Chapter 228 - 228
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It was a beautiful and, as many would say, un-Gryffindor-like evening the week before the second round, February seventeenth to be exact. Since classes were over, everyone had changed into their casual clothes, and Hermione and I were no exception. Under the light of the homemade magic floor lamp, I was once again resting from a hard day, resting my head on Hermione's lap. In my hands, I held an unfolded sheet of thick A3 paper, and the girl, with the help of her wand and charms, manifested her calculated magical schemes on it. In the common room itself, there were only a few magic lanterns and a fireplace. In this light and easy atmosphere here and there, seniors were talking not very loudly, discussing something, playing, or showing all sorts of funny spells to the juniors.
"How about this?" Hermione drew out a slightly corrected diagram on a piece of paper to put on the sphere. Working on the magic accumulator. For the umpteenth time.
"Okay, let's see..." pondering, I mentally calculated the diagram. Gradually I am adapting to the possibilities of this new entity in my head even without Rowena's help. Not as effectively, but on my own, yes.
A rather loud and abrupt noise erupted from the men's wing, and some of the students rolled their eyes toward the ceiling in agony.
"Tsk, he's not going to calm down. Maybe you can tell him, Max?"
"He hasn't told me anything about dragons."
"Let's look at it this way. Harry's been walking around for half a month, and at every corner, at every opportunity, he opens the egg and listens. Listens until he's deaf. He simply disturbs everyone, including us. The evening is the only quiet and peaceful time."
"He could have learned the charms of silencing."
"The twins were showing him. He couldn't learn them. It's probably because he's too preoccupied with the tournament. Max, please help him."
The sound from the men's wing faded - someone threw silencing charms on the door. A few seconds later, however, they flew off. It seems that the egg is not so simple.
"Max, this will never end. It is impossible to endure already ... "
After pondering for a while, I came to a decision - I'll help. It's really annoying, and Dumbledore might offer something good for helping and looking after. Even just a favor - with his influence and connections, it's a very useful thing. Although I don't think that that rusty old man will go into debt so easily. Surely he's already prepared some sort of reward for helping Potter.
"Good. He'll close it now. In three, two, one..."
The noise died down, which was no surprise. Potter always holds on for about the same amount of time, and it's not easy to endure this cacophony of sounds. The funny thing is that even though the sound was heavily muffled, as soon as it subsided, there was a slightly ringing silence in my head. It reminds me of those times when you're in an apartment building, everything is noisy and buzzing, but you're used to it. And in one fine moment, the electricity is suddenly turned off, and the devices are turned off in the whole house and the neighborhood. There is an incredible silence, a humming silence. It's about the same feeling right now.
I took out my wand and put the tip to my throat, and conjured up Sonorus.
"Potter! Go into the common room!"
It was quite loud, and some of the students jumped up and down in surprise.
"Max, Merlin's beard!" shouted the twins, jumping up from their seats.
"I almost..." one of them spoke but suddenly began to swell. "Holy..."
"I didn't do it on purpose, Gread!" cried the other, also beginning to swell.
"Neither did I, Forge!"
Both twins swelled up and soared toward the ceiling, bouncing off of it.
"It's all Max!" they shouted simultaneously.
Needless to say, such a performance did not go unnoticed, and the students greeted such a thing with laughter. Then their friend and our prefect for this year, Lee Jordan, jumped up.
"Let's use banishing charms on them!"
"And you call yourself a friend?" the brothers said in a changed voice, bouncing off the ceiling. As if they had swallowed helium.
"You bet!" Lee Jordan waved his wand, pointing it at one of the twins. "Flipendo!"
A simple and almost invisible ray hit exactly the twin, and he flew like a ball across the common room, bouncing off various objects. Three ricochets, and he slowed down.
"Oh, this is fun!" he shouted. "But we'll get back at you anyway!" another spell sent a laughing twin flying.
"And I! And me!" twitched the other twin, and on his swollen face, a smile looked insidious and frightening. Immediately, he received as many as a few rays, going into flight.
That was the picture Harry and Ron caught as they came out of the men's wing. As usual, in slightly strange, disheveled, and shabby clothes. Seeing the chaos in the form of two bloated and cheerful twins flying around the common room with great speed and like balls bouncing off all surfaces, the guys were even more shocked.
"Harry, come here," I waved my hand with a smile, reluctantly taking a sitting position.
Potter and Weasley reluctantly approached.
"What do you want," Ron rudely cut in, and I ignored him.
"I see you haven't solved the clue yet."
"As you can see," Potter said with a wry smile.
"Dive under the water with it and open."
Ron nudged his friend in the side with his elbow.
"Don't listen to him, mate. He's probably up to some kind of dirty trick. The egg is gonna break or something..."
"That's up to you," I shrugged. "It's just that everybody's sick of you opening the egg all the time. For three hours a day, there is a noise."
"I'm telling you for sure," Ron continued. "He wants to break it. With your own hands."
"I'll keep that in mind," Potter nodded indifferently and led his friend to one of the vacant tables.
"Hmm, I am speechless. And this is after you helped them more than once."
"Oh, to hell with him," I sighed, returning to my starting position, resting my head comfortably on Hermione's lap.