Boy friend

Harry went to find Queenie in high spirits.

With Dumbledore's help, he was acquitted and released immediately. Although he found the hearing utterly ridiculous in his anger, and although Dumbledore didn't even glance at him afterward, paying less attention to him than Fudged throughout, he was still overjoyed that he didn't have to leave Hogwarts—yes, guilt or innocence was irrelevant, as long as he wasn't forced to leave Hogwarts.

He has to tell Queenie.

He didn't mean to tell her everything, but rather that he wanted to share his joy with her. This was the happiest thing for him all summer except for meeting Queenie. He now wished he could run around the Ministry of Magic like a madman.

Mr. Weasley had to go to work, so he Apparated Harry to the vicinity of 12 Grimmauld Place and hurriedly returned to the Ministry of Magic. Harry, on the other hand, turned around and ran to the station. He touched the small bottle of aging potion that he had casually put in his pocket when he left home that morning, and texted Queenie as he ran, then asked her where she was.

He had intended to take the bus, but the bus was taking too long, and his excited and eager mood wouldn't allow him to wait foolishly.

Harry turned into the deserted alley and raised his wand.

He saved the photo Queenie sent him two seconds before the Knight bus arrived.

Harry seems very happy.

As he jogged quickly toward her, Queenie felt joy emanating from even the strands of his hair.

It was a sweltering day, and Harry was dressed in a formal suit. Did he really need to be dressed like that to pick someone up from the hospital? Queenie took a tissue out of her purse and handed it to him. "Quick, wipe your sweat."

Harry happily accepted it, but before he could even say hello, a sweet but slightly sarcastic female voice came from the side, "Look who this is?"

The voice sounded somewhat like that annoying deputy minister from the hearing. Harry casually turned around to look, and the girl paused when she saw him, then turned to Queenie, "You've found yourself another boyfriend so quickly? Impressive, isn't it?"

Harry frowned at this, and quickly retorted, "What? Are you jealous that you can't find a boyfriend?"

Queenie, who was about to curse, stopped herself and looked at Harry in surprise. Oh my god, he's so cute.

Emily sneered, "It's not that she can't find one, it's just that someone like her who only likes to steal other people's boyfriends naturally doesn't understand why other people can have boyfriends through normal means."

Harry then noticed that there was a good-looking guy standing next to the girl. So it seemed that the girl was Queenie's former best friend who had betrayed her, and the guy who seemed to have nothing to offer except for his looks must be Queenie's ex-boyfriend.

Queenie went to a bar for a guy who's good-for-nothing except for his looks? She's underage! Bars are so dangerous! Just because of this guy who's good-for-nothing except for his looks?

Harry selectively forgot what Queenie had said about what angered her most—a former best friend rather than a man. His mind was already racing, trying to figure out what Queenie saw in him—he knew, of course, that Queenie liked him—his face? Hermione had said that as an adult, he was the most handsome man in the whole house besides Sirius! Was Queenie talking to him in the bar just because of his face? Merlin's stockings! Definitely. Even he himself had initially liked Cho because of her looks, so what right did he have to expect others not to care about appearances?

Harry stared gloomily at Queenie's ex-boyfriend. Damn it, he ruined his good mood, and he even dared to look at Queenie!

Freya glared at Emily. "This is between us. What's it to you?"

Emily's fighting prowess was astonishing. "Who's talking to 'us'? Shameless people, stop trying to get close to us."

"you--"

“Alright.” Queenie had been watching Harry with amusement. It was the first time she had seen Harry with such an angry and gloomy look in his eyes. Look at Kent’s expression after being stared at by him. Tsk, she regretted chasing after this kind of person even more. She interrupted Freya, “If you want to get slapped too, then go ahead and say it.”

Kent's face twitched involuntarily. Half a month later, he could still recall the pain. In the year or so they had been dating, he had never known that Queenie had such a strong grip. Besides... he looked at the adult man next to Queenie. Although he was a bit of a rascal, he was just a high school student. To be honest, the other man was not only older than him, but also much more handsome—though he didn't want to admit it.

Freya choked for a moment, then opened her mouth to try to say something, but Kent grabbed her, and the two of them pulled each other away.

"They're always getting in your way?" Harry's tone was rather unfriendly.

"Hmm, not really."

“How dare they? It did happen during summer vacation, but I spread the word throughout the whole school.” Emily crossed her arms. “It’s strange that I ran into them in the library today.”

"Probably just here to finish some homework," Queenie said nonchalantly, then turned to Harry, "Here we have lasagna with meat sauce and macaroni and cheese with bacon. Which would you like?"

Harry instinctively answered, "Creamy bacon pasta."

"Then I'll have the meat sauce lasagna. Both flavors are good. Maybe we can swap them?"

"certainly."

Emily thought Queenie was pretty fast; were they already at a point where they could exchange food?

Harry and Queenie sat waiting for Emily. Their orders were prepared in advance, while Emily's were a bit more complicated, requiring simple cooking.

"What's making you so happy today?" Queenie asked first.

"Oh my—the people who attacked my aunt's house have been caught."

"That's great!"

“Hmm, hmm…” Harry wanted to ask her about her ex-boyfriend. He seemed to still have feelings for Queenie. Harry’s rationality told him that Queenie could not possibly have any feelings for such a jerk. But what if she was influenced by her emotions? You know, Queenie had been dating him for more than a year… For someone who was only fifteen years old, a year was a really long time.

Queenie rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. "When Freya said I'd found myself another boyfriend, you didn't deny it, did you?"

Harry was serving Queenie his plate of macaroni when he nearly dropped the spoon. "Huh? I didn't... I didn't deny it?"

"Yep~"

"I, I, I did that because—"

He couldn't come up with a reason, so Queenie came up with a few possibilities for him: "Didn't notice? Didn't want to embarrass me? Didn't have time?"

Harry nodded awkwardly.

“It’s still because of you—” Queenie drawled.

Harry's nodding motion froze abruptly. He frantically wondered what Queenie was going to say? Was it because he subconsciously agreed? Because he wanted to be her? Because he also...liked her?

"Sigh, I can't guess."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, but was also a little disappointed. Fortunately, Emily came back and sat down next to Queenie, quickly livening up the atmosphere.

Emily said casually, "There are still two weeks until school starts. At this rate, we can finish our homework in three days."

"Hmm, but I still need to practice dancing with Harry. When are you planning to find a dance partner? Are you going to just pick one at the ball?"

Emily became troubled again. The matter of a dance partner was actually optional—if she didn't fancy anyone.

Harry listened quietly to their conversation. The sense of loss transformed into a different, more uncontrollable feeling of weightlessness. The approaching ball meant farewell, and he was about to say goodbye to Queenie.