Chapter 221: Strange Girl

With kissing and such things, one cannot afford to be too hasty.

Normal "protocol" should be to make contact first, and then do it.

Under the Christmas tree, Ivan's face was red and hot. He looked up at the dark night sky and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Since "this" had become an established fact, he was now responsible for it, and he should take appropriate responsibilities. There was little point in fighting it any longer.

However, it was cool, soft and sweet when he thought that he had just touched Hermione's lips....

Ivan's face turned red again, and he wondered if Hermione would agree if he asked her.

If she agreed, would that mean he could do that with her again in the future?

Ivan shook his head vigorously and couldn't think about it anymore.

He tried to adjust his breathing rate, he was ready to look for Hermione in the Alley, and he had only taken two steps before he immediately stopped.

He heard a crisp, subtle sound coming from the dark corner where someone was humming a song under their breath.

It was a very strange tune, not a Christmas song, but a slow, beautiful melody. There was a hint of melancholy in the crisp voice. Ivan had never heard a similar song before.

Hastily he turned his head, and in the dim light of his wand he saw a girl crouched in a dark doorway, humming a song.

The girl had long blonde hair, slightly curly.

On her head, she was wearing the pink straw hat Ivan and Hermione had been looking for, the brim of which was so low that he couldn't see exactly what it looked like.

On the outside, she was very thin, the same height as Ginny and the same age, about eleven or twelve years old.

The girl was wearing a shabby black wizard's robe. It was rather old-fashioned. It was very unbecoming of her. It appeared to be the clothing of an oversized adult wizard. It was slightly modified and fitted to her body. The sleeves had been rolled up several times to keep them from falling down.

On the dusty cloak, red stains were scattered from top to bottom, everywhere. It was not known what kind of liquid left these stains. It looked shocking, as if some kind of potion or blood left its traces.

Ivan, squinting, cautiously advanced half a step.

He was on alert. He didn't know if the dark red stains on the girl were magic potions or bloodstains, but they were obviously not normal stains.

According to Dumbledore's method he learned in the cave, Ivan sensed danger from the girl.

This seemingly delicate girl had strong magical power, and traces of the powerful magic she had unleashed were glimpsed.

Ivan did not know what magical marks they left. It should be a curse he had never understood.

Aside from the suspicious stains on the robe and the unusually powerful magic incompatible with her age, it was unreasonable for a young girl of that age to sit alone in this remote, dark and silent alley at night.

Even though there was a Christmas party in Diagon Alley that night, and many people were gathering there, it was still very unusual.

As the distance between the two of them narrowed, Ivan noticed the girl's skin outside of her clothes.

Her skin was very white, but it wasn't the milky, healthy white of a normal person. It was the pallor of someone who had not seen the sun for a long time.

It was like the Inferi, but it didn't look very unpleasant.

Of course, this could also be because the girl was too pretty.

Ivan saw her face hidden under the brim of her hat, and her facial features were more beautiful than those of all the girls he had seen, like a porcelain doll. She had an indescribable special temperament.

Most striking were her eyes. The girl's intelligent eyes were not of ordinary colors, but of a very rare wine red.

When Ivan took a look, he fell deeply into it. He shook his head hurriedly and sobered his mind.

"Merry Christmas!" Ivan nodded his head briefly and said quietly, "My name is Ivan Mason, second year Hogwarts student, who are you and why are you here?"

As he spoke, he placed his wand across his chest and looked at the girl intently.

At the sound of Ivan's voice, the girl stopped chanting. She didn't answer, and didn't even move.

She just looked at Ivan, with a look of surprise, as if she did not expect anyone to speak to her.

Then her delicate nose twitched a little, as if she smelled something.

"Tasty food!" She said quietly, her voice clear and with a slight asperity.

The girl's confused words made Ivan take a step back.

He looked at his opponent in horror, focusing his energy, and the magic of his whole body naturally converged on the wand in his hand.

Imagine you're not wearing anything edible, but when a stranger sees you, the first thing they do is mention the taste of food while looking at you in dismay, as if you were the food itself in their eyes, how would you feel?

This was weird, creepy and horrifying!

The last time Ivan had heard something like this, it was from the werewolf Greyback who had told him and Hermione.

Greyback had been obsessed with the taste of human flesh for a long time. In his eyes, humans were just ordinary food. Even untransformed, he had always liked to eat humans, especially children.

If the girl, like the werewolf Greyback, saw it as food in his eyes, then she probably wasn't human.

Looking at the bloodstains on her black robe and the powerful magic, Ivan felt a shiver down his spine.

That was not good news. It was still Christmas. He didn't want to complicate things, and then find some things puzzling again. Ivan wasn't worried, though. He was in Hogsmeade. There was a carnival crowd just outside the alley. If there was a fight, it wouldn't take long for them to arrive.

Ivan took a step back. He was going to go out and look for Hermione.

But the girl across the street seemed to be interested in him. She wrinkled her nose and sniffed in the air. She repeated again, "Tasty food!"

The crisp voice with a hint of hoarseness was very pleasant, but the words spoken were definitely not normal

He stood up and approached Ivan, as if he had not seen the wand in his hand, nor was he aware of its dangerous capabilities, such as casting spells, transfiguration, etc. In fact, her body looked even thinner and weaker in her black robe, and she didn't look dangerous at all.

Ivan hesitated and did not know what to do.

If the girl had used black magic to attack him, or said a few more words, Ivan wouldn't have felt so nervous.

He stood there with his wand, not knowing what to do, was he going to communicate with her or directly use magical attacks?

At the very least, the current situation should be clarified first.