Attracting Attention

"Oh... cherry tomatoes, dragon fruit, cherry jam, crunchy chocolate..."

Dumbledore curiously examined the huge cake before him, then turned to Gemini. "If you let me have a bite, I'm willing to go without food for three days."

"Of course you can have some..." Gemini smiled helplessly and looked gently at Lolo. "Thank you so much for your help."

"Oh—this is what Lolo should do." Lolo was overwhelmed by Gemini's gratitude.

Naturally, Gemini did not say much more. He understood the nature of these House-elves well enough. "No matter what, I still have to thank you."

As he spoke, Gemini stood up and could not help sighing at the huge cake before him. "Now then... how are we supposed to deliver it? Wouldn't a Levitation Charm be too conspicuous? What if someone ran into us..."

Dumbledore looked at Gemini. "Why not try that method you use to pack luggage?"

"You even know about that?" Gemini looked at Dumbledore in slight surprise and immediately activated Legilimency.

"Don't misunderstand. I had no intention of prying into your secrets." Dumbledore waved a hand politely.

Gemini spread his hands helplessly. "But you still did pry."

"I am, after all, a curious Gryffindor..."

"Please apologize to Gryffindor immediately..."

Look! Godric Gryffindor had such a huge blame placed on his back!

Just like the police officers said, don't blame every bad thing you do on the Japanese...

In the end, Gemini stored the cake in his storage space. Looking at the clock on the kitchen wall, he saw it was already past eleven. Normally, Astronomy class did not have a fixed dismissal time. The weather was nice tonight, so it should probably last until after eleven-thirty.

"Maybe we should deliver it tomorrow instead?" Gemini thought for a moment. "The headmaster taking students Night Wandering and celebrating a student's birthday on the Astronomy Tower... it seems like that would affect your reputation if word got out."

Dumbledore blinked his light blue eyes and honestly spread his hands. "In truth, my reputation has long been in shambles. If it means I can eat cake sooner, I don't mind if it gets a little worse."

"..."

Gemini nodded. "All right, since you put it that way..."

After bidding the House-elves good night, Gemini and Dumbledore left the kitchen.

"Fox..." Dumbledore said leisurely. "Are you dating Miss Granger?"

"We're not." Gemini looked speechlessly at the gossiping old man with the white beard. "Mr. Granger specifically came to pick me up at the beginning of term, and Miss Granger was worried that I might miss the school bus. There aren't many people in this world willing to treat me that way. I should cherish their kindness."

"With her parents not by her side and this being the first birthday she's spent away from home, I imagine Miss Granger must be feeling rather miserable."

Gemini smiled gently. "We can probably count as friends, at least. Since I know tomorrow is her birthday, it would only be right to wish her well."

Dumbledore gave Gemini a kindly look. "I'm very glad you think that way, child."

A few minutes later, the two appeared at the Astronomy Tower.

Looking at the completely empty Astronomy Tower, Gemini and Dumbledore fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore suddenly pointed toward Gryffindor Tower in the distance.

"That's Gryffindor Tower over there. The girls' dormitory is on the left! Why don't you swing over there with your spiderwebs and bring her out?"

"Shut up, old man! Your shattered dignity is all over the ground!"

Gemini was fucking stunned. For the sake of cake, this old man truly had no limits!

Crash—

Suddenly, a shelf behind them toppled over. Gemini turned around just in time to see two red-haired twins tumble out from behind it in a sorry state.

"Hey~ good evening, Professor Dumbledore, and Gemini..."

The two hurriedly climbed to their feet and smiled awkwardly.

"Ah... Fred, George, it's been a long time since I last saw you at night." Dumbledore looked amiably at the twins. "What are you doing here?"

"Since the first-years' Astronomy class ended early today, we were planning to come here and set off fireworks. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has a new model..."

"We just didn't know what you professors were doing here..."

"We only heard you plotting to make a move on the girls' dormitory."

"And a Gryffindor one at that..."

Seeing the twins' sheepish expressions, Dumbledore waved a hand kindly. "No need to be so nervous. The two of us snuck out as well."

Only then did the twins relax. They immediately held out their hands to Gemini. "Nice to meet you. I'm Fred, this is George, and we're both Weasleys."

"Gemini Fox."

"We've heard much about you."

"Thanks for taking down Marcus for us."

"We've wanted to do that for ages!"

"It seems you get along well." Dumbledore sighed cheerfully, though with a hint of melancholy. "I truly feel sorry for Filch..."

"Have you seen Hermione?" Gemini asked.

"You're too late, mate." Fred shrugged. "Professor Sinistra wasn't feeling well tonight, so Astronomy class ended a little early. By the time we came out, they'd already gone back."

"That's really unfortunate." Gemini shrugged. "Tomorrow is her birthday. I was thinking of celebrating it with her around midnight."

"Then you still have time." George smiled.

Gemini was puzzled. "Hasn't she already gone back to the dormitory?"

Fred stepped forward and threw an arm around Gemini's shoulders. "Hey, listen. No one goes to sleep on time when the next day is their birthday. I bet she's still awake right now."

"So we're going to the Gryffindor common room?" Gemini asked.

"Of course not. Unless Gryffindor won a Quidditch match, Professor McGonagall would definitely go mad if anyone was still awake this late."

George pulled a small bundle of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks from his pocket. "Gryffindor Tower is over there. If we set off fireworks here, we should be able to get her attention."

"Then, just like Professor Dumbledore said, you can swing over there with your spiderwebs."

"We've never seen your spiderwebs before."

"Speaking of spiderwebs, we should thank you for saving Ron in Potions Class."

"He's our brother."

"Though we've always been considering whether to deny our relationship with him..."

The two chatterboxes carried on in tandem.

"Ahem..." Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Gentlemen Weasley, school rules prohibit setting off fireworks here."

"It's fine, Professor. Just being here already breaks school rules anyway."

Dumbledore thought for a moment, then nodded with a serious expression. "I think you make a very reasonable point."

They had already broken one school rule, so breaking one more did not matter. It sounded perfectly reasonable... my ass!

Gemini felt that the three people before him were each more unreliable than the last. Birds of a feather truly flocked together.

Eh? Something seemed wrong there.

Whoosh—pop!

A palm-sized Fire Sprite flew several circles above the rooftop, then burst with a pop.

Gemini covered his face mournfully, nearly laughing out loud. "You want to get her attention with that thing?"

Fred and George turned their heads away gloomily.

"There's nothing we can do. Funding is a major problem..."

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