Ron took off his wizard's robe and covered his head with it, using it as a makeshift Invisibility Cloak, just to hide his red hair.
After the exams, Hogwarts was filled with laughter and joy as everyone relaxed completely. A large crowd had gathered in the Gryffindor common room. Ron gave the command and hurriedly ran upstairs, trying to sneak into his dormitory, but he was spotted and stopped by someone.
" Ron?" Neville stood up. "Are you playing Dementor?"
Upon hearing this, Ron removed the wizard's robe that was covering his head, and gave an awkward smile, "The wind is too strong today, it's giving me a headache."
Neville was only joking, but he immediately changed the subject. "Why aren't you with Harry and Hermione? Hermione just came back, and she didn't seem to be in a good mood."
"I'll explain later, Neville. I have other things to do." Ron was about to go upstairs when he saw Hermione coming down the stairs from the girls' dormitory.
Their eyes met accidentally, Ron immediately lowered his head in shame. In the original storyline, he seemed to have just had a big argument with Hermione.
Hermione hadn't intended to pay any attention to Ron, but seeing him constantly fidgeting with his pants, she couldn't help but ask, "Where's Harry? What are you doing here all by yourself?"
Ron wanted to apologize to Hermione, but he was worried that his actions would change the timeline, so he kept his head down and remained silent.
"If you don't say anything, I'm going back to sleep," Hermione said, making a move to go upstairs again. "Exams are mentally taxing, and besides, I figured out a spell today."
"Going to sleep?" Ron sensed something was wrong. If Hermione was going to sleep, who would go to the Forbidden Forest to rescue him and Harry later?
"Wait a minute, Hermione," Ron said, pulling her back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have wronged you and Crookshanks over something that wasn't settled, and I shouldn't have made such a fuss over it repeatedly, and even wrongly accused you of being a rule-abiding old stubborn."
Hermione's lips involuntarily curled into a smile as she gripped the handrail and descended the stairs. "Alright, I accept your apology, but you're right, following the rules is one of my fine virtues."
Ron shook his head, it was hard to tell whether he was nodding or shaking his head, "I hope so."
At this moment, Ron belatedly realized that he should have played a part in Hermione's timely appearance in the Forbidden Forest to save him and Harry from the Dementor' attack.
"If you're not so tired that you can't lie down, could you please take a look inside the Forbidden Forest?" Ron stammered.
He really didn't know how to persuade Hermione, how to convince someone to break school rules and go to the Forbidden Forest, especially without a reason.
But Hermione, sitting opposite him, was lost in thought.
Her eyes seemed to flash with countless lines of code, and her hand unconsciously touched the necklace on her chest. Yes, no one will suddenly realize their mistake and apologize immediately after an argument; it always takes time.
She looked at Ron, a confident smile on her face, "Should I take the first route, or the second route?"
Ron's expression froze. He hadn't expected Hermione to be so clever, seeing through the deception so quickly. He shook his head and sighed softly, " Harry's right, you're a genius, Hermione. You should take the first route now."
Hogwarts, at the Whomping Willow.
Harry and Hermione hid behind a tree, watching the Whomping Willow Harry and Ron, who were trying to force their way in, making them spin like tops. Both were a little embarrassed, and Harry said self-deprecatingly, "We can be pretty stupid sometimes, can't we?"
Hermione chuckled. "Didn't anyone tell you how to get into the Whomping Willow's secret passage?"
" Professor Lupin said there's a scab on it—" Harry's answer suddenly paused. He turned to look at himself and Ron, who were being spanked, and muttered to himself, "I know..."
He looked at Hermione: " Ron and I didn't stumble in by accident; someone helped us hit the scab. Hermione, let's go together, I'm about to unleash my ultimate attack over there."
"But what if we get found out?"
"It's too late, Hermione— "
"No, Harry!"
At this moment, Harry, brimming with ambition, was seriously assuming a stance to unleash his ultimate attack in front of the Whomping Willow. He roared, " Incendio— "
In a daze, he thought he heard someone calling his name, or perhaps Hermione's name, but he was completely focused on casting the spell and dismissed it as a hallucination.
After the flames had finished licking away at the last bit, the slightly charred Whomping Willow finally drooped limply.
"It worked, Harry!" Ron exclaimed in delight.
"Let's go in quickly!" Harry immediately led Ron into the secret passage.
Hermione, still behind the tree, was emphasizing, "What are you doing, Harry? We almost got caught!"
"No, we won't," Harry reassured him. "Look at Ron and me, we were so silly, we weren't even paying attention to our surroundings."
"Next, Professor Lupin and Snape will enter the Shrieking Shack one after the other, and a chaotic battle will break out. Peter take the opportunity to escape, and Ron, Sirius, and I will chase after him. We'll encounter Dementor in the Forbidden Forest, and then we'll meet you—wait a minute, how did you know we were in the Forbidden Forest?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "You know the answer, because I'm a genius."
"But you're not allowed to do it again, Harry," Hermione very seriously.
"Alright," Harry said helplessly, "We can go to the other side of the Forbidden Forest now and observe Peter's escape from a distance, see how Snape let Peter go, and find out who saved us."
At this point, Harry couldn't help but get excited. "Do you think it could be my parents, Hermione? Professor Lupin said that my parents' Patronus is a stag and a doe."
"Possibly," Hermione was about to analyze when she saw another person appear in front of the Whomping Willow. She quickly changed the subject, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Look, it's Professor Lupin."
Harry looked over and saw Professor Lupin struggling to squeeze into the secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow. After he went in, Snape immediately followed furtively. Before entering the Whomping Willow, he stood still for a long time, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. Finally, Harry watched him drink a small vial of potion, flick his robes, and slip inside as well.
After everyone had gone inside, Harry and Hermione came out and picked up the bottle Snape had thrown on the ground. "It's Felix Felicis. No wonder he was so lucky to dodge our attack."
"No wonder Professor Lupin couldn't stop Snape in the end," Harry said, looking at Hermione. "Let's go, we need to scout out the area beforehand. Hopefully, there aren't too many Dementor on the other side of the Black Lake."
Hermione glanced at the sky. "It's getting dark soon, and the final battle might be just around the corner. Let's go find a good spot to witness my hero's entrance."