The Start-of-Term Feast

Harry didn't think Ron had corrupted him.

He himself enjoys having fun, and even if Ron really led him astray, Ron is far more important than grades or other people's opinions.

Ron is a bit biased, but that's because he's been neglected and hasn't received the positive feedback of being praised for his hard work. He can only relieve his loneliness by entertaining himself.

Ron's proficiency in Wizard's Chess during his first year was also due to the fact that he didn't have any real friends to talk to and needed those little chess pieces to interact with him.

Ron stopped playing Wizard's Chess after that, also because he made a real friend.

He was the same kind of person as Ron; he too had no friends because of Dudley and could only pass the time by watching the spiders spinning their webs in the cupboard under the stairs.

Their meeting was like two equally lonely souls touching each other.

He understood that Ginny was right.

But Ginny shouldn't have said that.

"He shouldn't be the most favored Weasley family kid," his girlfriend said.

In short, he was prepared to give Ginny the cold shoulder for a while.

"How could Harry do this!" Hermione exclaimed after Basil recounted everything. "Ginny sacrificed so much for him, and he just did it all for Ron? Could it be that he and Ron really..."

"That's because Ginny was too harsh on Ron," Basil shrugged. "Perhaps without realizing it, she's taken her anger out on her brother because of Roan. Ginny may have realized that by now."

"Give them some time; they'll definitely make up before the third trial."

The next trial will begin on September 24th.

There are 23 days left until that day.

"Really?" Hermione shook her head. "I don't believe it."

Basil couldn't help but rub his eyes, mentally recalling Hermione's expression just now. Damn, a sea bass!?

"What are you doing?" Hermione looked at Basil in surprise, who had moved his butt back half a body. Why wasn't he sticking to her anymore?

Are you tired of me?

A sense of urgency spurred her to become bolder, and her hand began to reach for Basil's 'wand.' Her slender fingers began to play a symphony.

Basil wanted to create a coincidence beforehand so that Ginny and Harry would reconcile before getting off the train, putting all their anger towards Hermione behind them.

"Don't rush, let me add a few more spells."

"Don't tear it."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm"

"We've arrived at the station." Basil stood up.

The spell cards for internal Scourgify, Healing Charm, Repairing Charm, and fragrance spells flashed by.

Everything inside the carriage was back to the layout it had been an hour earlier.

Hermione, however, was still subconsciously fixing her hair and wiping her mouth.

Only after seeing the stockings Reparo did I understand what had happened.

Even so, on the way to Thestral, Hermione kept her head down unconsciously. She felt that people around her were scrutinizing her, as if she had given away some kind of mark or scent.

Basil would also occasionally joke about whether he should hide in the box—the one belonging to the leopard cat princess.

It wasn't until she was seated in the carriage that Hermione gasped for breath and slumped into the seat.

After a while, she remembered to cause trouble for the culprit, and with a flurry of playful punches, she yelled, "You're the one who went into the box!"

These weak words and punches didn't elicit any negative reaction from Basil; instead, they made him, who was already feeling unsatisfied, prepare to use his Iron Tail skill again.

"Merlin's Beard! You still want it?" Hermione was shocked. She withdrew her fist, curled up into a ball, and retreated.

"I'll let you go," Basil said.

Hermione patted her chest, not understanding the implied meaning.

At this moment, invisible magical light spread from two carriages not far away, and time inside them began to accelerate.

Pansy and Luna used Protego Totalum, Protego Totalum failed, and their clothes Diffindo. They then used Repel Enemy Three Feet, but that failed as well. Hufflepuff attacked, and their Soul Ejection. They were unable to rise again and suffered the negative status effect: Clear Water Like Spring, Loud Voice.

"What a thrilling magical duel!" Basil exclaimed as he stepped down from the carriage.

Hermione, still weak and being helped along, asked, "Where's the duel?"

She believed there was indeed a duel. She had known for a long time that Basil's senses were beyond those of ordinary people, and that was why she was not surprised that Basil could hear the sounds outside the carriage through the protective spell.

"In the woods." Basil wasn't lying; the carriage had indeed been traveling through the woods.

"Are students secretly fighting beasts in the woods?" Hermione misunderstood.

But this is indeed possible; the person can sit in the Great Hall and secretly release their summoned beasts to duel in the forest.

In fact, Hagrid had stopped such incidents many times, using his knowledge of Fantastic Beasts to determine whether they were real battles between Fantastic Beasts or simply energy projections.

"Ah, yes." Basil nodded.

He was still not lying; Seamus and Neville's Acromantula did indeed fight in the forest.

The origins of their Acromantula are both related to the Weasley brothers.

The two had been secretly running a smuggling business, sending their Acromantula into the Forbidden Forest to lure their relatives out (the Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest are all descendants of Aragog).

Then they resell them to little wizards for 1 Galleons each, cheaper than the Venom of the Acromantula (100 Galleons per pint).

As for why they don't sell Venom, it's because they already did.

Before the value of the Acromantula Venom depreciates.

Because of the existence of Summoning Card, the byproducts of Fantastic Beasts that can be replicated using magic (such as Venom and hair, which are renewable) have become worthless.

Only the byproducts of creatures like the phoenix, which have not yet been made into cards (the fact that Phoebe made cards for Fawkes has not yet been exposed), are still valuable.

In general, thanks to the endless supply of Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest, almost Gryffindor now owns one.

If Hagrid's Aragog hadn't been sent back to manage his own offspring and then discovered that many of them had disappeared, the Weasley twins' business might have even expanded into Slytherin.

Hermione also knew about this.

"Those spiders again."

Only the swarming, dark, Acromantula can Dadi duel in the forest.

"Hagrid is so careless. The Acromantula are almost surpassing the centaurs to become the number one race in the Forbidden Forest. If it weren't for Fred and George's help..."

"Yes," Basil nodded, "But it's also a tradition."

"It has always been a tradition for young wizards to bring Fantastic Beasts to Hogwarts and eventually leave them in the Forbidden Forest to reproduce."

"What?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"There is concrete evidence for this," Basil explained. "Early historical records and evidence such as wood carvings and stone inscriptions show that before the Hogwarts Express existed, Hogwarts students were accustomed to arriving at the school in any way they found interesting."

"Among them, only a minority ride brooms (this method is a difficult task to carry suitcases)."

"There are almost no attempts to teleport, since the castle and the campus are protected by anti-teleportation spells, and those who do end up in a very miserable state."

"Both the enchanted handcart and the horse-drawn carriage require considerable financial resources."

"Therefore, riding various Magical Creatures is the choice of most students."

"And while they were in school, they left them in the Forbidden Forest."

"So they just multiplied in the forest?" Hermione asked.

"That's why there are so many Magical Creatures in the Forbidden Forest that clearly come from all over the world," Basil said, pointing to a Thestral pulling a carriage toward them. "Hey, it's a confirmed descendant of the Thestral that students used to ride to school."

The Thestral stopped in front of the gate, and Harry, holding Ron's hand, jumped down from the carriage.

"Why aren't you going in yet?" Harry asked the two men after quietly letting go of Ron's hand.

"You know," Basil shrugged, "I'm Hufflepuff, Hermione is Gryffindor."

"At the opening banquet, we will still sit according to our college."

"It's better to stay outside a little longer than to go inside and separate."

"Are you and Ginny still arguing?" Hermione noticed that Ginny walked straight into the castle without waiting for Harry and Ron.

Harry muttered, "She said bad things about Ron."

"Say bad things about Roan?" Hermione, having picked up Basil's bad habits, pretended not to hear.

"It was my bad talk," Ron stepped forward.

"What did she say about you?" Hermione prompted, hoping to have a positive influence on Harry, Ginny, and Ron's tangled relationship, as they were all friends of each other.

"I'll do it," Harry said, shielding Ron as if he were a fragile piece of porcelain. "She said..."

"Ron is indeed playful," Hermione said fairly, "But Ginny shouldn't be saying that."

Ron nodded angrily, "She thinks she's the mother!"

Hermione changed the subject, "But Ron, you were the same. When you found out Harry and Ginny were together, what was your reaction? What did you say and do? Do you remember? You said Ginny needed your permission to date."

"You've both made the same mistake: loving and caring for each other too much has led to a loss of boundaries."

"Harry, you too, it's okay if Ginny insults you."

"They're siblings, why should you interfere? Just get Ron back. Ginny already knows the logic behind what he said."

"If you hadn't intervened, they probably would have made up by now."

"I'm going to find Ginny," Harry said quickly, afraid Hermione would continue nagging.

Basil ended his lingering in front of the gate for the same reason.

So the four of them hurriedly walked up the stone steps and entered the castle.

The Entrance Hall was bathed in the red glow of torches, echoing with the sound of their four empty footsteps.

They walked across the stone-paved ground and headed to the right through the two large doors leading to the Great Hall, where the opening banquet was to be held.

The Great Hall was filled with six long college dining tables, and the ceiling above them was pitch black without any stars, just like the sky they could see outside through the high windows.

Candles floated above the dining table, illuminating the few silvery ghosts that adorned the Great Hall and the excited faces of the students.

They almost all turned to look at Harry.

Even those students who didn't go home for the holidays but waited in the Great Hall were the same.

They had all heard about what happened on the train.

The fact that Ginny's face was as cold as ice as she walked in was also good evidence.

Harry could only pretend he hadn't seen her and didn't care as he walked toward Ginny.

Basil left the three of them and sat down at the Hufflepuff table.

Hermione gave Harry a shove, and he slumped down heavily in the empty seat next to Ginny. Ron took the other side, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Ginny," Harry said.

Ginny gave a soft hum.

The students watching this scene began to chatter amongst themselves.

Seamus and Neville across from each other exchanged knowing glances.

Fred and George had their fists clenched; if Harry treated Ginny badly, they would teach Ron a lesson!

If they can't teach Harry a lesson, can't they teach their own brother a lesson?

Under the watchful eyes of those around him, and even the Durmstrang students on the other side, Harry took a deep breath. "I have no feelings for Ron other than friendship."

"But you were mean to me." Ginny's square cheeks twitched.

Harry hugged Ginny tightly and gave her a deep kiss.

What he learned in the Rune Card World was that actions are sometimes more effective than words.

He does this every time Draco causes trouble.

Ginny indeed lost her ability to resist instantly.

Under the combined influence of the male wizard's charm and his love for Harry, both physically and Mind Stone, Ginny was utterly powerless to resist.

Even her thin arms and legs couldn't escape Harry's bear hug, whose body had been magically altered.

She could only close her eyes and enjoy it.

Ron, who was about to say something on Harry's behalf, froze, a strange pang of sadness gripping his heart.

But Lavender, who hugged him from behind, helped him regain his sense of self, and he tilted his head back to kiss Lavender.

The entire Great Hall instantly erupted in noise.

Countless couples began to emulate Harry and Ginny.

Snape looked at Lily and tried to touch her fingers, but he touched nothing but air (Heroic Spirits are just projections in the real world).

Dumbledore blocked Ariana's view.

Hagrid took a sip of his drink and lunged at Madame Maxime.

Professor McGonagall also took a sip of her drink, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes, perhaps thinking of her deceased husband, or perhaps of the kiss she shared with Hagrid at the ball.

Pansy and Luna glanced at Hermione, then secretly Basil...

Hermione ran to Hufflepuff's table, shooed away a group of witches who wanted to take advantage of the situation, and prepared to stamp Basil's mouth to assert her dominance.

Phoebe appeared amidst the flashes of firelight, pulled Hermione away, and brought her lips to hers.

"Please be careful!" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but tap her glass, ending the lively atmosphere in the Great Hall.

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. I hope everyone will set a good example for the new students, rather than..."

She didn't say a final word, but instead stood up and quickly walked out of the Great Hall.

Hermione cast a knowing glance toward Professor McGonagall's retreating figure.

Unbeknownst to her, Phoebe took advantage of the moment she turned her head to launch a sneak attack on Basil.

Basil could only respond with 'hardship' and 'helplessness'.

What can you do when someone is Champion? As an outsider wizard, I can only silently bear the consequences.

Life can be cruel like that sometimes, and you just have to endure it.