SWNOVELXO Chapter 14: Chapter 13 : The Silent Test ( 1 ).
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The Hogwarts library was bathed in the soft, multicolored glow filtering through the stained-glass portrait of Merlin. The afternoon light painted shifting patterns across the worn wooden table where Hermione Granger and Adam sat, surrounded by towering stacks of books, half-unrolled scrolls, and ink bottles that glinted like scattered jewels in the kaleidoscope of hues.
Hermione's posture was rigid, her shoulders squared with determination. She had pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, the kind that tugged at her temples when she frowned too hard—which, at the moment, was very hard indeed. Her quill was poised between her fingers like a duelist's wand, ready to strike down any error with merciless precision.
Adam, in contrast, lounged sideways in his chair, one elbow propped lazily on the table. His other hand toyed with the edge of a parchment, his fingers tracing absent patterns along its surface. A faint smirk lingered on his lips, as though the entire study session was some private joke only he understood.
Hermione inhaled sharply, her fingers tightening around the spine of a massive Arithmancy tome before slamming it open with a decisive thud. The sound echoed through the hushed library, loud enough to draw a sharp glance from Madam Pince, who peered at them over her spectacles from between the shelves.
Hermione ignored her, flipping aggressively to a page filled with dense, angular runes and complex numerical arrays.
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Hermione:
> "All right. We'll start with probability matrices."
She pushed the book toward Adam, jabbing a finger at a particularly convoluted problem.
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Hermione:
> "Can you solve this?"
Adam leaned forward, his eyebrows lifting slightly as he studied the page. The runes twisted and shifted under his gaze, the magical ink shimmering faintly. After a long moment, he tilted his head.
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Adam (teasing):
> "Are you sure this isn't the spell to summon a demon?"
Hermione's eye twitched. She rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn't stick that way.
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Hermione:
> "It's not summoning a demon. It's predicting magical energy fluctuations."
Adam drummed his fingers against the table, the rhythmic tap-tap-tap grating on Hermione's nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
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Adam (musing):
> "So… basically summoning a demon, but politely."
Hermione's fingers twitched toward her wand before she thought better of it. Instead, she grabbed an ink bottle and shoved it toward him with enough force to make the dark liquid slosh dangerously close to the rim.
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Hermione:
> "Write."
Adam chuckled but obliged, dipping his quill into the ink with exaggerated care. His handwriting was surprisingly neat—each rune precise, each number carefully formed—but Hermione watched him like a hawk, her critical gaze tracking every stroke.
The moment his quill hesitated over a coefficient, she pounced.
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Hermione:
> "No, no—your coefficient is inverted."
She leaned over, her own quill darting in to correct his work with swift, decisive strokes.
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Hermione:
> "You're going to explode a cauldron that way."
Adam didn't seem fazed. If anything, her irritation only amused him more.
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Adam:
> "Well, at least I'd go out in style."
Hermione huffed, resisting the urge to smack him with the nearest book.
Their bickering grew louder, their voices rising despite the library's sacred silence. Madam Pince's glare intensified, her lips pursed as if she were mentally drafting their eviction notice.
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Hermione (hissing):
> "Shh! Keep your voice down!"
Adam leaned in closer, his whisper deliberately loud.
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Adam:
> "You keep your voice down!"
Hermione's nostrils flared. She opened her mouth to retort, but then—
She stumbled.
Midway through explaining a particularly intricate formula, her flawless recitation faltered.
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Hermione (stammering):
> "So if you multiply the magical flux by the, um… the exponential—oh, honestly, stop looking at me like that!"
Her cheeks flushed as Adam's smirk deepened.
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Adam:
> "Like what?"
Hermione pressed her lips together, but then—against her will—a laugh bubbled up in her throat. She slapped a hand over her mouth, but it escaped anyway, a bright, startled sound that echoed in the quiet library.
Adam joined in, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
For a moment, the tension between them evaporated, replaced by something lighter. Something almost… pleasant.
Then—
Their hands brushed.
It was an accident. A simple, fleeting thing. Both had reached for the same piece of parchment at the same time, fingers grazing in a touch that sent a jolt of warmth through Hermione's skin. She jerked back as if burned, nearly upending the ink bottle in her haste.
Her cheeks burned pink. Her eyes darted away.
Adam, in contrast, didn't react at all. He simply picked up the parchment as if nothing had happened, his expression unreadable.
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Adam:
> "Relax, Granger. I'm not going to hex you for touching me."
Hermione's spine stiffened.
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Hermione:
> "I'm perfectly calm, thank you!"
Adam's smirk returned, faint but unmistakable, before he turned back to his notes without another word.
The next half hour passed in relative peace. Hermione muttered incantations under her breath, her quill flying across parchment as she double-checked calculations. Adam worked silently beside her, testing equations on scraps of parchment, his brow furrowed in concentration.
It was… surprisingly productive.
Eventually, Hermione leaned back in her chair, stretching her neck with a sigh.
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Hermione:
> "Well… that was surprisingly productive."
Adam shot her a wry grin.
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Adam:
> "See? Studying with me doesn't always end in explosions."
Hermione rolled her eyes—but couldn't quite suppress the small smile tugging at her lips.
Then—
Her eyes widened in sudden horror.
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Hermione:
> "Merlin's beard—I haven't seen Harry and Ron all day!"
She scrambled to gather her books in a frantic whirl of parchment and quills.
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Hermione:
> "We've got that lecture on Magical Defensive Formations in fifteen minutes!"
Adam blinked, watching her flurry of movement with mild amusement.
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Adam:
> "Go. Rescue them before they accidentally blow each other up."
Hermione shot him a look as she stuffed the last of her belongings into her bag.
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Hermione:
> "We… we'll continue this later. Don't you dare blow anything up while I'm gone."
Adam gave her a mock salute.
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Adam:
> "No promises."
Hermione huffed but didn't argue further, dashing out of the library with her hair flying behind her like a banner.
Adam watched her go, chuckling softly to himself before turning back to the table.
His expression shifted—the amusement fading as his gaze dropped to the System screen only he could see.
His eyes narrowed at the timer ticking down in the corner.
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Adam (murmuring):
> "All right, duel time. Let's see if I make it out of this in one piece…"
The library was silent once more, the only evidence of their study session the scattered parchment—
And the lingering warmth where Hermione had sat.
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[ End of Chapter. ]
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If you want to read more about my works or just to support me then here is my patreon:
If you want to read more up to 3 or even 7 chapters :
Patreon.com/Doflamingo4