Really

Inside the house upon request, Luke arrived after a day's rest in the dormitory, armed with plenty of notes to prepare some magic props.

"God, this is invisible!"

A melodious tinkling echoed through the cozy room as Hermione, holding the Half-Blood Prince's notes in one hand and her wand in the other, aimed at the bookcase ahead.

A flash of green light, but no harm came to the wardrobe or anything else.

"The Sectumsempra curse is a high-level attack spell, and it's no walk in the park compared to the Slaughter Curse. How can it be so easily mastered?"

Seeing the frustration on the young witch's face, Luke turned to her with a gentle reassurance.

It took him two or three days to grasp the Sectumsempra curse, after all.

Plus, the counter-curse for the Sectumsempra curse wasn't even in the notebook.

So, once the spell hit an opponent, all that awaited them was a lethal bleed-out.

And as for the counter-curse, it was likely only Snape, the inventor, knew.

"Whoever came up with this spell was a true genius!"

Even though she couldn't quite get the hang of it, Hermione couldn't help but admire it.

Inventing a spell was a whole different ball game from learning one.

After all, invention starts from scratch.

Without exceptional talent, such magic spells couldn't be created.

"The Half-Blood Prince's potions and spells are undeniably powerful."

Luke nodded in agreement.

"How's your spell ring?"

Hermione turned the ring on her finger, symbolizing romance, love, and togetherness, and gazed at Luke with her bright brown eyes.

After class, Luke had taken Hermione to the Room of Requirement and spent three hours carving the silver rings with hearts.

Luke tossed the rune-covered ring to Hermione before focusing on carving the next one.

"Will this ring last forever?" Hermione asked, holding the ring up to inspect it.

Though she wore an Iron Spell ring on her finger, Hermione had never tapped into its powers.

"If you use it two or three times in succession then there will to be a cooldown period of a few hours," Luke explained.

Hermione nodded, grasping the concept. "The same applies to your Iron Armor spell."

She settled onto the soft bed beside the moonlit window, enveloped in the quiet of the room, interrupted only by the gentle swish of wands and the carving of rings.

Despite waving her wand a few more times, Hermione decided against conjuring the Sectumsempra curse, opting instead to lie back and gaze at the night sky. The moonlight struggled to pierce through the thick clouds, casting only a shadowy glow.

Suppressing a yawn, she turned her attention to Luke, who was deep in concentration.

He's quite captivating when he's focused, Hermione thought to herself.

As Luke finished sketching out a spell to clear the path, he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was half past one in the morning already.

Time always slips away when you're fully immersed in a task.

"Dear Granger, it's time for bed," Luke murmured softly, but received no response from Hermione.

Has she fallen asleep already?

Luke turned to find Hermione lying facing him, fast asleep with a faint smile on her lips, bathed in the moonlight seeping through the window.

Quietly, he approached and tucked her in, then extinguished the candle, leaving only the gentle glow of the moon and the dwindling embers in the fireplace.

"Good night," he whispered before retreating into the tranquility of his room.

...

In the Hogwarts Great Hall the next morning, Harry greeted them with a cheerful "Morning!"

"Morning, Harry," Luke and Hermione replied in unison.

Harry glanced at Hermione, puzzled by her absence from the Gryffindor common room since the night before.

"Is everything alright?" he asked tentatively, unable to hide his concern.

Hermione, catching his gaze, raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What's wrong?"

Harry hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Oh, it's nothing..."

After some contemplation, Harry decided against asking. It felt too intrusive, considering it was the other party's private matter.

"Come on, Scabbers, have a pumpkin pie!" Ron cooed, offering a slice to his little mouse companion.

Luke observed the scene with mild disgust. He'd seen the rat's true form—an unsightly, oily little creature. He couldn't fathom Ron's reaction when he eventually found out...

Watching the mouse nibble on the pumpkin pie, Luke hesitated before producing a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"Try these!" he offered.

Ron recognized the beans and waved them off. "Scabbers can't have those; they're too pricey."

However, Scabbers seemed intrigued, abandoning the pumpkin pie for Luke's offering.

Peter Pettigrew, as a rat, hadn't tasted any snacks since his transformation.

"Give me some!" Luke joked, passing Scabbers a Momotaro rice ball before teasingly adding, "You're gonna finish this entire bag, got it?"

"How would Scabbers understand..." Ron muttered, bewildered.

Luke simply placed the bag of odd-flavored beans in front of Scabbers.

Scabbers eagerly pawed at the bag, selecting a green bean and munching on it with delight.

"Garlic..." Luke wrinkled his nose at the pungent smell.

Peter Pettigrew detested garlic but found himself swallowing the bean involuntarily.

"This one tastes like canned herring?" Luke exclaimed, pinching his nose in distaste.

Shaking off the unpleasant aroma, he buried his face in Hermione's curly hair, taking solace in the familiar scent of jasmine.

Meanwhile, Scabbers continued to indulge in the beans, unable to resist the temptation.

Peter Pettigrew panicked, unable to control his insatiable appetite.

.....

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