Along the way, he met several Gryffindor students, and Harry asked them multiple times where Hermione was, but he got no answers.
Perhaps it was because he was a Slytherin, and some people simply didn't want to talk to him.
And some people, perhaps for other reasons, such as...
In front of the Fat Lady's portrait in the Gryffindor Tower, a girl rolled her eyes: "Oh ~ Miss Know-It-All, the bossy busybody, I'm sorry, I don't know where she is, not many people care about her."
It was already evening, and the sky was tinged with purplish-red, the color of the setting sun. There were only a few people coming out of the Fat Lady's portrait.
Harry was a bit discouraged. From these classmates, the only thing he could confirm was that Hermione had indeed skipped class.
This was definitely not a good thing.
He took a deep breath and walked reluctantly to the fifth floor, knocking on Howl's office door.
However, he knocked several times, but there was no sound from inside.
"Child, Mr. Cat isn't here, he has already gone to the Great Hall," a cheerful voice said from behind him.
Mr. Cat...
Harry turned his head in surprise. Would Uncle Howl allow such a title? Who was so bold!
Harry turned his head and saw Sindel.
"Today is Halloween Eve, hurry to the Great Hall," the girl in the painting said.
"Okay, thank you," Harry nodded.
If it was a painting... then it wasn't strange, Harry thought, after all, Uncle Howl couldn't pick on a painting.
This irrelevant thought quickly passed through his mind. He came here, in fact, also thinking if Hermione had encountered something and might be here.
Soon, he arrived at the Great Hall on the first floor. The dinner had already begun, with the four houses gathered in twos and threes at their respective House tables.
The festive dinner was not that formal. Little Wizards held their food and moved around, chatting happily with their friends.
Howl was drinking with Professor Flitwick. Professor Flitwick held his liquor well, and beer foam hung on his beard, which looked amusing.
"Of course, no problem, honestly Howl, I'm much more relaxed with you around," Professor Flitwick said heartily, slamming his thick mug on the table.
"You know, as teachers, while we don't mind answering questions for children, sometimes there's always a gap between children and us.
Some shy children encounter problems in their studies and don't dare to come to us. Even if they do, we might not be available, after all, there are seven years of classes!
If you are willing to take the time to answer their questions, that would be wonderful."
"Of course, I don't mind, since I have time," Howl clinked glasses with Professor Flitwick, then asked puzzledly, "Is Professor Quirrell not coming to the dinner?"
Professor Flitwick looked around, but indeed did not see Professor Quirrell.
"I don't know, maybe he's busy with other things. Some teachers don't like such lively occasions, Aurora hasn't come either."
Aurora Sinistra is the Astronomy Professor at Hogwarts. She teaches in the Astronomy Tower, and Howl had only seen her once at the Welcome Feast.
"Alright," Howl nodded. Then he noticed Harry, who had just arrived at the Great Hall, and lightly raised his glass to him.
Harry nodded, then walked towards the Gryffindor long table.
"Excuse me, have any of you seen Hermione?" he asked among the small group of first-years.
He only saw a chorus of headshakes.
Just as Harry thought he would have another wasted trip, a girl with dark curly hair slightly raised her hand.
It was Patil, a Gryffindor first-year, Harry remembered her.
"Hermione is in the girls' restroom on the first floor. Uh... she's in a bad mood. Anyway, she's fine, you don't have to worry too much about her."
"Alright, thanks," Harry nodded, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Patil quickly said, "She doesn't want anyone to bother her."
Harry turned back, thought for a while, and then nodded: "Alright."
However, despite saying so, his body still walked out of the Great Hall.
Although he didn't know what had happened to Hermione, he still wanted to go see her.
He himself used to be in a bad mood often.
At that time, he was often alone, wearing oversized clothes, fiddling with his broken glasses, aimlessly swinging on a park swing.
At that time, he also didn't want anyone to bother him.
But...
As someone who was often bullied, he understood that feeling. In fact, it wasn't that he didn't want anyone to bother him, but rather that he didn't want to show that ugly state in front of outsiders.
Harry didn't know if Hermione would mind his presence, but he felt he shouldn't be an invisible person.
In short, going to see her was the best option.
What he didn't know was that shortly after he walked past the corner of the Great Hall towards the girls' restroom on the first floor, a figure quickly ran up the underground stairs, dashing towards the Great Hall.
Minutes later, outside the girls' restroom on the first floor, Harry listened to the sobbing inside, feeling a bit awkward.
"Hermione, is that you?" Harry had no choice but to call out.
The sobbing inside suddenly ceased, as if the entire girls' restroom had become empty.
It seems... she wants to pretend no one is inside?
Harry said helplessly, "Looks like you're in there, alright. Anyway, I brought some Halloween candy, do you want some?"
Harry did not mention why Hermione was hiding here alone, sad. He thought changing the subject would be a good choice.
"No... no, Harry. I just... I just..."
"Hermione, don't rush, I can wait for you to slowly make it up," Harry laughed.
Inside the restroom, a stifled giggle came, Hermione was clearly amused by Harry's words.
"By the way, I saw mango pudding for dinner today. To be honest, it's out of season. Perhaps this is the last time we'll eat it this year," Harry added.
After a while, the sound of shoes stepping in water could be heard.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his words had some effect on Hermione.
Hermione emerged from the cubicle. Her robes were wrinkled, her eyes were red, and her already unruly hair looked messier than usual.
"Alright, if it's mango pudding," Hermione said.
"Of course, and also Chewy Toffee," Harry took out a piece of candy.
Hermione walked out, still a bit embarrassed, and rubbed her eyes: "Sorry for making you worry."
"We're friends, aren't we?" Harry smiled indifferently. As he spoke, he took out a mask.
"What is this?" Hermione asked curiously.
"These are the animal masks Fred and George made," Harry introduced.
"What kind is it? A lion?" Hermione was a bit curious.
"No, it's a cat. I thought girls would prefer cats. It's a big yellow cat, and I even asked Uncle Howl for help. Luckily, he didn't mind," Harry laughed.
Hermione was a little surprised: "I... I thought it would be an otter."
"An otter?" Harry was a bit confused: "Why would you think that?"
"Some of them said I look like an otter... Never mind, let's not talk about it. It's not a big deal."
"It seems they really couldn't find anything to say, so they could only say that about you. Perhaps from another perspective... it's a compliment?!" Harry comforted her.
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but smile: "Thank you, Harry." After she finished speaking, she looked at the mask: "Can I try it on?"
"Of course, and I've incorporated the little vocalization trick the Viking Warriors taught me into the mask, so you can roar," Harry said.
Hermione nodded, eagerly putting on the mask. The mask, like a fluid, quickly enveloped Hermione's entire head. Before long, Hermione had transformed into an orange-yellow cat head with somewhat chubby cheeks.
"Meow~"
The sound was a bit sharp, echoing in the quiet corridor.
Hermione was startled by the sound and quickly covered her mouth.
"Roar oh oh!!!"
"Oh, Harry, someone responded to me! Is it a lion mask's roar?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
Then she saw Harry's frozen face.
"Uh... no! The masks Fred and George sold... didn't have roaring magic patterns added."
"Huh?"