Herman froze, feeling a chill run down his spine under that gaze. He immediately declared his loyalty, "No problem, Dean. We'll head back to the castle now and stay in our dormitories."
As he spoke, he reached out to pull Draco's wrist, wanting to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.
Draco's attention hadn't completely left Ron. She clutched the cloth wrapped around the pastry in her hand, her eyes still fixed on the lava cake in Ron's hand, as if waiting to see her take a bite.
Herman pulled on it once but couldn't budge it. He pulled harder, but Draco didn't budge. Instead, his own center of gravity shifted forward, and he almost stumbled from the force of his own pull.
When he regained his balance, he found that Snape was still looking at him, his gaze as if he were using Legilimency to see through the secrets in his mind.
Herman could only awkwardly twitch the corners of his mouth, his smile strained.
Snape looked at him, as if he was pondering his words, his lips moved slightly and then closed again, as if searching for a less abrupt opening.
After a few seconds of silence, he spoke dryly, "Where's Hagrid? Didn't you come here to see Hagrid?"
Herman answered truthfully, " Hagrid went to the Forbidden Forest Forbidden Forest; something seems to have happened there."
As he spoke, he hoped in his heart that Snape would become interested in the news, then immediately turn around and investigate the Forbidden Forest, and stop staring at him.
But to his surprise, Snape's expression didn't change at all after hearing the news. His gaze remained fixed on him, as if that sentence was just a prelude to start a conversation, and his real purpose was yet to come.
Herman began to feel uneasy. He quickly went through all the rules he had broken since entering the school in his mind—strolling at night, making his own medicine, vandalizing the library, and that strangely effective Potions and the flame marks on his arm. But body modification wasn't against school rules, was it? That was against wizarding law, and Snape couldn't touch on that, could he?
Besides, those things were all done with Harry, so it can't be that Snape was just trying to find a scapegoat for Harry after things got out, right?
Herman felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it. He glanced instinctively at Neville, wondering if he had chosen the wrong side. Perhaps following the Champion trio was the right thing to do. They were just making a fuss over nothing, and even if they got into trouble, Dumbledore take the fall.
Snape noticed his shifty gaze and coughed. The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, pulling Herman back to reality.
He seemed to be searching for a suitable way to get to the point, and after a moment of silence, probably not finding a suitable way, he simply cut to the chase. "There's another classmate, Harry Potter, who's also disappeared. Do you know where she went?"
When Herman heard this, he felt as if a stone had been lifted from his chest, and the tension in his heart suddenly eased. "You were looking for Harry? You should have said so earlier! You scared me!"
He relaxed his expression, considered his words for a moment, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dean, I haven't seen Harry since we parted this morning. Perhaps she's exploring somewhere in the castle; she quite enjoys exploring the castle."
Snape's expression remained unchanged after hearing the answer, as if he had expected this outcome.
His gaze shifted to Draco, noticing her absent-minded face. He probably knew that asking her would be pointless; the Malfoy family girl was completely lacking her father's shrewdness.
Snape sighed silently, his gaze returning to Herman, his tone slightly harsher than before. " Herman Horace, I expect you to look after your classmates, especially Miss Harry, who doesn't have many friends in Slytherin. Slytherin House is a home for students; you should help each other."
When Herman heard this, he quickly went through Slytherin's motto in his mind. Shouldn't it be "Better to sacrifice a friend than oneself"? When did it become "We're all one big family"?
He suppressed the urge to complain, looked at Snape's serious face, and could only nod in agreement. "Headmaster, you're right. I'll definitely pay attention in the future."
He silently added in his mind, "You were the one who told me to stay away from Harry last time, and now you're the one telling me to keep a close eye on her. How can men be so fickle?"
Snape watched him nod repeatedly, seemingly quite satisfied, then turned to leave.
The hem of his robe swept across the edge of the wooden floor as he turned, creating a slight rustling sound.
Neville had already written a message to Hagrid, placed it on the table with a cup holding the corner down, and looked up to report, "Professor, we've finished writing the message and are leaving now..."
But Snape completely ignored him, as if he hadn't heard a word he said, and walked straight out of the open door. His black robes quickly disappeared into the night outside, and his footsteps faded into the distance on the dirt path leading to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, eventually being swallowed up by the evening breeze.
Neville stood there, the second half of his sentence on the tip of his tongue, but looking at the empty doorway, he awkwardly shut his mouth.
Hugo chimed in, offering words of comfort, "Perhaps Professor Snape is in a hurry to inform the other students still loitering on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. See, we were right before, Professor Snape is quite responsible, completely different from what George and the others said."
Herman looked at their "we were right, weren't we?" expressions and was about to correct their overly optimistic view when he suddenly felt his hand being pinched.
He turned his head and saw Draco's excited expression. Her gaze was passing over him and landing in Ron's direction, and the corners of her mouth were filled with the joy of finally getting to this moment after holding back for a long time.
Immediately afterwards, a crisp cracking sound exploded in the room, accompanied by a gasp of surprise.
Ron covered her mouth with one hand, bright red blood seeping from her fingertips. In her other hand, she still held the lava cake, on the surface of which was a clear tooth mark. A small white object was embedded in the gap of the tooth mark, gleaming slightly in the firelight of the fireplace.
Ron looked down at the Rock Cakes in her hand, then at the tooth on it, and tears welled up in her eyes. "My tooth!"
She covered her face and cried out, her voice muffled and filled with grievance.
Draco watched this scene from the side, and the corners of her mouth finally opened into a wide smile. She turned her head to look at Herman, her bright eyes reflecting the firelight in the fireplace, as if she had finally received the most worthwhile reward of the night.
Herman stared at her for two seconds, then, seeing Draco's happy expression, felt there was no need to correct Neville and the others.
He glanced at the blood-stained tooth in Ron's hand, then at the undisguised joy on Draco's face. Today might be a pretty good day, at least for that silly girl Draco.