HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 108 Wood, Listen to Our Excuses

Lyra's conscience couldn't bear to see her school's hardworking Quidditch captain die so young on the spot, so she quickly stepped forward to distract Wood.

“Hi, Wood, are you here to buy stationery too?” Lyra greeted him naturally, as if she didn’t see Wood’s betrayed look. “Angelina, Arya, and I are also here to buy some quills and parchment. We just ran into Cedric and the others when we arrived.”

Let's get Angelina and Arya out of the picture first. As for George and Fred—

Lyra glanced at the red-haired twins who had already released Cedric and were standing to the side. Heh, let them explain themselves.

Lyra wasn't a member of the team, so she felt no guilt about being seen by Wood with people from other college teams.

But Aria and Angelina are different.

Although they had no remorse for going on a date with a Hufflepuff boy, the shocked and distraught expression on their captain's face made them feel guilty, and they tried to explain the situation of the badger family.

“Oliver, it’s not what you think—” Two panicked explanations followed, with the two people behind him offering different excuses at the same time.

“Actually, it was Leila and Cedric who went out on a date today—” Angelina said.

“Actually, Angelina and Fred went out on a date today—” Arya said.

"?" Lyra.

“??” Aria and Angelina.

"???" Fred and George.

"..." The boys of Hufflepuff.

"...Who exactly is dating whom?" Completely bewildered, Oliver Wood had recovered from his initial heartache and gradually accepted the explanation that his teammates were just out on dates and happened to run into Hufflepuff guys.

Angelina and Fred turned green when they heard that Arya had forced them to be a couple.

Angelina didn't dislike Fred; on the contrary, Fred actually fit her type quite well: sunny, cheerful, humorous, and bold.

But Fred spends all his time with his twin brother and Lyra; the three are like conjoined twins, making it hard to separate Fred from the group. Furthermore, Angelina, seeing the twins so engrossed in pranks, strongly suspects that these two identical boys are completely clueless when it comes to romance.

Most importantly, although Arya lied to Oliver on the spot, Angelina could already imagine the tragic scene that would follow: her single-minded captain, whose mind was only focused on Quidditch, would believe her and then emphasize every time they met that she and Fred should not let their relationship affect their Quidditch matches!

George looked at Fred's stunned expression, feeling relieved that he wasn't the one pushed out as a shield, while the competitive instinct between the twins surfaced: Why choose Fred and not him? What's the difference between them?

Fortunately, George wasn't interested in Angelina, otherwise he would have had a serious "talk" with his twin brother after the whole thing.

"Yeah, who's dating whom?" Angelina glared at Aria, her voice strained, threatening her roommate to repeat herself.

"..." Arya, who was really just making up an excuse, shut up when she saw Angelina and Fred's gloomy faces.

“It’s Cedric and me on a date,” Lyra instantly understood Angelina’s thoughts. She was the only one not a team member present, and Wood didn’t care whether she was with Captain Hufflepuff or not, so she was the most suitable person to use as a shield. “Arya and Angelina are just keeping me company.”

Wait a minute, think again, have you forgotten someone?

Include the two of us in your script of sophistry!

Fred and George cried out silently in their hearts.

Lyra didn't even glance at the red-haired twins. She remembered how those two troublemakers had joined this "chance encounter" group. Those who were deliberately causing trouble deserved to be beaten up by the tall and strong Quidditch captain!

*

Harry successfully smuggled himself into Hogsmeade using the Marauder's Map he obtained from Lyra and the twins.

He slid from behind the statue of the one-eyed witch into the secret passage, which led to the Honeydukes candy store's storage cellar.

Harry first enjoyed sampling many candy samples with Ron and Hermione at Honeydukes, and then the three of them bought a large amount of candy to give as Christmas gifts to friends and family.

Harry was also very lucky to buy the last deluxe limited edition Christmas candy box, which he treasured and planned to give to Lyra as a Christmas present—he had heard from the Honeydukes shopkeeper that girls loved it, and that it wasn't something everyone could buy.

The three of them left the candy store and wandered around in the blizzard, Ron and Hermione trying to show Harry, who was visiting for the first time, the popular spots in Hogsmeade.

That's the post office—

"Zoko's shop is over there, I bet Fred and George are in there buying dung balls—"

“That’s the legendary screaming shed over there. We can go there to get some shelter—” Hermione was completely frozen. She wanted to go indoors for a while to let her hands and feet regain feeling.

“I’ll tell you what to do,” Ron’s initially forceful suggestion sounded surprisingly tactful through his trembling teeth, “We’ll go to the Three Brooms and have a hot butterbeer!”

Harry and Hermione readily accepted the tempting offer, and the three frozen souls found salvation in the crowded, noisy, but warm and steamy little inn.

Harry and Hermione found a hidden empty table, located between the window and the Christmas tree, and best of all, it was close to the warm fireplace.

"Merry Christmas!" Ron brought out three large mugs of hot, frothy butterbeer, and they happily raised their glasses, exchanging early holiday greetings.

After taking a big gulp of butterbeer, Harry immediately listed it as his absolute favorite drink.

“This is amazing! It’s the best drink I’ve ever had, and it warms you up from the inside out—” Harry grinned as he praised his two friends. However, the warmth that had just begun to rise in his stomach froze and sank as soon as he saw the crowd entering through the door.

"This is the best place in all of Hogsmeade—"

The dark-haired girl who had just given Harry a Christmas present in the castle was smiling and looking around among the group of people entering the castle. Standing next to her was the perfect boy from Hufflepuff, his handsome face full of smiles. He was talking to the dark-haired girl while gentlemanly pulling out a chair for her.