his bag when he looked up at him. "Did you leave it in your dorm?"
"No! I took it out today and didn't put it back!" Ron started rummaging through his backpack.
"I definitely put it in my robe pocket; I even touched it during my Care of Magical Creatures!"
Harry instinctively touched the pocket of his robe.
His movements stopped.
He felt around again, then turned both pockets of the robe inside out; they were empty.
His Hogwarts Deck is also gone.
"Mine's gone too," Harry said.
The two men stared at each other, Ron's face showing an expression as if the sky had fallen.
"Are you sure you took it out too?" he asked Harry.
"I remember bringing it," Harry said, racking his brain. "I packed it in the common room this morning, and then I glanced at it at lunchtime..."
"So it's lost." Ron's voice became slightly weak. "Where did it go?"
The two began searching through the common room.
They searched everywhere they could: under the sofa, in the armchairs, under the coffee table, and in the corners behind the bookshelves. Even Hermione put down her book to help them look around.
However, there was nothing there.
Ron plopped down on the sofa, his face looking like he'd lost Galleon: "That's a live Quidditch Pitch! I finally got it after all this trouble..."
Harry frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead. " Ron."
"Um?"
" Care of Magical Creatures."
Ron looked up.
"We were playing cards during class," Harry said. "After class, I was too busy stuffing those Flobberworm back into the box Hagrid gave me. They were so disgusting, I didn't want to touch them again..."
"Then he forgot the cards on the grass." Ron finished speaking, his face even more grim. "My God, it's already evening."
"No! We have to go back and get it." Harry stood up.
Hermione closed the book. "It's too late, you shouldn't go. What if you run into Filch?"
"We'll be careful," Ron said, his tone much calmer than before. "Besides, we have Harry's Invisibility Cloak, don't we?"
"We have to go," Harry said helplessly. "Those cards are made by Muggle; if they're left on the grass overnight, the dew will ruin them completely."
Hermione looked at the two of them and sighed.
She knew these two people too well; she knew she couldn't stop them from making a decision.
"Then I'll go with you." She stuffed the book into her bag.
"Didn't you say you weren't going?" Ron asked.
"I said it's too late, don't go." Hermione zipped up her backpack. "If you insist on going, three people are safer than two."
Ron grinned. "I knew you'd come."
"Stop talking nonsense and get going."
The three of them crawled out through the hole in the common room. Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag, shook it out, and put it over their heads.
The Invisibility Cloak wasn't small, but it was still a bit cramped around three third-grade students.
The three of them huddled together as they moved forward in the corridor, trying to keep their steps as quiet as possible.
The hallways of Hogwarts were eerily quiet at night, with only the crackling of torches on the walls.
Occasionally, the sound of armor moving could be heard in the distance, but overall, the castle had entered a semi-sleep state at this time.
They walked along the corridor toward Hagrid's Hut, slipped out through a side door of the castle, and crossed the open meadow.
The evening breeze was a bit chilly, and the dew on the grass had begun to condense, making your shoes feel damp when you stepped on it.
"It should be around here," Harry whispered. "We laid a cloth under that crooked tree during class..."
The three of them found the tree in the dark.
Ron crouched down and felt around on the grass. His fingers touched something, and when he picked it up, he saw it was the set of Magic Cards he had lost.
The cards were damp with dew, but not soaked through, and the cards inside were still intact.
"Found it!" he said in a low voice, his tone filled with obvious relief.
"What about mine?" Harry asked.
Ron searched again, and found Harry's set among the grass.
A minion card containing [ Ron ] and [ Hermione ] slipped out of the deck and fell onto the grass; thankfully, it wasn't lost.
"They're all here." Ron handed him the cards.
Harry put the cards away and breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go, let's get back quickly."
Just as the three were about to return, a sudden change occurred!
A deathly chill, almost completely draining away all warmth, instantly enveloped the surroundings.
Clumps of ethereal black shadows shrouded in old gray robes no longer wandered aimlessly around Hogwarts, but instead emerged one after another from the darkness in all directions.
Countless shadows glided silently along the ground, covering the sky and surging endlessly towards the Forbidden Forest.
The Hogwarts grounds in the distance were enveloped by them, densely packed, layer upon layer, like a tide overflowing over the grass, gradually swallowing the moonlight.
A damp, rotten chill rolled in, as if trying to draw all warmth and pleasant memories out of my bones.
The air was filled with the dry, hoarse voices of countless Dementor mixed together, like the wailing of countless dying people in the darkness.
A grayish-white mist rose from the ground, spreading in the direction the Dementor were moving.
Harry, Harry, and their companions stared in disbelief at the massive horde of Dementor that had suddenly appeared and surged toward the Forbidden Forest, unable to move for a moment.