On Halloween day, the whole of Hogwarts was filled with joy.
Today, surprisingly, was a sunny and beautiful day.
As a gentleman, Link was already waiting early at the entrance hall.
Just like him, many others had arrived early as well. Most of them were in groups of three or five, gathered together chattering noisily, looking extremely excited.
A few upper-year students were still constantly telling the lower-year students about the sights and experiences of Hogsmeade Village, winning quite a few envious and jealous gazes.
"Link, sorry to have kept you waiting!"
"Ah, I just arrived not long ago too."
Hearing the familiar voice, a smile immediately bloomed on Link's face.
He turned his head over, and involuntarily swept his gaze over Emily's entire body.
Being looked at like that by Link, two red clouds instantly rose on Emily's cheeks. She lowered her head and shyly tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear, just revealing a daisy earring on her earlobe.
At first glance, Emily's outfit today didn't look much different from usual, but she had somehow gained a fresh and gentle air, which softened her usual strong presence and made her appear more like a delicate lady from a noble family.
This kind of change in temperament could be sensed by ordinary people too, but they definitely wouldn't be able to say what exactly caused it.
Only, Link was not an ordinary person.
Moreover, just now Emily had already given him a hint.
Link's eyes flashed with blue light, then he leaned in with a smile and whispered in Emily's ear, "These earrings are really pretty, and today's light makeup suits you very well. I really like it."
Emily didn't say anything upon hearing that, but her smile became even brighter, and she moved a little closer to Link.
This made Link proudly puff out his chest.
'Super Sensory Charm, forever divine!'
"Students going to Hogsmeade, quickly gather here at my side!"
At that moment, Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly came from outside. The previously chaotic crowd also finally started moving under her command.
Everyone slowly walked out of the Hogwarts Castle and lined up in front of a large wrought iron gate.
Before heading to Hogsmeade Village, every student had to have their permission form, signed by their respective guardians, checked, to prevent anyone from sneaking out.
Today, the person in charge of checking at the gate was Filch.
He seemed to have taken the effort to dress up, not only had he washed his face and wore an ill-fitting tuxedo, he even wore a tall gentleman's top hat.
However, compared to his outfit, his behavior wasn't very gentlemanly at all.
He rudely snatched every student's permission form and scrutinized them with his sharp, eagle-like eyes, glaring back and forth between the forms and the students. Only after some sarcastic remarks and if there was nothing else to pick on, would he let them pass.
This made many of the students in line feel a little anxious and uneasy.
But when it was Link and Emily's turn for inspection, he didn't ask Link to show his permission form at all.
Not only that, he even took off his top hat for once and bowed to Link with a smile.
"Wish you both a pleasant time."
"Thank you!"
Nodding slightly to Filch, Link and Emily quickly passed through the iron gate.
Behind them, a Gryffindor boy opened his mouth in shock, seemingly wanting to question why Link didn't have to be checked.
But before he could say anything, Filch glared at him fiercely, forcing him to swallow his words.
"You and Filch have a pretty good relationship?"
Walking along the small path leading to Hogsmeade Village, Emily held Link's arm and asked.
"That's the bond forged from past night adventures," Link pursed his lips and said, "Filch is actually quite pitiful too. Clearly living in a magical school like Hogwarts, but he can't use a single spell."
Hearing that, the smile on Emily's face slightly faded, and she nodded approvingly.
Emily also sympathized with Squibs very much, this was influenced by Miss Victoria, the great philanthropist.
At this moment, a few strong and tall Hufflepuff students suddenly approached, grinning as they said, "Afternoon, Link!"
"This time it's really thanks to you for persuading Cedric. Otherwise, we'd still be training on the field right now!"
"Ah, it wasn't all my doing," Link responded with a smile. "Mainly because Cedric had more important things to take care of."
"We understand, we understand! Look over there!"
One of the Hufflepuffs winked and pointed to the side. Link and Emily followed his gaze and saw Cedric walking with a girl.
The two weren't holding hands like Link and Emily, but they were chatting and laughing, looking like they were getting along quite well.
Emily covered her mouth and let out a giggle, "Yo! Cedric used to seem so shy, but now it looks like he's got some real skills!"
"Of course. After all, Cedric is Hufflepuff's Prefect and Quidditch team captain. His emotional intelligence definitely isn't low."
"Emotional intelligence?"
"Oh! That's a term Muggles invented. It means the kind of intelligence used in dealing with people and handling relationships."
Link quickly explained, but his gaze had already shifted from Cedric and Cho Chang to the side of the path.
There, John was sneaking off toward Hogsmeade Village.
"What are you looking at again?"
Emily, displeased, turned Link's head to face her.
Link shook his head and said with emotion, "Nothing, I just feel like… spring has arrived."
"What nonsense are you saying! Winter's clearly on its way now!"
"The spring I mean and the spring you think of… aren't the same spring."
Leaving that sentence behind, Link stopped explaining to the still-questioning Emily, and continued walking with a grin.
After walking a bit more, Link and Emily passed through another wrought iron gate and finally entered Hogsmeade Village.
As the only all-wizarding village left in Britain, Hogsmeade Village was considered a famous European tourist destination.
Perhaps to deliberately create a sense of rustic mystery, most buildings in the village were made of old wood and weren't very tall.
This kind of design, as some would say, had a medieval charm, but to put it bluntly, it just looked old and shabby.
Nevertheless, being a wizarding village, there were magical traces left in many places, and Link and Emily, walking hand in hand, were still in high spirits.
Especially when they passed a shop constantly emitting a sweet and sticky fragrance, they both stopped simultaneously.
"Honeydukes Sweetshop."
Link murmured the name on the shop sign, his eyes lighting up.
He'd long heard of this shop's fame.
It was the biggest candy store in the wizarding world of Britain, selling all kinds of magical sweets, including the well-known ones, Every Flavor Beans with all sorts of strange tastes, Ice Mice that made your teeth chatter, Fizzing Whizbees that popped in your mouth…
Among them, their signature product, the Fizzing Whizbees, was said to be Dumbledore the old bee's favorite. Allegedly, he ordered dozens of pounds every year.
Of course, what really attracted Link wasn't these overly sweet things.
It was the special pumpkin soda and pumpkin pies sold inside Honeydukes.
"Ssss!~ (Link! Smells amazing! Go buy it! Go buy it!)"
Smelling the aroma, Arkam also popped out from Link's neck, urging excitedly.
Link swallowed a mouthful of saliva and turned to ask Emily tentatively,
"How about we go in... ah, never mind."
Halfway through the sentence, Link suddenly changed his tone.
Because he saw with his own eyes that a swarm of students had rushed into Honeydukes like a flood, instantly filling the rather spacious shop to the brim.
"How about… we go in reverse, from the end of the village back toward the entrance?" Link suggested.
This was a trick he'd learned from theme parks in his previous life, and it worked very well.
Hearing this, Emily smiled blissfully and said, "Sure! As long as I'm with you, anywhere is fine."
That smile of Emily's was like a Cupid's arrow, striking straight into Link's chest, making his breathing quicken. It was a while before he could respond, "Alright, let's do that."
The two continued forward, but in the end were disappointed to find that not only Honeydukes, but also Zonkos Joke Shop (a magic prank shop), Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop (writing tools), and Gladrags Wizardwear were all packed. Even the Owl Post Office was filled with bored students watching owls.
It really gave the impression of a tourist group rushing a sale a decade ago.
Link complained silently in his heart but then spotted a coffee shop called "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop."
Unlike the other stores, this shop, though occasionally receiving guests, was overall relatively quiet.
"Let's go sit in there for a drink and a chat," Link decisively pointed at the door and suggested.
"Ah!"
Emily looked in the direction Link pointed and couldn't help but let out a small scream.
Her cheeks, already flushed red, turned even redder, and the blush almost spread to the roots of her ears, it looked very beautiful.
Emily fidgeted with the hem of her robe, lowered her head, hesitated for a long while, and finally whispered,
"O-Okay…"
Emily's reaction confused Link a bit, but once they actually entered the tea shop, he instantly understood.
The interior was foggy with steam, and nearly everything was decorated in pink frills and bows, overwhelmingly saccharine.
Most importantly, the entire place was full of couples.
In the dim light of the tea shop, they stared into each other's eyes, holding hands and whispering.
Some were even kissing passionately.
For example, near the entrance, a Ravenclaw couple.
Link vaguely recognized them as the most studious pair in Ravenclaw's seventh year, people secretly called them book nerds.
But today, their actions completely overturned Link's impression of them.
They were passionately embracing, kissing each other's faces fiercely. Their actions were so intense that even Link and Emily could hear the series of smooch smooch smooch sounds from afar.
Link clearly felt Emily squeeze his hand tighter.
The corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
Judging from Emily's reaction, she clearly knew about this tea shop.
But she hadn't objected and followed Link in anyway.
That act alone already revealed many hidden feelings.
Like… maybe Emily wouldn't resist if Link did something similar?
Thinking this made Link's heart heat up. He pulled Emily to a secluded round table and sat down.
Throughout this whole process, Emily kept her head down, her body stiff, letting Link guide her.
"What would you two like to order?"
Madam Puddifoot, a plump woman with glossy black sideburns, walked over and asked kindly.
"Two lemon waters, one strawberry cream cake, and one mango ice cream. Thank you."
While waiting for the order, Link forced himself to calm Emily down instead of watching that Ravenclaw couple's intensifying actions.
It was tough.
Emily, in her extremely nervous state, often couldn't respond to Link promptly.
Fortunately, after Link's efforts, Emily finally started to relax a bit.
At this point, the things Link ordered finally arrived.
Link pushed the cake toward Emily and said, "Try it! The cake here looks pretty good."
"Mm…"
Now slightly more relaxed, Emily didn't refuse and took a tiny bite with her fork.
Then, her eyes lit up.
"It's really good!"
"Oh? Really?" Link grinned mischievously. "Then can I try yours? Just a little cream will do!"
"Of course!"
Emily didn't hesitate and pushed her cake toward Link again.
But Link's gaze never landed on the cake. Instead, it focused on Emily's fiery red lips…
On which, a bit of cream was still left.
"Mm!"
Emily let out a cat-like sound, her body tensing instantly. Even through the misty air, Link could see the blush on her face had spread all the way down her neck.
"Is it okay?" Link seized the moment and softly asked again.
Emily closed her eyes and answered in a voice so low that even with the Super Sensory Charm, Link could only barely hear it, "O-Okay…"
In the foggy room, Emily's eyebrows quivered slightly.
As if she wanted to open her eyes, but didn't dare.
Upon hearing this, Link didn't hesitate anymore and leaned in directly.
Just as their lips were about to meet, Link suddenly stopped.
Because he unexpectedly saw, at a nearby round table behind Emily, George and Fred Weasley were winking furiously at him.
Meanwhile, on their table, a self-writing quill was scribbling madly, as if recording the entire scene.
"Ahem!"
Link cleared his throat and quickly sat back down.
Not feeling the softness she had expected, Emily opened her eyes in confusion.
Then, under Link's hint, she also noticed George and Fred, who were laughing so hard they were about to pass out.
With a swish, a slender wand appeared in Emily's hand.
"WEASLEY!!!"
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