Homecoming from Hogwarts

As the week before Christmas approaches, school classes have stopped. Although the teachers have assigned a lot of homework to the fourth grade students during the holidays, after the semester is over, Harry has no intention of doing homework at all, but just enjoys it like everyone else. Playing. Oh, that's not that accurate. At least, Harry, like other students in the physical education class, will never forget the daily running exercises.

The silver coating that the last heavy snowfall had covered the earth has not completely faded. When everything was quiet last night, the sky began to fall with fluttering snowflakes again. In just one day, the snow on the Quidditch pitch and lawns was already covered. The pile was as high as the little wizard's knees.

Hermione's suggestion to complete running exercises in the morning was rejected by Harry and Ron, who were afraid of the cold. Therefore, the three of them had to walk through the snow with one step at a time before dinner began, not so much running. , it is better to walk hard.

Fortunately, the three of them were not the only ones in such a mess. By the time Harry had finished walking and had been wading in the snow for more than 20 minutes, Malfoy took Pansy and Astoria away from the castle. Come over, and behind these three people are Crabbe and Goyle who look reluctant.

"Oh, why are these two guys just standing there?"

The three of them passed by Malfoy's team. Harry and Malfoy looked at each other, and then involuntarily looked away. Ron stood at the bottom step of the stand with a sidelong glance, feeling miserable. Crabbe and Goyle, who were shivering with cold faces, asked breathlessly.

"Huh, obviously--"

The snow also made Harry, who was used to running and exercising, feel a little tired. He tried hard to adjust his disordered breath and said to Ron,

"Malfoy must have been stimulated by Hermione. I mean, when Hermione mocked him last time in the gym class, Malfoy definitely didn't take it as a deaf ear--"

"Humph--"

Hermione snorted arrogantly,

"I'm afraid Malfoy spent a lot of words to get them to leave the warm castle, but he couldn't convince Crabbe and Goyle to be as angry as you, could he?"

"Oh, I'm embarrassed to say that, Hermione -"

Ron said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, Harry—"

Ron's playful smile made both Harry and Hermione laugh. However, Hermione immediately stopped smiling and turned her head towards Harry.

"Whew, I thought, Harry, after that duel, I thought your relationship would be even worse, but in Potions class on Friday, Professor Snape was criticizing you for getting the wrong amount of nectar. Maybe you didn't notice that Malfoy didn't laugh at you——"

"Our relationship with Malfoy was so bad in first year, Hermione—"

Ron answered first,

"As for the Potions class, I guess that coward Malfoy must have been frightened by Harry. He probably didn't expect that even though he had managed to get the upper hand through cunning tricks, he couldn't frighten Harry either-"

Harry didn't quite agree with Ron's statement, but he didn't refute it, because he did notice that after that duel, his view of Malfoy had some subtle changes, and what specific changes were they? , he himself couldn’t tell clearly.

When the three of them left the Quidditch pitch and walked towards the castle, Beauxbatons' carriage made some noise.

"Who's probably inviting Fleur to the Yule Ball."

The distance was so far that Harry, who had the best eyesight, could not catch the faces of the two people surrounded by some students. However, Fleur's hair still flashed silver in the snow from time to time for Harry to confirm. his identity,

"No matter who it is, in short, he will not succeed--"

Ron smacked his lips, his tone inexplicable,

"Ever since Professor McGonagall told everyone about the prom, at least ten boys have been rejected by Fleur every day. Roger Davis is the captain of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team and walked away from those losers at noon. Following in her footsteps, I heard Neville say that Fleur only sent a message to Davis, and he didn't even see her face. This poor guy - "

Under normal circumstances, Harry should have expressed some sympathy for Davis like Ron. After all, he and Davis had played against each other on the playing field. However, thinking about his own experience, what did he do? I was speechless.

Cedric Diggory publicly invited Qiu Zhang from Ravenclaw in the gym class after Potions class on Friday. Amid the applause of the whole hall, Qiu Zhang’s face turned red. nodded.

At that time, his mind was full of terrible thoughts, such as rushing up to fight Digory in a duel or something. Moreover, he was convinced that he could defeat Digory cleanly and prove to Qiu Zhang that although He is no warrior, but he is no worse than Diggory.

In the end, he did not act on his crazy thoughts, but slowly digested the bitterness. This incident also caused all Harry's illusions about the Yule Ball to be shattered. When Ron asked him about his plans, , he bluntly stated that he did not plan to find a dance partner. "Are you really not going to bring a pretty girl with you, Harry?"

Due to frequent trampling, the snow on a section of the road under the marble stairs had turned into solid ice. The three of them had to be careful not to fall. The three of them supported each other. Ron asked casually,

"Don't mind, Harry, even if you are not a warrior, at least you are the 'Boy Who Lived', right? And you are also the youngest genius seeker in a hundred years. I bet not many girls will reject you. At least Ginny won't be the one to send out invitations. She's probably been waiting for you to invite her--"

"I don't want to make a fool of myself, Ron—"

Harry, who still couldn't completely shake off the sourness in his heart, said in as understated a tone as possible,

"The last time I danced was seven or eight years ago, in gym class at a Muggle school. If anyone wants to go to the dance with me, she'd better prepare two extra pairs of dancing shoes -"

Ron chuckled, but Hermione looked at Harry meaningfully. She was about to say something, but a voice calling her name suddenly came from above the marble stairs,

"Hey, Hermione Granger!"

The sudden call almost caused the three people who were climbing the stairs to shake violently. But after they finally stabilized and looked up with angry eyes, in just one second, the eyes of the three people were all different. It became more subtle, and Ron and Harry looked at Hermione who pursed her lips.

"What's the matter, Davis?"

When there was still the last step to the platform, Hermione calmly avoided Roger Davis's gentlemanly hand for support. After boarding the platform, Harry and Ron also had a tacit understanding. The others retreated behind Hermione, even though their eyes were looking at Roger Davis with strong hostility.

People coming in and out of the foyer were aware of what was about to happen. They stopped one after another, held their breath, and looked at them with interest.

"I've been looking for you for a long time, but I didn't expect to meet you here, Hermione—"

Davis's affectionate name made Hermione, Harry and Ron frown. The relationship between Davis and Hermione was not good enough to call each other by name. In fact, before today, they had not been together. We talked at school.

Davis brushed back the hair hanging down from his forehead, with a confident smile on his face.

"Actually, I would like to invite you to attend the Yule Ball with me. How about it, beautiful Miss Granger. I'm sure that if we appear at the ball together, we will definitely cause a sensation!"

For a moment, both Harry and Ron wanted to rush up and punch Davis in the face. This guy had bad intentions. He was rejected by Fleur just at noon, and now he came to provoke Hermione. He just wanted to borrow the Warrior. Being famous allows you to be in the limelight!

Harry and Ron both bet that if Hermione agrees to Davis's invitation, then they will eat the snails raised by Hagrid alive!

"Sorry, Davis -" Hermione said coldly, "I've already agreed to be with someone else -"

Hermione's answer immediately made Harry and Ron look at each other in shock, and then both looked at the back of Hermione's head.

As a Hogwarts warrior, Hermione, who got the highest score in the first game, will certainly not be unpopular. In fact, there are not many people inviting her to the dance these days, but generally Whoever invited her took advantage of Granger's absence from her two friends.

But even so, Harry and Ron had heard a lot of rumors in the past few days, but because of the sensitivity of this topic, they both maintained a tacit understanding and did not ask. But unexpectedly, when did Hermione find a dance partner?

Harry's eyes were filled with pure surprise and curiosity, while Ron's freckled face flashed with a hint of darkness.

Hermione's answer also surprised Davis. He was stunned for a moment, and then the confident smile returned to his face.

"Oh, don't lie to me, Hermione. I've asked your good friend, the crazy girl, and she told me that you haven't accepted anyone's invitation yet. Well, maybe my invitation is too sudden for you. Really? You need some time to digest the surprise?"

"I don't know who that crazy girl you're talking about, Davis!"

The frost on Hermione's face became heavier, and she said harshly,

"My best friend in Ravenclaw is Luna Lovegood!"

(End of this chapter)