https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-599-I-Really-Wish-You-Weren-t-So-Good/13449309/
Chapter 598: A Crack in Friendship
Chapter 598: A Crack in Friendship
"Is Ron feeling unwell? I noticed he didn't look too good in the Great Hall..." Harry asked, his concern evident.
Hermione didn’t respond but urged the two to quickly head back to the dormitory. She advised them not to bother Ron for now, suggesting that he would come around after a good night’s sleep.
Harry was puzzled, unable to understand what was going on.
Ivan, however, sensed something from Hermione’s attitude but didn’t dwell on it. He had too much on his mind lately and didn’t have the time to counsel Ron.
After saying goodbye to Hermione, the two made their way back to the dormitory.
Upon entering, Harry immediately saw Ron lying on his bed, fully clothed, with his back to them and his head buried under a pillow.
The dormitory was empty except for Ron; Neville and the others were still in the Common Room.
"Ron, are you okay?" Harry felt a bit strange and approached him, giving him a gentle shake.
"I’m fine, Harry! Just a bit under the weather, so I didn’t have the chance to celebrate with you guys..." Ron removed the pillow from his head, forcing a smile that looked rather strained.
"Celebrate what?" Harry frowned, sensing something was off with Ron.
"Of course, to celebrate you both becoming Champions!" Ron sat up, his tone heavy. He glanced at Ivan and then at Harry, asking, "Ivan put his name in the Triwizard Cup, so he was chosen. But what about you, Harry? Did you use the Invisibility Cloak?"
"Ron! You think I put my name in that goblet too?" Harry was exasperated, his voice rising in frustration. "I clearly said in the Great Hall that I didn’t do it! And we’ve been together these past two days; you know I didn’t have the chance!"
Ron ignored Harry’s explanation and continued his own line of thought.
"If you couldn’t do it during the day, maybe you did it at night? Ivan went in the early hours, so you must have gone in the middle of the night, or maybe you both went together?"
"You both found a way to become Champions, but I couldn’t figure it out. I’m not blaming you, really! But you should have told me, so I could have prepared to celebrate for you..."
As he spoke, Ron’s expression grew more dejected, and his voice became quieter, almost inaudible.
"Stop being ridiculous, Ron. How could you even think that? Didn’t Hermione tell you? This Triwizard Tournament is likely Voldemort’s scheme. He wants me dead in that competition! Remember that dream I told you about?" Harry was livid.
He had assumed that Ron, as one of his best friends, would support and believe him like Ivan and Hermione did, but he never expected Ron to doubt him.
"Ah... Dark Lord..." Ron looked shaken but, driven by jealousy, he clung to his suspicions and quickly found a flaw in Harry’s argument, his questions coming in rapid fire.
"But why would he do that? The Dark Lord isn’t at the school, so how could he ensure you’d be chosen? And during the competition, Professors Dumbledore and the others will be there; no one would dare harm you... Or maybe the Dark Lord just wants to see you win?"
"Are you out of your mind? Someone is trying to kill me, and you’re still fantasizing about all this nonsense. Do you have to wait until Voldemort actually kills me to believe it?" Harry found Ron’s attitude utterly incomprehensible.
"Yeah, I am crazy! I thought we were best friends! But what did I get? Everyone had a way to cross that line, yet you all kept it a secret from me, leaving me behind. You all knew I wanted to be the Champion too!" Ron shouted, his jealousy consuming his reason.
Ron couldn’t help but recall Ivan’s questions from last night, which only reinforced his suspicions.
He believed that Ivan must have needed a competent helper to ensure victory in the Triwizard Tournament, so he approached him first to gauge his thoughts.
When Ivan realized that Ron insisted on competing fairly with everyone else, he saw it as a threat to his chances of winning and ultimately chose Harry!
The more Ron thought about it, the more convinced he became, and he didn’t hold back from sharing his suspicions.
Harry was speechless, never expecting Ron to have such malicious thoughts.
"I have to admit, your imagination is quite vivid, Ron… You should write storybooks!" Ivan said, equally exasperated.
"But I’m right, aren’t I?" Ron pressed on, refusing to back down.
"Let me say something you won’t like, Ron! I never considered Krum or Fleur a threat… The outcome of the Triwizard Cup was never in doubt from the moment I entered the competition." Ivan’s patience was wearing thin, and he continued without any restraint.
"Besides, you’re overestimating yourself! Your magic level is nowhere near helpful enough to me. I only asked you those questions out of curiosity last night."
Ron’s face turned red with anger, his fists clenching and unclenching under the covers.
He detested Ivan’s arrogant attitude, his indifference to everything.
Whether it was the honor he so desperately craved or the people he admired and liked, Ivan treated them as if they were trivial, easily obtainable things.
The more Ron interacted with Ivan, the more uncomfortable he felt, as if he were just a speck of dust, completely insignificant.
Even when he boasted about his adventures to others, they only saw him as someone who had merely benefited from Ivan and Harry’s good fortune.
"Yeah, you’re our Gryffindor Hero, truly impressive, you don’t need anyone’s help!" Ron’s anger boiled over, and he angrily pulled the curtains of his four-poster bed, burying his head under the covers.
Ron’s attitude infuriated Harry. He took a couple of steps forward, intent on pulling Ron out of his bed to set things straight.
But Ivan stopped him in time.
"Let it be, Harry. Let Ron think it over by himself!" Ivan shook his head at Harry.
Reflecting on the events from the original timeline, Ivan understood why Ron had suddenly become like this.
In essence, years of living with excessive sensitivity and insecurity had shaped Ron’s personality. Constantly comparing himself to Harry, the savior, only exacerbated his mental imbalance.
Not being chosen as the Champion was just the breaking point, a release of pent-up emotions.
However, this clearly wasn’t a reason for others to coddle him…
(End of Chapter)
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