Chapter 81: Late for the First Day of Class, Eating Biscuits and Blowing Bubbles
Every time I struggle to get out of bed, I just want to punch that smug version of myself from the night before.
Leonard, who had barely slept three hours, was shaken awake by Justin. He opened his eyes and stared blankly at him, noticing that Justin was already fully dressed.
"Come on, Leonard, we've got a full day of classes ahead." Justin urged. "First up is Professor Sprout's Herbology. She's our Head of House—whatever you do, don't be late."
"Alright, I'm up." Leonard rubbed his face, climbed out of bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up. About five minutes later, looking refreshed, he rushed out. "Let's go."
The two made their way toward the Hogwarts greenhouses. Since they were in the southeast part of the castle, they didn't need the moving staircases. Having wandered half the castle the night before, Leonard had already memorized the route.
Even so, they were late.
Leonard's expression went flat. He rubbed at his stiff cheeks and sighed.
Late on the first day, and for a class of his own House Head no less—what a hopeless start.
These damned floors. Why did some staircases only go up to one level without a way down? Why did one side have stairs while the other didn't?
He'd thought the moving staircase was Hogwarts' only trap, but it turned out the entire castle was one giant pitfall.
"Sorry, Justin. I made you late too," Leonard sighed.
"It's fine, I overslept as well." Justin and Leonard reached the greenhouse door and were about to knock when hurried footsteps came up behind them.
They turned and saw the burly Ernie barreling toward them, a pie clamped between his teeth.
"Uuugh, late!" Ernie mumbled around his food, skidding to a stop when he spotted them.
"Morning, you two!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Ernie? Didn't you wake up ages ago?" Justin asked, surprised. "You went to… eat breakfast?"
"Yeah. I just can't start the day without something to eat, otherwise I feel half-asleep," Ernie said with a grin. "Here, I brought you guys some meat pies. They're really good."
"But we're already late," Justin said helplessly, taking the pie and passing one to Leonard.
It felt a little wrong to walk into class still holding food.
Justin hesitated, glanced at Ernie, then at Leonard, and made up his mind.
Better to eat first.
So the three of them stood outside the greenhouse, happily munching on their pies.
The morning breeze carried the fresh scent of the forest. Leonard bit into his pie and suddenly thought that joining Hufflepuff had been the best choice.
At least everyone here enjoyed good food. Eating pies in comfort while watching other late students rush around in a panic was its own kind of bliss.
It wasn't just Leonard and his roommates who were late—plenty of Hufflepuffs and even Ravenclaws were, too.
Unfortunately, the first day of term fell on a Monday. The new students hadn't had time to learn the castle's layout, and when they finally saw their schedules on the second day, they were completely lost.
Where's this classroom? Where am I now? Why am I back in the Great Hall? Why is it so dark here? Oh, I've wandered into the dungeons...
So while not everyone was late, there were plenty who were.
And when those frantic students spotted the trio standing outside, chewing on hot pies, they couldn't help slowing down.
Even without seeing the colors of their house robes, you could tell who belonged where just from their expressions.
Ravenclaws often looked stunned, then baffled, while Hufflepuffs grew thoughtful, as if weighing the idea of grabbing a meat pie before class.
Before long, the three had finished eating. Ernie let out a burp. "Guess I ate too fast. Forgot to drink anything—it's so dry." He burped again.
"I remember there's a spell that can cure hiccups. Want me to try it?" Justin asked.
Ernie thought it over. Walking into the greenhouse while hiccupping wasn't exactly ideal. He nodded. "Alright, I'll leave it to you."
Leonard watched them with a blank face, completely unmoved.
These two really had guts—one bold enough to suggest it, the other bold enough to agree. Hearts as big as mountains.
What if he accidentally cast something dangerous and blew Ernie's head off?
Oh, wait. Explosives weren't a Hufflepuff thing, and explosive spells were notoriously hard anyway.
Alright, then. Nothing to worry about.
Justin drew his wand, his face thoughtful.
"Hurry up, it's getting uncomfortable," Ernie said.
"Wait, let me think. I saw someone use it in Diagon Alley once, but I've never tried it myself." As a Muggle-born wizard, Justin hadn't learned any magic at home.
That made Ernie uneasy. "In that case, maybe I'll just deal with it. Let's go inside..."
"No, wait, I've got it." Justin pointed his wand at Ernie's mouth. "Scourgify."
The tip of his wand lit up. A moment later, Ernie's hiccups stopped—but foam started pouring out of his mouth.
"Wuuuhhh..." Ernie choked on the bubbles, unable to speak, staring at Justin in confusion and pointing frantically at his mouth.
"Uh, I don't really understand what happened either. This is my first time using this spell. I have no idea why it turned out like this," Justin said, flustered. "I remember the person who was choking just got tapped with this spell and was fine. No foam at all."
The way Ernie looked now was honestly a bit terrifying, like he was foaming at the mouth and about to drop dead.
Leonard wiped away sweat that wasn't there and said, "Most spells have what's called advanced application. Once you've mastered a spell, you can alter its effects depending on how you channel your magic."
"Really? So maybe I used too much magic?" Justin asked blankly.
"No. More likely you remembered the incantation wrong. 'Scourgify' is meant for cleaning things. The one for clearing airways should be Respirify," Leonard muttered, reciting the Latin under his breath.
Then he looked at Ernie, still spewing bubbles, and quickly turned away, his face twitching.
Don't laugh. This is your roommate. Your roommate for the next seven years. Don't laugh.
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.