Although Cedric reacted quickly enough, he still underestimated the seriousness of this whole thing... Or maybe he just didn't realize how famous he actually was.
Top student in fourth year, handsome, gentle with a lot of patience... All these together made him really well-known among the students.
He'd barely walked a hundred meters out of the auditorium when five dwarves came sprinting towards him... Their golden wings flapping back and forth, adding a peculiar touch of humor.
"Hey, you! Cedric Digory!" The dwarf at the front pushed through the crowd with its arms and squeezed its way over.
Cedric's hair were practically standing on end—he tried to lift his legs and run, but before he could even take two steps, the dwarves were already kicking people's shins, chasing right after him.
Three in front, two in back, blocking his way completely.
"I have a musical message to deliver personally to Cedric Digory." A dwarf stepped out first, struck a harp with a menacing air.
Cedric looked at the growing crowd surrounding him and wanted to run again... But his clothes were grabbed by the dwarf, so there was no chance to escape.
"Not here…" Cedric pleaded, "I'm going to be late for class!"
But the dwarves acted like they hadn't heard him at all, and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Here's your Valentine's musical gift…
His gray eyes are as captivating as freshly squeezed Shrunken Fig,
His hair shines black like a cauldron that's been used for thirty years,
I wish he belonged to me, he's really so handsome,
He's the perfect Mr. Hufflepuff."
Cedric's face was now totally bloodless—he looked even paler than the legendary vampires.
He tried his hardest to laugh along with everyone else, but in the end, he could only let out a dry, hoarse moan.
Cedric had considered that the dwarves' message delivery might not be very friendly, but seeing it in person, he realized how thoroughly wrong he'd been.
This wasn't unfriendly, it was flat-out nightmarish.
And this kind of nightmare—there were still four more to come…
Kael had originally been standing on the sidelines watching the fun, but Conna suddenly tugged at his sleeve.
"You better run…"
"What?"
Kael looked up, and only then saw another pack of dwarves rushing toward them.
Not too many, not too few—exactly seven.
And their target didn't seem to be Cedric...
"Hey, Kael…"
"Birds, flock up!" Kael felt his scalp prickling and instantly whipped out his wand...
The cedar wood wand made a loud bang, and a flock of little birds flapped out from its tip, swarming around the dwarves and blocking their sight.
Without a second's hesitation, Kael grabbed Conna, squeezed through the crowd, and dashed back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
When the barrel-shaped door finally closed, Kael collapsed onto a sofa, gasping for breath.
Not from exhaustion, but from fright.
Conna was covering her mouth next to him, laughing till she nearly cried.
"I've never seen you scared like this." She shrugged, "Even when Oren tricked you into the Forbidden Forest, you didn't lose your cool this badly."
"You don't get it…"
Kael wiped the cold sweat from his brow, "If those dwarves would just vanish into thin air, I'd rather go back into the Forbidden Forest with Oren again."
"Pffft!" The little witch couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Conna, don't be too much." Kael snapped, "I helped you, you know—who says those dwarves aren't after you, too?"
Conna scrunched her nose and, imagining the dwarves singing to her, "Your hair is like freshly-fried potatoes"… her head went buzzing and she shivered all over.
Her good mood vanished instantly, as she glared ferociously at Kael.
"Warning you now, don't start nonsense—those dwarves were staring at you the whole time!" she couldn't help saying, "They were definitely after you, not me, not even one Knut's worth!"
"Who knows… I don't believe you saw every dwarf's eyes."
"I definitely saw!" Conna said loudly,
At that moment, the door opened again—Cedric walked in, still sporting the look of someone who'd just survived a disaster.
"Thanks, Kael."
He flopped onto the sofa, "Those birds distracted the dwarves and I got away while they weren't looking.
Seriously scary… Do you guys think if I fake sick and go to the Hospital Wing, will Madam Pomfrey figure me out?"
"Faking won't work." Kael shook his head, "If you're really considering it… I actually have some Belladonna, want a bite?"
"Forget the Belladonna." Cedric thought a moment, then declined.
He just wanted to hide in the Hospital Wing for a day, not risk half his life for it.
...
When the Hufflepuff Common Room door opened again, Cedric walked out alone, trembling with nerves.
The Invisibility Cloak was one-of-a-kind, and after some inner struggle, Cedric decided to let Conna have it.
He glanced next to him and whispered, "Kael, do you really think your plan will work?"
"Worth a try." The wall beside him shook a bit, and Kael's voice came through, "There are only twelve dwarves—if we keep them busy, they won't have time for those nightmares like before."
Kael's plan was simple… If you can't beat them, hide; if you can't hide, join in.
If other people can send them Valentine cards, why can't they send some too? There's no need for names anyway…
As long as others get one more card, they get one less.
"But who do we write to?"
Cedric was still a bit hesitant. The plan's good, but it felt pretty mean—he was a little embarrassed.
"Fred and George are perfect." Kael said casually, "They love all this chaos, probably dying to get some cards."
"Lockhart too… Let's hit him with a hundred cards first."
"And Professor Snape's an option—he's definitely not getting any Valentine cards, we could send him fifty to boost his ego."
Just then, a disembodied arm appeared out of nowhere and punched Kael.
"Alright, ten cards… The rest goes to Lockhart."
Kael took out a stack of papers covered with writing and handed them to the others.
These were all scribbled in the Common Room just now—the contents were almost identical.
"Add names, and give them to the dwarves to deliver."
Cedric was still hesitant, "Are these copied cards really okay? Maybe we should change up the wording?"
"No need." Kael shook his head and explained, "The dwarves usually help goblins make weapons, they're used to mechanical work—even if the cards are all the same, they'll still deliver them.
Although you reminded me—be sure to mix up the names, so they have to run around a few extra times."
...