HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

As soon as the bell rang, everyone rushed towards the auditorium. After half a day of classes, everyone was starving and couldn't wait to enjoy a hearty lunch.

This was a Charms class for Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Lyra was in a hurry to find someone and didn't have time to pack up her textbooks, inkwell, quills, and the like, so she had to leave them all to George and Fred.

"I have to go now, please take my backpack back for me."

Leila left only one sentence for the two of them before rushing out of the classroom.

"?" The twins exchanged a glance, only to see the same confusion on their identical faces.

George: "Didn't she change her routine to feeding the dogs in the Forbidden Forest at night?"

Fred: "Her two best friends are here, who else is she going to see?"

"Let's follow them and see!" The two brothers immediately came to the same conclusion.

Because Lyra overslept, she was the last to enter the classroom for the morning spells class with the twins and could only sneak into the last row of seats.

But Cedric Diggory and his friends were already in the classroom, sitting in the front row. After class, before Lyra even left the classroom, Cedric was already far away in the hallway.

"Wait a minute—" Lyra struggled to catch up with a group of Hufflepuff boys down the crowded corridor, "Cedric, wait a minute—"

"Hey, Cedric—" A Hufflepuff boy in the group was the first to hear the call from behind. He winked at Cedric and pushed him toward the Gryffindor beauty.

The other Hufflepuff boys, all wearing knowing smiles, tactfully retreated to a more secluded corner to wait for their friends.

Cedric glanced helplessly at his friend, but when he looked at the black-haired girl running towards him, he couldn't help but smile.

"Lyra, what's up?" With his handsome face and gentle smile, passing girls couldn't help but glance at this most popular boy in Hufflepuff.

"Oh, I was just wondering, are you free for the next Hogsmeade?" Lyra finally pushed through the crowd and caught her breath.

Cedric paused for a moment, clearly not expecting this question. But soon, he flashed a bright smile, so bright it would lift anyone's spirits.

"—If you haven't asked anyone out yet, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with some Gryffindor girls?" Lyra noticed that Cedric's smile seemed to wane a little when she asked the second half of her question...

“Uh, are they other Gryffindor girls? I’m afraid…” Cedric’s previously radiant face seemed to have lost some of its gloom. He forced a smile, his words of refusal unfinished.

But this was the first task Lyra had been asked to do by her roommate, and she couldn't just fail like this. Her gaze inadvertently fell on a few Hufflepuff boys standing not far away, waiting for Cedric, and suddenly a new idea came to her—

“Oh, it’s just me and a few of my roommates,” Lyra gave Cedric a pleading smile. “We’d like to go to Hogsmeade with you and your friends, just for a casual get-together, is that alright?”

"Please—" Leila clasped her hands together, mimicking a puppy begging for treats with starry eyes.

“Okay.” Cedric Diggory somehow agreed; he seemed unable to refuse the dark-haired girl’s request. Perhaps next time, without looking into her expressive eyes, he would be able to say no.

"Great! See you next weekend in Hogsmeade!"

Just as Lyra was happily saying goodbye to Cedric, the twins, carrying three heavy backpacks, squeezed up to a spot not far from Lyra. They didn't hear anything before, but they heard the last sentence, "Hogsmeade see," perfectly clearly.

On the other side, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came down the spiral staircase and happened to see Lyra and Cedric waving goodbye below. A few scattered words popped into their ears: "we," "next time," and "see you in Hogsmeade."

The meaning of these words, when pieced together, was so clear that even the new portrait at the entrance of Gryffindor Tower was understandable. Harry and Ron didn't look too happy when they heard it.

“It’s that Diggory again,” Ron said with a sour face. “Ginny and the other younger girls were talking about him last time.”

“We’re about to play Hufflepuff,” Harry said expressionlessly. “Diggory is the team’s captain and Seeker, and George and Fred are determined to turn Hufflepuff into mincemeat.”

“I think it’s normal. Lyra hasn’t been on a date in a long time, so it’s not surprising that she is,” Hermione said. “She’s had a lot of people asking her out at the library, but Lyra turned them all down. She said she was too busy with her OWL exams in fifth grade and also with working on pranks with George and Fred.”

"Then why does she still date Diggory?" Harry asked, confused. "Isn't she very busy?"

“Of course it’s because Diggory is so outstanding—” Hermione said, indicating that she understood. “Diggory was second in his grade last semester, even higher than Lyra. I don’t think being with outstanding people will hinder you; in fact, you can become better together.”

"Who considers final exam grades when dating?" Ron looked at him like he'd just eaten a pile of shit. "I wouldn't date a good student unless I'm crazy—"

"Why does Lyra insist on dating a Hufflepuff?" Harry asked sullenly. "Aren't there any good boys in Gryffindor?"

“That’s right! Lyra is from our academy—” Ron chimed in.

"Good heavens, boys, be more mature." Hermione, carrying a huge stack of books, rolled her eyes and rushed downstairs.

"The next Hogsmeade weekend is after this match," Ron whispered to Harry as Hermione walked away. "If George and Fred can smash that handsome face with their ball in this match, it'll save us a lot of trouble."