Chapter 54: The Third Test

As the Christmas holidays drew near, a sense of calm began to ascend over the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They had not forgotten the two previous attacks, but the prospect of escaping the potential dangers of the castle to go home provided some respite from their pent-up anxieties.

"Why has Percy decided to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays? What's his game?" queried Harry to Ron, slicing into a sizzling, juicy sausage as they shared lunch in the grandeur of the Great Hall.

With a bit of a conspiratorial bent to it, Ron leaned in close and whispered to Harry and Hermione, "I have a sneaking suspicion that Percy's fallen in love."

Taken aback, Hermione said in an eager whisper to match Ron's, "With whom, pray tell?"

Ron merely shrugged in response. "Not quite sure. That said, he's been hanging around the Ravenclaw tower quite a lot lately. I suspect it's one of those Ravenclaw girls."

Harry paused mid-chew, fork in midair with a piece of sausage impaled on it, and mused aloud, "Why do you think someone like Professor Forester, who's certainly not lacking in admirers, is still without a girlfriend. Do you reckon that he stays single because he's confident he could find a girlfriend whenever he pleases?"

Ron's eyes widened almost comically, as if Harry had just dropped a major bombshell. "Well, it's not an impossibility-" Hermione began, her tone audibly annoyed, interrupting the boys' chatter by hitting her plate with her spoon. "Show some respect! You can't say this nonsense about the Professor. If he heard even a snippet of this conversation, you'd be scrubbing toilets alongside Malfoy."

Harry exchanged a glance with Ron, eyebrow raised. Clearly neither of them took Hermione's admonishing very seriously. Despite this, they held a subconscious respect for Professor Forester; it was just that Hermione seemed to uphold stricter decorum.

"So when are we gonna do the third test?" Ron asked, cultivating a spark of impatience in his voice.

Harry seemed equally as eager to know.

They both saw these tests as a thrill rather than a burden. It was as if they had stumbled upon a secret - that Professor Forester was nothing short of a magical fountain, capable of turning their wild wishes into reality.

"Most likely this afternoon," Hermione responded, with a quick check of time. "Once I write a little more, we could go to find the professor in his office."

Ron had his own advice to offer, "You should try writing a bit bigger, so that less words fit on the page. It won't hurt, and you'll finish faster."

"Why bother with homework if it's just about reaching the end?" Hermione responded with a glance in his direction, "And should I finish early, don't even dream of copying from my paper. You'll have to produce your own."

Faced with this admonition from Hermione, both Harry and Ron showed indifference. They found Professor Forester's curse far more fascinating, keeping them from focusing on their assignments.

Come the afternoon, Hermione turned up in the library, a partially filled one-foot parchment in tow. Harry and Ron trailed her, their hands empty.

"I thought at least one of you would take this seriously!" Hermione fumed.

Spreading his arms in a gesture of innocence, Harry replied, "Homework is honestly the least of our concerns right now. We need to figure out how far Professor Forester's curse extends."

Supporting Harry's point, Ron chimed in, "Right! We're actually trying to thwart a global disaster here."

Finding herself devoid of a counter-argument, Hermione was aware that they weren't entirely misguided. In fact, if they succeeded in understanding the boundaries of Sherlock's powers before he issued any more prophetic statements, they would indeed be contributing in a small way to saving the world.

Hermione spent her afternoon meticulously penning her Defense Against the Dark Arts holiday homework using various books from the library. The foot-long parchment she was using was considerably larger than a regular piece of A4 paper, and given the petite size of her handwriting, she filled it painstakingly slowly.

As the clock struck four, with the parchment now mostly full, Hermione gave a satisfied nod at her work before directing her gaze to Harry and Ron. Both boys, obviously bored to tears, were nearly falling asleep.

"Did either of you check if Professor Forester is in his office?" she asked.

Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes, saying, "George told me Forester only had their class this afternoon. He should be free by now."

"That means it's time to hit the road."

Harry and Ron suddenly radiated with a renewed interest.

"Are you done?"

"I've only got to fill a few more lines to meet Professor Forester's one-foot requirement," she explained. "Let's get moving though, I'll complete the rest later."

Ambling out of the library as a group, they navigated the familiar path to Professor Forester's office with ease.

As the holiday season neared, Sherlock found himself increasingly occupied. For the lower years, he simply had to hand out essay topics. But for the seniors, holiday work couldn't be as straightforward.

In the past, the concept of "exercise books" was unheard of at Hogwarts. Now Sherlock had to create and compile questions himself for the fifth years and above if he wanted to challenge them with a substantial number of tasks. Due to the scale of this undertaking, virtually all his free time outside teaching was consumed in order to finish it before the holidays. Personally he thought it was such a massive dedication, it deserved a medal from Dumbledore himself.

His own quill poised ready to write, with another enchanted quill scribbling notes automatically beside it Sherlock was about to finish his current batch of work, when Hermione knocked on his door, entering after gaining his permission. Cessation of his furious scribbling offered some relief to his tired wrist whilst his gaze trailed up to meet Hermione as she walked in quietly.

"Miss Granger, what can I do for you?"

Compared to Harry and Ron, his opinion of Hermione was highly favorable thanks to her active participation in class, unwavering dedication to assignments and her exemplary behavior. After all, which teacher wouldn't appreciate having such an earnest student?

However, beneath Hermione's perfect exterior, she had a soul of a true Gryffindor, much like Harry and Ron. A spirit akin to a restless lion purred in each and every Gryffindor. And although Hermione's impeccable academic front suggested otherwise, she truly was no exception.