Herman and Draco followed behind her, going around the mischievous armor through a narrow passage, past a stone wall draped with tapestries, and after turning two corners, a portrait of a huge still life of fruit appeared before them.
Harry stopped in front of the portrait and reached out to scratch the pear in the center of the fruit plate. The pear wriggled and made a gurgling sound, like it was being tickled, and then slowly transformed into a round doorknob.
Herman stepped forward, grasped the handle, and pulled it open. Warm yellow light poured out from the crack in the door, carrying with it the aroma of toasted bread and stewed meat.
Behind the door was a spacious and warm kitchen, with four long tables neatly arranged, stacks of copper pots and iron basins piled up against the wall, and several House-elf busy at the stove.
Hearing the door open, the nearest House-elf trotted over, tilted its head, and glanced at the three of them. "Are you here for food? It's late, the kitchen's about to close, according to school regulations—"
"Could you make something, anything?" Herman interrupted it, asking directly.
Upon hearing the request, the House-elf immediately forgot the school rules and nodded vigorously. "Of course! I'll do it right away!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran back to the stove, his movements as swift as a wound-up toy.
Herman sat down near the corner, with Draco beside him, her resentment gradually returning to normal.
Harry leaned back in her chair and looked around the kitchen, as if to confirm whether the layout was different from what her godfather had described.
The House-elf served a simple meal: several bowls of hot soup, a basket of freshly baked bread, a small dish of butter, and a plate of thinly sliced roast meat.
Herman had just picked up the bread when a small door on the other side of the kitchen was pushed open, Hannah Abbott poked her head in, holding a half-eaten jam pie.
She was clearly taken aback when she saw Herman: "What are you doing here?"
"I missed dinner," Herman said.
Hannah sized Herman up and down, a look of "you've finally met your match," before sitting down in the chair next to her and saying, "I'm here for a treat. School is so great; no work, no entertaining guests, and the House-elf are so much younger and more agile. My grandfather's House-elf, Kerry, is so old and slow; it's frustrating to watch."
Herman nodded in agreement with Hannah's assessment, but seeing Hannah's satisfied expression, he offered a friendly reminder: "Well, sometimes having things go too smoothly isn't good either; you've clearly gained weight."
Upon hearing Herman's words, Hannah immediately found the jam pie in her mouth hard to swallow, her cheeks flushed red, and she snorted before turning and leaving.
Draco in hand, watched Hannah's sullen figure disappear into the distance and muttered, "Even sneaking a bite to eat results in running into someone you know."
There was something strange about his tone, but Herman had somehow managed to anger Hannah and send her away, quickly drawing Draco House-elf brought out.
It was already quite late when we finished dinner, but the evening's business wasn't over yet.
The Astronomy was scheduled for midnight, and the three of them only started to feel sleepy during the second half of their journey to the Astronomy Tower.
The castle staircase was even more unpredictable at night than during the day. Several sections of the staircase turned on their own as they passed by, leading the group into completely unfamiliar corridors.
Herman followed at the back of the group as he climbed up, looking at the spiraling stone steps above him, with only one thought in his mind: How can this tower be so tall?
The classrooms on the top floor of the Astronomy Tower are open-air, with the night breeze blowing in from all directions, carrying the coolness of early autumn.
Professor Sinistra stood beside the telescope, briefly introduced the celestial phenomena to be observed that evening, and then began to explain the vague connections between Astronomy and Divination.
Herman leaned closer to the telescope and looked inside, but couldn't make out anything except those flashing white dots.
He marked several locations on the star map as instructed, then looked up at the real night sky for a while. There was no wind, the moon was crescent-shaped, and the stars were sparse and quiet.
He had never been interested in Divination; to him, the connection between celestial bodies and fate seemed more like a random and far-fetched association.
However, after the Prophecy on the train, he couldn't say he was completely indifferent; at least he maintained a necessary sense of awe.
After finishing the star map, Herman leaned against the railing, his eyelids drooping, but a gust of wind made him a little more awake.
The school bell finally rang, and he followed the crowd downstairs. Draco was walking ahead of him, rubbing her eyes, while Harry was at the back. When they reached the vicinity of the third floor of the castle, Harry suddenly stepped forward and led the way into a side corridor.
Herman followed and discovered that she led them through a narrow passage that they would never normally notice, bypassing two slowly rotating staircases and saving them a considerable distance.
But just as they were walking through that side corridor, Herman suddenly stopped.
About twenty meters ahead in the corridor, Professor Quirrell was standing in front of a heavy wooden door, turned to their side, as if examining the lock on the door.
The location of that door was familiar; it was on the third-floor corridor, on the right-hand side.
Herman instinctively reached out and grabbed Draco's arm, pulling her back into the shadows in the corner. Harry had already stopped and was standing in the shadows.
Draco was about to speak, but after seeing Herman's expression, she shut her mouth and followed his gaze.
Quirrell stood in front of that door for about ten seconds, then turned and left, his steps calm and composed, showing no sign of panic, as if he had just happened to be passing by and glanced at the door.
Herman only let go of his hand after he disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"He's looking at that door," Herman said in a low voice.
Harry leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, her tone as flat as if she were saying something she already knew, "I know."
Herman turned to look at her. "How long have you known?"
"I've seen him several times since the start of the semester," Harry said calmly. "He's often seen around the neighborhood."
"You've been out for a while now?" Herman said, his mind filled with images of Harry's black book, the mini Marauder's Map in her hand, and the "experienced night owl" aura she exuded tonight.
Herman muttered to himself, "Is this a tradition of your Potter family? And the Black family, the Black family, they're out wandering around every night before school. You're only in first grade, no, to be precise, you haven't even been in school for a week yet."
However, he didn't say this aloud; it was clear there was no need to get entangled with Harry, that wicked witch, on this issue.
At this moment, he became even more curious about what Quirrell was doing. Was he, like in the original story, eyeing the Philosopher's Stone?
If Quirrell is still bad, then what about all the time I learned the Bright Light Charm from him that afternoon, and we even made a promise to ask him about it after class? Wouldn't this be like throwing myself into the lion's den?
And is the Philosopher's Stone behind that door really?
Draco, standing next to Herman, still looked puzzled and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you on good terms with Professor Quirrell? Why didn't you go up and say hello?"