I looked into Hermione's serious brown eyes for a few seconds and honestly answered:

"Not"

I do not believe in this. In fact, it was a continuation of yesterday's conversation in Hogsmeade, so unceremoniously interrupted by a stupid run-in with Malfoy. Hermione shared with us her concerns that there are rumors of a resurgence of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, that strange and frightening events are taking place, And so on. In principle, anxiety was felt in everything - the teachers constantly disappeared somewhere and whispered intensely, the "Prophet" was meaningfully silent, and Sirius, in one of his letters, as if by chance asked not to stagger anywhere and not run into trouble... The latter scared me the most.

"Why?" Pat demanded.

"Because..." I didn't know how to explain to them what I felt - "because... I would be the first to know about it."

"Do you think he would send you a postcard?" Pat could not resist, sneered, "or did you write a letter?"

Hermione stared at me in silence.

"I would know. I felt" I said again, realizing that I firmly believe in what I say "and Dumbledore didn't ask for nothing..."

"Dumbledore?" Hermione did not understand.

"Didn't I tell you?" - I was surprised and outlined the meeting with the director, "...And Snape said something was getting darker there..."

"Dark Mark" Pat concluded with the air of a professional.

"What?" I did not understand.

"His sign" said Hermione excitedly, looking around.

"Skull with a snake" Pat assented.

"Ah," I remembered, "this sign appeared in the air, where Voldemort and Company…"

Hermione flinched at the mention of the scary (and for me, just stupid) name.

"All the Death Eaters were branded with that mark," Pat continued, "such a cute tattoo on my left forearm."

Hermione frowned and bit her lip.

"Wait. But that means Snape is..."

"A former Death Eater," I finished for her.

Hermione even opened her mouth in shock.

"But how did Dumbledore take him to school?!"

"He was a double agent," Pat added, and when Hermione looked at him intently, he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She blushed slightly, but still could not resist asking:

"Well… He's your ... your ... dad, isn't he?"

Pat always knew how to keep his face, so he calmly agreed.

"Pat always knew how to keep his face, so he calmly agreed."

"Yes. It was he who contributed to my birth."

But this is not my fault. There was a moment's silence.

"And what, it is so striking?" Pat asked.

"Well, not at first sight, of course," Hermione replied with relief, seeing that Pat didn't care, "but when you watch both of you for a long time, especially in the same room, you start to think... You look so much alike" she finished.

"I'm so happy with the thought," Pat muttered dejectedly.

"Are you keeping it a secret?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, not in secret. But I also would not want this news to be carried all over Hogwarts... "

Four conspiratorially giggling first graders walked by us, and they waved their hands to us all. I waved back and it wasn't until they left the library that I realized that two were Gryffindors and two were Slytherins. Apparently, the revolutionary cause was really moving forward.

The kids don't have their heads filled with worn-out stereotypes, it's easier for them to meet each other halfway. And who knows, maybe now we were present at the birth of a new rowdy four, which will surpass the glory of the famous Marauders. After all, if you think about it, Gryffindor plus Slytherin is such an explosive mixture...

"I've gone into myself, I'll not be back soon," Pat said sarcastically, pulling me out of noble reverie, "do not turn over, take it out first in case of fire. Return to sinful land, Potter."

"Have you finished discussing the details of your birth?"

"Well, you know" my friend chuckled, "we haven't gotten to the details yet..."

Hermione frowned.

"Let's get back to business. I still have an essay on Potions to write. And you, by the way, too."

"I already wrote" Pat answered calmly "you want me to write off?"

"I've got my head so far," Hermione replied proudly, "but thanks for the offer."

If Ron had told her that, she wouldn't have spoken to him for a month.

"Everything, back to business" I began, "we know that something definitely dark is happening, which made everyone alarmed."

"Including Dumbledore," Hermione said authoritatively, "and he's not an alarmist.

"And," I continued, "everyone tends to see this as a sign of Voldemort's return."

And after a minute of general silence, I summed up the sad conclusion:

"And all that we have is a bunch of decrepit, useless articles. And, at best, old protocols. And I, of course, will instantly understand what is happening in this world and save everyone again."

"You don't have to be so pessimistic," said Hermione, "in the archives of the Ministry, we can find the names of You-Know-Who followers..."

"I'll be able to recognize them anyway," Pat muttered, but under Hermione's displeased gaze he recovered, "but the archives, of course, are worth looking at."

"You might as well find Voldemort's real name," I suggested.

This has been a fix for me for a long time, but the mention of him has always been either as Voldemort, or as You-Know-Who, or as One-Who-Should-Not-Be-Mentioned.

"What is the name?" Hermione did not understand.

"Normal. Human. Or do you think his mom and dad called him that at birth? O! What a cute boy we have! Let's call him Voldemort. For Domestic and Nearby Eaters, you can just Voldy"

Pat laughed, and Hermione flinched. Apparently she thought that such a bastard once had parents.

"I didn't hear," my friend said, "but Malfoy knows something."

"Does Malfoy know Voldemort's real name?" I didn't believe.

"No, Malfoy knows something about what's going on."

Hermione glanced at Pat in disbelief.

"Malfoy?"

"Hardly a lot" Pat continued in an agreeing tone, "but believe me, there is something in his poor little mind, and I would not mind to find out."

We all fell silent and thought. If Malfoy really had the information he needed, there must have been a means to get it. One could, of course, tie him to a chair and torture him until he cracks...

But surely there must be more elegant ways?

"What you need!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed. Pat and I jumped on the chairs. Hermione was embarrassed.

"Sorry, I just happened to see about the shell of a turtle fish... This is exactly what you need to compose..."

Pat unceremoniously yanked the book away from her.

"Veritaserum..." he muttered thoughtfully, looking at me and Hermione "sounds like exactly what we need."

"Snape always has it in stock," said Hermione confidently.

"How do you know?" I was surprised.

"He threatened to give it to Fred and George when they learned something in his lesson. They, of course, could lie, but he not only threatened them."

"Cool!" Pat roused himself "you just need to pull her out of Snape's office."

"What are you, completely crazy?" I stared at him.

Usually Pat is always much more prudent. If my hot head and hot temper (something I tried to fight with) often led to impulsive actions, then my friend always thought clearly and reasoned sensibly. Which sometimes led to the fact that he got bogged down in plans, trying to calculate all the options and find all the pitfalls. But either magic hit him in the head (or something else), or he so wanted to annoy his dad once again... Apparently it was my turn to cool hot heads.

"Firstly, even if you can really break into Snape's office and steal the Truth Serum, he will still find it missing. And from under the ground he will get the one who did it."

"And what will he do to me?" Pat declared impudently, leaning back in his chair, "and it is not at all necessary to steal. You can cook it yourself."

"It will take weeks," said Hermione, looking at the recipe, "and we don't have a lot of ingredients. You still have to go into Snape's reserves."

"And secondly," I continued, "do you think Malfoy won't notice that he suddenly starts giving you all his ins and outs?"

"It won't go further than Slytherin," my friend stubbornly stood his ground.

"Harry's right," Hermione said, "this is too risky."

Pat shrugged despondently, admitting defeat.

"My business is to propose..."

Hermione leafed through the book thoughtfully.

"You know," she said, "you can brew Polyjuice Potion, you will turn into Crabbe and Goyle, and Malfoy will tell you everything for sure..."

She turned pink under our gaze.

"What?"

"And you just reproached me for indiscretion?" Pat asked insinuatingly.

"I just suggested..."

"wait a minute..." suddenly dawned on me. I went to the shelves and began to quickly scan the spines of the books. Well, well, well... That's what I need.

"Potions for the lazy, or simplify your life?" Hermione asked rather squeamishly. "Did you hear how did Snape feel about this book?"

"I heard, but I really don't give a damn about it. Open page one hundred forty-seven."

There was a twisted and oversimplified Veritaserum recipe.

"Causes excessive talkativeness and intemperance in conversations" Hermione read aloud "side effects - flatulence and insomnia."

"What we need!" Pat exclaimed, earning a suspicious glance from Madame Pince.

"Do you want to give Malfoy this drink?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"And you just suggested brewing a Polyjuice Potion" I retorted.

"Breaking a bunch of school rules," added my friend.

"I picked it up from you," Hermione laughed.