Chapter 440: Forbidden Fruit

Harry really wanted to find an opportunity to ask for Mia's own opinion, but at this moment, as a candidate for the Queen Project, Mia could reasonably and justifiably stay at the Ministry of Magic, communicating with Snape and other researchers at any time. After this layer was added, the tutoring that was originally used as a cover naturally stopped.

Of course, Harry admitted that he had gained very little from the subject, but he believed more that the main reason for stopping the subject was that Snape wanted to be with Mia without interference. He guessed that the relationship between the two had already made some unusual progress.

However, when Harry found Snape again and asked if the project could be stopped, he only received a helpless smile and the words, "This is not your business." This made him feel somewhat sad. For the Queen Project, which was written as "voluntary" from the high-level officials down to the parties involved, not only did Harry have no room to intervene, but even Snape himself found it difficult to make up his mind. Of course, Harry thought another reason Snape didn't express opposition was that he felt the experiment did have a possibility of success after all. Under the comfort of this wishful thinking, Harry gradually stopped paying attention and raising questions.

Starting in March, the temperature gradually warmed up, and Evolt also disappeared. Harry followed Snape's suggestion and put his energy into school life. What made him feel both surprised and disappointed was that the Quidditch team was still running well without Harry and Luo En, and players in every position had received sufficient training and improvement.

"Our Chasers' coordination is already very tacit, but there's a small problem with the Seeker," Jin Ni said from the side. "Edith is flying very well now, but she's still a bit slow at catching the Snitch. According to her, her hands are a beat slower than her eyes."

"Then how do you plan to solve it?" Harry adjusted his knee pads, his mood somewhat complicated.

"Don't know, maybe she'll naturally adapt after a long time." Jin Ni started helping him pull on that big robe, then said in a very low voice, "McLaggen has a problem; his state has declined very seriously. We all guess it has something to do with him being in a relationship."

McLaggen had just walked out of the locker room. Harry looked at the locker room door and said somewhat distractedly, "Then I'll ask Zhang Qiu what's going on; after all, she's more familiar with Marietta."

"Heh heh." Jin Ni let out a strange, noncommittal laugh.

"Harry, you have to think about it this way: what do you think Pan Xi loves Ma Erfu for? She just loves that bloodline and family background, not that person," Zhang Qiu said. "Perhaps you think Pan Xi seems to love Ma Erfu very much, but you have to think, would a simple love-brained girl be in Slytherin? Slytherin needs ambition."

"Marietta? She affected your player?" When Zhang Qiu heard this news, her eyes were filled with incomprehension. "Impossible, aren't they getting along quite well?"

"As a girl from a small family, wanting to cross the class through marriage is very natural. So when she heard Ma Erfu pushed the evolution of the Rider system because he loved her, and she herself didn't love Ma Erfu that much, she would naturally feel guilty and ashamed of herself," Zhang Qiu analyzed next. "Because there is another very realistic problem, which is that she is not good-looking."

"I looked at it today and it was actually okay, even a bit good-looking," Luo En said objectively. "Can't always look at people with stereotypes."

"That's because she studied the makeup spell very deeply!" Zhang Qiu rolled her eyes. "Two layers of foundation spell, don't know how many loose powder spells, so many that three setting spells are needed; three different eyeshadow series spells superimposed, a full set of sixteen nose-shaping spells, from the corner of the eye to the corner of the mouth, there isn't a line that doesn't need to be drawn. Finally, two fake-bare-face spells are added. Adding them up is longer than the text."

"Can you imagine a girl who has to keep reciting spells in front of the mirror every morning, reciting for an hour like giving a speech?"

Harry felt terrible just thinking about it. This was too wasteful of time.

"But it's fine to draw it once, right? Why recite it every morning?" Luo En questioned.

"Because the essence of the makeup spell is to use Transfiguration to generate some cosmetics covering the face. If she doesn't remove makeup, her skin will rot," Zhang Qiu sighed. "Reciting the counter-spell at night also takes at least twenty minutes, and so much work is to maintain this opportunity to marry into a wealthy family."

Harry's brain took a little effort to process these things outside his knowledge range, then reached a conclusion: "You mean, Pan Xi is trying very hard to marry Ma Erfu, while she herself doesn't love Ma Erfu much?"

"Yes, that's it."

"That seems to be explainable," Harry pondered. "Because of the family, they Slytherins value these very much."

Zhang Qiu expressed a mocking disdain for the relationship between the two, but the two parties involved were willing to accept it. Just on Sunday evening, during the Torchwood gathering, Ma Erfu personally said the news that they were preparing to get engaged, which made Pan Xi ecstatic.

"I just have this idea. I think I need to ask your father and mother to come and talk to my father and mother," he said. "I think my father shouldn't refuse."

"My family will also definitely support us being together," Pan Xi said movedly. "Let them meet next weekend, how about it?"

Harry, upholding the fair attitude of a pure passerby, said: "But isn't it too early to get engaged in the sixth year? You haven't come of age yet."

"Just engaged, it doesn't matter if it's a bit early. We can wait until we come of age to get married," Ma Erfu explained. "If it really doesn't work, just treat it as simply drinking afternoon tea and discussing the future."

Amidst the blessings and gossip of the Torchwood members, the two leaned closer, making Harry feel somewhat nauseated—especially since he could see those suspicious powdery objects on Pan Xi's face. Makeup is so magical; when someone tells you she wore heavy makeup, looking at that makeup again will make it look more awkward.

The gossip spread quickly. Many Slytherin girls expressed some regret, while those from other houses were more indifferent, and some even went up to be sarcastic and ridicule. After all, the road popularity of the Snake House had always been poor.

Of course, Lu Na still expressed her view on this matter from another angle as always. She felt Ma Erfu intended to use this matter to further improve Pan Xi's status in his heart, so as to better promote the evolution of Rider power. This made Harry feel somewhat disgusted, but Pan Xi herself enjoyed it, so he didn't say much.

In such dull days, a small piece of gossip could also make students discuss it for a whole week. By the weekend, they were now guessing how the two families would handle this matter. Harry believed that if Fred and George were still there, they would definitely seize this opportunity to open a market and sit as the banker.

On Saturday afternoon, Harry and Luo En were originally sitting in the common room chatting, but Harry sat up straight suddenly. He felt his ring was heating up.

"Not to that extent, they can encounter trouble at home too?" Harry muttered. "Luo En, we have to go out."

They ran quickly to the outside of the common room. Harry and Luo En reached out to compare. Indeed, Harry's Finger Phoenix was heating up, the little tail floating around, while Luo En's Finger Phoenix had no reaction. This meant that according to his agreement with Pan Xi, Ma Erfu was encountering a strong enemy that even a Kamen Rider couldn't defeat at this moment.

"Where are they?" Luo En asked. "If it's at the Malfoy house, how can we go over?"

"Apparate directly, I know where that is," Harry said, and immediately started walking. "But we'd better find Zhang Qiu, in case there is more than one enemy over there. And Cui Ge, but I want to not rush..."

"Wait, mate, I mean," Luo En added, "there will be protective spells there, can't go in directly, unless you have been there. But have you really been there?"

"I of course—oh, no, I shouldn't have been there."

Harry suddenly thought of this loophole: even though he had been to Malfoy Manor many times, every time it was in the disguise of Hoffa. Harry Potter himself shouldn't have been to Malfoy Manor.

"So I can't go over directly

"Yeah, you're stifling laughter here; you wouldn't have participated too, would you?" Hermione turned to look at Aliana. "You guys pulled a prank on Harry?"

"No," Aliana stabilized her emotions, then waved her hand. "I just guessed it because I saw some missed things in the Chamber of Secrets."

"What?"

"Obviously, Pan Xi originally had some things to do in the Chamber of Secrets, but because Zhang Qiu needed to vacate the Chamber for me to live in, she had to move to the Room of Requirement," Aliana said with a smile. "And the Room of Requirement can also do those things. I guess Marietta knows about this too; it's even possible she was the one who discovered it first and told Zhang Qiu."

"Then what about Lu Na?"

"Pan Xi introduced her to try it too, I guess that's it. And don't say, I think this matter might really be helpful to Double."

"So what is the matter? Can't you say?" Harry felt annoyed in his heart.

"Let me think," Hermione started to ponder. "Making McLaggen weak and absent-minded, Zhang Qiu unwilling to mention it, Pan Xi doing it before and preparing to introduce Lu Na to do it, perhaps helpful to Riders, and Riders are very particular about emotions. There's one more point, and that is Aliana has already guessed it, but none of us have guessed it."

"Aliana said she guessed it from the traces left in the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry looked into her eyes. "But you were already stifling laughter before; did you guess it long ago?"

"Then perhaps this is something very common on their side but rare on ours..."

"Oh no," Hermione said in horror, "they wouldn't be smoking marijuana, would they!"

After a brief shock, Aliana burst into sharp and unbridled laughter. For a time, half the people in the library cast curious gazes, and Madam Pince immediately stood up from her chair.

When Harry was pulled away by Zhang Qiu, Hermione was still talking to Aliana with a serious face, while she had no intention of answering at all, just laughing non-stop.

"Why did you go ask Hermione!" Zhang Qiu said angrily. "Who told you to go?"

"I don't know, there was just no one to tell about this matter. Luo En just didn't care, so I suddenly thought of asking Hermione."

"Ah?" Zhang Qiu heard this and quickly took out her notebook, flipping to the pages very far ahead, then revealed a blank look. "Is fate still playing a role?"

"What's wrong, did it fulfill some divination?"

"Seems so, but," she flipped a few more pages, her voice starting to become lighter, "I didn't intend to..."

"What?"

"If you really want to know, come to the Room of Requirement tonight," she said with a blushing face. ===== CHAPTER 441 =====