Kiss Under the Mistletoe

"That's probably not allowed."

Pabbie's voice suddenly appeared, Umbridge turned around to find that the school board member member had appeared behind her at some point.

"When did you arrive?" Umbridge asked, frowning.

"That's not your concern, High Inquisitor." Pabbie crossed her arms, her ample manhood slightly distorted by the Transfiguration Lady. "What you should be most concerned about right now is whether your perverse actions will be allowed at all."

"This is authorized by the Ministry of Magic, Lady." Umbridge maintained her fake smile.

Pabbie smiled but didn't say anything more.

As December progressed, the weather grew increasingly cold.

Umbridge has not taken any extreme actions recently, and it seems that Educational Decree No. 25 is just a piece of paper.

But it's obvious to everyone that Umbridge seems to be plotting something big with the Ministry of Magic.

On Sunday morning, Hermione got up early, intending to sit in Professor Scamander's tent for a while.

Ron really wanted to go with her, but his "mountain of homework" had grown to an alarming height, so Ron reluctantly stayed in the Common Room, trying his best to ignore the cheers coming from downstairs.

The students were skating and sledding on the lake, and worse, they used magic to send snowballs flying up the Gryffindor Tower, crashing into the windows.

"Hey!" Ron finally lost his patience, sticking his head out the window and yelling, "I'm the Prefect! Another snowball hitting this window—ouch!"

He jerked his head back, his face covered in snow.

"Hey, head boy!"

It was Fred and George; the two of them never really cared much about Ron's so-called Prefect authority.

Two weeks before Christmas, Dico arrived at Hogwarts, just like a hundred years ago, to become Harry's little helper and prepare for Christmas.

Dico was highly regarded among the House Elf of Hogwarts, and for some reason, Hogwarts House Elf were always very willing to listen to him.

The entire Hogwarts was bustling with activity as preparations for Christmas began.

Harry still planned to spend Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Number 12 that year.

Harry arrived at the classroom early for the last Defense Against the Dark Arts before Christmas.

He was glad he had arrived early, because when all the torches were lit, he could see that Dico had already decorated the place for Christmas.

It's obvious that the Elf did it, because no one else would hang a hundred little golden balls from the ceiling, each with a picture of Harry on it and the words "Christmas Harry" engraved on it!

Harry had just taken the last little golden ball off his wrist when the door creaked open, and Luna walked in as if in a dream, just like always.

"Hello," she mumbled, glancing at the remaining decorations, "It's beautiful, did you do it?"

"No," Harry said, "It's Dico, a very hardworking house- Sprite."

"Mistletoe," Luna said dreamily, pointing to a large clump of white berries that almost covered Harry's head. He quickly jumped out from under it. "That's right," Luna said seriously, "It often has Nargles inside."

Just then, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia came in, so Harry no longer needed to ask what the Nargles was.

All three girls were panting heavily and looked freezing.

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Angelina rubbed her hands together, breathing on them to warm them, which were red from the cold. "Think about it, it feels like our Quidditch Match was just yesterday, doesn't it?"

"Time flies like a wild donkey," Harry remarked. "Before you know it, it's Christmas break, and before you know it, it's the new school term."

"Yes," Angelina rolled her eyes. "By then, we'll have already graduated."

Once everyone had arrived, Harry raised his hand and said, "Since this is the last class before the holidays, we won't learn anything new—after all, we have a month-long break, and even if we did learn something new, we'd forget it during the holidays, wouldn't we?"

"Not learning anything new—" Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin was somewhat disappointed. Beside her was her sister Astoria Greengrass. Ever since Astoria came to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Pansy had felt a sense of crisis. Although she didn't know where this sense of crisis came from, she just couldn't shake off her unease.

"Believe me, you won't be practicing new Charms on your own during the holidays," Harry said, shrugging. "So let's review everything we've learned before: the Protego, Disarming Charm, Impediment Jinx, and Stunning Spell. We'll practice in pairs, starting with the Impediment Jinx!"

The group automatically separated, and the room was soon filled with the sound of "Impedimenta." The person who was chosen would freeze for about a minute, while their opponents watched others practice idly. Then they would move around and switch roles with their opponents.

This time, Harry wasn't paired with Luna, so Anne came over and wanted to practice with him.

As Sig man, Harry certainly wouldn't go easy on Anne just because Anne helped him with his homework. He quickly pinned Anne to the spot and then turned to watch the others practice their Charms.

As class was about to end, Harry told everyone to stop.

"You've practiced very well," he said with a smile, looking at everyone. "After the holiday, we can start some more difficult ones, maybe even including Patronus Charm."

Excited chatter filled the classroom as people emerged in twos and threes, many wishing Harry a "Merry Christmas."

"Oh, right, Ron, Hermione," Harry called to Ron and Hermione, "Dico said he wanted me to tell you to go to the classroom two classrooms over there; they've prepared some Christmas present for you."

"Christmas present?" Ron's eyes widened like saucers. "Cool, uh—I mean, I love Christmas present! Merry Christmas, Harry!"

The two left happily, and everyone left the classroom after wishing Harry a Merry Christmas.

Except for Anne, she remained frozen in place, staring at Harry with her watery eyes.

"Oh, I forgot about you." Harry chuckled and stepped forward to break the Charms on Anne.

"I suspect you did this on purpose!" Anne glared at Harry angrily. "Leaving me like this in class, has anyone ever told you that you're really mean, Harry!"

"Now we have it," Harry said with a shrug. "Class is over, and I think we should head back." He had only taken a few steps when Anne grabbed him.

Turning his head, he noticed a sly glint in Anne's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing," Anne said with a slight smile, her hands behind her back. "I just remembered some funny things, like..."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and pointed to the top of her head.

Harry looked up and saw the vibrant green mistletoe.

In Europe and North America, mistletoe has rich cultural connotations.

Before the rise of Christianity in Europe, mistletoe was generally regarded as a symbol of sacred masculine elements; after the rise of Christianity and its integration with folk customs, mistletoe became a decoration and symbol of Christmas.

This gradually evolved into a Christmas tradition: women under the mistletoe must accept kisses from men, and refusing will bring them bad luck.

And now, it's clearly not Harry who's going to kiss Anne.

"Don't you think you should do something, Harry?" Anne asked with a charming smile.

"What are you doing?" Harry swallowed hard, noticing Anne's moist lips.

"What should we do under the mistletoe?" Anne asked, tilting her head. "Think about it, this is under the mistletoe, and I won't refuse you—"

oh.

Harry understood.

Goodness, you really can't judge a book by its cover!

So this is the real Anne!

He looked up and watched as his classmates left the classroom one by one, leaving it empty.

"I don't recommend doing that, Anne," Harry sighed. "You know, me, Veratia, Cassandra, and Pabbie— "

"Then why can't there be one more?" Anne tilted her head and said, "I know that, given Veratia's or Cass's personalities, they would never allow other women to share you with them—but the situation is different now. Everyone is willing to transcend time for you, so they can put aside their pride and reservations—"

"That's certainly true." Harry thought Anne's words made a lot of sense. "But—"

"You're worried about Sebastian?" Anne smiled and said. "Sebastian won't blame you for it, Harry."

"I'm worried about you, Anne." Harry looked away, his voice soft. "Like I just said, I have Veratia and the other two with me, which might be hard for you to accept."

"You're not me, how do you know I can't accept it?" Anne reached out and grabbed Harry's tie. "Don't say anything, just kiss me!"

Having said all that, Harry felt it would be impolite to refuse again.

He lowered his head and kissed Anne's soft lips.

Meanwhile, in another room decorated with Christmas ornaments, Ron and Hermione also encountered their own crisis.

"Mistletoe, ha—." Ron's words were somewhat dry, and right above their heads was a green mistletoe.

Harry arranged this for the two of them; he had Dico decorate the classroom not far away, intending to catalyze the development of the good brothers' relationship.

"Yes, mistletoe." Hermione, clutching the book, had lost her usual nimbleness.

She stared awkwardly at the green plants on the windowsill, lost in thought.

After a long while, Ron finally broke the deadlock.

"That."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"About mistletoe," Ron licked his dry lips, "Well—uh, I don't know if you Muggle World have such a rule, but in the Magical World, wizards also have a thing about mistletoe."

The quick-witted Hermione knew exactly what Ron meant. Blushing, she lowered her head and said, "Yes, Muggle do have this rule."

"Then I—" Ron cleared his throat and said seriously, "In that case, you can't say no under the mistletoe, Hermione— "

"I can't," Hermione said, still blushing.

"So," Ron placed his hands on Hermione's shoulders, "Shall I begin?"

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were going to give Hermione a massage.

Hermione closed her eyes and tilted her head back slightly.

Ron swallowed hard and leaned in, not disappointing Hermione.

but--

"Stop! Stop it now!"

Halfway through the kiss, Hermione suddenly gasped, "You're not doing this, Ron. Are you trying to suffocate me? Listen to me—you should be gentler, yes—um, a little slower."

This feeling of déjà vu—

Ron felt like he was back in Charms Class, where Hermione stopped him from waving his wand, saying he was going to gouge someone's eyes out.

Looking back now, it was quite interesting.

"Oh." Ron, like a silly goose, was guided by Hermione to continue fulfilling the sweet promise between the boy and girl under the mistletoe. When they returned to their dormitory, Ron was still chuckling to himself.

"What's wrong with him?" Seamus and Neville asked in hushed tones.

"I don't know either." Harry didn't betray Ron. "Maybe it's because he found Galleon, or maybe Umbridge really was turned into Pink Toad?"

"Really?" Seamus looked up abruptly, asking expectantly, "I mean, Harry —you're finally out?"

"No way." Harry rolled his eyes lazily. "If it were me, I'd definitely need Neville's Trevor."

"Why?" Neville asked, puzzled. "Why do you need to borrow my Trevor?"

"Trevor is a male toad, Neville, you know that," Harry said lazily.

"And then?" Neville asked, confused.

"I understand." Seamus slapped his palm. "That's a really good idea, a really good one—I'd love to see how Umbridge reacts."

"Then I don't know." Harry spread his hands, looking like he had nothing to say.

"So, let's get back to the original topic." Seamus glanced at Ron. "Guys, have you noticed that Ron seems a little off? He's acting like—well, I can't quite put my finger on it—like he's gotten a really good deal."

"Is it possible—" Harry glanced at Ron and said with a smile, "Is it possible that Ron really got a great deal?"

"What a great deal?!" Seamus and Neville's eyes lit up.

This kind of gossip is simply too irresistible for students.

"Ron?" Harry looked at Ron and called out.

Ron snapped out of his daze and licked the saliva from his lips.

"Huh? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Seamus and Neville are curious about what kind of great deal you got," Harry said with a laugh. "I think it's something for the people involved to say, not for me to say, don't you think?"