HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Leila felt her smiling lips twitch slightly, but she bravely maintained her smile.

Stay calm. As long as you deny it, the other party has no evidence.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know you,” Leila said firmly.

"I'm sorry, but you look somewhat like a girl I know, so I couldn't help but ask," Cedric explained apologetically.

Leila simply smiled, strictly adhering to the principle that too much talk leads to mistakes.

Finally, Cedric glanced at her face with a hint of reluctance, took the autograph, and left. Lyra calmly continued signing autographs for the next reader.

*

After a painful yet enjoyable afternoon of stiff business, Leila's autograph session was unsurprisingly a great success.

Not only was the event packed with people, but book sales also surged.

The editor was very satisfied with Leila's initial attempt and immediately arranged for her to attend an industry cocktail party. The attendees were all star authors, executives, bosses, and shareholders from major book publishers, hoping that Leila could expand her network and enhance her resume.

What else could Leila do but continue to drink the anti-aging serum like pumpkin juice, gulping it down.

The next day, Lyra, still sporting heavy makeup and dragging her weary body, went to the party. The aches and pains from sitting at Flourish and Blotts the day before hadn't fully subsided, and now, like a little mermaid turning her tail into legs to walk ashore, every step she took in her high heels felt like dancing on a knife's edge.

"Quick! Come with me!" The editor was already waiting at the entrance of the party. As soon as she appeared, he rushed over and quickly pulled her inside. "The young master of the company's major shareholder is here today. Go up and greet him quickly, and remember to smile sweetly!"

Lyra was pulled off her feet by the editor, and by the time she managed to regain her balance with her high-heeled legs, she had been dragged in front of a young male wizard.

"!" Leila was shocked again by yesterday's visa meeting. The tall, handsome man with perfect chocolate skin and long, narrow, golden-brown eyes in front of her was none other than her pen pal who had just vacationed with her in France more than half a month ago!

“Mr. Zabini, please allow me to introduce you to this rising star author, Rose Love—” The editor eagerly introduced Leila to the young and powerful man before him. “Rose, this is the heiress of the Zabini family, the largest shareholder of the Obscure Book Company.”

"Good evening, beautiful lady." The other person gracefully gave a kiss on the hand.

"Good evening." Leila wasn't afraid of being exposed, but she was terrified of being caught wearing a different identity!

There's nothing shameful about Lyra White's identity, but Rose Love's identity as a third-rate novelist who writes cheesy love stories about arranged marriages where the wife is pregnant and runs away is truly something to be ashamed of!

Help! How can I keep one persona hidden while wearing another? I need help urgently.

"I wonder if I have the honor of dancing with such a beautiful lady?" The pen pal, dressed in a gorgeous robe, extended her right hand and extended an invitation with a smile.

As Leila obediently offered her hand, her mind raced, trying to figure out how to keep her identity a secret.

"It seems the bad weather in Britain is not suitable for growing roses."

"W-what?" Leila couldn't believe that she had been exposed in just one glance. Her face was so heavily made up that even her own mother wouldn't recognize her!

Don't rush, stay calm. If you can fool one, you can fool the second.

"What are you saying? I don't understand—" Leila decisively pretended to be stupid.

“Oh, my rose, I still prefer you when you’re full of life on the French beach—” Her long, narrow, golden-brown eyes winked playfully.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lyra said in a dying struggle.

Until the other person pulled up the sleeve of their robe, revealing a diamond bracelet.

“Honey, it’s been getting warm all along,” Ray chuckled, using the spinning moment to pull Leila into his arms and whisper in her ear, “But I don’t think it’s enough, we can make it even warmer—”

...The closer we get, the hotter the bracelet gets. We're almost touching now, how much hotter can it get?

"You bastard, don't say things like that to innocent young girls! Besides," once Lyra accepted the fact that her identity had been exposed, she couldn't help but want to drag her enemy down with her, "I don't think you're capable of doing that, after all, you're still just a little boy~"

“Honey, I don’t understand what you’re talking about—” This time it was Ray’s turn to play dumb.

“You and I both have a certain scent—” But Leila just wanted to stop being alone on the road to revealing her identity. When it was time for another spin in the dance, she imitated the other person’s action and whispered in Lei’s ear with a smile, “The scent of an anti-aging agent.”

*

Leila very confidently shrugged off her pen pal, who was the major shareholder of the company she was signed with.

Fortunately, as the heir of the Zabini family, he also had to fulfill his social obligations in this situation, so he could only watch helplessly as this thorny rose slipped away amidst the crowd and chaos.

but--

"Honey, don't wander around the party! You know, a lot of alumni are here today!"

The words of her pen pal, a shareholder, echoed in Leila's ears; they were a truly powerful and intimidating reminder.

To avoid actually running into Hogwarts classmates and being exposed again, Lyra decides to disregard the editor's plan for her to attend more social events and make more public appearances.

Looking around, most of the people were there for social occasions, either dancing on the dance floor or chatting and laughing with wine glasses in hand.

Great, that dessert section full of ice cream, red velvet cake, chocolate pie, syrup pie, and mini cookies is the perfect hiding place, hahaha.

Leila walked briskly toward the dessert area.

*

Theodore Nott, bored, stood in the dessert area, holding a glass of champagne, watching the crowd dancing in the center of the dance floor.

As soon as he entered the party, he was entangled by the head of a small family, who even tried to introduce his daughter to him.

Theodore Nott ignored the other party's explicit and implicit suggestions, but the persistent old man was really oblivious to people's feelings. In order to avoid being bothered by the other party for the rest of the night, he had no choice but to come to the dessert area to find some peace and quiet.

He glanced casually at the long table, seeing the dazzling array of food on it, and couldn't help but think of a girl with black hair and gray eyes. If she were also at this party, she would probably be different from those scheming wizards who chased fame and fortune, and would only be indulging in the many desserts.

He noticed a bowl of mint ice cream with chocolate chips and dried fruit on the edge of the long table, a flavor reminiscent of his black-haired friend's favorite. He lingered for a few seconds, and coincidentally, in that brief moment, a slender, pale hand appeared and carried the entire tray of ice cream away.

Theodore Nott looked up following the hand and saw a face with a triumphant smile.