Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 61 The Mischief-Maker Offers You Candy

Evening, Gryffindor common room.

The entire lounge was brightly lit, with candlesticks and various magical lamps placed everywhere upstairs and downstairs, and the firewood in the fireplace was dancing.

The entire Gryffindor community was celebrating the day's victory, with the twins bringing out all sorts of food, drinks, and even butterbeer from the kitchen.

Wood, his face flushed with a tipsy flush, his eyes bright, spoke loudly: "I knew it, I knew Harry would be a great Seeker..."

The twin brothers were eating strange magical candies. One ate an ice mouse, and his teeth chattered and clattered together. The other ate a pepper rascal, and fire breathed from his mouth.

The two exhaled cold air/flames at each other, looked at each other, and burst into loud laughter.

Simon's eyes lit up. He pulled Dean aside and asked, "What would happen if we ate both the Ice Mouse and the Pepper Sprite at the same time?"

Upon hearing this, Neville quickly pulled the two away: "Don't try it! Uncle Ambrose said that someone ended up in St. Mungo's Hospital because of this."

Ambrosio is the owner of Honey Duke candy shop.

Upon hearing this, Simon and Dean exclaimed in unison, "No way, no way, surely no one wouldn't dare do this?"

The smell was so strong that Loren next to him frowned, giving him the look of an old man on the subway looking at his phone.

"Where did you learn that phrase?" Loren asked.

Simo blinked. "I learned it from you."

Dean added, "We really had a blast dealing with the Slytherins like this today."

Loren slapped his forehead in anguish, "I am a sinner."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were on the other side, did not fully integrate into the atmosphere.

After the match, they chatted with Hagrid and learned of Nicolas Flamel's name. Hermione also witnessed Snape casting a curse on Harry. This further convinced the three that Snape was no good.

The three deduced that what Fluffy was guarding involved Dumbledore and a man named Nicolas Flamel, and that Snape wanted to get his hands on it and also wanted to kill Harry.

As for Loren, Hermione suggested that Loren shouldn't be involved in this matter. Snape threatened Loren, but Loren didn't cooperate with Snape; they couldn't put Loren in a difficult position.

Harry and Ron agreed.

The twin brothers walked over from the left and right, each lifting Loren up with one hand and carrying him into the crowd.

"If you ask me, today's victory wouldn't have been possible without Loren!"

"He's our team's eighth member!"

This is something that all the Gryffindor Quidditch players admit; with Loren's commentary, their matches became easier.

The crowd cheered and tossed Loren up and caught him, tossed him up and caught him again.

After only a few times, Loren shouted, "I can't take it anymore! Put me down! Put me down!"

At this moment, led by Seamus, the crowd began to say, "No way, no way, no way, someone can't handle this, right?" Ignoring Loren's feelings, they tossed him up again.

Loren was weeping inside. This is what I deserve. I am a sinner!

The joyful party went on until very late. Finally, Professor McGonagall came in and warned everyone that it was time to rest.

With a flushed face, Wood ran up to Professor McGonagall, attempting to incite trouble and throw her up in the air as well.

But he was the only one who was truly drunk; everyone else remained sober, keeping silent and refusing to cooperate with him, pretending not to have heard Wood's commotion.

Percy was almost in tears.

Everyone thought Professor McGonagall was going to turn Wood into something, to teach him a lesson.

Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall simply asked Wood's roommate to take Wood back to sleep, and then dismissed everyone.

Professor McGonagall was also very happy with today's victory.

……

For the next month or so, the three children carefully avoided Loren, busy searching for information about Nicolas Flamel.

But their guilty conscience and their reluctance to face Loren were too obvious.

Neville once asked Harry if they had some kind of conflict with Loren.

Hermione belatedly realized that they couldn't alert the enemy like this.

The group then spent time with Loren, attending classes and doing homework together in the library, except for mentioning Nicolas Flamel in front of Loren.

One afternoon doing homework in the library.

Loren put away his completed homework and looked at the three people next to him.

Harry was holding a copy of "The Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century," Hermione had "Major Discoveries in Modern Magic" and "Studies in the Development of Modern Wizardry" beside her, and Ron had his head buried in "Directory of Famous Wizards of Our Time," nodding off, clearly very sleepy.

Loren patted Ron on the shoulder. "Your drool is on the book."

Ron suddenly looked up, his sleepy little face barely open, rubbing his face haphazardly: "Where? Where?"

Harry looked up, his eyes unfocused, shaking his head listlessly as he stared ahead. He wasn't asleep, but he couldn't concentrate on the book either, staring blankly at it, his mind wandering far away.

That's so stupid, both of her teammates are incredibly stupid. That was the only thought in Hermione's mind.

"Heh!" Loren couldn't help but chuckle. "I've finished my homework. You can take a look if you want to refer to it."

He then looked at Hermione and said, "Hermione, come out with me for a moment."

He then walked out of the library.

Harry and Ron lowered their heads again when they realized they weren't involved anymore. One started nodding repeatedly, while the other's eyes began to lose focus.

Hermione's heart began to pound upon hearing this. Did Loren know something? Should I tell him? What should I say?

For some reason, Hermione felt uneasy at the thought of deceiving Loren. With a heavy heart, she followed Loren blankly out of the library.

Loren found a secluded corridor and turned to look at Hermione.

Not long after the Quidditch match, it started snowing at Hogwarts. Everyone changed into winter clothes, adding sweaters under their wizard robes, making them look bulky.

Hermione was the same, all bundled up, with a bright red and yellow Gryffindor towel around her neck. Her fluffy hair framed her chubby cheeks with a rosy blush, and when she smiled, she revealed two front teeth, making her look like a little squirrel—utterly adorable.

Loren couldn't help but feel a urge to play a trick on him.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Loren asked.

Hermione was getting anxious and wanted to explain, "I...I didn't mean to hide it from you. We are—"

Before he could finish speaking, Loren interrupted, "Are you looking for Nicolas Flamel?"

Hermione stared at Loren in surprise, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes filled with confusion, her whole being conveying the message, "How did you know?"

The squirrel's expression as it ate the whale was so cute that Loren felt a surge of excitement. "You guys are flipping through books like 'The Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century' and 'Directory of Famous Contemporary Magicians,' who wouldn't guess?"

Before Hermione could say anything, Loren continued, "Come to that abandoned classroom by the Magic Mirror alone tonight, I'm telling you." Then he walked away.

Hermione was left somewhat confused; she couldn't quite understand it, but she was certain that Loren wouldn't harm her.

That evening, Hermione went to the appointment alone.

When I opened the door, Loren was already waiting in the empty classroom.

A desk and two chairs were placed in the middle of the abandoned classroom. On the desk was a black cloth covering something, which was piled up on the desk.

Loren gestured for Hermione to sit down, looking at her earnestly. "I know you're looking for Nicolas Flamel, but I can't tell you directly."

"You should know some spells for secrecy, right?"

Hermione nodded.

The incantation of unwavering loyalty, the vow of an unbreakable bond, and other spells can all achieve this purpose.

"I need your help to break the spell before I can tell you the truth."

If Hermione remembered how Loren had tricked her into petting the cat during her first Transfiguration class, she would have noticed that Loren's tone was exactly the same back then as it is now.

"What do you need me to do?" Hermione asked firmly. She wanted to find out the truth as soon as possible and rescue Loren.

Loren pulled off the black cloth, revealing a table piled high with chocolate frogs, cockroaches, and other candies.

How can these things be unsealed? Hermione looked at Loren with a puzzled expression.

"Eat them all~" Loren's voice drifted away.

Hermione felt a huge question mark above her head. "Are you sure you want to break the curse like this?"

Loren reassured her, "Hermione, you must know that magic comes in all shapes and sizes, and so do the ways to break it."

Would I lie to you?

Loren wasn't entirely confident with that statement, so he rephrased it: "Would I lie to you about something like this?"

Hermione hesitated for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to pick up a bag of Chocolate Frogs and tear open the packaging.

Watching the chocolate frog's hopping legs, Hermione's hands trembled as she resisted the urge to throw it away. She gave herself a good pep talk before finally putting it in her mouth.

The sweet chocolate melted, and the filling burst forth with various aromas, suppressing Hermione's discomfort.

"Hehe, isn't it delicious?" Loren teased.

Hermione nodded somewhat shyly, which brought a strange feeling to her. She clearly disliked this kind of candy, but the candy brought her a sense of pleasure.

Loren looked at the picture cards that came with the package. When he saw the characters on the cards, he said in a lighthearted tone, "Luckily, the first one is Dumbledore."

Once things got started, the rest wasn't so difficult. Hermione ate the next few chocolate frogs without a care. She even started to feel less disgusted by the food.

Hermione didn't see that Loren's wicked smile was almost uncontrollable.

(End of this chapter)