HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 186 A Competitor's Hint

The start of the new Hogwarts school term has been accompanied by a barrage of exciting news.

For example, Hagrid's giant origins were exposed by the famous journalist Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet, along with the latest romantic scandals on campus.

Of course, the students are most concerned about the latter.

Many new romances blossomed at that wonderful Christmas ball, the most famous being between Cedric Diggory, the hero of Hufflepuff, and Lyra White, the most beautiful girl in Gryffindor.

When asked by his friends, Cedric Diggory admitted that he was preparing to officially begin pursuing her.

“We’re not lovers yet,” Lyra said at lunch, satisfying Angelina and Arya’s curiosity while maintaining a poised demeanor in the face of the ears perked up at the entire Gryffindor table. “But I’ll consider it.”

Harry's expression changed instantly. He tried to cover it up with the salt shaker, but instead, he accidentally knocked over his bowl of porridge.

Hermione looked at her poor friend with pity. This was the first time Lyra had been so frank about considering a suitor, and she had a very bad feeling about it—Harry might really be heartbroken, even though he hadn't even taken the step of confessing his feelings.

Sure enough, the situation became increasingly dire for the other boys who also liked Lyra.

Cedric launched a passionate offensive.

He seemed to find opportunities to be with Lyra all day long: chance encounters in the corridor, being partners in class, walks by the lake, and even before outdoor herb classes, Lyra would receive the perfect bouquet of lilies of the valley that Cedric had carefully selected from the entire greenhouse.

“I think they need an equally beautiful owner,” Cedric said with a smile in front of a group of Gryffindors waiting for class, his dark eyes sparkling.

Amidst the friendly whistles and cheers of her friends, Lyra, without any hesitation, affectionately brushed the mud off Cedric's cuffs.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just finished their Magical Creatures Protection class and were walking back to the castle from the edge of the Forbidden Forest when they stumbled upon this scene.

"Are they really going to start dating?" Ron asked, full of doubt. "That's so strange. Why didn't George and Fred rush over and beat that pretty boy Diggory to a pulp—"

Ron pretended not to see Hermione's disapproving look. "I mean, they still haven't forgiven Diggory because of the Quidditch match, have they? But now they're just standing by and watching Diggory fawn over Lyra, doing absolutely nothing—"

Harry was incredibly annoyed.

He was already unhappy because Hagrid suddenly stopped coming to class, and now he saw Diggory giving flowers in public. However, Ron's words still made him glance at the crowd—outside the crowd, there was indeed a pair of red-haired, freckled creatures standing silently with their arms crossed and cold faces.

"What kind of potion did Fred and George take?" Ron was still babbling in disbelief. "They even tried to ruin Diggory's ball invitation before, but now they're letting Lyra and Diggory flirt with each other—"

“Show some manners!” Hermione finally couldn’t take it anymore. “This is a normal pursuit, very romantic. Just because you have a teaspoon of feelings doesn’t mean Diggory does too. Besides, it’s Lyra’s freedom. She can date whoever she wants!”

"You call this romantic?" Ron yelled. "It's just sending a few flowers... so cliché..."

"At least you wouldn't send flowers to a girl, would you?"

"Are you on Harry's side or not? First Krum, then Diggory, they're both Harry's rivals—"

"You're so naive—"

Hermione and Ron started arguing again. Harry felt a splitting headache, so he strode away, leaving his two friends behind. The two were so engrossed in their heated argument that they didn't even notice that Harry had already walked away on his own.

But Harry hadn't gone far when someone called him back.

"Hey Harry, wait a minute—"

It was Cedric Diggory. Harry turned to look at him, and in the distance, Lyra was holding a bunch of lilies of the valley.

"What?" Harry asked coldly.

“Well, thank you for telling me about the dragon before,” Cedric explained enthusiastically, completely ignoring Harry’s cold expression. “I think I can repay this favor to you this time. As for the golden egg, did you know that it makes a scream when you open it?”

“Yes.” Harry frowned.

"All you need to do is take the golden egg and take a hot bath, understand?"

"what?"

“Hot water will help you figure out the secret of the golden egg. Oh, and you're still a fourth-year student,” Cedric said, completely oblivious to Harry's dark expression. “You can use our prefect's bathroom, it's on the sixth floor, the password is Fresh Pineapple—”

Harry's face darkened; he thought Cedric Diggory was making fun of him, but the other man's smile was genuine and friendly.

"I have to go. I got covered in mud while picking lilies of the valley, and I need to take a shower before the next class—"

Cedric hurriedly said goodbye to Harry and ran into the castle first.

"Harry, what did Diggory just say to you?"

While Harry was still pondering whether Diggory was deliberately teasing him, Hermione and Ron had already finished their argument and both caught up with him.

"Nothing, just saying hello." Harry didn't tell his friends the truth.

What could he say? His competitor had just privately provided him with research leads for the next competition item, but he didn't understand a word of it.

Harry's pride led him to forgo the opportunity to ask his friend, the smartest witch in the entire grade, for help. He could only secretly worry about the second project, completely clueless about the mystery of the golden egg.

Harry still hadn't solved the mystery by the time he returned to Hogsmeade, and he also encountered other troubles.

Harry wasn't the only one with worries; George and Fred were also upset because their best friend (of course, they believed this was only for now and would definitely change in the future) had agreed to go to Hogsmeade with Cedric Diggory.