Why Did You Call Me Out So Late?

"Come on, Ivan, you can do it, we'll leave you to it!" George patted Ivan on the shoulder and left with Fred.

Ivan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was too lazy to stop them and explain, so he let their imagination run wild and went straight back to the dormitory.

As soon as she opened the door, Yvonne heard a murmur of conversation before she got inside.

Closer inspection revealed that Ron, Harry, Seamus, and the others were discussing who would be the champions for the Triwizard Tournament.

It seemed there would be more young wizards looking forward to this honour than he had thought.

Yvonne shook her head to herself; everyone except Hermione had probably forgotten about the danger Dumbledore had mentioned, and she wondered if they would still be so excited if they knew that the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was a Fire-Dragon.

"Ivan, have you and George figured out how to break the age limit?" Ron asked Ivan as he entered the room.

Harry, Seamus, and the others also looked expectantly at Ivan.

"Not yet. It's not that easy." Yvonne hesitated for a moment, but she managed to look calm.

He had some idea, but he didn't want to give it away.

For one thing, the Triwizard Tournament was too dangerous, and it had something to do with Lord Voldemort's plan to revive the Triwizard Tournament. Even Cedric, the most talented of the graduating students, had died.

Secondly, he felt that Ron's big mouth was unreliable, and that Seamus was a bard who was full of nonsense.

If they knew how to break the age limit, it would be all over the school in a few days!

When Dumbledore hears of this, he will definitely plug the loophole, and Ivan will be left scratching his head!

So he just casually mentioned that George and Fred seemed to be trying to distract Harry and the others with an Ageing Potion…

"Aging Potion? That's a good idea!" Ron's eyes lit up, and he immediately expressed his intention to do the same if George succeeded!

Ivan left them to their own devices and went to his suitcase, where he retrieved a piece of parchment with his revised opinion.

He had written it last night, and because he had woken up late, he had not had enough time to give it to Alicia himself.

"Dobby!" cried Ivan, clapping his hands.

The next moment, Dobby the house-elf appeared in the empty space next to them.

Ivan placed the parchment in an envelope and handed it over. "Give this to my mother, prepare some food and bring it to me at ten o'clock!"

"Yes, sir!" Dobby accepted the gift with a confident nod and disappeared with a snap of his fingers.

…

The Gryffindor boys' dormitory was silent at nine-fifty.

The fatigue accumulated from a long day on the train forced the energetic young wizards to go to bed early.

Ivan got out of bed quietly so as not to wake Harry and the others, who were asleep, and slowly opened the door to the Gryffindor common room.

Thunder cracked outside the window, and raindrops pattered on the glass.

With his good eyesight, Ivan was able to see in the dark, and when he entered the lounge, he accurately lit the fireplace with his wand.

"Inndio! (fire roaring)"

As the orange flames rose, banishing the cold and darkness of the rainy night, Ivan went to sit in an armchair in front of the fireplace, and Dobby duly placed plates on the table in front of him.

"Strange, it's ten o'clock. Hasn't Hermione arrived yet?" Ivan muttered to himself, looking at the clock.

As Ivan wondered if Hermione had forgotten, he heard a noise from the stairs above.

A few seconds later, Hermione came down the stairs in her dressing gown, her face flushed from the flames of the fireplace.

"Why did you call me out at this hour?" Hermione asked gently, looking around and seeing that she and Ivan were alone in the lounge.

"Aren't you hungry after not eating all night?" Yvonne asked, pointing to some snacks on the table. "There you go!"

It was only after Ivan's reminder that Hermione noticed several dessert plates on the table.

As Ivan had said, after starving for an afternoon and an evening, the little witch was famished.

Even so, Hermione didn't do it right away. Instead, she hesitated for a moment before asking quietly, "Did they come from the kitchen?"

Apparently, young witches still mind food made through "slave labour".

"I made Dobby do it. It's not exactly slave labor, is it? I'm paid!" Yvonne said, throwing up her hands.

"Of course not!" Hermione's mouth curved into a smile, and she stared at Ivan with her brown eyes for a moment before murmuring a "Thank you."

"Eat up, it's going to get cold!" Yvonne laughed.

"Yes!" Hermione nodded and happily sat down next to Ivan. She picked up her fork and began to nibble on a treacle tart, taking her time, not at all her usual self.

Yvonne sat and watched, occasionally helping herself to a few.

The witch seemed to have only recently showered, for she smelled so good that Ivan's nose itched.

Hermione was at a loss as to what to do, her cheeks burning from the warmth of Ivan's gaze.

She looked away slightly and tried to change the subject, complaining to Ivan about how she had been mocked for trying to talk to Parvati about anti-discriminatory house-elves when she got back to her room.

Although she was talking about unhappy things, Hermione had a sweet smile on her face, and she had long since forgotten that Ivan had forgotten to write to her.

It warmed Hermione's heart to know that Ivan would take care of her hunger and prepare a snack in the middle of the night.

She even thought Ivan must have had something urgent to attend to during the summer holidays, and didn't mean to forget to post a letter, as he did last time…

"Sir! Your refreshments!" Dobby said as he placed the last two plates on the table and then cleared away the empty ones.

Dobby's arrival interrupted Hermione's wandering thoughts.

The young witch was reminded of the "great cause" of anti-discrimination, and she looked from Dobby to Ivan and exclaimed, "If only all wizards treated house-elves the way you treated Dobby!"

(PS: Although I don't know if anyone will read books on the eve of the college entrance examination, the angel still has to say: All the best for the college entrance examination! I wish you all the best!)