The two of them didn’t overexert themselves.
After all, it was Halloween, and the Halloween feast that evening was the main event.
Will was already looking forward to eating his fill.
It had to be said that although British cuisine wasn’t particularly impressive, the food at Hogwarts wasn’t bad.
The main reason was that the House-elves’ recipes weren’t limited to British dishes.
Will had recently given the House-elves some suggestions and had even bought a few American and Asian cookbooks himself.
He believed it wouldn’t be long before he could enjoy the food he actually wanted.
Just as the two were about to head to the Great Hall, the door to the Room of Requirement was suddenly pushed open.
“Will, Will!”
Sylvia entered with Hermione behind her.
Hermione’s eyes were red and her cheeks were streaked with tears.
“I just ran into Hermione in the bathroom in the dungeons. It took me a lot of effort to convince her to come up.”
Will immediately realized that Hermione had been crying because of Ron’s hurtful remarks behind her back.
Ron certainly had plenty of unlikeable moments during the early parts of the story.
“What’s wrong?” Will asked Hermione with concern.
“Who bullied you?”
Sylvia glanced at Neville, who looked completely bewildered.
Then again, only Hermione had overheard Harry and Ron’s conversation, so it was understandable that Neville had no idea what had happened.
Will had never been particularly good at comforting girls, so this difficult task could only be left to Sylvia.
…
Hogwarts on Halloween was bustling with activity.
The entire Castle looked as though it had undergone a major renovation, filled with a festive atmosphere.
Thousands of bats fluttered along the walls and ceilings, while another thousand circled above the dining tables like low-hanging dark clouds, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker.
The floating candles had been replaced with pumpkin lanterns.
Candlelight shone through the carved openings, casting amusing patterns across the Great Hall.
The Halloween feast was exceptionally lavish, with an even greater variety of dishes than at the start of term.
All kinds of pumpkin-based foods covered the tables.
Harry and Ron walked toward the Great Hall.
Now, as they headed toward the feast, Ron excitedly explained the basics of Wizard’s Chess to him.
Two Gryffindor girls whom Harry recognized as Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown walked past them.
Parvati was chatting with Lavender.
“Granger has been crying in the girls’ bathroom all afternoon, and she won’t let anyone comfort her…”
Harry felt uncomfortable upon hearing this.
At the same time, he noticed Ron’s expression becoming increasingly unpleasant.
However, the festive atmosphere quickly swept away those thoughts.
It was Harry’s first time attending such a grand feast in his life.
The entire Hogwarts Great Hall was filled with laughter and excitement.
Occasionally, students chased one another between the tables.
At the staff table, Dumbledore, wearing robes decorated with pumpkin patterns, was happily attacking a pumpkin pie.
Then Quirrell, wearing his purple turban, suddenly burst into the Great Hall.
He brought news of a troll.
The announcement instantly shattered the festive atmosphere, plunging the students into chaos.
Dumbledore waved his wand, making it emit several sharp explosions while giving instructions to the other professors.
The professors immediately ordered the prefects to escort the students back to their respective House common rooms.
Harry’s expression suddenly changed.
He grabbed Ron.
“I just remembered Hermione.”
“What about her?”
“She doesn’t know about the troll yet.”
Ron bit his lip.
“Let her Slytherin friends help her.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Ron!”
Harry sounded furious, his emerald eyes glaring at Ron.
For the first time, Ron found Harry genuinely intimidating.
Oh my, no wonder Harry was able to defeat You-Know-Who.
Seeing Harry’s expression, Ron finally nodded.
“Alright, alright. But we can’t let Percy see us.”
…
To put it simply, Ron and Hermione had gotten into an argument during class.
Afterward, Ron had insulted Hermione, saying, “No wonder everyone can’t stand her. Honestly, she’s like a nightmare. Only Slytherin Dark Wizards would probably want to be friends with her.”
Will and Sylvia had been inexplicably dragged into the conflict.
“Don’t mind that pathetic Weasley. He’s as stupid as a goblin. Remember, during Potions Class last time, the antidote he brewed nearly burned through his own tongue.”
Sylvia mocked Ron while trying to comfort Hermione.
“Hermione, you’re the smartest Witch I’ve ever met, and plenty of people in Gryffindor like you. You always earn us so many points,” Neville chimed in, trying to comfort Hermione.
“The wise are always ostracized by the foolish. Cattle flock together, while predators walk alone.” Will also hoped his classmate would cheer up a little.
“Then, ‘Mr. Great Wizard Behrens,’ are we flocking together or walking alone?” Sylvia asked, staring into Will’s eyes.
Hearing that title, Will’s mouth twitched.
He was often mocked by Snape whenever he sought his guidance.
“I never imagined Mr. Great Wizard Behrens couldn’t even handle dittany properly. It seems Mr. Great Wizard Behrens has never been injured in a duel.”
“Look at how professional Mr. Great Wizard Behrens’s technique for extracting Indian Yellow-spotted Snake blood is. Is Mr. Behrens afraid that taking too much blood will prevent this dead snake from coming back to life?”
…
Sylvia had once overheard Snape calling Will “Mr. Great Wizard Behrens,” and had started using the title to tease him as well.
“You all walk alone with me.”
The others understood that Will was essentially declaring himself their leader, but Sylvia merely rolled her eyes.
Neville thought about it for a moment before asking in confusion, “Am I a predator too?”
“Of course! You’re following ‘Mr. Great Wizard Behrens,’ so how could you not be a predator?”
Will’s face darkened.
“Alright, the Halloween feast should have started already. Let’s hurry.”
Hermione still hadn’t quite processed what was happening.
She looked at Will suspiciously.
“What ‘Great Wizard Behrens’? I don’t understand.”
Will walked toward the door of the Room of Requirement with a dark expression, while Sylvia’s clear laughter echoed behind him.
Will suddenly felt that this wasn’t so bad either.
His strength was steadily growing, his friendships were harmonious, and even Dumbledore, whom many described as someone who appeared innocent on the surface but was actually extremely cunning, was easy enough to deal with.
Perhaps this was compensation for the more than twenty years of hard work he had endured, along with a little bit of good luck.