bacchusnovels Chapter 489 I've decided on you, Daphne!
Chapter 489 I've decided on you, Daphne!
Chapter 489 I've decided on you, Daphne!
the next day.
In the early morning, a thin mist hung in the air, and the air was fresh.
Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, spilling onto the wooden floor. Birdsong gradually rose, and a gentle breeze carried a hint of dampness.
The streets were not yet fully awake, with only a few cars occasionally passing by, leaving behind a series of soft rumbling sounds.
The moment Qiu Zhang opened his eyes, his mind went blank, as if he were struggling to wake up from an unusually boundless dream.
Her limbs were cold, her body was heavy, as if her consciousness had sunk into the deep sea and was floating in a void, not knowing when it would stop.
She gently turned over, her consciousness gradually clearing until a sharp pain spread rapidly from below her body, like a tearing pain suddenly hitting her spine, making her realize that this was not a dream.
The pain was so real.
Qiu Zhang tried to stand up, but felt an emptiness in his lower body, as if something had been completely stripped away.
What happened?
She kept asking herself the same questions, but her memories of last night were like those lightly veiled in mist, appearing and disappearing indistinctly. Only a few scattered fragments remained in her mind, like scattered pieces swaying in her head: a bed, two figures, a floor littered with wine bottles, the bright moonlight, rapid breathing, the touch of fingers—all the details were like an unfinished painting, blurry and incomplete.
She closed her eyes, trying to recall, but all she could hear was her heart pounding, like an endless rhythm, carrying her thoughts from one blank space to another. Perhaps she was wandering at the boundary between a dream and reality, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Admittedly, this is what happens when someone drinks until they black out.
"woke up?"
A deep voice came from the side. Qiu Zhang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Professor Phillips looking at him with a mischievous gaze.
She hurriedly burrowed under the covers, trying to cover something up—
"Don't be shy, come here." Sean seemed unimpressed by Cho Chang's actions.
Qiu Zhang hesitated for a moment, then moved over and leaned on his shoulder.
The morning sunlight shone on her pale skin, giving it a faint pinkish hue. Her whole body ached, especially in a certain area, but at this moment she preferred to pretend she didn't feel it.
"Does it hurt?" His fingers gently brushed across her cheek. "Let me put some medicine on it for you."
As he spoke, Sean took out a bottle of anti-swelling medicine from his system inventory.
This bottle of swelling-reducing medicine was a system reward I received when I first met Tonks—and I still haven't finished using it.
She felt she must be in a terrible state, but Sean's gaze gave her a strange warmth.
He gestured for her to sit down on the edge of the bed, then opened the ointment.
In the early morning, a thin mist hung in the air, and the air was fresh.
Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, spilling onto the wooden floor. Birdsong gradually rose, and a gentle breeze carried a hint of dampness.
The streets were not yet fully awake; occasionally a few cars drove by, leaving behind a series of soft rumbling sounds.
Qiu Zhang hesitated, clutching the blanket tightly with both hands, head down, cheeks flushed red.
"Shy?" Sean chuckled. "It wasn't like this last night."
Qiu Zhang bit her lower lip and slowly moved the blanket away—her movements were extremely slow, as if she were performing some kind of ritual.
"Take your hand away," Sean urged again, his voice slightly stern this time. "Otherwise, how can I apply the medicine?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhang trembled as he moved his arm away.
She felt she must be in a terrible state, but Sean's gaze gave her a strange warmth.
He gestured for her to sit down on the edge of the bed, then opened the ointment.
Qiu Zhang still didn't look up. She could feel the coolness of the plaster penetrating her skin, easing the burning sensation.
But psychological trauma seems to be harder to heal than physical discomfort.
"Thank you."
She spoke in an extremely soft voice, then sat up and quickly grabbed the blanket beside the bed to wrap herself up.
It was already eleven o'clock when the two finished breakfast in a strange atmosphere and left under the eager gaze of Mrs. and Mr. Zhang.
Both of them had reasons why they had to return to Hogwarts.
Christmas is the day after tomorrow, which is also the Christmas ball.
Both of them have a task they must complete at the Christmas ball.
On the way back.
Cho Chang, linking arms with Sean, extended the invitation that had been nagging at her: "Professor, at the Christmas ball—would you dance with me?"
Although Cho Chang knew the invitation was highly inappropriate—especially since Rita had dirt on her and the professor—and that such an action would undoubtedly increase the risk of their exposure, after what had happened last night, she could no longer keep such thoughts to herself.
"Of course," Sean said, ruffling Cho Chang's hair in response to the invitation, before abruptly changing the subject.
But—I need to change my identity.
Back in his office, Sean took out a pen.
It lists the witches who will dance on Christmas Day.
The four people are Hibiscus, Tonks, Hermione, and Cho Chang.
And Luna after the ball.
Even so, there are only five people, one person short of the highest level goal of six.
Bella? That's not very realistic.
Penelope? She's already graduated.
Ginny? That seems a bit abrupt.
After thinking for a moment, Sean set his sights on someone he hadn't seen in a long time:
I've chosen you! Daphne!
Daphne has had a very unpleasant few days.
More specifically, her life has been going wrong ever since she met that awful man.
The thought of that hypocritical man made Daphne grit her teeth in hatred.
"Daphne, your dance partner at the Christmas ball—" Pansy Parkinson's voice suddenly came from beside her, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked up and saw Pansy standing to the side, hands on her hips—they were members of the same group; there were always a few Slytherin girls like Pansy who would interrupt others inappropriately when they were thinking.
There are always various small groups among girls.
Whether for mutual support or for higher social status, the girls in Slytherin especially like to form small cliques.
However, the atmosphere within each small group was not very harmonious.
Daphne means that she hates Pansy.
the reason is simple.
The other person is both stupid and ugly.
Pansy always had a high opinion of herself, always thinking that she was the center of some kind of social occasion and that she could control everything, especially in interpersonal relationships. However, this was just her fantasy.
Many times, Daphne has been unable to tolerate Pansy's stupidity and affectation.
Pansy always liked to stir up pointless arguments. Her words were both exaggerated and tactless, especially in front of Daphne, where she always tried to show off her "intelligence" and "importance".
But in reality, many in Slytherin knew that Pansy was nothing more than a pretentious and vulgar woman.
What Daphne disliked even more was Pansy's appearance.
She might be considered outstanding among a group of ordinary people, but in Daphne's eyes, Pansy's appearance was utterly unattractive.
Her round face, lifeless eyes, and awkward smile were hardly befitting of her arrogance.
Daphne always felt a sense of disgust whenever she saw Pansy showing off.
This aversion reached its peak after Pansy boasted countless times about having found a dance partner for the Christmas ball.
To get to the bottom of it, she hasn't found a dance partner yet.
It's not that no one is looking for her, it's that she doesn't want to.
Tracing back to the source, the ultimate origin lies with that despicable man.
Ever since that ugly incident last semester, Daphne has inexplicably developed a strong sense of malice and disgust towards men.
She had thought she could easily handle the interest and flirtation of those men. As a Slytherin girl, she had always been adept at these interpersonal games. However, the aftermath of that incident made her realize that she actually had a deep fear and disgust for these men.
She had seen with her own eyes what kind of indifference and cunning was hidden beneath that man's flawless mask.
He was like a hunter, using a seemingly warm face to capture the hearts of every weak and helpless woman.
Yes, that man—Sean Phillips—planted a deep seed of poison in Daphne's heart.
Faced with Pansy's renewed boasting, Daphne frowned slightly, suppressing her displeasure.
"What is it?" she asked coldly, her tone anything but friendly.
"I just wanted to know who you're going to the ball with?" Pansy raised an eyebrow, seemingly oblivious to the impatience in Daphne's tone, and continued, "You know, the Christmas ball is in two days, and then..."
"I haven't decided yet," Daphne replied again.
"Oh?" Pansy said, "Then you'd better hurry, you can't just find any dance partner to go to the Christmas ball—"
While the two were talking, Malfoy walked into the common room from outside, his eyes searching the seats before quickly locking onto Daphne.
"Daphne".
"Um?"
"Professor Phillips wants you to come to his office."
Daphne suddenly realized that Pansy wasn't so bad after all.
Meanwhile, the lion cubs in the Gryffindor common room were also fully enjoying the arrival of the Christmas holidays.
On the sofa by the fireplace, Ron was lounging lazily on the cushions, holding a thick Quidditch magazine. His eyes occasionally glanced at the articles, but it seemed more like he was looking at the pictures, immersed in the lazy atmosphere of the holiday.
Hermione sat at a table nearby, with several books piled up beside her, seemingly preparing for her holiday reading—though she could never completely put aside her studies, the upcoming Christmas ball, and house-elf rights activities.
As early as yesterday, she had already helped Harry and Ron each find a dance partner for the Christmas ball.
That's right, the candidates were naturally her two roommates.
Harry, as a champion of Gryffindor and with the "savior" buff, has always been popular in Gryffindor; as for Ron, he is popular because of his good looks.
The Weasleys have always been good-looking.
If the two of them hadn't been so shy, this would have been done the very day the ball was announced.
"Can't you take a break?" Ron looked up and saw Hermione staring at her book without moving, and couldn't help but say.
Hermione looked up. "I'm just preparing some extra research materials. Besides, with such a long vacation, it's good to do something meaningful."
"Meaningful? Can't you just relax and have a few days like me?" Ron scoffed. "I'm exhausted from Christmas. Competitions, studies, family—where's the time to enjoy a proper holiday!"
"I'm not as relaxed as you are." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You still have to entertain your endless brothers with your family. Don't let me hear you complaining!"
"Alright, alright." Ron sighed helplessly, then picked up a piece of chocolate from the table and put it in his mouth. "But holidays are for relaxing. I really wish I could go to the Quidditch field with Harry to practice."
At that moment, Harry was standing by the window, gazing at the snowy scene outside through the glass, his thoughts drifting far away. Five minutes earlier, he had just finished reading the letter Sirius Black had sent him.
It contains his experiences over the past few days, praise for his outstanding performance in the Triwizard Tournament, and Christmas greetings.
Soon, Ron noticed Harry's dejection.
"Harry, what's wrong? What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing, it just feels like the world is much quieter."
Harry was somewhat moved.
This is his fourth Christmas holiday at Hogwarts.
Combining the busyness of the previous three Christmas holidays with the current laziness, he always felt that something was missing in his life—perhaps a condiment called "excitement".
All in all, there are some things he shouldn't be used to.
Will anything special happen during the Christmas holidays?
Soon, Harry's premonition came true.
Hermione put down her book and walked towards him and Ron.
"Shouldn't you—keep your promise?"
"What promise?"
Ron tried to play dumb to avoid the situation, but this tactic clearly wouldn't work on Hermione.
"Come with me to promote the rights of house-to-house Pokémon, starting with Sparky!"
The three of them started from the common room, walked through the corridor, and headed towards the Hogwarts kitchen.
In the kitchen, the house-elves were busy preparing lunch, and the air was filled with the aroma of delicious food.
Shiny was busy stirring a pot of soup with a large spoon when it saw them come in. Its eyes lit up and it immediately ran over to greet them.
"Miss Granger! Mr. Weasley! Mr. Potter!" Sparkle exclaimed excitedly, flailing her arms so hard she almost spilled her soup. "Sparkle is so happy to see you all!"
Soon, Shan Shan regretted saying those words.
Hermione bent down, a devilish smile on her face (at least to Gilgamesh), and whispered.
"Sparkle, we're here today to talk to you about some issues concerning the rights of house-elves."
"Shanshan still has work to do."
"Let Dobby do it for you, and I'll give him a Galleon as payment later."
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