Who Is Your Dear?

Since giving up being caught in the middle and suffering from both sides, Harry has felt happier every day.

Sometimes, he could be by Ron's side and listen to how he complained about Hermione.

More often than not, he was by Hermione's side, listening to how Hermione scolded Ron.

But Harry felt that the two of them were just missing a way to save face for each other.

Whoever is willing to back down first will have no problem with the other person.

The problem is that others can't point it out, otherwise they'll easily become the bad guys in both of their relationship.

Ron has recently been studying some of the little Charms invented by the Half-Blood Prince, and has even shared them with Harry.

One curse is to make a person's toes grow wildly— Ron did an experiment on Filch in the hallway, and the results were hilarious; another curse is to stick a person's tongue to their head, and Ron really wanted to secretly use it on Professor Snape. If Harry hadn't stopped him, Ron probably would have already done it.

Of course, those who know the outcome know it all. If Ron really did that, he would probably have to make Snape be finely chopped into minced meat.

Of course, Ron's favorite Silencing Charm.

This spell fills the ears of everyone around with an indistinguishable murmur, allowing one to chat freely in class without fear of being overheard.

The only one who didn't find these spells fun was Hermione, because Hermione was the test subject for Ron's first use of the Silencing Charm.

When Hermione learned that Ron had cursed her, she was so angry that she punched Ron several times and ran back to her dormitory with red eyes.

"Woman, huh?" Ron said to Harry.

"Women." Harry shrugged.

"Look at this." Ron picked up the book "Advanced Potion-Making" again, pointing to a spell in it for Harry to see. "This Charms looks interesting—hanging someone upside down?"

What the hell?

Harry's body trembled.

He was all too familiar with this Charms.

Isn't this the Charms his father used on Professor Snape at the Black Lake?

Could it be that this Half-Blood Prince is one of Dad's good friends?

First, he ruled out James.

The reason was simple: he knew his father wasn't Potions making.

Moreover, his father, James, was pure-blood wizard, so it was impossible for him to give himself a Half-blood nickname.

So, who could it be? Professor Lupin? Or Sirius?

But something's not right. One of them has Moony, and the other has Padfoot. Neither of them is Half-Blood Prince.

Harry decided he had to find an opportunity to ask the two of them who the Half-Blood Prince was.

He felt that the two of them definitely knew.

"Let's try this spell tomorrow, Harry," Ron said, biting his Licorice Wand. "We'll be going to Hogsmeade in the morning, so maybe we can use the Charms on Malfoy on the way? I think it's a great idea."

"Before that, you'll have to learn this Charms, right?" Harry said, turning his head. "Why don't you practice with Neville or Seamus now, casting the Levicorpus spell on each other—wait, let me see how to break it."

He took the "Advanced Potion-Making" manual and examined it carefully for a moment:

"Oh, right here, the Bell Drop is the breaking of its curse."

"I don't want to practice with Seamus," Ron said quickly. "I don't want my leg to blow off—"

"Hey!" Seamus said, annoyed.

Ron chuckled.

"How about we give it a try now, Neville?" he asked.

"Come on then." Neville drew his wand. "I'm ready. Ron, let's see if you can break through my defenses."

However, Ron simply picked up his wand, pointed it at Neville, and gave it a slight shake.

"Aaaaaaah!"

A bright light flashed, and the room erupted into chaos.

Neville let out a scream as he hung upside down in the air, as if an invisible hook had caught his ankle and was holding him upside down.

"Silencing Charm?!" Neville exclaimed in horror. "My God, Ron, how could you be so unethical as to use Silencing Charm on me! You're despicable!"

"Haha," Ron said with a grin, then winked at Harry and whispered, "The prince's little trick in the book, the Silencing Charm —hey!"

With that, he pointed his wand at Ron.

Another bright light flashed, Neville fell onto the bed, landing in a large, fluffy heap.

"Let's try it together." Neville didn't feel any pain or anger; on the contrary, he was eager to try.

This Charms is so interesting, so much fun!

They dressed, putting on several sweaters knitted by Mrs. Weasley, and took cloaks, scarves, and gloves, fully armed.

Ron went even further, wearing a full set of Quidditch goalkeeper gear.

"You cheated!" Neville said, pointing at Ron indignantly.

"I'm Quidditch goalkeeper, so it's only natural that I have my own equipment, right?" Ron said with a laugh.

They played with this Charms in their dorm room until midnight before finally falling asleep, still wanting more.

"Hey Harry," Ron suddenly said to Harry before going to sleep, "What do you think would happen if I suddenly used this spell on Hermione?"

"Not good," Harry answered his question quickly. "I think Hermione will be really angry and never speak to you again."

Ron shivered.

"Then I'd better not use it," he said.

When Harry woke up in the morning, he received a message.

It was Cassandra who sent it to him, asking him to meet her at Honeydukes today.

"What's wrong? Why are you so happy so early in the morning?" Ron had just woken up when he saw his good friend's smiling face.

"Cassandra asked to meet me at Honeydukes," Harry said with a grin. "Looks like your plans will have to be postponed—if Cassandra sees you using the Levicorpus on her junior, I can't protect you."

"That's a real shame," Ron shrugged.

Then, he held up one finger.

"Wait a minute," he exclaimed, a sudden realization dawning on him. "You said Cassandra was Malfoy's great-aunt, right?"

"Yes," Harry nodded.

"And you, are Cassandra's boyfriend, and you're going to marry her, right?" Ron continued excitedly.

"Yes." Harry had no idea what Ron was so excited about.

"So, you'll be Malfoy's great-great-uncle from now on." Ron clapped his fist happily. "And me, I'm your brother, we're of the same generation—so, rounding up, I'm also Malfoy's elder, right?"

Harry opened his mouth.

He really wanted to say that his great-grandfather was also his good brother, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

"I guess so," he nodded and said.

"We won!" Ron said happily. "The next time I see Malfoy, I'll use this line—it'll definitely be more effective than any Charms."

Harry gave a thumbs up, a genuine thumbs up.

"I must say, you do have a way," he said.

After washing up, they went to the Great Hall together for breakfast.

Hermione seemed to want to say something to Ron, but for some reason, she hesitated and held back.

"Have something warm." Ron picked up two pieces of bacon and then two more for Harry. "It's gotten colder today—look, it's raining and snowing outside. If we don't eat something nutritious, we'll feel cold."

"Where are you planning to go?" Harry asked, forking up a piece of bacon.

"Go to Zonko's Joke Shop," Ron said to Harry. "Fred wrote to me saying that Zonko's Joke Shop Hogsmeade seems to have closed down, and asked me to check it out when I go to Hogsmeade this time—apparently because the two of them were doing so well."

"So you're going?" Harry glanced at Ron. "Aren't you afraid they'll kick you out because you're Weasley?"

"Even so, it's worth it," Ron said with a solemn expression. "I can't help it, my two good brothers gave me just too much—besides that Dragonhide jacket, they also stuffed a hundred Galleon into my purse—"

Harry couldn't resist and spilled the oatmeal all over the table.

"Wait a minute?" he asked. "You mean? One hundred Galleon?"

"Yes," Ron nodded resolutely, "One hundred Galleon, I'd do anything for my brothers!"

"He really is a good brother," Harry nodded with emotion.

The temperature dropped so drastically that walking to Hogsmeade village was very uncomfortable.

Even with their faces covered by mittens, the students couldn't stand the biting cold wind; the exposed parts quickly became painfully cold and even numb.

"I can't breathe!" Neville cried out, crouching low and trying to keep his breath away from the wind.

Why don't you shout, "Spotlight on us!"

"Just bear with it, hang in there!" Seamus shouted against the wind, "We'll be there soon!"

Harry was alright; he wasn't too afraid of the cold wind, not because he was physically strong, but because he had practiced Charms to keep warm.

Along the road leading to the village entrance, students could be seen everywhere bending over and braving the wind.

"I've suspected more than once that we might actually be more comfortable in the cozy Common Room," Ron said breathlessly.

When they finally arrived at Hogsmeade village, they found that Zonko's Joke Shop had been boarded up.

"I knew it," Ron said. "Zonko's Joke Shop went out of business. I'll have to tell Fred about it when I get back."

Then, Ron pointed to the Honeydukes with his gloved finger.

"Why don't we go sit in Honeydukes for a while? Harry, aren't you going too? Harry?"

They hurried through the snow, their steps uneven, towards the Honeydukes.

"Thank you, Merlin, thank you Gryffindor, thank you for everything," Ron said, shivering, as the warm scent of milk fat wafted over him. "Let's stay here for the afternoon."

"Harry!" a booming voice said from behind them.

They turned around and saw Professor Slughorn, who was wearing an enormous fur hat and a coat with a matching fur collar, carrying a large bag of pineapple preserves. He occupied at least a quarter of the small shop's space.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Professor Slughorn said with a mysterious smile, "But I'm even happier today—you must have accepted her invitation to come here, right? Ha, Miss Malfoy, I'm finally meeting the famous one today."

"Famous?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Of course she's famous," Professor Slughorn said with a chuckle. "She was appointed by the Dark Minister Septimus..."

The girl Mr. Malfoy expelled from the family tree was a household name in our time—oh, sorry.

He noticed that Harry didn't look well and quickly apologized.

"It's alright." Harry smiled and said to Professor Slughorn, "I'll head over there now, Professor, she's still waiting for me."

"Alright, Harry, go ahead." Professor Slughorn reached out and patted Harry on the shoulder.

After saying goodbye to Ron, Neville, and Seamus, Harry went up to the second floor and entered a private room.

Cassandra sat inside, holding a steaming cup in both hands, lost in thought.

"Cass, darling," Harry greeted her.

Unexpectedly, Cassandra put down her cup, her beautiful face showing a hint of anger.

"Who's your darling! Shameless!"

"Huh?" Harry sat down next to Cassandra with a smug grin. "Look, Cass— aren't you my darling? That really hurts me, you're my girlfriend—..."

"No—shameless." Cassandra forced a straight face.

Harry was already used to Cassandra's tsundere attitude, and he chuckled as he put his arm around Cassandra shoulder.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly decide to come here?"

"For no reason," Cassandra said sternly. "Why do you ask so many questions, Potter?"

"Okay, okay, I won't ask, I won't ask," Harry said, admitting defeat.

He looked up and surveyed his surroundings.

"This feels familiar," he said. "If I remember correctly, the first time you brought me to Honeydukes, we sat in this very booth, right?"

"You have a good memory." Cassandra finally smiled. "I remember that a certain little wizard thought I was a bad person back then. He didn't dare disobey me, but while he was listening, he kept cursing me in his heart."

"You got the second part right." Harry grabbed a gummy candy and popped it into his mouth. "But you got the first part wrong—I never thought you were a bad person, Cass —I just thought you were a spoiled rich girl with a bad temper."

That's true. Harry never thought Cassandra was bad, but he did have all sorts of complaints about her in private.

"Really?" Cassandra asked with a half-smile. "I remember a nickname someone gave me—"

"Ahem," Harry coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, "Let's not talk about this anymore. So many years have passed, it's pointless to keep bringing it up—"