"Reject him... You might hurt that poor little wizard's fragile heart," Kayson said with a smile.
"No... no, Professor, no! If I don't reject him, the one with the fragile heart getting hurt will be me!" Harriet said, shaking her head wildly.
"That's up to you. I'm just an ordinary Alchemy Professor. Psychological counseling is far beyond my expertise," Kayson said, shaking his head.
"Then just tell me how to reject him, Professor," Harriet said.
"Find an opportunity, preferably when you're alone with him, and reject him directly. Keep the audience small, since getting rejected in public is too humiliating. And when you turn back into Harry in the future, remember that if you invite someone... uh, or confess to someone, it's best not to do it in public either. Otherwise, the dance partner or girlfriend you get might be suspected of being coerced by the audience."
"Because having a bunch of people around shouting 'Say yes! Say yes! Marry him! Marry him!' is really annoying," Kayson explained.
"But isn't that how everyone invites dance partners now?" Harriet asked in confusion.
"Because I'm only a professor, not your parent. I can't exactly teach you about this kind of thing, can I?" Kayson said speechlessly.
"True." Harriet nodded and got up to leave.
Kayson stretched lazily as well, picked up his notebook, and checked what he had forgotten to do so he could find time to get it done properly.
After leaving, Harriet let out a soft whimper. She looked as though some immense weight had crushed her spine, leaving her without the slightest bit of strength or means to resist.
Right now, she desperately wished for some troublemaking Slytherin to appear in front of her so she could vent properly.
Then Sirius suddenly appeared before her. "Hello?"
Harriet jerked back