Curfew had already passed by more than half an hour, in the corner to the right of the kitchen corridor, a brown head intermittently poked out from between a pile of barrels, shrinking back immediately upon hearing any sound.
Not long after, one head turned into two, like two mushrooms sprouting from the ground.
"It's been so long," Leian said.
"Yeah." Theo frowned and said.
"Vid might have already gone back to the common room." Leian said, "You know he can turn into an eagle and just fly away from any window; he didn't have to take this route."
"I know. But I messaged him, and he hasn't replied yet," Theo said.
"Maybe he just hasn't checked the Friendship Book; that guy won't check his messages for most of the day once he starts researching," Leian added.
"It's late. You should go to sleep, Leian. I can wait by myself," Theo started to shoo him away.
Leian snorted but said nothing, nor did he leave.
Theo was leaning on a barrel beside him, resting his chin on his hand, and couldn't help yawning, then said, "Do you think we should go find Professor Sprout or Professor McGonagall?"
Leian, leaning on the other side, said wordlessly, "Do you think Professor Snape is some Zibuckru Monster that eats children? Vid wouldn't end up boiled in a cauldron even if he accidentally angered the professor."
"I know, but...oh..."
Theo sighed worriedly.
Professor Snape wasn't particularly targeting anyone from Hufflepuff, he equally criticized anyone who made mistakes, and in Magic Potion Class, Theo and Vid were often paired, rarely getting scolded.
Yet, whenever the professor wore a stern face, it was enough to frighten everyone in Hufflepuff.
"Professor Sprout is much better, just like a mom."
Theo thought of their head of house, feeling very fortunate.
Leian nodded in agreement.
At that moment, he heard soft footsteps coming from the corridor and hurriedly pulled Theo down low, saying in a hushed voice, "Someone's coming!!"
Even though Theo didn't hear anything, he trusted his friend's hearing very much, so he held his breath and hid.
Leian listened more carefully, then a smile appeared on his face, "It's not Filch—it's Vid!"
So the two mushrooms emerged together again.
After a few moments of waiting, they indeed saw Vid's figure appear at the corridor's end; he was frowning slightly, eyes lowered, looking at the ground in front of him with an exceptionally serious expression.
Theo waved an arm, softly calling, "Vid!"
Vid looked up, a bit surprised when he saw them, "What are you guys doing?"
"Waiting for you!" Leian said briefly.
"Hurry inside!" Theo urged, waving his arm, "Filch might come over any minute!"
Though Vid wasn't worried about that, he still complied, quickening his pace and approaching them.
In the midst of a bunch of large barrels, there was a somewhat narrow, slightly tilted circular entrance, where Leian and Theo were squeezing in.
Leian had already disappeared through the entrance, and Theo gestured for Vid to follow, backing in himself.
Vid: "..."
He looked at that entrance and, like he was crawling through a cement pipe on a construction site when he was a kid, followed and squeezed in.
Except the surrounding "pipe" was made of wood and emitted a faint scent of alcohol and a creamy sweetness, the bottom and sides were polished to a shine from being rubbed by people.
After crawling a short distance, the view suddenly opened up. The round underground room seemed much lower compared to the Ravenclaw Common Room, reminiscent of a badger lying on the ground.
The entire room was illuminated by orange light; the flames in the fireplace roared, and all around the sofas and armchairs were wrapped in yellow and black velvet, giving the whole room a cozy and warm ambiance.
Below the ceiling, on the shelves all around, and the windowsills, were filled with magical plants; some emitted a faint glow, others swayed gently, and some were blooming, looking vibrant and lively.
The fragrance of plants and flowers filled the room, and insects unseen in other common rooms, like fireflies and butterflies, could be spotted.
Above the honey-yellow fireplace mantel with a carved badger hung the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, the founder of the house; she resembled Professor Sprout, with a plump face bedecked with a warm and joyful smile, brightening up anyone's mood who saw her.
Unfortunately, it was already night outside, so one couldn't see the sunshine streaming through those round windows.
Besides the three of them, the common room was empty, so Vid couldn't help asking, "Where is everyone else from the house?"
Theo naturally said, "They went to sleep; it's already so late."
Vid: "..." It does seem like that's the case.
But if it were Ravenclaw's common room, there were probably still people in the corners reading or doing homework;
No need to even mention Gryffindor; the Weasley Twins probably haven't returned even by now.
Vid didn't know the Slytherin students well, but he figured the students from Slytherin probably weren't all sticking to a regular schedule, going to bed early and waking up early.
The two Hufflepuffs, who usually were fast asleep by now, were fighting sleepiness, pulling Vid to sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Theo couldn't wait to ask:
"Vid, did you go find Professor Snape? Did he make things difficult for you?"
Vid asked curiously, "How did you guys know?"
Leian said, "We accidentally saw Malfoy on our way back. He reported to Filch that there was a student wandering near the underground corridor by the Potions Classroom at night instead of sleeping—we guessed it might be you."
The Potions Classroom was near Professor Snape's office, so the two of them also guessed Vid's purpose.
"Were you looking for Professor Snape for Neville's sake?" Theo asked worriedly, "What if he starts targeting you too?"
"Of course, I wouldn't recklessly rush up to the professor and accuse him. I just let him know that Neville can feel pain too; he's not a stone immune to insults and reproaches."
Vid said, "Don't worry, Professor Snape wasn't angry with me. But as for whether the communication results will meet our expectations, I don't know either."
"That's good."
Theo breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly realized something and hurriedly explained, "I'm not unconcerned about Neville; I just..."
"I know." Vid's eyes were full of understanding, smiling, "Thank you, Theo. And you too, Leian, for worrying about me."
Leian shook his head, "When Neville cried, I felt terrible too, but I didn't know what I could do to help. I..."
He lowered his head in shame, his voice squeezing out as if through clenched teeth, "I'm sorry... I didn't have the courage to stand up to Professor Snape..."