Chapter 1237: The Jade Beauty

Chapter 1237 -53: The Jade Beauty

I don’t know why, but the topic somehow shifted from holiday homework to an incredible angle.

Theo thought to himself, and seeing the atmosphere was dull, he took out beef pies and nut cookies from his bag and warmly invited:

“Here, try some, my mom made these especially for me.”

“What a coincidence, I also brought some—scones and shortbread.” Michael took out his food box.

Vid silently took out a paper bag with sandwiches.

Leian looked left and right, asking, “Does anyone want to try foie gras toast? A specialty of the Leian Caro family!”

The four of them exchanged glances and couldn’t help but laugh.

Michael was the first to take a piece of toast, complaining, “The snacks on the train are nice, but after eating pumpkin pies year after year, I’m already sick of them.”

“Bang!”

The compartment door suddenly burst open, and Harry almost tumbled in, as if chased by a ghost.

Vid swiftly drew his magic wand, and after seeing who it was, he supported Harry and guided him to a seat, then walked to the door to glance around.

The corridor was empty, with just two or three people walking towards the restroom.

Michael stood beside him with a raised magic wand, looking back and forth outside, muttering, “I thought there were dozens of people chasing Harry!”

He went over, patted Harry on the shoulder, and asked, “What’s wrong? Your face looks like you’ve seen a Dementor.”

“Worse than a Dementor…” Harry buried his face in his hands, his voice muffled, “Please, let me squeeze in with you guys.”

“Of course.” Leian shifted over a bit and asked, “Are all the other compartments full?”

“It’s not that there’s no space.” Harry replied listlessly, “It’s just that they’re all occupied…”

The compartments with only one or two people were either full of girls, making Harry feel awkward, or they were Slytherin students, and Harry didn’t want to sit there.

Most importantly, if the compartment was filled with unfamiliar classmates, spending the next six or seven hours together would be so awkward that Harry felt restless just thinking about it.

Michael curiously asked, “Where were you sitting before?”

The train had started quite some time ago; Harry couldn’t have been looking for a seat this whole time, right?

Moreover, he didn’t even have his luggage with him.

This was originally a simple question, but Harry’s expression instantly turned worse, and he seemed to want to sink into the seat.

“What’s going on?” Vid said in surprise, “One by one, you’re all making faces like this.”

Harry looked gloomy and let out a long, heartbroken sigh.

…

Twenty minutes ago, the train hadn’t started yet, and he was sitting quietly in the compartment alone, calculating which snacks to buy from the trolley.

As Prefects, Ron and Hermione had gone to other compartments to patrol, leaving Harry to hold the seats for them.

It was then that the door was gently knocked.

Turned around, Harry was ready to say, “I’m waiting for someone” or “There are no empty seats here,” when his mind went blank.

Cho Chang was standing at the door.

She was wearing a light blue sweater and school robe, her black hair smoothly draped over her shoulders, and her lips curled in a cute smile, with sunlight streaming in from the window behind her, making her look astonishingly beautiful.

“Harry!”

Cho’s voice was cheerful, “Do you have any empty seats here? We’ve been searching for a while, and the other compartments seem to be full!”

Her gaze swept over the empty seat across from Harry.

A brain-frozen Harry instantly forgot everything, dumbly looked at Cho, and stammered:

“Ah… um… of course… you can come in and sit…”

“Great!” Cho turned back to say to someone outside, “Come over here, there’s a seat here!”

Harry froze for two seconds, then suddenly sprang from his seat, not even bothering about his knee hitting the edge of the table, and said anxiously:

“Let me help you with your luggage…”

Cho waved her hand with a smile, “Ah, no need…”

“I’ll do it!”

A boy’s voice came from the doorway, and Harry’s smile immediately froze on his face.

He slowly lifted his gaze and saw Cedric walk in from behind Cho—a handsome, gentle guy who was also a head taller than Harry!

He nodded to Harry in a friendly manner and casually waved his magic wand, causing Cho’s luggage to gently land on the luggage rack.

Then Cedric’s own large suitcase landed next to it, the cases were set quite close together.

Harry jealously looked up, wishing at that moment he could stuff himself onto the rack as well.

He felt he should say something, like—

“Ah, actually, these seats are taken, Ron and Hermione will be back soon.”

If so… maybe Cho would stay, and Cedric would have to find another compartment.

Maybe Ron and Hermione would stay in the Prefect carriage the whole time, leaving Cho Chang sitting here alone, sharing the sunlight and the journey ahead with him.

But the reality was, Harry, like a wooden figure, forgot to speak, watching the two place their luggage and sit down, seeing Cedric show a warm smile.

“Long time no see, Harry!” the object opposite him opened and closed its mouth, “We haven’t really chatted since the tournament. How was your holiday?”

Cho sat down beside Cedric, naturally leaning a bit closer, her gaze unconsciously resting on Cedric’s profile, smiling all the while.

“Uh… it was alright.” Harry tried to make his voice sound normal, “Just… practicing Quidditch, going to Little People Country and stuff… it was okay.”

He loathed his lack of vocabulary.

“What about you guys?” Harry awkwardly countered, hoping it sounded like normal social talk.

“I spent most of the time helping my father tidy up the garden.” Cedric laughed as he glanced at Cho, “It’s pretty tedious, thankfully Cho came to help.”

“And got bitten by a goblin.” Cho complained in a teasing tone, “It wouldn’t let go when it bit, giving me quite a fright!”

“It was my fault.” Cedric sincerely said, “I should have stopped you when I saw you walking towards that currant bush—I knew there was a goblin nest over there, kept meaning to clear it out but forgot.”

Harry suddenly stood up from his seat, startling the two people opposite him into looking at him.

“I…” Harry’s voice was tight, “need to go to the restroom.”

“Ah… okay.”

Cedric retracted his long legs, seemingly worried they might block Harry’s path.

Which they wouldn’t have.

Harry pulled open the compartment door, not looking back as he strode into the corridor, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

Behind him, Cho’s puzzled voice faintly came:

“In such a hurry… did Harry eat something bad?”

“Wait, I think I have a bottle of the right magic potion in my bag, my mom stuffed it in there.” Cedric seemed to be getting up to find it, “Let me look for it, maybe Harry needs it.”

Harry immediately quickened his pace, almost hastily passing through two carriages’ connectors, through many compartments he didn’t want to enter, finally crashing into Vid’s compartment.

…

Faced with the concerned eyes of everyone, Harry didn’t want to say a word. He didn’t look at anyone, just stared down at the fabric texture of his knee, and said:

“Nothing… please don’t ask.”

He thought he would be sad, but his voice was unexpectedly calm, even carrying a hint of despair.