HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 172 The Professor's Bet

Lyra felt as insignificant as a speck of dust in this beautiful wonderland.

She was completely overwhelmed by the gifts of nature.

Fred and George sat on either side of her, and the three of them watched the Geminid meteor shower with rapt attention.

Perhaps, besides the meteor shower, the red-haired twins were also enjoying other beautiful sights.

A girl with black hair and gray eyes gazed intently at the starry sky, completely unaware that she was no less dazzling than a shooting star in the eyes of others.

“We heard it from Bill—” Fred whispered in Lyra’s left ear, his voice as gentle as a fledgling’s down.

“Tonight is the Geminid meteor shower—” George whispered in Lyra’s right ear.

As they spoke, their warm breaths brushed against her cheeks and ears, sending a strange shiver down her spine.

As if two free and unrestrained winds had suddenly transformed into a fine, dense rain, enveloping her and attempting to melt away the dust that had settled in her heart.

“Come with us to the ball, Lyra.”

Soft, warm, sigh-like requests kept falling into her ears, like the whispers of a demon or the seduction of a succubus.

*

In short, last night's experience felt like a dream after a hangover.

But Leila happens to be the kind of person who retains her memories even when drunk.

She clearly remembered that she somehow agreed to go to the Christmas ball with Fred and George, only with the two of them.

"..."

"???"

"!!!"

The above is the entire mental journey of Lyra after she woke up in bed early in the morning and regained her memories.

Leila suspected that the meteor shower last night was so beautiful that it had unknowingly bewitched her.

Then Lyra tried to settle scores with Fred and George while she was in a sober and rational state.

The two men, looking smug, claimed that this time it was Leila herself who had accepted the dance invitation, and that she had accepted it "again".

The two were still insisting that their first casual question during the transformation class was also a formal invitation.

“If you don’t admit it the first time, then so be it,” Fred said, feigning magnanimity.

“But it wouldn’t be right for you to back out a second time, buddy.” George had a righteous look on his face, as if to say that the world is going to the dogs and how can a person not keep their word.

"Stop pretending with me—" Lyra was absolutely certain that these two redheads had deliberately swindled her last night, so she rolled up her sleeves again. "Prepare to die, redheads—"

But after the chaos, the twins began to change their strategy.

They abandoned their smug arrogance and adopted a pitiful, tearful expression, trying to point out that it would be too embarrassing for them to be the only (or only two) people in the upperclassmen who couldn't find a dance partner.

As their best friend, and being a girl who happens to be without a dance partner, Leila should feel obligated to take on the role of their dance partner, help her best friend through this difficult time, and prevent them from being embarrassed... and so on, a series of pitiful reasons.

Seeing that Lyra still hesitated slightly—

Fred and George pretended to cry as they climbed hand in hand toward the windowsill, making it seem as if they would jump out of the window if she didn't agree.

Lyra: "..."

*

In the last week of the semester, not only are students restless and unable to concentrate on their studies, but even professors tend to relax a bit.

In the faculty lounge, Professor Flitwick sipped mead and slumped completely into a soft armchair.

“It’s Christmas, and there’s a dance party, so it’s understandable that the children are relaxed—” Professor Flitwick was very tolerant.

He was one of the few teachers who would simply stop teaching if he saw that his students were not paying attention.

He allowed students to play games during Wednesday's Charms class, and then he talked to Harry Potter about how Harry perfectly used the Summoning Charm he had just learned in Charms class when passing through the dragon.

"That Summoning Charm was brilliantly executed!" Professor Flitwick was very proud, because it was the very spell he had just taught to the fourth-year students in his Charms class not long ago.

“Indeed, nothing is more gratifying than seeing students apply what they’ve learned!” Headmaster Dumbledore agreed. “That’s why I’ve always chosen to stay at Hogwarts—the unique joy that only a teacher can experience.”

Professor McGonagall, as the Head of Gryffindor, also smiled with pride.

Everyone unanimously ignored Professor Snape's cold snort and sour face.

Even Professor Sprout, the Headmaster of Hufflepuff, genuinely praised Harry Potter's Succeed Charm. This was not only because Cedric Diggory's performance was equally excellent, but also because she knew that Harry had told Cedric about the dragon.

Indeed, it's hard to keep a secret from the professors in the castle, especially since cheating—or rather, collecting and sharing information—is an old tradition in the Triwizard Tournament.

"Brilliant! Who would have thought that a fourth-grade spell could solve the dragon's problem!" Professor Flitwick continued to praise.

“Felius, you’re too lenient with your students—” Professor Snape said coldly. “If you don’t give those brats a good talking-to before the holidays, they’ll come back and have forgotten everything you just taught them!”

Professor Snape insisted on intensifying his intimidation of students in class before the holidays, telling them sternly and somberly in each class that they would be tested on the potions they had just learned in the last class of the semester.

It also cruelly left a huge amount of homework to ruin the last bit of time at the end of the semester.

The other professors all laughed.

They had long heard the students’ numerous complaints about Professor Snape, but compared to his stricter colleagues, the other subjects’ equally heavy workloads didn’t elicit as many complaints, did they?

After all, apart from Professor Snape, the other teachers didn't really want to be at the top of the list of the most unpopular teachers.

However, they should not let their colleagues know this.

So everyone quickly changed the subject.

“Minerva,” Professor Sprout said with a smile, “I heard that your college’s most beautiful girl, Lyra White, has received invitations to the ball from two warriors at the same time!”

Professor McGonagall nodded, recalling the most popular dark-haired girl in her college.

"I wonder if White will accept Cedric Diggory's invitation or Harry Potter's?" The school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, was also extremely gossipy.

"I heard that girl also received an invitation from the top student in our Ravenclaw year. Severus, it seems even you Slytherin students have boys inviting her—" Professor Flitwick said with relish.

"I wonder which house's boy she'll end up with?" Professor Sprout displayed the classic Hufflepuff curiosity.

“How about we make a bet?” Professor Sprout suggested. “I think everyone would be willing to support the boy from their own college—”

“I’ll bet a bottle of my homemade moonshine on Diggory—” Professor Sprout said.

“Then I’ll bet a bottle of aged Flame whisky,” Professor Flitwick said. “I’ll bet on Fosco.”

“I have a box of fine French truffles,” Headmaster Dumbledore said with a smile. “I bet Harry.”

“A box of fine tea, Harry,” Professor McGonagall nodded reservedly.

"I'll bet a unicorn tail hair on a Slytherin boy," Madam Pomfrey gestured to Professor Snape.

“Well, a bottle of Felix Felicis,” Professor Snape said in a deep voice, “for Slytherin.”