The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 596 The Injured Man

2023-11-16

Ron suddenly erupted, angrily slamming Harry's Firebolt to his feet and yelling at Harry. His sudden outburst startled both Harry and Hermione.

"is it?"

After a brief silence, Harry said coldly,

"But in my opinion, you're a complete idiot!"

A sudden gust of wind swept into the arena from the Forbidden Forest, bringing with it the force of rain. The misty drizzle suddenly became fine threads, and the sudden chill made Hermione shiver. However, the cold rain was nothing compared to the chill in her heart.

"Can we stop doing this?"

There were hardly any people on the ground to begin with, and now, apart from the three of them, there wasn't a single person in sight. Hermione pleaded with Harry and Ron, who were locked in a standoff.

However, her pleas had no positive effect; instead, they fueled the anger in Harry and Ron's hearts, who were already at each other's throats.

“You have no right to say that to me!” Ron said through gritted teeth.

In stark contrast to Hermione, Harry was now consumed by rage. He glared at Ron, who had never seemed so annoying, from head to toe, including his short, protruding ankles, which made him completely oblivious to the fact that he was being exposed to the wind and rain.

"You know perfectly well that warriors are not what Hermione wants!"

Whether it was the rain or anger, Harry always felt a blurring of vision, and only by yelling at Ron did he feel a sense of relief.

"You know perfectly well that many people will be mocking her now, you know perfectly well that the dangers she faces may extend beyond the competition, but you just ignore all of that and only think about those ridiculous Galon and fame, yet you don't think you're a fool or an idiot!"

"Don't think you're the only noble one in the world, Potter!"

Ron was absolutely furious. His roar was so loud it drowned out the sound of waves crashing against the cliff. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to rush up and smash Harry's glasses, but thankfully, he managed to restrain himself. He saw that Harry was stunned by his words and felt a surge of satisfaction, but at the same time, he didn't want to stay there any longer.

Ron glanced at the bewildered Hermione, his lips parted slightly, his eyes showing a hint of hesitation, but in the end he said nothing, turned around and walked towards the castle.

"Don't go, you coward!"

Ron's attitude infuriated Harry, who yelled and charged forward. At the same time, his cowardice caused Ron to lose control, and so, in the drizzling rain, the two best friends threw punches at each other!

Harry and Ron rolled onto the muddy lawn, howling and writhing as they struggled, while the howling wind and rain seemed to mock them, laughing at the naive boys finally experiencing the pain of growing up.

Hermione lunged forward without hesitation, trying to pull Harry and Ron apart. However, it was unlikely that a girl could stop two crazed boys. In the ensuing struggle, someone's elbow struck Hermione's front teeth, causing her to cry out in pain and nearly faint.

"Oh my god!"

The ground shook slightly, and Hagrid strode over, unable to believe what he was seeing!

Hagrid rushed over to the two boys wrestling on the ground, grabbing one of their arms like a chicken and lifting Harry and Ron off the ground. Even so, Harry and Ron didn't stop their antics; they continued cursing and kicking each other with their remaining arms and legs, which was quite amusing to watch.

"Merlin's beard!"

Hagrid blinked his black, beetle-like eyes, glancing between Harry and Ron, as if trying to make out who the mud-covered boy he was carrying was.

"Seamus and Dean just ran over to tell me you two might be fighting. I thought they were joking. I was teaching Doom how to deal with Blasttail, so I was a bit late. But what's going on? Can someone tell me how you two ended up fighting? Oh, and Hermione, your front teeth don't look too good!"

"Let me go, Hagrid!"

As it turned out, even if Harry were several times stronger, he couldn't possibly match Hagrid's strength. He struggled with all his might, but Hagrid showed no signs of strain.

"I'm going to smash this idiot's face!"

Harry shouted.

"Then let's give it a try!" Ron shouted defiantly. "Let's see whose face gets smashed!"

"No way!" Hagrid said bluntly. "If you want to come down, you'll have to shake hands and make peace first."

"Hey!"

The two men, neither willing to back down, angered Hagrid. He shook his arms, and Harry and Ron, who were hanging on his arms, immediately felt dizzy, as if their bodies were about to fall apart.

"Why don't you look at Hermione first? She looks to be in much worse shape than you two!"

Harry barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit. He immediately looked at Hermione and saw that she was tightly covering her lips, but blood was seeping from between her tightly closed fingers. Like the two of them, her robes were completely soaked, and she was shivering from the cold. Ron had almost the same reaction, and he realized that in his conflict with Harry, Hermione seemed to be the one who was most seriously injured.

"It seems you've calmed down, haven't you?"

Hagrid said angrily, and only after they stopped struggling did he finally put them down.

"All three of you, come to my room. Let's get this straight. Hurry up. I deal with magical creatures often and have some healing experience. I can treat some of your injuries first, Hermione—"

With that, Hagrid walked over, put his arm around Hermione's shoulder, and headed into the hut. Harry, worried about Hermione, immediately followed. They walked very fast, and when they were about to enter Hagrid's hut, they realized that Ron had not followed them and had already disappeared from the ground.

"Let's go in first--"

Hagrid sighed upon realizing this and pushed open the door.

The bright oil lamp illuminated Hagrid's cottage with a warm glow. The floor was spotless, and the animal feathers and furs that had hung from the wooden beams were now neatly sorted, washed, and tucked under Hagrid's bed, eliminating the strange smell that had always lingered in the little house.

When Harry eagerly followed Hagrid into the house, the warm environment actually made him feel a chill. His mud-covered robe clung to his skin, making him very uncomfortable.

A stew was simmering on the stove, and its rich aroma clearly indicated that it wasn't Hagrid's doing, making Harry realize that he hadn't finished his lunch.

"Master Granger!"

A short, dark figure rushed swiftly from the creaking wooden crates piled up on one side of the hut, and landed at Hermione's feet, who was being held down on the edge of the bed by Hagrid.

Covered in snow-white fur, about the size of a tennis ball, with eyes the color of Hermione's, Dom's eyes were brimming with tears.

"Master Granger is injured, and Dom failed to protect him. Dom is a worthless house-elf!"

With that, Dom let out a loud whimper and turned to run toward the stove. Based on Hagrid's experience, it was probably going to shove its head in there as punishment.

Hermione's lips were swollen and painful, making it difficult for her to speak. Fortunately, Hagrid reacted quickly, grabbing Dom's ear and gently tossing it aside.

"Can you please stop making things worse?"

Hagrid said irritably, then hurriedly took some ointment from the shelf above the bed.

"My God, that was quite a blow!"

Hagrid glared angrily at Harry, who stood by the stove looking guilty, then carefully took out some foul-smelling ointment and applied it to Hermione.

As Hagrid said, he did have some skill in healing. After all, not all magical creatures are as harmless as the Flobber Caterpillar, and he couldn't go to Madam Pomfrey every few days, so he treated most of his injuries himself.

After Hagrid's ointment was applied, her burning lips immediately felt cool, and the pain in Hermione's eyes lessened considerably.

“Your front teeth look a little loose, Hermione—”

Hagrid pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Hermione, gesturing for her to wipe up the spilled medicine, but Hermione didn't use it.

"You'd better go check on Bobby later--"

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will go—"

Hermione gratefully accepted the warm water Dom brought to rinse the blood from her mouth. Then, Dom easily made Hermione and Harry's messy clothes dry again.

The beef stew on the stove bubbled and steamed, its rich aroma making Hermione and Harry unconsciously swallow. They had run back and forth between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade through the secret passages and gotten soaked in the rain, and were starving. Harry's stomach rumbled twice, mainly because fighting Ron had taken a toll on him.

Dom quickly brought out two bowls of stewed meat in shiny bowls, and then brought them a large piece of rock-skin flatbread.

"Thank you, Dom--"

Hermione waved to Doom, looking a little downcast.

"I probably can't eat this right now."

“This bread has been improved by Dom, and it tastes much better now—” Hagrid said, “but it’s not very chewy. Well, let’s not talk about the bread for now.”

Hagrid looked at Harry and Hermione and said sternly.

"Can either of you tell me what happened? Harry, how did you end up fighting with Ron? Fighting Malfoy isn't satisfying anymore?"

Chapter 597 Each Other's Perspective

2023-11-16

Hagrid had always been one of their most trusted confidants, and Harry had nothing to hide from him. After Hagrid asked the question, Harry eagerly revealed everything: from the week Hermione was chosen as a champion, to Ron's strange behavior, all the way up to Sirius just pointing it out.

In addition, Harry expressed his indignation at Hermione, believing that she should not have kept it a secret from him after she noticed that something was wrong with Ron.

Faced with Harry's accusations, Hermione sadly lowered her head and remained silent, while Doom looked at Harry with a strange expression, as if he intended to kick him out of the house.

"Don't cause trouble, little one, we're discussing something serious—"

Hagrid, with prescient wisdom, gave Dom a warning, then sighed and said...

"What do you think Hermione should do, Harry? The conflict between you two was triggered by her becoming a champion. She knows she can't make Ron happy, but if she tells you what Ron is thinking, you see the consequences, Harry. Do you think Hermione would want to see you and Ron fighting? This would hurt her the most—"

Hagrid gently patted Hermione's shoulder, because the little girl was wiping away tears again. Just like last year, when Ron mistakenly believed that Crookshanks had killed Scabbers, Hermione would also run to him to complain, often shedding tears.

Hermione's appearance made Harry feel a pang of pity. He opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to scold her anymore, so he said resentfully,

"It's all because of that idiot Ron!"

"Come on, Harry—" Hagrid's words were sharp, "Anyone who throws a punch at their friend is a fool. You and Ron both have problems."

Hagrid's words immediately reminded Harry of what Ron had said to him earlier in the arena. He jumped up from the table, eager to explain, but Hagrid waved his large, fan-like hand away.

“I know what you’re trying to say, Harry. To you, it’s foolish of Ron to be jealous of your fame and Hermione to become a champion. You’re friends, and neither your fame nor Hermione’s champion status is what you wanted. But have you ever thought about the pressure Ron is under? He could have chosen not to bear it, could he?”

"What do you mean?"

Harry frowned, while Hermione remained unmoved, clearly having already anticipated what Hagrid was about to say.

"Ever since you two little guys came to this school, you and Ron have been good friends. One of you is the famous 'Boy Who Lived,' and the other is an outstanding student who is favored by the professors. Ron has been neglected by everyone while he is with you. Has he ever complained about it?"