The Bard at Hogwarts

On the second floor of the castle, there is a quiet and slightly long corridor.

One side of it leads to Madam Pomfrey's office and treatment room, and the other side is connected to the castle's movable staircase.

The midday sun shines through the window lattice, casting mottled light and shadow.

Ino stood at the entrance of the school hospital, and his eyes inadvertently caught the figures of Hermione and Ginny walking side by side at the end of the corridor.

This made him feel a little ripple in his heart. Although Harry was passively responsible most of the time, he was also lucky.

For example, Ginny's consistent and unwavering trust and care.

From a distance, the two Gryffindor girls also saw the people standing at the entrance of the school hospital.

Especially Hermione, with a surprised smile on her face.

"Ino!" A crisp and pleasant voice sounded in the corridor.

There was a hint of unexpected joy in Hermione's words, and her slender legs unconsciously accelerated the pace forward.

"You're here to see Harry too? I'm here with Ginny. She's not doing well, and I'm a little worried about her."

Hermione approached, explaining softly, glancing back from time to time, as if waiting for Ginny's confirmation.

She didn't expect Ino to be here. She had planned to send Ginny to the school hospital and then personally congratulate her.

The current meeting was a pleasant surprise, but there were also some things that needed to be made clear.

"As a friend, you're doing the right thing. She doesn't look very good."

Ino saw what Hermione was thinking and waved his hand indifferently.

While the two were talking, Ginny finally caught up with Hermione and arrived at the door of the school hospital.

"Good morning! Mr. Swinburne!" Although she was worried, Ginny still greeted politely.

"Just call me Ino." Ino turned his head and said naturally.

Although George and Fred had a good relationship, they didn't have much communication with Ginny. Except for the second-year notebook, he didn't even talk to Ginny alone.

"If you want to visit Harry, do it now, even though he's asleep. But if there are too many people coming later, I think Madam Pomfrey will restrict access, but you can rest assured that he is not seriously injured."

For Ginny, Ino still admired her. This kind of determined and dedicated girl really makes people feel good.

Perhaps his admiration was superficial. After he finished speaking, he found that his boots were kicked.

Turning his head, Hermione was looking at the ceiling as if nothing had happened, as if everything had nothing to do with her.

Such a scene made Ginny laugh and cover her mouth gently.

After suddenly hearing that Harry was not injured, the worry in her eyes was less, but she had to go in to visit anyway.

After giving Hermione an encouraging look, Ginny walked towards the gate of the school hospital.

...

With Ginny's departure.

The corridor was quiet again.

After a moment, Hermione broke the silence: "Is he really okay?"

"It seems so now." Ino nodded slightly.

"Okay! But compared to this, I haven't congratulated you yet. You deserve the full score." Hermione raised her head slightly and said sincerely.

It seemed that after they had a common secret in the room of request, their relationship was also invisibly closer.

The most significant change was that Hermione was no longer shy and blushed like before, and now she stared openly.

"Thank you! But it was just a game." Ino explained with a smile, and also did not avoid Hermione's sight.

In the quiet corridor, the two looked at each other like this, and everything around them seemed to be still.

For a long time.

With a light sound of "click", the quiet atmosphere was broken, and the door of the school hospital was pushed open again.

Hearing the sound, the two looked back at the same time, and the iconic black robe was particularly eye-catching.

Outside the door, Snape was unusually embarrassed, standing there blankly, not knowing whether to go in or out, as if he was in a dilemma.

"Good afternoon! Professor Snape!" But fortunately, Hermione quickly came to her senses and took the initiative to greet him.

In fact, she was very grateful to Snape from the bottom of her heart. If it weren't for the two-way mirror and the bottle of Felix Felicis found in the Potions classroom later...

Many things may not have been noticed at the beginning, but now that she thinks about it carefully, she has discovered the similarities behind different things.

And this similarity is the professor of Potions in a robe in front of her.

In order to avoid the professor's embarrassment, Hermione pulled Ino beside her without thinking after greeting her and walked to the other side of the corridor.

At the same time, Ino was also confused by this sudden move, and was pulled away by Hermione without even saying a word to Snape.

In the corridor, Snape stood there without saying a word, just quietly watching the backs of the two people leaving.

...

With the movement of steps

Even though they had left the entrance of the school hospital, Hermione didn't seem to let go and continued to walk ahead.

After discovering this, Ino didn't say much either, but just exerted a little force with his palm, turning the passive hand-holding into an active side-by-side walk.

This was a natural and smooth transition.

Perhaps from the moment she accepted Hermione's Felixir, this transition was a natural outcome.

Probably any relationship also starts from the moment they owe each other.

…

Feeling the warmth from her palm, Hermione's mouth inadvertently curled up a smile.

In the long corridor, the two walked side by side. Although their pace was slow, their steps were always the same.

After a while, Ino suddenly said:

"During this period, if possible, don't get too close to Harry!"

"Because of the Unforgivable Curse?" Hermione looked up in surprise, and after hesitating for a moment, she asked: "Dark magic can cause such a serious impact just once?"

"No! Because there are other reasons." Ino shook his head slightly, and at the same time fell into a short decision.

In the end, he decided to tell Hermione everything, so that the girl would not be unaware of the seriousness of the matter.

"Hermione, there is something you may need to know, but it is best for only you to know it."

Stopping, Ino said in a cautious tone: "Harry has become a little different, but this is not his own reason. You can understand it as a curse of dark magic..."

In just a few minutes, except for not mentioning Voldemort and Horcruxes, he tried his best to tell Hermione the seriousness, including Harry's uncertainty.

"Oh my God!" Hermione widened her eyes in disbelief. She thought it was just an emergency avoidance, but she didn't expect it to involve so much.

"Oh no! Ginny is still in there!" Hermione turned her head suddenly and looked to the other side of the corridor.

She remembered that Professor Snape came out of the ward before leaving, so now Ginny and Harry are left alone.

"It's not that serious yet." Ino pulled Hermione and explained: "Besides, Harry has drunk Madam Pomfrey's potion and won't wake up for a while."

"Doesn't Professor Dumbledore know about this? Doesn't he have any solution?"

Hermione stopped, her tone full of uncertainty.