Ritual

Hermione knew perfectly well that there was nothing between Bell and Phoebe; they weren't even close.

Little Gabrielle's "brother-in-law's" joking remark was merely a one-sided enthusiasm from a young girl. Neither Bell nor Phoebe had any romantic feelings for her.

But when women get jealous, they can be unreasonable. Girls are no exception!

Jealousy mixed with resentment, Hermione desperately needed to vent her negative emotions.

But she couldn't possibly cause trouble for Little Gabrielle.

Gabrielle is just an innocent and adorable little girl; she couldn't bring herself to bully that little guy.

Similarly, she couldn't possibly cause trouble for Phoebe.

After all, Phoebe didn't do anything, and most importantly, she wasn't familiar with Phoebe.

Therefore, after eliminating these two options, the only remaining option is the optimal and final choice.

That's right! Only Bell is left!

As the cause of everything, the root of all evil, if she can't keep tormenting Bell, then who else can she torment?

"Well... don't you already know the reason?"

Bell looked at Hermione, who was on the verge of tears, with a puzzled expression.

Given his intelligence, it's impossible that he didn't realize that the reason he hadn't immediately invited her to the ball was because he was considering Shanna's feelings.

"I have no idea! All I know is that you bullied me! I'll teach you to bully me! I'll teach you to bully me..."

Hermione gritted her teeth and stomped on Bell's foot, muttering a phrase with each stomp.

Fortunately, after entering the Great Hall, Bell instinctively pulled Hermione to a secluded corner. Otherwise, given Hermione's current state, he would have been in a truly difficult position.

Although he really can't clear his name.

As she trudged along, large tears slid down Hermione's cheeks...

Bell reached out and wiped away the tears from Hermione's eyes.

If tears were to fall and ruin Hermione's makeup, which she had spent the entire afternoon carefully preparing, Hermione might be traumatized.

Today should be a happy day, and Bell doesn't want to leave Hermione with sad or painful memories.

So he opened his arms and hugged Hermione tightly.

"I'm sorry, darling, I was wrong. Please don't cry, okay?"

Bell apologized.

"Then I'm going to punish you! I'll punish you... punish you... tell me, what should I punish you for!"

Hermione pressed her head firmly against Bell's chest, speaking in a tone that was hard to tell whether to call it anger or coquettishness.

She didn't know how to punish Bell.

After punishing Bell, should we pay even more attention to her? Even more attention than to Shanna?

She knew Bell would never agree to such a request without even saying it aloud.

But apart from that, she doesn't seem to have any other needs?

So let's leave this difficult problem to Bell to solve.

If Bell can't come up with a punishment plan that satisfies her today, then she... she... it seems like there's nothing she can do.

Thinking of this, Hermione kicked Bell's shin hard.

"That scoundrel!"

"Well..."

Not only was he forced to take on a huge problem, but he also inexplicably got kicked, leaving Bell scratching his head in frustration.

So how should he punish himself?

Was the punishment too lenient?

He was afraid Hermione would think he wasn't sincere.

Isn't the punishment too harsh?

Just kidding, he's not a masochist. Even if he's stuffed, he wouldn't deliberately make himself miserable!

Looking down at Hermione's alluring figure in his arms, Bell suddenly thought of something he had long wanted to do but never dared to.

Thinking about it carefully, their current age doesn't seem to be that young anymore, does it?

You should know that in the Britain, Muggle law allows people to get married at 15.

And coincidentally, both he and Hermione had already celebrated their birthdays. That means they were both 15 years old!

Thinking of this, a strong sense of regret suddenly overwhelmed Bell.

So why didn't he think of this when he celebrated his birthday before?

If he had thought of that earlier, wouldn't he have been able to leave the virginity more than a month earlier... cough cough cough!

"Hermione, I've already figured out how to punish myself!"

The smile on his lips vanished in an instant, and Bell forced a serious expression.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Hermione looked up curiously, eager to know what Bell was planning to do.

"Ahem, well... tonight, go to my suitcase."

He swallowed hard; the thought had barely formed in Bell mind before it took root.

Right now, he desperately wanted to drag Hermione to the suitcase. What's so fun about a ball?!

"Then what?"

Hermione tilted her head, looking at Bell with a puzzled expression.

So what's next? After getting into the suitcase, what exactly does Bell plan to do?

Moreover, she wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the way Bell was looking at her was like a big bad wolf looking at a little white rabbit, as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

Faced with the innocent, questioning gaze of the little white rabbit... cough cough, Hermione, the 'Pervert King' Menethil didn't respond directly. Instead, he turned around with Hermione in his arms, using his body to block the view of others. At the same time, his hands wandered down and landed on Hermione's shapely buttocks.

"!?"

Even Hermione, who was inexperienced in such matters, understood Bell's meaning after sensing Bell hands' restless movements.

Although she didn't know the details, she had some understanding of that kind of thing through certain books in the Library and from the conversations of people around her.

Some blurry images unsuitable for children involuntarily surfaced in her mind, and Hermione's cheeks instantly turned bright red.

She felt as if her strength had been pulled away by Bell's hands, and her legs went weak.

Taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, which had been stirred up by the sudden fantasy in her mind, Hermione slapped Bell hard.

"This isn't a punishment, it's more like a reward!"

Don't think Hermione doesn't know just because she hasn't done it herself. She's heard that doing that kind of thing is very, very comfortable...

Bang!

A wisp of white smoke drifted from Hermione's head, and her brain began to heat up again.

"This is compensation for you, and also a ritual."

Bell said with a wicked grin.

"Ceremony?"

This was the first time Hermione had ever heard of such a claim.

"Yes, a rite of passage."

After this ceremony, everything about you will belong to me completely, and there will be no going back.

And as the price for this ceremony, everything I own will belong to you completely, until you discard it with your own hands.

As he spoke, Bell's expression gradually became solemn. He stared intently at Hermione, waiting for her reply.