days at Hogwarts

Chapter 540 Paper Tiger
At the foot of Ben Nevis, the Swill Tavern.

For dinner, we had stewed beef brisket with potatoes. The stewed meat that had been left for the afternoon was boiled again with water. The potatoes were almost melted in the soup, becoming crunchy and tender, and the beef brisket was even softer and more flavorful.

Hermione went upstairs to wash up early. Loren, thinking himself to be a gentleman, stayed downstairs with a serious face, telling Alice some interesting stories about the magic school and asking old Dodd for more information about giants.

They chatted until the moon was high in the sky. Alice returned home still unsatisfied. Old Dodd, who was a little tipsy, yawned:
"Just think of the giants as smarter monsters. They don't know magic and don't have sharp weapons. Although they are big, it won't be difficult to deal with them with your magical strength as long as you don't get caught in a siege."

"Thank you again, Mr. Dodd."

"..."

Loren completed the task of getting information brilliantly and was very satisfied with his performance. He couldn't help but look up at the location of the guest rooms upstairs. Affected by some strange mood, he opened his mouth to continue chatting, but he couldn't sit still.

"You should get some rest early. I'll take you up the mountain tomorrow morning."

"Excuse me, Mr. Dodd."

"It's not a problem. I'll just drop you off at the foot of the mountain, show you the way, and then I'll be back."

"Hahaha... Have a sweet dream, Mr. Dodd."

"I wish you a good dream."

"..."

After saying goodbye to the tavern owner, I went upstairs and walked directly into the room I had booked during the day.

The pub was connected to the electricity grid, and the room was filled with warm, slightly yellowish light. There was also a small lamp at the head of the bed, which was bright, cool white.

Hermione leaned against the cushion at the head of the bed, holding a map in her hand, and lowered her head to carefully survey the terrain. Perhaps it was the sharp sound of the door opening that frightened her white earlobe, which trembled slightly and then quickly turned red.

Without even looking up, she pretended to be calm: "Do you want to take a shower? There are only showers in the pub, no bathtubs."

"I'm not washing today." Loren said with a smile on his face, "It's only August, it's still summer, why are you wearing thick winter pajamas?"

"The temperature in the mountains is low, so you can prevent colds."

"Like this..."

"It's troublesome to get sick here. If we have to spend the night in the mountains in the next few days, we need to prepare sleeping bags at night." Hermione flipped the page casually, and could no longer see the signs on the map. "Go wash up and have a good rest. We have to go up the mountain tomorrow."

"But I slept enough in the afternoon. I have insomnia."

Loren walked straight to the bed, pushed her in, squeezed out some space and sat down, resting his head against hers and smelling the familiar fragrance.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione tilted her head slightly and looked at him sideways.

"Don't look at me like that!" Loren pulled her head back. "I want to discuss with you the magical principles of Gubler's fairy fire and whether its stabilizing properties can be applied to other spells..."

"..."

What a mess.

Hermione suppressed her trembling heartbeat, but suddenly felt the slightly warm touch of his skin and his slightly rapid breathing.

Some people were more nervous than her.

Yes, this person has always been very sensible, how could he do something impulsive.

Hermione remained calm on the surface. Her originally flustered heart gradually calmed down. She even felt a little happy and interesting:

"Are you nervous?"

"what?"

"You are using witty remarks to cover up your shyness." "Nonsense, I would be shy?"

Loren was exposed at once and glared at her fiercely.

Hermione was not afraid at all, and glanced at the man with a smile.

A certain paper tiger got angry out of humiliation, so he picked up her tender face and started sucking it, sucking the warm face flesh into his mouth, it was soft, tender and smooth, and when he let go, it bounced back like a pudding, trembling slightly.

"Speak clearly, who is shy?"

Hermione's face flushed brightly, but she wiped the saliva off her face calmly and said calmly: "Okay, you are not shy, you are not nervous, go wash up, we still have to go up the mountain tomorrow."

"I feel like you're laughing at me!"

"illusion."

"is it?"

"It's just an illusion. Go wash up quickly. When you come back we'll talk about the Gubley fairy fire. We'll go up the mountain to find Hagrid tomorrow."

"..."

Listening to the tone of the little witch coaxing the child, the paper tiger felt very uncomfortable when being seen through. He felt unwilling but helpless. It was ok to scare her, but he really couldn't bring himself to do anything. He could only go to wash up with an awkward look on his face.

Entering the bathroom, a set of men's winter pajamas was hung in front of the mirror and toothpaste had been squeezed onto the toothbrush. A certain witch had arranged everything clearly.

Loren changed into pajamas and came out of the bathroom. He fell onto the bed, took off his slippers, quietly got into the quilt, and lay side by side with Hermione, speaking in a muffled voice.

"Go to sleep!"

With a flick of his finger, the room suddenly darkened, the curtains were half opened, and the clear moonlight flowed in through the window. He could see the starry sky and mountains outside, it was quiet and pleasant.

Hermione smiled and said, "You don't want to talk about the Gublerite fairy fire?"

"I don't want to bother with you..." Loren turned over like a cricket, with his back facing her. Soon, his breathing gradually became even.

Hermione turned her head and glanced at the grumpy Loren in the light of the stars and the moon, then looked at the page number at the bottom of the atlas, folded up a corner to make a bookmark, closed the book and put it in the pendant.

She marked several places in the book where there was thick mountain fog that lingered all year round. According to old Dodd, those places were likely to be the gathering places of giants. If she searched them one by one, she should be able to find traces left by Hagrid.

Taking another look at the person beside her, Hermione silently lifted the quilt and huddled into the bed. There was a distance of half a roll of parchment between the two of them, but they could still feel each other's temperature, which was trapped in the thick quilt and could not dissipate, gradually becoming scorching hot.

Hermione opened her eyes and stared at the moon-white ceiling, her mind in a mess, one moment it was the Gubler fairy fire, the next moment it was the giant on Ben Nevis, but no matter what she was thinking about, that slightly flustered face would eventually appear in front of her eyes.

The little witch took a deep breath and regretted wearing her winter pajamas. Now she was too hot to sleep.

, closing my eyes and trying to calm my wandering mind, listening to the even and steady breathing in my ears, the world gradually quieted down.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the person beside her pillow.

The man seemed to be a little hot as well. He impatiently lifted part of the quilt and felt it silently for a moment. He still felt uncomfortable with his current sleeping position, so he turned over like a cricket, his eyes still closed, but he accurately reached out to hug himself and put one leg on his legs.

He seemed satisfied now and hummed twice, his breathing becoming steady and even again.

He didn't make a sound during the whole process, and I didn't know whether he was awake or sleepwalking.

"..."

Hermione pursed her lips, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.

(End of this chapter)