HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 19 Smoking Refreshing Agent

Even after being taken to the Gryffindor Tower by Dexter, Lyra couldn't recall where she had ever seen the name Dexter Fosco.

Dexter smiled mysteriously and said he would tell her next time they met.

So after saying goodbye to Dexter, Lyra stepped into the common room in a fairly good mood, only to run into Harry, who had also just returned from confinement and was full of worries.

"Lyra, did you hear anything unusual tonight?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Hmm, probably not. Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Nothing, just asking casually." Harry lowered his eyes, clearly unwilling to say more.

Laila didn't pay much attention to this. Today had been an extremely fulfilling day, and the only thing that truly captivated her now was the warm and cozy four-poster bed.

"Goodnight, Harry," Lyra said, yawning as she went upstairs.

"Goodnight, Lyra." Harry silently watched Lyra's retreating figure, sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, lost in thought. After a while, he got up and went back to his dormitory.

More than an hour after Lyra fell asleep in bed, poor Ron returned to the boys' dormitory smelling of polish—his right arm was almost cramping from wiping the silverware in the prize display room all night.

Ron, his muscles stiff and sore, groaned and collapsed onto the bed. Turning his head, he saw Harry staring at him from the next bed with a look of utter urgency, clearly not intending to let him go to sleep.

*

Lyra and the red-haired twins have been looking forward to October for a long time.

Autumn is a season of harvest, and it's also a season of great success for their potion-gathering team. All the potions that have reached maturity in the Forbidden Forest will be picked, collected, packaged, and sold to potion shops in exchange for Galleons.

As soon as October arrived, Lyra caught a sudden cold at school. Although she always excelled in potions, she didn't really like drinking those strangely formulated potions. So, Lyra was sickly for several days, but stubbornly refused to drink the special stimulant Madam Pomfrey made at the school clinic.

This energizer is said to have an immediate effect, and people who drink it will quickly recover from a severe cold. The only minor drawback is that after drinking it, smoke will come out of your ears, and this will last for several hours.

If Lyra refused the stimulant because she disliked drinking potions, then some girls simply resisted treatment because they hated their ears smoking for hours on end—after all, having constantly smoking ears is like having your head turn into a steam train, completely ruining a girl's cute image!

Ginny, the youngest Weasley sister, has been looking particularly listless lately. Percy insists that Ginny also has a bad cold and forces her to drink a stimulant.

As a result, wisps of steam kept rising from under Ginny's bright red hair, making it look comical as if her whole head was on fire—Ron even brazenly pulled Harry over to check on Ginny, and Lyra could clearly see tears welling up in the little girl's eyes!

Given that Ginny had clearly shown her adoration for Harry Potter throughout the summer, Lyra instantly understood: Oh, the little girl must feel embarrassed for losing face in front of her idol.

Leila quickly acted as a caring older sister, giving the twins a wink and signaling them to get rid of their two silly younger brothers.

"Ouch! Fred! George! Why are you two throwing dung balls at me?" Lyra gently carried Ginny back to the girls' dormitory to sleep, while she was pleased to hear Ron's furious shouts from behind.

Who knew that Lyra, despite being a good older sister, would not win Merlin's favor?

The next morning, Leila's bad cold got even worse, and she lost her voice due to a sore throat.

"Hiss hiss hiss—" When Lyra opened her mouth, the sound she made was exactly like the Medusa portrait at the entrance of Professor Snape's cellar, a pure snake-like sound.

"Tsk tsk, how come a little snake has sneaked into Gryffindor?" Fred said with a sly smile, putting his arm around Lyra's shoulder.

“We need to let this little snake experience the passion of Gryffindor!” George magically produced a bottle of energy drink and approached Lyra with a wicked grin.

"Hiss!" Lyra struggled desperately, but the difference in strength between the two and one was too great. In the end, she was forced to drink a whole bottle of awful potion by the red-haired twins.

Smoke immediately billowed from her ears, which, in the twins' eyes, were just as adorable as the departing Hogwarts Express.

“Fred! George! You stop right there—” Lyra’s booming voice faithfully proved the effectiveness of the energy booster.

*

The raindrops, sharp as arrows, pattered against the castle windows.

Leila gazed sadly out the window. She could see the lake rising due to several days of rain, a flowerbed covered in mud, and the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest swaying in the wind and rain in the distance.

Lyra and the twins had originally planned to sneak into the Forbidden Forest tonight to pick Sap Grass, because Sap Grass picked during the full moon could be used to make Polyjuice Potion, which could fetch a good price at the Potions Shop.

But the continuous bad weather made Lyra worry about the potions that were about to ripen in the Forbidden Forest. The sound of the rain in her ears was as sad as the sound of Galleons flying away.

Compared to the melancholy Lyra, the red-haired twins, or rather the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team, have had a miserable time during these recent unfortunate rainy days. But they have a captain who thrives on adversity—Oliver Wood—whose enthusiasm for Quidditch training hasn't diminished in the slightest despite the stormy weather.

So every time Gryffindor team practice ended, Lyra would see seven poor souls, soaking wet and covered in mud.

On days without training, Fred and George weren't in a particularly good mood. They were in charge of scouting the Slytherin team's training, and according to what they saw with their own eyes, the Slytherin team, equipped with seven of the latest Nimbus 2001 brooms, flew through the air like seven green jets—they were completely obscured, only seven blurry green shadows flying indistinctly.

In this unlucky October, Lyra's only hope was the Halloween party. Rumors were circulating at school that Headmaster Dumbledore planned to spend a fortune hiring the most popular bands of the moment to entertain everyone.

Leila was extremely interested and had a heated discussion with Angelina in the common room.

"I'm really looking forward to having an exciting Halloween!"

Harry, who was playing chess with Ron not far away, heard this and his heart stirred.

Coincidentally, he had just received a special Halloween dinner invitation a couple of days ago—from the ghost of Gryffindor: Nick the Nearly Headless, who invited Harry to his 500th birthday celebration, which was on Halloween.

The anniversary party was definitely going to be exciting—maybe, maybe he should invite Lyra to join them...

Thinking of this, Harry's heart started racing.