Chapter 492 First Day of Course

It is said that the fifth grade is the most terrible year in the minds of many Hogwarts students. It is dubbed the "nightmare year" by students, and it is not an exaggeration.

The timetable for the first day of school has been distributed.

Over in Gryffindor, Ron sighed, "Two History of Magic classes, two Potions classes, Divination class, two Defense Against the Dark Arts classes... Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that woman called Umbridge, all on the same day!"

The situation in Slytherin was not much better. Daphne was speechless for a long time as she looked at the full schedule of classes: Alchemy, two Potions, two History of Magic, two Defense Against the Dark Arts…

Today's alchemy class focuses on theory, and talks about the gender theory of Cornelius Agrippa, a famous German wizard. In his book "Debate on the Sublimity and Excellence of the Female Gender", he believes that women's physique, including parts such as blood, skin, and hair, has more acute magic power and has advantages that men do not have in the process of learning alchemy.

This argument was condemned by almost all men in the magic community at the time. Of course, as time passed, in modern times, people gradually realized that his research results were true, and began to recruit female alchemists on a large scale.

After the class, the assignment was to discuss the differences between men and women in the practice of alchemy and how to use this difference to promote the advancement of alchemy in society. Everyone, including Schelling, was amazed by such a lofty topic.

After the class was over, there was still some time before the next Potions class. Originally, everyone was going to wait outside the Potions classroom, but Daphne happened to have left something behind in the classroom, so she let the little snakes go first and went back alone to retrieve the thing.

So Draco and the others left.

Xie Lin thought about it and decided to wait for Daphne at a small door beside the corridor. Outside the small door was a small courtyard, which was a little wet because it was raining outside.

As luck would have it, Harry and his companions, who had just finished class and were waiting for the next Potions class to begin, were also there.

Hermione smiled and gave Shaylin a friendly hello, and Shaylin nodded politely in response. But Harry and Ron beside Hermione still had obvious hostility in their eyes -

For Xie Lin, who was good at understanding people's hearts, Ron's look was easy to understand. It was a jealous look. Although they were both prefects, Xie Lin was far better than Ron in appearance, clothing, temperament, popularity and fame.

This is not only due to the huge gap between the two in terms of wealth and family background, but also because the confidence and wisdom they exude have already created an insurmountable gap.

To put it bluntly, if Sherin stood directly next to Ron, it would be a fantasy version of "The Prince and the Pauper".

But Harry's look made Schelling a little confused. Last semester, although Harry made a fool of himself in the Triwizard Tournament because of him, he saved his life from Voldemort after all. Why did he hold such great hostility towards Schelling, which could even be said to have risen to the level of hatred?

Xie Ling ignored them and just looked at the gray sky, waiting patiently for Daphne to arrive.

It was drizzling, so the outlines of the people crowded in the yard looked a little blurry. Just then, a thin figure came around the corner towards them.

It’s Zhang Qiu.

Obviously, Zhang Qiu came to find Xie Lin. She was wearing a neat Ravenclaw robe and walked briskly. Her long, smooth black hair hung on her shoulders and swayed gently with her movements. Her expression was gentle and indifferent. She seemed not to notice Harry's gaze. When passing by the trio, Harry's heart seemed to be tightened by an invisible hand. An impulse made him blurt out without thinking -

"Hello, Autumn!"

Zhang Qiu paused, obviously a little surprised, and turned his head slightly to look at him, with a hint of confusion in his eyes, but still nodded politely and responded softly: "Hello, Harry."

Her voice was like the morning breeze, clear and gentle. Harry's throat was inexplicably dry, and he instinctively reached out to ruffle his messy black hair, trying to make himself look more relaxed, then smiled what he thought was a cool smile, and tried to pretend to be casual and asked: "You... um... how was your summer vacation?"

Zhang Qiu was slightly stunned, as if he didn't expect Harry to take the initiative to talk, but he quickly nodded and replied gently: "Well, it's fine, I-"

Before he finished speaking, Ron suddenly spoke up with a hint of surprise in his tone: "Is that the badge of the Tornado team?"

Ron suddenly pointed at the front of Qiu's robe and asked, where there was a sky blue badge with two bright and eye-catching golden letters "T" on it, "You don't support them, do you?"

Zhang Qiu frowned slightly, and his voice became a little colder: "Yes, I do support them."

Ron seemed interested and did not hide his doubts: "Have you always supported them, or did you support them only after they won the Club Federation Cup?"

Harry's heart sank, and he secretly said "Oh no". Ron's tone was clearly questioning, as if he was accusing Zhang Qiu of being just a follower.

Zhang Qiu's face instantly turned cold. She straightened her back and said coldly without a trace of warmth in her tone: "I have supported them since I was six years old."

The atmosphere suddenly became subtle and stiff. Zhang Qiu said nothing more, turned around and left, leaving behind a brief "Okay... Goodbye, Harry."

The corners of Harry's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked at her departing back with complicated eyes, but Zhang Qiu never looked back.

She walked to Xie Lin's side and stopped, lowered her head slightly, and said softly: "Xie Lin, I haven't had the chance to thank you in person for what happened on the train..."

Her voice was soft and sincere, completely different from the coldness just now. Xie Lin glanced at her, smiled faintly, waved his hand casually, and said with a little helplessness: "Qiu...you don't have to be so polite. Given our relationship, this is what I should do."

Having said that, his tone didn't sound like he really didn't care, especially when Zhang Qiu looked at him with those clear eyes.

At the same time, Sherin was keenly aware that a pair of eyes that could almost tear people apart were staring at him. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he turned his head lazily to meet Harry's green eyes that were intertwined with resentment and jealousy.

The corners of Schelling's mouth slightly raised, but he sneered in his heart. He was already dissatisfied with Harry's inexplicable strong hatred for him. Although the two of them were not friends, Schelling believed that he had never thought of deliberately hurting the protagonist of the original book.

Oh, that's really funny. In that case——

A sense of evil interest arose in Xie Ling's heart.

He slowly approached Zhang Qiu, leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a low voice close to her ear, with a hint of teasing in his voice: "Hey, that kid Potter is staring at us. It seems that he likes you very much."

Zhang Qiu suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Her heart seemed to be hit hard by something, and a tingling electric current spread from her ears to her whole body, making her dizzy for a moment.

Sherin was too close.

His warm breath gently brushed against her ear, and at that moment, she almost held her breath.

She subconsciously followed Sherin's gaze and met Harry's eyes.

Harry's eyes were terrifyingly gloomy, his emerald green pupils were now shrouded in a thick haze, and his face was pale to the point of being blue.

She suddenly understood what Xie Ling meant.

Harry Potter liked himself.

But so what?

She had never liked Harry. In fact, they were just ordinary classmates and had never spoken to each other. But Xie Ling's words clearly hinted that there was a possibility of some ambiguity between her and Harry.

She didn't want Sherin to misunderstand the relationship between her and Harry. She had liked Sherin for a long time, but because Sherin was already in a relationship, she hesitated and didn't have the courage to take that crucial step.

Now, whenever she thought about the possibility that Sherin might think that she and Harry had some kind of ambiguous relationship, she absolutely could not accept this possibility.

She recalled the moment when he rescued her on the train, Xie Ling's calmness, courage, and even his attitude of not caring about powerful background. She knew that her heart had quietly changed.

She wanted to let Xie Ling know what she felt.

So, in the moment when no one could react, Zhang Qiu made a bold decision.

She suddenly stood on tiptoe, reached out and grabbed Xie Ling's sleeve, and kissed him directly on the lips.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Ron's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg, Hermione gasped, staring at the scene with wide eyes in disbelief, while Harry's pupils shrank sharply, and he froze in place as if struck by lightning, his face instantly pale.

Xie Ling was also stunned.

He was just teasing Zhang Qiu, but he didn't expect that she would actually... kiss him.

Now we are in big trouble.

This is not to say that Xie Lin hates Zhang Qiu or doesn't like Zhang Qiu or anything. It's just that Xie Lin knows his own situation. He already has enough girlfriends around him. If he continues like this, he is afraid that sooner or later he will get out of control and create a Shura field.

That scene gives me a headache just thinking about it, and I believe no one would like it.

Zhang Qiu's lips were soft and warm, with the unique fragrance of a young girl. Her movements were a little awkward, but she was eager and determined, as if she wanted to use this kiss to completely break all misunderstandings and make him understand her choice - she had never belonged to Harry, she was just expressing her feelings to him.

Raindrops slid down the eaves of the porch, hitting the wet stone floor, making a dripping sound. In this quiet moment, Harry's eyes became more and more gloomy, and the fingers holding the wand trembled slightly with anger.

He could hardly control his emotions.

The voice in my mind sounded again, deep and bewitching.

——Look at him... He took away your glory, and now he wants to take away your woman...

——You have to make him pay the price!
——Strength is everything!
Harry's hand unconsciously reached for the wand. What he didn't know was that a faint, heart-pounding red glow had already shone through the depths of his pupils.

——Attack him!

——Let him pay the price!
——He doesn't deserve all this!
A low and dangerous voice echoed in his mind, like invisible claws scratching across his heart, stirring up waves of instigation and impulse. Harry's fingers tightened, and his wand trembled slightly, as if only a thought was needed, and some terrible magic would gush out -

"clang--!"

The class bell rang suddenly, like a sharp knife, cutting off Harry's thoughts.

He shuddered violently, and his breathing became rapid, as if he was suddenly pulled back to reality from a deep-sea dream. The sinister and violent impulse receded as quickly as the tide, and the whisper of darkness also fell silent, as if it had never existed.

Harry stood there in a daze, feeling a damp heat on his back and sweat running down his spine. His eyes fell on his hand and found that it was still trembling slightly, and the wand... he didn't even remember when he held it.

What just... happened?
On the other side, Xie Lin and Zhang Qiu had finished kissing.

Zhang Qiu's cheeks flushed unnaturally, and she turned her head away slightly, as if she didn't want to stay under the crowd's gaze for too long. She said nothing, turned around quickly and ran away.

Although Xie Ling's heart was trampled by ten thousand alpacas, his face remained expressionless. He just calmly adjusted his cuffs with a faint smile on the corners of his mouth. Looking at Harry's stiff expression, a meaningful light flashed in his eyes.

Harry forced himself to look away, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. All the students in the courtyard began to walk towards the Potions classroom, and he followed the team mechanically.

Along the way, beside Harry, Hermione was angrily scolding Ron.

"I can't believe what you just said, Ron!" Hermione put her hands on her hips, her tone full of accusation, "Do you have to question her like that? Even if she is a supporter of the Tornado team, so what? Your tone is so rude!"

Ron shrugged unconvincedly. "Hey, Hermione, I was just asking casually... Besides, I don't think she's such a die-hard fan."

Hermione rolled her eyes and angrily quickened her pace, clearly not bothering to argue with Ron anymore.

……

On the other side, not far from the Potions classroom, Shaylin and Daphne were walking slowly towards the classroom door. Daphne Greengrass was looking at Shaylin with a teasing expression and a meaningful smile on her lips.

"It's unbelievable." She shook her head in mock surprise. "Dear Mr. Malfoy, I was just getting something and you gave us another sister."

Xie Lin did not give any explanation or rebuttal. He was actually amused by Daphne's reaction. He smiled evilly and said, "Why do I feel like someone is actually jealous?"

"Dream on." Daphne rolled her eyes and sneered, "If I were Zhang Qiu, I should be thinking about how to get out of this situation safely instead of indulging in your sweet words."

As soon as Daphne Greengrass finished speaking, Sherin suddenly stopped.

She subconsciously frowned and looked at him. She was about to add another sarcastic remark, but she didn't expect that the next second, Xie Lin suddenly reached out, grabbed her chin, and pulled her in front of him——

Her pupils suddenly shrank and she opened her eyes wide in shock, but it was too late to struggle - Xie Ling lowered his head and kissed her fiercely!
Daphne's back stiffened instantly, and her mind went blank. She had never expected that Xie Lin would respond to her provocation in this way. She wanted to push him away, but Xie Lin's arms tightly held her waist, making it impossible for her to break free.

This kiss was strong and unyielding, with an aggressive and oppressive feeling, making her feel as if she was wrapped in an invisible hot breath. Her mind frantically reminded herself that this was in public, she should break free, she should resist, but her body gradually softened under this sudden attack, her fingers weakly grasped his sleeves, and she completely lost the power to resist.

Draco, who was not far away, was stunned and almost dropped the textbook in his hand. The other Slytherin students also stopped in surprise and looked at the scene in amazement.

Hermione, who was also not far away, stopped arguing with Ron. Her mouth opened slightly, her eyes full of shock. Although she had known for a long time that Shailene and Daphne were a couple, the fact that they kissed in public still shocked her - just now it was Zhang Qiu, and now it was Daphne. This Shailene Malfoy was really... Hermione couldn't find a suitable word to describe it.

After a few seconds, Xie Lin slowly let go of Daphne and slowly distanced himself from her.

Daphne's cheeks flushed more than ever before, and she lowered her head shyly.

Xie Lin smiled without saying anything. He just gently took her hand and said softly, "Baby, don't be angry, let's go!" Daphne still lowered her head and did not answer, but let Xie Lin hold her hand and follow his footsteps to leave.

Harry, who was behind them, heard the noise coming from Xie Ling's side, and his clenched fists unconsciously tightened a little.

He didn't know that a hint of red light was quietly flashing in his eyes, and then disappeared. (End of this chapter)