After asking her question, Hermione couldn't help but shake her head slightly, thinking to herself: As if the other person would actually tell me who they are!
But what Hermione didn't expect was that the "herself" standing across from her merely smiled—and truly opened her mouth to answer:
"I'm... the Heart King."
Hearing this reply, Hermione frowned deeply.
Heart King? That was clearly a codename! Could it be that the other person wasn't an individual, but part of an organization?
Thinking of this, Hermione suddenly seemed to realize something. She pointed at the "herself" across from her and blurted out:
"You're... you're a member of the Secret Order?"
Cassandra froze for a moment, but then asked, surprised:
"How did you know I'm part of the Secret Order?"
Hearing the admission, Hermione was momentarily stunned, but still quickly explained:
"Because that night in the Room of Requirement, I noticed that each of you had a playing card placed on the stone table in front of you! And the Heart King is, of course, one of the cards."
To Hermione's surprise, Cassandra nodded in satisfaction and even praised her:
"Excellent observation skills! Now I can understand why Joker wanted to recruit you into the Secret Order."
But Hermione didn't feel any sense of pride from the compliment. Instead, she cautiously asked:
"So... was it your group who opened the Chamber of Secrets? Are you the heirs of Salazar Slytherin?"
At this question, Cassandra sighed and shook her head, answering with some disappointment:
"I just praised your wits, and you immediately ask such a foolish question! Do you really think the heir of Salazar Slytherin would ever recruit a witch from a Muggle-born family into their secret organization?"
Hearing Cassandra's words, Hermione realized how ridiculous her question had been.
Still, she couldn't help but press on:
"Then why did you disguise yourself as me to enter Ginny's dormitory?"
Cassandra answered casually:
"To carry out Joker's orders."
Hermione's frown deepened as she repeated:
"Carry out... Joker's orders?"
Cassandra nodded and elaborated:
"Exactly. Joker has given a directive—members of the Secret Order must resolve the Chamber of Secrets situation as soon as possible. Through our investigations, we've already uncovered a few clues."
Hearing this, Hermione quickly asked:
"Wait, you went to Ginny's dormitory—does that mean Ginny was the one who opened the Chamber? Ginny's the heir of Salazar Slytherin? No—that's absurd! That's impossible!"
To her shock, Cassandra actually nodded and agreed:
"You're right, it is impossible. Ginny comes from the Weasley family—one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight—there's no way she's a descendant of Salazar Slytherin."
Hearing her double once again echo her thoughts, Hermione felt even more confused.
Luckily, Cassandra continued and clarified:
"She's merely a poor girl being manipulated."
At this, Hermione quickly pressed on:
"Who? Who's been manipulating Ginny? Lately her mental state has been awful—is it because of that person?"
But this time, Cassandra didn't answer right away. Instead, she smiled slightly and said:
"I'm sorry, but I've already told you more than enough. Beyond this point, it's Secret Order business—and I can't reveal any more."
Hearing this, Hermione immediately understood. She thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said firmly:
"I understand. I'm willing to join the Secret Order!"
But in the very next second, she was stunned to see "herself" shaking her head.
"I'm sorry. I refuse."
"Why?!" Hermione asked in confusion.
The "other Hermione" calmly explained:
"Only Joker has the authority to invite new members into the Secret Order. Last time, you turned down his invitation—you gave up your chance."
At this, Hermione saw the expression across from her turn grave. Cassandra spoke each word clearly:
"The Secret Order is not a place you can join—or leave—on a whim."
Hermione fell into silence. A long moment passed before she spoke again:
"Then... what must I do to be invited back?"
Cassandra smiled inwardly but remained outwardly composed as she said:
"Wait until Joker extends the invitation again."
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but ask urgently:
"When will he—?"
But Cassandra cut her off quickly:
"Some chances, once missed, you can only hope for another. Others, once missed, will never come again. Which one this is—you'll have to leave to Joker. Sometimes, a missed chance... is a mistake you'll never undo."
"This conversation ends here. I suggest you keep what we've discussed today a secret. Otherwise... well, let's just say, you might not yet understand the reach of the Secret Order—but you should know by now: we are everywhere."
As she finished, Cassandra stretched out her hand towards Hermione's wand, which had been knocked aside earlier. A moment later, Hermione's wand flew neatly into Cassandra's hand.
Hermione was stunned. Her deep love of magic made her blurt out, even in this tense moment:
"How did you do that?"
Cassandra smiled modestly and said lightly:
"Simple—silent casting and wandless magic."
Although Cassandra made it sound easy, Hermione knew full well just how difficult it was—even for a basic Summoning Charm like that.
Before Hermione could ask any more, Cassandra hastily added:
"Think carefully about what you've missed—and think even harder about how to catch Joker's attention again."
With that, Hermione watched as her "other self" turned away without hesitation and disappeared into the distance.
Left alone, Hermione stared down at her wand, lost deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Cassandra hurried to the nearest bathroom, quickly stripping off the Gryffindor uniform she had been wearing.
The reason for her haste was simple: the Polyjuice Potion she'd used was about to wear off. She had made her exit just in time.
However, just as Cassandra was changing, she thought she heard something—an odd sound. She paused and listened carefully... but heard nothing more.
Shaking her head and assuming she must have imagined it, Cassandra continued adjusting her clothes and stepped out of the stall.
But when she turned to tidy herself up in the mirror—
She was greeted by a horrifying sight:
A pair of enormous eyes staring at her from the edge of the mirror.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]