After successfully releasing his pent-up bloodlust on the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest that night, Glen meditated refreshed until morning.
The recent tension from Voldemort's presence and suppressing his instincts had created inner turmoil. As Glen exhaled slowly, releasing that stagnant energy, he ended his meditation.
Rising from bed, Glen smacked Draco awake. The latter reflexively jumped up, still sleepy but automatically assuming a defensive stance.
Don't misunderstand - this was at Draco's own request. He had resolved to stop sleeping in, secretly determined to outwork Neville.
Though friends, these two were fierce competitors, each trying to surpass the other.
Especially Neville - before training with Glen, he had been a complete pushover, often bullied by Slytherins led by Draco.
Now after training with Glen, Neville could beat two Dracos in hand-to-hand combat, though he still lagged in spellwork.
Knowing his natural talent wasn't great, Neville decided to overcome Draco through doubled effort, proving himself through overall ability and getting revenge for past bullying.
According to Hermione, Neville had already been secretly working extremely hard, practicing spells in empty classrooms or exercising even between classes.
There was a Yamen Gengtaro in the classroom - no joke.
Between these Slytherin and Gryffindor rivals - one naturally gifted, one insanely hardworking - Hermione was curious who would ultimately prevail.
Glen didn't care. One could never be strong enough, and their mutual motivation benefited them both.
Plus they could help fight Voldemort in the future, which helped Glen too.
Competition was the best motivator.
Regardless of their intensity, the bi-daily Forbidden Forest training would resume.
When Glen announced this, Neville and Draco's bodies involuntarily went limp, their healthy flush instantly turning pale.
No joke - they'd rather multiply their daily training several times over than return to the Forest.
At least training at Hogwarts only tortured their bodies. The Forest was both physical and mental torture.
And the worst kind!
One wrong move meant serious injury at minimum. Broken bones or puncture wounds were normal. They'd even lost limbs a few times. Though Glen's potions fully healed them, the physical and mental trauma was permanent!
To surpass each other and survive the increasingly difficult Forest training, Neville and Draco studied and trained almost as hard as Hermione.
Indeed, the young witch still dominated them. In study effort, only Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater could compare to Hermione at Hogwarts. Even Glen couldn't match her. The boys should give up trying to surpass her academically.
In spellcasting and combat, Hermione's private lessons from Glen were naturally more effective than desperate Forest survival training. Add her knowledge base and effort matching Neville and Draco's.
Though the boys' natural physical advantages gave them better overall fitness, even that gap was closing as changes strengthening all aspects of her body continued.
So they tacitly excluded Hermione from their rivalry.
They simply couldn't keep up.
After washing up, Glen and Draco split up in the Great Hall - Draco to jog around the Black Lake, Glen to find Hermione at the tables.
At the Gryffindor table, Glen keenly sensed the atmosphere was unusually lively, even for post-finals celebration.
Seeing Hermione wave him over, Glen ignored the odd atmosphere and went to her.
As soon as he sat down, Hermione leaned in to whisper.
"Somehow last night's events leaked. The whole school seems to know about Harry and Ron facing and defeating a thief trying to steal something important Dumbledore hid, and us rescuing them from below the trapdoor." She glanced around and continued even quieter: "But the part about the thief being Voldemort doesn't seem to have spread. I think something's strange about this."
Glen understood without explanation - neither of them would have leaked this.
Neville arrived then, and Hermione directly asked if he had leaked anything. He looked completely confused, not even knowing what had happened.
Upon learning what Harry, Ron, Glen and Hermione had experienced during their night wandering, the young boy was shocked and impressed, earnestly promising he hadn't told anyone about the four of them being out at night.
No joke - how could he reveal something like that? The four involved were all his good friends. If word reached the professors' ears, both Gryffindor and Slytherin would lose many points. Neville would never betray his friends in such a mutually harmful way.
Moreover, Glen and Hermione had only gone out to help him, which absolutely prevented Neville from saying anything.
Watching Neville explain very emotionally, repeatedly emphasizing his innocence, Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"It's okay, we believe you, Neville. Calm down," Hermione said helplessly, gesturing downward for him to relax.
Seeing Neville still agitated with slightly wet eyes, the young witch felt troubled - was she really that scary to frighten Neville so?
That left only Harry and Ron as possible sources. Hermione scanned the Gryffindor table for them but found nothing.
Glen noticed her action and understood her thoughts, analyzing: "They should be in the hospital wing."
"Right - one choked unconscious by Devil's Snare and the other with a nasty head wound from the wall. Poor them," Hermione said sarcastically. Their courage was commendable but far too rash - no plan, no preparation. If they would just study properly, they'd at least have some ability to handle unexpected situations.
But they just didn't like studying seriously. What mindset drove them to act so impulsively?
Their courage deserved recognition, but their actions were very inappropriate - that was Hermione's assessment.
The young witch didn't understand that human joys and sorrows don't always align, and individuals think differently.
Glen maintained neutrality - their actions weren't his concern.
But involving him and Hermione because of Dumbledore wasn't right, even though they safely completed Dumbledore's request.
Glen suspected Dumbledore himself had likely leaked this.
Probably to build Harry's reputation, Glen concluded.
That was fine.
Glen wasn't upset - the spreading story downplayed his and Hermione's roles while emphasizing Harry's brave fight, which suited him perfectly.
Being removed from the story was ideal - letting Harry be Voldemort's main target would greatly ensure their safety.
Glen calmly ate breakfast, no longer monitoring the situation's development. Better to spend that time watching Hermione.
The young witch was somewhat dissatisfied with the story's inaccuracy. She knew clearly that Harry had done nothing except grab Voldemort's face, yet the story was clearly developing unpredictably.
Like versions claiming "Harry battled the thief for 300 rounds before defeating him" or "Harry and Ron casually struck once to break the thief's power and personally delivered him to Azkaban."
But she only complained briefly before being "interrogated" by her freshly awakened friends at the Gryffindor table.
"I heard you were having a nighttime rendezvous with that Slytherin snake when you bravely rescued the exhausted Harry and Ron?" some witch asked chattily.
"Are you and Glen officially together?" This was Lavender, eyes bright, clearly focused on an odd detail.
Parvati shoved aside Lavender who was trying to question Hermione further. Also curious about last night's events, she grabbed the blushing Hermione to prevent escape and continued: "Did you see the thief's true face? Did you really personally deliver him to Azkaban? What's it like in there? Is it scary?"
Hermione was nearly submerged by the young witches, reaching out like a drowning kitten toward Glen, baring her teeth in distress.
Glen nodded at the young witch, pretending not to understand her body language, quietly yielding space to the boisterous girls.
Hermione disappeared into the witches' circle with an incredulous look, mentally screaming:
"Glen! You organization-betraying traitor!"
Glen remained unmoved. He knew the young witch actually enjoyed attention - letting her tell others about last night's adventure would make her happy, though she hadn't shown it due to displeasure at the story's ridiculous spread.
But who was Glen? He understood Hermione better than she understood herself.
Have fun, Hermione, Glen thought as he finished breakfast and headed to the Room of Requirement.
The long-suspended dueling badge production would resume - completing tasks promptly was Glen's habit.
But first, he needed to visit the headmaster's office.
He needed to talk with Dumbledore.
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