Homecoming from Hogwarts

The time is approaching ten o'clock. Under normal circumstances, the castle would not be so empty at this time, because there are always some young wizards who are keen on night walks and like to wander around the castle after the designated time to return to the dormitory. But maybe it is the weather. It was so cold that Hermione, who lingered on the second floor for a while, didn't notice the little wizard or professor in the foyer below.

Da da da--
After confirming that no one was around, Hermione walked down the stairs in a hurry. The draft blowing in from the deep hall made Hermione's robe bulge into a cloak. She did not linger here, but hugged Ding Ling Dang Rang tightly. After picking up my schoolbag, I quickly ran to the left side of the hall and entered a door leading to the underground.

The underground passage leading to the Hufflepuff common room is completely different from the Slytherin one. The underground passage here is warm and comfortable, and the torches inserted every few steps on both sides of the spacious stone corridor make the place very bright. .

Hermione stood under a torch for a while, until her hands and feet were no longer stiff, then she took a nervous breath and walked forward cautiously.

Boom--
The sudden sound behind her startled Hermione. She turned her head and looked back. There was no one in the bright stone corridor. After thinking for a moment, Hermione thought that the sound just now was probably the howling wind blowing the door she had not closed just now. caused.

This conclusion made Hermione breathe a big sigh of relief. If she met a Hufflepuff student here, she wouldn't know how to explain it.

In fact, Hermione once considered bringing an invisibility cloak down. However, the invisibility cloak that Hagrid rushed to make that she used in the game became tattered after the game. And if she was like Hagrid, If she wanted to borrow the Invisibility Cloak, she would have to explain to Harry and Ron what she was going to use it for. Hermione didn't want to tell them until the matter came to an end.

The episode just now made Hermione realize that she shouldn't spend too much time in the stone corridor. She left the stone wall and walked quickly while looking up at the oil paintings hanging on both sides of the stone corridor.

These oil paintings depict some shiny food, some of which look very delicious, while others look strange and unappetizing. Hermione did not stop to study the unknown oil paintings. , his eyes passed over a picture, and he kept mumbling,

".The big silver bowl of fruit, and then the big green pear, where are they!"

After walking about one hundred and eighty feet, Hermione finally found the goal of her trip. Under the light of two bright torches, an oil painting with a silver bowl and many fruits was glowing.

Hermione ran over excitedly. She took a closer look, and then a smile filled her red face.

"And...well, Fred said, I should"

"You should scratch this pear with your fingers -" a voice behind him said abruptly.

"Oh, thank you, Harry, yes, I should. Oh!"

Hermione, who suddenly came to her senses, jumped to the side in horror. She turned her head and stared behind her with wide eyes. Then, Harry lifted the invisibility cloak on his head and appeared in front of Hermione together with Ron.

In the stone corridor, where there was only the sound of crackling torches, three people looked at each other with big eyes.

"You follow me!"

Suddenly at a certain second, Hermione angrily threw her schoolbag into Ron's arms and glared at him angrily, "I can't believe you dare to do this!"

"We didn't expect you to lie to us—"

Ron opened Hermione's school bag, took out a badge with 'vomiting' engraved on it, held it up, looked it over under the torch, and hummed,
"Oh, go to the Illustration Library. You need to make up for the Christmas break. You've improved your ability to tell lies, Hermione. Fortunately, Harry was smart enough to realize that the road does not lead to the library-"

Hermione glanced hard at Harry, who was smiling awkwardly, and finally realized how she was exposed.

"Now that you are here!"

Hermione said arrogantly,

"Then come in with me. I'm going to talk to Ruijia, who is Dom's mother. You can help me promote our concept to the house elves in the kitchen -"

"That's your philosophy--"

Harry said in a plaintive tone that he now regretted following Hermione.

But Hermione ignored their complaints at all. She grabbed their arms and pulled them to her side. Then, she swallowed and stretched out her index finger to scratch the green pears on the silver bowl. Fred and George were regular visitors to the kitchen, but the three Harrys had never broken into the kitchen. Under their nervous gaze, the green pear began to squirm, and then suddenly turned into a pear. Big green door handle.

"Should we put on the cloak of invisibility?"

Seeing that Hermione had grabbed the door handle, Harry said nervously,
"There's probably more than just elves inside, there might be professors -"

Before Harry could finish speaking, Hermione had already opened the door, and then dragged the two boys in without any explanation.

The three people stood behind the door, nervously watching the world behind it.

At a quick glance, Harry only saw a high-ceilinged room, as large as the Great Hall above. There were many gleaming copper pots and pots piled against the surrounding stone walls, and a large brick fireplace at the other end of the room. , and on both sides of the fireplace were a row of stoves made of the same bricks. When Harry was looking at the four long tables in the middle of the large kitchen, an excited scream suddenly came from the other end of the kitchen!

"Hi Ray Pott!"

The sudden cry scared Harry, Ron and Hermione to the point where Harry saw the small black figure approaching him quickly in his sight, and quickly pulled out the wand in his pocket, and This indeed made the little black figure that was approaching him quickly restrain itself a lot. It braked with its heels on the ground, and after a long braking distance, it finally stopped in front of Harry and the others!

"Do-Dobby?"

When he looked at the little thing's face, Harry's expression suddenly froze. He asked blankly, and his questioning voice also made nervous Hermione and Ron look shocked.

More than?

Ron blinked and stared at what was probably the strangest-looking creature in front of him. This was the creature that blocked the partition wall leading to platform nine and three-quarters of King's Cross Station in his second year. He and Harry could only use his father's privately modified car to get to school, and the elf who once belonged to the Malfoy family tried to knock Harry off his broomstick during the Quidditch match that year?
"It's Dobby, sir, it's Dobby!"

When Harry called its name, Dobby suddenly became happy again. It was no longer afraid of the wand in Harry's hand, but rushed forward and slammed into Harry's abdomen, holding him tightly, tightly. Hug me,
"Dobby has been looking forward and looking forward to seeing Hierry Potter, sir, and then Hierry Porter came to see him in person, sir!"

Dobby let go of his hand, took a few steps back, and looked at Harry with a smile on his face, his green eyes the size of tennis balls filled with tears of joy.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then looked at Harry together.

Harry never dreamed that he would see Dobby in the kitchen of Hogwarts. He had even had a few words with Crouch's elf named Winky on the night of the Quidditch final. Harry thought Dobby had been wandering!
"But--"

Harry still couldn't get over the shock. Although his ribs were sore from Dobby's strangulation just now, he still couldn't wait to ask,

"But why are you here?"

"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby screamed excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore has given Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!"

"Sparkling?"

Hermione immediately became energetic. She was deeply impressed by this elf who was kicked out by Crouch for unfounded charges. It can even be said that it was Winky's painful experience that sparked the desire to fight for the rights of house elves in Hermione's heart. idea.

Hermione raised her head and looked at the elves who had stopped what they were doing and were looking at the three of them with respect, looking for the twinkling sounds and shadows among them.
"Where is it?"

Dobby obviously recognized that the lady standing with Harry Potter in front of him was one of the warriors of the Triwizard Tournament and a strong person who could deal with the fire dragon. He pointed sideways to the other end of the kitchen and spoke with a full Said with respect
"It's over there, dear Miss Granger, Dobby can show you it if you wish!"



(End of this chapter)