The moment Madam Hooch announced the end of class, Hermione grabbed Ethan Jones and rushed to the Hospital Wing.
Hermione was very worried: "Let's go see Neville. He's badly injured this time, and we don't know when he'll recover."
In the Muggle world, a broken wrist, a bone-damaging injury, cannot be fully healed in less than six months.
Hermione was worried that Neville might have more than just this one injury, since he had fallen from such a height and there was a high possibility that he might have some injuries that were not visible from the outside.
Whether based on his memory of Neville's appearance or his trust in the Hospital Wing, Ethan Jones, who was well aware of the situation, was not worried about Neville's condition at all: "Don't worry, Hermione, this is the wizarding world, the world of magic. Neville will be fine."
These few words did not dispel Hermione's worries: "Easy for you to say, who knows what will happen?"
When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, Neville was already asleep, and Madam Pomfrey was observing his condition beside him.
The two of them tiptoed into the ward and whispered, "Madam, we've come to see Neville. How is he?"
"No need to speak so softly. I gave him the Draught of Living Death (or possibly Dreamless Sleep Potion contextually, but keeping close to source if specific), and he is sleeping soundly now," Madam Pomfrey said in a normal volume. Note: "Water of Life and Death" usually translates to Draught of Living Death.
"I heard from Madam Hooch that he fell from a flying broomstick? I haven't seen anyone injured like that in a long time."
Hermione defended him, saying, "He was so nervous that he didn't hear the professor's instructions clearly."
Madam Pomfrey said in a flat tone: "Is that so? Wasn't it him who was hospitalized last time because the potion brewing failed? And it was the two of you who came to visit him last time."
"Yes, how long will it take him to recover?" Hermione, worried about Neville's reputation being damaged, didn't want to talk about this topic and quickly changed the subject.
The lady held up one finger.
"A whole year?!" Hermione looked sadly at Neville lying on the bed, wondering if he would have to repeat a year.
"What are you thinking? Who do you think you are! All afternoon! He can leave tonight!" Madam Pomfrey had intended to play the role of a master, but she never expected to run into such an ignorant fool. If someone overheard this, it would ruin her reputation.
"Oh! So fast! This is a very serious injury!" Hermione quickly raised her head, looking at Madam Pomfrey in shock.
"Heh, it's just minor injuries. You're no use here. If there's nothing else, you can leave now." Madam Pomfrey said somewhat angrily, trying to shoo them away.
Ethan Jones tugged at Hermione, who still seemed about to ask something, and politely said goodbye, "Thank you for healing Neville. We won't bother you any longer."
In the corridor of the Hospital Wing, Ethan Jones chuckled, "I told you this is the magical world, and you still guessed it would take a year. See, you've made Madam Pomfrey unhappy."
Hermione was a little embarrassed: "How was I supposed to know that the 1 represented an afternoon! I thought Neville's injury was too serious and he might have to repeat a year. I had already planned to lend him all my notes to copy, and try to get him back into our class."
"You've thought quite far ahead. I wonder if Neville will be touched to have a classmate like you who can lend him his notes."
When the two returned to the Great Hall, they saw Draco talking to Harry and Ron.
Judging from their expressions, it certainly wasn't a pleasant topic.
Hermione was filled with disgust for Draco, who had caused all the trouble: "Do you still think Malfoy isn't a bad person?"
Ethan Jones was pragmatic: "I have reservations, but he really went too far this time."
Hermione was not satisfied with the answer, and she walked straight toward the group.
Ethan Jones watched from a distance as Draco left with two bodyguards. Hermione and the Gryffindors spoke to each other, but their expressions were not good.
He couldn't care less about all that. Although he didn't want Hermione to get involved in the mess Harry had created, he couldn't force Hermione to stay.
"Let things take their natural course."
That night, before he drifted off to sleep, he saw Draco return to his dormitory with a sly grin, followed by Goyle and Crabbe, who were also all smiles, as if they had accomplished something remarkable.
When he saw Hermione again the next morning, he noticed that she looked somewhat haggard.
"What's wrong? You don't look well. Did you not sleep well last night?"
"Yes, but something really scary happened, which is causing me to have trouble sleeping." She glanced at the bustling Great Hall and swallowed the words she wanted to say: "I'll tell you later."
Before Potions class, Hermione found a stairwell where almost no one used and told Ethan Jones everything that had happened the day before.
He gave her a thumbs up: "You actually went for a night stroll yesterday, that's amazing! I've always wanted to go, but I couldn't think of a good way to do it, so I never took action."
Hermione was furious: "Ethan, this is not something to be proud of. I did it to stop them from going out at night, and I was locked out!"
"Okay, okay, did you have insomnia last night because you were scared by that Three-Headed Dog or because you wanted to know what it was guarding?"
Hermione said seriously, "Yes, we broke in yesterday, but Dumbledore strictly forbade us from entering the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side during the opening banquet!"
Clearly, he wasn't joking. With such a huge monster around, anyone who dared to intrude would likely suffer a agonizing death.
Why would Dumbledore bring in such a large dog to keep in the school building? There should be other places in the castle where a dog could be kept, right? And what kind of thing would require a monster to guard it?
"I bet it's something really important, something worth taking a huge risk to steal." Ethan Jones was referring to the Philosopher's Stone, but Hermione didn't know that, and she let her imagination run wild:
"Could it be a rare, unique book? Is a notorious book thief trying to steal it? Or some priceless magical artifact being kept safe by someone else using Hogwarts's tight security?"
"I guess it's the latter. Rare books can be copied, and you don't necessarily need the original to acquire knowledge."
Hermione nodded, agreeing with him: "You're right, it must be a priceless magical item. Guess what it is?"
Ethan Jones, listening to the bells, said, "I guess we might be late for Potions class."
"Ah!" Hermione only then heard the clock tower chiming and grabbed Ethan Jones, running towards the underground classroom.
Unfortunately, they set off too late and were ultimately late.
They had planned to sneak in while Snape had his back to the door, but Snape called them out immediately.
He turned around to face the two of them as soon as they entered: "Mr. Jones, Miss Granger. Late? Very well! Five points deducted from Gryffindor! Now go back to your seats!"
Hermione's face turned bright red. She lowered her head and walked towards the empty seat left for her, listening to the Gryffindors' indignant murmurs, she lowered her head even further.
Thanks to Slytherin, Ethan Jones, who was spared by his own Head of House, quickly slunk over and sat down next to Draco.
"Listen carefully!" Snape roared towards the direction where the lions were sitting before officially starting the lesson.