The Return to Hogwarts

"Oh, what?"

Harry immediately realized what was happening and covered his face with his hands.

"Don't do this, Colin!"

Suddenly, the boys scattered throughout the noisy common room appeared in front of Harry. Many people applauded for him, but quite a few looked at him with envy.

Harry's refusal had no effect; Colin's camera had already flashed a series of dazzling lights.

"You're something else, Harry!"

Seamus pushed his way through the crowd, a broad smile on his face, punched Harry in the shoulder armor, and shouted,

"Not surprising at all, is it? A boy who survived defeating the mysterious man, what girl could resist your charm?"

Harry was gradually figuring out what was going on, and he shouted to explain the misunderstanding: Fleur didn't ask him to be her dance partner because she liked him, and they didn't know about the dress.

In this situation, who would care what Harry was shouting? The boys lined up around Harry, and each of them was to slap or punch any part of his upper body as a sign of respect for Harry's success in getting the most popular girl in the Hogwarts school!

"Oh, why do you look unhappy, Hermione?"

Harry was swallowed up by the flowing crowd. George withdrew his gaze and looked at Harry with a grin, who was standing with his arms crossed, glaring angrily at him as his emotions gradually rose.

“I think it must be because he finally managed to make a big splash, only to have Harry steal the spotlight!” Fred said with a strange smile to Hermione and Ron.

"Cough cough!"

Ron clenched his fist under his lips and coughed twice in a solemn manner.

"Listen to me, you two, there's nothing funny about this!"

However, Fred and George merely exchanged a glance, then, making strange faces and repeatedly chuckling, "There's nothing funny about this," before running off to count the extra silver coins in their purses that evening.

"Don't be angry, Hermione—"

Ron glared at Fred and George's retreating figures for a long time before finally looking away, glancing at Hermione with slight embarrassment.

"You know, Hermione, they just love making these silly little jokes."

Hermione's stern face wasn't due to Fred and George's suggestive teasing, but Ron's pale words of comfort softened her expression somewhat. After a soft sigh, she and Ron struggled to avoid the gathering crowd and arrived at the sofa by the fireplace.

The common room was bustling with activity, but everyone's attention was focused on Harry, who had just accomplished something great. So, when Ron and Hermione sat down, their expressions were somewhat awkward as if they were the only two people left there.

Gradually, an unnatural blush crept onto both of their cheeks. Ron, flustered, averted his gaze, looking at the blazing red flames in the fireplace, and tugged at his collar.

"Cough cough, it's so hot in here--"

Hermione simply pursed her lips, remaining silent. Her silence made Ron even more uneasy. His gaze darted around, finally settling on Harry, who was surrounded by the crowd. He silently watched Harry for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"He's still as popular as ever, isn't he?"

Not entirely --

Unexpectedly, Hermione actually responded, her gaze sweeping over Lavender's head and pointing to the pale-faced girl leaning against the old dresser.

"Oh, Ginny?"

Ron looked over and saw Ginny staring at Harry, her beautiful face looking utterly dejected, and even her once fiery red hair looking rather dull.

“You’re right, Hermione. I dare say Ginny must have suffered quite a blow. To be honest, I never imagined she would be so obsessed with Harry—”

Ron shrugged and said casually.

Seemingly dissatisfied with Ron's flippant tone, Hermione frowned and glanced at him, but said nothing more.

About an hour later, Harry finally arrived, his face flushed, perhaps from the large amount of butterbeer he had been given or the unusual praise he had received. He wore a silly smile, as if he had truly accomplished something remarkable.

"What are you talking about?"

Harry plopped down next to Hermione, seemingly having forgotten all the questions he'd brought out of the headmaster's office, and grinned at Ron.

During the hour Harry was away, Ron and Hermione had an awkward conversation. They dared not bring up the topic of the Christmas ball, which was agonizing. Ron didn't know what Hermione was thinking, but he had to use his willpower to stop himself from running away.

When Harry returned, the awkward atmosphere immediately dissipated, and Ron breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He also noticed that Hermione's shrugged shoulders had slumped slightly, but then she sat up straight again. The rather voluptuous silhouette of the girl's upper body burned Ron's vision like flames, causing him to hold his breath and turn his gaze to Harry.

"I'll talk to Ron again. How long are you going to keep gloating?"

Hermione's face fell, and she glared at Harry.

"Uh, what?"

Harry rubbed his messy hair, dazed, but when his gaze met Hermione's serious and disappointed eyes, he shuddered, his mind instantly clearing as he remembered some things that had happened before entering the common room.

“I’m not smug, Hermione—”

Okay, Harry now understands that Hermione wasn't happy about him accepting Fleur's invitation. But Harry was still a little puzzled: why was Hermione angry about it?

"This isn't my fault; Furong invited me."

Harry said, sounding a little aggrieved.

Why can't you move?

Hermione took a deep breath, glaring angrily at Harry, wanting to question why he couldn't use his brain, but in the end, she restrained herself, her tone softening considerably, though her expression was still unfriendly as she asked...

"When will you finally realize that Fleur is using you, Harry?"

Chapter 701 Hibiscus's Wicked Thoughts

2024-01-19

Is Furong using me?

Harry felt his alcohol-numbed thoughts rapidly returning to normal. He blinked and stared at Hermione's serious face, a wave of confusion welling up inside him.

"Oh, come on, Hermione. You're saying Fleur invited Harry to the ball to use him, but what does she want to use Harry for?"

Harry's arrival seemed to have helped Ron regain his 'skills'. He glanced suspiciously at Hermione and questioned,

"You're not jealous because you know Furong isn't very popular with the girls, and you think she's too pretty and steals your thunder—"

Harry immediately looked at Hermione, his face full of innocence.

"Jealousy, is that all you think, Weasley?!"

Hermione seemed furious at Ron's words, to the point that she even regretted the impulsive decision she had made in the foyer that evening on a whim. She tilted her head, glaring at Ron with intense eyes, her lips pressed tightly together.

Realizing he was in deep trouble, Ron immediately fell silent and secretly gave Harry a meaningful look.

Hermione--

Harry carefully considered his words.

"I don't quite understand what Ron is talking about. What does Fleur want to use me for?"

"Good question, Harry--"

Hermione averted her gaze from Ron and turned to Harry with a sullen expression.

"When she invited you, didn't you wonder why she would do it? Oh, don't listen to her nonsense, Harry, because of a bowl of fish soup and giving her directions?"

Harry immediately tried to add something, but Hermione continued,

"Do you really think that girl doesn't know that the dress you gave her was bought by Professor Blaine? Oh, Harry, don't be naive, you underestimate girls' minds!"

Ron continued to glance at Hermione, wanting to hear what insightful opinions she had to offer, while Harry kept blinking, his expression growing increasingly puzzled.

Fleur knew how Hermione had deduced that the dress was a gift from Professor Blaine. If that was true, then why would Fleur invite him? Apart from their few interactions, they had barely spoken.

"What do you think of the last thing Fleur asked you to do, Harry?" Hermione asked coldly.

"what?"

Harry instinctively asked a question, and then he remembered that before Professor McGonagall called them away on their first night, Fleur, knowing they were going to see Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine, had asked him to pass on a message to Professor Blaine, informing him that they were going to become dance partners.

Harry was indeed puzzled by this, but at the time his attention was drawn to the two professors calling him, Hermione, and Ron to culture, so he didn't think about it any further. Now, after Hermione's reminder, Harry did feel strange. What did this have to do with Professor Blaine? Why did Fleur want him to convey this to Professor Blaine?

"Hibiscus once invited Professor Blaine to the ball, but Professor Blaine declined."

Hermione finally dropped the matter she had been asking about.

As she expected, the two boys next to her also showed surprised expressions, and Ron almost slipped off the sofa.

"Fleur invited Professor Blaine to the ball and was turned down? Oh, that's incredible! Where did you hear that, Hermione?"

Ron braced himself on the sofa and sat back down. He stared at Hermione in disbelief and asked in a low voice.

"Many girls know about this--"

Hermione pursed her lips and looked at Ron.

"But you boys don't care about that at all; you're only thinking about finding a pretty girl to go to the dance with!"

Ron shrank back awkwardly. To be honest, Hermione wasn't entirely wrong.

"But this news..."

Harry finally realized something was wrong; he frowned and his face tightened.

"I don't know if you noticed, but about a week ago, Fleur was a little unhappy for two days. Every time she came to class at the castle, she always had a cold face and didn't say a word." Looking at the two boys' blank faces, Hermione snorted sarcastically, "You didn't notice? Oh, that's not surprising. The boys were too busy looking at her pretty face, weren't they?"

"Hermione—" Harry called out, both helpless and somewhat dissatisfied.

“It was Parvati who told me, and Parvati heard it from her Ravenclaw sister, Parvati. You know, the guests at Beauxbatons were all attending classes according to the Ravenclaw students' schedule. They—I mean, Padma and her friends noticed that Fleur was unhappy those few days, so they tried to find out what was wrong with her—”

"Oh, you girls are so boring--"