The Return to Hogwarts

Harry, do you think Ron would be much more comfortable if he befriended Seamus and Dean? You know the Weasleys' situation, Harry. What makes you think that just because Ron was neglected at home, he should stay quietly by your side at school? Honestly, I think he's pretty good, isn't he? He even beat Professor McGonagall in a game of magic chess before; not many young wizards can do that!

Harry only caught a small part of what Hagrid said, which was about Ron wanting to be friends with Dean and possibly giving up on him and Hermione.

"He's clearly making that attempt!"

Harry's heart skipped a beat, but he still said angrily.

“You see—” Hagrid spread his hands, “You’re partly to blame for Ron’s condition, aren’t you? Because you’ve never truly acknowledged his pain. Or rather, you’ve ignored it, never even realized it. But he hasn’t blamed you; he’s been silently bearing it all. And this time, Hermione’s situation triggered him, and he just couldn’t take it anymore. Both of his best friends are now famous, and he’s the only one left.”

"But it's not our fault!"

Harry roared in anger,

"If he's willing to be an orphan or be targeted by deadly conspiracies, then maybe he can make a name for himself!"

"Why don't you understand?"

Hagrid was getting a little angry too, and he said in a gruff voice.

“Now you know that the pressure Ron is under is real, and he's not just being dramatic. So why should he bear the pressure that you friends have to bear? He could have distanced himself from you the day he realized the pressure, but he didn't. Clearly, Ron values ​​the friendship he's built with you, doesn't he?”

Hagrid said sharply,

"Ron hasn't mentioned a word about his troubles to you because he still wants to be your friend. Of course, he's been having some issues lately, but that's normal, isn't it? You can't expect someone, especially a young underage wizard, to have any lofty ideals; he'll eventually need to release some pressure—"

A suffocating silence fell over the cabin, broken only by the occasional crackling of the tadpoles in the box on the other side of the wall.

Harry stared blankly, clenching his fists without saying a word. He was seething with anger, but he at least admitted one thing: he hadn't considered that Ron would have to bear the pressure of being friends with them.

"So, you think this is a problem between Hermione and me?"

Harry spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly, his emerald eyes gleaming with fire.

"I didn't say that—"

Hagrid calmed his agitated emotions, and his tone became composed.

“Ron does have a problem. He shouldn’t have distanced himself from you because of Hermione’s status as a champion. But I want you to understand, Harry, there’s a reason for this. You should give Ron some time to process his emotions. After that, I believe you will reconcile, instead of interrogating him about why he’s not as noble as before—”

Don't think you're the only noble one, Potter.

Harry's face stiffened, a sudden feeling of suffocation washing over him. He looked at Hermione, his eyes filled with guilt. Had Hermione been desperately trying to catch up with him in the secret passage, trying to speak to him about this very thing? Had she been holding back, hoping to give Ron some time?

So, he messed things up?

"What do you think we should do now, Hagrid?"

Hermione finally looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, which made Dom follow behind and shed tears as well.

"I can't give you a definite answer either—"

Hagrid sighed heavily, got up, walked to the stove, and fiddled with the air inlet valve with his finger.

"But my advice is, don't go to Ron and talk about this again right away. You both need to take some time to think about what friendship truly means. After you've calmed down completely, maybe you can have a proper talk, like Sirius said—"

Harry was now feeling conflicted. What if Ron really wanted to give up on Hermione and him? According to Hagrid, that seemed to be the easiest thing for Ron to do. But he was still furious. Couldn't Ron wait before reacting? He should know this was a crucial moment for Hermione!

"Oh, right, Hermione—" Hagrid said everything he could, looking at Hermione with concern, "How are your preparations going regarding the competition?"

Hermione sniffed hard a few times.

“I found some information, which are all items that were played in the top three tournaments several centuries ago, but I don’t know if it will work. I guess they definitely won’t repeat those items.”

"This little guy has been worried about you the whole time!" Hagrid poked Dom's head with his finger. "It's a pity they don't allow helpers, otherwise you could have brought it along—"

Chapter 598 Deadly Forgetting

2023-11-16

Hagrid's remark was unintentional, but Harry's eyelids twitched, and he immediately looked at Hermione.

"May I?"

"what?"

Hermione was taken aback by Harry's abrupt question and asked in confusion.

Most people underestimate the power of house-elves, but this prejudice would never apply to Harry. He knows how wondrous house-elves' magic is. At the start of second year, Dobby used his magic to seal the gates of King's Cross Station and the wizarding world, and he and Ron were completely helpless. Moreover, Dobby easily defeated Malfoy's father. If Hermione could bring her loyal house-elves with her to the competition, their chances of winning would increase significantly!

"I mean, is it permissible in the rules to have Dom participate in the Triwizard Tournament with you?"

Harry asked expectantly.

"Take Dom to the competition? Impossible. Harry, Crouch made it clear that we can't accept anyone's help. In the competition, we'll rely solely on our own wands."

Hermione stared at Dom, bewildered, and asked in return. She instinctively wanted to retort, but in the end, her delicate eyebrows furrowed. This expression pleased Harry.

"So, there's no explicit prohibition, right? Doom is a house-elf, not a wizard, and besides, it belongs to you, doesn't it?"

"Is Dom alright, Master Granger?"

The little guy stood up straight, seemingly trying to appear stronger.

"Dum is willing to accompany Master Granger to the competition; Dom wants to help Master Granger!"

Dom tilted his head, his tennis ball-sized eyes gleaming with pleading.

Hagrid hadn't expected Harry to take his casual remark seriously. He looked at Dom and blinked, his expression somewhat hesitant.

"no--"

It has to be said that Harry's suggestion was somewhat tempting. Having a helper in the competition would definitely reduce the pressure of facing any challenge. However, Hermione, looking at the frail-looking Doom, whose thigh was as tall as her own, took a deep breath and decisively refused.

“I can’t do that, Harry, it’s too despicable!”

Hermione said firmly, sensing that Harry still wanted to fight for it, and then continued,

“You’ve seen the events of the previous tournaments, Harry. They’re too dangerous. Dom is still a child; he’s not even a year old. I can’t knowingly involve him in danger. Besides, Dom doesn’t belong to me. He’s free. He doesn’t need to risk his life for me!”

"Dum belongs to Master Granger, and Master Granger gave Dom clothes!"

Dom clutched the vest he was wearing, which had been made from Hermione's robes, and said with desperate longing,

"Dum wants to help Granger's master win the race!"

"Stop talking, Dom--"

Hermione covered her lips; her front teeth still ached a little.

"If you really want to support me, then cheer me on during the competition!"

Can "加油" be understood as "I can help"?

Dom blinked and didn't say anything more.

Hermione's refusal relieved Hagrid. He had been with Doom for some time and had to admit that house-elves were indeed good helpers. Moreover, Doom could keep him company on patrol and chat with him at night, something that Aww couldn't do.

"Don't worry, Hermione—"

Hagrid glanced shrewdly out the window, then lowered his voice and whispered,

“Professor Blaine has kept the news under wraps, Hermione. Apart from him and Dumbledore, no one knows the specifics of the first competition yet, but if they want to smuggle anything into Hogwarts, I’ll always find out.”

Harry and Hermione stared in disbelief at Hagrid, who wore an embarrassed smile, speechless for a moment.

Hagrid's subtle reminder that he would help Hermione gather information put Harry in a good mood. If they could know in advance what they were going to be dealing with, they could always come up with a way to deal with it. However, Hermione seemed quite hesitant. After all, to her, the competition was like an exam, a sacred thing, and cheating in an exam was something she couldn't imagine.

Harry and Hagrid tried their best to persuade Hermione, but to no avail. However, by the time they left Hagrid's hut, Hermione was finally less opposed to the idea.

Although Hagrid's words of advice had calmed Harry down, neither he nor Hermione wanted to see Ron so soon. They ate dinner at Hagrid's place and waited until it was completely dark, when it was unlikely that anyone else would be in the Great Hall, before heading to the castle.

"Oh, how did you manage to get your front teeth like this?"

"That's what Mrs. Pomfrey said while examining Hermione's teeth at the university hospital," she said.

“I was thinking about the competition, madam, and I didn’t notice one of those disappearing stairwells and I tripped and fell—” Hermione said pitifully. “My teeth can be fixed, right? My dad’s a dentist, and if he finds my teeth are crooked during the Christmas holidays, he’ll definitely make me wear braces.”

Harry, standing to the side, looked nervously at Madam Pomfrey, his heart filled with guilt. Whether it was him or Ron, Hermione was injured in their argument.

Madam Pomfrey, with her extensive experience, could tell at a glance that Hermione's tooth had been injured for a while. However, she was a competent doctor and never inquired too much about the various strange reasons why the young wizards had hurt themselves.

"Who are you underestimating, Miss Granger—"

Mrs. Pomfrey said irritably.

"I can restore your teeth to their original condition, even better, with just a cup of chocolate milk. Please, Potter, wait outside the curtain for a moment. You should have some sense—"

"It's just getting my teeth fixed, what's there to avoid?" Harry thought angrily.

However, he obediently followed orders and waited at the door. In fact, Madam Pomfrey had spent enough time for him to drink a whole tub of chocolate milk. He could hear Hermione and Madam Pomfrey whispering behind the curtain, but he didn't know what they were saying.

Half an hour later, Hermione finally emerged from behind the curtain, her lips tightly pressed together, preventing Harry from seeing what her teeth looked like.

"Let's go, Harry, let's go back--"

Seeing that Harry didn't question it, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, she had indeed taken the opportunity to have Madam Pomfrey tamper with her front teeth a little more, mainly because of the 'whimsical' badge that Malfoy and Parkinson had created during gym class.

Moreover, according to Professor Blaine, this tournament will be broadcast live in many places, just like Muggle sports events.

Now, as they prepared to return to their dormitories, Harry became preoccupied again, because going back meant he would have to see Ron again, and they had just fought that afternoon—something unprecedented. Although Hagrid reminded them to stay calm, it was by no means an easy task!

"Have we forgotten something?"

Hermione was also preoccupied with her own thoughts. The two of them climbed the stairs absentmindedly, slowly returning to the Gryffindor Tower and the common room. Just as the fat lady was waiting for them to give the password, Hermione suddenly woke up.

"what?"