As the snowflakes started to flutter down onto the frozen lake, Christmas was drawing near in a flash. Hagrid had brought in the twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall overnight, and Professor Flitwick had used his break time to decorate the crystal Christmas stars on the tops of the trees. The time that Peeves loved the most was approaching. Every day, with a sinister laugh, he dragged the holly and tinsel that the prefects had managed to hang up with great difficulty, and set up hidden traps to trip up the students passing by. Filch shuffled along, checking one by one whether the ever-burning candles in the helmets of the suits of armor had gone out. Large bunches of mistletoe were hung at intervals along the corridors, which really irritated Neville. Because every time he walked past, groups of girls would gather under the mistletoe and cast all sorts of looks at him. What's worse, he wasn't good at remembering the routes that could avoid the mistletoe — as a result, the corridors where Neville was often led to traffic jams.

"Remind me to find Neville when we get back to the common room," Hermione pondered for a moment, copied a passage from the thick book in front of her into her notebook. Glancing at Madam Pince who was patrolling the bookshelves and didn't notice us, she lowered her voice and said to me, "And you need to tell Harry to be careful."

"Hmm?" I turned a page of The Fifth Element: Exploration and looked up at her in bewilderment. Ever since that night, Ron and Hermione hadn't spoken a single word to each other. The three of us left felt as if we were in the atmosphere of a wizarding family where the parents had decided on a long-term separation due to a broken marriage. It was just a matter of Hermione or Ron walking up to us with a suitcase, making a clattering sound, and asking, "Who do you want to spend Christmas with?"

Ron shook off his previous gloomy mood. Even when he was back in the common room, you could often hear his laughter along with Lavender's — and the sound of them exchanging kisses. Harry told me in a choked voice that he thought Lavender regarded every second she couldn't kiss Ron as a waste. Although Hermione had put on an indifferent air as if it had nothing to do with her after drying her tears that night, she refused to stay in the common room whenever Ron was there. As her friend, I could only accompany her to finish our homework in the library and continue to study the Unplottable Extension Charm.

"I just went to the bathroom. Those girls — you know which ones I'm talking about — were discussing how to make Neville or Harry drink a Love Potion so that they could take them to Professor Slughorn's party. I bet they bought the stuff at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"Romilda Vane?" I looked up. "But Harry has already told her that we'll go to the party together."

"Why do you think those who plan to use a Love Potion will care about that? And you and Harry have never announced that you're together. What if you're just really good friends, and he happens to fall in love at first sight with someone else the day before the party..." Hermione jabbed a dot on the "i" on the parchment fiercely, as if it were someone's face, and said gloomily, "I don't think even you can come up with the antidotes for a dozen different Love Potions in a short time — I'm telling you, Romilda Vane was serious. If your father wasn't still at school, she might consider how to stop you from going to the party."

"Fred told my mother that they promised not to sell Love Potions to wizards under the age of sixteen." I frowned. "How did they get them?"

"An owl order can only verify the person who sends the order, not the person who actually receives it." Hermione sighed. "Love Potions aren't Dark Magic. Sending them to Hogwarts disguised as perfume or cough syrup won't arouse Filch's suspicion. He doesn't have the ability to tell the difference. I don't think Fred and George think it's that serious either. After all, the effect only lasts for 24 hours. They even wrote that little trick on the bottle."

"I thought you'd show up right away and confiscate all those bottles when those girls were discussing it." I thought of the way Romilda Vane had looked at me on the Hogwarts Express and felt a bit uncomfortable. "It's not like you to let them off."

"They didn't bring the stuff to the bathroom." Hermione closed the book and glanced at me. "You don't actually have to keep me company all the time."

"What's wrong?" I tilted my head. "Isn't it the same to do homework anywhere?"

"I heard it all. The other day Harry complained to you that he was the one bearing the consequences while I was quarreling with Ron." Hermione snorted. "You couldn't have failed to notice, could you? He meant that he hasn't been able to see you much recently."

"He deserves it." I yawned. "Who told him to come up with the idea of the Felix Felicis that made you two quarrel like this... Well, although I was involved too."

"It actually has nothing to do with you two." Hermione said softly after a moment of silence. "And I didn't really quarrel with Ron. We two are probably... just like this now."

She was feeling a bit down again. I suggested to her that we make a study plan for staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas holiday, and she perked up immediately, cutting out a brand-new piece of parchment and smoothing it out on the table. Both she and I were staying at Hogwarts during this holiday. My parents were thinking about my safety, while Hermione was considering the safety of her parents, believing that the less they had to do with the wizarding world at this time, the better. In the past, Mrs. Weasley would definitely have invited her and Ron to go back to the Burrow for Christmas. I think this year Mrs. Weasley might have already known about Lavender, or Hermione refused Mrs. Weasley's invitation.

"I told them I've already invited my partner, but they still stuffed all these drinks on me." When Hermione returned to the common room and saw Ron and Lavender entangled together, she went back to the dormitory expressionlessly. I had to find Neville right away. After hearing what I said, Neville's round face was filled with horror and anxiety, as if the fancy drinks in his hands were dung bombs about to explode. "What should I do?"

"Just don't touch them and find a time to secretly throw them away." I looked around the common room for Harry. "Who did you invite?"

"Er, actually I haven't asked her yet. I'm going to ask her tomorrow." Neville looked a bit embarrassed. "But I think she'll agree... Luna."

"Oh!" I nodded. Finally, I saw Harry climbing through the portrait hole. But before I could say anything, Romilda Vane rushed over with a glass of water in one hand and a package in the other, and asked sweetly, "Did you just get back from training? Would you like a glass of violet water?"

I coughed loudly. Harry glanced at me and quickly said, "Thank you, but no. I don't really like it."

"Then take this." Vane stuffed another package into Harry's hands. As if afraid that he would refuse, she immediately turned around and ran back to the girls' dormitory. While running, she said, "Chocolate cauldrons with Firewhisky. They're much more exciting than Butterbeer! My grandmother sent them to me, but I don't like them..."

"What is she up to?" Harry looked innocent. "I've told her twice that I'm going to the party with you."

"She plans to use some tricks to make you fall in love with her right away." Seeing that he was still confused, I rolled my eyes. "Love Potion — I knew you never paid serious attention to what was taught in Potions class."

"Why bother remembering that? Anyway, you know it." Harry laughed and didn't take my words to heart. "Well, I'll hold this for now and throw it away later."

"There are some common sense things you should remember, aren't there?" I felt a bit annoyed. "Common antidotes and potions. Although potions aren't as immediate as first aid spells, they're very useful in dealing with dangerous situations like poisoning or large wounds. What if I'm not by your side? Or what if it's me who needs help and I can't speak at that time?"

He was intimidated by what I said. I nodded in satisfaction. For the rest of the time, he stayed by the fireplace and listened to me patiently as I talked about everything from dittany to bezoars, and he even took notes.

We all hoped that Ron and Hermione would make up after a while, just like they had done countless times before after their quarrels. But the hope seemed rather slim. In the last Transfiguration class before the Christmas holiday, Hermione mockingly laughed at Ron's first disastrous human Transfiguration — we were supposed to change the color of our eyebrows, but Ron made himself grow two prominent handlebar mustaches. Ron didn't back down and retaliated in kind. Every time Professor McGonagall asked a question, he mimicked Hermione's actions of jumping up and sitting down at her seat so vividly that it made Parvati and Lavender burst into laughter. Hermione almost burst into tears again. As soon as the bell rang for the end of the class, she rushed out of the classroom. I quickly gathered her remaining things and chased after her. I found her in the bathroom downstairs, trying to hide her tears by washing her face, but her red eyes gave her away. Standing beside her was Luna with messy hair.

"Hello, Iris." Luna still greeted me in a sing-song voice and pointed at Hermione. "She's very unhappy."

"Thanks." Hermione stuffed the book I handed her into her schoolbag, wiped her face a bit embarrassedly, and said, "I still have something to do... I just suddenly remembered that I haven't invited my partner yet."

At that time, I thought it was just an excuse from Hermione, because she had told me before that she didn't want to invite anyone. Luna looked at Hermione's hurrying back and said to me happily, "You know what! I can go too. Neville invited me!"

"That's great!" I pretended that I didn't know anything about it before and said to her. Luna didn't care about the looks that several girls in the bathroom were giving her and started chattering to herself about the accessories she planned to wear at night. I was sincerely happy for Neville because I didn't hear anything about the carrot necklace or the Spectrespecs.

To my surprise, when I saw Hermione again, she was really radiant. She even greeted Parvati with a big smile, who had just made fun of her in the morning. Parvati seemed a bit ill at ease. Her best friend was passionately kissing Ron just one meter away, and it seemed that she was also embarrassed for the two of them.

"We were just talking about the good news," Hermione said to me in an especially enthusiastic tone. "Parvati has persuaded her parents, and she can stay at Hogwarts!"

"Oh, that's really... great." I was completely confused about the situation and sat down to scoop myself a bowl of stew.

"Are you going to Professor Slughorn's party tonight?" Hermione asked Parvati enthusiastically as if she didn't see Ron and Lavender at all.

"No one has invited me," Parvati looked a bit downcast. "But I really want to go. I heard it's great fun... Are both of you going?"

I nodded. Parvati said with a bit of envy, "I knew since my fourth year that Harry originally wanted to invite you at first."

Then I remembered that she was Harry's dance partner during the Triwizard Tournament and they even danced the opening dance. For a moment, I didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Parvati had already looked at Hermione curiously and asked, "Who are you going with?"

"Me?" Hermione smiled sweetly. "I'm meeting Cormac at eight. We —"

I coughed violently and looked at Hermione in disbelief. Ron beside me also turned his head. The expression on his face was as if he had been punched in the face by a troll. I didn't know whether the redness on his face was due to lack of oxygen or other reasons.

"Cormac McLaggen?" Since I was choking, Parvati asked the question I wanted to ask. "The McLaggen in the seventh year?"

"Yeah, that's the one who almost —" Hermione deliberately emphasized the word, and didn't forget to pat me on the back. "— became the Gryffindor goalkeeper."

"Are you dating him?" Parvati asked in shock.

"Oh — I guess so. Anyway, we're going to the party together." Hermione giggled in a way that was very unlike her. Before I could say anything, she grabbed me and went back to the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ron with a numb expression. It seemed that he had suddenly lost all interest in the sport he had been enthusiastic about a few days ago.

"You could have invited anyone!" I finally managed to speak and looked at Hermione, who was sitting on the bed spraying hair smoother on her hair. "McLaggen is a jerk. He's hit on Ginny and me, and you know that —"

"I know all that." Hermione took a deep breath and coiled her smooth long hair into a beautiful bun. "But after considering everything, he's the one who can make Ron the angriest. I don't care about anything else for now. Unless you care that I'm going to the party with the jerk who once pursued you —"

"I do care!" I said angrily, also loosening my long hair and preparing to make a bun like Hermione. "But not because he pursued me, but because he's a jerk!"

"I won't let him take advantage of me." Hermione said vaguely with a hairpin in her mouth, kicked open the cabinet beside her and took out her high heels. "Don't worry."

At eight o'clock in the evening, I checked in the mirror one last time to make sure that the lipstick on my lips wasn't smudged. After confirming that the strap on my arm wouldn't slide down with movement, I stood up. Wearing high heels, I was more worried about stepping on the long skirt. I took out my wand and gestured at my calf, but in the end, I didn't dare to shorten the skirt.

"No, doesn't it look good?" When I walked down the entrance hall and saw that Harry's eyes were almost glued to my face, I nervously played with the stray hair by my cheek — Ginny said it would look good to leave some stray hair like this. "Er, maybe I —"

"Taurus reminded me that I must remember to close my mouth when I see you." Harry took a deep breath before he remembered to offer me his arm. "Now I understand what he meant."

Professor Slughorn's office must have been under an extension charm. When Harry and I arrived, there were already sounds of laughter, music, and loud conversations. Emerald green, deep red, and golden curtains were hung on the ceiling and walls, making the office look more like a huge ball tent. The golden chandelier in the middle of the room illuminated the whole place brightly. When we got closer, we found that there was a house-elf jumping in each spot of light to the accompaniment of the mandolin. Several elderly wizards were sitting on the soft sofas, puffing on their pipes. I smelled the unique vanilla scent from Asia and the Middle East. I almost bumped into a house-elf carrying a heavy silver tray. Their bodies were covered with white cloth, looking like small floating tables.

"Harry! Iris! My dear children!" As soon as we stepped into the room, we heard Professor Slughorn's booming voice. "Come in, come in! I'm just chatting with Neville!"

Neville squeezed out a bitter smile at us from the crowd. Luna beside him seemed quite happy. She was pointing at the house-elf in the lamp and talking to herself, not realizing that if Neville hadn't been holding her tightly, she would have been pushed aside by the people who wanted to talk to Neville.

"This is Eldred Worple." Professor Slughorn introduced a short wizard to us. He was wearing glasses and looking at Neville eagerly. He reluctantly turned around only when he was reminded. But the moment he saw Harry, his eyes lit up again. "The author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires, and he also brought his vampire friend, Sanguini."

"Hello." Harry shook his hand politely. I curiously looked at the vampire surrounded by a group of girls in the middle. It looked a bit sleepy and seemed not to hear the noisy music around.

This Christmas party seemed as boring to me as the previous parties held by Professor Slughorn. Shaking hands with all kinds of people whose names I could only remember, listening to them talk about their past youth, and finally sighing about how time flies — that's also why my husband and I don't like various parties. We will make excuses to decline unless we have to go. It's not that we have any problem with the host of the party... It's just that they're all so similar. Why not spend our precious leisure time with our families instead of drinking and chatting with a group of strangers?

Hermione was also suffering tonight. She was like apparating in every corner of the room to avoid McLaggen who kept pestering her. When she disappeared again between two laughing witches, gasping for breath, I decided not to point out that all this was her own doing as revenge on Ron.

"Professor Slughorn." The door of the office suddenly opened. I saw Filch dragging Draco by the ear towards us. Filch looked extremely happy, and the flesh on his chin was shaking wildly. "I caught this boy hiding in the corridor upstairs. He said he was invited by you to the party and that he was delayed in setting off. Did you send him an invitation?"

Draco struggled hard to break free from Filch's eagle-like hand. He straightened his wrinkled clothes. There was a moment of silence in the room. It seemed that several people recognized Draco. I heard whispers of "Lucius Malfoy" and "Death Eater" beside me. I didn't know how much he had heard. I took a small step forward. For a moment, the idea of speaking up to help him out flashed through my mind. But the next moment, Harry grabbed my wrist tightly, even making me feel a bit of pain.

"No one invited me, all right?" Draco adjusted his cuffs and tie. "I wanted to break in. Happy now?"

"Then you're in big trouble." Filch showed a smug expression. "The headmaster has clearly stated that no one is allowed to wander around at night without permission!"

"Never mind, Argus, never mind." Professor Slughorn, whose face was red from drinking mead, casually waved the pie in his hand. "It's Christmas. It's not a crime for a young man to want to attend such a party. Let it go this time, but don't do it again. You can stay, Draco."

"Thank you very much, professor." Draco quickly put on a smiling face and thanked Professor Slughorn for his generosity. Professor Slughorn waved his hand. "It's nothing, nothing. After all, I knew your grandfather."

"Wait a moment." My father suddenly came out from the curtain on the other side, which startled me so much that I almost shook off Harry's hand. I didn't know when my father had come. Just now, Professor Slughorn had dragged Harry and me around the room like walking a puppy, and we hadn't seen him. But my father didn't seem to have the mind to pay attention to me for the moment. He looked at Draco. "I have something to say to you, Draco."

"Oh, Severus." Professor Slughorn burped. "It's Christmas. Don't be too strict —"

"I'm his head of house. All punishments should be decided by me." My father said briefly. "Come with me."

"Your dress is inconvenient." Seeing that they were about to leave the office, Harry whispered in my ear, "Stay here and try not to let others notice that I'm not here either." Then he actually took out the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and rushed out behind them.

"You said that your father told Draco to talk to Dumbledore, and Draco refused?" After the party, Harry supported me as I walked with sore ankles, staggering towards the common room. "Are you sure you heard it right? Dumbledore wants to talk to Draco. What about?"

"I don't know." Harry replied briefly. "Snape — your father also warned Malfoy. It sounded like he also thought Malfoy was involved in the necklace incident. Naturally, Malfoy still used that excuse that no one has enough evidence... You know, even your father can't perform Legilimency on him."

"Oh." My heart sank. "He has a special talent in this regard."

"You've always known?" Harry's tone sounded casual.

"I —" I lowered my eyes and took a long time to organize my words before speaking. "In a sense... My father taught him Occlumency."

"I didn't know things would turn out like this at that time." I felt a bit flustered as Harry got closer. "I —"

"You tried to help him out today." Under the flickering light in the corridor, he gently pressed his forehead against mine. His drooping eyelashes were so close that it seemed that if I blinked, my eyelashes would touch his glasses. "And you shook off my hand when your father appeared."

"I —" I hesitated for a moment, then looked up and carefully touched his neatly combed hair today. "To make you feel better. Is that okay?"

"Okay, but I want one more Christmas present." Although his voice was soft, because he was so close to me, I could hear him clearly even over the sound of my accelerated heartbeat.

"What present?" I blinked. "Are you already dissatisfied with the present I gave you before you even opened it?"

"I want a present... in case Ron asks me 'Have you ever made out with Iris?' next time... I don't want to have to say no."

His right hand ran across the back of my neck that was exposed because my long hair was tied up. I nervously licked my lips and tasted the fruity scent of the color-changing lipstick.

Just a little closer, a little bit.

"Hey, have you seen Hermione?" McLaggen's loud voice suddenly rang out at the other end of the corridor. He swaggered towards us with one hand in the pocket of his dress robes. "I haven't seen her since the party ended."

"No, we haven't." I could feel Harry's teeth chattering, but McLaggen stood in front of us like a huge iron tower. He shrugged his shoulders and said with obvious provocation, "Oh, then why don't you leave? Let's go back together. Curfew is coming soon."

"Let's go, let's go." Just as I finished speaking, the bell outside the window really rang. It was as if Filch's tapping footsteps were getting closer. My face burning, I tugged at Harry's sleeve. "Let's go back."