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Chapter 472: Dance Partner!!
Darren's words made Hermione both sad and moved.
But she also felt that Darren was still too innocent, not thinking deeply about what he had said.
So she chose not to respond.
The shift from friends to lovers always demands caution—extreme seriousness.
Because if it goes wrong, even friendship can be ruined.
Hermione was not foolish.
So she pretended not to take the comment to heart and forced a big smile to get through the embarrassing moment.
Pretending everything was normal, Darren changed the topic and brought up Rita Skeeter.
Although Harry and the others told him not to worry too much about Hagrid…
Darren couldn't help asking. Hagrid was too soft-hearted.
They had warned him not to give Rita Skeeter an interview.
But Hagrid secretly did it anyway.
He didn't even think it was a problem.
What bothered him was that Rita Skeeter wasn't actually very interested in magical creatures.
Instead, she had been prying into Harry's affairs.
She even seemed fascinated by Harry.
"And she asked me what I thought of Harry's performance… asked if Harry needed some criticism."
Hagrid had been furious.
"I told her Harry is my friend. I've been friends with him since I brought him out of the Dursleys', and there's nothing wrong with him. In the end I threw her out. I really should've listened to you first—maybe none of this would've happened."
Harry sighed.
He had originally thought Rita Skeeter was only after stories about Hagrid.
He hadn't expected her to be interested in him.
"After all, you're a Triwizard champion… And don't ask why she didn't go after Darren. Obviously she's afraid of him. Who wouldn't be if his fist came flying their way?"
Ron grinned.
Harry laughed too.
But after laughing, he muttered unhappily, "If she really wants dirt on me, she should go to Snape. Snape would tell her I've been pampered for years, never study properly, and spend all day causing trouble."
Ron and Darren burst out laughing.
Hermione did not.
She frowned. "Rita Skeeter is still investigating you? That's not good. I'm afraid she'll write something strange."
That was indeed something to worry about.
Their laughter faded as they walked toward the castle.
What bothered Harry even more was that he still couldn't find a partner for the Yule Ball.
Every girl he approached turned out to be more interested in Darren.
The moment Harry tried inviting them, the girls would start asking him about Darren.
Some even tried to make him bring them Darren's personal belongings.
This left Harry speechless.
He complained to Ron that the girls at Hogwarts were insane.
He couldn't tell the difference between the girls obsessing over Darren and the people who wanted to harm Darren.
After all, both groups wanted Darren's personal things.
One group wanted them to curse him; the other wanted them to collect.
Of course Harry never told Darren.
Because Darren would probably just give them whatever they asked for, since he was too kind and had zero sense of danger.
The last week before Christmas arrived.
The festive atmosphere was strong throughout the school.
Some professors saw how distracted everyone was and stopped lecturing altogether.
Professor Flitwick was one of them.
He let the rest of the class play games and pulled Darren aside to discuss the spells Darren had used in the Tournament.
He had noticed that many of Darren's spells were modified versions of ordinary charms. For example, a simple Hover Charm shouldn't allow anyone to fly that high—yet Darren did it.
"It was third year… When I went to save my brother, the idea suddenly flashed in my mind. I just thought it like this…"
Darren and Flitwick spent the entire class discussing magic, with Flitwick repeatedly calling him a genius. He had known since first year that Darren was gifted, but discussing magic with a genius was a different level of delight.
When class ended, Flitwick still looked reluctant to stop and even arranged to continue next time.
Professor Binns, naturally, paused neither for death nor Christmas.
So Darren could only sit through another lecture about a goblin war, as dull as a business meeting.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody refused to let their classes slack off.
They kept everyone studying until the very last second.
As for Snape…
He would probably rather invite Harry for polite afternoon tea than let students play games.
He despised games.
He also announced that the final class before Christmas would include an antidote test.
Holiday or not, he remained strict.
But even so, Harry and Ron kept whispering and lazing around.
Hermione watched this while helping Darren write his homework again and felt disgusted.
She glared at Harry. "Can't you think about the golden egg at all?"
"So what? The next task is on February 24. There's plenty of time. Also—why are you writing Darren's homework?"
Harry stared at the parchment with Darren's name on it.
"Oh, he's too busy. He has to study the golden egg every day. You, as his brother, don't help him at all, yet keep asking questions."
Hermione glared so fiercely that Harry didn't dare ask anything more.
You don't question a furious lioness, unless you want to risk expulsion—or death.
Then Harry remembered something far worse.
Christmas was almost here.
He still had no dance partner.
Fred had boldly asked Angelina right in front of them, and she had agreed.
The pressure hit Harry instantly.
"That's right. You finally remembered. You and Ron should hurry up, or the pretty girls will all be gone."
Hermione said sharply.
Only then did Harry realize he had spoken aloud.
"Well… I'll go out and try. Maybe I can find a girl who isn't obsessed with Darren."
"Ha. Good luck."
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