Harry: What Did You Just Say?

On his way back to the Common Room, Loren kept thinking about the Fountain of Good Fortune.

He had skimmed through the famous the Tales of Beedle the Bard, but at the time his attention was entirely focused on the last story—"The Tale of the Three Brothers."

Based on current information, the Deathly Hallows are real, and so is the Fountain of Good Fortune.

Does this mean that the magic involved in the other stories is also real?

"The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Wizard's the Warlock's Humbled Heart, and what was that other story again?" Loren muttered, giving the Fat Lady the command before disappearing into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Inside the circular lounge, the walls were adorned with leftover Halloween ribbons, and a warm flame surged from the fireplace.

"That's amazing! I never knew you were so brave, Neville!"

"Justin was terrified, thank goodness for you!"

"Why are you blushing? You weren't like this when you were brandishing the snake, haha!"

A group of young wizards surrounded Neville, smearing his face with all sorts of cream in celebration of his heroic act that day.

The lively atmosphere seemed quite nice, and it appeared that nothing unpleasant had happened because of Harry.

Loren felt much relieved, but after scanning the area, he still couldn't find Hermione, Harry, or Ron.

He quietly crept up to Seamus and Dean, who were chatting by the window, and patted Seamus on the shoulder.

"I'm sure I believe—" Seamus, who was leaning against the window, turned his head, his eyes lighting up. "Hey, Loren, tonight's duel was fantastic! Emmm... I mean, if it weren't for what happened afterward..."

Loren interrupted him, "Have you seen Hermione? And Harry and Ron, where did they go?"

Before Seamus could answer, Cormac Maclagan, who was standing not far away, shouted, "Unbelievable! You're still looking for that person."

Maclagan was a year ahead of them, always arrogant, self-centered, and with a terrible temper. He was always talking about wanting to be Quidditch player, but Wood didn't seem keen on letting him join the team.

Because of Loren's brilliant performance on stage, Maclagan had the idea of befriending him. When he heard him ask where Harry was, he couldn't wait to jump out and said in a concerned manner, "I remember you are Muggle-born wizard, right? Let me tell you, the thing you should do right now is go back to your dormitory, pack your things, and move out to stay away from that person."

Seemingly pleased with his idea, he raised his eyebrows and continued, "And Miss Granger, you should advise her to stay away from that person too. Who knows, you might both end up petrified and sent to the Hospital Wing at any time!"

He was so afraid that others wouldn't hear him and wouldn't be able to show off, that he shouted it very loudly, and almost all the young wizards in Gryffindor heard it.

As if by Magic Power, Maclagan's few words interrupted the lively scene, and the Common Room fell silent.

This person probably has some kind of problem.

Loren looked at him calmly, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for every young wizard in the common room to hear. "First of all, Harry is my roommate, a classmate from the same house as me, and a partner who has been through life-and-death adventures with me. I know him, so I trust him."

"Secondly, your behavior of criticizing Harry but not daring to name him only makes you look ridiculous."

The others began to whisper among themselves:

"He really didn't dare Harry's name just now."

"I know, just like my parents are afraid to mention Voldemort's name, Maclagan is really afraid of Harry."

"Are they afraid Harry will petrify him?"

Ginny's rebuttal sprang out amidst the chattering noise, her voice cracking with excitement. "Harry isn't the heir to the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets, he wouldn't petrify people!"

At this moment, Neville, who had haphazardly smeared cream all over his face, stepped out from the crowd, walked to Loren's side, and said with a silly but determined look on his face, "I believe in Harry too."

Seamus didn't speak, but silently stood beside the two of them, making his stance clear.

Maclagan turned bright red, and he shouted even louder, "Are you all idiots? Didn't you hear Harry Potter Parselmouth? Doesn't that prove he's the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Think about it! He was there when Mrs. Norris was murdered, and Creevey was petrified because he sneaked out to visit him in the hospital. Isn't that enough to prove that he is the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Nonsense! Ron was with Mrs. Norris the night she was murdered." Ginny stepped forward to rebuke him, then walked over to Loren and the others to state her position.

"Huh?" Maclagan became even more smug. "This proves Ron is an accomplice. Everyone knows the Weasley are also Pure-blood Families. You may appear indifferent to bloodlines, but your actions uphold the Pure-blood. Even when you're impoverished, you still have so many children. What else could it be but to perpetuate the bloodline?"

Ginny was so angry that her hair stood on end, her red hair flowing like a lion's mane. She screamed and rushed at him, trying to tear his mouth apart.

George and Fred quickly stopped her, each grabbing one of Ginny's arms and saying, "Lady, lady..."

Ginny struggled to break free and teach that foul-mouthed person a lesson.

George whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, don't worry, we'll teach him a lesson."

"That's right, we have a lot of interesting things that we haven't tested on humans yet." Fred gently brushed her hair down.

Just then, Percy, who was trying to maintain order, stepped out from the crowd and overheard Fred's words as he passed the three of them. He glared at them, pursed his lips, but didn't say anything to warn them.

"Look, look, even Prefect Percy is angry."

"He didn't stop us..."

"Listen to me, everyone," Percy stepped between Loren and Maclagan, separating them, and raised his hand to draw the crowd's attention. "Professor Snape specifically warned us against spreading unfounded rumors. Harry is a member of our house, and I want you to believe him."

Percy's gaze swept over the crowd in front of him. "Even if you don't want to believe it, I hope everyone will take the school's investigation as the standard and not make unfounded speculations."

The chattering and discussion started again.

Do you believe it?

"I don't know, but I'm Pure-blood, so I don't need to worry."

"Oh no, my grandma is Muggle, am I going to be petrified?"

"Then you should avoid Potter from now on."

"..."

Finally, Wood stood up and led the Quidditch players in supporting Harry, which barely quelled the doubts. However, the lively gathering could no longer continue, and everyone dispersed, gathering in small groups of two or three.

Seamus patted Loren on the shoulder with a sigh, "When Harry and the others first came back, they couldn't stand these words anymore and went out for some fresh air."

Where did they go?

"The Astronomy Tower, they say the air there is fresh."

The Astronomy Tower is the tallest tower in Hogwarts Castle, where students have a weekly Astronomy Class. They observe the Planetary Orbits through Telescope, exploring the cosmos and magic. The class usually takes place at midnight, when the stars are clearest.

This is a spacious, circular Terrace surrounded by a low wall. The sky seems so low that you could reach into the clouds if you raised your arm, but when you do, you realize that the stars high in the night sky are still far away.

When Loren arrived at the Astronomy Tower, Harry was leaning against the parapet, angrily complaining, "How could they think I was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"

Hermione and Ron stood on either side of Harry, looking utterly helpless.

Hermione said, "Because Parselmouth is Salazar Slytherin's famous ability, everyone thinks you are Heir of Slytherin."

Ron continued, "That's right, now everyone in the school thinks you're his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson or something..."

"I was telling the snake not to attack Justin. I can't think of any downside to stopping a huge, ugly snake from biting off Justin's head, except that it would prevent him from joining the Headless Hunt Team." Harry was furious; he'd only managed to cause trouble by trying to help.

"Great, only that snake understood what you said. Do you want it to come out and vouch for you?" Loren followed the formation and stood next to Hermione. "Are you out of your mind? Those who don't believe you will never believe you. Why are you standing here in the cold wind for them?"

The cruel and blunt words pierced Harry's lungs, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Hermione gently tugged at his sleeve, trying to stop him from hurting himself further.

"Just now in the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginny was trying to defend you. If George and Fred hadn't stopped her, she would have rushed up and torn apart Maclagan's mouth for talking bad about you," Loren said.

Ron grinned. "George and Fred, really, why are they stopping Ginny?"

Loren looked at Harry's dejected appearance with disdain. "If Ginny saw the person she's been so desperate to protect looking like this, she'd probably regret it."

Ron frowned. Something about what he said sounded off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"And Wood and the others, standing up for you despite all the doubts. Pshaw! I feel so sorry for them."

Ginny, Wood ... Harry's nose stung with tears, and he forced himself to keep the tears from welling up in his eyes. He stood up and walked back. "I need to go and explain to those people that I did this to save people. I am Gryffindor student, not some Heir of Slytherin."

He looked ready to fight to the death, so none of them dared to let him go back. They were afraid that if they couldn't get through to him, it would turn into a wand-wielding argument.

Hermione pulled him back. "Calm down first. Like Loren said, those who believe you don't need explanations. Those who don't believe you, no amount of explanation will help."

"Yeah, you can't just cram the truth into their heads," Ron nodded in agreement.

So the group sat down and, while Harry calmed down, began to analyze the current situation.

It was a bit windy, so they leaned against the parapet. Hermione summoned several bright blue flames, warming the area a little:

"Go talk to Justin tomorrow and make things clear. Whether he believes it or not, we've explained it."

"Go see Headmaster Dumbledore again. He will definitely believe you. As long as the professors are on your side, we don't need to pay attention to those rumors."

"For the rest of the time, we'll keep a low profile. The Polyjuice Potion should be ready before Christmas. Once we get information out of Malfoy and find the true heir, the matter will be resolved."

Honestly, Harry thought Hermione's mind was always much more useful than theirs. Listening to her explain things point by point and make reasonable arrangements, his anxiety gradually subsided.

A cool breeze brushed against my neck, giving me a feeling similar to riding a flying broomstick.

The stars overhead were bright, while the Castle below was pitch black. The subtle contrast gave Harry a strange sense of destiny. At one moment, he suddenly felt that this tower had an unusual connection with him.

They chatted about all sorts of things, about the bumbling Professor Lockhart, and, as expected, Snape, who was a formidable duelist. They talked about "Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump," and about how Loren had mastered the Memory Charm.

Hermione suddenly remembered that Loren had been missing all afternoon because he was working on Alchemy. She nudged Loren with her shoulder and said, "What new thing did you make this afternoon? Show it to us!"

"Alchemy!"

Harry and Ron remembered the magical storage box and Hermione's storage pouch, and they looked at Loren expectantly.

Ron's eyes sparkled. "Is it for our storage equipment?"

"Uh—" Loren paused for a moment, then said calmly, "I was planning to give you the storage equipment as a Christmas gift, but this time I'm crafting something else entirely."

Given his current Alchemy skills, crafting storage equipment would be a piece of cake. Consider it a birthday gift to make up for it; he'd given them both gifts on his own birthday, but he'd barely remembered theirs.

"Long live Morgan!"

Harry and Ron were completely unaware of anything amiss, and their cheers carried far into the night from the Astronomy Tower.

Only Hermione gave Loren a strange look; she sensed a lie.

Loren took out the repaired Bloody Mary's Hand Mirror from his pocket. "It wasn't crafted by me, but a magical item that I repaired. I'm not sure how the mirror was originally used."

"When I was repairing the mirror, I added some magic circles. The most basic way to use it is to use the reflection of the mirror to dazzle others, which will cause them to forget for a short period of time."

This is a magic array set up to control the influence of the Soul- Soul Stone Soul Stone, preventing it from unrestrainedly absorbing the good emotions and memories of others, which happens to fit perfectly with his newly learned Memory Charm.

The three of them leaned closer to examine the hand mirror. Its silver surface shimmered with a moon-like radiance. Seven teardrop-shaped petals swirled and enveloped the mirror, making it resemble the flower's heart. A thick, black handle served as the flower's stem, its end adorned with a red gemstone. A small bulge, like a calyx, rose on the back of the flower.

"Then can you help Harry forget his troubles?" Ron followed Loren's suggestion and turned the mirror toward Harry's eyes, the silvery moonlight flashing by.

Harry was momentarily stunned, and it took him a few seconds to come to his senses. "What did you just say?"

"I said this mirror will help you forget your troubles!" Ron shook Harry again.

What did you just say?

"I said I'd help you forget your troubles..."

Ron suddenly discovered how fun the mirror was, and if he weren't afraid of being beaten up by Harry, he could have kept playing with it forever.

"Let Harry go. His emotions have been all over the place tonight, and his soul is probably a bit unstable. He's easily influenced by the mirror." Loren was speechless. This guy really is a good brother; he's even gotten addicted to this.

Harry snapped out of his daze again, "What did you just say?"

"Go back to the lounge. If you don't pull yourself together, you're going to be dazed by this mirror." Hermione's teeth ached. "He just dazzled you with this mirror six times."

"Ron Weasley!" Harry's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Ron put down the mirror and ran.