HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Lately, everyone at Hogwarts has been talking about the attack on Filch's cat.

Even though Harry and the others have been proven innocent by the headmaster, some Hufflepuffs and some younger students still believe that Harry Potter was the one who petrified the cat.

Filch spent all day pacing back and forth at the spot where the cat was killed, as if he wanted to catch the attacker himself. This prevented Harry and the others from returning to the scene to look for more clues—even though the headmaster promised to cure the cat, Filch still glared at Harry with resentment.

If Harry dares to step back into the crime scene, regardless of whether Headmaster Dumbledore vouches for Harry's innocence, Filch will surely pounce on him and tear him to pieces—no one can doubt that.

Compared to the great enthusiasm of Harry, Memphis, and Harry's trio for uncovering the truth behind the Chamber of Secrets, Lyra and the twins were not so keen on it.

Rather than catching the murderer and solving the mystery of the locked room, Lyra was more concerned about when the cat would recover. She spent her days secretly going to the greenhouse to check on the growth of the mandrake, hoping that the herb would mature soon and be used to make a healing potion.

The twins have recently been focused on developing their secret new product. They both feel that without Filch, who is constantly patrolling the castle, and the cat who likes to tip off their owners, it's easier to break school rules.

Therefore, Lyra didn't drag the twins along; she went to visit the poor cat alone with gifts.

"This is a gift for Mrs. Lorice. I hope she recovers soon." Lyra gently placed a large bag of premium cat food on Filch's desk.

Filch insisted on bringing the petrified Mrs. Lorris back from Lockhart's office and placing her in a brand-new, luxurious cat bed—after the incident, Filch had spent a fortune to buy Mrs. Lorris a new cat bed.

“Oh, Mrs. Lorice would be so happy to know that someone cares about her…” Filch was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears, not expecting that a student would come to visit his cat.

To avoid embarrassing Filch too much, Lyra pretended not to see Filch's red eyes and turned to put a bunch of violets in a glass bottle next to the cat's bed.

"Mrs. Lorris is a good girl and deserves to be cared for."

“Oh, Miss White, you are such a kind lady…” Filch’s voice trembled, and he choked up so much that he could not even finish his sentence.

"Beep—Filch's current favorability rating is 97%." This was the real-time announcement from the system, which unusually didn't ramble on.

Leila smiled and said goodbye to Filch, repeatedly stopping him from seeing her off.

In the end, this gaunt old man, hated by all his students, looked down upon by his teachers, and living only with his cat, stood at the door of his office, watching the black-haired girl leave. He stood there for a very long time, until she was completely out of sight...

*

After Lyra slipped away to the greenhouse once again to check on the growth of the mandrake, she returned to the Gryffindor common room, where she ran into Ron comforting his little sister Ginny.

“Mrs. Norris isn’t dead, is she?” Ron’s eyes lit up when he saw Lyra; he knew she also liked the unfortunate cat. “Lyra, you overheard Dumbledore’s words in the office that day, didn’t you—”

“Yes, the headmaster said that once the mandrake matures, a potion can be made to cure Mrs. Lorris,” Lyra said, sitting down next to Ginny and putting her arm around the red-haired girl. “Don’t worry, Ginny.”

“Besides, you don’t actually know Mrs. Lorris,” Ron continued, trying to comfort Ginny, who was still looking dejected. “To be honest, we’re more comfortable without it. That cat often reports to Filch.”

Hermione noticed Ginny's lips were starting to tremble and quietly nudged Ron.

“Oh! Don’t worry about Ginny,” Ron quickly corrected himself, “the culprit will be caught soon and fired. I just hope he can petrify Filch before he gets fired—”

"Ouch—" This vicious elbow strike was from Lyra to Ron. Ginny had just turned pale with fright, and Lyra even felt Ginny tremble in her arms, which made her so angry that she gave her clueless brother a sharp "reminder."

But the pale-faced red-haired girl still left the group, ran back to the girls' dormitory with tears in her eyes, and scurried away like a frightened rabbit.

"Ron, you idiot." Hermione rolled her eyes, stood up, and prepared to leave as well.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked curiously, rubbing his stomach. "Why are you up so early today? Don't you always stay in the lounge reading until everyone leaves?"

It was rare to see Hermione not carrying a huge pile of books, so Lyra looked at Hermione curiously.

But Hermione ignored Ron, tidied her messy hair, and left.

"That's strange. She used to read all the time, but now she doesn't even read books," Ron muttered. "She's always so secretive, and she won't say anything when you ask her. Merlin's beard is really acting strangely lately..."

Leila returned to her dorm room, where a familiar brown owl was waiting for her.

This messenger came from her pen pal Lei, who, ever since sending her a beautiful and rare rose, would often send her interesting trinkets or trendy candies by owl, along with a passionately noisy love poem each time.

Lyra opened the package this time; inside was a box of premium rose-flavored gummies. Then, as usual, Lyra reached to the bottom of the package—the love letters were always at the very bottom.

But this time, Leila only touched thin air.

"......?" This unusual pen pal made Lyra and Ron instantly feel in sync.

Merlin's beard has been acting strangely lately.