Chapter 421: The Golden Egg  

The morning of the next day had arrived. Though Harry and Ron were eager to leave the hospital wing early, the fatigue from the previous night and their injuries held them back. Madam Pomfrey mentioned Ron's still-swollen leg and Harry's six broken ribs.

"The healing charm can only address minor injuries, like a twisted nose. It's only somewhat effective in emergencies," Madam Pomfrey had said at the time, but both of them suspected it was her way of coaxing them into taking the potions.

After sipping the concoction, their minds immediately grew hazy, slowing down like a clock winding down. Harry and Ron exchanged a few words before drifting off into slumber. Their sleep was deep, and it wasn't until Hermione came to check on them that they finally stirred.

Harry recounted the events of the previous night, emphasizing, "We were in a rush and couldn't get to you in time." Hermione shrugged. "Unless you stood outside the entire girls' dormitory shouting, we wouldn't have known. And even then, I might not have heard..."

Ron coughed heavily, sounding like "dance." Hermione's ears turned red.

There was a slight tension between the two:

Ron, during a break in the dance, accused her of siding with the enemy. Hermione dryly explained the significance of the tournament in fostering unity. However, when Ron loudly accused Krum of being interested only in the egg's secret, Hermione was furious.

"He never once asked me about the egg! Never!" Hermione erupted. "In fact, he invited me initially, in the library, but I hesitated. And for the sake of some silly champions—guess what? Roger Davies immediately invited Cho Chang, and my two idiotic companions just complained about pretty girls being picked!"

Harry looked particularly innocent.

He hadn't considered inviting Hermione, but that was because he harbored secret thoughts, maybe about Cedric and Cho arguing... well, he knew such a thing couldn't happen, but that conclusion left him even more disheartened, diminishing his interest in the upcoming dance.

Anyway, after that, Harry and a gloomy Ron went out to the courtyard, unexpectedly overhearing a conversation between Hagrid and Madame Maxime, learning about their half-giant status, while Hermione (as she claimed) stayed in the Great Hall, sulking alone.

Harry was skeptical about her sulking because when they returned, they saw Hermione cheerfully dancing with Professor Flitwick... After the dance, Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron were again silent with each other. They returned to the dormitory, deep in thought, sleeping until nightmares woke them, chasing spies around the castle together. This morning, when they saw Hermione again, both she and Ron were polite, as if yesterday's argument never happened.

And when Hermione heard about Hagrid's half-giant identity, she didn't find it particularly odd.

"Actually, I always suspected he was a giant," she said, shrugging. "I knew he couldn't be a pure giant because they reach about twenty feet tall. There's no need to be so touchy... It's a prejudice, much like how people treat werewolves... maybe throw in house-elves too... though the biases aren't the same!"

Ron clearly disagreed with her viewpoint, but he merely delicately repeated what he had told Harry last night, pretending it was the first time for Harry's benefit:

"Hagrid shouldn't be going around announcing it. Though it might be his first encounter with his own kind and he got too excited... I know he's not dangerous; everyone who knows him knows that, but it could be trouble if outsiders heard, people are sensitive about this." He grunted, "Even if it's a prejudice, it's a collective one, and when it's unchangeable, concealment is the best approach."

He noticed Hermione gearing up to argue, so he hastened, addressing Harry, "In the public eye, giants are seen as violent, though I've heard tales of love between giants and goblins when I was younger, Fred and George told me... but I didn't believe their nonsense since I was six."

Harry suppressed a laugh, pretending it was his first time hearing it, nodding seriously.

"My dad mentioned they sided with the mysterious people in the war, foolishly believing they'd be given more living space... after the war, they faced retribution, a large number of giants were killed by the Death Eaters. Maybe Professor Moody was involved; that's probably when he got injured..." Ron speculated irresponsibly.

"...there's still a small group of relatively harmless giant tribes driven out of Britain; no one knows where they've hidden now."

Harry didn't think continuing the discussion about 'whether giants are inherently violent' was appropriate, especially considering Hermione's peculiarly raised eyebrows. So he decided to take the lead, "Um... Hermione, Ron and I noticed you were late. You disappeared a few hours before yesterday afternoon. You didn't need that much time just for fixing your hair, did you?"

He felt he was rambling because Hermione's hair was already back to its wild state. He thought—though not knowing much—if it could stay that way, no one would refuse looking prettier.

Sure enough, Hermione shot him a look.

"If a girl wants to groom herself, no amount of time is enough... But I indeed didn't delay because of that; it was Valen. She gave me a Christmas present, and I, um..." She bit her lip, unsure how to continue.

"We know," Ron said, "I mean... we heard a bit. What did she give you that startled you so much, making you forget the time? Was it a large sum of Galleons? My great-aunt said only something shiny and cute could beat time." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Both Harry and Hermione looked at him, and Ron shrugged, "She's long gone, left a will to convert all her belongings into Galleons for her burial, but I'm not sure if her descendants followed through..."

"Of course not, it's a broken Time-Turner," Hermione said casually.

"Valen gave you a Time-Turner?" Ron's eyes widened, shouting.

"It's nothing to fuss about; it's just a broken one," Hermione said, using the same 'fuss' term to return the remark, but Ron didn't catch it. "Quick, show us! Hermione, I've never seen a Time-Turner!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry also looked expectantly at her. "Did you bring it?"

Hermione's eyes curved. "Of course," she said, pulling out a golden chain from her chest. It held a small disc-shaped timer surrounded by a gold frame, with a tiny hourglass inside, intricately designed.

"Is this the Time-Turner? It looks really beautiful... Are you sure it's broken?" Harry inquired.

Hermione didn't reply; instead, she twirled it before them, tucking it back into her robes.

"It's nothing special to look at. Why don't we focus on cracking the egg?" She said eagerly. "I've finally devised a plan that's likely not to damage its structure..."

Harry and Ron stared at the golden egg she had brought, now sitting on a cabinet nearby, hesitantly. Harry glanced at his pajamas; if it started screaming during the egg's analysis, it would be hard to run away.

He didn't want to embarrass himself by

screaming along.

Ron, however, was already inching closer. "What's the plan, Hermione?" he asked, gazing at the egg with curiosity.

Hermione leaned in, her eyes gleaming with anticipation as she whispered her strategy to her two friends.

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