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Chapter 218: The Pestering Gnat and a Pet
Chapter 218: The Pestering Gnat and a Pet
"Cut it out." Ved turned to Michael and asked, "So, how's it going with Padma? Things must be going well by now, right?"
"Wh-what do you mean 'date'?!" Michael exclaimed, his face turning red as he stammered, "We're not on a date...we were just, er, just discussing some issues..."
Ved shot him a look that clearly said he thought Michael was being ridiculous.
Finally accepting that his cover was blown, Michael scratched his head and tentatively asked, "So, who else knows?"
"Don't worry..." Ved assured, seeing Michael's anxious expression soften a bit. "Aside from one clueless guy, everyone has figured it out."
Michael's expression froze, and his eyes took on a look of despair.
"So, for this whole time..."
"Yup. Everyone thought it was pretty funny how hard you two were trying to hide it, so they didn't say anything. But after the last time, we all figured you had already gone public! Turns out you hadn't?" Ved feigned ignorance.
"How could I forget about that!" Michael retorted. He immediately stood up and declared, "I'm going to ask Terry...I don't believe everyone knows!"
Terry was Michael's roommate.
As Michael scurried off, trying to hide his embarrassment, Ved couldn't help but burst out laughing at his friend's flustered escape.
"You don't seem very happy."
A voice, tinged with a hint of otherworldliness, suddenly sounded from not too far away.
It was Luna, sitting on a sofa nearby, her face previously obscured by a magazine she had been reading.
Now, the girl lowered the magazine a little, and her misty eyes, peering over the top, fixed on Ved.
Ved's smile froze on his face. There was something about that gaze that made him feel as though his skin was being pierced; it was rather uncomfortable.
After a moment, he composed himself and nodded. "Miss Luna Lovegood? I think you're holding your magazine upside down."
"It's alright," Luna replied in her slow, dreamy tone. "It's meant to be read that way... Do you need help?"
"Help?" Ved asked, unsure what she meant. "What do you think I need help with?"
Luna produced a pair of peculiar pink spectacles from somewhere and put them on. She studied Ved carefully before nodding in confirmation.
"You're being pestered by a Pestering Gnat... Do you need me to help shoo them away?"
"A Pestering Gnat?" Ved repeated, intrigued.
"It's an invisible bug," Luna asserted. "They float into your ear and mess with your mind."
Ved recalled that Luna had a tendency to believe in the existence of fantastical creatures, and he fell silent for a moment. Not wanting to argue with a young girl about the existence of Pestering Gnats, he humored her with a question. "So, how do you propose to get rid of them?"
"Oh, it's quite simple," Luna replied.
She closed her book and walked over to Ved, extending her arms and making shooing motions as if there were invisible pests buzzing around. With nothing visibly there, she looked as though she were performing a strange dance.
The snickers of other students could be heard from a short distance away.
But Luna seemed oblivious to their mirth. She earnestly continued her efforts to rid Ved of the imaginary "Pestering Gnats," even bouncing lightly on her feet, causing the cork from a bottle that was attached to her hair tie to bob up and down and eventually tap her on the back of her head.
Ved found her antics both bizarre and endearing, and sitting there next to her, he felt his own embarrassment waver between "mortifying" and "amusing," resulting in a strange improvement in his mood.
Since hearing about the Bait Plan, some of the not-so-good emotions that had arisen in him suddenly dissipated.
Luna stopped and turned to look at him.
"Look, the Pestering Gnats are gone now, isn't it effective?"
"Yes," Ved said with a smile. "Thank you, Miss Lovegood."
"You can call me Luna, I don't mind." Luna replied.
After she finished speaking, Luna returned to the sofa, not intending to continue the conversation. Instead, she hid behind her magazine again.
Ved sat beside her for a while before getting up and heading towards the boys' dormitory when Luna returned to her own dormitory.
Suddenly, a brown-haired girl was pushed in front of him, followed by the giggling of a few other girls.
The brown-haired girl glared at her companions before turning to Ved and mustering up her courage. "Um... Ved King, I... er... I..."
She stumbled over her words, unable to finish her sentence for a long time.
Ved looked down at her and asked, "I remember... aren't you Luna's roommate?"
"Y-yes!" The girl tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at him warily. "Your relationship with Luna... is..."
"I guess you could say we're friends?" Ved smiled. "Or perhaps she's like a caring little sister to me. I'm glad she has such kind roommates like you."
"Oh, it's n-nothing..."
The girl's expression was a little unnatural, and she fiddled with her hair nervously. The girls behind her exchanged glances, their faces awkward.
Ved seemed not to notice and spoke gently, "Luna has a personality that doesn't easily fit in with others. Luckily, you're usually willing to accommodate her. If she says something unpleasant, don't hold back; just tell her directly. She's not a bad kid; she's just not good at socializing."
"No, no, we're used to it... after all, we're... friends! Haha..."
The brown-haired girl forced a smile, trying to look kind and friendly.
Ved's gaze swept over the other girls, who also wore the smiles that "friends of a sister" ought to have.
"Thank you. She's very lucky to have friends like you."
Ved took out a handful of mini magical pets from his bag and handed them over. "These are some little trinkets I made. Take them."
"Wow—"
The girls covered their mouths in surprise.
In her slender palm were magical pets, each no bigger than a fingernail—cats, dogs, bunnies, and chicks. Some were lounging, some were playing together, and some seemed to be looking for food. With their tiny claws and chubby bodies, they were utterly adorable.
Each one was so cute that it was hard to look away.
There were enough for each girl to have one, with one left over.
The brown-haired girl felt a little embarrassed to accept, but her companions had already chosen their favorites, so she took a little cat and held the last little bunny in her other hand.
"I'll give this one to Luna... You forgot to give it to her, didn't you?"
She said softly.
"Yes. Then, I'll trouble you." Ved smiled.
As he watched the excited first-year girls leave, Ved smiled and walked up the spiral staircase.
At the same time, Maciouni's words echoed in his mind, and he realized they made a lot of sense.
In some matters, the power of words was more potent than violence.
(End of Chapter)
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