Halloween
They hadn't worn themselves out. It was Halloween, after all, and the Halloween Feast that evening was the main event. Will intended to eat his fill. British food might leave something to be desired, but the food at Hogwarts was excellent, mainly because the House-elves' recipes weren't limited to British dishes.
Will had recently offered the House-elves in the Kitchens a few suggestions and bought several cookbooks from the Americas and Asia. He was sure it wouldn't be long before he got to eat the dishes he'd been craving.
Just as the two of them were about to leave for the Dining Room...
"Will! Will!" Sylvia pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement. Behind her stood Hermione, her eyes swollen and wet with tears. "I ran into Hermione in the bathroom by the Underground Classroom. It took me ages to persuade her to come up here."
Will realized that Hermione had been crying over something hurtful Ron had said behind her back. Ron really did have plenty of unlikeable moments in the early and middle parts of the story.
"What happened?" Will asked Hermione with concern. "Who upset you?"
Sylvia looked at Neville, who seemed utterly confused.
Then again, only Hermione had overheard Ron whispering to Harry. It made sense that Neville knew nothing about it.
Will had never been good at comforting girls, so he had to leave that difficult job to Sylvia.
Hogwarts was bustling on Halloween night.
The entire Castle looked as though it had undergone a festive makeover. Thousands of bats fluttered along the walls and ceiling, while another thousand wheeled above the tables like low, dark clouds, making the candle flames inside the pumpkins flicker.
The floating candles had been replaced by jack-o'-lanterns. Candlelight shone through their carved faces, casting comical patches of light.
The Halloween Feast was lavish, with even more dishes than the start-of-term feast. Pumpkin treats of every kind filled the tables.
Harry and Ron headed downstairs toward the Dining Room. Harry had just suffered a crushing defeat at Ron's hands in Wizard's Chess, and Ron was cheerfully explaining the finer points of the game. Two Gryffindor girls walked past them. Harry recognized Patil and Lavender.
Patil was saying to Lavender, "Granger's been crying in the Girls' Bathroom all afternoon, and she won't let anyone comfort her..."
Harry felt uneasy. He also noticed Ron's expression darken.
But the festive mood soon swept them both up. Harry had never attended a feast this grand in his life.
The Hogwarts dining hall rang with laughter and conversation. Students occasionally chased one another between the tables. Dumbledore, wearing a robe patterned with jack-o'-lanterns, was busy attacking the Pumpkin Pasty in front of him.
Quirrell burst into the Dining Room, his purple turban bobbing, and announced that a Troll had entered the Castle. The news shattered the festive mood. As the students fell into chaos, Dumbledore waved his Wand to produce a sharp bang and said something to the other professors.
The professors immediately instructed the Prefects to escort the students back to their houses' Common Rooms.
Harry's face went pale. He grabbed Ron by the arm.
"I just remembered—Hermione."
"What about her?"
"She doesn't know about the Troll."
Ron bit his lip. "Let her Slytherin friends help her."
"Don't talk rubbish, Ron!" Harry snapped, glaring at him with furious green eyes.
For the first time, Ron found Harry intimidating. Blimey. No wonder Harry managed to defeat Voldemort.
But when he saw Harry's expression, he nodded. "All right, all right. But Percy can't see us."
Meanwhile, in the Room of Requirement, Hermione had finally calmed down. What had happened was simple enough: she and Ron had clashed in class, and afterward Ron had made a nasty remark about her. "No wonder nobody can stand her. Honestly, she's a nightmare. I bet only Dark Wizards in Slytherin would want to be friends with her."
Will and Sylvia had been insulted for no reason, too.
"Don't listen to that penniless Weasley. He's as stupid as a Gnome. Remember when he made that antidote in Potions Class and nearly burned a hole through his own tongue?" Sylvia comforted Hermione while tearing into Ron.
"Hermione, you're the cleverest witch I've ever met. And lots of people in Gryffindor like you. You're always earning points for us," Neville added.
"The wise are always shunned by fools. Sheep flock together; beasts walk alone." Will hoped his classmate would take heart.
"So, 'Grand Wizard Mr. Behrens,' are we flocking together or walking alone?" Sylvia asked, looking Will straight in the eye.
Will's mouth twitched at the title. Snape often made sarcastic remarks when Will went to him for guidance. For example:
"To think Grand Wizard Mr. Behrens can't even prepare Dittany. I suppose the Grand Wizard has never been injured in a duel."
"Look how expertly Grand Wizard Behrens extracts blood from an Indian Yellow-Spotted Snake. Are you afraid taking too much will keep this dead snake from coming back to life, Mr. Behrens?"
Sylvia had once heard Snape call Will "Grand Wizard Mr. Behrens," and had started using the title to tease him.
"You're walking alone with me."
They could all tell Will was casting himself as their leader, but only Sylvia rolled her eyes.
Neville thought for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "Does that make me a beast too?"
"Of course. You're following 'Grand Wizard Mr. Behrens.' How could you not be?"
Will's face darkened. "Enough. The Halloween Feast has probably started. We'd better get going."
Hermione still hadn't caught on. She gave Will a puzzled look. "What's this 'Grand Wizard Behrens' business? I don't understand."
Will headed for the door of the Room of Requirement with a scowl, Sylvia's bright laughter ringing behind him.
Will suddenly felt that this life wasn't bad at all. He was steadily growing stronger, getting along with his friends, and even Dumbledore—whom many people claimed was secretly calculating beneath his kindly exterior—was easy to deal with.
Perhaps this was compensation for more than twenty years of working himself to the bone, followed by getting hit by a truck?