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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