Chapter 160 I Will Remember

Harry was in the same trouble as Sherin.

The day after the Christmas Ball was announced, a curly-haired girl from the third year of Hufflepuff, whom Harry had never spoken to before, took the initiative to invite Harry to the ball with her. Of course, as an orphan who grew up in the home of his aunt who hated him, Harry had never received any education about the opposite sex since he was a child, so he was very straight and directly rejected the girl.

The girl walked away, looking hurt. Throughout the History of Magic class, Harry had to endure Dean, Seamus and Ron's sarcasm and ridicule of the girl. This happened several times.

As the date of the Christmas Ball approached, Harry was under increasing pressure. He actually had a candidate in his mind who he wanted to invite, but he couldn't muster up the courage no matter what.

Ron and he were simply in the same boat. Ron didn't invite a dance partner, but his pressure was not that great. He was not a warrior and didn't have to participate in the ball.

At the same time, many changes took place in the castle.

Hogwarts staff and students constantly demonstrated their desire to impress the guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, and seemed determined to put the castle in its best possible light this Christmas.

The school was decorated with lights, the banisters of the marble staircases were hung with everlasting icicles, and the twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were decorated with all kinds of trinkets, from glittering holly berries to live golden owls that kept hooting. The suits of armor were enchanted to sing Christmas carols whenever anyone passed by.

It was particularly funny to hear an empty helmet singing "O Come, Ye Pious Ones". The armor only knew half of the words, and the caretaker Filch had to pull Peeves out of the suit several times because Peeves hid inside and made up some of his own lyrics to fill in the gaps in the armor, which were very crude and ugly.

That night, Shaylin finished his magic research and sneaked into the kitchen to make some midnight snacks. To be honest, he hadn't had a good meal for a long time because of the invitation to dance. The elves knew that Shaylin was the heir of Hufflepuff, so they were very enthusiastic about him and made a lot of exquisite delicacies for him to enjoy.

Before he started eating, the kitchen door suddenly opened and a person he didn't expect appeared at the door.

It was Hermione.

"What a coincidence, Miss Granger." Shaylin was a little embarrassed. After all, since he had a falling out with Hermione, the two had never been alone again. Although it can't be considered alone now, do you think the elves don't exist?

Hermione's answer was beyond Schelling's expectation. She looked at Schelling firmly and took a few deep breaths. "It's not a coincidence. I borrowed some magic props and saw your whereabouts. I came to find you specially."

Scheling knew that this so-called "magic prop" was Harry's Marauder's Map, which released a name tracking magic called "Homonculous Charm" that could show the traces of everyone on the map.

The practicality of this prop was actually exaggerated by the original book. Because Hogwarts Castle is very huge, such a small map can only show every person in the map range as a black dot smaller than an ant-so, unless you are staring at a specific area or a specific person, you can't monitor everyone's actions.

(Note: Homonculous comes from Pottermore's Marauder's Map. This spell has no official translation. "Homonculous Charm" is the author's personal translation.)

This means that Hermione is staring at herself on the map, and she must stare for a long time to successfully block him here.

Xie Lin's face was expressionless, but he was secretly wondering in his heart, what could Hermione go through so much trouble to find him?

This semester, he was almost isolated from Harry and his trio. Apart from the Potions class, Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Hagrid's Magical Beasts class, he spent almost all his time on various plans and research, and had no intersection with Hermione.

However, out of politeness and grace, he still asked: "You came to me specifically? What's the matter?"

Hermione raised her chin slightly, with a hint of stubbornness and pride in her eyes, her hands hanging on both sides of her wizard robe, tightly clenched fists. This scene made Xie Lin a little dazed, he seemed to see the little lion in the library three years ago, holding his head high and looking unyielding, the proud girl who said she would beat him in learning.

"Xie Lin Malfoy," her voice was a little hoarse, but her eyes glowed with unprecedented light, "I came here just to tell you one thing-"

"I like you. I want to invite you to be my dance partner!"

Ah?

Huh?

What's going on?

Even with Xie Ling's state of mind, he was greatly shocked. Was he confessed to?

As for the honey trap, conspiracy trap, etc.? Xie Ling had never thought about it. Harry was not such a character, and Hermione was so strong that she would never do such a thing.

Xie Lin calmed down quickly. He looked at the girl's much more mature face. Unknowingly, Hermione had really changed a lot. I don't know when it started. Hermione's signature pair of front teeth It suddenly shrank, and her hair seemed fluffy, but it was obvious that it had been simply combed, and it didn't feel as messy as before.

Taking a closer look, Hermione was indeed much more beautiful. The little girl next door in the past had gradually acquired the gentle and youthful charm of a young girl. Xie Lin, who was used to seeing beautiful women, could not help but feel amazed.

As stunning as it was stunning, Xie Lin didn't feel moved.

Although the beauty is beautiful, fate makes the two of them take completely opposite paths.

He immediately thought of Meredith and the three girlfriends who had silently sacrificed for him, and once again warned him sternly in his heart not to cause any more love debts. Then he straightened his expression and coughed lightly, "Miss Granger, thank you very much." Favor me, but I'm sorry, I already have a girlfriend, and there are more than one..."

He looked directly at Hermione's eyes that were beginning to dim, "You are a good girl, it's true. You are smart, cute, and maybe a little arrogant sometimes, but your kind heart can make up for everything. You have the loyalty to protect your friends, and the courage to defend the truth and principles in your heart, but you can't force things to happen, and I can't lie on this matter no matter what..."

"We... are not suitable for being together."

Hermione smiled, even as tears fell from her eyes.

"Xie Lin," she said with a smile, "please allow me to call you this name for the last time. I am very grateful for your honesty to me. You don't have to worry about anything. Really, because, before coming here, I had thought about this outcome..." Her voice began to choke, "But... why am I still so sad!"

She sniffed, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, looked at Xie Lin with red and swollen eyes, and showed a forced smile: "It's enough to let you know my feelings. I wish you the best in the Triwizard Tournament." Winning the championship, and...and...I hope you must be happy...Maybe one day you will forget me, maybe after graduation, we will never have the chance to meet again, but as long as you can remember- —”

"There was once a girl, in this place, at this moment, who once told you that she liked you, and that was enough."

Xie Lin felt a pain in his heart for no reason, but his face remained expressionless. Sure enough, have I ever been moved by you?

Xie Lin sighed and said solemnly: "Hermione, please allow me to call you this name again. I will remember you forever... I also wish you the best, and you must find your own happiness..."

Hermione finally couldn't bear it any longer. Her emotions seemed to have reached their limit, and she burst into heart-wrenching cries uncontrollably. Tears surged out like water with a missing embankment. She hurriedly covered her face, turned around, and He ran out of the kitchen as fast as he could.