Chapter 197: The Weasley Brothers' Promise
Chapter 197: The Weasley Brothers' Promise
Cedric and Qi Yu only returned to Hogwarts as evening approached.
To welcome them back, Fred and George had specially bought several large bottles of butterbeer from Hogsmeade.
Each member of their group of six, well, the team, received a bottle, with the sole exception of Kyle.
"Are you two still holding a grudge?" Kyle said, seeing the butterbeer in everyone else's hands and pursing his lips. "It was just a little joke. You're not still holding onto that, are you..."
"Oh my, isn't this Sir Merlin's Kyle?" Fred said in a very surprised tone. "You should have told us earlier. I thought someone of your noble status would look down on butterbeer."
"Hold on, I don't think he's a member of the Order of Merlin," George said. "In the Trophy Room, he only has a single cup for Special Contribution to the School."
"And that was from last year..."
"...a long time ago."
"Alright, that's enough from you two!" Kyle rubbed his forehead and said, "It's just the Merlin Medal. I'll tap you on the head with it every day if you don't believe me."
After a weird silence...
"Ha..." George let out a strange cry, then covered his stomach and laughed loudly. "I can't take it anymore...hahaha...Fred, did you hear what he just said?"
"Of course, George, I heard it very clearly," Fred said, wiping away the tears that had formed from laughing. "Let's quickly get out the last bottle of butterbeer. He's starting to talk nonsense."
"I think so too..."
"...using the Merlin Medal to tap our heads...that's a good one..."
"...I could laugh about it for a whole year..."
Kyle looked at the butterbeer they handed him and calmly asked, "What if I really could do it?"
"Then we'll cover your butterbeer from now on!" Fred said nonchalantly.
"If anyone can actually receive the Order of Merlin in their second year, I'll put on three cups and tap dance around the school while flying."
"Count me in on that too!"
As they spoke, they even started to amuse themselves.
Kyle raised an eyebrow and silently took a sip of butterbeer without saying anything.
This drink was indeed delicious. It was a bit like hot cocoa, with a buttery fragrance that didn't feel greasy at all. No wonder it was so popular.
From now on, he could consider having a cup every day... as long as the Weasley brothers' wallets could handle it.
...
Soon after the students returned to Hogwarts, the evening feast began.
Hermione frowned at Ron, who was filling a large plate with food, and asked, "What are you doing? And where's Harry? Isn't he going to eat dinner?"
"That's what I'm about to explain," Ron said, holding a chicken leg and looking a bit helpless. "Harry's asleep in the dormitory. I called him several times, but it was no use.
If I don't bring him some food now, he'll go hungry when he wakes up."
"Sleeping...now?" Hermione became even more confused.
She could understand Harry's tendency to feel sleepy, as he often dozed off in the library. But why did he have to sleep at this particular time?
"Wait, you're not planning another night-time adventure, are you?!" Hermione asked warily.
"Of course not, we stopped doing that a long time ago!" Ron's face turned red.
"It's Kyle. He gave Harry a bottle of Life and Death Water, saying it would help with his nightmares.
'...But Harry drank quite a bit, and he's been asleep for four hours now,' Ron added.
'How much did he drink?' Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
Ron thought for a moment. 'I don't know, maybe a small cup, but definitely not a lot.'
'Do you think it's pumpkin juice?' Hermione asked skeptically. 'I've read that just a teaspoon of the Draught of Living Death is enough to put someone to sleep for two hours. He drank a whole cup?'
'Yeah, I know. Kyle said the same thing,' Ron sighed. 'So, what do we do now?'
'There's nothing we can do but wait for him to wake up on his own, but that might not be until the middle of the night, or even early tomorrow morning,' Hermione said, eyeing the large plate of food Ron was holding. 'Are you sure you want to take that much?'
'Of course,' Ron replied casually. 'What if he gets hungry? Although it's been a long time, if we put it in the fireplace to warm up, it'll taste just as good as freshly made. That's what we do during the holidays.'
Hermione fixed him with a dangerous look. 'So, you spent the entire holiday figuring out how to reheat food instead of looking for Nicolas Flamel?'
'We did look! And we even went to the Restricted Section!' Ron quickly defended himself. 'You don't know this, but the books there scream when you open them. We almost got caught by Filch.'
Hermione gave him a sidelong glance, skeptical about this new information about screaming books. Perhaps it was just an excuse Ron had concocted.
But Ron insisted, thumping his chest to emphasize his sincerity... after all, this was what Harry had told him, so he was confident in his story.
After the start-of-term feast, everyone returned to their dormitories.
As Hermione had predicted, it was well into the night before Harry slowly opened his eyes.
He tried to speak, but his throat felt dry. Fortunately, there was half a cup of pumpkin juice next to him. Without knowing whose it was, Harry picked it up and took a big gulp.
'Where am I...?' he mumbled, setting the cup down and looking around.
Next to the pumpkin juice was a plate filled with delicious-looking food.
A wave of hunger washed over him, and his stomach rumbled. Harry felt as if someone had punched him in the gut; it was a sensation he hadn't experienced since leaving the Dursleys'.
He picked up a roasted potato and devoured it in a few bites, skin and all, which helped immensely.
Neville and Seamus were fast asleep, and Ron was sitting at the table, his head bobbing as he dozed with his chin propped on his hand.
Harry walked over and prodded him. 'Ron, why are you sleeping here?'
Ron woke with a start, his eyes blinking open. 'Huh? Oh, thank goodness, you're finally awake...'
'How long was I asleep?' Harry asked.
'I don't know...' Ron rubbed his eyes. 'But it's been more than eight hours. How are you feeling now?'
'Fantastic!'
Harry exclaimed, excited. 'It's the best sleep I've ever had. I didn't dream at all.'
'That's wonderful...' Yawning, Ron climbed into his own bed.
He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but before he could get the words out, sleep overcame him, and he drifted off.
(End of Chapter)
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