More than half an hour later, Lewis and Ciri finally stepped out of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
Ciri was busily straightening her rumpled clothes while grumbling nonstop.
"You're way too rough…"
"My clothes are practically coming apart at the seams…"
"And… and is that place really that delicious? Even my lipstick ended up on you."
Seeing that Lewis merely hummed happily to himself without responding, Ciri finally lost her patience.
She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face her.
"Hey!"
"What are you even thinking about?"
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Lewis simply shook his head and sighed contentedly.
"Nothing."
"I just suddenly realized…"
"Spring has arrived."
Ciri looked up at the sky, then at the surrounding trees before rolling her eyes.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Winter's almost here!"
Lewis chuckled.
"The spring I'm talking about isn't the same spring you're thinking of."
After saying that, he refused to explain any further despite Ciri's questioning, simply continuing to hum cheerfully as they walked toward Mrs. Snell's Hair Salon.
Standing outside the shop were Hermione, Penelope, and Aiwu, who had just finished inside.
The moment Penelope saw Ciri, she couldn't help coughing dramatically.
"Ahem… Ahem…"
"As expected."
"A girl who's been nourished by love really does look completely different."
"Y-You…"
"Stop talking!"
Although everyone already knew what had happened, hearing it said aloud made Ciri blush furiously.
She immediately lunged at her best friend, and the two girls began wrestling playfully.
Watching them tug each other's hair and pinch each other's cheeks, no one would have guessed that one of them was a legendary swordmaster and witcher.
Meanwhile…
Lewis's attention had already been completely drawn to Hermione.
She hardly looked like herself anymore.
Mrs. Snell had completely transformed her hair.
It was no longer bushy and unruly.
Instead, it had become smooth, glossy, and obediently draped over her shoulders.
Her face had also been carefully groomed.
The dark circles caused by endless studying had disappeared.
Her slightly prominent front teeth had been subtly corrected.
Most importantly…
Her entire aura had changed.
It was almost as if the twenty-odd heavy textbooks she constantly carried had finally been lifted from her shoulders.
"You…"
"What do you think?"
Hermione asked shyly.
Before Lewis could answer, she hurriedly added,
"I didn't actually want to change this much…"
"But Mrs. Snell kept recommending things…"
"And Penelope kept encouraging me…"
"So…"
"If you don't like it…"
Before she could finish, Lewis gently covered her lips with a finger.
"No."
"I like it very much."
"Hermione…"
"You've completely transformed today."
The moment she heard that he liked it, Hermione's entire face lit up with happiness.
Just then, Aiwu suddenly jumped into Lewis's arms.
"Me too! Me too!"
"Lewis!"
"They cleaned every single scale on my body!"
"They even polished every one of them!"
"Look!"
The little dragon proudly stretched her neck toward him, showing off the large shimmering scales beneath her chin.
Then she complained,
"It's just a shame…"
"I wanted them to decorate my tail with something."
"Like a fluffy blue tassel."
"But they refused!"
"That lady kept insisting tassels belong on people's heads."
"I don't understand."
"Who would wear a blue tassel on top of their head?"
Lewis couldn't help laughing.
It took him quite a while to explain the difference between a wig and a tassel.
At that moment, Penelope called out to him.
The student council president looked rather disheveled herself, her carefully arranged hair now slightly messy after her tussle with Ciri.
Smiling, she asked,
"Lewis."
"I'm borrowing your Ciri for a while."
"You don't mind, do you?"
Lewis looked toward Ciri.
She immediately folded her arms across her chest and stared at him warily.
"That's enough for today."
"You're not thinking about doing anything else, are you?"
Lewis laughed and shook his head before answering Penelope.
"Go ahead."
"You have my permission."
"…For today only."
Penelope grinned.
"Excellent."
"Then don't come bother us for a while."
"It's girls' time now."
With that, she linked arms with Ciri and headed toward Gladrags Wizardwear.
Lewis waved after them.
"Meet back at the village square at five."
Then he turned toward Hermione.
"So…"
"Shall we continue exploring together?"
Hermione had been looking forward to properly touring Hogsmeade with Lewis.
That brief glimpse earlier had been nowhere near enough to satisfy the curiosity of a Muggle-born witch like her.
Unlike his time with Ciri…
A date with Hermione naturally took on a completely different rhythm.
Their first destination was, of course, the place they had skipped earlier—
Honeydukes Sweetshop.
It was nearly noon by then.
Neither of them had eaten lunch yet.
Well…
Lewis and Ciri had at least shared cake at Madam Puddifoot's.
Hermione, on the other hand, had been hungry ever since breakfast.
The earlier shopping frenzy had already ended, and Honeydukes was no longer overcrowded.
Lewis silently congratulated himself on choosing to avoid the rush.
Walking into the shop, they found shelf after shelf overflowing with delicious sweets.
Large blocks of creamy almond fudge…
Sparkling pink coconut ice…
Golden honey toffee…
Hundreds upon hundreds of neatly arranged chocolates…
An enormous barrel filled with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans…
And placed prominently in the center—
Honeydukes' famous specialty…
Fizzing Whizzbees.
Another wall displayed all kinds of magical sweets with unusual effects.
Bubble-Blowing Gum that filled entire rooms with bluebell-colored bubbles lasting for days…
Crunchy Toothflossing Mint…
Tiny black Pepper Imps that made people breathe fire…
Ice Mice that caused your teeth to chatter…
Mint Toads that made it feel as though a real toad was hopping around inside your stomach…
Sugar Quills…
Exploding Bonbons…
Every single one looked irresistible.
Starving, Hermione eagerly decided to sample Honeydukes' signature Fizzing Whizzbees.
The sweet honey-filled candies were every bit as delicious as their reputation suggested.
Both Lewis and Hermione ate quite a few.
The one who ate the most, however…
Was Aiwu.
Ever since Lewis had summoned her into this world, the little dragon had never seen so many sweets gathered in one place.
She stuffed her cheeks until they bulged.
Then…
Halfway through chewing…
She suddenly froze.
Because all four of her feet had left the ground.
She was floating.
"This candy is amazing!"
"Did you see that?"
"I'm floating!"
"But I didn't even flap my wings!"
Hermione looked equally astonished.
"How did that happen?"
"Why is she floating?"
Lewis smiled.
"That's simply what happens when you eat too many Fizzing Whizzbees."
"The effect comes from one of their ingredients—Billywig stings."
"I remember those!"
Hermione immediately recognized the name.
"We learned about them in first year."
"They're one of the ingredients used in the Wideye Potion."
"Exactly."
"But the potion only preserves part of the sting's properties."
Lewis nodded before continuing his explanation.
"Billywig stings come from Billywig insects."
"They're native to Australia."
"If one stings you, you'll first feel dizzy…"
"…and then you'll start floating."
"I see…"
"No wonder Aiwu's floating."
Hermione nodded, delighted to have learned something new.
As a result…
Lewis spent the rest of their shopping trip holding Aiwu by the tail like someone walking a balloon.
Not long afterward, Hermione noticed another curious sight.
A Hufflepuff boy popped a bright red candy into his mouth.
The next instant…
Flames burst from both his nose and mouth.
"Oh my goodness!"
Hermione exclaimed, grabbing Lewis's sleeve.
"How does that work?"
"Doesn't it burn?"
Lewis observed the candy carefully before giving his answer.
"That's not actually real fire."
"It's just red smoke."
Then he frowned thoughtfully.
Drawing upon his expertise in alchemy and potion-making, he began analyzing it.
"I think…"
"It probably contains dragon's blood…"
"…No."
"That's far too expensive."
"More likely salamander blood…"
"Fireseed ash…"
"Horseradish…"
"As for the rest…"
"I'd have to buy some and analyze it properly before I could identify every ingredient."
"Oh dear…"
"My boy…"
"Please don't do that."
Honeydukes' owner, Ambrosius Flume, walked over with a helpless smile.
"Remarkable."
"You only took one look…"
"…yet you've already guessed most of the recipe I spent years perfecting."
"That's a trade secret."
Lewis smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry."
"Hermione and I were simply discussing it from a potions research perspective."
Flume looked at him in astonishment.
"Do Hogwarts students really conduct potion research this intensely nowadays?"
The thin, slightly balding shopkeeper studied Lewis for a moment before suddenly recognizing him.
"I know who you are."
"You're Lewis Green."
"The young wizard who received the First-Class Order of Merlin for slaying a Chimera."
"You also participated in the dragon hunt during the summer."
"No wonder you could identify the ingredients in Pepper Imps."
"I've heard countless Hogwarts students talking about you."
"They all say you're a genius."
"Now that I've met you…"
"It seems they weren't exaggerating."
Flume's praise left Hermione genuinely surprised.
She hadn't realized just how famous her close friend had become within the wizarding world.
Looking at Lewis…
The admiration in her eyes grew even stronger.
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