HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

On the last day of summer vacation, Harry got up early.

He planned to take one last look at the Firebolt before breakfast. Lyra next door was still asleep, so Harry tiptoed downstairs.

Since the arrival of the Firebolt, the Quidditch Shop has always been crowded with people. Harry also ran into several acquaintances; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were also eyeing the Firebolt greedily, both of whom were his classmates from Gryffindor.

As Harry passed by the bookstore, he ran into another classmate, Neville Longbottom, and his terrifying-looking grandmother. He didn't dare to greet them and quietly walked away.

School starts tomorrow, but Harry hasn't run into Ron or Hermione in Diagon Alley yet. He guesses they'll meet on the Hogwarts Express.

As he was thinking this, someone called his name loudly.

"Harry!"

Harry turned around and saw his two best friends sitting outside the Fosco ice cream shop. Ron and Hermione were both tanned, especially Hermione, who had turned brown. They were both waving at him frantically.

"We finally found you!" Ron grinned. "We just went to the Leaky Cauldron to look for you, but the owner said you were out. We thought we were going to miss you."

“We went to the bookstore to look for you, and we also went to see Mrs. Malkin—” Hermione said.

“We bought all our school supplies a few days ago,” Harry explained.

Ron: "Us?"

“Uh, it’s me and Lyra. She happens to live at the Leaky Cauldron too, so we often eat and go shopping together.” Harry tried hard not to show his smugness in front of Ron. “How did you know I lived at the Leaky Cauldron?”

"Cool!" Ron looked envious, though he was still enjoying a month-long trip to Egypt. "My dad heard it from the Ministry of Magic. Our whole family is staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, and Hermione's there too! With so many people, we can play the Explosion card game! And we can go to King's Cross Station together tomorrow!"

"That's fantastic!" Harry exclaimed. "Have you all bought all the new books and stuff?"

Ron and Hermione showed Harry the new books they had bought, and Ron also showed Harry his brand-new wand: fourteen inches long, made of willow, with a unicorn tail hair on it.

Harry remarked that it was a very good wand, and Ron happily put away his new wand, but—

“Harry, why are you standing? The ice cream shop owner is a nice guy, he won’t mind if you sit on the chair—” Ron asked, puzzled.

“Harry, do you want some ice cream? It’s on me—” Hermione stood up to buy three ice creams.

“No, no, no, I don’t want ice cream,” Harry shook his head frantically. “Let’s go back to the pub. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

*

When Harry, Lyra, and the others returned to the Leaky Cauldron, Lyra had already come downstairs and was shaking hands with Percy in the bar.

“Lyra, it’s so nice to see you.” Percy stood tall and straightened his chest so that Lyra could see the badge of the student council president on his chest.

But George and Fred quickly pushed them aside, and the twins, imitating Percy, shook Lyra's hand up and down.

Percy looked like he was about to explode, but he had to hold back. He turned around and saw Harry and the others come in, and his eyes lit up—

“Harry, it’s so good to see you.” Percy acted as if he had never met Harry before. “You’re doing well, aren’t you?”

"Hello, Percy." Harry couldn't help but laugh at Percy's manner, which made him seem as if he were being introduced to the mayor.

"fine thanks--"

“Harry!” Fred leaned in, elbowing Percy aside, and bowed deeply to Harry. “It’s an honor to meet you—”

“That’s wonderful,” George ran over, pushed Fred aside, and grabbed Harry’s hand. “Absolutely wonderful.”

Percy roared in anger, and Mrs. Weasley immediately appeared on the scene.

"Enough!" Mrs. Weasley yelled at the twins, then turned to Harry and Lyra and said, "My dears, I'm sure you've heard the good news too, haven't you?"

She proudly pointed to the gleaming silver badge on Percy's chest: "The second boy in the family!"

Percy puffed out his chest again: "Lyra, Harry, I became the student council president this year. If you run into any trouble at school, you can come to me. Lyra, congratulations on your excellent grades last semester. Did you receive your prefect's badge?"

Harry struggled to suppress his laughter, and Lyra did too—while Percy was giving a serious speech, the twins were making faces at everyone behind his back.

"Thank you, but I only ranked second in the grade, I'm not qualified to be a prefect." Leila tried hard to suppress the urge to smile, which made her face look a little twitchy.

Percy, however, mistakenly thought Lyra was upset about not receiving her prefect badge: "That's a shame. Indeed, I think becoming a prefect requires a step-by-step plan. If you had consulted me sooner—"

Before Percy could finish speaking, Fred behind him threw a prank candy into his mouth. George instinctively pushed Percy's head up, causing him to swallow it reflexively.

With a bang, Percy turned into a giant green frog. He was furious and opened his mouth to yell at the twins, but all he could do was croak "ribbit ribbit ribbit".

"Hahahaha-"

Everyone was laughing so hard they were doubled over. Harry laughed so hard he fell off his chair and bumped into Ron, who was also laughing so hard he was gasping for breath. Hermione looked like she was trying to hold it in, but the corners of her mouth just wouldn't stay up. Lyra laughed until tears streamed down her face.

Ginny laughed so hard she spilled the milk in her glass, and even Mr. Weasley laughed—he covered his face with a newspaper to avoid being seen by Mrs. Weasley, but the way the newspaper was shaking showed how heartily he was laughing.

“George! Fred!” Only Mrs. Weasley didn’t laugh. She ran up and pinched the twins’ ears. “Don’t play pranks on your brothers! I noticed they didn’t make you prefects—”

"Why should we become prefects—"

"That's something only bookworms do—"

Mrs. Weasley, enraged, tightened her grip—

"Ouch, be gentle, Mom!"

*

In the morning, everyone chatted happily in the Leaky Cauldron, sharing their holiday adventures, except for Percy—who later went upstairs to write a letter to his girlfriend.

In the afternoon, Harry accompanied Ron and Hermione to a pet store. Ron wanted to buy some medicine for his sick mouse, while Hermione wanted to buy an owl.

Leila and the twins went back to their room to make price lists and inventory lists for the new products. They planned to sell some of the mature prank products at school after the start of the semester as a test run before entering the market.

When Hermione returned home that evening, she happily showed Lyra her new pet—a huge cat with bright ginger-yellow fur, resembling a small tiger.