Chapter 51 - Fifty-One: Hermione Is Actually a Pretty Good Person

Chapter 51: Chapter Fifty-One: Hermione Is Actually a Pretty Good Person

Chapter Fifty-One: Hermione Is Actually a Pretty Good Person

Harry and Ron immediately shouted back, "If you don’t call us girls, we won’t call you a girl either! The two of us can beat you to a pulp!"

Their response made Malfoy thoroughly pleased.

He nodded in satisfaction and left with Goyle and Crabbe.

Harry then asked, "What’s a wizarding duel? And what do you mean by being my second?"

He looked at Ron.

Ron answered casually, "Being your second means that if you die, I’ll be next!"

But when he saw the horrified look on Vesey’s face, he quickly added, "That’s just what it means in theory. We’re all students. At most, Harry and Malfoy can shoot sparks at each other with their wands!"

Vesey still looked worried.

"No. Why don’t I come with you tonight? I’ll just stand beside you and won’t cause any trouble. If something happens to you, I’ll take you to the hospital wing, all right?"

She spoke nervously, her face pale.

Harry and Ron hesitated.

The two of them had promised Malfoy that they wouldn’t bring Vesey along.

They couldn’t help imagining Malfoy laughing at them for breaking their word if he saw Vesey there.

"Why don’t you stay here, Vesey..."

Harry began hesitantly.

But before he could finish, someone appeared in front of them.

"Sorry, I just happened to overhear your conversation..."

Harry and Ron’s expressions immediately turned unpleasant.

"If you’re sorry, then why don’t you leave?"

Hermione raised her chin proudly.

"I don’t want to bother with you, but I still have to say this: you’re not allowed to sneak out in the middle of the night. I don’t want all the House points I’ve worked so hard to earn lately to be deducted because of you two!"

It had been difficult for Hermione to earn extra points recently because Vesey was always far better than her.

The professors constantly called on Vesey to answer questions, no matter how high Hermione raised her hand.

Every time Hermione saw Slytherin earning so many more points than Gryffindor, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

She couldn’t compete with Vesey.

And now even her House couldn’t compete with Vesey’s.

But Harry and Ron didn’t care.

The two of them had no intention of talking to Hermione at all. They grabbed Vesey and ran.

---

Midnight.

Vesey climbed out of bed, reluctantly tidied herself up, and slipped out of the Slytherin common room.

Although Harry and the others had said they wouldn’t let her come, as a simple and kind-hearted girl, how could she possibly sit in her dormitory while her brother went off to duel someone?

She could only comfort herself with the thought that she was going to see the three-headed dog, Fluffy, out of curiosity.

The fact that she couldn’t stop yawning, however, made her curse Dumbledore hundreds of times in her mind.

It’s all his fault.

It’s all because of that ridiculous test.

She complained inwardly as she walked through the darkness toward the trophy room.

She should have arrived at about the right time.

But the moment she reached the area, she heard Filch’s voice.

"Come on, girl. Sniff them out and see where they are!"

Vesey immediately tried to hide, but a cat appeared in front of her.

It was Mrs. Norris.

Her white fur and adorable round eyes successfully stopped Vesey in her tracks.

She pulled out her wand.

"Silencio."

She whispered the spell.

A flash of light struck Mrs. Norris.

Mrs. Norris startled and opened her mouth as if she were about to scream.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t make a sound now.

Vesey scooped her into her arms.

"Let me cuddle you for a little while, and I’ll let you go right away!"

Vesey expertly held Mrs. Norris in place.

After a while, the cat, who had been struggling stubbornly at first, had practically gone limp in her arms.

She rubbed herself weakly against Vesey’s arm, her paws resting limply against Vesey’s chest.

Just as Vesey was enjoying herself, someone suddenly let out a frightened scream.

Something seemed to trip and fall, followed by hurried footsteps fleeing from the trophy room.

Vesey immediately rushed over, still carrying Mrs. Norris.

Oh, right!

I was having so much fun with the cat that I completely forgot Harry and the others were here.

But there shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, Harry and the others hadn’t actually fought anyone. Dumbledore couldn’t possibly blame her for that, right?

And hadn’t she hurried over to follow them anyway?

Vesey complained inwardly as she ran after Harry.

She had no idea how long she followed them before they finally reached a corridor.

They were already quite far from the trophy room.

"You shouldn’t have followed us here, right?" Harry gasped for breath.

"Fortunately, Vesey didn’t come with us. Otherwise..."

He suddenly stopped.

He stared dumbfounded at Vesey, who was standing there holding a cat and gently stroking it.

"Didn’t I tell you not to come?"

Harry walked over to Vesey worriedly.

He looked her up and down.

Seeing that Vesey seemed completely fine and still had enough energy to play with the cat, he finally relaxed.

"This cat..."

He suddenly froze.

"Mrs. Norris!"

He nearly jumped in fright.

"Vesey, throw her away and run!" Harry exclaimed.

He reached out to snatch Mrs. Norris away and throw her aside.

But Vesey stopped him.

She said with a laugh, "Don’t be afraid. Mrs. Norris isn’t going to complain, is she?"

She looked down at Mrs. Norris.

Mrs. Norris stuck out her tongue and lay limply in Vesey’s arms, looking as though she had melted into a puddle.

She certainly didn’t look like she had any intention of complaining.

"Well... I forgot. You did the same thing to Fang last time."

Harry scratched his head.

He remembered the last time they had returned to the castle from Hagrid’s hut, when Fang had nearly been squeezed to death in Vesey’s arms.

Fortunately, Hagrid had eventually carried Fang back.

"Well, I forgot you’re popular with animals."

Harry smiled and reached out to stroke Mrs. Norris’s head.

Mrs. Norris immediately slapped his hand away in disgust.

"Fortunately, we’re all fine..."

Harry was about to say something when Hermione interrupted him.

Apparently, she had only just caught up with what was happening.

"Fine? I told you a long time ago! I told you Malfoy was lying to you. He just wanted you to get caught, and you actually fell for it!"

Vesey watched Hermione angrily scolding them.

She deliberately tilted her head and smiled.

"Hermione is actually pretty nice. She came along on this adventure with you two so late at night."

Then she looked toward Neville.

"By the way, Neville, you were really brave tonight!"