Is this correct?
"Stop talking about this, we're going to be late——"
Hermione glanced at the watch on her wrist, but then she seemed to remember something, raised her hand to twist the knob beside her, and the minute hand on the dial turned back a small half circle. She paused for a moment, then helplessly patted her head, "Oh, alright, I forgot again..."
"Forgot what?"
"Forgot."
"?"
"Alright, we really have to go——"
Facing Harry's apparent desire to get to the bottom of things, Hermione couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but she quickly calmed down and briskly headed up the stairs.
They quickly arrived at the door of the Room of Requirement, but it wasn't Dobby who opened the door this time. The door opened from within without even the process of pulling open the view window, and the next moment, with a dull "thud," Kabuda, who fell to the ground, waved its paw somewhat discontentedly at the two of them standing dumbfounded at the door——
What do you mean? The great Niffler King personally opens the door for you, and you just stand in the way instead of gratefully coming in?
Are you planning a rebellion?
The appearance of the Room of Requirement had changed again since the day before yesterday. It seemed to feel that the previous foyer was no longer useful, and now upon opening the door, one could get a general sense of the room. There was only a long corridor on the other side, with a row of tightly closed wooden doors on each side.
"Good evening."
William's greeting came from behind the desk not far away, piles of books and papers almost entirely obscuring him. As Hermione walked to the desk, she instinctively glanced over the draft pages stacked haphazardly at the top of the pile, and even though she only glanced, a sense of bewilderment hit the girl instinctively——
On the draft paper, there was a crimson... array?
"Good evening——"
Harry's attention, however, wasn't on the pages, but on the black stone that William was using to weigh down the papers. For some reason, he felt he could sense something unusual about the large stone——though he couldn't quite articulate what.
"Hermione... you can do as you please, do your homework or play some VR, I'm a bit busy."
William lifted his head, staring at Hermione standing in front of him for a while until the girl felt creeped out by his gaze. He finally snapped back to reality, lowered his head to rummage through the stack of drafts, and waved his hand at the two of them.
"...What are you doing?"
But Hermione didn't turn away, instead staring at the drafts William was holding, and moments later, she suddenly asked. Then, perhaps fearing misunderstanding, she quickly explained, "Maybe I can help you, I'm very good at... um, organizing materials."
A confident expression flashed across the girl's face.
"..."
So, confident about what... William lowered his head, gazing at the pile of tomes on the table briefly in a daze. These were the contents he had copied from the Forbidden Book Area over the past two days after battling four guerillas with Madam Pince, as he had been researching the Seik Crystal, practically burning the midnight oil in the process.
To be honest, he thought about consulting Professor Graves, since the latter had once mentioned this thing in Austria——
But at the time, the professor clearly didn't have a way to activate the crystal, and for some reason, William could always sense a hint of danger from that old man——a sensation he had only ever felt with Dumbledore before, leading to a growing suspicion...
He recalled seeing speculation in a tabloid once about Dumbledore's relationship with two notorious Black Wizards in recent society...
The old man could very well be Grindelwald, but then again, it seemed unlikely that he actually was Grindelwald.
William didn't dare imagine that the always "law-abiding" old Dumbledore would release that Black Wizard, but the inadvertent rapport between the two and the scene he had witnessed sometimes left him with doubts...
"By the way, did Dumbledore... ever marry?"
"?"
What kind of question is that?
Hearing William's muttering, Harry and Hermione first froze, then their eyes widened——what, have you been researching our old headmaster's love life this whole time? What are these? Dumbledore's gossip news?
Harry suddenly became interested in those drafts, proving that gossip truly is the primary driving force.
"Ahem, if you aren't too busy yourself, maybe you could..."
William cleared his throat, just looking at that daunting stack of tomes piled higher than himself gave him a toothache. Of course, it was good to have extra help. Originally, Cedric could have managed, but this year, he's already in fifth grade, taking the first step in three years of exams and mock tests. Plus, he's both Prefect and Quidditch team captain——
We're all busy, busy is good.
Gaining William's approval, Hermione excitedly sat down at the newly risen wooden chair beside the desk, while William stood up, "These... all need to be perused, roughly, it's very tedious," he gestured around the book pile on the table with his hand, continuing, "But there's no rush, there's a lot to do——I need all the information about pyramids, pharaohs, Uagadou... Ancient Egyptian mythology, and... you, come up and help."
With that, William bent down to pick up the Kabuda attempting to sneak away, placing it in front of Hermione.
"Let it be your assistant, just boss it around as you like."
"Squeak?!"
"I can help too——"
Harry immediately raised his hand, volunteering to help. He still remembered the fabled cramming-style education. Now he felt just like a kid watching TV late at night, knowing it was past bedtime but not yet being sent to his room by his parents, just wanting to quickly divert William's attention to avoid reminding him of that matter.
"...No, I think you could go play some VR."
William stared at the boy in silence for a moment, then shook his head, pointing at the corridor not far away.
"May I?"
Harry's expression instantly brightened. He had been replaying the scene of Hermione fighting in his mind these past two days; he always felt he could've done better.
"Of course, I'll take you there..."
William's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips without him realizing it.
"..."
Watching their backs as they walked into the room, Hermione said nothing, instead thinking as she looked down, staring at the Niffler lying on the black stone with an expression of existential dread. She hesitantly asked, "You... really know how to read?"
"Squeak!"
Hearing this, Kabuda quickly flipped over, grabbed a nearby pen, and started scribbling on the paper——'Of course I do!'
"Wow, how clever——well, I'll leave it to you then."
Hermione stared at the somewhat wobbly English words for a second before suddenly clapping her hands, speaking with delight and a hint of laughter.
"Hmph."
Kabuda crossed its arms, its dark beady eyes filled with pride——'You foolish human cub, in the end you'd still rely on me, the great Niffler... wait, if I pretended not to know, could I get away with slacking off?'
But it seemed escaping wasn't an option now?
Sensing the great opportunity it might have missed, Kabuda took the drafts Hermione handed over while shedding tears of regret.
...
It was unclear how much time had passed, as ever since she started using the Time Turner, Hermione felt her perception of time boundaries growing increasingly blurred. Until a door opening sounded, she finally lifted her head from the tome in her hands——
Just as William said, the work was tedious, but this tedium was just right for Hermione——she loved reading anyway, and these tomes weren't as boring as imagined; quite the contrary, many little stories were fascinating, leading her intended skimming to naturally transform into serious reading.
"Hi, it's you——"
Entering the Room of Requirement with Dobby, Lupin moved his gaze away from the room's arrangements, looking at the only other human in the room and trying to recall the person's name——but indeed hadn't remembered, or rather, it seemed he hadn't heard it at all.
After all, the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class for the third years was tomorrow afternoon, and he had only met Hermione briefly at Diagon Alley and on the train.
"Professor Lupin, this is Miss Granger——"
Dobby's high-pitched voice came from beside the table. The little elf, now clad in a well-fitting suit, appeared far more confident than before.
"...Yes, Professor Lupin."
Hermione's mind hadn't fully returned to the present, and she even forgot to stand up, merely staring at Lupin before her in a slight daze.
"I'm looking for William..."
"Oh, oh... he and Harry are inside——"
With that, Hermione pointed at the corridor beside them, then helpfully added, "Oh, in the first room."