Herman glanced back at Draco, then at Harry.
Harry remained leaning against the wall, arms crossed, her expression as calm as if nothing had happened, clearly not intending to answer the question for Herman.
Herman looked away and lowered his voice. "You have to consider the occasion when you greet someone. At this time, in this place, someone standing in front of a closed door, do you think he's checking if the door's decor is appropriate?"
Draco followed his gaze and looked at the door again, as if only now realizing what the door's location meant. "You mean... he wanted to steal something?"
"I don't know," Herman said honestly, "But at least it's not like he's just bored and can't sleep at night; he doesn't have to go to class to look at the stars."
He paused, then added, "Besides, whatever he was doing, it wouldn't be easy to explain if the three of us were seen at one in the morning on the third-floor corridor corner."
Draco opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to object, but after glancing at Harry and then at herself, she simply muttered softly, "Let's hurry up and go, I'm so sleepy."
Herman nodded, and the three of them continued walking back along the side corridor without saying another word.
Herman walked at the back, unable to resist looking back at the direction of that door one last time. Quirrell's figure had long since disappeared, the corridor was empty, and the candlelight flickered gently in the brackets on the wall.
Although somewhat curious, Herman didn't linger any longer and quickly caught up with the two people in front of him.
The three of them walked along the side corridor for about a minute without saying a word.
Footsteps echoed softly on the stone pavement, and the candlelight cast long, thin shadows of the three people.
Harry walked at the front, her pace neither fast nor slow, as if she were already used to this rhythm of walking through the castle late at night.
After walking a short distance, she suddenly slowed down, turned her head to look at the two people behind her, and asked casually, as if they were talking about what they had for dinner, "Aren't you curious about what Quirrell is up to? And what's behind that door on the third-floor corridor?"
Herman paused, and to be honest, he was curious.
I'm curious whether the Philosopher's Stone is behind that door, and I'm also curious about how much the plot has changed besides the change in the main character.
Especially after seeing Quirrell standing in front of that door tonight, how could I not be curious?
But his reason told him that curiosity aside, Dumbledore clearly didn't prepare these things for him; at least in the Philosopher's Stone storyline, he was really just a passerby.
If I were to barge in recklessly, I might end up in the Hospital Wing, or even end up in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
After all, he wasn't the Son of the Champion.
" Dumbledore said at the opening banquet that students weren't allowed to go near that corridor," Herman said in a low voice.
Harry didn't argue, but continued walking forward, her tone calm. "The old man said not to go, but there are many rules in the school regulations, so breaking one or two won't hurt."
"I haven't broken any school rules yet; I'm a law-abiding student."
Before Herman could finish speaking, Draco's voice drifted over from the side, still slightly awake from her drowsiness. "I also want to know what's behind that door. When Dumbledore mentioned it at the beginning of the semester, I felt something was off. What kind of repairs can't be seen by the students? There must be something interesting."
Herman glanced at Draco; the drowsiness on her face had subsided somewhat, and her eyes were sparkling in the candlelight, clearly intrigued.
Herman was about to speak up to dissuade her when Draco preemptively added, "You don't know what's inside. What if it's really renovations? Quirrell's here to see the decorating style, let's go take a look too. Even if something happens, I can just ask Dad to talk to the principal."
Herman observed the expressions of the two men: one calm and composed, the other eager and impatient. Both pairs of eyes were fixed on him.
He had a premonition that if this topic continued, he would probably face a situation where, on the surface, he had to choose between two options, but in reality, he had no choice at all.
You either go to investigate voluntarily, or they'll drag you into it.
Moreover, given Harry's personality, the fact that she brought this up today suggests it wasn't just a casual question.
He paused for two seconds, then sighed, "Tonight definitely won't work. Quirrell just left, he's still nearby. Besides, there are too many people tonight, we might run into someone. The Prefect and even the professors are patrolling, specifically looking for students who wander off and don't return to their dorms."
Harry didn't stop walking, but Herman sensed that her pace had slowed slightly, as if she had relaxed and become light-hearted after achieving some long-planned goal.
She didn't turn around, but simply said, "Okay, then tomorrow night!"
Herman paused, about to say, "I didn't say we'd do it tomorrow," when Harry tilted her head towards Draco: "He agreed."
Draco readily agreed, nodding excitedly. "Then let's set off tomorrow night! A nighttime adventure at Hogwarts!"
Herman stood there, watching the two walk forward one after the other, feeling as if he was being held back by their inexplicable tacit understanding.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he closed it and could only follow, silently praying that nothing bad would happen tomorrow night, or that he could get a minor illness to avoid it.
But before he could finish his sigh, a deep voice, carrying a chilling pressure, came from around the corner in the corridor. "At this hour, are the freshmen still loitering in the castle? And more than one, completely disregarding school rules. It seems Gryffindor's tradition of nighttime wanderings has been well inherited. I need to think carefully about how many points I should deduct from you."
Neville's voice was panicked. "Professor, we just finished Astronomy and got a little lost..."
Herman froze, looking into the distance. He saw a black figure standing around the corner, his robes almost blending into the shadows in the candlelight, with only his pale, angular face exposed in the dim light.
Snape stood before Neville, looking down at him slightly, the hem of his black robes drooping at his sides like bat wings.
Neville stood before him, his school uniform collar askew, his face pale, clutching a book, unsure where to put it. It seemed even the Son of the Champion could be at a loss.
Hugo stood next to Neville, her expression stiff, while Ron shrank behind them, only half of his head showing.
Herman's gaze swept over the scene, and his heart sank.
Hugo had already noticed them. Her gaze lingered on Herman and the other two for a moment before quickly shifting away, her face conveying the message: You're finished too.
Snape sensed the movement behind him and turned around.
His gaze first swept over Harry, lingering on her face for about half a second, then moved to Draco, and finally landed on Herman's face, where it lingered for a few seconds.