Chapter 35 - The (Kind of Pathetic) Duel

The very second lunch ended, Louis headed straight to the forbidden forest to have some rest and relaxation with the rest of his friends in the forest.

He stayed in the forest until the sun rose the next day. And since Draco lost rock paper scissors between Anni, Richard and him to see who would fetch Louis, he was able to see a very serene sight.

Louis was huddled into Gideon trying to keep himself warm with his book lying on the ground opened, while Meister was lying on the other side of Louis making it look as if the boy was in a makeshift nest keeping him safe.

And if one looked closely enough, Bandit was sleeping happily inside the pocket of the boy's hoodie.

Robin and Marrie - The squirrels, were comfortably asleep on top of Louis' head, and it seems as if they wouldn't be leaving it anytime soon.

Three deers were huddled close to the foot of Louis as if they were ready to take on a defensive position in front of the boy in case anything unsavoury happened and they were caught off guard.

The most surprising thing in the whole scene, was the centaurs that surrounded the area like sacred guards guarding a temple or a palace.

Even though they were out like a light, the bows and quivers they carried on their backs, spoke for them the danger that they promised to those they didn't deemed a danger.

Tip toeing slowly to avoid waking up any creatures unnecessarily, Draco reaches Louis and gently nudges him on the shoulders.

" Hm? " Louis groggily mumbles, half drowsy " Breakfast is in the dining hall, so unless you want to miss eating your Jello, I suggest you wake up. " Draco whispers to Louis before leaving the area.

" Food? " Louis says groggily before the word registers in his brain and a loud gasp leaves his mouth. " Food! " His happy exclamation makes the animals surrounding him, wake up startled.

Meister - who was still to tired for Louis' bright and sudden energy, pokes him with his horn to ask for some silence and goes back to sleep.

" Sorry. " Louis apologises as he strokes Meister's head gently to lull the unicorn back into slumber.

Gideon huffs out a breath of air telling the young boy that he was awake and proceeds to moves his wings to stretch them out.

" Heading back for Christmas? " Louis asks the Griffin curiously when he notices the Griffin's area in the forest was clean.

' Yup. ' Gideon replies, happy at the thought of seeing his family members for the holiday

" The rest will be gone to huh. " The young boy says as he looks around and notices most of the creatures and animals places were cleaned too.

' It's a rare time for us to be able to visit our family since we live far away from each other. So it's good for us to meet up when we can, don't you think? ' Gideon asks as he shakes his body to warm it up his feathers.

" That is true. " Louis agrees with a small smile as he thinks about his own family.

Robin and Marrie had woken to the exclamation of Louis and decided that his hair was too comfortable to move out of, so they stayed lying on top awake.

The deers were awake and prancing around, playing together since Louis was awake and they didn't have to protect him now.

The centaurs went back to their own area in the forest once they were sure that Louis wasn't going to go back to sleep in the forest anytime soon.

" I should probably go now before all the Jello is gone. I'll see you guys later. " Louis says Softly as he stands making sure that Bandit doesn't fall out of his hoodie in the process.

' Sure. Have fun till then Louis! " Gideon happily says while Louis waves goodbye and heads back to Hogwarts.

" Since when could you understand animals to the point you could have a conversation? " Draco asks as he meets up with Louis at the entrance of the forbidden forest.

" It's a family trait I guess. Dad can do it too, though I don't know about Richard but he should be able to do it. " Leaving Draco on his own to absorb what he said, Louis rushes to his seat in the great hall and digs into his treasured Jello.

• • •

Once breakfast was finished, Louis was left to his own devices while Annie and Richard reluctantly left him and head for potions class.

Deciding to just take a nap, Louis heads back out to the forest to get the fresh morning breeze in his face to ensure a comfy nap.

Finding the most comfortable area he could find, Louis settles down and closes his eyes to the sounds of the forest. He fell asleep in no time.

Meister was taking a late morning stroll around to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary until he found Louis happily napping away under the shade of a tree with Bandit curled into himself on his stomach.

Deciding to take a short break for no particular reason, Meister lays down beside Louis and falls into asleep soon after.

" Remind me again why I'm here? " Louis - in the middle of Annie and Richard - asks with his arms crossed glaring at Draco - whom was standing beside Richard, looking away innocently.

" It's a duelling club for students to defend ourselves, Louis. We can at least try it. " Richard says to Louis as he hands the spiteful boy a Jello the size of a large bowl.

Happily taking the bowl-sized Jello Louis decides to see how the duelling club will be like in the future.

His small hope for the club, went out like a dim fire the moment he saw Lockhart wearing his flopping robe enter the room.

Professor Snape enters after Lockhart makes his long ' speech ' looking very pissed at the flamboyant man in front of him.

" I may not like his personality, but I cant wait for what happens next. " Louis remarks as he summons a cup of smoothie with popcorn and the three beside him couldn't agree more.

• • •

" Professor Snape and I will be doing a demonstration for you students to take note of. " Were the only words that Louis actually registered throughout the whole of Lockharts speech.

Sitting up straighter in his chair that he summoned with the accio spell, Louis gets comfy and eagerly awaits what will happen next.

" Will they be alright? " Draco asks slightly worried for his godfather " He'll be fine, it's Lockhart we should be worried for. " Annie states casually in her own seat as she takes a handful of popcorn from Louis' tub.

When the start of the demonstration began, Snape was the first to cast his spell exclaiming " Expelliarmus! " Successfully sending Lockhart flying through the air a good ten meters away.

" This is boring. " Louis remarks off handedly, already done with the sad demonstration of a duel. But everyone noticed the smirk on Snape's lips when he made Lockhart suffer.

" Why do you have popcorn? " Neville who was beside Richard, questions as he looks at the three Princeton's and Draco, seating comfortably in their chairs with snacks and smoothies.

" Want one? " Richard asks as he brings his own tub for Neville to take. " If you don't mind. " He says his thanks as he takes some popcorn and tosses them into his mouth.

" Want a chair? This could take a while. " Louis says as he gestures to the professors on the duelling platform.

Noticing that what Louis said was indeed true, Neville nods his head and says a thanks to Louis again.

" It's fine, I've got nothing better to do anyways considering the fact Draco signed me up without me knowing. " Sending another glare to Draco Louis uses the accio spell once more and summons another seat for Neville.