Cedric and Cho didn't return until near evening.
To welcome them back to school, Fred and George specially bought several large bottles of butterbeer from Hogsmeade.
Almost everyone in their group of six — well, team — got a bottle each, with Kyle being the only one left out.
"You guys really hold grudges, don't you?" Kyle looked at the butterbeers in everyone else's hands and pursed his lips, "I was just making a small joke. Did you have to hold it against me for so long?"
"Well, if it isn't Kyle from the Order of Merlin." Fred said with exaggerated surprise, "You should have told us earlier. I thought someone of your noble status would be above drinking butterbeer."
"Wait, I don't think he's a member of the Order of Merlin." George said, "In the trophy room, he only has one Special Award for Services to the School."
"And it's from last year..."
"Already quite outdated..."
"I've had enough of you guys!" Kyle rubbed his forehead and said, "It's just a Merlin medal, you know. Want to bet I'll be using it to knock your heads every day?"
After an awkward silence...
"Ha..." George let out a strange cry, then clutched his stomach laughing loudly, "I can't... hahaha... Fred, did you hear what he said?"
"Of course, George, I heard it very clearly." Fred wiped away tears of laughter, "Let's hurry and bring out the last bottle of butterbeer, he's starting to talk nonsense."
"I agree..."
"Using a Merlin medal to knock our heads — that joke is hilarious..."
"I could laugh about it for a whole year..."
Kyle looked at the butterbeer they handed him and calmly asked, "What if I could actually do it?"
"Then we'll cover all your butterbeer from now on!" Fred said dismissively.
"If someone could actually get a Merlin medal in their second year, I'd balance three trophies on my head, do a tap dance, and fly around the school."
"Count me in too!"
They couldn't help laughing at their own ridiculous promises.
Kyle raised an eyebrow, silently took a sip of butterbeer, and said nothing.
This drink was indeed quite tasty, reminiscent of hot chocolate. Each sip offered a rich buttery aroma without any greasy aftertaste — no wonder it was so popular.
He could see himself enjoying a cup every day... though he wasn't sure if the Weasley brothers' wallets could handle it.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
Shortly after the students returned to Hogwarts, the evening feast began.
Hermione frowned at Ron, who was loading food onto a large plate, "What are you doing? And where's Harry? Isn't he coming to dinner?"
"That's what I was about to explain." Ron said somewhat helplessly, chicken leg in hand, "Harry's sleeping in the dormitory. I called him many times, but it was no use. If I don't bring extra food now, he'll be hungry when he wakes up."
"Sleeping... now?" Hermione asked, confused.
She knew Harry was often drowsy — especially in the library — but why would he be sleeping at dinnertime?
"Wait, you two aren't planning to go wandering at night again, are you?" She asked suspiciously.
"Of course not, we stopped doing that ages ago!" Ron's face reddened slightly, "It was Kyle. He gave Harry a bottle of the Draught of Living Death, saying it would solve his nightmare problem."
He briefly explained what had happened that afternoon in Hagrid's hut.
"...but Harry drank too much. He's been asleep for four hours already."
"How much did he drink?"
Ron thought for a moment, "I don't know, about a small cup perhaps, but definitely not much."
"Do you think it's pumpkin juice or something?" Hermione frowned, "I read that just one small spoonful of the Draught of Living Death can make someone sleep for two hours, and he drank a whole cup?"
"Yes, I know. Kyle said the same thing at the time." Ron sighed, "So what do we do now?"
"There's nothing we can do but wait for him to wake up on his own, but that might not be until late tonight, or even tomorrow morning." Hermione looked at the large plate in Ron's hands, "Are you sure you need to take this much?"
"Of course. What if Harry doesn't have enough to eat?" Ron said casually, "The wait might be long, but if we heat them up in the fireplace, they'll taste as fresh as when they were first made. That's how we ate during the holidays."
Hermione stared at him, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"So you spent the entire holiday figuring out how to heat food, and never actually looked for Nicolas Flamel, did you?"
"We did look, and we even went to the Restricted Section!" Ron quickly defended himself, "You probably don't know this, but the books there scream when opened. We were almost caught by Filch."
Hermione gave him a dubious look. It was the first time she'd heard that books could scream, and she couldn't help wondering if this was just another excuse he had made up.
But Ron confidently patted his chest, insisting everything he said was true... after all, Harry had told him so himself, which gave him plenty of confidence.
After the welcome feast, everyone returned to their dormitories.
Hermione was right. It wasn't until late at night that Harry finally opened his eyes.
He tried to speak but found his throat dry. Fortunately, there was half a cup of pumpkin juice beside him. Though he didn't know whose it was, he was too thirsty to care — he grabbed it and took a big gulp.
"Is this... the dormitory?" After putting down the cup, Harry began to look around.
Next to the pumpkin juice was a plate full of delicious food.
A wave of hunger hit him. Harry's throat tightened, and he felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach — a discomfort he hadn't experienced since leaving the Dursleys'.
He grabbed a baked potato and devoured it whole, skin and all, in just a few bites. The food immediately eased his discomfort.
Around him, Neville, Seamus, and the others were fast asleep. At the table sat Ron, his chin propped on his hand, head bobbing as he fought to stay awake.
Harry walked over and gently nudged him, "Ron, why are you sleeping here?"
Ron jerked awake, blinking groggily, "Hmm... Harry... oh, thank goodness, you're finally awake..."
"How long was I asleep?" Harry asked.
"I don't know..." Ron rubbed his eyes, "But definitely over eight hours. How do you feel now?"
"Fantastic!" Harry exclaimed with genuine excitement, "That was the most comfortable sleep I've ever had. I didn't dream at all."
"That's great..." Ron yawned as he collapsed onto his own bed.
He tried to say something else, but exhaustion overtook him — before he could even open his mouth, he fell into a deep sleep.
✭✭✭
T/N: Hey! Liked what you read? Support your friendly neighborhood translator on Patreon! Think of it as buying me a coffee... or ten!
For just $1.50 (that's less than your daily meme budget), get extra chapters! Want more? $2 gets you bonus content, $5 unlocks premium stories, and $10 makes you my hero (and gets you everything I have, including earlier acess to new books)! You can have access to almost 15 books!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1305453