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Chapter 28 - Chapter 28. Will There Be a Hufflepuff Sword Saint?

Chapter 28. Will There Be a Hufflepuff Sword Saint?

The clock on the desk kept ticking, and it still wasn't time for the train to arrive.

Fred had already grown bored of cards, and he and George were idly stacking items from the desk into a tall tower.

Neville was curled up in the corner, leaning against the wall and staring up at the ceiling.

After being tormented by Fred and George for half the day, he was a bit exhausted in both body and mind.

Hermione and Duncan were leafing through books, trying to see whether they could find a way to treat the Kelpie.

Fred rose on tiptoe and carefully set a wooden box on the top of the stacked tower.

Seeing that it did not collapse, he let out a gentle breath.

But who would have thought that very breath would become the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The tower swayed from side to side, and the stacked items crashed down, clattering all over the floor.

The sudden noise gave Duncan, Hermione, and Neville a fright.

Hermione nearly flung the book in her hands.

"Sorry, it's because Fred is so hopeless!" George shook his head in disdain and crouched with Fred to pick things up off the floor.

"It must be that Duncan's desk isn't level," Fred said, making excuses for himself.

All at once, as if something had occurred to him, he raised his head and asked Duncan, "Which House are you planning to join?

How about coming to Gryffindor with us?

We guarantee that you'll have a wonderfully enjoyable school career at Hogwarts!"

"I want to study a few more years at Hogwarts, not get expelled early," Duncan replied with a smile.

"Besides, as a member of the Scamander family, a dear friend to magical creatures of the natural world, and a defender of fairness and justice, I naturally ought to go to Hufflepuff!"

"Merlin's beard, why don't you give yourself two more titles while you're at it?" Fred rolled his eyes.

"Can you choose your own House?" Hermione had been drawn in by Duncan and Fred's conversation, lost her mood for reading, and asked curiously.

Fred and George exchanged a look and smiled.

"If you were Ron, we'd definitely tell you no."

"And say you have to fight a troll before you can be Sorted."

"Unfortunately, you're not."

"So the answer is yes."

"If you want to go to a certain House, you can discuss it with the Sorting Hat."

"Maybe it'll respect your wishes and let you go to the House you want."

"This is a tip we overheard."

"Don't tell anyone else."

"Otherwise, if we don't get to see those new students' nervous, frightened faces during Sorting, it'll be far too dull!"

Fred and George bantered back and forth, laughing as they spoke.

"Really?" Neville perked up and said, "If we can really choose our own House… then I'll go to Hufflepuff too.

I want to be in the same House as Duncan!"

"Oh?" Duncan raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Hufflepuff welcomes you, Neville!"

If, when the time came, the Sorting Hat really Sorted Neville into Hufflepuff,

Would the Gryffindor Sword Saint become the Hufflepuff Sword Saint instead?

Only, would Gryffindor be magnanimous enough to hand the sword over to a student of another House?

If not, well, no matter.

After Nagini fully became a snake, she would count as an animal, too.

He ought to be able to control her, right?

Then, when the time came, he would handle that snake himself.

Duncan let his thoughts run wild and suddenly felt that the wind stirred up by his little butterfly wings was growing stronger and stronger.

"Hermione, what about you?

Do you want to come to Hufflepuff as well?"

Duncan turned his head and asked, trying to lure away one of the members of the future trio.

"I still need to think about it," Hermione answered after a pause.

"Fair enough," Duncan nodded, his tone cajoling.

"Hufflepuff's dormitories are in a great spot.

Step outside and it's the kitchens.

At night, if there's nothing to do, you can pop out and find something to fill your stomach.

You won't have to lie on your bed like students of other Houses, clutching your loudly grumbling tummy and waiting with tear-filled eyes for dawn, oh."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, and the look she gave Duncan turned a bit dangerous.

"Hogwarts: A History" says there's a curfew at Hogwarts.

Leaving the dormitories at night violates school rules!"

"Hermione is absolutely right!" Fred and George said in unison.

"So come to Gryffindor instead.

We live up in the tower, with the comfiest dormitories, and we can look out over the most beautiful views of Hogwarts!"

After a short time together, Fred and George had already keenly sensed that Hermione might be a legendary swot.

Gryffindor had a bunch of brave hotheads and lacked just such a talent to balance things out and handle the point-scoring in class.

If Hermione came, perhaps they could make mischief to their hearts' content this term and still not finish at the bottom for the House Cup.

"I've already decided which House I want to go to!" Seeing both sides vying for her, Hermione grew a little shy.

"Which House?" The two stepped forward and gazed at Hermione expectantly.

If one of them had dropped to one knee with a bouquet in hand, an outsider who didn't know the situation would have thought some melodramatic scene had just occurred!

"Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor," Hermione replied.

"I want to go to either of those Houses.

I've heard Ravenclaw has its own library, and Hogwarts's Headmaster is from Gryffindor, so I believe it's excellent too!

So I'll tell the Sorting Hat my thoughts, and it will surely choose a House that suits me!"

Duncan blinked.

So Hufflepuff was just ruled out like that?

Although compared with the other three Houses, Hufflepuff was indeed a little less alluring,

Hufflepuff still had the best atmosphere at Hogwarts, with the happiness bar filled to the brim!

Duncan felt sorry for those who didn't want to join Hufflepuff.

They were not people who knew how to enjoy life.

For the rest of the time, Duncan and Fred, George, and the others chatted idly, talking about fun places at school.

The alarm clock on the desk ticked and ticked, the hour hand inching closer to the set time.

"Ding ding ding ding…" Two little hands extended from the sides of the alarm clock and frantically pounded the drooping, arched "ears."

Two legs popped out below, and the alarm clock ran all around the room, dodging Duncan, Fred, and George as they tried to chase it down and block it in.

This was a little gadget Duncan had bought at a wizarding market when he was young, intending to prod himself into getting up early.

But after using it only twice, Duncan had kicked it into a corner and left it idle, because it was simply too hard to switch off!

"Don't let me ever see that alarm clock again!" Fred panted.

He had just been leaping up and down and felt as though he'd played in an intense Quidditch match.

"I told you not to use it and you wouldn't listen," Duncan was just as exhausted, almost out of breath as he spoke.

"All right, all right, we should go up," George said, uncharacteristically sensible for once—though what he said next wasn't very pleasant.

"Let's see how things are on the train.

Here's hoping there are still people alive, or we might be thrown into Azkaban by the Ministry of Magic without a trial the moment we get off the train."

"George, that's not a funny joke," Neville shivered, as if he had pictured that dreadful scene.

George smiled at Neville.

The group, politely taking turns, climbed the stairs and pushed up the closed lid of the case.

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