HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 36 Malfoy's Character Collapses

On Christmas Day, Harry and Ron were woken up early by Hermione.

Hermione arrived at the boys' dormitory with Christmas presents and some good news.

"Merry Christmas!" Hermione tossed the present onto their bed. "I got up an hour ago and added some more lacewings to the Polyjuice Potion. It's all ready now."

"Wow, that means we can do it tonight!" Upon hearing this exciting news, Harry and Ron both snapped out of their daze.

The two men praised Hermione's outstanding potion-making talent, making her very happy, while they each sat on the bed unwrapping their gifts.

Harry's aunt and uncle sent him a toothpick as a Christmas present, but Harry didn't care at all—the other gifts he received were a hundred times better: Hagrid sent a large bag of flaky candies; Ron sent a Quidditch book; Hermione sent a fancy quill pen; and Mrs. Weasley sent him a new hand-knitted sweater that made him feel very warm and fuzzy.

And Lyra, she also gave a Christmas present this year, which she didn't receive last year!

Harry excitedly unwrapped the gift and discovered it was Honeydukes' most popular snack gift pack.

He froze for a few seconds because the Christmas gift he had given Lyra was also a Honeydukes snack gift pack, and the two gifts were exactly the same.

Harry was secretly delighted: Did he and Lyra have such great chemistry?

At that moment, Harry felt that the room was a little too hot—he didn't think it was all because of the new sweater Mrs. Weasley had given him.

Harry quickly started walking around the room, taking a look at the gifts Ron had received, hoping that he and Lyra were the only ones who received the same gifts.

"Wow, Lyra gave me a Wizarding Chess set!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, sitting on his bed. "Wait, this smells so good! Oh my god, it's a Wizarding Chess set made of chocolate!"

Ron picked up a chess piece and took a deep sniff, his face showing a conflicted expression as he smelled the tempting aroma of chocolate.

Hermione and Harry couldn't help but laugh—they both knew the reason for Ron's dilemma.

“Lyra gave me a Honeydukes snack gift pack,” Harry asked casually. “And Hermione?”

“Oh, me too,” Hermione’s reply instantly wiped away Harry’s secret delight. “When I went to Owlcove this morning, I saw a Hufflepuff who received a box of Christmas sweets, also from Lyra. I guess she gave the more expensive sweets to her close friends, while the admirers probably got the regular ones.”

Although the gift he received wasn't unique and there was no special connection between them, Harry silently comforted himself that at least he belonged to Lyra's close circle of friends.

Fortunately, the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts was very comforting. Everyone enjoyed the meal, including those who had been disappointed with their Christmas presents and would later have to risk taking Polyjuice Potion.

The Great Hall was decorated magnificently, with a Christmas tree covered in silver frost, brightly colored mistletoe, and magical snowflakes falling from the ceiling, warm and dry, yet forever maintaining their beautiful shapes. Dumbledore led the singing of Christmas carols, Hagrid, drunk, invited Professor McGonagall to dance, and the twins teased Percy, creating a joyful atmosphere.

Harry and Ron ate three servings of Christmas pudding in a row. Even Draco Malfoy's sarcastic remarks about Harry's new sweater couldn't dampen their appetites. Harry believed that within a few hours, Malfoy would receive his due punishment and wouldn't have time to harm Lyra and the other Muggle students.

After dinner, Harry and his two companions quietly left, preparing to carry out their long-planned adventure.

Hermione had prepared two chocolate cakes in advance, with ordinary sleeping pills inside.

Then Harry and Ron were responsible for placing the cake on the path that Malfoy's two henchmen would take back to the Slytherin common room.

Then, after the two fell asleep, they hid in an empty closet where no one would find them.

The final and most important step was to pluck their hair, an essential ingredient for Polyjuice Potion. While plucking their hair, Harry had a sudden inspiration and stole the shoes and coats of the two big guys.

The three eventually returned to the empty washroom and divided the compound decoction into three portions.

"Ready?" Harry asked, holding a glass of Polyjuice Potion containing Goyle's hair.

Ron's was Crabbe's, while Hermione had secretly taken a Slytherin girl's hair during the dueling club night.

“Ready,” the other two replied.

Harry pinched his nose and drank it down. He felt as if he had been reborn, and struggled out of the cubicle. Looking at Ron's (now Crabbe) expression, he guessed he felt the same terrible feeling.

But Hermione, surprisingly, refused to come out and see anyone.

With no other option, the two boys had to set off alone. But without Hermione, they were like stars without their strategist, wandering aimlessly and anxiously, completely unfamiliar with the underground corridor leading to the Slytherin common room, seemingly going in circles.

Fortunately, not long after, he bumped into Draco Malfoy, who was also returning to the lounge.

The young platinum-clad gentleman was holding a package and seemed to be in a very good mood.

Harry thought to himself, "He must have received some fancy treats from home."

Although he hated the other person very much, he had to admit that Draco Malfoy's parents really loved him, something that Harry, an orphan who had been raised by relatives since childhood, greatly envied.

But he himself is truly despicable! Harry, listening to Malfoy's blatant mockery of Percy Weasley, was once again certain of this fact.

Harry saw Ron clenching his fists as he listened and quickly gestured for him to be patient a little longer.

The two endured Malfoy's taunts of the Weasleys all the way back to the Slytherin common room.

This is a long, narrow basement, decorated with exquisite carvings and filled with snake motifs, but the green-glowing lights make the room somewhat dim.

Perhaps due to psychological factors, Harry instinctively disliked this place.

But he could only pull Ron to sit in the chair opposite Malfoy.

Harry's original plan was to steer the conversation toward the Slytherin heir who was eliminating Muggle-borns while Malfoy continued to mock the Weasleys as Muggle-friendly, self-degrading pure-blood traitors.

As a result, after entering the lounge, Malfoy sat on the sofa and focused on unpacking the package in his hands.

Then she put on the contents—a pair of obsidian snake-shaped cufflinks, very ornate and exquisite.

Then Malfoy began to show off his new cufflinks to those around him, and forced his two henchmen, Harry and Ron (Goyle and Crabbe), to admire them from different angles.

From praising the material of the cufflinks to the carving craftsmanship, and then to how the overall style of the cufflinks perfectly matched Malfoy's noble personal temperament—the praise went on and on.

What's so special about a torn cufflink?

Malfoy, are you some kind of nagging old lady who's never seen the world?!

Have you forgotten your identity as a wealthy young nobleman?!

Harry roared inwardly.