Chapter 186: I Ship It for Real!
As if possessed by the god of bad luck, Malfoy brought a sliver of precious amusement to everyone's dull school life. At the same time, he made everyone a bit afraid, and most students kept well away from Malfoy and the others, for fear that the bad luck clinging to them would latch on.
Thus, a curious scene appeared in Hogwarts Castle. Whether in the corridors or in classrooms, whenever Malfoy and his lot were present, a huge empty space would open up around them. It was the same even during lessons. Students would rather stand than take the empty seats beside Malfoy and his two companions. Only when Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape, faces dark, barked out orders would those students go over, most unwillingly, and sit down.
In the afternoon, the bell rang to end the day's classes. Duncan stretched, joking with Neville as they walked out of the classroom, when an excited voice immediately reached his ears.
"Neville, you're finally out. We've been waiting for you for ages!" Fred and George, beaming, pounced over.
Neville raised his hand to greet them, but before he could get a word out, the twins hooked an arm under each of his and hauled him off.
"Don't waste time, my dear Neville. We can't do without you right now. Quick—come with us!"
"Hold on, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten yet!" Neville craned his neck and shouted as he struggled.
"Don't worry, I've got you covered. Just follow us—no way we'll let you go hungry!" Fred shot back quickly.
Watching this, Hannah planted her hands on her hips and yelled, huffing, "Fred, George—don't you dare bully Neville!"
"Relax, Hannah!" George turned his head with a grin. "We'll return your Neville safe and sound!"
Neville also twisted back to say, "It's fine, Hannah. I'm good friends with them. They won't bully me."
"Don't trust them too much!" Hannah replied. "They're notorious pranksters—watch out they don't play you!"
"Got it..." Neville, dragged by Fred and George, merged into the crowd and vanished, his voice gradually drowned by the surrounding din.
"Those two!" Hannah swung a fist in frustration, then looked at Duncan and asked, "Do you know what they're grabbing Neville for?"
"Of course. Fred and George want to open a joke shop, and Neville is their first hire."
Duncan nodded, smiling as he answered, while, in his heart, he roared at Hannah's reaction: "Shipping it—shipping it, I ship it for real!"
"So that's how it is. As long as they don't bully Neville." Hannah raised her brows, satisfied, and stopped dwelling on it.
"It's fine, Hannah. If they dare bully Neville, then we'll help him get even and show those two what we can do!" Ellie said, face wreathed in smiles, lifting and waving her little fist.
"Exactly. You cheer for me, and I'll charge!" Hannah laughed, linked arms with Ellie, and walked slowly towards the Great Hall with Duncan.
After dinner, Hannah and Ellie hurried to the library to finish their History of Magic homework, while Duncan strolled back to the dormitory alone. For assignments like History of Magic, which didn't require thinking and only needed copying and pasting the original text from books, he generally wouldn't waste time doing them. Though Hannah and Ellie said every time that it was the last time, that they absolutely wouldn't let them copy the homework again next time—at their pleading, the two would every time keep saying it was the last time, then place the homework in front of them.
Back at the dormitory, he locked the door, took the suitcase out of the cupboard, set it on the floor and opened it, then leaped in. After a brief darkness, Duncan lowered his head, and the work-shed scene appeared before his eyes.
There were no signs of the fairies' activity. They hadn't been making mischief in the work shed as he'd expected. Pro the Niffler had somehow fished out the specially treated spiderweb they'd used as a trampoline last time in the town. It tied the web's two ends to the legs of two long tables, spreading it out into a broad, comfortable hammock. Pro lay on it in bliss, eyes gently closed, swaying with the hammock and enjoying the evening.
Duncan came down the stairs, slipped quietly to Pro's side, and suddenly said, "Why are you the only one here? Where are your friends?"
Pro's eyes instantly bulged like brass bells. Frightened into a violent shiver, it made the hammock thrash beneath it. After a moment, Pro used its paws to smooth its wildly pounding heart, gave Duncan a resentful look, and said, "Carry on like that and you'll scare a Niffler to death!"
"Sorry." Duncan smiled with no remorse. "Where are Nofi and the others? Have they abandoned you?"
"Of course not!" Pro replied. "They helped me set up the bed and then went back to the forest. Looks like they're going to build houses of their own."
"Oh? Then I'll go take a look at their handiwork later!" Duncan said with interest, striding towards the outside of the work shed.
Pro nimbly hopped off the swaying hammock and asked, "Where are you going?"
"To practice spells. Want to come?" Duncan stopped and looked back.
"Going to look at that terrifying magic book again?" Pro lounged back onto the bed and closed its eyes. "Then I'm not going. I'm this well-behaved and cute—hardly suited to contact with that sort of evil thing."
"You're plainly just scared!"
Duncan gave Pro the finger, left the work shed, and followed a path into a secluded forest. Duncan stood in the middle of a clearing, with towering trees all around, their dense crowns crowding together to form a natural screen.
"Today I should be able to pull it off..."
Duncan took out the magic book taken from the Restricted Section; he'd been studying its contents these past few days. Most of it was wicked Dark magic. Compared with what was in there, spells like ripping out hearts, drawing out guts, or lopping off heads were minor matters.
Even so, there were also some prankish spells full of nasty humor, the descriptions of which made one go dark in the face just reading them. For example, there was a spell that could rapidly accelerate a human body's consumption, causing a person to grow old in an extremely short time, until death. All very normal—but the process of this spell's effect was rather bizarre. It would bend the wizard it struck, making his mouth and rear line up tightly together, achieving a true internal loop. One couldn't help but doubt the inventor's mental state at the time!
Thinking of that image, Duncan shook his head in distaste, then deftly raised his arm, gripped the wooden spike, and rammed it down hard. The skull that had just surged out roaring had its throat instantly jammed. It coughed a few times, then, wearing a resentful look, shrank back again.
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