[HP]Aluet

A flock of owls flew across the auditorium, throwing letters over the heads of the students.

A small parcel with a letter was thrown in front of me.

Who will mail me?I flipped through the package suspiciously, and Riddle also cast a surprised look.

I opened the envelope, and it was covered with slightly messy handwriting. It was nothing more than asking me how I was at school, what happened recently, and if I needed anything.I also received some daily necessities like ink and some candies and chocolates.

Sender, Kande.

I looked at the letter and couldn't help showing a trace of warmth on my face.This is the first time I have experienced this kind of concern, even if it is not my own relatives.However, it was really touching.

"Your letter?" Riddle asked casually.

"Yes. An old friend of my father's," I said.

One day, when I was going downstairs from the library, I saw a few people lift off a tapestry on the wall and go in.

After staying here for a year and a half, I now know that there is a shortcut to go directly down to the second floor, but I have been taking the ordinary stairs for so long.

"What?" Riddle came out of the library, I hadn't seen him just now.

"It turns out there is a staircase here." I lifted the tapestry and looked down.

"Should you know?" He glanced at me and walked downstairs first.

In the middle of walking, he suddenly crossed a step, stepped directly to the next step, and then went down to the second floor platform.I stopped abruptly on the first floor above the steps.

He turned around and looked at me with a flat face: "What are you doing in a daze?"

"Why did you skip a level?" I asked.

He seemed a little speechless, and he replied after two seconds: "Isn't it obvious?"

I cautiously stretched out a foot and stepped on the step.

"You still have to try it?" He didn't seem to understand my behavior at all, and the way he looked at me was almost like saying "you are sick".

I shrugged, skipped the level and went down. "Just curious."

"Don't forget to jump over that step, if you really go up, you will step on the air." He reminded casually, which is enough patience in my opinion.

In a few days, the Quidditch team began to recruit new players. Many students in the second grade had been looking forward to this for a long time and signed up one after another.

Hagrid said regretfully that he wouldn't be going to tryouts, because he didn't take flying lessons very badly, and he had to wait to watch the competition to get his eyes full.

I don't think this is a bad thing, maybe it's because I'm not very interested. After all, you have to practice frequently after joining the Quidditch team. I often see them outside when it rains, and they often come back when it's almost dark. , with mud all over the body and shoes.

Not long after Halloween, game day arrives.

"Why are you suddenly interested in watching the Quidditch match?" Malfoy just came out of the Slytherin locker room, looking at Riddle with interest.

"Didn't I not come last time?" Riddle patted him on the shoulder, "Come on."

Malfoy glanced at him suspiciously, and changed the subject: "The stupid lions of Gryffindor will lose this time, and we have figured out their tactics."

I found a seat in the stands and sat down, waiting for a long time before the game started.

The players from both sides shuttled quickly across the field, which dazzled me.Gryffindor was soon at a disadvantage and was beaten by the Slytherin team. This time it seemed that the chances of winning were much greater than the last time, no wonder Malfoy was so confident.They train very hard on weekdays, and they don't know where the perseverance comes from.Since the last time they lost to Gryffindor, they started to practice crazily, and the Quidditch team members could be seen running straight to the pitch almost after class.

Slytherin's cheers didn't stop. According to this trend, it should be a sure win.

Seekers from both sides spotted the Snitch at the same time, and the two broomsticks were almost flying side by side.

Minerva made a sharp turn at the edge of the field. The Slytherin Seeker behind her was probably blocked from her view and had no time to react. She hit the wall and fell.

Minerva catches the Snitch.There was a groan all around me.Gryffindor turned defeat into victory.

After the results of the match were announced, people were bustling towards the castle, and there were sounds of arguing next to the Slytherin dressing room.

"It's like this every time, no one can stop Mag?"

"Everyone has worked hard."

"You're too embarrassed to talk, how many times have you made mistakes? Let me count them for you?" Malfoy's face became more gloomy, and the team member lowered his head, not daring to speak out.

"Don't be so excited, Malfoy." I saw Riddle walking over in the crowd, "I have something to ask you."

Malfoy gave the player a hard look, and left with Riddle, lost in the crowd.I turned around and followed the crowd into the castle.

"What's this?" I took a heavy glass vial from Hagrid, who was on the way.

"Hush—" He moved closer, lowering his voice, "Fire Whiskey."

"Where did you get it?"

"A senior in the sixth grade brought it back. He is very nice. Let me tell you, he once..." Hagrid started talking again. I looked at the wine bottle curiously, and when he finished speaking, he finally said Returning to the original question, "You don't know, logically students are not allowed to buy this, but many seniors have tried it, and the owner of the Pig's Head Bar doesn't care so much, he will sell you for the money..."

"At every Christmas banquet, the senior students gather together and hoard a lot of Flame Whiskey to drink, looking at it... It's almost a holiday and the professor doesn't care about it. It's fun. I don't know if you Slytherin have any What habit, anyway, Gryffindor likes to have a small party in the lounge at night." Hagrid said enthusiastically, "They are all afraid of McGonagall, but she also turns a blind eye. , that person, although she is usually serious like a professor, she actually likes to play with us... I think she is quite suitable to be a professor in the future... By the way, what do you want to do after graduation? Applying to be a professor? - oh, I think Aurors are pretty cool, and I've learned a lot lately..."

Hagrid transitioned from one topic to another very naturally, and after chatting for nearly an hour, he finally stopped talking: "Hey, it's getting late, it's time for dinner, I'll go back to the lounge first, bye, Ai Slee!"

I sat on a bench in the backyard and waved to him.

"Let's talk about it next time!" He excitedly disappeared around the corner.

I smiled helplessly, shaking the flame whiskey in my hand.Hagrid couldn’t stop talking every time, and sometimes I wondered where he got so much to talk about, but I don’t dislike people who talk too much. Hearing him talk so much in one breath, I still don’t like it. I find it quite interesting.

Time flies, I just remembered when he mentioned it, it's almost Christmas again.

After dinner, I went back to the lounge to do today's homework, but I couldn't find my book when I opened my schoolbag.I thought about it carefully, the last class was the transformation class, I probably fell into the transformation class classroom.

I came to the door of the classroom and found that the door was locked—this is normal, after all, the students of the four colleges are basically in their respective lounges at this time, and the professor will not stay in the classroom.

"Alahuo hole is open!" The lock was unlocked, and I carefully opened the door a crack, and I was shocked to see four people inside looking at the door together, "Sorry to bother you."

"How did you come?"

That voice...was Hagrid?I was too embarrassed to look carefully just now, only to realize that it was four Gryffindor students, and one of them was Hagrid.The moment the door was just opened, they seemed to be discussing something happily.

"Hi." I walked over to a table near them and took the Ben I left there. "I got something. Going bye."

I pursed my lips and waved at him.

"Do you have anything else to do? If you have nothing to do, just chat together. Where did we just talk?" Hagrid said excitedly.

"It's okay..." But I'm really uncomfortable sharing a room with a Slytherin and four Gryffindors.Fortunately, Hagrid said, the other three are still staring at me, "I'd better go, you go on."

"Are you Hagrid's friend?" One of the red-haired boys suddenly spoke, but there was no hostility in his tone, and there was a very cheerful feeling.

"Well, yes, her name is Ashley." Hagrid answered, leaned closer and whispered, "He's the very nice sixth grader I told you about before."

"Sit there for a while, it's unlikely that anyone will come at this time anyway-if no one leaves anything." He said, "My name is Septimus Weasley." I held out my hand, hesitated for a moment, and shook him friendly.

"Caroline."

"Ellen."

The other two Gryffindors also extended their hands and shook hands with me in a symbolic and polite manner. Although they were not as natural as Weasley, they were not too repulsive.This made me relax a little bit.

"...During Defense Against the Dark Arts class today, a bee flew in... Melles waved his magic wand and turned it into a mouse. You don't know how funny that scene is. It fell from the top of Diana's head at that time, turning it into a mouse. She cried in fright..."

I heard them tell a lot of interesting things. After a while, Weasley suddenly pointed to the door behind Hagrid: "Hagrid, go and see if anyone is outside? I seem to hear something."

Hagrid got up and walked to the door, opened it and looked out.Caroline and Allen smiled at each other, then took something out of the table.

"You know? It's Hagrid's birthday today, I guess he probably forgot, we were going to surprise him, but you just came in—" He shrugged and said to me in a low voice.

"Don't worry, no one's coming." Hagrid sat back in his seat.

"Hagrid, have you forgotten something?" Alan narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"Huh?" Hagrid looked at him suspiciously.

"Happy Birthday!" Silent multicolored miniature fireworks exploded over the classroom, dropping a bunch of weird bauble and a hat that just happened to land on Hagrid's head, and we laughed again.

Hagrid wiped his eyes, staring at the cake in front of him.

"I'll just say... I haven't heard you say that the lounge is noisy..."

December sixth, Hagrid's birthday.I silently wrote it down.

I even forgot my own birthday last year.When she was in the orphanage, Mrs. Cole would specially record the birthdays of each child, and there would be a piece of cake to eat on whose birthday it was.

Speaking of which...Christmas is approaching, and it seems that Riddle's birthday is also approaching.

I tried to think back.If I remember correctly, it should be the last day of December.

He seemed as uninterested in birthdays as I was.But after what happened today, I suddenly felt that some sense of ceremony was quite good.Hagrid was really lucky to have such good friends.

Christmas came in a snowy sky.

I stayed quietly in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas banquet for a while, left the auditorium to wander aimlessly, and rested by the Black Lake for a while.

This season, the giant squid and fish in the Black Lake are sealed under the thick ice.

I poked the surface of the lake with my fingers, and carefully stepped on it to move towards the center of the lake.Finally, I stood in the middle of the lake, with the big round eyes of the giant squid staring at me.

"Would you like some Firewhiskey, my friend?" I joked with him, in a self-indulgent way.I knelt on the ice, and with my wand I made a fist-sized hole in front of me, but it didn't go through the ice.

Of course, it's impossible for anyone to pour Firewhiskey into the water for a giant squid to drink, but it's fun to be stuck in the ice for a while.

Speaking of which, this is the second time I have come into contact with wine. The first time was the butter beer on the trip to Hogsmeade.

Flame whiskey has a completely different feeling. Just after taking a sip, it is hot from the throat to the internal organs, accompanied by a strong smoky taste, with a faint floral and nutty aroma, as well as honey-impregnated malt aroma and a little fruit. sweetness.No wonder people who have never drank it want to try it so much. The words from the seniors are really not exaggerated.

After I drank more than half of it in one breath, my cheeks started to feel hot, and my head was a little groggy.I didn't quite dare to continue drinking, but I don't think my drinking capacity is so bad.I stood up, and slowly drank the last of the remaining ones in small sips.

Just in case, I decided to go back and go back to the dormitory to go to bed early-I didn't want to fall into the lake and stare at the giant squid because I drank a bottle of Fire Whiskey.

But...the ice on the lake is so solid, how could I fall in it?Even if the ice collapses, I can still fly away, so no matter how you say it, I have nothing to do with the cute giant squid... Speaking of which, I let it watch me drink a bottle of flame whiskey, will it wait for me to go back to the dormitory and knock it? my window...

Thinking so wildly, I have already walked to the door of the lounge.

Why is it so deserted in the living room?

I glanced blankly at my watch.The party isn't over yet.

Isn't there anyone who doesn't want to go to that banquet?It's noisy, it's very disharmonious for me to sit quietly by myself, if I have a friend who can talk to me, I guess I'd be more willing to stay there until the end.Hagrid was able to talk, and Weasley was also very friendly last time, but it was Gryffindor after all, and they were too far away.Even if they were close, with the tense relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin, they probably wouldn't be able to say a few words comfortably.

Or it would be great if there is a roommate who can chat well. Usually, the air in the same space with Boster is deadly silent, and there is even a little bit of embarrassment. Fortunately, the time we are in the same space is very short, except Go to bed at night, and I will not go back to the dormitory during the day.

"Huh?" I saw a faint figure sitting on the sofa near the fireplace.I thought that my mind was getting more and more unconscious, and I had to get closer to recognize someone, "Are you still there?"

Riddle glanced at me, and after answering, he continued to lower his head and turned another page of the book.

I sat to his right and glanced at his book curiously, but didn't see anything clearly.He ignored me, and I just sat by and stared at the ceiling boredly, feeling that the textures on it were spinning and pressing down.

"Why are you sitting so close to the fireplace, aren't you hot?" I asked.

"Why is it hot?"

"Because the fire is hot."

"It's December now." He turned his head to look at me indifferently, "Don't you have a fever?"

"It's possible." I touched my forehead with one hand seriously, but I couldn't feel the heat, "It's not hot."

The moment my other hand touched his forehead, he shrank back and frowned slightly.

"Don't move..." I put my hand on it, planning to compare it.He put down the book, took my hand off, and turned his face away.

"Why is your hand so cold?" I turned and held his hand gently. He trembled as if he wanted to pull it out, but he didn't move in the end.

"It's your hands that are too hot." There was no emotion in his voice.

My other hand went over him and found his left hand, but this time I moved my hand away as soon as my fingertips touched him, looking at my face close at hand, my brows tightened a bit: "What's wrong with you? "

I didn't speak, just stared at his dark gray star-like eyes, and blinked for a long time.

"You really have a fever, Ashley." He avoided my sight and turned his head.

I don't know what I'm doing either.

I gently turned his face to my side, like a dragonfly on the water, and left the moment I felt the warm touch, and was in a daze for a while.

Riddle's body became stiff almost instantly, and he didn't move at all, probably because he didn't have time to show any expression at all—except for the astonishment and shock in his eyes.

I didn't notice it in the slightest.

In a trance, I felt more and more dizzy in my head. I let go of his hand and stood up slowly, feeling light and light.

"I'm sleepy, good night, Riddle."

He did not respond.

I stretched a little, went back to the bedroom, touched the bed and fell asleep.

This sleep until almost noon.

I opened my eyes and turned around to see that Burst had already gone home.I sat up, my head suddenly began to ache, my brain was like a mess of paste, and my feet felt a little weak.

Could it be that I slept too much after drinking yesterday...