You Think Old Dumbledore Wouldn't Rig Things?

"Potter! Do you dare have a Wizard Duel with me?"

Malfoy secretly glanced at Dylan. Seeing that Dylan had no intention of paying attention to them, his eyes lit up.

Could this guy have had a fight with Harry? Heh heh, Harry that idiot always likes hanging around lowborn trash. He must have offended him because of that!

With that thought, his bearing grew increasingly imposing.

Yet he still kept his voice low.

He had not forgotten that Dylan had said he liked quiet.

In fact, during the latter half of Flying Class, Harry and Malfoy had clashed quite a bit over the flying trials between their two Houses.

However, with Madam Hooch keeping an eye on them, neither dared go too far.

Harry had not expected Malfoy to come looking for trouble after class had already ended.

Faced with this, Harry, who had never liked this guy who looked down on his friends, naturally would not back down. Wouldn't that mean he was afraid of Malfoy?

The only problem was that he had no idea what a Wizard Duel was.

Just as he was considering how to respond, Ron suddenly stood up beside him and accepted Malfoy's challenge on Harry's behalf.

"A Wizard Duel, right? We accept!"

Hermione tried to stop him, but Ron's mouth was simply too fast.

Malfoy had even left with his lackeys before she had a chance to get a word in.

Hermione looked at Ron and Harry, who had sat back down and leaned their heads together, whispering quietly.

Her eyes widened.

"A Wizard Duel? Are you trying to get a huge number of points deducted from our House? This violates the School Rules!"

Ron gave her an unconcerned look. "As long as we keep it secret, no one will find out."

Hermione looked at him as though he were an idiot. "How can you guarantee that you won't be discovered?"

"If you get caught, the points Dylan and I earned for the House will all be deducted! You can't be so selfish!"

"We're doing this so Gryffindor won't lose face in front of Slytherin!" Harry and Ron turned their heads away and stopped looking at Hermione.

No matter what Hermione said, the two of them acted as though they had not heard her.

Hermione looked toward Dylan some distance away.

By then, Dylan had already eaten the last piece of steak, a satisfied expression on his face.

I'm full~

I'll have more energy for reading later!

"Hey, they're dead set on going to fight like roosters. I seriously suspect they've been cursed by some childish dueling spell! Aren't you going to talk them out of it?"

Hearing Hermione's words, Dylan blinked.

"What would I talk them out of?"

Hermione's eyes widened again.

"Of course, you should talk them out of violating the School Rules!"

Dylan glanced at Harry.

While Hermione was asking Dylan for help, Ron and Harry had already stopped loudly plotting and were secretly peeking at Dylan from the corners of their eyes.

When they saw his gaze sweep over them, both quickly lowered their heads.

They naturally would not listen to Hermione telling them not to duel, but if it were Dylan...

"My personal opinion, Miss Hermione, is that points are merely fleeting footnotes in life. They cannot anchor the value of life itself."

A faint smile curved Dylan's lips as he calmly gazed at Hermione.

"What we truly need to focus on is the concentration we give while striving to earn points, and the instant sparks collide in our minds when we overcome difficult problems—not some cold number at the end."

"If you can understand that points cannot define our souls or our lives, then I dare say that even over this entire school year, the heights you can reach will far surpass those within your grasp now."

Dylan's voice carried a steadiness beyond his years, clear and pure, every word unhurried.

Hermione froze, and it seemed as though something clicked in her mind.

Yet for the moment, she could not quite make sense of what Dylan meant.

She still felt that points were very important.

How could points not be important?

Besides, after saying all that, was Dylan just refusing to take her side?

"So you're not going to talk them out of it?"

Dylan shook his head.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Hmph! You boys are simply impossible to reason with! When the House Cup ends up in another House's hands, then you'll know better!"

She rose to her feet in a huff and strode out of the Great Hall.

Dylan watched Hermione's retreating figure and shook his head helplessly.

He had absolutely no desire to get involved in whatever was going on between Harry and Malfoy.

After all, Harry was the future Savior. It was perfectly normal for him to have a bit of fighting spirit at this stage.

Although Dylan had not paid attention when Malfoy came over to provoke Harry, he had still caught the general gist of the whole incident.

The reason he had not stepped in was partly because he had been enjoying his dinner, and partly because there was simply no need for him to interfere.

Just as he had told Hermione, points were completely useless to him. He would rather learn a couple more spells.

Perhaps winning the House Cup would let him unlock another achievement.

But...

Leaving aside whether Harry and Malfoy would be caught sneaking out for a duel in the middle of the night.

Even if they were caught and points were deducted, how many points could they possibly lose?

Even if all their points were taken away...

Old Dumbledore would never let the House Cup fall into the hands of the other three Houses.

A little behind-the-scenes manipulation, and wouldn't the House Cup still be theirs?

Did anyone really think Old Dumbledore would not secretly give Harry special treatment?

So, with Harry around, there were actually many House-related matters Dylan did not need to worry about.

He just needed to study his own magic in peace and, while he was at it, use Harry to unlock a few achievements.

Wasn't that the best of both worlds?

"I knew you wouldn't be like Hermione, Dylan—just standing there and watching Gryffindor get laughed at by Slytherin!"

Seeing Hermione storm off and Dylan showing no intention of stopping them, Ron excitedly tried to rush over and give Dylan a bear hug.

Dylan had just risen from his seat when he saw Ron's movement. His calm expression changed at once, and his eyes went wide.

Ron immediately froze in place and awkwardly withdrew his arms.

"I have no objections if you want to duel. But since you've made that decision, whatever consequences come afterward can only be borne by yourselves."

Dylan's expression settled back into calm as he glanced at Ron and Harry.

"As your friend, I still have to remind you of that."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Also, don't count on both Houses losing points if you get caught. The professor who catches you dueling might be Professor Snape."

"Ah?!"

Dylan's words made Ron and Harry, who had been full of fighting spirit, both shudder.

That stern, spiteful face appeared in their minds.

"I'm going to get some Private Tutoring from a professor. You two take care of yourselves."

Dylan picked up his bag, packed away his things, then took out his notebook. Flipping through it as he read, he headed toward the doors of the Great Hall.