Hogwarts: Hermione and I switched identities!

"Don't do anything risky, let's go to the screaming shed."

"The Screaming Shack?" Hermione covered her mouth with both hands in surprise. "Are you crazy?!"

What is the Shrieking Shack? It's an abandoned house in Hogsmeade Village, a place that accompanies every wizard's childhood.

Whenever these children wouldn't go to sleep at night, their parents would whisper in their ears, "If you don't go to sleep, the monster from the Screaming Shack will come and take you away!"

Legend has it that the Screaming Shack is haunted, with screams heard every night that terrify people.

Hermione had read about the Screaming Shack in the books, so naturally she was a little scared.

“We can go somewhere better, Tom, you know, the Screaming Shack is horrible, there are…”

“There are definitely ghosts,” Tom nodded. “Not now, but there are two poor ghosts when we get there.”

Hermione said emphatically, "I'm serious, Tom!"

Hermione's attempt to act cute with Cho Chang's face had no effect other than making Tom find it somewhat adorable.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry—” Tom patted her head and said with unprecedented gentleness, “If you encounter those things, I’ll teach you a way. You pray with your hands and shout, ‘Prince Charming, come save me!’ Someone will definitely come to save you.”

"Tch." Hermione slapped Tom's hand away, ignoring the annoying guy.

She's not a child anymore, so of course she knows that Prince Charming doesn't exist. Tom was just saying that to put himself at ease.

Even though she knew it in her heart, Hermione was still angry.

Why did we choose the Screaming Shack?

Tom replied, "Because there are ghosts here. Think about it, no matter how powerful the mysterious man is, would he dare to deal with these terrifying things?"

Of course, that's not the reason—the screams coming from the Screaming Shack are because a werewolf transforms inside, and the painful sounds he makes during his transformation are heard by outsiders, which is how the rumor spread that there are evil things in the Screaming Shack.

Tom chose the Screaming Shack because... it was safe enough.

Voldemort could never have guessed they would be hiding in the Shrieking Shack—who would have thought two first-graders would run off to hide in such a dangerous place?

"Follow me now. We have to get through tonight, no matter what, we must!"

"Professor Snape will find us," Tom thought to himself.

The outside of the Screaming Shack was terrifying. The eerie house resembled an old vampire's lair. The old tree at the entrance, like the one in "The Summoning of Souls," had lost all its leaves, and three black crows stood atop it.

The crows noticed the two people approaching on foot, flapped their wings and left, leaving behind a series of eerie cries.

There were no footprints in the sandy soil, and the weeds had grown to half a meter high, indicating that no one had been here for a long time.

But the small stone path leading to the main entrance of the shed didn't feel messy at all.

Hermione noticed these details, and she couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps rising on her skin.

“If you’re scared, you can grab my arm. Five Gallons each time, thank you.”

"Fuck off!"

Tom's first sentence made Hermione somewhat happy, thinking that Tom was still kind after all, but after hearing the second half, she felt that this man had no conscience.

A faint anger dispelled Hermione's fear, and she boldly followed Tom into the Screaming Shack.

Tom knocked on the door politely: "Mr. Monster, we're coming in. We'll be sleeping with you tonight. If you'd like, please disturb this lovely lady tonight but don't disturb me. Thank you."

"Get out of here!"

The room's furnishings were perhaps even worse than Harry's little cubicle.

But for Tom, being able to sleep is enough.

"You rest for a bit, I'm looking for something." Tom moved out of Hermione's sight.

"What?" Hermione couldn't possibly leave herself here...

She was worried about Tom! Yes, worried about Tom!

Don't you often see this kind of scene in horror movies? When someone says they're going to look for something, they just disappear while they're looking.

“I’m not following you because I’m scared,” Hermione stammered.

But Tom ignored her.

Tom clearly remembered that there was a secret passage in Hogwarts that led to the Shrieking Shack, which meant that there was also a secret passage in the Shrieking Shack that led to Hogwarts!

But how big is the Screaming Shack?

Tom searched for half an hour but couldn't find anything suspicious.

Gradually, the sun set behind the foot of the mountain, and the last rays of light fell on Hermione.

Hermione was exhausted today; she hadn't had a moment's rest since she learned she was being targeted by Voldemort.

Now that things have finally settled down, Hermione leaned against the wall and fell asleep.

Perhaps we should start a fire first?

Tom scratched his head and started to rub sticks together to make fire.

After drilling for ten minutes, he sighed.

"Fire-starting spell!"

I originally wanted to start a fire using Muggle methods, but since they won't cooperate, I'll have to resort to magic.

Tom had some leftover bread from the Three Broomsticks pub, so he put it on the fire to toast.

As night fell, Hermione was drawn by the aroma of food. She twitched her nose and opened her eyes, waking up.

"It smells delicious! Tom, you can cook?"

"Of course, there's nothing I can't do." Tom's smile was as reassuring as ever.

Those jade-green eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic—no matter what happened, he always maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

"It's a pity there's no butter or salad dressing," Tom sighed. "I'll prepare those next time I go out."

"This...this is enough. I'm very satisfied. Tonight's dinner was the most delicious dinner I've ever had."

After dinner, Hermione tried to ask, "Tom, how are the preparations for the Christmas ball going... I mean, I mean..." Hermione's voice trailed off.

But she noticed that Tom wasn't looking at her; instead, he was glancing outside.

Tom pulled Hermione close, then pushed her into a corner, saying, "Shh, don't make a sound!"

More than ten minutes later.

The two heard the conversation clearly.

“Master, we have searched the entire village of Hogsmeade, but we have not found those two boys.”

Perhaps they have already left Hogsmeade Village…

The other voice was slightly deep, and every time it spoke, it gave Hermione goosebumps.

"We'll dig eight feet into the ground to find them; they definitely haven't gone back to school yet!"

"No matter what—" Voldemort took a deep breath, "no matter what! They must be eliminated tonight! Especially that Hermione! No one can be allowed to continue using her body!"

Feeling Hermione trembling beneath him, Tom patted her head and said, "Don't be afraid."

"Owner……"

"Shut up!" Voldemort rudely interrupted Professor Quirrell. "You may not have noticed, but two children have already come in ahead of us."

Chapter 48 Voldemort Strikes Again (3k-word chapter, please read, vote, and recommend!)

Professor Quirrell took out his wand and continued walking towards Hermione Tom.

Tom took out a bottle of potion and drank it down in one gulp: "Hey, in a bit you run over there, as far as you can, understand? Keep running until you get back to Hogwarts, find Professor Snape, and tell him I'm being held up by Professor Quirrell."

After drinking the potion, Tom gritted his teeth, the excruciating pain spreading throughout his body. He felt a fang emerging from the depths of his heart, constantly stimulating his body from top to bottom, inside and out.

Finally, Tom transformed into Hermione Granger.

That was his last bottle of compound decoction.

“I can’t abandon you…” Hermione said through gritted teeth. “We should be together. Maybe I can help you.”

“That’s wrong, Hermione.” Tom remained patient. “When we know we are far less capable than our enemies, we should use our privilege as humans—Hermione, humans are social creatures, and it’s not shameful to ask others for help.”

That's what I always do. When I first arrived at Hogwarts, I was a complete stranger in the world, so I asked Professor Snape for help.

Professor Sprout was also very willing to help me, because I had helped her beforehand; connections are also a form of strength.

Tom patted Hermione on the back: "Take a deep breath, count down five, you go."

Hermione was somewhat reluctant, but she still began to count down in a low voice.

"5...4...3..."

Tom didn't wait for the countdown to end and rushed out.

He pulled his black cloak down to cover his eyebrows, preventing Professor Quirrell and his companion from seeing the ongoing changes in his face, only revealing his brown curly hair.

"Good evening, you two old folks. It's been less than two weeks since we last met, hasn't it? What... you want my electric shocks again?"

Quirrell took a half step back, his feet digging deep into the ground.

"You deserve to die, Hermione Granger!" Quirrell swung his wand forcefully. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Divine Sharpness Without a Shadow!"

The two beams of light collided, remaining frozen in place for a long time, neither gaining the upper hand.

"Looks like I overestimated you, old man. I thought you had recovered at least 70-80% of your strength, but now you seem to be about the same as an ordinary professor?"

Tom waved his wand, looking at Voldemort and his companion with a hint of mockery.

At this moment, Professor Quirrell was deeply shocked.

This is impossible!

How long ago was it that they last met this mysterious person?

One week? Or two weeks?

Back then, he hadn't yet learned such powerful dark magic, but now... he can actually hold his own against his own Avada Kedavra!

Tom shook his wand: "Professor Quirrell, aren't you uncomfortable wearing this black robe all the time? You don't still think I don't know who you are, do you?"