May Disease

In the somewhat dim corridor, Bell stood at the corner and slowly peeked around it, observing the hallway on the other side.

It was between classes, and many people were coming and going through the corridor. Some chased each other around playfully, some discussed the lesson, while others hugged thick books to their chests and hurried toward their next classroom with their heads lowered.

Incidentally, the third type was generally fifth-years and above.

Bell swept his gaze over the crowd one by one. Only after confirming that the familiar figure was nowhere to be seen did he finally let out a sigh of relief, straighten up, and prepare to move forward.

"Bell? What are you doing? Sneaking around like that."

"Ah!"

"Aah—! W-what are you doing?! You suddenly shouted so loudly, you scared me half to death!"

Hermione patted her chest and shot Bell a reproachful glare.

Then, she stepped past Bell and peered down the corridor beyond the corner for a while as well. After finding nothing, she turned back and looked at Bell in confusion.

"H-Hermione, why did you come from behind me? Isn't the A History of Magic classroom over there?"

Bell looked at Hermione, still shaken, while his eyes darted about as he considered how to escape.

"Oh, Professor Binns ended class early today, so I went to Professor McGonagall's office to ask a question and came this way... Wait! Were you looking for me just now? You wanted to slack off and sneak out to play again, didn't you?!"

"No, no, how could that be? Everyone on Earth knows I'm the most diligent person around. I never slack off."

With his little scheme exposed, Bell hurriedly waved his hands in denial.

"Don't strip everyone except Shanna of their Earth citizenship!"

That was right, everyone except