HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

The Impact of Chapter 163 Report

The article has been published for a week.

Even now, Harry feels a surge of intense shame whenever he recalls that article in the Daily Prophet.

He still remembers the burning sensation on his cheek when he first saw the sentence, "Two beautiful witches, vying for the youngest champion in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter, engaged in various open and covert struggles," as if he had just been slapped.

"Would you like a handkerchief, Potter, so you don't break down in tears during Transfiguration class?"

"When did you get together with school beauty Lyra White, Potter? Is it all just in your imagination?"

Whenever Harry walked down the corridor, people—mostly Slytherin students, especially Draco Malfoy—would publicly and loudly mock him.

If Lyra happened to be nearby, walking through the same corridor with the sixth-year students to and from class, and was being loudly mocked by that annoying Draco Malfoy, Harry would feel as if he had been slapped hard across the cheek by a Hungarian wasp with its spiky tail.

Recently, Draco Malfoy has been acting strangely. The two, who have been mortal enemies since the start of the semester, have been tacitly agreeing to a temporary truce in class or in front of unapproachable professors.

As a result, ever since the Daily Prophet reported that Harry was switching between Hermione and Lyra, flirting with both of them, he became like a mad dog, attacking him indiscriminately. This self-destructive behavior cost both Slytherin and Gryffindor a lot of points, and their time spent doing chores together also increased considerably.

When Lyra heard that he was going to be put in solitary confinement because of Malfoy, she brought him butter cookies to visit him, and the two of them complained about the unreliable reports and that nonsensical Rita Skeeter.

Unfortunately, Lyra had only been with Harry for a short while when that damned Malfoy came to the owlhouse—Harry and Malfoy were punished by having to clean up the bird droppings in the owlhouse.

“I doubt anyone would actually believe that Rita Skeeter story,” Lyra said loudly before leaving. “Harry and I are best friends—”

Harry was relieved that Lyra didn't blame him, but at the same time he felt a little disappointed. It turned out that Lyra had only ever considered him a good friend.

Fortunately, Draco Malfoy stopped constantly bickering with Harry after that day. The attacks, which seemed to start without regard to life or death, started and ended inexplicably.

The very next day, Malfoy's sidekick, Goyle, deliberately spilled his potions during Potions class! And during History of Magic class, another of Malfoy's sidekicks, Crabbe, deliberately tripped him up while walking!

Harry: He knew it! That damn Malfoy hasn't changed at all!! He's just gone from doing it himself to sending his underlings to do it all!!

Aside from those damned Slytherins, Harry sensed that people in the other three houses, including Gryffindor, were skeptical of the outrageous report—leading him to frequently receive envious and jealous glances as he walked down the street.

However, the other two individuals mentioned in the report were less affected.

First of all, Lyra and Hermione are much stronger in spirit. Despite the curious gazes and whispers, they can still interact normally as if no one else is around.

Secondly, their best friends didn't believe this absurd story. Those who were foolish enough to believe this love triangle story at most felt sorry and sad for the two girls.

"Oh, Hermione, while White is indeed very beautiful, we still support you more—"

"You must be having a tough time. You and White are very good friends, but you both happen to like the same guy... If you need to talk about anything, feel free to come to us anytime—"

This is what Hermione's roommates, Lavender and Parvati, said to her with teary eyes after seeing the article.

Girls seem to have a strange habit of forming factions, such as those in the same grade, class, or dormitory. These relationships lead to a natural tendency to form factions.

Hermione: "......"

Thank you, I'm a little flattered, but there's no need to get emotionally invested in a false report.

“I mean, even though we’re classmates and live in the same dorm, we’re not really that close,” Hermione and Lyra said. “We didn’t expect them to be so friendly.”

However, Hermione quickly dealt with these unexpected expressions of sympathy and support.

She started selling SPEW to the girls who cared about her.

"Vomit?"

"It's an abbreviation for the House-Elf Rights Promotion Association. To become a member now, you only need two silver shiko to get an association badge—" Hermione pulled out a small box containing colorful badges.

"Our association's manifesto is a movement to stop the cruelty and abuse of our magical animal friends and to improve their legal status—"

Before he could finish speaking, all the girls had run away.

"Where are you going?" Hermione waved the membership list. "I haven't finished yet. Our long-term goal is..."

The parchment scroll had only four names on it: Hermione herself, Harry, Ron, and Lyra.

“Wow, that’s so Hermione-like,” Lyra whispered to Harry and Ron. “Actually, I bought the badge just to please Hermione. I think the house-elves are quite happy with their current state.”

“That trick works,” Ron chuckled. “Harry, if anyone bothers you again, you can try selling them vomiting—”

“Spare me,” Harry groaned, “this will only give those who want to mock me more fodder for ridicule.”

Harry couldn't help feeling a little jealous, because neither of the girls had to endure ridicule or be teased by boys they didn't like.

However, Ron is still very loyal. Since making up, Ron has been trying to make up for his distrust of Harry in the past.

Even after Harry became a champion and became very popular among the girls, Ron tried his best to suppress the jealousy that everyone has.

"Hello, Harry!" Another group of girls greeted Harry warmly as they passed by.

This has happened many times since the professors announced that they would be holding a ball at Christmas.

The girls would gather in groups, giggling and whispering as they passed by the boys all day long. Whenever they saw Harry or Cedric, their shrill laughter could practically pierce the castle ceiling.

“We need a dance partner—” Harry said dejectedly, “but they’re all in groups, never alone. How can we invite a girl to dance alone?”

"Have you decided who to invite?" Ron asked.