"Oh, no...really...is this really necessary?"
"Of course, it's very necessary - please, Neville! Or... are you actually busy tomorrow? If that's the case, I'll have to ask someone else... "
"Well, I don't have it tomorrow... It's okay. I mean, this thing is so weird, I don't think I can handle it..."
"Oh, be confident! Neville, I think you're fine!"
On the stairs outside the dormitory, two figures, Neville and Ron, were sneaking close to the window hole, muttering in a low voice. It could be heard that Ron was asking Neville for a favor, but Neville kept resisting.
Of course, this shy and introverted big boy has never been good at rejecting others, so he just tried every means to find reasons to try to get Ron to withdraw his request.
But that doesn't seem to work easily, does it
"Neville, my good buddy! You see... we have lived in the same dormitory since the beginning of school. What a great fate? Let me tell you, we can be friends for life! Now your good brother meets We're in trouble, and you don't have anything to do tomorrow...can't you try to help me?"
Ron was still begging Neville, as if this was a very important thing to him.
"And, to be honest - this matter is actually not as bad as you think," he tried hard to explain, "With Maka's potion here, the probability of being exposed must be zero! How about, think about it carefully, you It’s definitely no problem!”
"Oh -" Neville hesitated for a while with a look of embarrassment, but finally shook his head as if he was exhausted, "I'm afraid I can't. Hmm... I still can't, probably... I don't dare, I really can't complete your task."
After Neville's many ambiguous refusals, Ron seemed to finally understand the firmness hidden behind Neville's euphemisms, and finally couldn't help but sigh.
"Okay... Yeah, I shouldn't force you like this." Ron said helplessly, "But seriously, think about it again! I'll go find someone else to ask now - if no one else can. If it comes, I think I’ll have to come and beg you in the end.”
After that, he stopped pestering Neville and turned around to walk to the common room.
Neville looked at Ron's leaving figure, but felt a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart. In fact, it was not that he didn't want to do Ron a favor at all. After all, Ron also gave him a lot of care on weekdays. In the final analysis, it was just his lack of confidence that was secretly at work.
"Neville Longbottom... you really can't do anything!"
After giving himself a complaint, Neville suddenly slumped his shoulders and left gloomily.
…
Today's morning classes are full of divination lessons, history of magic lessons, Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, and other content that ruins people's interest. After finally getting to the noon break, Harry and Ron were about to ask Hermione if they were going to the Great Hall for lunch together, but before they could ask, Hermione walked out of the classroom alone without looking back.
She didn't go anywhere, she just came to the foyer of the castle, and then stood by the gate without saying a word and waited silently.
"What's wrong with her?"
"who knows!"
Harry and Ron were naturally a little strange when they saw this.
Hermione had been in a bad state for the past two days, and seemed to have something on her mind. Although it wasn't to the point that everyone could notice it, Harry and Ron could feel some dissonance.
At first they didn't want to stop Hermione and ask directly, but after some worried thinking, they decided to follow her secretly.
"She seems to be waiting for someone?" Harry, like Ron, hid behind the doorpost of the side corridor and looked over there from a distance. After observing for a while, he said softly, "Ron, Who do you think she is waiting for?"
"It's definitely not the two of us anyway..."
Ron seemed quite uninterested, but he was still worrying about his own affairs! He responded rather perfunctorily to Harry's soliloquy question.
"Ron, why don't we go over and ask directly?" Harry suddenly said, "I always feel that this is not right. Hermione usually doesn't put on that expression... I think she must have encountered something. It’s difficult.”
"Well, I think it's best not to disturb her." After hearing this, Ron came back to his senses, "Hermione always has her own reasons for doing things, and... if I disturb her at this time, I think We will be in trouble!"
"I have to admit, you seem to be right." Harry nodded with deep understanding.
It was already lunch time, and since the auditorium was right next to it, the foyer was busy with people coming and going. Guys like Harry and Ron who peeped behind pillars naturally became a center of attention.
Whenever someone passes by here, they will look at the two of them hesitantly.
"Harry, I think we should go-"
Ron looked around and found that many pairs of eyes had turned to other directions under his glance. It was obvious that those eyes had been looking here just now.
"No, wait!" Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's sleeve, "Hermione moved. She seems to have found the person she is looking for..."
Just when Ron looked over there again following Harry's words, Hermione had already reached the entrance of the castle.
"Luna, do you have time now?"
At this moment, the girl with waist-length blond hair just walked to the steps outside the door. When she heard someone calling her name, she looked up curiously and blocked the dazzling midday sun.
"Hermione?" She said with hazy eyes, "I'm going to the auditorium to have something to eat. Do you want to come with me? I heard there is milk pudding today..."
"Of course... you can," Hermione hesitated for a moment, but quickly nodded, "But before that, can I have a word with you? Well... that won't take too long."
Hermione seemed a little hesitant at this time, but she didn't seem to be affected by the wavering in her heart, and the words that needed to be said still flowed out of her mouth smoothly.
Under the sunlight outside the door, she squinted her eyes slightly, but still looked stubbornly directly into Luna's gray eyes.
One of the two girls was standing inside the door, and the other was standing outside. Their appearances and personalities were completely different. But somehow, when these two people stand together, they don't give people a sense of disharmony.
Perhaps it will be difficult for them to become friends who talk about everything because of their different views on things, but the reason of one and the innocence of the other will tolerate each other, so that there will never be any dispute between them.
"Really?" Luna touched her belly naturally and said in her soft and erratic voice, "As long as it doesn't last long enough for your stomach to growl, then there's no problem..."
"I don't think so."
Hermione pursed her lips, then stepped out of the gate and pointed towards the lawn on the side of the castle.
"Please come over here... just a few words."
Luna looked at where she was pointing, then for some reason looked up at the clouds on the horizon, and then followed up with brisk steps to Hermione who walked over first.
"The weather is nice today, it's perfect for sunbathing..." As she walked, she inexplicably brought up an irrelevant topic, "Dad will definitely not think of this. He is too busy."
"Maybe you could write him a letter and tell him."
Hermione responded, as if to lighten the atmosphere. But she didn't know that the person who felt a little depressed right now was actually just herself.
"That's a good idea." After Luna heard this, she seemed to really start to think about it. "If the owl flies faster, he should be able to get home before the sun goes down... Well, I wonder if dad is at home today?"
"Well... we can think about sending the letter later." Seeing that Luna had a vague tendency to take the topic further and further, Hermione had to interrupt her running thoughts, and at the same time, she immediately felt sorry for what she had just said. He echoed and regretted, "Luna, actually I have a question... No, let's forget it first. I want to say, can I ask you to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow? There are some things I want to talk to you in detail. Let’s talk.”
"Hogsmeade day?" Luna nodded at that time, "Okay! I originally wanted to go to the magic equipment store. I heard that there are new products there. You can find anti-monster glasses for harassing monsters! You must You’d also like a pair, right?”
"Oh, um... maybe?" Hermione felt that it was really difficult to have a normal conversation with this girl. She couldn't help but worry about tomorrow's reservation. "So, did you agree?"
"I think so..." Luna blinked slightly, and she didn't know whether her misty eyes were looking at Hermione or somewhere else, "We can go together... Where would you like to go first?" Shopping? Honeydukes?"
She was talking to herself, seeming happy to be spending a Hogsmeade day with Hermione. Or maybe she was actually happy that Hermione was able to take the initiative to invite her... But no matter what, she just didn't pay half attention to what Hermione said about "talking carefully".
Hermione listened to Luna's erratic words and stood there not knowing what she was thinking.
"... Oh, Hermione... Harry and Ron will come too, right? Then we can go to the Magic Joke Shop and have a look. They seem to like those..."
"No, we won't be with them this time." Hermione suddenly said, "It's just the two of us who will go to Hogsmeade tomorrow and have a chat alone, okay?"