What Is the Price, Hermione?

February 15, Saturday, Hogsmeade.

In mid-February, the temperature began to warm up. Even after being outside for a long time in the morning, your nose wouldn't be red and irritated, and a breath of air would feel as cold as if it went straight to your brain. Some unnamed wildflowers sprouted from the roadside, interspersed among the daffodils, adding splashes of color to early spring.

The streets of Hogsmeade were packed with young wizards who had come to spend the weekend. Valentine's Day was over, but the young wizards of Hogwarts carried their enthusiasm into today.

Honeydukes displayed its Valentine's Day special offers, Zog's Joke Shop launched several new Valentine's Day special items. Outside Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, golden, plump angels occasionally tossed candy to passersby, their pink ribbons emitting a faint glow.

Loren and Hermione walked side by side down the street, with occasional cannon salutes going off, and colorful confetti falling on their hair and shoulders, creating a vibrant display.

Loren held a bag of glutinous rice cakes covered in cocoa powder. His fingers and the area around his lips were black from eating them. The sticky cakes were a bit chewy, and his speech was somewhat indistinct.

"It's a deal, you'll be my sidekick and play with me all day today, and tonight I'll turn into a cat and play with you for a couple of hours. And you're not allowed to try to turn me into a cat using Human Transfiguration again."

"You've repeated it three times already..."

Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically, carrying a large bag of candy and snacks she had bought for him.

After a day and a night of calm, Hermione couldn't recall why she had proposed such an absurd agreement.

Loren regretted it as soon as she agreed.

Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, Hermione attributed it to being blinded by emotions again, losing her mind to some unscrupulous little white cat. "Yesterday when I said I wanted to back out, you almost made me sign Unbreakable Vow..."

"Whee..."

Perhaps sensing that her rationality had regained its hold, Loren picked up a chocolate rice cake and brought it to Hermione's lips, coaxing, "Sweetie, let me serve you, have one."

The sweet aroma of cocoa powder rice cake wafted into her nose, Hermione said with a hint of helplessness, "I have Mandrake Leaf in my mouth, so I can't eat this stuff."

"What a pity, I was hoping to give you a French kiss today..."

"!!"

Hermione's eyes widened instantly, and two blushes quickly rose on her cheeks. Her stunned and shy appearance was extremely cute.

"Just kidding, didn't you have Mandrake Leaf in your mouth?"

After finishing the last piece of glutinous rice cake, Loren licked the cocoa powder off his fingertips, wiped them with a tissue, crumpled up the wrapper and the tissue he had used to wipe his hands, and threw them together into the trash can by the door of the Three Broomsticks.

Hermione shook her head to cool her burning face, took a deep breath, and then followed Loren into the Three Broomsticks.

As soon as she entered, she was greeted by the warm, cozy air from the radiator, mixed with the aroma of various fermented beverages. Hermione sniffed and felt her cheeks getting hot again.

Valentine's Day had already passed for the residents of Hogsmeade Village, and it was only a little past 11 a. m. Counting the time, the drinkers had just woken up from their hangovers from the previous night, so the bar was rather quiet, mostly filled with young wizards from Hogwarts.

The two found a small round table away from the bar and sat down. In addition to the must-order Butterbeer, Loren also got Violet Water, orange sparkling wine, and some other low-alcohol drinks.

Hermione laid out the snacks she bought from Honeydukes on the small round table, along with the fish and chips and small cakes provided by the bar; this was their lunch for the day.

This is a common sight during event week, with many young wizards choosing to have lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Couples are better off going to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, but Loren and Hermione don't feel comfortable there—people around them always seem to end up kissing each other while chatting, which looks a bit creepy.

The warm, sweet and salty Butterbeer flowed into his stomach, and a warm feeling rose up with the bubbles. Loren let out a long sigh of relief, "Hogwarts Kitchen can make Butterbeer, but the Three Broomsticks ' version just tastes better."

"..."

Hermione pointed at him, then at his upper lip, indicating that there was a ring of wine foam there.

"Sorry..." Loren replied casually to his rudeness, first licking the stain with his tongue, and only after confirming that it couldn't be licked off did he pull out a tissue to wipe it away.

Because of the little incident just now, Hermione's gaze unconsciously followed his tongue for a moment before she awkwardly looked away.

"Alright, now you can feed me lunch." Loren threw the tissue he used to wipe his mouth into the trash can and sat down next to Hermione.

"Huh?!" Hermione's expression was filled with disbelief.

"This is also part of the agreement. I sold myself for it, so shouldn't I get to enjoy it?" Loren said confidently.

"..."

Hermione felt that the emotional shock she had experienced today was greater and more intense than she had imagined, but when she thought that the person was Loren Morgan, she felt that her request seemed much more reasonable.

Who told me to agree?

Hermione sighed silently, picked up a fries, dipped them in ketchup, and brought them to his mouth.

"I don't want fries, I want Fried Fish," Loren muttered.

Hermione turned around and put the fries into her mouth, chewing them fiercely, then grabbed Fried Fish and stuffed it into her mouth.

What's harder to bear than serving someone else lunch is that he eats with great relish, while there are many things Hermione can't eat herself—she's worried that the bones in the Fried Fish will pierce the Mandrake Leaf, and that the sticky pastries will stick to the leaves...

After lunch, Hermione was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

"Hmm..."

Seeing Hermione's pouting face, almost screaming with grievance, Loren felt a pang of guilt. To appease his conscience, he hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have an idea..."

Hermione lifted her little face to look at him.

Loren cupped her face in his hands, his expression serious. "Open your mouth."

He actually wanted to French kiss!

Hermione's eyes flashed with embarrassment and annoyance, but driven by keeping her promise and some unspeakable impulse, Hermione suppressed her shyness and slightly opened her mouth.

"Make it bigger," Loren demanded.

"!!"

Hermione clenched her fists, vowing to humiliate him in the same way when he turned into a kitten that night.

Let him act cute, roll around, and lie down with his belly exposed!

Driven by her desire for revenge, Hermione resolutely opened her mouth wide and stared intently at him.

But then she saw the man take out his wand and gently tap it on the spot in her mouth. It felt like soft jelly sloshing around in her mouth, gently squeezing the inside of the left side of her oral cavity.

"Alright..." Loren put away his wand and pinched Hermione's hot little face. "I've been thinking that if we use Human Transfiguration to create a Small Pouch in the mouth, it would be much easier to hold the Mandrake Leaf, just like a hamster's cheek pouch."

"Cheek pouches?"

Hermione looked bewildered, as if she were somewhat lost.

She pressed her tongue against the inside of her mouth and noticed that there seemed to be some extra texture there. She pushed the leaf with the tip of her tongue and it fit in easily.

The foreign body sensation that had been lingering in my mouth from the Mandrake Leaf disappeared.

"..."

Hermione looked somewhat lost.

I caught the flu and am feeling dizzy from the IV drip, so I'm requesting a day off. I'll make up for the remaining 2k tomorrow. [Bowing to my readers]