Bell's Oath

"Speaking of which, Shanna, what's the deal with these gifts?"

Bell asked curiously.

"I did all of this!"

"Shanna said proudly."

"Before, I was naughty... Before, Mom wouldn't let my Gege eat good food, so I secretly found some ingredients and wanted to make lots and lots of delicious food for my Gege to eat!"

However, after my Gege found some delicious Spider Meat, I saved all the food I had cooked, intending to surprise Gege.

"Shanna is amazing!"

Looking at her younger sister, who was standing tall and waiting for her praise, Bell didn't hesitate to offer her the most sincere compliments.

As for the previous attempt to 'destroy the evidence'?

You're mistaken, that person is definitely not him!

Hehehe~!

"Then Gege, you should try it!"

"..."

(￣▽￣lll)

Bell's smile gradually froze.

However, faced with his sister's expectant eyes, he simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.

He stiffly raised his hand, and a gift box flew into Bell's hand, returning to its original size.

Gently lifting the lid, a foul odor wafted out...

"Incendio!"

With speed far exceeding her own limits, Shanna snatched the gift box from her Gege's hand and threw it forcefully out the window, also throwing a Flame Spell as a bonus.

Even with Bell's current dynamic vision, he could only see afterimages.

"Really! How could Nanu give something broken to my Gege? I... I told him to throw it away right away!"

Shanna blushed and said, somewhat embarrassed and angry.

If Nanu heard Shanna's complaints, he would surely be moved to tears. Back then, for the sake of his Young Master's safety, he had tried his best to persuade his young lady to throw away these "biological weapons," and he almost knelt down before her for it.

However, Shanna insisted that her burnt dishes were better than her mother Elena's cooking (which might actually be true), and that she would wait for Bell to come back so her Gege could try them.

"Gege, please wait a moment."

As she spoke, Shanna began to examine the Christmas presents she had given to her Gege one by one.

Flames streaked across the sky above the garden. If his wife hadn't been lying right beside him, William would have almost thought the mother and daughter were fighting again.

The inspection lasted about half an hour. When the pile of gifts had shrunk to one-tenth of its original size, Shanna finally turned around and looked happily at Bell.

"Alright, Gege, come and try Shanna's cooking!"

Bell randomly picked one of the surviving gifts, opened it, and found a chocolate cake inside.

He carefully took a piece and put it in his mouth, and tears welled up in Bell's eyes.

"Gege!?"

Shanna was panicking. Had the food she made really gotten so bad that it made her Gege cry?

"It's nothing, my Gege is just too happy!"

Wiping away the tears that had welled up in his eyes, Bell continued to eat heartily.

To be honest, Shanna's cake wasn't very good. In particular, Bell doesn't like things that are too sweet, and this cake was almost too sweet to eat.

But those details don't matter. To Bell, anything his sister makes, as long as it's edible and won't kill him, is the most delicious food in the world! Because these foods contain a taste of happiness that no other food in the world can match.

The joyous Christmas was as short as ever, and Bell Side-Along Apparition away from home, watching his family with reluctance.

Hmm... I don't know why, Bell always feels like he's forgotten something very important? What is it?

"Bell!"

The moment the Apparition appeared, Bell knew exactly what he had forgotten.

At this moment, Hermione was standing in the same secluded corner where he had Side-Along Apparition last year, her long hair sticking up, her face so angry it was almost the same color as her hair.

"Heh... hehe... long time no see, Hermione... your control over magic has improved again! Look at you, you can even make your hair stand up with your external magic! Looks like you didn't slack off on your training during your vacation, that's fantastic!"

Bell tried to change the subject.

"Of course! I trained every day during my vacation."

Because my boyfriend, who promised to chat with me every day, barely paid any attention to me from beginning to end! Even the messages I sent him often didn't get a reply until the next day!

Thanks to him, I have tons of free time to myself. Don't you think I should thank him properly?

Clearly, Bell's attempt to change the subject had failed, and Hermione had been holding her breath for over ten days.

"Um, this..."

"Bell, do you even like me?"

Tears streamed down her face. Back home, Hermione had considered many punishment options, intending to teach Bell a lesson he would never forget after seeing Bell.

However, when Bell actually appeared before her, the anger that had been building up for over ten days vanished inexplicably. All that remained was peace of mind and worry.

Reassuringly, she was certain that Bell was alright. You see, before, when Bell wasn't replying to her messages, Hermione often worried herself sick all night.

And just as she asked, Hermione was worried that Bell might not like her at all? Was the only reason he agreed to date her just to save face and not be able to refuse her?

"How could that be? I like you, Hermione, I like you so much!"

Bell reached out and hugged Hermione tightly.

"I'm so sorry, so very sorry. I'm willing to accept any punishment, please forgive me this time, okay?"

It's undeniable that Bell did neglect Hermione's feelings. All his energy was focused on dealing with the relationship between his sister and mother.

Instinctively, Bell thought it wouldn't be a big deal to delay sending news to Hermione. After all, they would have plenty of time to talk once they returned to Hogwarts.

But when he saw Hermione crying, Bell realized he was wrong.

Even without using Legilimency, he could sense the intense sadness and fear emanating from Hermione. It was the first time he had ever felt heartache, even heartbreak, from someone other than Shanna.

Perhaps his thinking has always been flawed. No matter how far into the future, it cannot replace the present. If he believes he can make up for lost time in the future and thus neglects the present, then the future he hopes for may never arrive.

"I don't want any punishment, I just want you! I just want you by my side! Bell, please don't leave me alone anymore, okay?"

Hermione said, crying.

"Yes! I won't leave you alone again! I swear!"

Bell hugged Hermione tighter and made his first vow of the life. As for whether he could keep his vow... perhaps that didn't depend on him.