Not long before Hermione was by Ron, the headmaster's room ......

"McLean, what do you think it is?" Dumbledore used his wand to pick at the candlestick he had placed on the table, and at the top of the middle of the three candles, there was a translucent black flame that flickered without wind.

It was taken from Selene's mother's soul by Dumbledore using a spell unknown to Maca.

"I don't know, according to what Selene said, this thing should have been provoked in the Manchak Swamp......" Maca sat across from her, a little hesitant, "Maybe it's something related to the voodoo resurrection corpse?" ”

Dumbledore nodded, but shook his head again.

"Maybe it's related, but I think it's a little older." He said slowly, "...... Don't get close to that swamp in the United States, at least not for now, this matter must be remembered. ”

This is the second time Dumbledore has said this, and although Maca doesn't know the details, it is obviously not easy to tell Dumbledore many times.

"As for her soul—"

Dumbledore turned his head to look at Selene's mother, who was hovering in the middle of the Headmaster's room.

"It's almost impossible to restore her soul to wholeness." Dumbledore said, "Unfortunately, I don't have much to do. ”

"If you can afford to go to that swamp in the future, you might be able to find some clues—until then, leave her with me! If her soul is stabilized, which is close to collapse, there is at least hope that it will survive. ”

Maca thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "Then it's troublesome for the professor, I think Selene thinks so too." ”

After saying goodbye to Dumbledore, Maca leaves the Headmaster's office to make an overnight trip to the "Snow Witch" - Selene must have been in a hurry.

But when he went downstairs, he faintly heard the sound of a girl sobbing.

It should be just around the corner in the hallway in front.

Confused, Maca took a few steps forward, and saw a long mess of brown hair peeking out from the legs of a certain suit of armor.

"Hermione?"

The girl was startled by the sudden noise, and she reached her elbow to the side, just as she hit the leg of the armor. I heard a bang, and the armor was about to fall.

"Float into the air." Maca pulled her wand out of her sleeve and sent the armor up the air before it fell to the ground.

He waved his wand, seemingly casually, and the armor assembled itself and stood back in place.

"Don't panic, it's me Hermione." Maca said calmly, "What's wrong?" ”

Hermione stood up suddenly, looked at him with tears in her eyes, and then grabbed his robe without saying a word, and tears the size of beans quickly overflowed from her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

"What happened? Can you tell me about it? Maca asked curiously, glancing at the hand that was holding his robe.

He's been so busy lately that he's barely noticing what the little lions are up to - well, except for Ron's rat.

But Hermione just shook her head vigorously and refused to say anything.

"Then forget it, don't say it if you don't want to......" Marca said softly, "Why don't you come with me to Hogsmeade for a while?" Sometimes, it's good to relax......"

“…… That's against school rules. Hermione sniffed, her voice hoarse.

This McGrid, when she cried, was still paying attention to this.

"Then you're walking around so late, aren't you also violating the school rules?" Maca spread her hands.

It was fine that he didn't say this, but now that he mentioned it, Hermione's tears seemed to become even more turbulent. She sobbed as her head slammed into Maca's chest.

"Hey, hey! Are you Jenny the Turtle? Maca hurriedly grabbed Hermione's shoulder, but Hermione raised her head at this moment, and suddenly there was only a few inches between the faces of the two.

The two looked at each other, and the scene looked very awkward for a while.

Hermione didn't know what was wrong with her, why she was suddenly ......

“…… Ahem. ”

Both Maca and Hermione heard a sudden cough, and Hermione took a step back, nearly hitting the wall.

"Professor Snape? Harry? As soon as Maca turned her head, she immediately saw the two men standing around the corner.

The expressions on Harry and Snape's faces were eerily similar, and they were both subtle expressions of seeing things that shouldn't have been seen.

“…… I think you should go to Filch and do some introspection! Snape suddenly tugged at Harry's collar and turned decisively to head downstairs.

It was as if he hadn't seen Maca and Hermione, even though Harry still looked like he didn't know why.

“…… I think it's time for me to go back. Hermione said and hurried away.

Maca pondered for a while, and then said to herself: "It seems that complaining is just instinct, not part of emotions and emotions......"

He muttered casually and made his way out of the castle.

……

It wasn't until late at night that Harry returned to the dorm from Filch's office, and everyone was already asleep.

He hadn't thought much of what he had seen with Maca and Hermione. He just felt that Snape was really good to Maca, and he actually let Hermione go.

Pity him for copying the school rules in Filch's office for most of the night, and his hands were almost folded before letting him go.

After a while, Harry, who was deeply tired, felt as if he had fallen asleep immediately......

He had a strange dream. He was walking in the woods, his firebow bolt on his shoulder, and he was following something silvery white. The thing zigzagged through the woods, and he could only catch a glimpse of it through the crevices of the leaves.

Desperate to catch up with it, he quickened his pace, but the faster he walked, the faster he was chasing, and Harry couldn't help but run.

He heard the sound of hooves in front of him and sped up.

It was like a race between them, and he could hear the sound of running ahead. Then he turned a corner, and came to an open field, and—

"Ahh——!h No, no, no, no——! ”

Harry woke up suddenly, as if he had been punched in the face. Completely disoriented in the darkness, he fumbled around the curtain around the bed—

At that moment, he heard movement around him, and Seamus Finnigan's voice came from the other end of the room.

"What's wrong?" Harry thought he heard the door slammed shut.

He finally found the opening of the curtain and pulled it open, and at the same time, Dean Thomas lit the lamp.

Ron sat up on the bed, the curtain pulled to the side, a look of utter fear on his face.

"Blake! Sirius Black! He's got a knife! ”

"What?"

"Yes, there is! What just happened! He tore through the bed! Woke me up! ”

"Surely you're not dreaming, Ron?" Dean asked.

"Look at the curtain! I tell you, he was right here! Ron said in horror.

They all climbed out of bed, Harry was the first to reach the dormitory door, and they ran down the stairs at full speed. Behind them, dormitory doors opened one by one, and many sleepy voices asked them.

"Who was yelling?" "What are you doing?"

Ember from the fireplace illuminates the common room, which is littered with a large amount of garbage left behind by the party, and the interior is empty.

"Surely you're not dreaming, Ron?"

"I tell you, I see him!"

At this time, several girls came down the stairs, dressed in pajamas, yawning.

"Why are you making so many sounds?" "Professor McGonagall told us all to go to bed!"

Then, the boys also appeared one after another.

"Great, will the party go on?" Fred Weasley also appeared, and he said cheerfully.

"Everybody's back upstairs!" Percy exclaimed.

He hurried to the common room, and as he spoke, pinned his badge of the boys' student council president to his pajamas.

"Percy - Sirius Black!" Ron said weakly, "In our dorm!" Hold a knife! Woke me up! ”

There was silence in the common room.

"Nonsense!" Percy looked frightened, too, "You've eaten too much, Ron—you've had nightmares—"

"I'm telling you—"

"Alright, that's enough, don't say it anymore!" Professor McGonagall is back.

As soon as she walked into the common room, she slammed the hole in the portrait behind her and looked around furiously.

"I'm glad Gryffindor won the game, but it's ridiculous that you're doing this now! Percy, I was counting on you to do better! ”

"I certainly didn't let them do that, Professor!" Percy tried to make himself look more serious, though he looked a little funny in his pajamas and pinned with the pin of the boys' student council president.

"I'm telling them all to go back to bed! My brother Ron had a nightmare—"

"Not a nightmare!" Ron exclaimed, "Professor, I'm awake and Sirius Black is standing in front of me with a knife!" ”

Professor McGonagall glared at him.

"Don't make a joke, Weasley. How could he get through the hole in the portrait? ”

"Ask him!" Ron pointed to the back of Sir Cadogan's portrait with a trembling voice, "Ask him if he sees—"

Professor McGonagall gave Ron a suspicious look, pushed the painting away, and walked out on her own.

The entire common room held its breath.

"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man into the Gryffindor Tower?"

"Of course, ma'am!" Sir Cadogan shouted.

Everyone was speechless with amazement, both inside and outside the common room.

"Y-did you do that?" Professor McGonagall asked, surprised, "But—but what about the password!" ”

"He has a password!" Sir Cadogan proudly said, "There's a password for the whole week, ma'am!" Read it out of a small piece of paper! ”

Professor McGonagall walked back from the hole in the portrait, her face smug as chalk as she faced the pupils who were too forgiving to say a word.

"Which one," her voice trembled, looking a little incredulous, "which utterly ignorant fool has written down all this week's passwords and is throwing them around?" ”

There was silence, and then a small, frightened voice broke the silence.

Neville Longbottom was shaking from his fluffy slipper-clad feet to the ends of his hair, and he slowly raised his hand.