Chapter 205: Hermione and Ron Fall Out?
It was morning, and in Herbology class, Dylan, Neville, and Seamus sat around a Puffapod tree.
Dylan squatted in the dappled shade of the tree. Just as his fingertip touched a pigeon-egg-sized pink pod, he heard Seamus muttering beside him. "This thing looks just like the tassel on Professor Flitwick's top hat the other day."
Neville chuckled, his gloved hand rustling through the branches and leaves. "Professor Sprout said to pick the ones with white stripes at the stem, don't get it wrong. I heard a third-year Slytherin picked a completely pink one last week—"
"And ended up with a face full of boils, like a strawberry shortcake on his face," Seamus interjected, nodding repeatedly.
"Oh... your description..." Neville paused, surprised.
"I think I've also learned the essence of how Dylan talks, hehe~" Seamus winked his left eye.
Dylan shot him a glance, his eyelid twitching. What's with this inexplicable irritation...
Dylan's gloved fingernail dug into the pod's seam. A jelly-like sap immediately oozed out, forming a pale green bubble in his palm. Dylan flicked his wrist, scraping the sap into a copper basin.
The bubbles inside, under the sunlight, burst into twinkling specks, mixing with the fresh scent of earth and grass, slowly spreading through the air.
Just then, Seamus suddenly gasped. A pod exploded in his hand, scattering fuzzy fluff that stuck to his eyelashes.
"Merlin's beard! I feel like this pod is harder to subdue than Peeves! How could it—" Before he could finish, another pod popped in his hand with a "pop," splashing sticky sap all over his sleeve. Neville quickly handed him a wooden spoon. "Quick, scrape it off with this."
Dylan watched Seamus and Neville fumble, shaking his head with a sigh. "Scourgify." Dylan still held two pods in his hand. He didn't use his wand, merely chanted the spell, and magic diffused outwards. The sticky liquid on Seamus's sleeve was completely cleaned away.
"Thanks!" Seamus breathed a sigh of relief. "Dylan, I feel like your magic has gotten even stronger."
Neville blinked beside him. "No, I think Dylan has always been this powerful."
Seamus nodded. "I guess that's true, actually."
Dylan pouted. "Remember, cut from one-third of the way from the bottom, don't directly touch or squeeze the top of the pod with your hand."
Seamus nodded, but seeing Dylan operate bare-handed, he blinked again. "But..."
Dylan raised a hand. "Don't copy me. I'm coating my hands with magic. You might think I'm bare-handed, but magic can also become a blade."
"Alright..." At this point, Seamus turned his head again to look at Ron and Harry nearby. "I feel like Ron and Hermione seem a bit off today."
"Why do you say that?" Dylan looked up. He hadn't noticed anything off between Hermione and Ron. Of course, it might be because he hadn't paid any attention to them at all.
Neville cupped his palms together, scooping up a handful of glowing beans, gently sliding them into a wooden bucket. The beans' golden-green skin still had dew drops clinging to them.
If they accidentally rolled onto the ground, they would immediately bloom—which meant they couldn't be used for Professor Sprout's homework.
"I think I know something." Neville retracted his hand, carefully glancing at Ron's side, then continued, "Last night, I don't know what happened to Ron's pet—the rat. He was talking to his rat for a long time, and quite late too. Although his voice wasn't loud, it still bothered me a bit."
"Then why didn't you just use magic to soundproof?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. He hadn't noticed what happened last night.
After all, every night, Dylan would directly use a spell to create a silent zone around his bed. Not only for a peaceful sleep, but also to avoid disturbing others when he went to the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night.
Neville looked a little embarrassed, his hands spread out in front of him, his gloves still covered in some sparkly goo. "Well, I actually wanted to use magic to silence it, but that would require me to use my wand and cast a spell."
Neville looked at Dylan, a little shy. "I can't do wandless or nonverbal magic like you... I was worried Ron would hear me if I used a spell."
Dylan was even more puzzled. "So?"
"So..." Neville paused. "If he heard me use a silencing charm, wouldn't he think I found him annoying? That would be too awkward..."
Dylan: (ー_ー)
Seamus laughed heartily. "I understand that feeling! Sometimes when Dean and I play together, it's like that too."
Dylan clicked his tongue. —He really didn't quite understand these kids' thoughts. But children were truly innocent, always considerate of others. Quite cute, actually.
Dylan thought for a moment. If someone kept him awake in the middle of the night, he might just get up and hit them with a Cruciatus Curse, to make them feel the downsides of not sleeping. —Especially if they weren't sleeping themselves and were keeping others awake too.
"Anyway, Ron and Hermione both look like they don't want to talk to each other. Look at Harry." Seamus turned his head. Neville and Dylan also looked over. Harry was naturally grouped with Ron, and Hermione was there too.
The three of them sat around a Puffapod tree. The atmosphere seemed a bit strange. Ron and Hermione both had cold expressions. Ron poked at the pod juice in the copper basin.
Hermione twirled her wand, looking elsewhere. Harry glanced at one, then the other, opening his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, unable to squeeze out a single conciliatory word.
Looking at them, it was clear they had fallen out. But... Dylan chuckled softly. "It's just hard on Harry. Look at the poor kid. Ron and Hermione aren't doing any work, leaving him to toil alone." Neville also pursed his lips, trying his best to hold back laughter—it wouldn't be good to laugh out loud like that.
"Who's to say," Seamus shrugged.
They finally endured until class ended. Everyone simply cleaned the dirt and mud from their clothes with spells. The group of Gryffindors immediately rushed to the next classroom. Dylan walked along, chatting casually with Neville. Seamus had gone off with Dean after class.
When they reached the Transfiguration classroom door, Dylan saw that the crowd ahead seemed somewhat agitated. Dylan raised an eyebrow and walked over. "What's going on now?"
Neville followed Dylan, trying to squeeze forward. However, due to the large crowd, he couldn't move much. Dylan didn't force his way to the very front either.
He noticed Hermione standing not far away. She must have been upset with Ron and, after class, left Harry and the others behind, running ahead. Perhaps Hermione knew something.
Sure enough. Dylan walked over and had just asked Hermione when her gaze darted to Lavender, who was sobbing uncontrollably nearby. "Her rabbit was killed by a fox, and she insists it's Professor Trelawney's prediction coming true."
"Prediction?"
"Yes—'On the sixteenth of October, what you fear most will come to pass before your eyes.'" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"But the rabbit was killed yesterday." She added, "Besides, when her Boggart appeared, it was clearly—" Hermione drew a circle in the air with her fingertip. "—a classroom full of bloody fangs, not a rabbit at all! How can that be considered her greatest fear?"
Hermione was already quite close to the front. Dylan followed her gaze and saw Lavender trembling, hugging an empty cage, crying. Hermione continued, "To put it simply, that Divination professor is definitely playing a game of probability!"
"As long as someone drops a kettle, gets hit by a ball, or even just loses a hair tie that day, it can be counted as a fulfilled prophecy!"
"That way, her clairvoyance seems particularly accurate, doesn't it?"
"Hermione, can't you have some sympathy!" Ron suddenly appeared from behind, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly at Hermione. "Her rabbit is gone, don't talk about Boggarts! You really don't care about other people's pets, that was a life!"
Hermione was choked by Ron's sudden words, gasping for breath. Taking two deep breaths, she finally said to Dylan, "So why can't these people let the logical gears in their brains turn twice before drawing conclusions?"
Another round of sobs came from Lavender in the distance. Ron squeezed through the crowd, clumsily comforting her.
Dylan blinked, then retracted his gaze. "Hermione, you should know that not everyone has your rational way of thinking. It's best not to interfere too much with other people's affairs, because if you change someone's life trajectory, you have to bear the potential consequences that might arise for them."
Speaking of this, Dylan paused slightly, then added, "Of course, if you want to help someone you care about, then disregard what I just said."
Hermione was stunned for a moment.
Dylan said nothing more, but suddenly thought of something. He remembered that Hermione would apparently later initiate the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (SPEW).
House-elves, creatures enslaved in other people's homes. Who would truly care? Hermione doing this would undoubtedly face a lot of targeting, even ostracism. But even if she knew she would face such resistance, she would still firmly take that step. —That was Hermione.
"What are you all doing at the door? Come in quickly." Professor McGonagall slowly walked from the other side of the corridor.
Seeing a crowd blocking the doorway but not entering the classroom, she immediately frowned. Lavender also stopped crying at this point. She could only carry her cage into the classroom.
Today's Transfiguration class had no major changes. Professor McGonagall merely had the students review the content from the previous class and consolidate their knowledge.
Throughout the entire class, the silence between Hermione and Ron not only made the atmosphere more strained but also made Harry, caught in the middle, restless, constantly feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave. —Why was he so cold all over!
The class ended. The dismissal bell rang. Professor McGonagall had everyone stop their spells, then spoke. "Everyone, don't be in a hurry to leave." After everyone stopped their movements, they looked up at Professor McGonagall.
"All of you study in this house, so as your Head of House, I need to collect the permission forms for Hogsmeade Village before Halloween." Professor McGonagall pushed up her glasses, tapping the edge of the podium with her fingertip, her jawline taut. "Those who haven't submitted the form are not permitted to go."
Some students immediately took out their permission forms from their bags and lined up to hand them to Professor McGonagall, just like Dylan. Hermione also brought her form directly.
Of course, some students hadn't brought their permission forms. Professor McGonagall told them to bring them before the next Transfiguration class. Only Neville, upon hearing Professor McGonagall mention this, stiffened slightly, his face a grimace. After everyone else had handed in their forms, he slowly and hesitantly walked up to Professor McGonagall, his head slightly bowed. "Sorry, Professor, um... I, I think I..."
Professor McGonagall's hawk-like gaze fell upon him. Neville was even more speechless. However, Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Your form is already with me, Mr. Longbottom."
"Huh?" Neville was startled by the news, then suddenly looked up, staring incredulously at Professor McGonagall. "How could that be?" —He clearly left his permission form at home.
Professor McGonagall calmly stated, "Your grandmother already sent the form to me at the start of the term—I imagine she thought it would be more secure that way."
Neville: (⊙_⊙) Uh, uh...
"Alright, everyone, remember not to forget your permission forms before the next class." After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she turned and left the classroom. Neville also breathed a sigh of relief, walking out the door with Dylan.
"Dylan, have you thought about what you want to do there? Like, where to go?" Dylan naturally knew Neville was referring to Hogsmeade Village.
He had, of course, already decided what he would do there. "The Weasley twins said their friends saw some new items at Honeydukes Sweetshop that sounded delicious, so I plan to check it out."
Neville nodded, a look of anticipation on his face. "Being able to go out and walk around, I'll go to the sweetshop with you too then."
"Whatever you want, it's fine," Dylan said casually. —Actually, Hogsmeade Village was just a wizarding settlement; there was nothing particularly interesting about it.
No rides, and not many places to explore. If you had to pick a few shops, it would just be Honeydukes Sweetshop or Zonko's Joke Shop. Otherwise, it was just clothing stores and a few other shops. There were absolutely no entertainment venues for underage wizards.
The other young wizards looked forward to Hogsmeade Village simply because they had been cooped up in Hogwarts for too long. While Hogsmeade Village had little in terms of entertainment, Hogwarts had even less.
Every day was spent studying from dawn till dusk, and sleeping from dusk till dawn. Wake up, study again. Finish studying, sleep again. Being able to go out for a walk was like a primary school field trip. Even just going out for a stroll would be very exciting.
....
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