On the second day of Christmas, everyone got up late.
The dance ended at midnight, but many people had other plans.
The December sun was still bright, and when the light shone on Hermione's tightly closed right eyelid, her small hand, which was gently resting on Vincent's chest, suddenly twitched.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly as she opened her eyes and saw Vincent's gentle gaze and smiling lips.
"Good morning."
A slight smile played on her lips. "Good morning."
Vincent was about to get closer, she pressed her small hand against his chest.
"You haven't brushed your teeth yet, they stink."
Hermione's disdainful look didn't stop him; in the middle of a long, passionate kiss, she unknowingly ended up on top of him.
Suddenly, she sat up and hurriedly searched for the evening gown she had taken off the night before. "It's almost noon, we need to hurry back to the castle."
Vincent propped his head up with one hand. "No classes today."
Hermione stretched out her little hand and grabbed the hem of her dress to pull it back. "We've been missing all night. If we don't show up soon, they'll probably put up a missing person notice on the bulletin board in the Entrance Hall."
"Is it really that exaggerated..." Vincent admired her stunning scenery from afar.
Hermione quickly covered herself with her skirt, but soon let go and allowed it to slip down.
Is it pretty?
Vincent blurted out, "Beautiful."
She pouted, her little mouth puffed out, "Have you seen enough?"
"That's about it."
After she finished dressing, Vincent stretched as if he still wanted to.
He had just finished putting on his pants when Hermione eagerly handed him his shirt, the torn buttons of which had been magically restored.
After putting on the dress coat that had been covered overnight, she untied the red tie that was tied behind her head and stood on tiptoe to put it on him.
"No... it wasn't like this last night..."
She tried several more times, following the image in her memory, and finally pushed the bow tie up to her satisfaction.
Vincent bent down to pick up her high heels. "Your hair needs fixing too, doesn't it?"
Hermione slightly raised her left leg. "Yes, and makeup too!"
It would be too much trouble to redo it, but luckily she remembered the exact look from last night.
With a few simple Wandless Magic tricks, her hair and makeup were restored to how they looked at the ball last night.
No matter how hard you try to restore it, some things can never be restored.
After putting on her shoes, she took a few steps forward and could still feel a slight stinging pain.
If she hadn't exercised regularly, she definitely wouldn't have been able to walk today.
Seeing that she was recovering well, Vincent jumped down from the flower bushes and opened his arms to embrace her.
"Let's go."
He lifted Hermione down and they walked hand in hand toward the castle.
Before going in, Vincent snapped his fingers back at the Rose Garden.
The fluttering petals had long since fallen; he had lifted the "Mirroring Curse."
"I wonder if anyone is still inside."
Hermione pulled him up the stairs quickly, saying, "Not everyone has your guts."
Indeed, in the entire Wizarding World, perhaps only Vincent would dare to treat Dumbledore and the professors' meticulously arranged Rose Garden as his own backyard.
In front of the Gryffindor dormitory, the Fat Lady in the portrait smiled meaningfully.
"It's so good to be young!" Her exclamation made Hermione blush instantly.
"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
Vincent, who was about to express his gratitude, was pulled into the dormitory by the shy Hermione.
The Fat Lady always likes to visit other portraits at night, and it won't be long before word spreads about it.
Hermione is a girl after all, so she certainly doesn't have Vincent's thick skin.
The two returned to their respective male and female dormitories, and were immediately surrounded by their roommates as soon as they entered their rooms.
They only allowed the two to shower and change clothes at lunchtime.
Great Hall,
James, looking sullen, rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Vincent.
"What? Is there something dirty on my face?"
James hesitated for a moment, then finally let out a long sigh.
Even Neville invited Hannah for a walk in the Rose Garden last night. If he had made a move on Parvati after the dance, he might have already won her over.
The annoyance on his face reminded Alfred of last night.
If I had known beforehand that Vincent had set up a spell for our romantic date in the Rose Garden, I would have at least had a deeper conversation and developed feelings for Padma.
Neville couldn't understand what they were upset about; he hadn't recovered from the shock of what had just happened.
Across the long table,
The girls were whispering among themselves.
Lavender, like a curious child, kept pressing Hermione for answers. After receiving a reply, he blushed for a while, but then mustered up his courage and continued to ask questions.
Girls and women are quite different. Although Hermione would blush and feel shy, she didn't shy away from it too much.
Aside from matters involving privacy, she spoke frankly about almost everything.
Not long after lunch began, Harry and Ginny rushed over anxiously.
"Have you seen Ron? He hasn't gone back to the dorm yet."
"Cough cough..." Hermione choked while drinking cream of mushroom soup.
They haven't returned to their dorm, which means they're still outside the castle, and there's a high probability they're in the Rose Garden.
She glanced at Vincent casually. "Harry, have you looked for him outside?"
"We've searched." Harry was frantic. "Ginny and I searched the Rose Garden early this morning, and we've also searched the castle. Could he have gone to the Black Lake or the Forbidden Forest?"
Hermione glared at Vincent again. "Probably not. The Rose Garden is set up like a maze. Why don't you two look for it again?"
Harry and Ginny had no other choice. They hadn't worn their Magical Communicator to the ball last night, otherwise they wouldn't be so clueless now.
Half an hour later, they found Ron near the ice sculpture fountain in the Rose Garden.
He absolutely refused to go into the castle, saying that last night's ball was too embarrassing.
Ginny clenched her fist, not giving him any leeway, "So you're not ashamed now?"
Wearing a secondhand robe with purple-red lace trim, she stood at the castle gate shouting loudly; if she continued arguing, she would surely attract attention.
Ron's face turned bright red. "Fine, I'll go back now!"
Harry watched his departing figure, then subconsciously glanced at Ginny.
He felt that her expression was somewhat familiar; no, her whole demeanor seemed strangely familiar.
He suddenly shuddered, and the image of Molly scolding the twins inexplicably flashed into his mind.
I never expected Ginny to have such a strong side. How come I didn't notice it when I was learning to dance from her before?
"Harry, you know what? When a girl starts dressing up seriously, it means she wants to get the attention of someone she likes."
The words once spoken by the emotional guru, Senter, suddenly echoed in Harry's ears.
Thinking about it carefully, Ginny was always particularly shy in front of him, speaking softly and acting cautiously, for fear of offending him.
"Ginny, let's go back for lunch."
"Um."