HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 182 The Shura Field (2)

Leila quietly slipped out of the auditorium.

The front door of the auditorium's outer foyer was open, and down the steps was a garden meticulously arranged by house-elves.

Lyra slowly walked into the garden. Beside her, the roses were still in full bloom in the dead of night, and the fairy light among the flowers shimmered.

The girl with black hair and gray eyes stood amidst the shimmering light and the pervasive fragrance of flowers, like a night elf, every smile and gesture exuding a captivating allure.

This is exactly what George and Fred, who were following behind, saw.

Two young men dressed in dark blue suits couldn't resist stepping forward, taking the girl's hand, and dancing gracefully among the flowers once again.

The starlight under the night sky witnessed the three people's casual yet perfectly synchronized dance steps, and their joyful laughter carried far away on the night breeze.

Leila got tired and started sweating after jumping for a while.

Fred jumped around too wildly, always lifting her high up with an annoying grin on his face, as if he were secretly laughing at her for gaining several pounds from eating sour cream pudding; while George, though gentler, always liked to pull her around in circles.

She had to beg for mercy from her two energetic redheaded dance partners and sit down, panting, on a carved bench next to a fountain.

The fountain seemed to be under a spell; it would spout even more water whenever someone approached. The splashing water hit Lyra, wetting her arms, and she shivered from the cool spray.

"Give--"

George and Fred took off their tuxedo jackets almost simultaneously, spoke almost at the same time, then looked at each other with slight surprise, instantly understanding each other's gaze.

"Aren't you cold?" Leila looked at the two coats handed to her, then at the fountain water splashing onto them indiscriminately.

No, but—

"Whose clothes do you want to wear?"

Two identical faces looked at her, their eyes equally determined, yet neither was willing to back down.

Lyra was slightly surprised. Fred and George rarely, if ever, argued; their usual squabbles and playful fights were just jokes and banter.

The two have a tacit understanding unique to twins—who gets more or less, who advances or retreats, who goes first or last, all without words, it's a natural and perfect arrangement.

But this time, Fred and George seemed unusually serious, yet after Lyra examined them closely, she realized they were no different from usual.

It might have been another spur-of-the-moment thing, or perhaps a playful competition between twins.

“I think,” Leila deliberately drew out her words, trying to match the tension between the two and increase the suspense of their playful competition, “I would choose—”

"Severus, you can't pretend none of this happened!" a panicked, hoarse voice screamed.

The three of them immediately crouched down, using the fountain and the nearby huge stone statues to block their view, and then cautiously peeked in the direction of the sound.

“I don’t understand why you’re making such a fuss, Igor.” A very familiar voice rang out.

Lyra immediately recognized the voice as belonging to her dance partner from just moments before—Severus Snape, the Potions Professor at Hogwarts and the Head of Slytherin.

Leila turned her head, intending to exchange glances with her two best friends, but the next second she found herself wearing a coat.

It smelled of lemongrass, the scent of the twins' recent experimental materials, and... still carried a trace of Fred's body heat.

George glanced at Fred, who had made the first move, shrugged, and then tossed his jacket onto his brother's back, though with a bit too much force.

But Fred didn't fight back, just grinned nonchalantly.

Lyra paid no attention to the silent dispute between the two; her attention was entirely focused on the two adult wizards not far away.

“You can’t deny it—” Karkaroff’s voice was urgent and panicked, “it’s become increasingly obvious over the past few months! I’m very worried now, very worried—”

“Then run away,” Snape replied impatiently. “Run away, I can make excuses for you—but I don’t intend to leave Hogwarts.”

Suddenly, their conversation stopped.

Lyra and the twins curiously peeked out to see what was going on, just in time to see Professor Snape waving his wand and blasting open the rose bushes on the other side. Then a scream rang out, and several dark figures darted out from behind the bushes.

"Ravenclaw, deduct ten points, Fawcett!" Professor Snape said fiercely.

A long-haired girl ran past him, covering her face. When she heard that Professor Snape had recognized her, she sobbed.

"Hufflepuff also loses ten points, Stebbins!"

Another boy chased after a girl, running away in a panic.

"And what are you all doing here?"

Professor Snape sternly questioned the man ahead.

Harry and Ron stood in a panic on the winding path ahead.

More alarmed than Harry and Ron was Karkaroff, who seemed to think that being seen by someone would bring danger—he nervously stroked his goatee, then nervously twirled it around his fingers.

Lyra, Fred, and George carefully hid their heads even lower, peeking out only with their eyes showing.

“We’re just taking a walk,” Ron replied rather rudely. “It’s not against school rules—”

"Then you can continue your walk!" Professor Snape snapped impatiently, then strode past Harry and Ron.

Professor Snape's black tuxedo robe was flung behind him menacingly, and Karkaroff followed closely behind as he hurriedly left.

Harry and Ron glared at Snape's retreating figure with displeasure and continued strolling along the path. But soon, they saw Lyra and her two companions jump out from behind a fountain not far away.

"You guys are here too?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.

"Hey, that's not fair! How come Snape didn't see you?" Ron shouted angrily. "He just yelled at us—"

Fred and George weren't going to tolerate their little brother, so they took turns giving Ron a big love punch.

"Ouch—" Ron cried out in pain.

Lyra walked with Fred and George toward the foyer of the Great Hall with a smile, while Ron's angry shouts could be heard from behind.

She felt no sympathy for Ron whatsoever. Ron was like a powder keg ready to explode tonight, entirely because he was jealous of Hermione dancing with another boy, especially one who was far more outstanding than him—that was the internationally renowned Quidditch star, Krum!

The three of them walked up the steps, just as the midnight bells rang.

People gradually left the auditorium. Some headed towards their dormitories, while others walked towards the garden, clearly couples who wanted to linger a little longer.

But there were exceptions. An adult wizard in a tawny robe was also among the crowd, walking toward the rose garden.

It's Ludo Bagman.

George and Fred immediately fixed their eyes on him, like hounds eyeing their prey.