So, Can We Make Up?

Hearing Owen say that, the little badgers of Hufflepuff could not help becoming a little more wary of Aisling. However, Cedric still stepped forward to speak up for her.

"I think Aisling is actually quite easy to get along with. She even gave Fred and George snacks on the train before."

After hearing Cedric's words, everyone looked at Aisling with less fear. After all, Hufflepuff's relationship with Slytherin was still slightly better than Gryffindor's.

Not every Slytherin spent all day looking down their noses at students from other Houses. Teddy Buckman's cousin had been sorted into Slytherin, for example. Otherwise, they would not have known what had happened in Slytherin this morning.

But Roy had no mood to discuss that right now. His mind was wholly occupied with sneaking glances at Aisling. The fork in his hand kept waving over his empty plate, while his eyes drifted toward the Slytherin table every ten seconds.

Whenever Roy saw Aisling's frosty face, he could never tell whether she was in a bad mood or a good one.

"She's so young, yet she never smiles, like some old lady."

Roy grumbled to himself.

Roy was now wondering whether he should pick a day when Aisling was in a better mood before sending the letter. But the owl had already flown off with it, so all he could do was pray that Aisling would forgive him after reading it.

For some reason, even if Snape pointed at Roy's nose and cursed him out, a shameless person like Roy would not feel the slightest embarrassment. Yet whenever he faced Aisling, he always felt inexplicably flustered.

Just then, a large flock of owls flew into the Great Hall. After dropping heaps of packages and letters above the various tables, they flew back out.

Most young wizards had received letters from their parents asking about their Sorting results, but naturally, Roy received nothing.

At the front of the Slytherin table, Aisling elegantly cut the bacon on her plate with her knife and fork while patiently listening to an older Slytherin student brag about his family's collection.

"Miss Grindelwald, if you would be willing to visit our family estate over Christmas, I would be honored to show you the magical books our family has preserved for centuries."

"It's Grinhild, Mr. Rowl."

Aisling calmly corrected the sixth-year student, Timothy Rowl.

As Rowl continued enthusiastically explaining just how exceptional his family's magical collection was, Cedric's tawny owl flew over Aisling's head and dropped an envelope onto the plate before her.

Roy had been secretly watching Aisling's reaction all along. He saw her pick up the envelope, open the letter inside, and skim through it quickly. Then Aisling suddenly raised her head, her sharp gaze shooting toward the Hufflepuff table.

Roy immediately looked away and pretended to chat with Cedric about Quidditch, despite the fact that he still had no idea how Quidditch was played.

Roy no longer dared sneak glances at Aisling. He could feel her gaze fixed firmly on his back.

Roy and Cedric were solemnly discussing whether spaghetti should be mixed with No. 42 concrete when Cedric suddenly gave Roy a quiet reminder.

"Stop acting. Aisling's coming over."

Aisling stopped beside Cedric and Roy. Roy turned his head and saw a whole group of Slytherin students following behind her.

Roy forced an awkward smile onto his face.

"Good morning. So, can we make up?"

"..."

Aisling said nothing. Her eyes were as calm and unfathomable as the Black Lake. She merely slammed Roy's apology letter onto the table, then strode away with the large group of Slytherin students.

"Looks like we can't."

Roy opened the envelope. The apology letter he had written had been crumpled into a ball, but fortunately, the Galleons he had put inside were still there.

"What a spoiled princess. I don't even know how I offended her."

Roy complained helplessly for a moment, then turned around and found every young wizard at the Hufflepuff table staring at him with strange expressions.

Tonks, seated farther away, wore a teasing look as she mocked Roy.

"Wow, look at our little Gryffindor. He's only just started school, and he's already gotten together with a pretty Slytherin girl."

All the students at the table grinned mischievously at Roy. Even Cedric was having trouble keeping a straight face.

"Hmph, if I hadn't been too generous to argue with her, do you think I'd even bother with her? If she won't forgive me, then I won't forgive her either!"

A burst of laughter rose from the Hufflepuff table.

As class time approached, Owen stood up and showed the first-years the way to the First Greenhouse for Herbology.

After leaving the Great Hall, the Hufflepuff first-years headed together toward the First Greenhouse behind the castle. However, several young wizards had forgotten their textbooks and hurried back toward the common room.

When they arrived at the First Greenhouse, Hufflepuff's Head of House, Professor Pomona Sprout, was already there. She was fertilizing a small carnivorous shrub that had been moved over from the Third Greenhouse while chatting with several older students who had signed up for Herbology.

When she saw the first-years arriving, Professor Pomona directed several older student assistants to move the small carnivorous shrub away. Then she stepped forward and greeted this year's Hufflepuff newcomers.

Professor Sprout had silver-white hair and a short, plump figure, with a kind smile always on her face.

This class was shared with Ravenclaw. Seeing that nearly everyone had arrived, Professor Sprout took out a list and called roll.

It appeared that no one was late. Professor Sprout praised all the young wizards, because every year, there were always newly enrolled students who arrived late for their first class.

Wearing dragon-hide gloves on both hands, Professor Sprout stood before all the young wizards and kindly introduced herself to the class.

"I am Pomona Sprout, Hogwarts' Professor of Herbology and the Head of Hufflepuff House."

Seeing how nervous the young wizards were during their first class, Professor Sprout briefly introduced the main material they would be covering that term.

"This term, we will mainly cover relatively safe plants such as Dittany and Devil's Snare. But I must still warn you all: never touch the plants in the greenhouses without permission. I know some of you may not take this seriously, but tampering with any magical plant without authorization may put your lives in danger."

Professor Sprout's tone was extremely stern when she explained the precautions. Every year, young wizards from various grades ended up in the school hospital because they had tampered with plants without permission.

Roy looked through the thick glass toward the Second and Third Greenhouses, which were filled with all kinds of strange plants and many precious potion ingredients.

Roy wondered whether he could find a patch of land to grow some herbs himself, so he would not have to spend money buying so many ingredients for alchemy and potions.

After thinking it over, it seemed that only the Forbidden Forest met his requirements. An idea for building his own special operations unit was born.