"...Sorry, perhaps I misheard. Glenn, could you repeat that?" Hermione blinked, hesitating for a moment before slowly turning her stiff face toward Glenn.
"I have a method to temporarily change my gender to female," Glenn paused briefly and repeated his statement more clearly.
Hermione's stiff expression began to twitch, and her eyebrows gradually arched upward.
"What???!"
An incredulous look appeared on Hermione's face, and she even forgot to control her volume.
"Who's there!" Before Hermione could regain control of her shocked expression, a male voice came from the dimly lit corridor ahead.
Glenn hadn't expected Hermione's reaction to be so dramatic. Her exclamation had caught the attention of Percy Weasley, who had already walked past their location.
"Invisibility Charm." Glenn cast the Disillusionment Charm on both himself and Hermione, watching as Percy, looking suspicious and alert, walked past them toward the direction where Harry and Ron were about to appear.
Once Percy disappeared from their line of sight, Glenn lifted the charm.
"What's wrong?" Glenn asked Hermione, puzzled. To him, this matter shouldn't have been so surprising.
"Uh... no, I mean... wow." Hermione let out an awkward laugh. "If I heard you correctly, Glenn, you said 'gender transformation' instead of 'turning into a girl,' right?"
Glenn nodded. "I've been researching a potion that can temporarily alter one's physiological gender. The original purpose was to bypass the protective magic Dumbledore enhanced for your girls' dormitory."
"...You researched this potion just so you could escort me to the dormitory door at night, like last year?" Hermione guessed, looking at Glenn.
"Yes," he nodded.
The girl was at a loss for words, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Glenn's effort in researching such a potion just for this reason was...
Well...
Kind of touching?
"But thanks to your reminder, I realized that this potion could also give me more time, like you, to monitor and observe Ginny," Glenn continued, unaware of Hermione's complicated feelings.
To fully remember and accurately analyze someone's behavioral patterns—things like body posture, which are far less obvious than physical features—requires prolonged observation. The accuracy improves with time.
If Hermione had cat ears, they would have perked up upon hearing Glenn's words.
Clearly, Hermione found this idea very intriguing.
"Are you saying you'd pretend to be a little witch, sneak into the girls' dormitory, and get close to Ginny to gather information?"
(???)
"No, I don't plan to approach Ginny or any other witches directly," Glenn shook his head. He hadn't considered that. Interacting with the target was better left to Hermione. Glenn believed that staying in the shadows and focusing on information gathering was more advantageous.
An outsider to an event often notices more details than those involved.
Besides, Glenn's conversational skills were no match for Hermione's eloquence. He had never been good at talking or steering conversations. In his past life, he avoided missions requiring interrogation or persuasion, preferring straightforward tasks like shooting someone in the head or stabbing them in the heart.
If it weren't for the girl's restraint, Glenn wouldn't mind directly eliminating the problem's source.
Since Ginny Weasley was a suspect, using the process of elimination to "physically" remove this likely correct answer seemed reasonable. The rest could be dealt with as the situation unfolded.
"Are you thinking about something dangerous again?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Glenn. She knew him well enough to recognize when he was lost in some peculiar thoughts. Every time Glenn wore this expression, his eventual response would be something outrageous.
Back when they were in primary school, Glenn had casually suggested things like "making them disappear from everyone's sight forever," "knocking them out," or "erasing all traces of their existence" when dealing with people he disliked. Such remarks had left young Hermione utterly dumbfounded.
Of course, her kindness had stopped him. She had lectured him earnestly, explaining why such actions were wrong and that ignoring annoying people was the best approach.
Glenn had humbly accepted her guidance. Though in the following days, Hermione noticed he still entertained similar dangerous thoughts, at least she hadn't seen him act on them.
Probably not, right?
Um... hopefully not?
Even though Glenn's face remained calm, Hermione could tell something was different about his expression and thoughts.
This time, Glenn didn't voice his thoughts directly. He shook his head. "I don't want to say because my current thoughts would upset you."
Hermione froze, then grew indignant. "If it's something that would upset me, then I definitely need to hear it!" She leaned closer to Glenn, her big eyes fixed on him as she poked his chest accusingly. "This isn't just to stop you from doing something irreversible. If I'm being honest, no one is more important than you. This is for your own good!"
"Not only do I know that you seem to have a slightly unusual way of understanding and handling certain situations, but even your grandmother noticed it. She once told me privately to keep an eye on you, to guide you in the right direction."
"I read in a book once that a person's way of thinking influences and reflects back on themselves. When they experience events, they are also affected by external influences, be it people or things. The negative impact others have on you, however small, will accumulate and affect you as well." Hermione stopped poking him and cupped his face in her hands. "I don't want you to be affected by those negative things."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're probably thinking about how to directly and quickly deal with Ginny alone, and the process wouldn't be pleasant." The girl reached out, pulling down the black ribbon covering Glenn's eyes. Their gazes met.
"If you did that, you'd inevitably be affected by those unpleasant things. You might not care or even ignore them..."
"...But I would care!"
"""
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