When the boys saw Hermione again, she had just come in again. She was red-faced from the cold and there were specks of snow melting in her hair. She saw them coming and waited for them in the hall so they could walk back to the house together. In the common room, she hurried to the fire to warm her hands and the boys found couches to sit on.
“So how was it?” Harry asked.
“Oh, it was amazing!” Hermione pulled off her scarf and coat and sat down across from him. “Her name is Epona. She’s incredible! She’s so wise and beautiful and dignified... She has hair a veela would kill for, so long and pure white.”
“Too bad we can’t see her without blushing ourselves to death, eh Harry?” said Ron, a little wryly. Harry grinned, but Hermione went on as if she hadn’t heard.
“ And she knew it was going to snow days ago she said, by reading the signs in the sky and from watching which birds flew by her window. We helped her to the edge of the Forest. She is still weak, you know. These two other centaurs were there to meet us and take her the rest of the way. They wanted to be sure that no men had seen her. Professor McGonagall was very polite and insisted that only Dumbledore had gotten any kind of look at her.
“They weren’t happy about that, I could tell, but Epona said it was allright and that she had been pampered like a princess the whole time. Then, she asked how things were in the Forest since her attack. They said all the magical creatures were in hiding except the werewolves, and then they looked at each other like they didn’t want to say any more in front of me and the Headmistress.
“Then, it started to snow and Epona smiled over her shoulder at me as if to say ‘I told you so’ and then all three of them just melted into the woods and were gone. It was just amazing. Now, what did I miss in class?”
“You can ask that?” gasped Ron. “After all you got to see, how can you even care about class?” He handed the scroll over though and tried not to smile as Hermione made a face at his handwriting.
“Why would werewolves not be as afraid of the Morthahg?” Harry wondered aloud.
“Maybe because werewolves are more cursed than they are magical,” Hermione said. “Ron, is this an i, e, l, or 1?? Were you even writing with the right hand??”
“Would the Morthahg affect curses like it does magic then?” Harry went on. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.
“You mean absorb them like it does enchantments?” she asked. “If it did, people like Professor Lupin could get their curses nullified by coming in contact with the Morthahg.”
“If it didn’t absorb all the life out of them first,” added Ron.
“There is that,” Hermione agreed. Then, the door opened by itself and Mrs. Norris marched in with a kitten dangling from her mouth. With a contemptuous glance at the students, she went under the couch nearest the fireplace. After a moment, she emerged without the kitten and swept out again.
“She’s moving the kittens here?” Ron asked. “Filch will have a fit...”
“Something must’ve disturbed her in the laundry room,” Hermione said.
“Maybe she wants to be closer to Crookshanks?” Harry suggested.
“Let’s get out of here before Filch comes looking for them,” Ron started to shove things back into his satchel.
“Honestly, Ron,” Hermione was still squinting at the scroll, even as she got up to go with them. “You couldn’t have made a bigger mess of this if you’d TRIED... This is the last time I ask you to take notes.”
“That’s gratitude for you,” said Ron in an injured voice. He couldn’t keep a triumphant grin off his face though. Fortunately, Hermione didn’t notice.