Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione’s Houseguest

At breakfast, a flurry of owls swept through the Great Hall, dropping packages and letters into eager hands.

Jimmy received a parcel of sweets—his mother's subtle way to help him make friends. He passed them out generously at the table, grinning as he shared.

Qin Yu, meanwhile, found himself the recipient of a pink envelope adorned with delicate floral patterns.

The moment he picked it up, his roommates and a few other close classmates shot him curious glances.

"It's gotta be from a girl…" Wilson arched his brows, his voice dripping with suggestion.

"Wow, what kind of girl?" Jimmy's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Where do these little gossips get their energy? Qin Yu muttered inwardly.

"It is from a girl. She's adorable, and she has the prettiest eyes. As for what she looks like, well, you'll see for yourselves when she comes to Hogwarts next year," he replied, keeping things mysterious for the nosy bunch.

"She's coming here too?!"

"What's your relationship?"

"How did you two meet?"

The questions came thick and fast, everyone talking over each other in their excitement.

Qin Yu ignored the lot of them. He stuffed some ham and bread into his mouth, washed it down with a gulp of juice, grabbed his letter, and made a quick exit.

He left his friends at the table, chattering and speculating in his wake.

After weaving his way out of the Great Hall, Qin Yu slipped through a few winding corridors until he reached a peaceful flowerbed. There, he found an empty bench and sat down.

He broke the seal on the envelope—and immediately, a gentle floral scent drifted up. For a moment, he wondered if this was some sort of girlish perfume, but then he spotted the actual flowers and leaves tucked inside.

He couldn't help but laugh at his own wild imagination.

Truth was, after so long away from the Grangers, he found himself missing the faint scent of shampoo and soap that always lingered around Hermione.

Shaking off the nostalgia, Qin Yu pulled out the letter—several sheets of paper, folded neatly—and began to read.

Hermione's letter mirrored his own in structure.

At the start, she used careful wording to insist she "hadn't missed him much, only thought about him now and then."

She went on to describe her days since school began: "I've already learned most of the material, so class is a bit dull. The teachers' questions are all too easy, nothing challenging. I was the only one to get full marks on the pop quiz." Typical overachiever, Qin Yu thought, smiling to himself.

She mentioned a few girls still weren't friendly, but after someone had been left hanging from a tree last time, no one dared cross her.

Then came her longing for the magical courses Qin Yu had described: "I wish September would come faster, so I can take those magic classes too," she wrote.

She filled him in on family outings, and added, "Mum and Dad miss you a lot. Wherever we go, they always end up saying, 'If only Qin were here…'"

There were bits and pieces about daily life—bugs in Qin Yu's old room, Mrs. Granger making his favorite braised beef with potatoes, Hermione wanting a kitten (her parents said no), and how she'd grown two centimeters and would soon catch up to him.

At the end, Hermione wrote: "Whenever I go out with Mum and Dad, or pass by somewhere special, I pick some flowers or a leaf and tuck them into this envelope. That way, it's like you've been there with me."

And finally, in the most serious tone, she warned him not to wait too long before writing back—she'd already grown fond of Trigger.

"That's right, Trigger and I are good friends now, so you'd better send him over often! I'll have plenty of treats ready for him!" she emphasized.

Reading those closing words—"With love, Hermione"—Qin Yu couldn't help but lift the letter to his nose, searching for a trace of that familiar scent among the pressed flowers and leaves.

But the sharp aroma of ink overpowered everything, carrying with it the longing and affection that had crossed mountains and seas. That elusive, familiar fragrance was buried somewhere within—distant, ethereal, just out of reach.

Once, the world moved at the pace of horses and carriages, and letters traveled slowly across great distances…

Staring down at the thin sheets of paper, Qin Yu found that old saying echoing in his mind.

He carefully tucked the letter and its precious flowers and leaves away, then made his way toward class.

…

"Today's lesson was simple," Professor Snape drawled, his tone as sharp as ever. "So, most of you managed to brew the chilblain potion correctly. But don't get any ideas—it doesn't mean you're talented at Potions. It just means you weren't completely hopeless."

Qin Yu was well used to Snape's brand of encouragement by now. He piped up, "Thank you for the compliment, Professor Snape!"

A few students snickered and joined in.

Snape rolled his eyes, half-exasperated, half-amused. He shot Qin Yu a look—this boy was always stirring things up.

"Professor, there's still over ten minutes left. Why not teach us something extra?" Qin Yu suggested eagerly, showing not a hint of self-preservation.

"Oh? And what would you like to learn?" Snape replied, voice cool and unreadable.

"Is there a spell to preserve leaves—so you can make cards or bookmarks?" Qin Yu asked, describing his idea.

Snape fell silent, his expression unreadable—a familiar state when he was thinking.

"No such spell? Or maybe you don't know any?" Qin Yu pressed, sounding genuinely disappointed.

Without a word, Snape raised his wand, tracing a precise pattern through the air, and intoned, "Kereshus tatos!"

A flash of white light—and the leaf on Qin Yu's desk, left over from potion-making, transformed into a vibrant green bookmark, the leaf itself perfectly preserved and embedded within.

"That's beautiful!"

"I want one!"

"Professor Snape, that spell is amazing!"

"Will you teach us? Please?"

The classroom erupted in excitement, especially among the girls—trinkets like these were far more interesting than brewing potions.

"Silence," Snape commanded, his voice slicing through the noise.

Instantly, the room fell quiet.

"These are simple tricks," he said, tone dismissive. "But since we have time, I'll teach you. Only once. If you can't learn it, you may as well give up now—it means you're not suited for this spell."

Without further ado, he demonstrated the wand movement and the proper pronunciation of the spell, then let the students practice on their own.

On his first attempt at the Fresh as Stone Charm, Qin Yu blasted a hole clean through his desk.

Snape, passing by, wordlessly flicked his wand—Reparo!—and the desk was good as new.

After a few more tries, Qin Yu got the hang of it.

"Kereshus tatos!"

A sweep of his wand, a flash of white light—and a perfect leaf bookmark appeared in his hand.

Pleased with himself, Qin Yu instinctively looked around for Snape, hoping for a rare word of praise—after all, he was the first to master it.

But then he noticed Snape quietly holding a bookmark of his own, staring at it in silence.

Following his gaze, Qin Yu saw that the bookmark held a single, blooming lily.

Lily—Lily.

A soft sigh escaped Qin Yu's lips. So, the old man's thinking about her again.

Well—his dearest friend, at any rate.

With that, Qin Yu decided not to disturb Snape, leaving him alone with his memories.

…

It was Friday, and there were no classes that afternoon. After lunch, Qin Yu headed to the Gryffindor common room, took out the flowers and leaves Hermione had sent, and used the Fresh as Stone Charm on each one.

When every bookmark was finished and tucked into a different textbook, Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he returned to his dormitory, an owl swooped in through the window, dropping a letter onto his bed.

It was from Hagrid.

Inside was an invitation for tea at three o'clock that afternoon.

Reading the letter, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself. What does the big guy want with me? Is he already here to collect on that debt?

~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~

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