HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

In mid-January, it was Hogsmeade weekend again, and everyone made plans to go shopping and have fun together.

Because the Christmas ball was so successful, many Hogwarts students invited their newly made foreign wizard friends to visit the magical village, which is also a good way to build friendships.

As Harry and Ron passed through the lobby on the first floor, they happened to see Beauxbatons' champion, the beautiful French woman with Veela blood, accepting the invitation from Roger Davis, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, to visit Hogsmeade Village together.

“Davis’s lucky—” Ron grumbled, “Fleur didn’t agree to him when she was choosing a dance partner at the Christmas party. If Diggory hadn’t invited Lyra, he wouldn’t have had a chance to invite Fleur…”

Harry didn't agree; he had no opinion whatsoever about who Fleur went to Hogsmeade with.

As for Diggory, he made no attempt to hide his affection for Lyra these days, often finding opportunities to talk to her. He even saw a Hufflepuff at the Gryffindor long table, which everyone had become accustomed to, even Harry was numb to it.

Everyone at Hogwarts is betting on when Cedric Diggory will finally confess his feelings.

Harry walked silently alongside Ron on the marble steps. After a few steps, they saw a Durmstrang boy kissing a Slytherin girl.

“You said…” Ron hesitated, glancing at the young couple from different countries, then at Harry, stammering, but ultimately didn’t finish his sentence.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione, carrying several books, waved to them from afar, looking like she had just returned from the library. "Tomorrow is Hogsmeade weekend—"

"Yes, Hermione, are you coming with us?" Harry glanced at his good friend Ron and asked the question that everyone had been wanting to ask.

“Of course, who else could I go with?” Hermione said matter-of-factly. “Lyra and the others have already made plans with boys, so I can’t be a third wheel, but—”

Hermione glanced at Harry with a hint of surprise, unaware that Ron had silently curled the corners of his mouth.

"I was going to say that the common room will be quieter tomorrow, so you could take the opportunity to study that golden egg properly!" Hermione said with a hint of advice.

"Oh, that? I think I've pretty much figured out what it means." Harry adjusted his glasses, instinctively lying.

This time it was Ron's turn to steal a glance at Harry, but Hermione was too happy for Harry to notice the two boys' awkwardness.

"Really?" Hermione skipped along, clearly overjoyed. "That's wonderful!"

Harry felt a pang of guilt; he knew Hermione had been worried about his safety during the competition, and the dragon challenge had terrified both her and Ron. But he immediately found a reason to shake off the guilt of deceiving his friend—

Lyra is going to Hogsmeade with Diggory, so it's understandable that he's in a bad mood and wants to wander around... Besides, ever since the newspapers exposed Hagrid's giant origins, he's been avoiding the three of them. Going to Hogsmeade might allow him to run into Hagrid, and he could persuade him to come back to class sooner.

Harry was desperately trying to find reasons to convince himself, while in the Slytherin boys' dormitory, Blaise was also trying to find reasons to persuade the young Malfoy not to cause trouble for Cedric Diggory.