After the jarring impact of their landing, Hermione opened her eyes. A streak of orange zipped past her, landing lightly beside them. It crouched there, looking at the two of them sprawled on the ground with an expression of exasperation.
Wait, why does a cat look exasperated?
Crookshanks?
Hermione hadn't expected that the streetwise feline she thought she'd spend ages searching for would appear so effortlessly in front of her. She was a little taken aback.
"I sensed some unusual activity in the Room of Requirement, so I stepped out. I happened to see Crookshanks racing towards the eighth floor. She seemed anxious, so I brought her along," Glenn explained, helping Hermione to her feet as if reading her thoughts.
"So, what happened downstairs that made you rush up here to find me?" Glenn asked.
Hermione quickly adjusted her focus and spoke rapidly, cutting straight to the point. "The Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest are on the move, heading towards Hogwarts. The professors have gone out to intercept them. I came to get you so we can join the others in protecting ourselves."
Though Glenn was puzzled by the sudden development, he quickly pieced together the logic behind Hermione's actions. Sensing her urgency, he nodded without further questions. "Alright, let's go."
Since both of them were here, the fastest way down was, of course, the shortest straight-line distance—jumping. Glenn scooped Hermione into his arms. Hermione wrapped one arm around his neck and drew her wand. Crookshanks instinctively leapt onto Glenn's head, clutching tightly to secure herself.
With the two of them and one cat, Glenn leapt into the stairwell void.
"Cushioning Charm!"
Both of them chanted the spell simultaneously.
A soft blue glow, symbolizing the Cushioning Charm, enveloped them. Originally designed to save people from high falls, the spell had now become their tool for quickly descending from heights.
There was nothing wrong with this. As long as a spell could adapt to the situation, it could be used. Both Glenn and Hermione believed this.
This adaptability was the beauty of magic. Just as a thousand readers could have a thousand interpretations of Hamlet, a single spell could have countless variations depending on the caster's understanding. Different contexts could also lead to entirely different applications of the same spell.
Back to Glenn and Hermione. Their proficiency with the Cushioning Charm was evident. After multiple practices and trials, they had mastered the precise magical output needed to achieve the fastest descent while minimizing impact upon landing.
As they descended, Hermione began describing the current situation at Hogwarts.
"...Before I came up, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid were already holding off the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick have gone to assist them. But all the other professors and staff are away from Hogwarts right now. Even Filch took Mrs. Norris out for a stroll."
"That leaves only us students at Hogwarts," Hermione continued. "Everyone should already be setting up defenses in the Great Hall to guard against any Acromantulas that might slip past the professors' line of defense."
As she spoke, Hermione suddenly paused.
"Wait... something's not right."
"Besides us students, there's still one more person at Hogwarts."
"Lockhart... He's probably still in the hospital wing."
After a moment's hesitation, Hermione gritted her teeth and abandoned her initial thought of skipping Lockhart and heading straight to defend with the other students.
"...We have to inform him. Otherwise, with his level of skill, the chances of him surviving an encounter with an Acromantula are almost seventy percent against him."
"We need to protect everyone currently at Hogwarts as much as possible. Any casualties could lead to Professor Dumbledore being held accountable by the Ministry of Magic, possibly even suspended. Hogwarts might even face closure!"
Since the Chamber of Secrets incident, the truth about the basilisk had come to light. Both Glenn and Hermione had learned from Dumbledore about what had happened fifty years ago: how Myrtle was killed by the basilisk, how Hagrid was framed by Tom Riddle, and how Hogwarts nearly closed down.
For all these reasons, it was best to avoid such a scenario if possible.
"Alright," Glenn replied succinctly. He adjusted Hermione from a princess carry to a one-armed hold, freeing his other hand to retrieve a grappling hook launcher from his black ring. Calculating the approximate position, he fired the device.
The steel spike at the front of the launcher embedded itself into the stone wall of the third floor, its barbs locking firmly into place. The steel cable attached to the spike stretched taut as Glenn and Hermione descended, swinging them in a circular arc before flinging them into the second-floor corridor.
Without retracting the spike, Glenn retracted the entire grappling hook launcher into his black ring. The two of them slid horizontally into the second-floor hallway.
"Slick Surface!"
Hermione cast a Slippery Charm on the ground. The gravitational potential energy of the two humans and one cat transformed into kinetic energy, sending them sliding rapidly along the slick floor towards the hospital wing.
As they approached a corner, Hermione dispelled the Slippery Charm. Glenn, understanding her intentions, leapt up before she even waved her wand. He pointed a finger, casting a Ground Shaking Charm.
"Expulso!"
After the Ground Shaking Charm, Glenn retrieved a handful of dirt from his black ring and used the Banishing Charm to propel it towards the corner.
"Hermione," Glenn called out.
"Got it," she replied.
"Transfiguration: Curved Ramp!"
Nestled in Glenn's arms, Hermione wasn't idle. Her Transfiguration spell struck the dirt, causing it to expand and reshape into a smooth curved ramp that covered the sharp corner of the wall.
(Think of it like the tilted ramps on train tracks that prevent derailment during sharp turns, as seen in high school physics problems.)
With that, the two of them glided onto the ramp, maintaining their speed as they rounded the corner.
The story isn't over...
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