Half an hour later, Harry and Ron left Snape's office and walked along the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower. The castle was quiet; dinner had already ended.
"I wonder how Aiven is doing. I really wish we could have gone to the feast too."
"Professor McGonagall doesn't want us to show off." Ron said wisely, "She doesn't want people to think that coming to school in a flying car is something to be proud of."
"Yeah, but at least they should have let us know which House Aiven was sorted into."
"No need to ask, he'll definitely be in Gryffindor, just like Ginny."
"That's not necessarily true. He's so smart, maybe he'll be sorted into Ravenclaw." Harry looked a little worried. After spending a summer together, he had grown very fond of Aiven and hoped Aiven could be in the same House as him.
"As long as it's not Slytherin, Ravenclaw is also a good choice."
The two walked and chatted until they climbed a narrow stone staircase and reached the corridor of Gryffindor Tower's secret entrance, which was hidden behind a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" the Fat Lady asked as they approached.
"Oh!!" Harry couldn't answer. They hadn't encountered a Gryffindor Prefect yet, so they didn't know the new school year's password, but help arrived almost immediately. They heard hurried footsteps behind them and turned to see Hermione rushing towards them.
"Hermione, do you know which House Aiven was sorted into?"
"Gryffindor, of course!" Hermione said impatiently, "How dare you bring him to school in a flying car? You're going to be expelled."
"Don't lecture us, we've been hearing that all night," Ron said impatiently. "Just tell us the password."
"The password is 'Honeydukes'," Hermione continued, not giving up. "But that's not the point, don't you know..." She had deliberately waited outside to properly scold Harry and Ron before they entered the common room, so they would realise their mistakes.
But as the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, her words were immediately interrupted by thunderous applause, and Harry and Ron were instantly pulled inside. The Gryffindor students hadn't gone to bed yet; they were all packed into the circular common room, celebrating wildly. Harry and Ron's arrival brought the atmosphere to its peak.
Aiven was glad to see them enter, finally no longer the centre of attention. He quietly retreated from the crowd and collapsed weakly onto the sofa by the fireplace. The continuous commotion all evening, coupled with not having a single drop of water, had left him extremely weak.
"Aiven!"
Aiven saw Hermione sitting opposite him with a serious expression. He pleaded in a pitiful tone, "Give me a break, Hermione. Tell me whatever you want tomorrow. I'm starving right now!"
Hermione pursed her lips and didn't continue speaking. She pulled out a large piece of chocolate from her pocket and handed it to him. Aiven ate some and felt much better.
The Gryffindor welcome ceremony didn't last long. Under Percy's loud persuasion, everyone soon returned to their dormitories to sleep.
"Mate, congratulations on getting into Gryffindor. Today was awesome. I know I shouldn't feel smug, but..." Ron walked up to Aiven and immediately trailed off, seeing Hermione looking at him unhappily.
"Where are Fred and George? I haven't seen them," Harry said, a bit awkwardly.
"I asked them to go to the kitchen to get me some food. Do you guys want some too?" Aiven asked.
"Oh, of course..." Ron rubbed his stomach and cautiously glanced at Hermione. "No, Harry and I already ate in Snape's office. We're going upstairs now. We're a bit tired!"
"Goodnight, Hermione! Goodnight, Aiven!" Harry said quickly, seeing Hermione's face as stern as Percy's.
A few minutes later, the fire was burning quietly, and only Aiven and Hermione were left in the common room. The atmosphere became a bit strange. Aiven saw her organising her class schedule, circling all of Lockhart's classes with heart shapes.
"Hermione, you know I bought some things in Diagon Alley. I think they should be delivered tonight," Aiven said, making conversation.
"Yes, you promised to lend me some of those books, do you remember?" Hermione finally looked up, her tone a little stiff.
"Of course, if there's anything you like, feel free to take it and read it."
Aiven readily agreed, clearly sensing that Hermione was still displeased with how they had arrived at school.
No sooner had he spoken than several Flourish and Blotts owls appeared outside the Gryffindor Tower window. Aiven hurried over and opened the window. Dozens of exquisite magic books, at least fifty of them, appeared before the two of them. Hermione's attention was completely drawn to the books Aiven had bought. Besides textbooks for older students, there were many other types of books, covering a wide range of categories.
Next, their conversation shifted to magical knowledge, and they chatted very happily. Aiven found that Hermione had become as friendly as before again.
Just as they were discussing a spell, the common room door opened, and Fred and George walked in with trays full of food.
"Looks like we came back at the wrong time. Our hero Aiven is on a date with Hermione," Fred said.
"And they seem to have moved the school library in here," George added.
"You guys are finally back! I'm starving!" Aiven rushed to meet them.
"Of course, esteemed Mr. Mason, it's our honour to serve you!" Fred dodged Aiven and pulled out a few red candles from his pocket.
"These are the foods you ordered. We won't disturb your candlelit dinner with Miss Granger!" George stepped forward and lit the candles.
Aiven and Hermione watched, their faces flushed, as they placed the trays in front of them, just like waiters in a high-end restaurant.
After glancing at the two awkward individuals, Fred and George exchanged mischievous grins and turned to leave, but stopped after a few steps, staring in astonishment out the window.
"Look, what's that outside?"
Following their gaze, Aiven and Hermione saw a massive object approaching Gryffindor Tower. A few seconds later, by the candlelight in the common room, Aiven clearly saw that it was a transport team made up of dozens of strong owls. The owls looked exhausted and kept falling. Aiven quickly welcomed them inside.
As the owls landed, the floor trembled heavily.
"Don't worry, it's the things I bought that have arrived," Aiven quickly explained, looking at the three astonished people beside him.
"What is it?" Fred and George asked in unison.
"Uh, it's a specialised newspaper printing equipment. I ordered it in Diagon Alley and it cost a fortune." Aiven fed some of the owls before getting up to sign for the delivery.
"A professional printing equipment? What did you buy that for?!" Fred raised his voice.
"Don't tell us you're planning to start a newspaper," George added.
"That's right, I plan to start a newspaper, just like the Daily Prophet. I've even thought of a name: The Hogwarts Magic Daily!" Aiven opened the packaging of the printing equipment, revealing a silver-white, intricately constructed magical device to the four of them. It was similar to a Muggle printing press, but operated entirely by magic and included precise calibration functions.
"Think about it, all adult wizards graduated from Hogwarts. For them, it's full of wonderful memories, and for young wizards, Hogwarts is full of secrets. We can start a newspaper to recall, explore, and interpret its mysteries," Aiven explained softly. "Believe me, we will succeed, even more so than the Daily Prophet, and become the most widely circulated newspaper in the wizarding world."