young couple
After having breakfast, they sat in the café for a while. When 10 o'clock arrived, Harry and Queenie became the first couple to visit the Maritime Museum, apart from the staff.
At the museum entrance stood a bottle containing Nelson's battleship, a giant glass bottle holding an exquisite model of the HMS Victory, like an oversized work of art. Harry spoke eloquently to Queenie, explaining its origins and significance, and the latter frequently expressed her admiration, causing Harry's lips to involuntarily curl into a smile.
"Fantastic! Captivating, engaging, even more professional than a professional lecturer. Perhaps I should call you Professor Potter?"
The first two words were enough to make Harry happy for a while, not to mention hearing his new nickname. Harry tried to appear mature and composed, but it was really hard to suppress the corners of his mouth; forcing it only made him look a little strange.
Harry's expression pleased Queenie, who chuckled and took his arm as they walked into the library. "Alright, my professor, tell me something else, hmm?"
Professor Porter replied confidently, "No problem."
The museum houses millions of items, including precious maps and manuscripts, ship models and plans, and navigational instruments from various eras. While he can't describe every single one in detail—which even a professional guide probably couldn't do—he has memorized the important items from beginning to end more than once.
As soon as Queenie stepped into the museum, she was drawn to the various figureheads in the right-hand exhibit. Harry, who was about to tell her about Prince Frederick's national barge, had to stop and follow her. Because the familiar order had been unexpectedly disrupted, Harry stammered for a while before he could recall the explanation from his memory.
"These are figureheads, arguably the most aesthetically pleasing things on a ship. For thousands of years, sailors have attached totems and statues of deities to the bow of their ships, hoping for divine protection for a smooth voyage."
Queenie pointed with interest to one of the humanoid figureheads, clearly dressed as a maid, which stood out among the birds, beasts, and deities. "Is this also a totem and a deity? A maid?"
"Hmm, maybe it was the captain's beloved woman on that ship back then." Harry didn't know the specific origin of these figureheads; he was just joking and thought this made-up story was somewhat romantic. "Thinking about it, it's pretty romantic, isn't it?"
奎妮笑出了声，“让心爱的女人来当船首像？穿着女仆装？很幽默嘛波特教授，要我是这个女人，我一定和他分手，再揍他一顿。”
"..." Harry swallowed the rest of his sentence. "Actually, I think that in the Middle Ages, maids might have represented home and a stable life? So, using them as figureheads probably meant praying for a safe return home."
"There's some truth to that."
Queenie took out her phone and had Harry take a picture of her with the special figurehead. More visitors started arriving at the museum, and the two continued their tour following the signs.
Upon seeing the Nelson Trafalgar uniform, Queenie suddenly remembered something. "Do you have any pictures of yourself in it? I've never seen any." She imagined the scene, and her mind was filled with thoughts of uniform allure—it must look incredibly cool!
Harry met Queenie's expectant gaze directly. "...No, we don't really like taking pictures." The truth was, he didn't even have a sailor's uniform! Looks like he'd have to get a few.
"Okay, then take a picture and show it to me when you get home tonight. This is a task your girlfriend gave you, and you have to complete it." She needs to see a picture of Harry in his uniform tonight, or she won't be able to sleep.
"...Okay." If that doesn't work, let Sirius cast another transformation spell.
"Have Harry and the others already left?"
"Who do you think is to blame? I remember I told you to learn Apparition before school starts." Hermione had already grabbed Ron's wrist when they left, but before using Apparition, she suddenly wanted to test her prefect partner's learning progress, and the result obviously did not satisfy her.
“You did say that, but you didn’t say before which school year—” Ron shrank back under Hermione’s glare, but quickly straightened up bravely again. “If you ask me, if I can learn it before sixth grade, I’ll already be ahead of many people at Hogwarts. You can’t expect everyone to be a know-it-all and a savior, can you?”
Hermione's attitude softened a bit upon hearing his words. She knew Ron could be quite sensitive at times, like when Harry was chosen as a champion in fourth year. She pursed her lips and said, "You just need some time. I believe you'll learn quickly. As for Harry and me... well, maybe our determination to learn is stronger than yours? You know, I love learning, and he loves Queenie...?"
"Come on, Hermione, no need to comfort me. I'm not that fragile. Anyway, I'll be the third one of us to learn it, and that'll be a good ranking." Ron said in a relaxed tone, pulling down his hat brim to hide his conspicuous red hair as he furtively searched the crowd in the museum. "I never thought I'd be spying on Harry and his girlfriend on their date, especially since you dragged me here."
Hermione muttered, "I've already met Sirius... I just wanted to see how they got along, without bothering them on their date like Sirius did." Actually, Hermione had wanted to meet Queenie during the summer before her fifth year, but she hadn't brought it up because it might bother Harry.
“Okay, actually I want to too.” Ron’s eyes suddenly lit up as he found his target. “Hey! Harry’s over there! I see him! At the top of the stairs!”
"Shh—keep your voice down!" Hermione elbowed him. "People are usually very sensitive about their own names!"
Hermione was right, but she warned her too late.
The top floor of the Maritime Museum features exquisite stained-glass windows in a dome. If you don't understand the themes and stories depicted in the windows, looking at them is no different from appreciating a beautiful work of art—you just find them pretty.
Even when someone tells her those stories, Queenie has a hard time listening.
The Five Virtues? Truth, justice, hope, perseverance, and faith?
Queenie's mind was filled with all sorts of words, but none of them were related to these five.
The morning sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, casting colorful patches on Harry's body and face, which were then softened by the white indoor lighting, creating a hazy effect.
Professor Potter... is quite charming, especially when his mouth moves, he unconsciously licks his lips.
Miss Campbell appeared to be a lady, but in her heart, she was already thinking about things that were 18+.
However, speaking of 18+ content, the time when it's lifted won't be long.
Queenie stepped forward and gave Harry a wet stamp on his incessantly chattering mouth. She admitted that Professor Potter, who was lecturing her, was charming, but she would have preferred to hear some other alluring sounds from that mouth, like panting or something.
It didn't take Harry long to decide whether to commit or push her away—he hadn't been able to refuse Queenie from the start, even in public. However, after the kiss, Harry still kept glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. Luckily, they had arrived early; the others hadn't yet reached this area.
Harry relaxed and lowered his head, gazing into Queenie's honey-colored eyes. This time, without her saying a word, he kissed her.
After finally having had their fill of admiring the stained glass windows, the lovey-dovey young couple went downstairs hand in hand. They planned to browse the gift shop for souvenirs, then go to the Queen's House, and finally to the Royal Observatory.
As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, Harry vaguely heard his name called. He instinctively looked around and saw two familiar faces near the stern of the HMS Vengeance downstairs—yes, even though they were wearing hats and scarves that covered most of their faces, they still looked familiar, like… Hermione and Ron? But not quite… no, that’s them! They’ve also used the aging potion!
Queenie followed Harry's gaze and saw a strange man and woman. "Are they people you know?"
“I don’t—well, actually—” Harry hesitated. In fact, now that they had come along, he wanted Queenie to meet his best friends.
Queenie noticed Harry's hesitation and considered a possibility. She raised her eyebrows and said in a deliberately unfriendly tone, "Could she be the girl you liked before?"
“Wh-of course not!” Harry’s hesitation vanished instantly. “That’s Hermione!”
Queenie knew the name Hermione; it frequently appeared in Harry's text messages along with Ron's. She looked at the two again, this time observing more closely. She noticed the red hair peeking out from under the man's hat. "Hermione and Ron?"
Harry nodded stiffly.
The four of them met up in the rest area on the first floor and naturally grouped together according to their gender.
Hermione looked flustered. She first gave Harry an apologetic look, then quickly became immersed in the joy of being face to face with Queenie.
“Hello Queenie, I’m Hermione, Hermione Granger.” Hermione extended her hand first.
Queenie shook her hand. "I know you. You're Harry's best friends."
In other words, Harry always mentioned them to Queenie. Hermione smiled shyly, "I just happened to be visiting the museum with Ron today, and I didn't expect to run into you two—I meant to say, Harry always mentions you to us, and I've been wanting to meet you for a long time... You're so beautiful!" This wasn't just a polite compliment; she genuinely thought Queenie was the most beautiful girl she knew, or rather, she preferred Queenie's kind of beauty—bright, flamboyant, confident, and dazzling.
Ron then quietly explained to Harry that Hermione insisted on coming, as she was upset that Sirius had met Queenie while she hadn't.
“I know you two are a couple,” Queenie smiled. “You’re beautiful too!”
"What—" Hermione didn't hear the second half of the compliment clearly. "I, Ron and I are one—we're not!"
Hermione's eyes widened, her cheeks flushed, her expression so intense with shame and indignation that Queenie was stunned. She had always thought so, hadn't she? Queenie looked at Harry helplessly, worried that she had said something wrong. Harry immediately reassured her, "It's alright, Ron can handle it. He's always the one who knows how to deal with Hermione's temper."
But this time Ron was unusually sarcastic. "Yeah, she likes big, muscular athletes!"
"Ronald Weasley!"
Harry, “…” Bro, why are you adding fuel to the fire?
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