บท 63: Chapter -62 Hermione! You skipped class?
Chapter -62.
"Dudley, are you really okay?"
Hermione's cheeks were a bit pink, and she glanced around nervously, as if someone might pop up out of nowhere.
"I-it's my first time," she stammered, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
"Hey, it's my first time too, so no worries!" Dudley said with a reassuring pat on his chest. "Trust me, I've got this!"
"But what if we get caught...?" Hermione looked unsure, clearly torn about the whole idea. "Maybe we should just forget it."
It felt a bit too exciting, like skipping class.
"Don't sweat it! I'll be in and out in no time," Dudley promised, trying to ease her worries. "You wouldn't want to be hungry and uncomfortable in the middle of the night, right?"
Just then, a loud growl from someone's stomach echoed through the air.
Hermione's face turned even redder.
"I'll be right back, just wait for me!" Dudley said, striding confidently into the Hogwarts kitchen next to the Hufflepuff common room.
As soon as Dudley stepped inside, the bustling kitchen went quiet.
"Dear young wizard, how may I assist you?" a respectful voice chimed from below.
Dudley bent down and saw a small, thin creature looking up at him with big, round eyes and bat-like ears. It was a house-elf, a magical being known for serving wizards. It looked a bit like a goblin but with a more human skin tone, and its nose reminded Dudley of Snape's—though he felt a bit bad for thinking that!
"I'm a bit hungry; can I use the kitchen here?" Dudley asked, eyeing a large iron pot on the stove.
"Do you think our food is not tasty?" the house-elf trembled, then banged its head against the wall with a 'thud.'
"Bad zipper, bad zipper. The food you make is hard for these young wizards to swallow."
"Whoa, hold on!" Dudley interrupted, surprised by the elf's reaction.
Five minutes later, Dudley emerged from the kitchen, triumphantly holding a bucket of fried chicken and sauerkraut sausages.
"Wow, that's a lot!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Did you raid the kitchen?"
"They were super friendly in there!" Dudley said, not wanting to get into details. "Come on, let's eat while it's hot. We should head to bed soon."
In a little while, it would be break time at Hogwarts, and if they lingered too long, they might run into Filch, the caretaker, and end up in detention. Not that Dudley had ever been caught during his nighttime adventures.
Before long, they had polished off most of the food, with Dudley doing the heavy lifting. After walking Hermione to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room, Dudley didn't head straight back to Slytherin. Instead, he found a window, climbed over the castle's outer wall, and scaled the tower. After all that eating, it was time for a little exercise; he hadn't done his evening workout yet.
Unlike his morning routine, this time, golden sparks of energy burst from Dudley's body, legs, and wrists. It was his special Ripple Qi practice. Daytime was for physical training, while nighttime was for honing his magical skills. It had always been this way for him.
Meanwhile, Hermione had already returned to the Gryffindor common room.
"Where have you been?" several Gryffindors turned to her as she walked in. When she and Dudley left, they hadn't attracted much attention, but Hermione was known for being the little witch who loved to answer questions and earn points for Gryffindor. Unlike Dudley, who was often overlooked by Slytherin, it was unusual for Gryffindor to go a whole class without hearing "Gryffindor earns points," so naturally, Hermione was remembered.
"I can't believe it, Hermione! I heard you actually skipped class!" Cormac McLaggen, a Gryffindor upperclassman, exclaimed with a dramatic flair.
"I think we're not close enough for first names, Mr. McLaggen," Hermione replied coolly, not giving him an inch.
"Alright, Miss Know-It-All," he shot back. While it sounded like a compliment at first, it was more of a jab. Hermione had a habit of explaining everything in detail, which some found a bit annoying.
"I just came to remind you kindly—don't go down the wrong path. If I were you, I'd be more careful. If you keep this up, no one in Gryffindor will like you!" he warned.
He had his reasons for saying this. Hermione was getting closer to Dudley, and their frequent library visits were proof of that. But little witches could choose their friends, and it didn't really matter.
The important thing was—Dudley was a Slytherin.
Gryffindors could be impulsive and stubborn; they often thought being a Gryffindor meant keeping a distance from Slytherin. Not doing so could make you a target.
As for Harry? That was different; Dudley was Harry's cousin, and Harry was special. He was the Chosen One, after all.
Double standards were something everyone seemed to enjoy.
Of course, not all Gryffindors were against Hermione; there were annoying people everywhere, and quite a few of them in Gryffindor.
But Hermione didn't let it bother her. She was a strong-willed little witch who always did things her own way, even if it meant being a bit unconventional. That was part of why she wasn't super popular in Gryffindor, despite earning lots of points for the house.
At first, it wasn't a big deal, but recently, her belongings in the common room had started going missing for no reason. Like this morning, when she couldn't find her shoes, but thankfully, she had brought a spare pair.
But she had never mentioned any of this to Dudley.
In fact, this kind of thing was pretty common at Hogwarts; where there are people, there are bound to be conflicts or what could be seen as bullying.
Whether in regular schools or magical ones, this happens, but at Hogwarts, most of the time, conflicts were between different houses, like Snape and James. But sometimes, it happened within their own house too, like with Luna, who would be sorted into Ravenclaw a year later.
Cormac glanced around as he spoke, and the other Gryffindors laughed along, their laughter grating on the ears.
Only Neville, sitting in the corner with bandages wrapped around his arm, looked like he wanted to say something but ended up saying nothing.
Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.
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