"That's a good sign, Ron," Hermione said in an enthusiastic, light tone. "Have you noticed? Every time you're nervous before exams, you do better than usual."
"Hello there," came an airy voice from behind them. Orli looked up to see Luna passing by, wearing an enormous lion head on top of her own. Many people were staring, some openly pointing.
"I'm supporting Gryffindor," Luna said, pointing to her lion head and tapping it with her wand. The lion opened its mouth wide and let out a realistic roar that made everyone jump.
"Good, isn't it?" Luna said with satisfaction. "I wanted to make it eat a snake to represent Slytherin, but I didn't have time. Anyway, good luck, Harry, Ron."
She drifted away without lingering, and Ginny followed her.
Orli finished the last two gulps of her milk, vaguely hearing Harry muttering something.
"Yellow? Why yellow?"
"What yellow?" Orli asked, looking around.
"Nothing," Harry said, hastily covering the golden rose on his chest that he'd already crushed the petals of.
"Don't be so sentimental, Harry," Orli said, suppressing a laugh. "She just grabbed one randomly. Besides, shouldn't the first red rose be given by a boy to a girl?"
Harry turned bright red, a stark contrast to Ron's pallor.
"Everyone, if you're ready, let's head straight to the pitch to change!" Angelina called out, standing up with the seventh years.
"We'll be right there—Ron needs to eat something," Harry replied immediately.
But ten minutes passed, and Ron clearly hadn't eaten anything.
"I think we should head to the pitch," Harry said, pulling Ron to his feet.
"Good luck, Ron," Hermione said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Ron's cheek. "You too, Harry." She hugged Harry.
Orli opened her arms toward both of them, then suddenly felt a gaze shooting directly at her from the teachers' section.
"Well, good luck to both of you," she said, dropping her hands and grabbing one from each of them instead, squeezing Ron's and Harry's hands. Harry's palm was sticky with flower petal juice, Ron's was ice-cold with sweat. The sensation was rather unpleasant.
Harry led Ron away at a quick trot toward the pitch, while Hermione and Orli fell behind, walking slowly with the crowd. The frosted grass crunched under their feet. The sky was a half-cloudy gray-white—no blinding sun, no wind or snow, perfect for a match.
"Did you see the writing on the Slytherin badges?" Hermione asked quietly.
"What writing?" Orli hadn't noticed. She looked around and spotted several Slytherins in the distance wearing crown-shaped badges. Words glittered on them: "Weasley is our King."
"Those horrible people," Hermione said indignantly.
"Honestly, are you and Ron together or not?" Orli asked, poking the soft flesh at Hermione's waist, making her burst into laughter and finally forget about criticizing Slytherin.
"I don't know," Hermione said after she'd finished laughing, struggling free from Orli's arms. Her cheeks were bright red.
"That wasn't the first time you kissed him," Orli said with complete certainty.
"How did you know?" Hermione's eyes widened.
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