After dinner, the two left the Great Hall, with Glenn heading to the Room of Requirement to change his clothes.
However, the young lady decided to tag along, claiming she wanted to help Glenn adjust his outfit before he took the stage.
"There's really no need. Once I start dueling with Snape, my clothes will get messed up anyway. Besides, I'm planning to wear a cloak. Whether the clothes underneath are neat or not won't affect me, nor will anyone else see them," Glenn said as he stood in front of the sofa with his arms outstretched, watching Hermione fuss over his outfit. He looked very much like a passable mannequin.
"It's about ritual—this is a necessary sense of ritual," Hermione chattered on as she worked, her cool little hands lightly brushing over Glenn's smooth, taut abs...
Cough, cough. No, this was purely to make dressing Glenn easier later, ensuring she got the sequence right in advance. Otherwise, what if she accidentally put his pants on his head and his shirt on his legs? It definitely wasn't because she simply wanted to touch him (Hermione's rambling thoughts).
After determining the correct sequence—and maybe touching enough—Hermione quickly helped Glenn into a set of athletic attire. She then layered him up with tactical gear, including a vest and pants made from dragonhide and mithril, along with a pair of tactical boots more suitable for action than his usual casual footwear.
Once everything was in place, Hermione, like a satisfied cat owner who had just finished petting her cat, left Glenn standing there and entered a sage-like mode of detachment.
The rest of the dressing process wasn't as complicated. Apart from protecting vital areas, Glenn didn't like wearing too much armor.
Firstly, it was too cumbersome and didn't suit his combat style. Secondly, taking some injuries during a fight could stimulate his nerves through pain, sharpening his focus.
As for why he didn't just forgo protection entirely?
Normally, Glenn would indeed do that. But given the current circumstances, he thought it best to maintain a relatively good condition.
Potion effects weren't omnipotent. Even though they could speed up healing, the energy consumption during the recovery process was exponentially higher compared to natural healing.
Moreover, Glenn knew that once he and Snape got into the heat of battle, they might lose control and start throwing out all kinds of deadly spells. A direct hit could result in serious injuries.
Apparently, Snape thought the same, which was why he privately advised Glenn to wear protective gear.
At first, Glenn had even offered Snape a matching set of tactical vest and pants, but Snape declined.
He didn't seem to care much about his own body, a fact Glenn found deeply relatable.
All of Snape's injuries and exhaustion were handled with his self-made potions. Rest was out of the question; at most, he'd nap for an hour or two before getting back to work.
If Snape were placed in a modern hospital for a full-body checkup, the results would undoubtedly show alarming red flags across the board.
But one's body is one's own business. Since Snape had chosen this life of draining his vitality, Glenn didn't see the point in saying anything.
With a flick of his cloak, Glenn draped it over himself, pulling the hood low to conceal his figure, leaving only his face visible.
Although he had told Hermione it didn't matter, being exposed to too many gazes still made Glenn uncomfortable.
Hermione was somewhat speechless. As Glenn had said, aside from his face, nothing else was visible to others.
From his black ring, Glenn retrieved a pure white mask, which he placed over his face before activating his heightened perception.
"..."
Great. Now he wasn't showing anything at all.
At this point, aside from Hermione, who else could recognize that this was Glenn?
But the young lady knew this was exactly Glenn's intention.
"Is there anything else you need to prepare?" Hermione walked up to Glenn, slipping her small hand under his cloak and successfully grabbing his hand.
"The space inside here is quite roomy." She explored a bit and raised an eyebrow. Although Glenn had been training intensely, his frame still appeared rather slender.
This black cloak, which he used to use for hiding various weapons, now seemed quite loose since he had switched to using a waist pouch enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm and the black ring gifted by his grandmother for storage.
Still, a cloak was a cloak. It always draped the same way, and now that Glenn had grown taller, the cloak didn't seem overly long on him.
After a moment of silence, Hermione let go of Glenn's hand...
...and then climbed inside!
Like a sloth, she clung to Glenn from the front.
"Hehe, why don't you just carry me down like this? Your cloak is so roomy, and with your mask on, no one will know it's you," Hermione suggested, her fluffy head nuzzling against Glenn's collar as she peeked out from his neck, her eyes blinking mischievously.
For now, let's not discuss how the two of them were getting more and more playful. The young lady's boldness had also grown significantly. She no longer blushed when teasing or pestering Glenn. In fact, when Glenn questioned her motives, she would confidently counter with all sorts of reasons, even if they seemed slightly unreasonable.
But Glenn rather enjoyed this. Over time, he stopped asking why Hermione did what she did.
He just indulged her. What else could he do?
Feeling Hermione starting to slide down, Glenn's hand under the cloak supported her by the bottom, lifting her slightly. With his other hand, he adjusted the edge of the cloak at his collar, covering Hermione's suspiciously exposed brown curls.
"Hold on tight, and don't slide out while we're going down the stairs," Glenn cautioned her seriously.
"...I'm not as clumsy as you think!" Hermione hadn't expected Glenn to make such a remark while she had him firmly locked in her embrace. Did he think her hands were just for decoration?
Thus, Hermione made an important decision...
...She reached out with two fingers and pinched Glenn's soft flesh.
"You're not getting away now~" Hermione grinned mischievously, raising an eyebrow at Glenn.
"..." Glenn was speechless. No wonder Hermione hadn't reacted earlier when he had strictly monitored her plans for the holiday schedule with Professor McGonagall.
She had been waiting for him here all along.
"...Let's go."
"""
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