The truth couldn't be hidden for long. Early Monday morning, news of Colin Creevey being attacked by the Heir of Slytherin spread like wildfire throughout Hogwarts.
Panic swept through the school. Rumors flew, and everyone was on edge. The younger students were especially terrified, no longer daring to walk through the castle alone. They moved in groups of three or five, huddling together as if afraid they'd be the next victims.
Fortunately, along with the announcement of the attack, Dumbledore shared another piece of news:
"Anyone who navigates Hogwarts using a mirror can avoid disaster."
At first glance, the advice seemed absurd and impractical. But coming from Dumbledore, it was taken as gospel by the frightened young wizards.
A rumor soon began circulating that Colin Creevey had not been killed but merely petrified. Supposedly, he had survived the attack because of a mirror.
This rumor became a lifeline for the students. Desperate for protection, they started ordering all kinds of mirrors from shops outside Hogwarts, having them delivered by owl.
The atmosphere at Hogwarts quickly turned bizarre.
Students carried mirrors everywhere they went. They kept their heads down, staring at the mirrors in their hands, and used them to navigate instead of looking directly at their surroundings. Wherever they turned, they adjusted the angle of the mirror.
At first, many found this practice amusing. But soon, its drawbacks became apparent. Constantly keeping their heads down caused severe neck pain, and the distorted reflections in the mirrors often made them dizzy. Some frustrated students even threw their mirrors away, declaring dramatically that they'd rather jump off the castle than continue using such a ridiculous method.
As complaints mounted, a solution suddenly appeared. Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom began selling a new product: magical glasses said to work on the same principle as mirrors. When worn, these glasses allowed the wearer to see as if with their own eyes while also providing the protective benefits of using a mirror.
The glasses were affordable, priced at just fifteen Sickles each. They were also of excellent quality and aesthetically pleasing. Reliable sources confirmed their effectiveness, making them a high-value, cost-effective product.
With glowing reviews pouring in, the magical glasses became a hit. Sales skyrocketed, and soon every student at Hogwarts had a pair.
Draco and Neville, now flush with cash, returned to the Room of Requirement to divide their earnings—or rather, to share the loot.
Yes, share the loot.
As sales representatives, Draco and Neville had done an outstanding job. Their "boss," Hermione, paid them their wages accordingly.
And Glenn? Was he the big boss?
No, he was merely a laborer, tirelessly crafting magical glasses through alchemy in the Room of Requirement under Hermione's watchful eye.
Of course, it didn't really matter. Hermione hadn't planned to keep the money for herself, and Glenn had only agreed to her idea as a way to practice his alchemy. The money they earned was intended to buy Christmas gifts for their family and friends.
"Strange. Did we really make this much money?" Hermione sat on the sofa, pulling out a pouch from her charm necklace and dumping their earnings onto the table. She glanced at the pile of coins, estimating its total value, and found it surprisingly high. "Glenn, do you have any idea what's going on?"
Glenn wasn't sure how much they had earned from the glasses, but he knew he'd made quite a bit from selling potions.
The potions Glenn sold were of such high quality that several apothecaries in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley had signed long-term agreements with him. Every so often, Glenn would send them a batch of potions he made in his spare time, and the shops would pay him half in cash and half in potion ingredients, delivered to Hogwarts by owl.
Since Glenn had no personal use for the money, he hadn't mentioned the sales to Hermione. Instead, he quietly slipped the earnings into her charm necklace while she napped.
Over time, the coins had accumulated. Though Glenn hadn't kept track of the exact amount, he estimated that Hermione's pouch now held between one and two thousand Galleons—enough to make her a little tycoon.
"I don't know. Probably quite a bit. You can use it to buy whatever you like," Glenn replied casually.
"All you ever do is tell me to buy things. Don't you want anything for yourself?" Hermione poked Glenn's cheek with her small finger. "Little Glenn~ isn't there anything you'd like Hermione to get you as a gift?"
"No," Glenn said, his face expressionless, though Hermione's poking made his cheek slightly distort, undermining his stoic demeanor.
"Hmph! Why is it that other boys go out of their way to find out what gifts girls like, but with you, it's the other way around?!" Hermione pouted, puffing up her cheeks. She switched from poking to pinching, continuing to tease Glenn.
"Maybe it's because your thoughts are easy to read?" Glenn grabbed her mischievous hand and replied calmly. "You wear your heart on your sleeve."
It was true. Hermione had no idea how to hide her feelings. If Glenn was the type to keep his emotions hidden—never showing joy or anger, never revealing likes or dislikes—Hermione was his complete opposite.
She was straightforward, outspoken, and unreserved in her emotions.
But that was just Hermione.
"I do not!" Hermione protested, clearly displeased. She used her free hand to pinch Glenn's other cheek. "Don't make stuff up! What do you mean, 'easy to read' and 'wear my heart on my sleeve'?"
"Then why don't you guess what you want most right now?" Glenn said without hesitation.
"Freshly picked mud—"
"…"
Glenn calmly pried Hermione's hands off his face and held them firmly.
"What you want most right now is the women's clothes I'll need after drinking the gender-swapping potion."
"?!" Hermione stared at Glenn in disbelief, her expression a mix of shock and horror.
"You… you!"
"…"
"...You must have some kind of mind-reading spell in your magic book. That's the only explanation."
"Do you even believe that yourself?"
"…"
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