Chapter 273: Hermione's Book
Chapter 273: Hermione's Book
Harry's mind was filled with thoughts as he made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The dream he had during the summer kept replaying in his mind.
Voldemort was sitting in a single armchair, with Wormtail standing beside him. They were plotting something, and Harry’s scar was burning constantly.
Without any reason, Harry always felt that their plans were somehow connected to him. Otherwise, why would he have heard only this particular conversation?
He looked troubled, with no trace of the excitement and joy that usually came with being chosen as a champion. Before he knew it, he had reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.
The Fat Lady had already been informed. With so many portraits in the Great Hall, it was inevitable that one of the gossiping portraits had run to spread the news.
Even as Harry spoke the password, she continued to press him, asking if it was true that he had been chosen as the fourth champion.
Harry had no mood to answer her questions and simply slipped through the portrait hole.
Before his foot had even fully entered the Gryffindor Common Room, he was suddenly grabbed by countless hands and pulled in.
Almost all the Gryffindors had gathered in the common room, the young lions looking at Harry with excitement and anticipation, as if he were the pride of Gryffindor.
Jordan draped a large red banner with the Gryffindor lion on it over Harry’s shoulders like a cape. George and Fred kept asking how Harry had managed to cross the age line Dumbledore had set, and they were annoyed that he wouldn’t share the method with them.
Even Angelina, who had been a strong candidate for Gryffindor, was magnanimous enough to say that it didn’t matter whether she had been chosen or not. Whoever was chosen to represent Gryffindor was a glory for the entire House.
But Harry, surrounded by the crowd, felt no joy at all.
He repeatedly and loudly answered the various questions, insisting, “I didn’t! I didn’t put my name in the Goblet of Fire!”
But no one believed him. Everyone was lost in their own imaginations, convinced that if Harry participated in the tournament, he would surely win the championship and the thousand galleons prize.
After being harassed for nearly half an hour, Harry finally lost his temper.
He shouted and broke free from everyone’s grip, returning to the dormitory alone.
In the dormitory, only Ron was there, which was a small comfort to Harry. He believed Ron was one of the few who would believe him.
But everything that night, including his best friend Ron’s reaction, was completely unexpected.
Ron’s gaze was strange, especially when he saw the Gryffindor cloak tied tightly around Harry by Jordan. His eyes grew even more peculiar.
“Congratulations, Harry.”
Harry looked at Ron, puzzled by the strange expression on his face.
“What are you talking about? Congratulations?”
Ron laughed, but his laugh was forced and uncomfortable, making Harry feel even more frustrated.
“How did you cross the age line Dumbledore set? Did you use the method I know?”
Harry’s face was full of disbelief. He took a deep breath and explained himself again, this time to Ron.
“Listen, Ron! I didn’t sign up! I was with you all day. You should know everything I did. I didn’t put my name in that damn cup! Someone else must have done it!”
Ron raised his eyebrows as if trying to hide them in his hair.
"Oh? Who could that be, and why would they do such a thing?"
"I don't know who it is, but their purpose is most likely to kill me. And could you stop looking at me like that?" Harry said irritably.
Ron didn't change his expression at all.
"Harry, you can tell me the truth. Even if you don't want others to know, you can share these things with me."
Harry was thoroughly enraged. This was the second time he had lost his temper in just ten minutes.
"I thought you would believe me! But you're no different from those people outside! You're all complete idiots!"
Their conversation ended in mutual bitterness.
Ron pulled the curtains of his four-poster bed shut, cutting off any further communication.
Harry lay in bed, with no intention of sleeping. He tossed and turned restlessly until the early hours of the morning, when everyone else in the dormitory was fast asleep.
He sat up, lightly touching the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. A ghostly, ethereal Lily appeared at the foot of his bed.
She was the only one Harry could confide in at the moment. While the rest of the world might doubt him, his mother certainly wouldn't!
Lily listened intently to Harry's entire story, her expression growing increasingly serious.
"Someone is indeed trying to harm you, Harry. The Triwizard Tournament isn't just a competition for school glory; almost no one can guarantee they won't be injured during it. The tournament was eventually discontinued because of the high number of casualties."
"You can't treat this like a game", Lily said earnestly. "Tomorrow, write to Sirius Black and tell him about this. Then go to Professor Forrest and share all your concerns and thoughts."
Harry never dismissed Lily's advice lightly.
The next day was Sunday, and Ron was still giving him the cold shoulder. Harry was also thoroughly fed up with him and didn't want to initiate any conversation.
He left the dormitory, descending the spiral staircase to the common room. There, he saw Hermione sitting alone on a sofa, engrossed in a thick book.
Harry approached Hermione, about to ask if she believed he hadn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire, when he noticed that the book in her hands wasn't a magic book.
The book was titled 1984.
While the simple title didn't reveal much, it was clearly not a book from the Wizarding World.
At that moment, Harry also noticed a stack of other books beside Hermione.
Capital, Che Guevara: A Biography, Social Theory and Social Structure, Discipline and Punish, Principles of Marxism.
Harry's mouth dropped open as he looked at the titles of these books, which were enough to make his head spin. He asked, puzzled, "Why are you reading these books?"
Hermione, deeply immersed in 1984, didn't even look up as she replied, "To study oppression and resistance, the formation and differentiation of classes, the structure of society, the analysis of power, and to deconstruct the utopian ideas I once held."
(End of Chapter)
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