HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 48 A Date in the Greenhouse

Another new attack has occurred.

Another double attack: Hermione Granger of Gryffindor and the prefects of Ravenclaw.

Lyra sat close to George and Fred on the sofa in the common room, her arms crossed, listening to Professor McGonagall's somber announcement: "...Everyone must be back in the common room by six o'clock in the evening. No one may leave the dormitory building after that time. No one may walk alone in the castle; at least one teacher must escort them. No student may go to the washroom alone without a teacher's accompaniment. All Quidditch practice and matches are suspended..."

"...The school may have to close unless the perpetrator of the attack is caught. I hope everyone who thinks they know something will come forward and provide clues..."

After Professor McGonagall left, the students were all talking amongst themselves. Lyra could hear Lee Jordan telling those around him that Slytherins should be expelled, and that none of the victims were Slytherins. Percy, on the other hand, seemed terrified by the attack on the Ravenclaw prefects.

Like Harry, Lyra sat silently, unable to believe that Hermione had turned into a stiff stone statue and was lying in the school hospital.

After a while, Ron and Harry huddled together and whispered something before getting up and going back to their dormitory.

Leila also stood up and went upstairs; she decided to go back to her dorm to write a letter.

*

In the evening, Leila stood at the entrance of the third greenhouse. A gentle breeze blew the stray hairs around her ears, revealing her beautiful face.

She rubbed her wand with her right hand, hesitating whether to cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself to prevent anyone from discovering that she had slipped out of the castle alone, but she was also worried that the person she was meeting later would not be able to see her.

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and a platinum blonde-haired boy took off a soft silver-white jacket and stood in front of her.

This is very similar to the Invisibility Cloak that Harry once lent her, but the Invisibility Cloak Lyra is seeing now is clearly of inferior quality to Harry's—it is said that Harry's Invisibility Cloak is a family heirloom of the Potters.

"Good evening," Leila greeted with a smile.

Draco Malfoy was stunned by the smile for less than two seconds before he began to berate her: "How dare you run around alone!"

"You're a freak, and instead of staying put in the Gryffindor common room at a time like this... never mind, did you even put on your amulet?"

Lyra was completely unaffected by the platinum young master's sour face, and lightly revealed the emerald bracelet on her wrist. The pure green made the girl's hands look even whiter and more beautiful.

Seeing that the black-haired girl carried the alchemical amulet he had given her, the platinum young master's expression softened considerably.

“It’s a bit cold outside, and the patrolling professors might see us. Let’s go inside and talk.” Lyra turned around and used a lock-picking spell to open the greenhouse door. A smell of damp earth and fertilizer wafted out, mixed with a rich floral fragrance, which was reassuring.

"What do you want to ask me out for?" The platinum boy's voice was almost gentle. "Is it because that Mud Granger was attacked and you're scared? Don't worry, as long as you don't run around, you'll be fine if you wear the amulet."

“Hermione is my friend, and I’m really saddened that she was attacked,” Lyra said earnestly. “I asked you out because there’s something I wanted to ask you—”

Do you know who will inherit the secret chamber?

"So that's why you asked me out! I thought, I thought—" Draco Malfoy roared in anger, pacing back and forth in circles. "You, like Potter, think I'm the heir to Slytherin?"

“Of course not. I know you’re not the heir,” Lyra said softly, “but you come from the Slytherin family, so you must know more than others, right?”

The platinum-rich young master was calmed by the black-haired girl's firm tone. He paused for a moment, then nodded haughtily.

“Malfoy always knows more inside information than others.” Draco Malfoy said with a hint of pride, but he tried his best to restrain himself. “After the Quidditch match was stopped today, I wrote to my dad, cough, my father, and he wrote back to tell me that something big was going to happen at Hogwarts today and that I shouldn’t go out. If you hadn’t invited me, I wouldn’t have come out.”

"Thank you, Draco."

“Father said the Minister of Magic will be coming to Hogwarts today to take away criminals. Do you want to know who it is? I can take you to see—” The platinum-haired young master held his head high as usual, but his eyes were shining with anticipation, as if he were waiting for the black-haired girl’s plea.

Lyra didn't speak this time, but she reached out and gently tugged at Draco's sleeve.

Draco Malfoy didn't receive the flattery and praise he expected from the dark-haired girl, but he wasn't annoyed. The tugging at his clothes seemed to fulfill all his desires.

The two left the greenhouse, and the platinum-haired boy, holding the dark-haired girl's hand, walked briskly towards the Forbidden Forest.

*

Harry and Ron donned the Potter family's ancestral invisibility cloak and sneaked out of the castle to visit Hagrid at the cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry learned something: fifty years ago, Hagrid was found to be the murderer who opened the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry learned of this shocking news from a tattered black leather diary, a magical diary whose original owner was a student fifty years ago.

It's a pity the diary was stolen, otherwise Harry would definitely have continued to press the other person for more details from back then.

After Hermione was attacked, he and Ron decided to talk to Hagrid—they hadn't originally wanted to do this because Hagrid was an important friend of theirs and they didn't want to believe that Hagrid was the murderer.

"Who is it?" Harry had barely knocked when the door burst open—Hagrid was pointing a bow and arrow menacingly at the entrance.

"Oh, it's you two." Hagrid lowered his weapon when he saw Harry and Ron. "Come in. What are you two doing here?"

"What's this for?" Harry asked, pointing to the bow and arrows as he entered the room.

"Oh, it's nothing... Someone knocked on the door just now, but no one answered. I thought..." Hagrid mumbled, "Ya Ya suddenly got sleepy again. She's acting very strangely today... Sit down, I'll make some tea..."

Harry noticed that Hagrid seemed a little distracted. He spilled the water in the kettle, then poured each of them a glass of hot water, but without tea bags in the cups. Just as he was about to put a piece of fruitcake on the plate, there was another knock at the door.

Hagrid dropped the cake in his hand. Harry and Ron exchanged a horrified look, then quickly put their Invisibility Cloaks back on and scrambled to a corner in a panic.

"Ouch!"

Harry heard a somewhat familiar cry of pain, and at the same time he felt as if he had stepped on something.