The morning sun streamed through the window, gently falling on Neville's face, waking him from his deep sleep.
Neville groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around at the unfamiliar crimson drapes and four-poster bed.
A sense of disorientation washed over him—he was really in Gryffindor Tower!
Yesterday had been the best day of his life: not only had he made new friends like Harry, Ron, and Nios, but he had also successfully entered the Gryffindor he had always dreamed of! A silly, uncontrollable grin crept onto his lips at the thought.
He quickly tumbled out of bed and tiptoed to the washroom to freshen up, then returned to the dormitory and gently woke Seamus and Dean.
These two roommates were relatively easygoing; they mumbled a bit groggily and then got up.
However, Harry and Ron clearly belonged to another "species."
Neville walked to Harry's bed, carefully nudged his shoulder, and whispered, "Harry? Harry! Wake up quickly, we're going to miss breakfast!"
Harry just turned over impatiently, pulled the blanket over his head, mumbled a response, and fell back into a deep sleep.
Neville sighed and turned to Ron's bed, raising his voice a little this time: "Ron! Get up! Breakfast time is almost over!"
"Hmm? Okay… I'm up… I'll be up right away…" Ron sat up abruptly, his eyes vacant as he responded, then, like a broken puppet, he fell straight back into his pillow with a thud, and his snores immediately resumed.
Neville looked at the two on the bed, sighing helplessly.
He raised his voice a little, though his tone was still shy, it was much clearer now: "I… I'm going to call Nios first! You two hurry up and get up!" With that, he left the dormitory.
A crisp knocking sound echoed in the empty corridor.
Neville stood in front of Nios's door, taking a deep breath:
"Nios? It's Neville. Are you up?"
"Creak," the heavy wooden door opened inward, just a crack.
Nios was not visible at the doorway.
Neville instinctively looked down, only to see Azazel leaning against the doorframe with a face full of despair, sporting two enormous dark circles under his eyes, and his middle part looking somewhat disheveled and wilted.
"Good… Good morning, Mr. Azazel." Neville greeted him somewhat awkwardly.
"Good…" Azazel dragged out the word weakly, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing.
"What… what happened to you?" Neville asked, surprised at his haggard appearance.
"Heh… see for yourself…" Azazel gave a bitter laugh and stepped aside from the doorway.
Neville peered into the room. Nios was clearly not there; he had probably already gone to the washroom.
Aside from a bed, wardrobe, and desk similar to their dormitory, this room also had three huge bookshelves packed with books of various thicknesses.
A comfortable rocking chair was placed by the window.
On the other side, a small lounge area was set up: two three-seater sofas faced each other, with a single-seater sofa on each side, and a table in the middle.
A large black mirror hung on the wall beside the sofas. Most striking was the corner, where a massive, intricately drawn summoning circle occupied a significant area, next to a similarly large workbench. On the workbench, besides another smaller black mirror, there was a strange box with transparent glass embedded on its side.
The entire room was excessively tidy, and recalling Nios's actions on the train… Neville instantly understood the reason for Azazel's ghostly appearance and couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at him.
Just then, Nios walked back from the washroom, wiping his hands.
"Morning, Neville. Did you sleep well last night?" Nios walked up to him, his tone relaxed.
"Not… not bad…" Neville replied shyly, his gaze involuntarily sweeping over the incongruous furniture and decor, "These… things…"
"Oh, I just tidied up a bit last night. Don't mind it." Nios casually brushed it off. "Did you come to call me for breakfast?"
"Yes! Our first class today is Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration Class! I think we should go to the classroom early and find a good spot…" Neville quickly explained.
Nios nodded thoughtfully: "What about Harry and Ron?"
"Oh…" Neville looked frustrated, "I… I couldn't wake them up…"
The two then returned to Neville's dormitory.
Seamus and Dean were each standing by a bed, futilely trying to wake their roommates. Seeing Nios and Neville enter, Dean threw up his hands and sighed: "We tried our best."
Nios flashed a brilliant smile: "You two go ahead and have breakfast, we'll handle things here."
Seamus and Dean exchanged glances, and remembering that their first class today was with the strict Professor McGonagall from yesterday, they immediately slipped out the door.
Azazel agilely jumped onto Ron's bed, looking at his twisted body: "Tsk tsk, that posture… his spine really won't break, will it?"
Neville and Azazel tried again, shaking, calling, and even gently patting their faces, but the two on the bed seemed to be under a powerful Stupefy, completely unresponsive.
Azazel jumped off the bed, sat on the carpet, and propped his head with his paw, complaining: "If it weren't for their chests still rising and falling, I'd suspect these two guys had already kicked the bucket…"
Neville nodded in deep agreement, a worried expression on his face.
Nios didn't try again, turning back to his own dormitory and soon returning with a piece of parchment and a quill.
He walked to Harry's bed and swiftly wrote a message:
URGENT NOTICE!
Harry / Ron:
We have tried our best but have failed to awaken you two sleeping beauties.
Therefore, please strictly follow the instructions on this note.
Scenario One: If you see this note before 8 AM, congratulations, there's still hope! Please rush to the Great Hall to grab something to eat, then head straight to the Transfiguration Class classroom on the second floor!
Scenario Two: If you see this after 8 AM… please accept our condolences. I have placed an emergency breakfast on each of your bedside tables. As for whether you're late… may God bless you.
— Nios
He stuck the note where Harry would see it as soon as he opened his eyes… on Ron's back.
Next, he took out two pieces of "little pink" and placed them on the nightstands beside each of their beds.
"Alright! Mission accomplished! Let's go!" Nios clapped his hands, signaling Neville and Azazel to leave.
Neville looked at the note and the "little pink," wanting to say something, but was ultimately pulled away by Nios.
On the way to the Great Hall, Azazel became the absolute center of attention.
Almost every passing student and the eyes of the portraits on the walls were firmly fixed on the magical creature at Nios's feet.
Azazel strutted with his head held high, clearly enjoying the attention.
Meanwhile, the socially anxious Neville wished he could shrink into his robes and become invisible.
In the Great Hall, Nios leisurely ate his oatmeal.
Neville, however, was full of worry, barely touching the bacon and eggs in front of him.
"Nios… maybe… we should bring them some bread or something?" Neville suggested softly.
Nios slowly swallowed a mouthful of porridge: "It's no use even if we bring it. Do you think they'd dare to munch on bread right under Professor McGonagall's nose?"
Professor McGonagall's stern expression flashed in Neville's mind, instantly dispelling that thought.
"But…" Neville was still worried, "That… 'little pink'… you left for them… isn't it for cleaning? Is it edible?"
Nios extended a finger and wiggled it in front of Neville: "little pink is my proudest creation! Although it looks like jelly, its nutritional content is no less than a steak."
Azazel, who was peeling a banana, interjected without looking up: "It was clearly an accidental product, yet you call it your proudest creation? Your skin is thicker than the Hogwarts castle walls…"
"Thwack!" Nios's fist landed precisely on top of Azazel's head, raising a large bump. Azazel only let out an "Ow," clutching his head, and didn't jump up and curse as usual. It was unclear if he had developed resistance from being hit so often, or if Nios had held back this time.
"Although it was an accident," Nios said without changing his expression, trying to recover, "its nutrition and taste are undeniable. Don't believe me? Try it?" With that, he casually pulled out a small piece of "little pink" and handed it to Neville.
Neville looked at the pink, translucent, slightly wobbly "jelly" in his hand, then at Nios, gritted his teeth, and popped it into his mouth.
Then, his expression froze.
No taste. Not at all.
Even worse, this "jelly" was incredibly tough! Neville chewed with all his might, but it felt like his teeth were chewing a super rubber ball that wouldn't break down no matter how much he chewed!
His face turned red with anxiety, his hands gestured helplessly in the air, and muffled "ooh-ooh" sounds came from his throat.
"What's wrong with him?" The situation completely exceeded Nios's expectations.
He had anticipated Neville might not dare to eat it, but he hadn't expected him to get stuck on the "little pink."
He and Azazel had eaten it countless times and had never encountered this situation.
"Look at your teeth and mine! Then look at his?!" Azazel pointed to his own sharp canines, then to Nios's shark-like fangs, and finally to Neville's standard human teeth.
Neville was on the verge of tears, his mouth full of the "little pink" that he couldn't swallow or spit out. The thing even started to absorb his saliva and swell slightly.
Nios made a swift decision, quickly pulling out a spare eye mask from his pocket: "Neville! Look at me! Do you trust me?"
Neville nodded frantically, his eyes full of pleading.
"Good! Put on this eye mask! Open wide! Leave the rest to me! Don't move an inch!" Nios's tone was decisive.
Neville tremblingly put on the eye mask, opening his mouth wide as if resigned to his fate.
Nios flicked his wrist, and the fake wand in his arms instantly transformed into a gleaming dagger! With a flash of white light, the dagger precisely entered Neville's mouth! The action was so fast it left an afterimage in the air.
Amazingly, the sharp blade danced and cut skillfully inside Neville's mouth without harming his tongue or oral cavity in the slightest! Under Nios's precise, surgical-like operation, the stubborn "little pink" was quickly cut into several small pieces, which dropped onto the tabletop with a few soft "plops."
To the other young Wizards dining, this scene was quite horrifying: a Wizard wearing an eye mask with his mouth wide open, another Wizard also wearing an eye mask holding a dagger and frantically stirring it inside the other's mouth, and then the former spitting out a pile of unknown gelatinous substance…
After a brief silence, scattered applause actually broke out around them?
Nios, like a magician taking a bow, stood up and elegantly bowed slightly in all directions.
"Such a show-off…" Azazel muttered under his breath, watching Nios's affected manner.
"Thwack!" Another small bump appeared on top of the large bump on his head.
"Phew! Haa—!" Neville ripped off his eye mask, gasping for air, and stared at the pile of chopped "little pink" on the table with lingering horror, as if he had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.
"Well, well," Azazel thought, looking at Neville, "you almost became the first Wizard in history to be sent to the school infirmary by his own 'breakfast'."
Nios also looked slightly embarrassed. He used a Levitation Charm to roll the little pink fragments into a small ball and placed it on the table.
He looked at the ball, then at the still-shaken Neville, and for once, awkwardly rubbed his nose, saying: "Harry and Ron… if they eat this… they should… probably… maybe… not choke to death, right?"
After a breakfast full of commotion, it was already half past eight.
The idea of going to find the two was completely abandoned, and Nios and Neville had to rush to the Transfiguration Class classroom on the second floor.
Today was the first class for these young lions at Hogwarts, and their first encounter with the strict Professor McGonagall.
When the two entered the classroom, the empty room only had Hermione sitting there, reading and previewing. It seemed Seamus and Dean had gotten lost.
Several books were spread open on Hermione's desk; clearly, the study addict would not be idle.
On the podium, a majestic tabby cat sat primly, its sharp, golden eyes fixed on the doorway.
As soon as Nios and Neville found an empty seat and sat down, Hermione closed her book with a "snap," picked up her stack of heavy textbooks, and walked a few steps to Neville's side.
"Good morning, Neville. Good morning, Nios." Hermione's voice was loud and confident.
"Good… good morning, Hermione." Neville was a bit intimidated by Hermione's presence.
"Morning." Nios replied, then bent down, grabbed Azazel by the scruff of his neck, and lifted him from the floor onto the table.
Hermione ignored Nios and instead said to Neville: "Could you please switch places with me? Thank you!" She didn't even wait for Neville's answer, her gaze already fixed firmly on Nios.
Neville looked at Hermione, then at the calm-faced Nios, and then at Azazel, who was still clutching his head on the table. Wisely, he gathered his belongings and silently moved to the seat behind them.
"Thud!"
Hermione slammed the stack of books, which could easily serve as a weapon, onto the table in front of Nios, making the tabletop hum.
She leaned forward, hands braced on the table's edge. Beneath her thick brown curly hair, her bright brown eyes sparkled with sharp light, piercing straight into Nios:
"Nios! What you used on the train wasn't Alchemy at all, was it?!"