Bing Huan carried ten soup dumplings to the Great Hall. Everyone else arrived in dribs and drabs, and the professors up at the front had received their breakfasts too.
Sitting down beside Hermione, Bing Huan handed her the dumplings. She sniffed them. They didn't seem to have much of a smell, but he'd made them, so she supposed she should say something nice and humor him. Sure.
Bing Huan saw right through the little girl's thoughts and chuckled. "Don't worry. You don't have to humor me. Watch. This is how you eat them."
Hermione and the professors followed his example. They first bit a small hole in each dumpling, and a seemingly tangible fragrance wafted out. In almost an instant, it swept through the entire Great Hall.
Gulp...
The professors fumbled with their chopsticks as they picked up the dumplings and put their mouths to the holes they'd bitten. Scalding broth poured into their mouths. Worried that the children might burn themselves, Bing Huan had even held Hermione back for a moment.
The broth was rich and fragrant, yet clear and light. The dumpling skins were soft and springy, and the five kinds of meat in the filling blended perfectly, creating a wonderfully unusual texture.
Dumbledore looked around. Grindelwald, McGonagall, Flitwick—even Snape—were all stuffing their faces with soup dumplings. He stared plaintively at Bing Huan. "Where's mine? Where's mine?" (;へ:)
The person busy feeding everyone of course pretended not to see him, then turned to Grindelwald. "Gell~"
"This boy was afraid I'd share with you, so he made me one big one instead of two small ones. There's nothing I can do, Albus. Gulp." He swallowed. "That hit the spot."
The other students were suffering just as much. Ron and Harry, sitting beside Hermione, were hit hardest. Ron had never seen such a studious student so focused on eating. He swallowed and asked, "Are they good, Hermione?"
Hermione was too busy eating to answer Ron, so she just gave him a thumbs-up. Ron gazed at her pleadingly. "Can I have one?"
Hermione still didn't say anything, but she gathered the remaining dumplings into her arms like a kitten guarding its food.
"Hmph. Stingy."
In the end, Bing Huan brought out a few more. Percy, Wood, and the others got some too. On the way to class, Hermione was still complaining to Bing Huan. "I could've eaten two more." Her dumplings had been smaller than the professors', but she'd still eaten five in a row.
He gave Hermione an exasperated look. "Did you forget what class we have in a minute? You'll feel sick if you exercise on a full stomach. I can make you more later."
Hermione pouted. "But there's only one week left~"
"Then we'll make it every week instead of just for one week." The sudden increase in her dumpling allowance left the little witch dumbfounded. "Really?!" (゜▽゜*)
"Nope."
"Tch~"
"If you don't hurry up, I might actually change my mind." He pointed to his wrist to show her that class was about to start. Hermione jogged to catch up. "You can't! You already promised!"
On the grass, the young lions and snakes stood in separate lines. Madam Hooch strode over. "Welcome to your first Flying Class. All right, what are you waiting for? Stand beside your broomsticks, quickly. Hurry up, we haven't got all day.
"Mr. Bing Huan, please stand beside me."
Bing Huan: (* ￣︿￣)
He walked over reluctantly. "Madam Hooch, I really won't fly on my sword!"
Madam Hooch didn't seem convinced. "I believe you, Mr. Bing Huan. Breakfast was delicious, too, but I was hoping you could help me teach the class. Would you?"
So she still didn't trust him?
He was speechless. Bing Huan could only watch everyone else practice with their broomsticks. "All right, extend your right hand and hold it over your broom. Then say, 'Up.'"
Harry's broom immediately jumped into his hand, but Hermione's showed no sign of moving. Bing Huan walked up behind her and tapped her on the head. "Let your magic flow through here, then try to make your broom rise."
Hermione closed her eyes. As the magic passed through her mind, a strange cool sensation flowed from the top of her head downward. "Up!" This time, the broom obediently flew into her hand. o(^▽^)o
Madam Hooch saw that the biggest potential troublemaker was actually helping his classmates, and smiled in relief. She figured the young witches and wizards' first Flying Class would go perfectly.
As it turned out, what was bound to happen would happen. Just as the young witches and wizards were trying to get airborne, Neville shot twenty feet into the air. His broom carried him wildly back and forth until he crashed hard into the castle wall and slid down.
"Get up, damn it!" Bing Huan reacted at once, casting the Levitation Charm before Neville hit the ground. "Beautiful spell! Five points to Gryffindor," Madam Hooch called as she ran over to check on Neville. "Thank goodness he didn't fall straight to the ground. He's only scraped himself against the wall.
"All right, I'm taking him to the hospital. None of you move, or you'll be expelled."
As soon as the two of them left, Malfoy burst out laughing, mocking Neville's embarrassing fall. He also spotted Neville's Remembrall on the ground.
"Give it back, Malfoy," Harry said in a low voice.
Malfoy wasn't about to take Harry mouthing off to him in front of everyone. He took the Remembrall and flew up into the air. Harry, of course, ignored Hermione's attempts to stop him and chased after Malfoy. Watching the two of them square off, Bing Huan fell into thought. "Why are those two at each other's throats again?"
When Malfoy saw that Harry wouldn't back down, he threw the Remembrall away. Harry caught it just one foot above the ground, right under Professor McGonagall's watchful gaze.
Professor McGonagall said nothing as she took Harry away. He was so scared he could practically see his life flashing before his eyes. After they left, Malfoy started laughing again. He reminded Bing Huan of Cao Cao at the Huarong Trail. "Now that damn Potter's going to be expelled."
Bing Huan just looked at Malfoy, unconcerned. "What do you say, Draco? Want to make a bet? Harry won't be expelled, and he'll even get the chance to do something you can't."
Malfoy eyed this strange boy who'd been saying odd things since the moment they met. "What's the stake?" The young master of the Malfoy family wasn't afraid.
"If I lose, I'll give you 100 Galleons. If you lose, you'll have to do one thing for me. Of course, it won't be beyond your abilities."
It didn't seem like much of a loss even if he lost, so Malfoy readily agreed. When Bing Huan returned, Hermione asked him, "Are you sure nothing will happen? Harry broke the rules too, didn't he?" He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Come on. Professor McGonagall can barely keep the corners of her mouth from rising. What do you think?"
"Huh?" The little witch seemed confused by Professor McGonagall's behavior. She'd always thought of her as stern. "Professor McGonagall was a Gryffindor Seeker when she was young, but she was later sabotaged and badly injured, so she had to retire.
"Harry flew like that on his very first try. He's clearly got a gift for Quidditch. And Gryffindor's been losing to Slytherin at Quidditch for years. Any professor would be happy to have a talent like that in their house."
After class, everyone heard the news that Harry had become Gryffindor's youngest Seeker in nearly a century. Harry and Ron gave Malfoy a taunting look. The proud young master wasn't going to let that slide! They agreed to have a duel at midnight.
At midnight, Harry and Ron headed to the place where the duel was supposed to take place, and Hermione chased after them, trying to stop them. Far behind the three of them, Bing Huan trailed along after agreeing to be Dumbledore's babysitter.
They soon reached the Trophy Room, but Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. At least they found the trophy Harry's father had won for Gryffindor as a Quidditch player, which gave Harry a good deal more confidence.
Just as they were beginning to think Malfoy had stood them up, they heard Filch's voice in the corridor. As if that weren't bad enough, they ran into Peeves while fleeing. Thanks to the Opening Charm Hermione had studied ahead of time, the three of them got into the room Dumbledore had said they absolutely must not enter.
As soon as they stepped inside, they came face-to-face with three pairs of eyes. They belonged to the same body, and drool dripped from yellowed teeth like slimy ropes.
"Raaah!" The Three-Headed Dog roared and lunged at them. Hermione turned to pull the door open, only to find it had locked itself. At the last moment, Bing Huan flashed inside and used Flying Thunder God to bring the three of them back to the Gryffindor common room.
"What were they thinking, keeping something like that in the school?" Ron was the first to speak once the three little ones were back in the common room.
Hermione had caught her breath, and her temper had returned too. "What are you even keeping your eyes for? Didn't you see what that dog was standing on?"
"I don't know what you two use your eyes for, but I do know you've got a death wish!" Bing Huan stared at them expressionlessly. "Do the two of you know more than five spells between you? You've barely learned anything, and you're trying to duel? Fine, you want to duel, whatever.
"Even adult wizards wouldn't dare take on a Three-Headed Dog head-on, and the three of you first-years went into the same room with it. What were you thinking? Now all of you get back to bed."
The three of them had no time to argue. They scrambled back to their dormitories.
Before you continue