Hallie was taken aback by the invitation to a Fleur's gathering. His eyes shone with confusion.
What could there be to think about, Fleur has already said that she chose him because of Harry's friendly behavior when she first came to Hogwarts, and also because she likes the gown he gave her. Of course, there were some misunderstandings involved; Harry did want to clarify things, but Fleur never gave him a chance to speak, did she?
Hermione was angry because Harry agreed to Fleur's invitation?
Ron was equally stunned, staring at Hermione with a peculiar expression.
Watching the two clueless boys in front of her, Hermione shook her head and sighed heavily, giving an air of 'You guys are hopeless,' but her anger was also somewhat dissipated.
"Let's talk about it when we get back."
After saying this, Hermione took another step forward.
The courses this year had ended, though the professors left a lot of homework for them, except for Hermione, no young wizard could bear to leave those endless happy moments in the boring library. The enthusiastic Gryffindor students had been living an 'indulgent and hedonistic' life these days.
During the day, they would gather in groups outside the castle to have snowball fights and play games. As night fell, they would all return to the common room for parties, which went on late into the night before they slowly dispersed.
When the Fat Lady's portrait swung open, the warm glow of the common room candles shone brightly, and the festive atmosphere was even more lively than it had been in recent days.
Fred and George were standing at a round table selling their latest invention, a very interesting type of biscuit.
As long as you eat it, you will turn into a goldfinch with feathers all over your body and can maintain for a minute. Since Neville was 'deceived' into promoting this type of biscuit, its sales have been very good. Neville seems to be quite fond of the goldfinch biscuits as well, and he has given quite a few galleons to Fred and George for them.
"Oh, look who's here, the most enviable boy of the moment!"
The twins standing on higher ground immediately spotted Harry and his three friends squeezing through the entrance. The twins leaped up, vaulting over the heads of their other two brothers (Colin Crive and Dennis Crive), landing before an unsuspecting Harry.
"You always seem to create miracles, Harry!"
George slapped Harry hard on the arm, and Fred winked at him.
"Let's take a picture, Harry, just to celebrate!"
Somewhere along the way, Colin had already taken out his camera, eagerly saying,
"Oh, what?"
Harry realized immediately and quickly covered his face with his palm.
"Don't do that, Colin!"
Suddenly, all the boys scattered in various corners of the noisy common room appeared in front of Harry. Many people were clapping for him, but there were also many who looked at him with envious eyes.
Harry's refusal made no difference; Colin's camera had already flashed a series of dazzling lights.
"You're something, Harry!"
Seamus squeezed his way through the crowd. He grinned broadly, punching Harry on the shoulder and yelling,
"Not surprising at all, is it? You, the boy who defeated the Dark Lord and survived, how can any girl resist your charm?"
Harry had gradually figured out what was going on with this noisy scene, he shouted wanting to explain the misunderstanding, Fleur wasn't looking for him as a dance partner because she liked him, they didn't know about the dress thing yet.
In such a situation, who would take the time to listen to what Harry was shouting? The boys lined up next to Harry, each one landing a slap or a punch on any part of his upper body, to show their respect for Harry for "securing" the most popular girl in the current Hogwarts campus.
"Oh, why do you look so unhappy, Hermione?"
Harry was swallowed by the flowing crowd, George drew back his gaze and smiled cheekily at Hermione, who was standing with her arms crossed and glaring at Harry, who was becoming more and more excited.
"I guess it must be because you finally got a big scoop, only for Harry to steal the spotlight!" Fred said to Hermione and Ron with an odd smile.
"H cough!"
Ron covered his mouth with a fist and coughed twice solemnly.
"Listen to me, you two, there's nothing funny about this!"
However, Fred and George just looked at each other, then, making a strange expression, they kept repeating "There's nothing funny about this" while running off to count the extra silver coins in their pockets.
"Don't be mad, Hermione--"
Staring at the backs of Fred and George as they left for a long time, Ron finally looked away, a bit embarrassed as he glanced at Hermione.
"You know, Hermione, they just love playing these silly little jokes."
Hermione's face was boarded not because of Fred and George's insinuated teasing, but Ron's pale comfort still made Hermione's face soften a bit. She sighed lightly after that, and she and Ron moved forward and backward through the crowds to get to the sofa by the fireplace.
The common room was lively, but everyone's attention was on Harry, who had just accomplished a big thing. So when Ron and Hermione sat down, their expressions were rather unnatural, as if the room was only filled with the two of them.
Gradually, both of their faces turned a bit unnatural red. Ron nervously looked away, staring into the roaring flames within the fireplace, pulling at his collar.
"H cough, it's really hot here--"
Hermione merely pressed her lips together, making no sound. Her silence made Ron even more uneasy, so he wandered his gaze back to Harry, who was being surrounded by the crowd. He watched Harry silently for a moment before suddenly smiling.
"He's still so popular, isn't he?"
"But not entirely--"
Surprisingly, Hermione actually responded, her gaze jumping over Lavender's head and pointing at the pale girl leaning against the old five-drawer dresser.
"Oh, Ginny?"
Ron followed Hermione's gaze and saw Ginny staring at Harry, her beautiful face looking completely disheartened, and even her normally fiery red hair had become dimmer.
"You're right, Hermione. I bet Ginny's been through quite a shock. honestly, I didn't expect her to be so smitten with Harry--"
Ron shrugged casually.
It seemed that Hermione didn't like Ron's light tone, so she frowned at him, but she didn't say anything else.
It was about an hour later when Harry arrived late, his face flushed, perhaps from having had too much butterbeer or from hearing different kinds of praise than usual. His mouth was curved into a dopey smile, as if he had really accomplished something grand.
"What are you two talking about?"
Harry sat down next to Hermione, seemingly having forgotten all the questions brought out from the headmaster's office, he grinningly looked at Ron and said.
In the hour Harry was away, Ron and Hermione engaged in awkward small talk. They dared not touch upon the topic of the Christmas ball, which was incredibly torturous. Ron didn't know what Hermione was thinking, but in any case, he had to rely on an extreme amount of willpower to suppress his urge to run away.
The atmosphere cleared immediately when Harry returned, and Ron breathed a sigh of relief. He also noticed that Hermione's shoulders, which had been hunched up, relaxed a bit. However, she soon sat back up straight, and the outline of her ample upper body burned Ron's eyes like fire. It made him hold his breath and fix his gaze on Harry.
"I'm having a chat with Ron, how long do you intend to be pleased--"
Hermione pulled down her face and stared at Harry.
"Oh, what?"
Harry rubbed his messy hair and said in a dazed way, but when his gaze met the seriousness and frustration in Hermione's eyes, he shivered suddenly, and his senses immediately snapped back to alertness. He promptly remembered something from before entering the common room.
"I'm not boasting, Hermione--"
Well, Harry now understood that Hermione was still dissatisfied with him for accepting Fleur's invitation. However, Harry still felt somewhat puzzled as to why Hermione was angry.
"It's not my fault, it's Fleur who invited me."
Harry said with a hint of complaint.
"Why can't you move?"
Hermione took a sharp breath, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Harry, ready to confront him for not using his brain. But in the end, she controlled her emotions, softened her tone, and still asked with a stern expression,
"When are you going to realize that Fleur is using you, Harry?"
(End of this chapter)
