Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Ankle Bracelet, of course, as a Birthday Gift (Edited)
Two weeks had passed since the start of the school year. Professor Lupin's reputation took a complete turn, and the perception that the young wizards had of the professor changed considerably. In fact, their initial impressions of Professor Lupin were based mainly on his tattered clothes and unhealthy complexion. Such antipathy was superficial, but the true antipathy was reserved for Professor Snape, whose dislike was ingrained in the bones of most students.
Such superficial antipathy can be washed away with a vivid class, and Lupin has the ability to do just that. After the Boggart's escape that day, Lupin sought out the Hogwarts house-elves and asked them not to banish the Boggart when they found it in the castle, but rather to leave it with him as teaching material.
This was much easier than searching room by room, classroom by classroom. The Hogwarts house-elves were the creatures who knew the castle best. There are so many secrets hidden in Hogwarts Castle, and a student can only stay here for seven years, which is not enough time to explore everything. Not even the Marauders or the Weasley twins had been able to uncover all the secrets of the castle in seven years; not even Dumbledore, who had lived for over a hundred years and spent most of his life in Hogwarts Castle, could claim to know it all.
But the house-elves are different.
The house-elves were responsible for providing three meals a day, washing the students' and professors' clothes, and maintaining the cleanliness of the castle. This means they spend a large part of the day wandering around the castle, chasing away dangerous magical creatures. The chances of them finding the Boggart were higher than Lupin's.
Of course, Lupin encountered a house-elf before lunch, and by the end of the afternoon, he had the Boggart back, without delaying the class.
Not much happened in the past two weeks. Malfoy only reappeared in class on Thursday, with a bandage on his right arm, and he was milking it! It was outrageous, no one knew how he managed to convince Madam Pomfrey to put on such a disguise. Malfoy used it as an excuse to avoid Potions class work, to do nothing but probe, for Ron from Gryffindor to cut the roots of daisies for him, and for Harry to peel his figs. He also pretended to be concerned about Hagrid's condition to the point that Harry minced a caterpillar.
But these little quarrels in Potions class had nothing to do with Tom. He had had fifteen busy days, calculating the points where he appeared after using the Time-Turner, taking notes for over ten classes, and completing homework for all his subjects. He felt like he was turning into a ticking clock, ticking away every day.
But the Sunday of the third week was a special day—it was September 19th, Hermione's birthday. Tom had been secretly preparing for Hermione's birthday for a long time.
He had already bought Hermione a birthday present in Diagon Alley, and then he had traded another item at the International Guild of Wizards. Tom believed that the combination of the two items would be the perfect birthday gift.
What to give your girlfriend for her birthday? This is a question that has plagued heterosexual men for years, and for Tom, a anklet, of course! He had already purchased a gold anklet in Diagon Alley, with a little bell on a delicate chain that tinkled with each step. It was a marvel.
Of course, he had also modified the bell. At the Guild of Wizards, he had used his points to get a guide to make a danger-predicting item, and then he had made a miniature danger-predicting item with a silver bell. If anyone approached Hermione with ill intent, the bell would ring.
It was a rare treasure, and it took Tom two weeks to carve it.
Tom carefully took the silver bell, which was engraved with runes.
[Heart Bell (3 stars): A bell that doesn't usually ring but only chimes when someone approaches its holder with ill intent]
[Note: If the bell rings when she's lying naked in front of you, what should you do?]
"Great job!" Tom was so delighted that he ignored the note on the bell. His biggest concern was: how to know if the bell worked?
He pondered for a while and suddenly had a bold idea. Tom furrowed his brow and slipped his upper body under the bed, pretending to search for something underneath it, and soon Tom's roommates, Michael and Anthony, entered.
"...Did you hear that in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Neville from Gryffindor made Professor Snape, who turned into a Boggart, wear women's clothing?"
"How brave! No wonder Snape has been in such a foul mood lately, you know, he's been a bit grumpy lately-" Anthony deliberately used a pronounced regional accent with Michael, making him laugh.
The two abruptly stopped talking because as soon as they opened the bedroom door, they saw a buttock sticking out from under the bed, its owner seemingly focused on searching for something, oblivious to their approach.
Michael winked at Anthony, who had just determined that the owner of the buttock was their mysterious roommate, Tom Yodel. They both smiled, with mischievous grins on their faces.
They stealthily approached Tom's behind, clasping their hands together and extending their index and middle fingers simultaneously. They both decided to greet their friend with an ancient assassination move.
When they positioned themselves behind Tom, they faintly heard the sound of bells, but they paid no attention and instead gathered their strength... Impact!
Boom! Thud!
The fingers of the two men struck the edge of the bed with a dull thud, and Tom quickly slid under the bed just in time, followed by two cries of pain. He emerged from under the bed and smiled at the two.
"Hey, good afternoon, Michael, Anthony! Why are you looking so pale?"
Both of them, with their fingers interlocked and middle fingers sore from hitting the edge of the bed, blushed but were too sore to respond to Tom's question. They watched him walk away, humming a tune and shaking a little bell in his hand.
"Damn it... what the hell is going on?" Michael was sweating from the pain. "It's too much of a coincidence!"
"Is it really a coincidence? Maybe Tom heard us the whole time?" Anthony lightly tapped, so it didn't hurt as much as Michael, and by now the pain had subsided enough for him to calm down and think.
Unlike the two of them, Tom was in quite a good mood, as he had just been under the bed, where his bell had managed to detect the "malice" from the two, allowing him to avoid trouble.
Now, the gift for Hermione was ready.
Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Hermione's 15th Birthday (Edited)
The sun shone through the glass window onto Miss Granger's face. The gentle autumn daylight caused her delicate eyelashes to flutter slightly. Then she opened her eyes and, letting out a groan, unconsciously tried to get up and wash herself, but she remembered that it was Saturday and she didn't have to wake up early for class.
This was undoubtedly a blessing.
But she felt like she had forgotten something. She took a moment to clear her mind and remembered that today was September 19th, her birthday.
It was her fifteenth birthday, and the third one she was spending at Hogwarts. Previously, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, would wake her up in the morning with a kiss, put her in a pretty new dress, and take her to the kitchen for a sumptuous breakfast. After breakfast, there would be a whole day of fun: Disneyland, Universal Studios, a picturesque place somewhere on the English countryside. They even took her skiing.
None of this was available at Hogwarts. If you had enough friends, maybe you would receive some gifts on your birthday morning, but that was it, after all, neither Professor McGonagall nor Professor Snape could grant a student permission to skip their duties for their birthday.
Hermione, for her part, had few friends, so she didn't even receive morning gifts, but she didn't feel lonely either because she knew someone would remember her birthday.
Tom gently scratched Crookshanks' chin and listened to the large ginger cat purr in satisfaction. Crookshanks hadn't been very calm lately, always trying to sneak out of Ravenclaw Tower. Today, Tom caught the big cat in the common room.
Crookshanks tried to be friendly, but it was in vain, that Yoder guy wouldn't let him be at all, so he had to postpone his plan.
Crookshanks has an innate ability to sense suspicious and unreliable people... or animals. This ability is inherited from Crookshanks' Kneazle ancestors. This cat-like magical creature can give birth to eight kittens in a litter and can crossbreed with ordinary cats to produce Kneazle hybrids. Some wizards live with Kneazles or hybrids and use their powers to stay safe. Mrs. Arabella Figg, the squib who lived next to Harry, had some mixed-breed Kneazles.
From the moment he saw the mouse called Scabbers, Crookshanks took an interest in him. His instincts told him that he should keep a close eye on the mouse and preferably kill it. He has made a great effort to achieve this, but the mouse has the two-legged, red-haired beast to protect him, and his owner, Hermione Granger, doesn't help him, but rather restrains him, which is a real problem for the cat!
Thinking about this tires Crookshanks out. He chose to lie on his back and let the dark-haired one named Tom stroke his fur, which was quite comfortable.
But after a while, the dark-haired one's hand stopped, and Crookshanks raised his head and gave him a dissatisfied look.
Tom: ...
Crookshanks' gaze, he understood it completely! This is not having a cat, this is raising a prodigy! Luckily, as long as Scabbers didn't show up, he wouldn't be very active.
With a flattering smile, Tom tried to tie a small piece of paper around Crookshanks' neck.
"Please, pass this note to Hermione on my behalf," Tom said as he slipped a small piece of herring into Crookshanks' mouth.
With the herring as a reward, Crookshanks felt motivated and, with a lazy glance at Tom, he got up, gave him a swat on the rear, and slowly entered Hermione's bedroom. Although he was just a cat, he knew exactly what Tom was thinking: a two-legged, black-haired male beast looking to mate with his owner!
He snorted disdainfully. He despised Tom's behavior: in the world of cats, mating doesn't take that long. Approach her, smell her, greet her, and get it on! What's the point of going through all that?
But when it came to his owner's reproduction, Crookshanks was in favor of letting the two-legged dark-haired one mate with Hermione, only that one was more pleasant! If the ginger one had mated...
Just thinking about it made Crookshanks furious.
Tom had no idea about Crookshanks' emotional drama, he just dressed up and sat calmly in the common room, waiting for Hermione to come downstairs.
At that moment, Hermione was in bed.
Yes, even a hardworking girl like her, after two weeks of intense classes, was feeling a little overwhelmed. This morning, she wanted to enjoy a good sleep. After all, it was her birthday, so she could always take a day off.
Suddenly, however, she felt a big ball of fur in her arms. She knew Crookshanks had returned. But today Crookshanks was a little restless and kept pawing at her chest until she opened her eyes.
When Hermione opened her eyes, she saw the note on Crookshanks' back and clicked her tongue lightly, feigning complaint: "You little troublemaker, you don't let anyone rest...".
But despite her complaint, her body was honest. Hermione quickly got up, freshened up, changed clothes, and left the bedroom. By that time, her roommates were still asleep.
As she left, as if remembering something, she grabbed a small bottle next to the door and sprayed her body twice.
Tom waited for a while in the common room and then saw a grumpy Hermione. Today, she had her hair loose, as usual, the same wizarding robe, a pair of gray stockings, and a pair of small brown leather shoes. Underneath, she was completely concealed, not even her neck was visible.
"Good morning, Mr. Yodel, how can I assist you?" Hermione asked with a serious tone.
"Miss Granger, may I ask if I have the pleasure of inviting you to have breakfast with me by the lake?" Tom replied in all seriousness.
"Of course," Hermione said gracefully, extending her hand, but at the last moment, she couldn't hold it in, and they both burst into laughter.
"Come on, let's go to the Black Lake." And so, hand in hand, they left the castle, strolled during the dawn, and finally arrived at the shores of the Black Lake.
The distance from the castle to the Black Lake was not much, but it wasn't close either, and Hermione was so tired by the time they reached the lake that she yawned, but quickly covered her mouth. But Tom noticed it anyway.
"Tired? Sit down." Tom found a flat rock, cleaned it, and sat down with Hermione. Then he pulled out a bunch of fancy things from his bag, which was under an undetectable expansion charm.
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