Still Claiming You're Innocent!

Hearing Bell say that they weren't the ones who did it, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

Her heart had been in her throat ever since she learned that the Giant Squid had been attacked.

She kept thinking, if it really was the Bell siblings who did it, what should she do?

Is the goal to persuade Bell to turn himself in and try to get leniency for confessing?

Or should we help Bell and try to cover up the truth?

Hermione is really worried sick about her unreliable boyfriend.

But now it's all right. It turns out she was overthinking things.

As soon as she felt relieved, a wave of hunger washed over Hermione. She hadn't had breakfast yet.

Hermione used her fork to pick up a piece of meat from Bell's plate.

The snow-white strips of meat, with their edges roasted to a golden brown, are sprinkled with cumin, salt and pepper, chili and other seasonings.

A gentle sniff reveals an enticing aroma that makes your mouth water.

It seems this is yet another new dish created by Lim?

Hermione glanced at Shanna and Fina, who had been burying their heads in their plates and eating with their mouths full of oil since the beginning, and couldn't help but find it a little funny.

The two little ones' expressions and postures were exactly the same, no wonder they were both born in the "Na" generation.

"What a pair of little foodies!"

"Bell, what's this?"

Given her past experience of accidentally eating Spider Meat, Hermione felt it necessary to verify the origin of any food before consuming it.

Even after confirming it, she still ended up eating it anyway.

Teppanyaki Squid.

Bell buried his head in his food and ate without looking up.

"..."

"You still say you didn't do it!!!"

(╯#-伀)╯~~╧═╧

At that moment, Hermione really wanted to stab Bell on the head with her Bell. She truly couldn't believe her boyfriend had gone astray! He'd even learned to lie to her!?

"Who on earth is so despicable as to corrupt Bell?!"

However, after glancing at the Teppanyaki Squid on her fork, Hermione felt a little reluctant to part with it.

Ahem, she was reluctant to part with her boyfriend, definitely not reluctant to part with the delicious Teppanyaki Squid.

Hermione then began to struggle with her decision again.

If she eats this Teppanyaki Squid, it means she has become an accomplice of the Bell siblings and has no right to Bell them.

But if she doesn't eat it... it smells so good!

(￣￣)

Just as Hermione was struggling with this dilemma, she was suddenly horrified to discover that her body was being controlled by Bell's magic!

(Bell: "I didn't! I'm not! Don't talk nonsense!")

Under Bell's control, the fork in her hand got closer and closer to her mouth, and finally... it smelled delicious!

Cough cough...

"Bell! Didn't you say it wasn't you who did it?!"

Although she had eaten, she couldn't bring herself to blame Bell for attacking the Giant Squid. But she hadn't yet settled the score with Bell for lying to her!

"That's right! It wasn't us who did it, it was Shanna and the others."

Bell pointed innocently to the two little ones who had almost buried their faces in the basin.

This Teppanyaki Squid is incredibly delicious. Both its texture and flavor surpass the Crispy Spider Legs, so it's no wonder they ate it with such relish.

"..."

For the next few days, Hermione lived in constant fear, unable to even put in 200% enthusiasm into her exam preparation.

Although Bell repeatedly assured her that the professors would not trace it back to them, Hermione was still worried.

So much so that she felt incredibly guilty every time she ran into professors in the hallway.

But for some reason, whenever the professors saw her looking guilty, not only did no one find her suspicious, but they also smiled kindly and comforted her, telling her not to be nervous and that everything would be fine.

If Professor McGonagall hadn't acted the same way, Hermione would have almost thought that all the professors had been bribed by Bell with Teppanyaki Squid.

Amidst the myriad expressions of anticipation, fear, and despair among the Little Wizard, the final exams arrived as scheduled.

The exam went very smoothly.

It seems that Hogwarts is only peaceful and tranquil like a proper school during final exams.

Although the riots that occurred at Hogwarts this year were largely caused by the Bell siblings.

It's worth mentioning that even though she had received prior instructions from her Gege, Little Shanna, who wasn't quite sure what "not going too far" meant during the exam, still managed to shock the professors for an entire year.

Of course, Shanna didn't go too far, since her Gege had given her instructions. So, she just followed Hermione's example and gave a casual response.

But you have to understand, Hermione was number one in her third year. It's quite astonishing that Shanna, who's only a first-year student, has reached such a high level.

Leisurely and enjoyable times always fly by, and after a week of playing to your heart's content, the last day of the school year finally arrived.

Today, the Great Hall at Hogwarts was decorated magnificently. The area where the professors ate had been transformed into a large platform. A bright red carpet stretched from the platform all the way to the Great Hall's entrance.

Harry's award ceremony will be held at tonight's Year-End Banquet.

After six months of discussion and evaluation, the Order of Merlin has decided to award Harry. Harry Potter the Order of Merlin, Second Class, in recognition of his feat of capturing Sirius Black.

As for Ron and Neville?

Perhaps they could talk to Harry and ask for a share of the prize money.

In fact, that's exactly what Ron did.

Unlike the jubilant Little Wizard, Bell was rather unhappy.

It wasn't because he was jealous of Harry or anything. Rather, it was because at the annual Year-End Banquet, when Dumbledore was pulling strings to give Harry extra points, the hilarious expressions on the faces of the young Slytherin Little Wizard provided Bell with a year's worth of laughs.

However, this year, with the entire British Wizarding World aware that Harry caught Black, even the most arrogant Snake wouldn't believe his house still had a chance of winning the House Cup this year.

In fact, the snakes had already given up on competing for this year's House Cup not long after the Christmas Holiday ended.

They decided to lie low for now, conserve their strength, and strike decisively when they do, knowing that next year's House Cup would be theirs!

The reason the little snakes were so confident was that they had decided that in order to end Gryffindor's winning streak and restore Slytherin's glory, all the teachers and students of Slytherin House would pool their money to buy the strongest and fastest Flying Broomstick — the Firebolt —in the next school year!

If they can defeat Harry and win the Quidditch Cup, the extra 150 points will add up to a difference of 300 points. At that point, even if the Death Eater break out of prison, Gryffindor will have no chance of taking away their House Cup!