The first gathering of the Dueling House this school year concluded successfully amidst laughter, with Neville and Ron being rewarded with a crate of Chocolate Frogs, courtesy of Harry.
Yes, a whole crate, with as many as fifty Chocolate Frogs inside.
"This time I should be able to get Agrippa," Ron said happily.
As they left the Room of Requirement, they heard screams coming from downstairs.
"What's happening?" Draco asked, his face filled with terror.
Screams in the middle of the night were somewhat... creepy.
Hermione's face also seemed uneasy, but after listening for a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It should be Peeves—oh no, he's not playing another prank, is he?"
"Is there such a prank?" Seamus asked skeptically, "It sounds like Peeves is actually in a lot of pain, what's happening to him?"
"Let's go down and see," Cedric suggested, "Also, to welcome our two new members..."
Saying this, Cedric winked at Harry peculiarly, as he already noticed the... stable relationship between the two girls and Harry.
Indeed, a triangular relationship is the most stable.
"Let's go to the kitchen for something to eat," he added.
No one rejected Cedric's suggestion, after all, dueling is a physical activity, and they were at the age of growing, making them especially prone to hunger.
As they reached the fourth floor, they witnessed an unforgettable scene.
A young man in a Slytherin Robe had Peeves pinned down, pummeling his face with fists.
Peeves struggled helplessly, wailing in pain.
The surrounding portraits pointed and gossiped, most of them gloating, given Peeves'... the ghost's reputation wasn't very good.
"Oh my God..." Hermione covered her mouth, exclaiming in shock.
"Oh my God..." Cedric and Megan from Hufflepuff covered their mouths, exclaiming with schadenfreude.
"Oh my God!" Seamus and Ron exclaimed with a tone of eager spectators.
Peeves struggled, screamed, truly eliciting laughter from listeners and cheers from onlookers.
"Saru! Can you let me go, you jerk!"
Sebastian didn't respond, just continued to punch Peeves relentlessly.
"Looks like Slytherin ghosts can really restrain Peeves," Draco commented proudly, "Before Mr. Saru came to Hogwarts, Bloodman Barrow from Slytherin was Peeves's nemesis—and after Mr. Saru arrived, they both became Peeves's nemesis..."
"Alright, stop looking at the spectacle," Harry called out to them, "Let's keep moving down, before Peeves reports us to the professors in revenge."
They made their way to the vicinity of the Hufflepuff common room, and as they arrived, Cassandra covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
"What's got you?" Harry asked curiously.
"Oh, I just remembered someone trying to get into the Hufflepuff common room and ended up splashed with a bucket of vinegar," Cassandra said, glancing at Vivi, "I remember, those days, the dormitory smelled like vinegar, oh my god..."
Vivi turned away, avoiding looking at the still laughing Cassandra.
"Alright, let's get into the kitchen."
Harry said, heading to the kitchen door and tickling the pear on the painting.
The pear giggled charmingly—yes, a pear could laugh so charmingly, it was truly a rare sight for everyone.
As it laughed, the pear transformed into a doorknob.
"It seems really ticklish," Ron said, as if discovering a new continent, laughing.
The Hogwarts kitchen is located directly below the Great Hall, and in the kitchen, there were also four tables, appearing to be the same length and in corresponding positions to the tables of the four houses in the Great Hall above.
The House-Elves, dressed in bed sheets, were still busy at this hour in the kitchen, appearing to be curing sausages or doing something else.
On the right-hand side inside, a group of House-Elves was dividing meat, chopping it into fine mince, stuffing it into casings, and steaming it in pots.
Some elves were even hanging sausages on a nearby vent.
They could even see the storage area for various tea sets and cups in the kitchen; as everyone knows, English people are tea-obsessed, and these various tea sets were evidently prepared for everyone to have afternoon tea.
However...
In certain corners, the sanitation in Hogwarts' kitchen was indeed concerning; Harry even spotted a rat eating on a pile of food.
"Banban!"
Ron shouted, running over, but the rat swiftly scampered away.
"Oh my, it's ignoring me," Ron said somewhat dejectedly, "All those nights I spent cuddling it, really..."
Two House-Elves approached, looking up and asking, "Honorable young master and mistresses, is there anything you need from the kitchen?"
"We need something to eat, Didi," Cedric said, "After practicing dueling all night, we're a bit hungry."
"It's Master Digory," House-Elf Didi exclaimed, "Alright, please wait, Didi will be right back—"
"I think the Hogwarts kitchen really should be tidied up," Draco said disdainfully, pinching his nose and looking at the corner where Banban had just been, "What on earth is Dumbledore doing? Even allowing a rat to dine in the kitchen? Oh my, if my father knew, he'd definitely be very angry!"