69novels Page 288
Page 288
Hearing this, Tonks finally couldn't hold back any longer and loudly spoke up for her brother and man:
“Levin is not the kind of person you’re describing. He’s not only a genius wizard, but also very quick-witted. You see, problems that stump everyone else are easily solved by him. With him around, the Triwizard Tournament can be successfully held.”
"You greenhorn, you have no right to speak here!" Old Crouch roared at her like an enraged bull.
This trusted subordinate of Jaina, like her superior and that boy, was a scoundrel.
Tonks wanted to say something more, but she forced herself to calm down and stopped arguing.
Jaina's assessment was correct; Tonks has indeed become much more composed since becoming an administrator.
"Hmph, Crouch. Your arrogance won't last long. When the time comes, that Levin you look down on will make you regret it."
Chapter 313 Harry's Falling Out with Ron
The meeting concluded after the Ministry of Magic officials left.
Ms. Maxim put her arm around Fleur's shoulder and led her quickly out of the room. Levin could hear many eyes staring at them as they walked towards the auditorium, which startled him.
"Levin, what exactly happened to Harry?"
Did Harry become a warrior?
"Why did Beauxbatons and Durmstrang call over a few more people?"
Because Levin was one of the organizers, all the young wizards came to him to get information, and their barrage of questions gave him a bit of a headache.
Levin had no choice but to say everything he could before he was able to rest.
As for Hermione and Harry, they received a grand welcome upon their return to the Gryffindor common room.
Both warriors were from Gryffindor, and the lion cubs considered this a victory for Gryffindor.
"At least we completely defeated Hufflepuff, and those pesky Slytherins too!"
They said this,
"Even the pretty boy Cedric can't compare to our 'know-it-all' Miss!"
They did not mention Ravenclaw.
Everyone knows that while Gryffindor has produced two champions, the Ravenclaw champion is the organizer, setting challenges and awarding prizes to the champions, thus naturally holding a higher status.
Hermione had never been so popular in Gryffindor.
Every young wizard came forward to congratulate her. The witches of her class who had previously banded together to ignore her now looked at her with fawning eyes. Members of the Knowledge Society, like Ginny, stood tall, and everyone was proud of her.
This left Hermione, who wasn't usually very sociable, somewhat bewildered.
But her experience training at the Academy of Broad Knowledge helped her adapt to the situation quickly.
She recalled how Levin handled such situations, humbly and gently thanking each of the young wizards who congratulated her.
Even those who had conflicts with her were the same.
She could sense that everyone's attitude towards her had changed.
And this was simply because she earned the title of "Warrior".
She believed that if she were to announce "SPEW" to them again, these people would gladly accept it.
But just over two weeks ago, when she tried to do so, she only received one rejection after another.
She couldn't help but recall the theories about power that Levin had told her that night in the tower.
Hermione suddenly realized,
She finally realized firsthand that the world cannot be navigated smoothly simply by relying on "reason".
Realizing this, she suddenly didn't want to foolishly continue promoting "SPEW".
What good would it do to simply promote the rights of house-elves among these young wizards?
Levin is right. The power of house-elves is only a very small part of the iceberg. The real root of the problem lies in the arrogance and unequal mentality of wizards.
When wizards abandon bloodline discrimination, the solution to the problem of house-elves will naturally no longer be an issue.
To make all of this happen, I need greater influence.
But before that, the first thing she needs to do is win this three-way battle.
Compared to Hermione's natural ease, Harry was much more disappointed.
In the past, he had envied Levin, the young wizard who attended the same primary school as him, for being so popular at Hogwarts.
Harry had imagined countless times that he could be as successful as Levin, but never in this way.
Everyone is asking him how he got his name into the Goblet of Fire.
He explained again and again that he didn't know what was going on either.
But no one wanted to hear him say he wasn't hungry, no one wanted to hear him say he hadn't put his name in the goblet, and it seemed no one noticed that he wasn't in the mood to celebrate at all...
What made him most desperate was that when he returned to his dorm, thinking he could have a good talk with Ron about this strange thing, Ron questioned him with an expression that was both strange and familiar to him.
The reason it was familiar was that Ron's expression when he talked about Levin was exactly the same as it was now;
The reason it felt unfamiliar was that Ron's expression this time was meant for him.
"Hermione found a loophole in the Goblet of Fire and had someone take it out so she could successfully put the name in. And you, Harry? How did you do that, with the Invisibility Cloak?" Ron asked in a stiff tone.
When he offered his explanation again, the other party completely ignored it and just kept guessing.
"If not during the day, what about at night when you're sleeping? Hermione went when the ceremony was held at noon. Did you go with her?"
"You all have ways to become warriors, only I'm lacking, I can't think of a way... I don't blame you, really! But you should at least have told me, so I could have prepared a celebration for you all in advance..."
Finally, he actually got angry at Harry.
"I thought we were best friends! But what happened? Each of you had a way to cross that line, but you kept it from me and left me out. You all knew I wanted to be a warrior too!"
Harry left the dormitory disappointed, sullenly squatted in a corner, and hugged his head.
He had originally thought that at least a few people would believe him, one of whom was Ron.
"Harry, what are you doing squatting here?" a surprised female voice rang out.
"Hermione..."
Harry looked at the girl in front of him, feeling a mix of emotions, but he didn't know how to start a conversation.
It seems like ages since they last studied together and had a serious conversation.
"Why isn't Ron with you?" Hermione asked, looking around in confusion.
“Ron asked me how I managed to get my name into the Goblet of Fire—” Harry murmured, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Knowing Ron as she did, Hermione immediately understood what was going on.
She tossed her long, disheveled hair back and said bluntly, "Harry, he's just jealous..."
Hermione's voice was very calm, as if she were simply stating a fact.
Harry also knew that Hermione's insight had always been accurate.
Hermione then patiently explained, “At home, he is the least noticeable one; in Gryffindor, you are always the center of attention, while he is always ignored.”
She paused, then turned her head to observe Harry's reaction.
Harry simply stared at her silently, his face showing no anger.
Hermione continued, "Compared to you, he's practically invisible; compared to me, he's a complete slacker; compared to Levin…"
At this point, a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips. "Hmph!"
Although he didn't say it explicitly, Harry nodded repeatedly, indicating that he deeply agreed with Hermione's analysis.
“I, Levin, have broken off relations with him and drifted further and further apart. I am still one of his friends, but you are his best friend, and so famous—every time someone sees you, he is ignored.”
“The three of us used to be very good friends, but now you and I have become warriors, and he is the only one excluded. This time, he probably couldn’t take it anymore…” Hermione’s voice revealed a hint of helplessness.
Harry asked bitterly, "You mean, he said that on purpose?"
His voice was filled with disappointment and pain, as if he had been deeply hurt by his friend's betrayal.
Hermione gently patted his shoulder, conveying comfort through her silent gesture.
She knew that what Harry needed at that moment was not words of advice, but someone who was willing to believe in him and support him.
“Hermione, do you believe me?” Harry suddenly looked up, his gaze unwavering.
Hermione answered without hesitation, "Of course I know you didn't sign up yourself."
She wanted to say, "You don't have that ability yet," but she stopped herself in time and didn't say it.
She knew that those words might hurt Harry's already wounded heart.
Harry took Hermione's answer as a sign of her complete trust in him, and his eyes welled up with tears.
At this moment, he finally felt the unwavering support from his friends.
Just then, Ginny came out from around the corner.
Hermione looked slightly embarrassed when Ginny overheard her talking about her brother in front of Harry.
She gave Ginny an awkward smile, but Ginny didn't seem to notice.
“Harry, I believe you too,” Ginny said gently. “You know, Ron is like that sometimes, he gets jealous and possessive, but he’s not a bad person. As long as you give him time patiently and don’t let the conflict escalate, he can always smooth things over on his own.”
Although she no longer intends to be a die-hard Harry fan, Ginny still speaks up for her brother.
She clearly remembered the incident she was involved in the year she first enrolled, when Harry even used "Love's Protection" on Ron's behalf to save him.
She absolutely did not want Ron to lose his best friend.
Chapter 314 Potter's Stinky Dung
Since his falling out with Ron, Harry has felt increasingly lonely.
Hermione Granger became his only remaining good friend.
In addition, both of them were Hogwarts champions.
He always felt a sense of shared suffering with the other person.
This made Hermione a little embarrassed.
A year ago, she would have been happy to travel with Harry and Ron.