402 Chapter 402

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-Afternoon – On the grounds of Hogwarts-

"Hmm, I wonder when it's going to start snowing" I said to myself, feeling the damp, cold air as I looked up at the sky, noticing that there was little sunlight coming through the clouds.

My last class of the day which was Ancient Runes had just ended, and as soon as I left the classroom I headed towards the black lake, wanting to take a walk in the fresh air.

And now, outside the castle, I began to walk calmly along the edge of the black lake, seeing other students doing the same while warming themselves in their coats and scarves.

And looking at myself I noticed my clothes, seeing that I was only wearing a long sleeve burgundy shirt, black pants and dark gray shoes with blue details.

And for a cold winter, these clothes didn't warm up much, which would be uncomfortable for anyone, but for me this wasn't a problem, since my body was naturally warm.

'After I started developing my Beast Power I never had to worry about feeling cold or hot again' I thought.

And I thanked my Beast Power for giving me a high adaptation ability.

But leaving that aside I continued my walk, and as I passed near Durmstrang's ship I saw Krum, who was only wearing swim trunks, jumping into the cold waters of the dark lake, which made me raise an eyebrow.

'Hmm, apparently Krum has already solved the clue to the golden egg and discovered what the challenge of the second task will be' I thought, looking at him with a thoughtful look, 'Either that or Karkaroff must have told him...'

And knowing the treacherous and disgusting personality of the Headmaster of Durmstrang, I would bet on the second option.

'Meh, it doesn't make any difference to me' I shrugged, and ignoring the Bulgarian champion I continued walking.

However, after a few minutes of walking I stopped again when I noticed a certain bushy-haired girl reading a book under a tree.

And looking at the 'know-it-all' girl from the golden trio I blinked, finding it strange that she wasn't accompanied by her two faithful friends.

'Huh... She's reading one of the books about house elves that I recommended for her' I realized, looking at the cover of the book that was in her hands.

And without me realizing it I started to get closer to her.

Looking at Hermione I could see her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, showing that she was seriously focused on the book.

And this became even more obvious when she didn't even notice my approach or that I was standing next to her, and seeing this I stared at her for a few seconds before a mischievous smile appeared on my face.

And then I bent down, bringing my mouth closer to his ear.

"Hey" I said, making her jump in fright, quickly turning to me.

"Ethan, don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed, placing her hand on her chest.

"Hahaha, I'm sorry, but you were so concentrated and unprotected reading your book that I couldn't resist" I said, showing her a mischievous smile.

"And that is one more reason for you not to scare me" she complained, looking at me sternly, like a certain feline teacher.

"Yeah yeah... I'm sorry" I said, raising my hands in surrender.

And Hermione seemed to sense that my apology was insincere, as she continued to stare at me with narrowed eyes.

But seeing my calm smile she sighed, putting down the book she was reading and placing it on her lap, "Okay, but know that if you do that again I will jinx you."

"Noted" I nodded, "But then, what are you doing here alone?" I asked.

"Err… Reading?" she said, looking at me like I was stupid.

"That I can see" I rolled my eyes, "What I'm asking is: why aren't you with Harry and Ron?"

And hearing my question Hermione snorted, "You say that as if I always have to be with them."

"You don't, but you also can't deny that the three of you are almost always together, so seeing you alone is obviously weird," I said, and Hermione sighed, knowing I was right.

"Harry and Ron are in our common room playing some kind of magical board game with the other boys, and as I didn't want to be the only girl among them I decided to go out and do something else, and here I am" Hermione he said.

"I understand" I nodded.

We then fell into a calm silence, and as I stood next to Hermione I stared at her, feeling like I was forgetting something involving her.

'What am I forgetting?' I asked myself, frowning, 'I feel like it's something important, but I can't remember what.'

And after a few more seconds of thinking, and even using Occlumency to search my memories, I remembered.

'Oh! I still have to make Hermione and Harry go to the ball together as a couple!' I exclaimed in my mind, before looking at Hermione.

"Hmm, Hermione" I called, making the smart girl turn to me.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Well, I was curious to know, but do you have a ball date yet?" I asked, and that made her blink in confusion, not expecting me to ask her that.

"Huh? Why do you want to know?" she asked me.

"Like I said, I'm just curious," I shrugged, and she looked at me doubtfully.

"If I didn't already know that you're going to the ball with Luna I would be thinking that you wanted to ask me to be your date" she said.

"Wait, how do you know I'm going to the ball with Luna?" I asked, a little surprised.

"I know because Lavender told me" Hermione replied.

And hearing that I made a face, because if Lavender knew, that meant the whole school knew.

And I knew Lavender and her gossipy friends' tendency to heighten and change rumors and gossip to make them... spicier.

And just imagining what was being said about Luna and I going to the ball together made my head hurt.

'Well, at least this will stop the other girls from bothering me asking me to be their date' I thought, letting out a tired but relieved sigh.

But shaking my head I looked back at Hermione, who was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"But well, back to the topic, you still haven't answered my question," I said, and Hermione sighed.

"No, I don't have a date yet" she replied, "Are you satisfied with the answer?"

"In a way yes" I nodded.

"Why?" Hermione looked at me without understanding.

"Because that means you can still go to the ball with Harry," I said, and I could see his eyes widen in shock.

"Go to the b-ball with Harry!?" she exclaimed, "W-why would I go to the ball with H-Harry?!"

And looking at the panicked girl with flushed cheeks I resisted the urge to snort in amusement, seeing that she was trying to hide her nervousness.

But that didn't work very well since she wasn't very good at hiding her emotions, as evidenced by her stutter.

"Well, obviously you would want to go to ball with him because you like him," I said with a shrug.

"I-I don't l-like him!" she denied, but I just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible liar?" I asked.

And before she could say anything I continued, "Look... You, me, and everyone at school except Harry knows you like him, so why do you keep lying to yourself?"

"And before you think about saying something like 'That's not true', 'You're delusional', or 'I don't like him', know that I won't believe you."

"But it's true! I don't like him!" she said, and I just looked at her with a blank expression.

"Really? So why did you write his name and yours inside a heart on your copy of Hogwarts: A History?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing my arms.

"How do you know that?!" she asked shocked, and I smiled.

"Oh, so it's true" and hearing this Hermione realized she had fallen into a trap.

She then started to stutter as she tried to make up some lie or give some lame excuse, but I just kept looking at her.

And when she realized that there was no longer any escape for her, the studious girl sighed.

"Yes, I like him, so what?" she asked, looking away with slightly pink cheeks.

And even though I already knew about her passion for Harry because of the feelings I could feel coming from her, I still smiled when I heard her confession.

'Well, apparently I'm going to win that bet I made with the twins' I thought, smiling as I imagined Fred and George's defeated look.

'And I think that me helping Hermione and Harry get together faster isn't cheating, since I'm just helping two friends in love, right?''

But shaking my head I refocused on the current moment, looking at the shy Hermione in front of me.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you accepted and confessed your feelings for Harry, but this is just the beginning" I started to say, making her look at me from the corner of her eye.

"Now what you have to do is ask him to the ball, and then you can become a real couple!" I proclaimed with a huge smile on my face.

And Hermione was looking at me with a strange expression, but I could also sense that the thought of going to the Yule Ball with Harry as a couple was very appealing to her.

And a sparkle came into my eyes as I looked at her satisfied, realizing that my plan was working.

'Phase 1 of operation 'Harmony Couple' completed' I thought, 'Now let's move on to phase 2'

End.

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