Chapter 215: I Talk Philosophy, You Talk Magic
A faint chill, carried by the night wind, seeped through the door crack. But soon, as Dumbledore raised his wand, warmth once again permeated the Great Hall.
The gold and silver cutlery on the long tables had already been cleared. The various delicacies had vanished. In their place were small mountains of grey wool blankets. Numerous steaming copper kettles gurgled, emitting white mist.
The Gryffindor students huddled together in twos and threes. Hermione, having been somewhere unknown, sat opposite Dylan, her curly hair as dishevelled as an exploded ball of yarn. She simultaneously comforted a sobbing Lavender and nervously flipped through Theories of Magical Defense on her lap. Ron sat a few seats away from Hermione, with Harry between them. Both their expressions were grim as they sat on the blanket-covered benches.
"Creak—"
The heavy doors swung open. The little Slytherin snakes filed in, one after another. Next came the Hufflepuffs. Many of them wore thick yellow and black striped sweaters, some even cradling earthenware pots. Dylan guessed these probably contained little snacks they had made earlier. Last was the Ravenclaw contingent. Many carried pillows and books.
The Halloween decorations in the Great Hall hadn't yet been removed. Dumbledore stepped onto the main podium. All the pumpkin lanterns lit up in unison. Warm golden light illuminated old Dumbledore's silver beard.
"Children, I believe you all heard my message. Tonight, a malicious incident occurred, and the entire Hogwarts will undergo a rigorous patrol."
"The professors will search every corner of the castle. For your safety, this will be your residence for the night."
As soon as he finished speaking, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick simultaneously waved their wands. The Great Hall doors closed one after another, then were sealed by spells. The air currents they created as they closed, laden with cold, rushed into the Great Hall but were then dispelled by the warmth emanating from within. Finally, only one entrance remained ajar. Professor Snape cast a spell, wrapping silver chains around the doorframe.
"Prefects." Dumbledore turned to the older students standing in the front row. Percy immediately straightened his back. "Please guard all the entrances and exits of the Great Hall. Remember what I said about courage—I believe you will understand at a time like this, by holding firm to your duties."
Dumbledore's gaze shifted to the Head Boy's and Head Girl's positions. Percy's posture stiffened even further. "Head Boy and Head Girl, you are responsible for maintaining order here. Should there be any anomaly—"
The tip of his wand suddenly flared with a blue light the size of a flock of doves. The next moment, many ghosts passed through the walls of the Great Hall, gathering together. "There is no need to leave this place. Simply summon the nearest ghost to you, and let them deliver a message to me on your behalf."
Dumbledore finished speaking, then turned as if to leave. But he suddenly paused. He scanned the students huddled between the long tables.
"Almost forgot the most important thing." Dumbledore chuckled softly, drawing an elegant arc in the air with his wand. In an instant, a galaxy was torn open in the Great Hall's dome. Countless silver-blue specks of light poured down. The specks of light fell to the ground, instantly transforming into thick sleeping bags.
Gryffindor's were red. Slytherin's were green. Hufflepuff's were yellow. Ravenclaw's were blue.
These sleeping bags seemed to carry the scent of freshly dried hay. They were neatly arranged beside each long table.
"I hope these allow you to sleep a little more soundly." Dumbledore waved his wand again. The pumpkin lanterns overhead extinguished one after another. Only a few pumpkin lanterns detached from the ceiling, then floated along the four walls of the Great Hall. In the blink of an eye, the lighting in the Great Hall softened and dimmed.
"Remember, no matter what noises you hear, do not leave this place. Rest assured, the professors and I will not allow any danger to break through the Great Hall's defenses." Dumbledore cast a concerned glance around. Then, he turned and, with Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and others, walked toward the ajar door.
The professors' figures passed one by one through the narrow gap in the door. Finally, all professors left, and the heavy wooden doors slowly closed. The chain charm Professor Snape had previously cast made a crisp clicking sound. Clearly, the professors outside had completely sealed off the Great Hall from the outside world.
After the professors left, although everyone received a sleeping bag, no one actually wanted to sleep. The students felt both an adrenaline rush and some fear regarding the day's events.
"I heard it was Sirius Black who did it, that madman, he escaped from Azkaban and now he's snuck into Hogwarts, I wonder what he's planning!"
The Gryffindor students clearly had more to say about this incident. Students from the other Houses soon learned the general outline of events from Gryffindor.
Neville wrapped a wool blanket around himself, his expression showing a hint of unease. "Dylan, what do you think that Sirius Black wants?"
Dylan glanced at him helplessly. In just one night, he felt like Neville had asked him several times: What happened? What's going on? What do they want?
He slowly shook his head. "It's obvious he wants to evade the Ministry of Magic and Dementors."
"Uh..." Neville paused. "If he wants to hide, why does he have to hide in our school? And destroy our common room—and even hurt the Fat Lady! She's a very kind person!"
Dylan blinked. Kind? I suppose so. He shrugged. "You can never know when someone who wants to hurt you will arrive by your side."
Hearing this, Neville glanced at Dylan. "Is that so? But for someone who can predict the future, it shouldn't be that way, should it...?"
Dylan: "..."
I'm talking philosophy, and you're talking magic with me.
Alright, alright.
This school year, Voldemort probably wouldn't make a big appearance. As for Sirius Black, well, regarding him:
If he simply wanted to rescue him from the Ministry of Magic, there was no need. Because Hermione would do that.
But if he wanted to bring Sirius Black into his own world, that would mean, firstly, he couldn't easily let Sirius Black out. Secondly, he couldn't conduct various experiments on Sirius Black. What if he turned the man into an idiot? That dunderhead didn't deserve to be even dumber.
—In fact, he was already foolish enough.
Dylan didn't want to invite this guy into his world only to have to treat him like a lord. Or, if he merely had him do odd jobs in his world, Dylan didn't think that was necessary either.
So—
"Let whoever wants to deal with it deal with it. It's late; I need to sleep." Dylan yawned.
In fact, it was already late when the feast ended. He had originally planned to leisurely play with Coal and the others for a while before going to sleep. But now?
—He still had to go play with his pets for a while, and then sleep.
"Neville, I'm a bit tired. You go chat with Dean and Seamus for a bit."
Neville was taken aback. "Are you going to sleep? Okay, then you go to sleep." Although he really wanted Dylan to chat with him, he knew that when Dylan said he was going to sleep, he really meant it. Fortunately, there were many people in the Great Hall. So many people brought him some comfort. So he didn't force Dylan to stay awake.
—He wouldn't even dare to ask Dylan to do that. Who would stop someone from sleeping?
Dylan sent Neville away. —The guy, wrapped in a fleece blanket, burrowed over to Seamus. A group of them continued chattering noisily.
Dylan rubbed his aching temples. —These little brats gathered together were really quite loud.
Dylan pulled out his wand and twirled it slightly. "Triple Fluffy Charm!"
—It was actually a variation of the Transfiguration Charm.
The moment the magic took effect, the red sleeping bag that old Dumbledore had given him was instantly covered in magic, then gradually expanded into a large, fluffy sleeping bag. It looked distinctly warmer and more comfortable. However, the entire sleeping bag was a bright, glaring red, which was quite an eyesore.
Dylan clicked his tongue. "Old Dumbledore really has no sense of aesthetics."
But, it was just a sleeping bag. Close your eyes, and you couldn't see any color anyway.
Before getting in, Dylan cast a Silencing Charm on his sleeping bag. Then he pulled the sleeping bag closed from the inside.
Next, he thought of pulling out his suitcase. But then he realized that although the sleeping bag was warm enough and not cramped, it still probably couldn't accommodate a suitcase. Dylan blinked.
"Hmm, never mind then, I won't go play with Coal and the others. I'll just go to bed early tonight."
Old Dumbledore and the others couldn't possibly find Sirius Black today. —At least not openly. As for whether old Dumbledore would find Sirius Black privately, or even help him evade the Ministry's pursuit, that had even less to do with Dylan.
"Before Black dies, perhaps I can collect him into my world. By then, he'll already be dead to others anyway, so he might as well help me with chores in my space."
And if Professor Snape was in a bad mood one day and wanted to vent his anger, Dylan could just pull out Black and directly divert Professor Snape's hatred. That would be a good thing too.
"Otherwise, I'll give Black to Professor Snape as a birthday present one year."
—Every year, deciding what gifts to give the professors was a troublesome chore.
Dylan didn't enter his pet space; instead, he tossed plenty of snacks to Coal and the others. Then he fell into a deep sleep.
Outside.
Seamus, along with Dean, was enthusiastically explaining what they had encountered at the Gryffindor common room door earlier, to several other Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff classmates. They saw Neville approaching and invited him to join the conversation. But when they turned back, they saw Dylan, already tucked into his sleeping bag, seemingly asleep. Instantly, their voices involuntarily dropped.
"Hmm?"
Beside them, several Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students paused, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Neville whispered to Seamus and Dean, "Don't worry, Dylan used a Silencing Charm on his sleeping bag."
Dean, hearing this, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But then he blinked, looking at Neville. "Then why are you still whispering?"
"Uh..." Neville blinked again, then scratched his head.
The few of them turned, looking at the students from the other Houses, and smiled apologetically. "Nothing, let's continue!"
Just then, Luna rose from the Ravenclaw table and slowly walked over to Neville's group. Seeing Luna approach, Hermione, who had been chatting with Harry and the others about something, suddenly looked up.
Luna came to Neville's side. "Have you seen Dylan?"
Neville's eyelashes fluttered rapidly. This was... He opened his mouth. "Dylan..." Before he could finish speaking, Hermione suddenly stood up, leaving a bewildered Harry and a rolling-eyed Ron, and walked over.
"What do you want him for?"
Luna turned, looked at Hermione, tilting her head slightly, her long hair falling. "Is there something you want?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What? I'm asking you what you want!"
Neville looked at the two women, who seemed inexplicably at odds. Though he didn't know what was happening, he quickly stood up, trying to mediate.
"Don't argue, Dylan is already asleep. Is there something you need him for?"
Hermione said, "Whatever it is, he never likes to be disturbed when he's sleeping, so you should look for him tomorrow."
Luna didn't directly address Hermione; instead, she turned to Neville. He pursed his lips and nodded. Seeing that he confirmed it, Luna nodded gently.
—She trusted this little chubby boy who was always by Dylan's side. And she never felt any hostility from Neville, not even a trace. So, besides Dylan, she would occasionally exchange a few words with Neville.
—When they met, or rather, when Dylan and Luna made plans to do something, Neville was often with Dylan. Over time, Luna naturally got to know Neville.
Dylan slept through the entire night. When he woke up the next day, he unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled out, then stretched.
At this time, the light emitted by the pumpkin lanterns on the walls was already very faint. —The morning sunlight was enough to completely overshadow them. However, for these enchanted pumpkin lanterns to glow all night long was enough to show how profound the skill of the person who cast the magic was.
Dylan flexed his arms, simply moving his limbs. "I could have been lying in my big bed with my pets, but now I'm stuck in this sleeping bag." Dylan narrowed his eyes.
Although he didn't plan to immediately capture Sirius Black and bring him into his world to be a laborer, when that day came, he would make Sirius Black personally re-experience their old school motto:
Don't wander around Hogwarts during curfew!
....
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