Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

As night fell completely, Hogwarts Castle was shrouded in a cold mist.

The wind and snow lashed against the windowpanes, creating a faint whistling sound between the towers.

Amanta pulled her cloak tighter around her and moved silently through the winding corridors. The carpet rustled barely under her feet, as if the entire school were asleep, and only she continued deeper into the corridor.

She walked up to the tapestry depicting the giant stick beating Barnabas and silently recited a secret code known only to members of her group.

"We choose the unlit path."

The stone wall trembled slightly, and the outline of a large door was revealed, slowly opening.

Amanta went inside and saw Hermione first.

She was sitting cross-legged on a makeshift cushioned chair, holding a thick notebook in her arms, muttering to herself as if reciting the rhythm of a mermaid ballad.

Cedric leaned against the fireplace, holding a chocolate frog wrapper and folding paper cranes in his hand. When he saw her coming, he gestured with his chin.

"I'm here," he said with a smile.

In the flickering firelight, Draco sat quietly in the corner, head down, tidying something up.

The platinum gold color was still dazzling in the firelight, but it lacked its usual aggressive arrogance.

Amanta glanced at him, and he looked up at her, but their eye contact lasted only a second.

There were no words spoken, only nods exchanged.

"You're late." Julius's voice sounded from behind her, cool like water droplets falling on ice on a winter night.

He had appeared behind the door at some point, his black hair neatly combed, and his long black robe made him look exceptionally tall.

His gaze swept over her, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I can understand, you've got a lot on your mind tonight."

"Don't even try," Amanta said softly, ignoring the probing in his words, and walked straight to the chair in front of the fireplace to sit down.

Luna and Neville arrived as well. Luna was still wearing her strange woolen cloak and a headband that looked like a spilled honey jar.

Neville sat beside her, nervously clutching a piece of paper, muttering, "Don't forget... breathing time... backup spell..."

Amanta looked around to make sure all the team members were present, then cleared her throat and said, "Let's begin. We need to discuss the strategy for the second round of the three-way championship."

“Underwater.” Hermione immediately looked up, her expression focused, as if she were ready to hand over her strategy guide filled with highlighter notes. “We now know that the mission is to rescue the person you cherish most. The mermaid will be hiding that person at the bottom of the Black Lake, and the warrior must dive underwater and rescue the target within an hour.”

“One hour,” Cedric raised an eyebrow, “but the water pressure in the mermaids’ area is extremely high, and ordinary spells are not stable in that environment, plus they can’t speak spells.”

“So we must use a specific and appropriate underwater silent spell,” Hermione nodded, immediately flipping through her notebook. “I’ve made a list. Neville, aren’t you more familiar with herbs? Could you provide a few herbs that can aid in underwater breathing?”

Navei immediately sat up straight: "I looked it up... There's a medicinal herb called Gill-like Grass. After taking it, gill-like respiratory organs grow on your cheeks, and webbing forms between your fingers and toes, allowing you to move freely underwater. The effect lasts for more than an hour, during which you don't need to surface for air..."

“Then you might as well just use the Transfiguration Charm—turn into a fish!” Luna interjected, her tone light and airy. “My dad tried it before, and he said that when he turned into a goldfish, the world looked pink.”

“…This is quite a novel experience,” Harry said, suppressing a laugh. “But we probably can’t rely on your dad’s experience now.”

“That’s still better than letting you jump into the lake shirtless,” Luna replied.

Everyone burst into laughter, even Hermione shook her head with a wry smile.

Amanta listened to their voices, but her eyes were fixed on Draco, who was sitting on the chair opposite her.

He didn't participate in the previous discussion, but quietly flipped through an underwater creature guidebook, his finger hovering over a particular page. The firelight illuminated his slightly tired profile, revealing faint bluish-gray under his eyes.

She couldn't quite put her finger on how she felt.

“Amanta?” Hermione called to her.

"Ok?"

"You are one of the warriors, do you have any strategic intuition?"

“I’m thinking…” she glanced around at everyone, “If our hostages are—people who are truly important, then who did the mermaid kidnap?”

This question caused a moment of silence.

Harry, Cedric, and Draco all looked thoughtful, but Julius spoke up at that moment: "Do you think the organizers really understand who the most important person is? Do they know who we really can't let go of?"

Amanta gazed at him, but a certain face involuntarily surfaced in her mind—

The boy who grabbed her wrist under the ballroom lights, but then hesitated and let go.

She did not respond.

“We need to prepare for both possibilities.” She brought her thoughts back to the present. “No matter who is taken away, we need to have a response plan. If the four of us can cooperate with each other, it will be much better than going it alone.”

“Then let’s exchange information.” Cedric nodded. “We’ll list out all the possible hostages, everyone should remember them, and we’ll rescue them whenever we encounter them, no matter who they are.”

“I don’t want to see you in a bikini at the bottom of the lake, Harry,” Luna suddenly said.

"Why don't you just say you're wearing it yourself!" Harry exploded.

"So do you want to see it?"

"You two calm down," Hermione said, rubbing her forehead.

The flickering firelight cast alternating shadows and light on everyone's faces, and Amanta suddenly felt a little disoriented.

All of this is so ordinary, so heartwarming.

But she knew that this was just a moment of calm before the snowstorm.

The lake outside has frozen over. In the darkness, the unsolved mysteries, Voldemort's presence, the remnants of the white-robed man, the recurrence of prophecy... they all remain.

But at this moment, at least at this moment, everyone in this SO group is here.