Chapter 63

John was pulled by Hermione all the way to the corridor bridge in the backyard before they stopped.

Hermione leaned against her knees, panting, but her face held an excited afterglow; she felt a sense of relief from casting aside all constraints.

She had long wanted to beat Malfoy and his two lackeys, but she had held back due to school rules and her upbringing.

Now, driven by John.

She had finally let out a good vent.

"Hermione, you kicked them even harder than I did just now."

John couldn't help but laugh as he looked at Hermione's happy expression.

"Ahem, no I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

"And also, I'm not usually like that."

Hermione pointed a finger at John's nose and said.

"Forget all about it, okay?"

This cute look made John laugh again.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I will definitely publicize your heroism."

"Stinky John, you dare!"

Seeing John still teasing her, Hermione feigned anger and punched John on the shoulder.

Sss, it didn't hurt.

John gasped, but gave her a look that said, "Did you not eat?"

Seeing this, Hermione was amused.

The two played around on the corridor bridge, the sunset's afterglow spilling onto them, gilding this moment with a warm color.

When they finally finished playing, the two leaned against the railing of the corridor bridge, resting while looking at the sunset in the distance.

After what had just happened, Hermione's mood had improved significantly.

She smoothed her hair, which had become messy from running, while gazing blankly at the golden sunset.

At this moment, Hermione suddenly spoke softly, as if talking to herself.

"John, do you hate the know-it-all miss?"

John was stunned for a moment and looked at Hermione beside him.

The sunset hit her face, and a gentle breeze blew through her hair.

She looked at the sunset on the horizon, a faint, elusive smile on her lips.

John was silent for a moment, then looked toward the horizon as well, a gentle smile on his face as he said softly.

"If the know-it-all miss were willing to share her troubles with me in the future, instead of bearing them alone, then I think I would like her very much."

Hearing John's words, Hermione's heart trembled slightly, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks involuntarily.

John's words weren't finished yet.

"You know, Hermione."

"Back when I was at Muggle school, I was honest and well-behaved, never competing for anything, just a little invisible person."

"But even so, there were still people who wanted to find a sense of presence and cause trouble for someone like me."

"People like that are everywhere."

"So it's not that the know-it-all miss is annoying, but that some dark-hearted people cannot stand the brave, straightforward, intelligent, and generous know-it-all miss."

John's words drifted gently through the breeze into Hermione's heart, blowing away the haze in her mind.

A warmth surged in Hermione's heart, along with a touch of bitterness.

She was a child from a Muggle family.

To prove she was no worse than the so-called pure-blood wizards, she studied desperately.

But her efforts did not earn her respect.

Every time she generously shared her knowledge, it instead brought her the nickname "annoying know-it-all miss."

But she had never retreated because of other people's words; instead, she walked her own path even more firmly.

She understood that these people were simply inferior to her and jealous of her, which is why they used such ugly words to cover up their own incompetence.

At the same time, she also tried hard to control herself not to care about those boring nicknames.

She had thought she could just keep being strong like that.

But when John called her brave, straightforward, intelligent, and generous.

She felt the softest part of her heart being gently touched, and her eyes welled up with moisture involuntarily.

"Thank you, John."

Hermione's voice was soft, with a hint of a choke.

John turned his head, looked at her, and smiled slightly, "You're welcome, my dear know-it-all miss~"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh; the sunset gradually sank below the horizon, and the sky was dyed a gentle orange-pink.

Just like a young girl's cheeks, revealing the shyness and tenderness of youth.

The next morning.

The rain fell like a waterfall, and the gale howled incessantly.

The entire sky was covered in a thick, dark gray.

John finished his morning training in a disheveled state.

Yes, even in such terrible weather, Professor Fuliwei did not let John rest.

When he returned to the dormitory, he found that Ryan and Ethan were already up.

Today was Saturday; logically, they shouldn't have been up so early.

"John, you're finally back."

Seeing John return, Ryan, who had just found his raincoat, immediately shouted at him.

"Why are you guys up so early on a Saturday?"

John asked, feeling a bit strange.

"Didn't I tell you? There's an official Quidditch match today, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff."

"Of course we have to go watch it together."

Hearing this, John was stunned.

"In this weather? Quidditch?"

John pointed at the storm outside the window and asked in astonishment.

"Yeah!"

Yet they seemed to take it for granted.

"What does Quidditch have to do with the weather? If anything, it's precisely this kind of weather that makes Quidditch even more charming!"

"Stop dawdling, hurry up and put on your raincoat; we'll go to the pitch to grab seats after we eat."

Ethan threw the raincoat in his hand to John and urged him.

Seeing them so enthusiastic, John felt a bit infected by it.

Watching Quidditch in this kind of stormy weather actually seemed quite interesting.

Soon, John washed up, changed his clothes, and followed the two out of the dormitory, running toward the Great Hall.

Titus was already waiting for them at the dining table.

"Eat up, brothers, we're going to watch Quidditch after."

Titus said to the group while swinging the bread in his hand.

John looked curiously at other parts of the Great Hall and found that there were many people in the hall today, all of whom had brought some rain gear; it seemed everyone was going to watch Quidditch.

This kind of official Quidditch match was indeed far more attractive than the usual training matches.

"Hm?"

"Luna, why are you wearing a lion head?"

John noticed Luna wearing a golden lion headgear, walking slowly toward them.

"This? Naturally, it's to support Gryffindor. Do you like it? I can give it to you."

Luna touched the lion headgear on her head and smiled slightly at John.

"Aren't we from Ravenclaw?"

"Who says Ravenclaw can't support Gryffindor?"

Hearing John's words, Luna asked back with a smile.

John was speechless for a moment; it seemed there really was no such rule.

Luna smiled and gently took off the lion headgear, handing it to John: "Wear it, I think you'll grow to like Gryffindor."

John took the lion headgear and looked at Ryan and the others with some hesitation; they were all giggling and urging him to put it on.

They looked like they were just waiting for a good show.

Forget it, it's a rare opportunity; I'll just treat it as experiencing the local customs of Gryffindor.

John put on the headgear, and Ryan and the others immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, John, you look a bit like Big Orange now, hahaha."

"Hurry up and compare it to the dead-fish face, hahaha, it's exactly the same!"

"......"

John rolled his eyes helplessly.

As expected, when you make a fool of yourself, your best brothers are the ones who laugh the hardest.