Chapter 68: Penelope's Perspective on Bell

Everyone was happily seated in the Great Hall, enjoying delicious pumpkin pasties and sweet pumpkin juice.

Except for Bell.

Penelope inadvertently noticed Bell entering the Great Hall, scanning the room before approaching the Gryffindor table, saying something to someone, and then leaving.

Puzzled by Bell's unusual behavior, Penelope decided to follow him stealthily, driven by curiosity.

Then she was surprised to see Bell entering the girls' lavatory! He walked in without hesitation or delay!

(⊙﹏⊙) "Could it be that when he mysteriously disappears, he's actually hiding in the girls' lavatory!?"

Penelope drew her wand and rushed over, determined to uncover Bell's true face. How could someone so young dare to enter the girls' lavatory? What would become of him when he grew up? Such a pervert must be severely punished!

However, just as Penelope reached the entrance of the girls' lavatory, preparing to cast a spell, she heard Bell inside, talking to someone.

Afraid that Bell might have an accomplice, Penelope quickly hid and decided to observe the situation before making a decision. Then she realized she had misunderstood.

A young witch had been bullied by her classmates and had spent the afternoon in the lavatory. Bell had come to comfort her!?

Penelope, realizing her mistake, still couldn't condone Bell's entering the girls' lavatory, but since there was a reason behind it and no one else had seen, she decided not to intervene.

She eavesdropped on the conversation between the two, and as she listened, she began to feel jealous.

Why hadn't someone like him comforted her in the past?

As she waited for Bell and the girl to leave, Penelope suddenly felt a sense of fear as she saw a giant monster approaching from the opposite direction!?

Penelope was terrified! Unlike first-year Hermione, as a fifth-year student who had been educated at Hogwarts for four years, she knew all too well the terror of a giant. With her spells, she couldn't even pierce its skin.

As for the two first-year students nearby, she didn't even consider them as combatants. Those two little kids would only add chaos.

Penelope was torn between rushing out to rescue the two children or running away to find the professors. But then she heard Bell talking to Hermione.

What was Bell saying? That the giant was a gentle and approachable creature!? Merlin's beard! Having read many books, she knew such insincere lies wouldn't fool her!

Penelope suspected that Bell might have been scared silly. Shouldn't knowledge of creatures like giants be common sense for pure-blood wizards? 

However, reality was always more absurd than drama. Just after Bell said "roll," the giant actually obediently rolled away!?

What kind of international joke was this!?

As a mature fifth-year student, Penelope wasn't easily fooled like Hermione. Though she didn't know what had happened exactly, she was sure Bell had done something!

In the days that followed, Penelope noticed that Bell and Hermione spent a lot of time together.

Of course, that wasn't important. What was important was that, after her investigation, Penelope discovered that Hermione, like herself, was a Muggle-born witch.

A pure-blood wizard from a top-tier wizarding family became good friends with a Muggle-born witch? This was beyond magical! Were they really acting in a TV drama?

Penelope became even more curious about Bell. She had never been so eager to understand someone, to understand what they were thinking.

After wracking her brains and coming up with various methods, only to reject them one by one, Penelope finally somewhat gave up and decided to take a straightforward approach.

She began to actively engage with Bell. And soon, she found that it wasn't difficult at all. She began to understand why Bell and Hermione became friends.

On the last evening of the Christmas holiday, as the young wizards returned to Hogwarts, Penelope watched as Bell and Hermione entered the Great Hall together, then parted ways. Suddenly, she felt a twinge of jealousy, so she couldn't help teasing Bell.

"Penelope, long time no see. And, Hermione is not my girlfriend. We're just ordinary friends." Bell explained with a smile. "Did you not go home during the break, senior?"

"Yeah, my dad had work to do over Christmas, so I stayed at school. How was your holiday?"

"It was great!"

As soon as this topic came up, Bell immediately became excited.

"Let me tell you, I haven't seen my sister for months, and after I went back this time, my sister... and then Shanna she... and then you guess what happened, Shanna... Shanna..."

"..."

Watching Bell's excitement, Penelope struggled to maintain a polite smile. She had discovered a new side of Bell. However, she didn't know how to evaluate it.

As she listened to Bell's endless talk about his sister Shanna, five minutes passed, then ten, but Bell showed no signs of stopping.

If no one interrupted, Penelope had no doubt Bell could talk until tomorrow morning. As her eyes wandered, she unexpectedly discovered a new member.

"What a cute little cat! Is it your pet, Bell?" Penelope exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"This is Phina, a Christmas gift from Shanna!"

Bell proudly puffed out his chest.

Bell had no intention of telling anyone about Phina's species. After all, Phina was too dangerous, and she had been bought from smugglers, so it was best to avoid trouble. Bell hated trouble.

As for what would happen when Phina grew up? Hagrid was already 3.5 meters tall, and no one complained. So if Phina grew to be 2 meters tall and 3 meters long, wouldn't that be normal?

"Can I hold her?" Penelope looked at Phina with great affection.

"Of course, just wait a moment."

Bell picked up Phina and stared at her seriously.

"This is my senior sister. She's a good person. Now she wants to hold you. You must not bite her, or there'll be no dinner."

Faced with her own unscrupulous owner's threat of cutting off her food, Phina, though reluctant, could only submit to the stronger power.

She jumped onto the table and elegantly walked to Penelope, squatting down and extending her front paws towards Penelope.

"Meow~"

o(=ω=)m

Looking at the cute and clever Phina, Penelope suppressed the urge to scream. She gently held Phina in her arms and stroked her little head.

"Bell, where did your sister buy Phina? I also want to buy one as a pet."

"Uh... well, this... it's said to have been bought overseas. This species isn't available in Britain."

Sweat dripped from Bell's forehead.

Penelope looked at Phina regretfully, held her for a while longer, then reluctantly returned her to Bell.