"Refuse him? That might hurt the poor Little Wizards's fragile little heart," Kayson said with a smile.
"No... no, Professor, no! If I don't refuse him, then it'll be my fragile little heart that gets hurt!" Harley said, shaking her head frantically.
"That's entirely up to you. I'm just an ordinary Alchemy Professor. Psychological therapy is a bit beyond my scope," Kayson said, shaking his head.
"Then, Professor, just tell me how to refuse him," Harley said.
"Find an opportunity, preferably when you're alone with him, and refuse him directly. There should be few people around, because refusing someone in public is too humiliating. And in the future, when you turn back into Harry, remember to invite... uh, or confess, preferably not in public either, because a dance partner or girlfriend obtained in such a way might be suspected of being coerced by the audience."
"Because in those situations, a whole bunch of people around yelling'Say yes to him! Marry him! Marry him!' are really annoying," Kayson explained.
"But it seems that's how we invite dance partners now," Harley said, puzzled.
"Because I'm just a Professor, I'm not your parents. I can't teach you about these things, can I?" Kayson said, exasperated.
"True," Harley nodded and was about to stand up and leave.
Kayson also stretched, picked up his notebook to see if he had forgotten anything, and planned to find time to do it properly.
After stepping out, Harley let out a soft whimper. She was like someone whose back was bent by a heavy weight, without any strength or means.
He now wished a trouble-making Slytherin would appear before him so he could vent properly.
Then Sirius suddenly appeared before him: "Hello?"
Harley shrank her neck in fright.
Sirius scratched his head: "How come you're so timid after turning into a girl?"
"That's because you're too fast! Who can deal with a surprise attack like that?" Harley said, exasperated.
"Alright, alright, I just heard, uh, Ron told me about what happened in class, so I came to see you." Sirius patted Harley's back, and the two walked together down the corridor.
"What did he tell you?" Harley asked cautiously, hoping it wasn't about Draco inviting her to be his dance partner.
"It's about Snivellus... uh... Snape. I heard he gave you a lot of points?" Sirius said.
Harley nodded: "Yes, isn't it strange? He gave me at least forty points in one class. I suspect he might have taken the wrong Potion."
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as it's just points. He didn't give you anything weird to eat or drink, did he?"
Harley looked at Sirius with a shiver of disgust: "Why would you ask a question like that?"
Sirius looked at her with question marks floating above his head: "You don't know?"
"What should I know?" Harley asked, surprised.
"Oh, I thought Remus had told you. How to put it... uh, this is a grudge from the previous generation. Your mother, Lily, and Snivellus... Snape, they were childhood sweethearts, you understand."
"Huh?" Harley's question rose a full octave.
"That's right, what's there to be confused about? You need to clearly understand your mother's charm, just like you are now," Sirius said as a matter of course.
"What happened after that?"
"What else could happen? Do you think Snape has any charm like that? Of course, your father pursued your mother, and then Snape felt like he'd been cuckolded. Plus, our previous frictions, fights, and mutual attacks, he hated you by association and has been finding ways to trouble you every day," Sirius explained.
"So my dad cuckolded Snape? How can I not laugh!" Harley's expression management started to become abstract.
"You can't say cuckolded. Snape and your mother's relationship hadn't even begun, so how can it be cuckolding? It's simply that Snape became a loser," Sirius said with a strange laugh.
"Got it, got it. Then what did you mean when you said Snape would give me something strange to drink?" Harley continued to ask.
"It means that he now sees you looking almost exactly like your mother, and I have a deep prejudice against his character. If you keep prancing around in front of him looking so pretty, it's hard to say what problems might arise."
"For example, given his status as a Potions Master, it's highly possible he might put some love Potion in your food or drink," Sirius said.
"He wouldn't, would he? If he wanted to, he would have done it to my mother directly. Why would it be my turn?" Harley shivered. The thought of falling uncontrollably in love with Snape...
"Lily's Potions talent wasn't much worse than Snape's, at least not much worse, so Lily could tell. You, on the other hand, might not," Sirius said.
"Isn't I in great danger now?"
"Hmm... you could say that. If before you looked like your father, Snape hated you by association, then now that you look like your mother, he might love you by association."
"Who knows, if he can't control himself, he might even drink some strange Potion to turn himself into a young man and invite you to the Yule Ball," Sirius said, unable to hold back his laughter, or rather, he was already laughing heartily.
Harley, on the other hand, didn't feel that way at all. The mere thought of a shrunken Snape appearing before her, bowing slightly and extending his hand, sent a shiver down her spine.
And then facing Snape, hugging him, gazing deeply into his eyes, and dancing together.
"Holy crap!" Harley couldn't help but quicken her pace. She decided that the first person of the opposite sex she saw would be her dance partner!
No, it doesn't matter if it's the opposite sex, two girls can dance too!
Then she saw Draco coming around the corner. The latter, seeing Harley rushing towards him, quickly remembered Professor Kayson's earnest teachings.
"Hello, charming lady. I am Draco Malfoy, and I sincerely wish to invite you to be my Yule Ball partner."
Harley looked at Draco, who was inviting her, and instinctively took a step back. Actually, the second person she saw wasn't bad either, was he?
Then she saw the second person, Goyle, standing behind Draco...
She looked at Goyle, then at Draco, and finally, she placed her hand on Draco's.
"I... I accept your invitation."
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