Chapter 1200: In Love
Chapter 1200: In Love
"Harry, I need to talk to you," Hermione said, her heart heavy as she parted ways with Albert on the stands of the pitch and hurried toward the Gryffindor team's locker room, intending to discuss the matter of Felix Felicis with Harry.
Perhaps pretending ignorance would have been the best choice, but Hermione still wanted to talk to Harry about it.
Just as she drew in a deep breath, ready to speak, Ron beat her to it. "So, are you going to report us?" he asked, his voice laced with challenge.
Hermione paused, choosing not to look at Ron and instead fixing her gaze on Harry as she asked, "Did you give Ron Felix Felicis?"
"Oh, that," Harry said, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he pulled a small vial from his pocket and gave it a gentle shake. He then explained with a smile, "This is actually a new product from Fred and George. It has a mild calming effect and can help keep one's spirits up. You could think of it as a pill specially prepared for those who tend to get nervous."
After saying this, Harry handed the vial to Hermione and turned to Ron. "You didn't succeed in saving the Snitch because of Felix Felicis. That was entirely due to your own ability. Your only problem is that you get too nervous and lack confidence in yourself, which leads to you underperforming. So, I had to find a way to help you regain your confidence, and as it turns out, this method worked."
"You didn't give me Liquid Luck?" Ron asked, his eyes wide with shock, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"Of course not. You should have confidence in yourself," Harry said, patting Ron's shoulder reassuringly. Turning to Hermione, he added, "If you still don't believe me, you can take one yourself and see that they're different."
"See, Hermione, I didn't use Felix Felicis. This is my normal level of performance!" Ron boasted, his voice filled with pride as he strode out of the locker room, broom in hand.
"You should have come to me directly," Harry said, watching Ron's departing figure before turning to Hermione, who was rooted to the spot. "No one likes to be accused like that."
"And then treat him like a fool?" Hermione asked.
"I will definitely explain things to Ron," Harry said, sounding resigned. "Whether he believes me or not doesn't matter. I just need him to regain his confidence. I just wanted to give him a hand..." He trailed off, his gaze dropping to the ground. "You know Ron's situation, Hermione."
"Never mind, Harry. I don't want to talk about Ron," Hermione said, her voice tinged with frustration. "Let's talk about something else. I..."
"I think we should head back to the victory party," Harry suggested.
"Okay!"
Hermione followed Harry out of the locker room, and they began walking toward Hogwarts Castle.
"What were you going to say earlier?" Harry asked.
"I just met Albert on the stands. He seemed to be looking for Dumbledore..." Hermione began, but Harry interrupted her.
"What does he want with Dumbledore?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Did he say why?"
"No, he just said he wanted to find Dumbledore to retrieve Cassandra's body. He seems to believe that the author of 'Unfogging the Future' is dead," Hermione replied, pausing briefly before continuing. "By the way, he also mentioned Mr. Ollivander. He's still alive."
"That guy knows a lot, but he always likes to play these little games and keep us guessing. I hate these mysterious types," Harry said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Did he say anything else?"
"Albert thinks that next year's situation may spiral out of control," Hermione said, her voice taking on a serious tone. "I plan to send my family away after the Christmas holidays."
"Send them away?" Harry asked, his expression darkening. "Is that already decided?"
"Yes, it is," Hermione said, nodding. "I could sense the urgency in Albert's tone. It's as if something big is about to happen. You need to be prepared, Harry."
"I've always been preparing, but we don't even know what we're preparing for," Harry said, his voice laced with frustration. "Things would be a lot easier if Albert would just give us some clues."
"Maybe we should prepare for the worst," Hermione suggested. "Things must be really bad if Albert is being this cautious."
"The worst-case scenario?" Harry asked, genuinely confused about what that might entail.
"Dumbledore dies, Voldemort kills Scrimgeour and gains complete control of the Ministry of Magic? I become a wanted fugitive with everyone on my tail?" Harry rattled off these possibilities, his voice heavy with dread.
For some reason, as Hermione listened to Harry's grim predictions, she couldn't shake the feeling that things were indeed going to get much worse, and that was why Albert had been making all these preparations.
"By the way, what's going on with Ron Weasley? I feel like he has some kind of grudge against me. I really can't understand what he's thinking," Hermione said as they walked through the entrance hall. "You must know the reason, Harry."
Harry suddenly felt very awkward. The truth was that Ron was upset because Hermione had kissed Viktor Krum, and Harry didn't know how to explain that to her.
It all sounded so ridiculous.
"Come on, Harry, I don't want to fall out with Ron Weasley completely, but I really can't figure out what he's thinking," Hermione said, turning to face Harry directly. "You must know something, and you're terrible at hiding your emotions."
"Well, it's a bit of a ridiculous story," Harry admitted, hesitating for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. He then briefly recounted the incident in the secret passageway when he had stumbled upon Ginny and Dean kissing.
"So, he's jealous because I kissed Viktor Krum?" Hermione asked, her expression turning peculiar as she finally understood what Harry was trying to say.
"I think... maybe... that's probably it," Harry mumbled, stealing a glance at Hermione. "He probably likes you, and then..."
"He's so childish. I always thought he liked Madam Rosmerta. Maybe you should suggest he find a girlfriend," Hermione said, her face impassive. "Lavender Brown would be a good choice. She seems to have taken quite an interest in him."
"I thought..." Harry began, his face reddening with embarrassment. He had assumed that Ron and Hermione were an item, but it seemed he had misunderstood the situation.
"We're just friends, Harry, just like you and me," Hermione said, not shying away from the topic. "I won't deny that I have some feelings for you and Ron, but I'm not planning to pursue anything romantic with either of you at the moment."
"And I think we should prioritize figuring out how to survive this wizarding war," Hermione added, turning away from Harry's astonished gaze and continuing in a calm tone. "Although Albert says you will eventually defeat the Dark Lord, the process may not be as simple as we imagine. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the time to form the Defense Association and prepare all these things.
"
"I heard Fred say that Albert's expecting a child of his own soon." Harry prompted tentatively, feeling that Hermione liked Albert, and many girls in school did too, even though he was already married.
"I know, of course. I just admire him." Hermione looked at Harry helplessly, "We have to admit that Albert is an extraordinary person, and he has helped us a lot."
"Indeed, he is extraordinary."
When Harry and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room, they were surrounded by a crowd, who cheered and applauded Harry enthusiastically, especially the girls, who strongly hinted that they wanted to attend Slughorn's Christmas party with him.
Hermione quietly made way for them, standing aside and watching as Harry was engulfed by the crowd. She shook her head.
Sometimes, being too popular could be a nuisance.
As Hermione's gaze swept across the common room, her expression became fascinatingly animated.
"You hypocrite." Ginny appeared at Hermione's side, looking at Ron, who was locked in a tight embrace with Lavender Brown, and scoffed, "I think he needs to work on his technique. Look, he's practically eating her face."
"It's fine." Hermione mumbled, "This way, it saves a lot of trouble."
She believed that once Ron found a girlfriend, their relationship wouldn't be so stiff and awkward.
"It saves trouble?" Ginny looked at Hermione, puzzled, noticing the lack of emotion on her face.
"Harry, I suggest you find a dance partner soon, or the girls won't leave you alone." Hermione advised.
"A dance partner? Nah, I'm not really interested in attending the Christmas party." Harry said glumly as he managed to break free from the crowd. "By the way, Hermione, who are you planning to invite?"
"I was going to invite Ron, but now it doesn't seem appropriate." Hermione gestured to the sofa in the corner of the room.
"Inappropriate?"
Harry looked on curiously, following the girls' gazes to see Ron and Lavender in a passionate kiss. He asked, perplexed, "When did Ron and Lavender get together?"
"About a quarter of an hour ago." Ginny recalled, "He just got back, and Lavender gave him a hug, and then they ended up like this."
"You should be happy for him, Harry."
Hermione patted Harry's shoulder and turned to leave.
"Hermione's right, you should be glad for him." Ginny sneered at Ron, "At least he won't be jealous of others anymore."
Seeing the girls approaching again, Harry felt it wasn't wise to stay any longer, and he too, decided to make an exit.
"You should find a dance partner, Harry, or you could consider taking that guy over there." Ginny smiled, pointing at Ron.
"Nah, I don't want to start any crazy rumors in school." Harry didn't even need to think about the terrible consequences of taking Ron with him.
However, he felt he should consider Ginny's suggestion, but he didn't have a good candidate in mind. Especially after breaking up with Cho Chang, he had temporarily lost interest in girls, as he had more important things to focus on.
"So, who are you planning to take then?" Ginny asked curiously.
"I'll just go by myself." Harry answered without hesitation.
"You're not looking for a girlfriend?" Ginny probed.
"Nah, it wouldn't be fair to her at a time like this." Harry shrugged, "I'm off."
With that, Harry left the Gryffindor common room to avoid being cornered by the other girls.
The next day, the situation Harry had worried about didn't occur. Hermione took the initiative to apologize to Ron for yesterday's events, and the atmosphere between them seemed to ease.
"Now's not the time for sulking, and I'm not going to be as childish as he is." Hermione fixed her gaze on the letter marked with the initials 'A.A.' in front of her, interrupting Harry, "By the way, Harry, make sure this month's DA gathering doesn't clash with the Wizard Card Club."
"Oh, the Wizard Card Club... How's that going?" Harry had almost forgotten about it.
"Not great. Luna isn't a competent organizer, and she doesn't have the same reputation as Albert." Hermione shook her head helplessly, "But you can give her a hand."
"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do." Harry was puzzled as he noticed the Galleons peeking out of the bag, and he asked in surprise, "Did someone send you Galleons?"
"What Galleons?"
Hearing Harry mention Galleons, Ron immediately turned his attention to them.
"Of course not. This is for the Wizard Club's activities. Albert obviously wants me to help out the Wizard Card Club." Hermione stuffed the bag into her pocket and calmly explained.
"Why didn't he give the club to you to manage?" Ron was puzzled as to why Albert had given the club to Luna instead of Hermione; he felt that things would be much better if Hermione had inherited it.
"I don't know, but there must be a reason."
Hermione didn't really care about this matter, as she noticed there was also a roll of parchment addressed to her in the envelope.
After opening and reading the letter, Hermione's expression turned sour.
"What's wrong?" Harry noticed the change in her expression and asked immediately.
"Something happened."
Staring at the parchment that had turned to ashes, her face grew even gloomier.
Obviously, something had occurred that she was unaware of; otherwise, Albert wouldn't have suggested in the letter that she send her family away as soon as possible.
"Who's this from? It doesn't have a sender." Ron picked up the envelope and examined it, finding it suspicious that there was no sender's name. He knew Hermione was aware of who had sent it.
"It's from Albert. See the mark in the corner." Hermione pointed to an almost imperceptible corner.
Harry spotted the minuscule 'A.A.' and couldn't help but exclaim, "Could the handwriting be any smaller?"
"This way, it's less noticeable." Hermione could understand that it was to avoid causing her any trouble.
"Why did he write to you? To ask you to help with the Wizard Card Club?" Ron exchanged a glance with Harry, confused. He suspected there was more to the letter than met the eye, explaining Hermione's reaction.
"He suggested that I send my family away as soon as possible." Hermione lowered her voice, "I'll probably have to take a few days off to go back home in the next few days."
"Do you need any help?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.
"No, I'll ask Albert for help." Hermione shook her head, "And Harry, you mustn't leave the school. It's not safe out there."
"Is he that free?" Ron muttered.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
