Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Madam Pomfrey saw straight through Suer’s pretence.
Hermione had begun to grow suspicious. Suer had been awake for so long, so why did he still look utterly drained? She therefore fetched Madam Pomfrey and asked her to examine Suer again.
During the examination, Suer had no choice but to move his arms and legs as Madam Pomfrey instructed, then get out of bed and walk a few paces.
In the end, Madam Pomfrey announced that Suer had recovered. In other words, he was fully capable of looking after himself and could leave the hospital wing immediately if he wished.
To make certain of a complete recovery, however, she recommended that he remain under observation for another two days.
Only then did Hermione realise that she had been tricked — thoroughly tricked! She had waited on Suer for all that time, bringing him food and water; the only thing she had not done was warm his bed!
None of Suer’s usual tricks for coaxing Hermione worked this time.
Whenever he sidled over with an ingratiating grin, Hermione merely looked at him with reddened eyes, lips pressed together, and said nothing.
Even a fool could tell that Hermione was genuinely angry.
Suer watched miserably as Hermione kept her head down and worked away at her homework, refusing to acknowledge him no matter what he did. It had been going on for quite some time.
This matter could be seen as either serious or trivial. Taken seriously, Suer had exploited Hermione’s feelings and deceived her. If he was willing to do this, would he do something even worse in the future? Or perhaps… In short, women found this sort of thing very difficult to tolerate.
Taken lightly, Hermione was simply unhappy and angry because she had been fooled, and it had not risen to anything terribly grave.
Kind words had helped a little. Hermione still refused to speak to him, but at least she no longer stared at Suer with red-rimmed eyes.
He was now only one small step away from winning her round.
But what should he do?
Before Suer could come up with an effective plan, Madam Pomfrey arrived to perform one final examination and declared him fit to leave.
“I’ll be off, then, Hermione?” Suer said before departing. The young witch did not even lift her head from her book, much less answer him.
With no other choice, Suer gathered his belongings and left the hospital wing with a trail of sighs, his retreating figure looking utterly forlorn.
He failed to notice that, the moment he turned away, a pair of eyes followed him all the way out.
When Suer returned to the dormitory, Crookshanks offered an enthusiastic greeting, weaving around Suer’s legs without the slightest trace of aloofness.
Crookshanks could find food without help, and Morn had also been looking after the cat since returning to school. After their time apart, Crookshanks had actually put on a little weight.
Suer settled the cat on one knee and stroked Crookshanks from head to tail again and again, all the while pondering how to earn Hermione’s forgiveness.
“Tell me, what should I do, Crookshanks?” Suer lifted Crookshanks upright and looked straight into those tawny eyes.
“Meow…” Crookshanks’s pupils contracted and widened. The cat tilted that bushy head and began to purr.
What are you talking about? This cat doesn’t understand a word.
Only after stroking Crookshanks for a good while did Suer put the cat down and start checking through the belongings from the hospital wing. Suer had forgotten all about them and had no idea whether Hagrid had remembered to bring the wand back as well.
Fortunately, the familiar wand soon came into view. Beside it lay a dim feather.
Huh? Suer distinctly remembered that it had not looked like this before.
“Oh, you’re back?” Morn pushed open the dormitory door and immediately spotted Suer staring blankly at a feather. He sounded delighted.
Suer nodded. “Long time no see.” Suer casually set the feather aside, then scooped Crookshanks up from where the cat lay resting at Suer’s feet.
Time to pet!
Morn tossed his satchel aside, pulled over a stool, and sat down close to Suer.
Suer suddenly recalled the rather peculiar friendship between Morn and Justin, and discreetly shifted away.
Morn did not notice the movement at all. He cast a curious glance at the feather Suer had set aside, but paid it no further attention. Instead, he excitedly began asking Suer about what had happened during the holiday.
“I heard it from that Weasley in Gryffindor.” Morn’s eyes shone. “He said you made seven forays into the Forbidden Forest during the holiday and even ran into a dragon and a werewolf. Is that true?”
“He also said you would never have been injured if you hadn’t fought an Acromantula with the last of your strength to protect a Veela. Apparently, the Veela even gave you a hug.”
“What does a Veela actually look like? I’ve never seen one.”
Morn rattled on and on. The more Suer heard, the more speechless he became. He could guess who had started this. Harry was not capable of such embellishment, which left only Ron.
All Suer had told Harry and the others was that he had been attacked in the Forbidden Forest. Never had he imagined that Ron would supply so many extra details.
Good grief. Perhaps the Daily Prophet ought to open a fiction section and invite Ron to be its chief writer.
That was Ron Weasley for you!
When Suer remained silent, Morn assumed that he was embarrassed. He curled one hand into a fist and thrust up his thumb.
“You’re Hogwarts’s number one,” Morn said. “We all saw it. There is a huge dead Acromantula behind that building at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. You don’t need to be embarrassed. It was a heroic deed.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” Suer blinked blankly, feeling more speechless than ever.
“By the way, I heard Veela are all incredibly beautiful. Is that true?” Morn immediately asked, eyes bright with curiosity and anticipation. “Could you take me into the Forbidden Forest to have a look? Or bring the Veela out so I can meet them? Don’t worry, I definitely won’t tell anyone.”
“Er…” Suer gently scratched Crookshanks beneath the chin. Suer had no idea how to explain that a story was merely a story and could only nod vaguely. “If the chance comes up. If the chance comes up…”
Morn took this as a promise and happily began telling Suer everything that had happened at school while he was away.
For instance, Snape had reduced a Ravenclaw girl to tears, while someone else had been caught by Filch using magic in the corridor and sentenced to polish trophies…
They had no lessons that afternoon, though there was an Astronomy class that evening. Morn kept Suer pinned there and talked for the entire afternoon. Even Crookshanks could no longer bear the endless chatter and made an early escape to play with Crookshanks’s feline underlings.
Many people in the castle kept cats, so there were always plenty of them wandering through the corridors.
Morn finally stopped talking at dinnertime.
In the entrance hall, many young witches and wizards stopped to stare at Suer. The admiration in the eyes of some of the young witches was particularly undisguised.
“Make way, make way.” The mischievous Weasley twins flanked Suer like a pair of bodyguards, their expressions solemn. “The Dragon Slayer — the Spider Slayer — the King of the Forbidden Forest has arrived!”
Suer covered his face with one hand and hurried inside. As he passed the Gryffindor table, Ron was standing on a chair, loudly proclaiming Suer’s exploits with great enthusiasm. Suer glared at him, but Ron merely grinned and waved.
In the end, Suer ate the whole of dinner with a grim expression.
He truly was not used to being the centre of everyone’s attention. It was far too ostentatious. Keeping a low profile suited him much better.