Alone

Where did you get your late-night snack?

Having just finished showering, Albert, wearing gray pajamas, walked into the dormitory and saw several roommates sitting around the table, playing Wizard Card and eating freshly baked pies from a plate.

"It was delivered by House-elf."

George's mouth was full of food, making his speech unclear.

Albert looked into the plate and saw a hand reaching out to take the last pie. He immediately stepped forward and slapped the hand away.

A crisp sound echoed in the room.

Ouch! Lee Jordan looked up at Albert with a resentful expression, rubbing his red and swollen hand repeatedly.

"You didn't even leave me the last piece!" Albert picked up the last pie without hesitation, took a bite, and found the filling still warm, which tasted pretty good.

"You don't have to be so cruel!"

"I lost control for a moment. And, I made sure you didn't leave me a single one, so who else would I hit if not you?" Albert ate his pie, turned to look at the Weasley Twins who were smirking beside him, and asked, "How many sets of Wizard Card have you guys made?"

"Right now, we can only do it one at a time, so the progress is very slow. We've spent a lot of time just getting one set for ourselves." George shrugged helplessly, indicating that he had done his best.

"How exactly did you manage to get your House-elf?" Fred brought up another topic that interested him even more.

"Personal charm".

Albert finished the last bite of the pie and took his handkerchief from the side to wipe his mouth.

The three looked at each other, completely disbelieving Albert's nonsense.

Albert didn't care whether they believed him or not. He looked around but couldn't see his cat, so he asked, "Where's my Tom?"

"Tom? Oh, you mean the cat!" Fred pointed to the door and said, "It just ran out and is probably still wandering around the Gryffindor Common Room."

"Honestly, it's so late, and they're still running around like this," Albert muttered.

"You can't keep a cat in a cage."

"I didn't say I was going to turn it off."

Albert took a compass out of his bag, checked the direction, and then went up the stairs to the Common Room.

The Common Room was dimly lit at the moment, with a few embers flickering in the fireplace.

"Tom."

Albert called his cat's name softly, but there was no response. He looked at the compass in his hand, then looked in that direction, preparing to take out his wand and use the Summoning Charm to summon his cat back, when he saw a fluffy black shadow suddenly pounce on him from the corner.

"Time to go back to sleep!" Albert bent down to pick up the fat cat. As the light from the tip of his wand inadvertently swept across the Common Room, Albert's eyes fell on the chair closest to the entrance of the Common Room.

Albert noticed someone sitting over there, so he picked up the cat and went over. It was a little girl wearing a pink bathrobe.

"Don't sleep here, you'll catch a cold, Miss Granger."

Hermione heard the noise, looked up in confusion, and looked at Albert with a hint of panic.

Albert looked at the little girl in front of him. This was the first time he had observed the legendary Hermione Granger so closely. She was very ordinary, no different from the girl next door.

"You didn't have a fight with your roommate, did you?"

"No!" Hermione said dryly.

"Then go back and rest!" Albert glanced at the oil lamp beside him and said calmly, "Don't hide here and scare people, or are you planning to go out for a night stroll?"

"No."

Hermione smelled the faint scent of bath gel on Albert and felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, the darkness around her concealed the change in her expression. After hesitating for a moment, she told Albert that she had overheard Harry and Ron preparing to duel Malfoy.

"That's very much in line with Gryffindor's character." Albert pulled up a chair and sat down next to Hermione, placing Tom on his lap and stroking his fur. "So, you want to stop them."

"Yes, wandering around the school at night, if they get caught, how many points will Gryffindor lose? And I think they'll definitely be caught by Filch, I heard that the Mr. Filch knows all the secret passages in the school."

"I dare say they'll definitely tell you: this has nothing to do with you." Albert nodded as he watched the girl's expression change, and added, "Don't worry about it. That's just how Gryffindor students are; they never take School Rules seriously."

Hermione opened her mouth, staring blankly at the boy in front of her who had a faint smile on his face, and finally asked, puzzled, "Shouldn't we have stopped them?"

"Stop them? You'd have a hard time stopping them unless you were Professor McGonagall, which you clearly aren't." Albert shook his head. "Don't expect to persuade anyone with words; that's too difficult, especially when they're determined to do it."

Hermione was about to say something when Albert raised his hand to interrupt her.

"I know what you're trying to say," Albert continued. "This so-called duel is probably a trap. Given Slytherin's style, they'll probably tell Filch about it beforehand and have the Mr. Filch arrest them. That would result in Gryffindor losing points, and Harry and Ron getting locked up."

"However, acting without thinking is typical of Gryffindor. Sometimes, they never learn their lesson until they suffer a loss," Albert said calmly. "Don't worry too much about those rules and regulations. Nobody in Gryffindor really cares about grades, otherwise they would automatically add points to the school. But most students don't have that kind of thinking."

"Is this the Gryffindor style?" Hermione looked up at Albert and asked seriously, "And you? I heard you've been adding points to Gryffindor all along!"

"That's just a side effect. It would be great if it could add points, but it's okay if it can't."

"I don't think you're anything like Gryffindor," Hermione whispered. "The Sorting Hat must have asked you if you wanted to go to Ravenclaw!"

"That's what everyone says. Many people think I should go to Ravenclaw House." Albert didn't seem to care. "However, Gryffindor is better for me. I have some friends here."

"Then what do you think I should do?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Go back to sleep, or continue trying here to stop Harry and Ron." Albert stood up and said to Hermione, "Honestly, you might not be a good fit for Gryffindor. If you have time, you could try joining the Wizard Card Club. Maybe you can make some friends. The game is more about creating fun times."

Hermione opened her mouth, watching Albert's departing figure, but ultimately said nothing.

Friends? She doesn't have any herself! Albert obviously realized that too, which is why he said that.

The holiday just ended. I'll try to update as much as I can today, however little I can manage. These past two days, besides organizing the plot, I've been busy following the drama.

I support protecting one's rights and will do what I can to help, but I hope everyone can handle this calmly and not be misled by so-called online trolls. No matter how this situation unfolds in the future, at least we tried to fight for ourselves.