Chatting with classmates during dinner is a very common thing. Especially in Gryffindor House, most of the little lions are easy-going, and there is no distinction between senior and junior grades.
Alexander spoke so casually, and with some deliberate initiative in it, he quickly integrated into Harry's circle.
So, after dinner, Alexander, the new student who had just made some noise because of being punished, naturally mingled with Harry and the others. Although it's a bit far-fetched to call them friends, they are somewhat familiar with each other.
After Professor McGonagall read her normal words of encouragement, everyone stood up and prepared to go to the common room. Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking together as usual, seemingly still discussing something, while Neville followed them habitually, acting as his "little tail" of course. Role.
However, today's journey back to the Gryffindor common room seemed a little different. Because it was rare, Neville was not alone at the back as his weak follower like in the past, but had a small companion.
"Excuse me... are you Mr. Longbottom?"
The one who came up to him at this time was naturally Alexander. Just after Professor McGonagall announced that dinner was over, Enns, who had been staring here not far away, found the right opportunity to wink at him. Under the somewhat contradictory psychological distress, Alexander finally bit the bullet and chased after him.
"Uh... ah, it's me." Neville quickly turned his head and looked at Alexander who suddenly appeared from beside him and said, "Just call me Neville... What's the matter?"
His introversion has obviously not changed much, and even when facing a junior fellow student, he is still a little timid. Maybe he can show his courage as a Gryffindor at a critical moment, but in ordinary times, he may not be able to live a life of peace.
"Oh, okay... Neville," Alexander said confusedly, full of confusion, "I heard from others that your grades in herbal medicine class are very good... If I have any questions, can I go to you for help?"
"Well... um," Neville said hesitantly, "of course... I mean, if I can help. But I still recommend that you read more books. Herbology... um, I think I rely more on textbooks... "
"Is that so?" Alexander blinked, and as he was not good at deceiving, he spoke a little dryly, "Thank you for your advice... It's just that I have just started learning, and I am not very familiar with the content in the textbook... You You know, there are some issues that I can’t easily find.”
Fortunately, Neville was obviously more uncomfortable with this sudden chat than he was, and even found it difficult to express his words, not to mention the stiffness in his tone.
"Oh..." Neville frowned and nodded, "You're right... If you have any questions, you can ask me at any time. Hmm... But the same goes for asking others. I... my grades are very average... "
"Oh, no - how could it be!" Alexander said quickly, "Everyone says that you are very good at herbal medicine, that... uh, by the way! Neville, do you know the growth environment of devil's net? I just previewed it yesterday That’s it, but the book doesn’t make it very clear…”
"Devil's net? Ah, the book only says 'dark and humid places', but they actually occasionally appear in drier places. They are mainly afraid of light and high temperatures. If the environment is drier, they sometimes It can also steal water from other animals and plants... "
When it comes to other things, Neville may not be able to answer them yet, but as for questions about herbalism, this is his specialty. As soon as he talked about those interesting magical plants, his nerves relaxed, and the conversation started immediately.
Because Neville suddenly became talkative, Alexander, who couldn't get in a word, breathed a sigh of relief. He listened silently and followed Neville slowly down the stairs to the common room.
It wasn't until he was about to see the Fat Lady's portrait that Alexander realized that it would be too late if he didn't interrupt Neville.
"... Oh! Neville, your knowledge of herbal medicine is really rich and you have taught me a lot." He quickly interrupted, "Yes, thank you very much for answering this question for me... this..."
Alexander pretended to feel in his pocket, then slowly pulled out a piece of chocolate that had been prepared, and stuffed it directly into Neville's hand.
"I don't think I brought anything... This chocolate tastes pretty good, just think of it as a thank you gift for helping me! Please... um, please accept it..."
It can be said that everything he did since dinner time was for this moment. Therefore, he who was not used to fooling people suddenly became nervous. Although he tried to pass the chocolate to Neville casually and tried hard not to look at it, in the end he couldn't help but say the obvious words "please accept it".
However, how could Neville, who was not wary of such things at all, notice this
"Oh... chocolate? Thank you..." Neville took the chocolate and without thinking about anything, he peeled off the tin foil and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he said vaguely, "If you have any questions, you can always come to me. I...oh, I only know herbal medicine..."
Just as he was talking, Neville's eyes suddenly lit up and he twisted his mouth and said, "Oh... this chocolate tastes great. Where did you buy it? Honeydukes?"
"Uh... I'm not sure, someone else gave it to me," Alexander looked at him curiously, and after a while he tentatively asked, "Is it really delicious?"
"Of course," Neville said as if he was enjoying himself immensely, "Well... I have never tasted something so... so... oh, how should I put it? Anyway... this feeling is so cool!"
"Yeah?"
Alexander stared carefully, as if he wanted to see something from Neville. Unfortunately, apart from the fact that Neville's walking steps seemed to be much lighter and his face was full of energy, he didn't notice any other differences at all.
"If the chocolate is indeed mixed with a magical elixir, how will its effect be manifested..." He thought secretly in his heart, and couldn't help but have some expectations.
While Alexander was still thinking secretly for a moment, the entrance to the Gryffindor common room arrived. The students in front had already given the password to open the portrait of the Fat Lady, and everyone filed in together. Seeing that Neville was also moving forward with the crowd, he quickly took a few steps to keep up with the pace.
The doorway hidden behind the portrait of the Fat Lady is only that big, so the students have to go in one by one, so naturally there is no rush. And just as Alexander followed Neville to the portrait, he heard a noise coming from the common room.
"... Come and take a look at this! Fred and George sent it to me this morning, saying they had developed some new gadget... Come on, come on! Let's have some fun... "
Alexander and Harry had been chatting for a while at the dinner table, so at this moment he could tell at once that the voice that made the sudden noise must be Ron's voice. It's just that the tall Neville is still blocking him in front of him, so that he can't see the specific situation inside.
But at the next moment, Neville, who was walking in front of him, suddenly turned sideways and looked back in the doorway.
"Oh, Alexander... you mentioned the devil's net just now..."
Neville's words had just begun, but Alexander was horrified to find that at the moment Neville turned around, a colorful bright spot quickly passed through the gap that Neville had made, and it became more and more obvious in his eyes. It zoomed in even bigger, and finally hit his head with unusual precision.
"Ouch—"
While Alexander was moaning in pain, accompanied by a series of "crackling" explosions, even though he closed his eyes subconsciously, there was still a large amount of colorful light shining through his eyelids, lighting up his entire field of vision.
This was a firework. An extremely brilliant and dazzling firework exploded in front of Alexander. For a moment, the doorway was filled with tiny splashes of light, which fell to the ground with a clatter.
Neville was attracted by the light that passed by him just now, and suddenly turned back to the common room to find the source, but he was not affected in the slightest.
Hearing Alexander cry out in pain, he finally reacted, and then turned around again to help Alexander, who was squatting down and covering his forehead.
"Oh, Alexander... are you... okay?"
Just as he leaned down to help Alexander, the next point of light rushed out of the doorway from behind him. After hitting the portrait on the opposite side of the corridor, another burst of fireworks exploded, scaring the man in the portrait to look like a dog. The old man quickly ran away with his head in his arms.
At the same time, there were chaotic noises in the common room - fireworks had completely taken over the entire Gryffindor common room.
Neville, who had just helped Alexander up, heard the chaotic shouting and yelling behind him, and couldn't help but feel a little confused on his face. He did see the fireworks blooming in the corridor, but obviously he didn't fully understand what was going on.
When he turned around again and wanted to take a closer look into the common room... three light spots passed through the gap between him and the door one after another, bypassing him with a slight arc. , and then hit the chest of Alexander, who had just been helped up, one after another.
Alexander, who was still covering his forehead, couldn't react. This time he didn't even have a chance to be surprised, and was mercilessly swallowed up by the entire fireworks...