Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 62. Hermione, you skipped class?

"Dali, are you sure everything's okay?"

Hermione's face was flushed, and she looked around nervously, as if afraid someone would suddenly appear.

"This is my first time."

She kept looking down and fiddling with the hem of her clothes.

"Although this is my first time too, don't worry."

Dali thumped his chest loudly.

"Trust me, I'm really good at this."

"But what if we get found out?" Hermione hesitated, looking quite conflicted, after all, it was her first time doing something like this: "Maybe we should just forget about it."

This is just as exciting as skipping class.

"Don't worry, it'll be quick. I'll be out in a bit."

Seeing Hermione's hesitation, Dudley gave her a pep talk: "Hermione, you don't want to either?"

"Are you feeling uncomfortable because you're hungry in the middle of the night?"

"Coo coo."

No sooner had the words been spoken than someone's stomach rumbled at just the right moment.

Hermione's face turned even redder.

"I'll be right back, wait for me."

After Dudley finished speaking, he strode into the Hogwarts kitchen next to the Hufflepuff common room.

The moment Dudley stepped into the kitchen, the previously noisy kitchen fell silent instantly.

"Respected young wizard, how can I help you?"

A respectful voice rang out from beneath Dali's body.

Dudley bent down and saw a humanoid creature standing respectfully at his feet.

It was a short, thin creature, seemingly just skin and bones, with tennis ball-sized eyes and bat-like ears. Although it was impolite to think that way, its nose did indeed resemble Snape's somewhat.

If I had to pinpoint something similar to what Dudley remembered, it would probably be a malnourished goblin with normal skin color.

It also bears a resemblance to Gollum from Dudley's novel, The Lord of the Rings series, except that its ears are larger and its nose is more pointed.

Of course, they also bear some resemblance to the goblins of Gringotts, but the goblins have sharp teeth.

House-elves are a magical species, a race of vassals of wizards according to magical history, serving them for generations.

It is worth mentioning that house-elves possess great magical power, and even many adult wizards who are not good at fighting are no match for them.

According to "A History of Hogwarts", house-elves were in charge of the kitchens at Hogwarts.

"I'm a little hungry. May I use the kitchen here?"

Dali looked around and finally his gaze fell on the large iron pot on the stove.

"You mean you think our food isn't good?"

The house-elf trembled as it spoke, then banged its head against the wall, making a 'thump thump' sound.

"Broken zipper, broken zipper. The food you made is hard for the little wizard to swallow."

Dudley shouted, "Stop!"

Although I already knew that house-elves had rather unique brain circuits, I never expected...

Five minutes later, Dali came out of the kitchen carrying a bucket of fried chicken and sauerkraut sausages.

"So many."

Hermione looked at the pile of food in surprise and said, "You ransacked the kitchen?"

"The people inside are quite welcoming."

Dali didn't want to delve into the matter and changed the subject: "Eat something while it's hot, it's time to rest later."

Soon it will be Hogwarts' break time. If you wander around the castle at this time, you'll be put in solitary confinement if you're caught by the caretaker, Filch.

Although Dudley was never caught by him while he was out at night.

Before long, the two of them had devoured the huge pile of food; to be precise, most of it ended up in Dali's stomach.

First, Henrietta led Hermione to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room. Dudley didn't go straight back to the Slytherin common room, but instead found a window, climbed over the castle wall, and then climbed the castle spire.

You should get some exercise after dinner; Dali hasn't done his evening workout yet.

Unlike his morning exercise, this time Dali's body, legs, and wrists were crackling with golden sparks.

Ripple Qigong.

The daytime sessions are purely physical training, while the nighttime sessions are dedicated to Ripple Qigong practice.

Day after day, year after year, every single day is the same.

Hermione had already returned to the Gryffindor common room.

"Where did you go?"

As soon as Hermione entered the common room, she attracted the attention of many Gryffindors.

Hermione did not attract the attention of Gryffindor when she and Dudley left, but after all, she was Hermione, the little witch who loved to raise her hand to answer questions and earn points for Gryffindor. Unlike Dudley, who was collectively and selectively "forgotten" by Slytherin, Gryffindor was a little unaccustomed to not hearing the phrase "Gryffindor points" for an entire class, so Hermione was naturally remembered.

"I can't believe it, Hermione, I heard you actually skipped class."

The speaker was Cormac McClargan, a Gryffindor senior a year above Hermione, who was looking at Hermione in an exaggerated tone.

"I don't think we're familiar enough to call each other by our first names, Mr. McClargan."

Hermione didn't give the other person a kind look at all, and said coldly.

"Alright, Miss Know-It-All."

The title "Miss Know-It-All" sounds nice at first, implying someone who knows everything, but it's actually more of a sarcastic remark.

Hermione has a less-than-ideal habit: when faced with a problem, she often doesn't get straight to the point. Instead, she goes through everything she knows in detail from beginning to end, and then very bluntly points out your mistakes.

The "know-it-all" is a veiled reference to her being talkative and annoying.

"I just wanted to kindly remind you not to go astray. If I were you, I would be more careful."

"If you keep going like this, nobody in Gryffindor will like you, nobody!"

He didn't say that without reason. Hermione and Dudley were very close, and the fact that they often went in and out of the Hogwarts library together was proof of that. But a young wizard can be with whomever he wants, it doesn't matter.

The important thing is—Dullie is a Slytherin.

Impulsive and foolish Gryffindors don't care about your reasons. In their view, being a Gryffindor means keeping your distance from Slytherin and drawing a clear line between yourself and them. Not doing so makes you a traitor.

As for Harry? That's different. Dudley is Harry's cousin, and Harry is special.

He is the savior, he is the saint Potter.

Double standards are something every carbon-based organism enjoys.

Of course, not all Gryffindors are hostile to Hermione; it's just that there are plenty of stupid, annoying, and self-important people everywhere.

Hermione didn't care. She was a very opinionated little witch who always did things her own way and was especially unsociable. This was also why she wasn't popular with Gryffindor, even though she earned a lot of points for the house. However, they didn't care.

At first, nothing seemed amiss, but recently, things Hermione left in the common room have been mysteriously disappearing. For example, this morning she searched for a long time but couldn't find her shoes, luckily she had brought extras.

But she never told Dali any of this.

This phenomenon is actually quite normal at Hogwarts. After all, wherever there are people, there will be "conflicts" or what can be called bullying.

This phenomenon exists in both ordinary schools and magical schools. However, at Hogwarts, the conflicts are mostly directed at other houses, such as Snape and James. But this situation also occurs within their own houses, such as Luna, who will be sorted into Ravenclaw in a year.

As Cormac spoke, he looked around, and the Gryffindors all laughed in perfect unison, their laughter grating on their ears.

Only Neville, sitting in the corner with bandages wrapped around his arm, trembled slightly, as if he was trying his best to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

I personally strongly oppose school bullying. Your unintentional act may cause someone a lifetime of healing.

(End of this chapter)