Pansy Parkinson

Over the next period, Ron and Hermione remained in a protracted and increasingly intense cold war. They ignored each other, and it was said that they wouldn't even greet each other if they met in the Gryffindor common room.

Li Mu had thought about mediating to ease the tension between them, but he had clearly failed.

In fact, his opportunities to see them had also decreased.

After the first week of joint classes, all the first-year students had a basic understanding of the courses. From the second week onwards, the four houses would be taught separately, returning to the traditional British small class teaching model. The only course that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had together was Herbology—a practical course, so Li Mu didn't have many opportunities to interact with Harry and the others in class.

Occasionally, during a few breaks, he would bring snacks to the hospital wing to see Neville. The poor little fatty had only suffered a slight wrist fracture from falling from such a height, but his burns from Potions class had recurred. According to Madam Pomfrey, this was because he had forgotten to avoid certain foods and had eaten a lot of greasy fried chicken legs and fried pancakes.

Then, an exasperated Madam Pomfrey decided to cover Neville in ointment until he was completely healed before he could leave the hospital... which would take at least two or three more days. So the little fatty was now lying in bed, only able to move his neck slightly, and his originally chubby face had thinned a lot.

"The happiness I thought I had was so fragile... life..." Sitting by Neville's bed, Li Mu ate oil-fried nuts and couldn't help but look at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, sighing as if unintentionally. He remembered that afternoon on the Hogwarts Express, the laughter of the six people, the bright sunshine, and the warm expressions, like a dream.

"Are you going to finish all the snacks?..." Neville finally couldn't help but speak. Did this guy bring snacks to see him, or did he bring snacks to eat in front of him?

"I'm helping you hone your willpower, little Neville."

"..." Neville swallowed his anger, oh no, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Li Mu shrugged, this little fatty wasn't cute to tease.

According to Li Mu's idea, perhaps only Malfoy could bring him a trace of joy these days. He was very much looking forward to Malfoy's mournful expression when he saw Harry safe and sound... but nothing happened!

On Sunday, when Harry, Ron, and Li Mu encountered Malfoy in the corridor, the young master even nodded to them before leaving gracefully. This stunned the three of them, and they stood there for a long time before they could recover. Finally, Ron said angrily, "That guy must be scared! See, Crabbe and Goyle aren't with him, he must be afraid of being taught a lesson again!..."

Then on Monday, at breakfast, when Li Mu looked expectantly at Malfoy walking past the Gryffindor table, the little aristocrat with platinum blonde hair didn't even look at Harry Potter, as if the savior had nothing to do with him. Even Li Mu was puzzled by Malfoy's behavior.

Then came Tuesday morning. As usual, before breakfast was about to begin, flocks of owls flew into the hall carrying packages of all sizes.

What was different was that on this day, the owls brought a big guy. Six long-eared owls jointly carried a slender package straight to Harry Potter, and they dropped the package in front of Harry with a "bang," followed by flapping their wings and flying away.

While everyone in the hall was dumbfounded, another small owl swooped down and placed a letter on the package.

"What's this?" Ron asked, "It looks like a big guy... Harry, did you buy it?"

Ron's voice rose in surprise, and even the students at the neighboring Hufflepuff table could hear him, so Li Mu turned around. He knew what was inside with just a glance at the shape of the package. Some things were inevitable and would be staged as in "history."

Harry shook his head to indicate that he didn't know either, and he subconsciously looked at Li Mu at the next table. Harry thought that in this school... no, it could be said that in this world, if there was anyone who would buy something for him, it could only be Li Mu. Ron was too poor, Hagrid wasn't well-off either, and the Dursleys were out of the question... The only one who had the motive and the money to give him something was...

Unfortunately, Li Mu instantly understood Harry's meaning and quickly waved his hand with a smile.

So Harry Potter opened the letter that the owl had left behind. The letter read: Do not open the package. It contains your Nimbus 2000 flying broom. I don't want everyone to know you have a new broom, lest they all want one.

"Oh, no!" Harry cried out as soon as he finished reading the letter. Because before he could stop him, Ron had already opened the package.

"Whoosh..."

Almost everyone in the Great Hall took a breath. A corner of the opened package revealed a section of broom handle made of mahogany, with beautiful lines and a smooth surface, and a line of small characters was engraved on the handle.

Nimbus 2000!

Someone exclaimed. This exclamation was like a spark igniting a powder keg, and the entire hall immediately boiled. Everyone was whispering about something, and all kinds of gazes were cast towards Harry.

Ernie and Justin, the two roommates sitting next to Li Mu, also stood up at the same time, their eyes staring straight at Harry.

"Wow... that's so cool! That must cost a lot of money..." Ernie Macmillan couldn't help but sigh, his eyes emitting a wild wolf-like green light. Li Mu wanted to laugh at that posture. Ernie, who came from a wizarding family, was a fanatical Quidditch enthusiast and had long coveted the Nimbus 2000.

Justin also smacked his lips, then suddenly turned to look at Li Mu with a look of realization: "I understand... I understand why you want to be friends with the savior!"

"Screw you." Li Mu reached out with his silver spoon and knocked Justin on the head with the back of it. "I'm more of a nouveau riche than him, okay?"

"Nouveau riche?..."

Just then, they heard a shrill voice—"Impossible!"

This scream broke through the noise in the Great Hall, drawing everyone's attention to the source of the sound. It was Pansy Parkinson, who had come to the Gryffindor table at some point, followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the Nimbus 2000, her face pale and ugly: "Harry Potter, first-year students are not allowed to play with this. You wait for your punishment!"

Ron grinned, he had some impression of this short, black-haired girl from Slytherin: "Look at your expression, Parkinson. Are you worried about Harry being punished? Have you finally realized that compared to Harry, that Malfoy is just a pile of dung?"

With each sentence Ron spoke, Pansy's face turned redder.

(End of this chapter)