Fortune Favors Fools

When Loren withdrew from the Fantasy Book, the sky outside the Castle had already turned a pale white, and a faint golden light shone from the distant mountains.

It was around five or six o'clock, and the early summer sunrise was brewing. The four roommates were fast asleep.

There was no sound from the dormitory. Loren could hear Neville's long, even breathing. He rarely snored after losing weight, probably because he had become more robust. Loren got up and went to Harry's bedside, calling softly, "Harry, Harry..."

Harry's eyelids fluttered a few times, his brows furrowed tightly as he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was dull and lifeless, and he blinked, about to close them again. His body was awake, but his mind was still processing; someone who had only slept for three hours was at risk of failing to boot up at any moment.

Loren waved his hand, drawing his attention. "Wake up, Harry, wake up..."

Where is this?

Oh, it seems to be a dormitory...

Who is this?

Oh, it's Loren...

Harry's gaze slowly focused, and his mind gradually returned to normal. As he regained some consciousness, he heard his roommate, with his black hair and black eyes, say softly, "Congratulations, Harry, the surgery was a success. You're a girl now!"

"!"

Harry's eyes narrowed, his pupils contracted sharply, and he sat up abruptly from the four-poster bed.

His brain processed at an unprecedented speed, quickly grasping the situation around him. After letting out a sigh of relief, a deep weariness washed over him. He looked speechlessly at his roommate. "Loren, do you think this is fun?"

Loren nodded in satisfaction and turned to go to the bathroom to wash up. "Ron is still asleep, wake him up."

Harry watched him walk away, then looked at Ron on the bed next to him, pursed his lips, and a glint of light flickered in his eyes.

When Loren returned after brushing his teeth and washing his face, he saw Harry and Ron chanting the Animagus spell. However, their expressions were a bit strange. Harry had a satisfied smile on his face, while Ron was indignant and would glare at Harry every now and then.

"Amado, Animo... Animado, Animagus ..."

"Harry, how was it..." Loren leaned closer and whispered, "Was it really fun?"

Harry paused in his chanting, then thought for a moment, "Ron comes from a wizarding family, he doesn't know what surgery and turning into a girl means... so I switched to magic and it worked, he's now a little Witch."

"Hey!" Loren laughed. "You're pretty good at improvising!"

Harry didn't answer, but a slight smile appeared on his lips as he closed his eyes and continued to concentrate on chanting the spell.

Ron's suspicious gaze swept between the two of them. Harry had just said that the prank was to make him come to his senses faster, and he felt that something was not right.

But my mind is a bit foggy right now, and I haven't been able to spot any flaws.

Final exams are over, the school year is over, and even the weather seems to be celebrating. In the summer of June, the days are sunny and cloudless, the clear blue sky looks like it has been washed clean, and the sun bakes the grass until it's scorching hot.

The young wizards, no longer in school, would often wander around outside the Castle with a few pints of chilled Pumpkin Juice, sit down in the shade of a tree, and watch the leaves sway in the breeze or watch the Giant Squid swimming dreamily on the lake.

Fred and George roamed the world, freed from the drudgery of the OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Levels), freely basking in the sunlight and reveling in their joy.

Percy also completed the NEWT (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), and he got rid of the neurotic and hyperactive review phase, becoming more relaxed. However, he often wondered why he wasn't as happy as his two silly younger brothers when he passed the NEWT.

However, Percy also benefited from this, as the Twins stopped bothering him with their antics, giving him ample time and energy to date Penelope.

Professor Lupin's examination room became a playground for the young wizards, who tirelessly teased Grindylow and the Red Cap in the rock cave. Even when they were beaten black and blue, they would still happily go over to him the next day.

Thanks to the end of the final exams, several young wizards summoned physical Patronus, and Ron was one of them. His Patronus was a hound. Although it wasn't very cool or imposing, he was still very happy and often summoned his Patronus to run with Fang in the forest.

Five days after the exams, Angelina Johnson, the new captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, gathered all the players for a final farewell practice at the Quidditch Pitch.

"Same as always!" Angelina shouted. "First, we'll ride brooms around the field 20 times, then split into two teams for counter-attacking drills!"

The Quidditch players remained silent.

"Harry!" Angelina looked at him. "You take Ginny to do Seeker practice, and then put the broom back in the storage room, understand?"

"Yes, Captain!"

Harry answered loudly, suppressing the sting in his nose and trying his best to keep his eyes from looking at the old captain on the stage.

The other players were the same; they tried to look straight ahead, but their eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Oliver Wood.

"Now, let's begin training!"

The flying broomsticks soared into the air, the bright red Gryffindor Quidditch Team robes fluttered in the wind, and the players looked serious as if they were in the middle of a grand competition, even more serious than the final against Slytherin.

Harry thought Wood would say something to the players, like he always did before a game.

But no.

There was nothing there.

When training ended and everyone returned to the locker room to take off their Gryffindor Quidditch Team jerseys, Wood was no longer in the stands.

George and Fred led the other players back to the Castle slowly. Angelina scolded Ron and Maclagan conceding goals today, her voice as normal as any other training session.

Harry silently withdrew his gaze, picked up the bundled flying broomsticks, and strode toward the storage room.

Ginny quickly followed in his footsteps.

"During my first Flying Class, I caused Malfoy to break an arm, a leg, and several ribs. I heard Madam Hooch say it was alright. At that time, I had just entered Hogwarts, and I felt that I had messed up, messed up badly."

Harry seemed to be talking to Ginny, but it also sounded like he was talking to himself.

Ginny looked at his hair, which was damp with sweat and hung down in clumps.

Of course she knew about it. Ron had told it more than a dozen times when he first came home for vacation, as if it were an achievement he was proud of. But no one but her wanted to listen.

What was she thinking at the time—

Oh, that's so cool, that's exactly what Harry Potter should be doing!

"Then Professor McGonagall found me, and I thought she was going to expel me. That felt awful. I was wondering how I was going to go back and face my aunt and uncle... Then the professor handed me over to Captain Wood, and that was the first time I met him..."

Harry rambled on and on, from how he met Captain Wood to how he missed his first practice because of the Mirror of Erised, and how Captain Wood almost shot him into the Quaffle Quidditch hoop...

Ginny remained silent, quietly following behind him with her flying broom in her arms.

She felt as if she had met a different Harry, not as cool, not as flamboyant, but she felt that the two of them were closer.

As they approached the storeroom, Harry, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and exclaimed, "Wood!"

Ginny didn't have time to stop and bumped into his back. She moved her feet away in a panic and looked ahead.

Graduate Oliver Wood stood in the storage room doorway, smiling at them, as if he had been waiting there for quite some time.

evening.

After spending the day reading palms under the shade of a tree, Loren and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and found a noisy group of young wizards gathered in the middle of the room, seemingly watching something exciting.

Loren pushed his way through the crowd and found that it was Colin taking pictures of the Quidditch team. The next second, he was dragged in.

"Oh!" George exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "Isn't this an unofficial member of our team?"

Fred dragged him to the right side of the line: "Come on, let's take a picture together!"

Loren stood on the far right, dazed, facing the camera in front of him.

The Quidditch Cup and the House Cup trophy from recent years have been moved from the Prefects' bathroom. Harry and Ron also have the "Special Contribution Award" medal, which they won for defeating the Basilisk.

"Smile!" Colin shouted.

All the players were wearing bright red team jerseys, surrounding Harry and Wood in the center. Ron moved towards the center, but after only a couple of steps, George noticed his movement and, together with Fred, pulled him back.

Click!

The image freezes at that moment.

All the young wizards crowded around, clinging to Colin's shoulders to examine the photos.

Ron stared at the photo, his pupils dilating, his eyes twitching uncontrollably—

Everyone else in the photo is smiling and waving, while he is struggling awkwardly, with George and Fred next to him laughing especially heartily.

Ron looked extremely upset, as if he couldn't accept it at all, and shouted, "Reshoot! I want to reshoot!"

"Why retake it?" George, taking advantage of his height, pushed him aside with a wave of his hand and said with a grin, "Isn't this a great photo? Put this picture in the display case in the Prefects' bathroom with the trophy, so that students can still see it even many years later."

Fred nodded in agreement. "They'll know how glorious Gryffindor has been these past few years. Oh, I'm so excited I could faint just thinking about it!"

Ron became even more agitated, his face contorted with rage. He clenched his fists and glared angrily at the Twins: "It's all your fault! I'll take you both down with me! You bastards!"

The three played a chase game in the Common Room, running up and down the stairs, their shoes clattering on the wooden floor. Whenever Ron was about to catch the Twins, they would suddenly accelerate and leap ahead to shake off their pursuers, but when the Twins were about to completely escape, they would pretend to be exhausted and pant on the spot, making a few witty remarks to tease Ron.

Ron knew they were making fun of him, but he just couldn't help it.

Loren, who had managed to snag a photo, chatted with Colin for a long time, their conversation revolving around cameras and lenses, photographic paper and Developing Potion, aperture parameters and product prices, with composition and color being a complete mess.

The chatter continued for a long time in the Common Room until night fell and candlelight was lit, at which point it gradually quieted down.

Ron sat down next to Harry, panting. He had finally managed to get a good punch on his two brothers, who, in his mind, were already cursed and would be tormented to death by the curse in a hundred or two hundred years.

The method was cruel; it finally vented my anger!

Harry was chatting with Loren, Hermione, and Neville about Animagus, but it was just casual conversation, not a serious inquiry. He figured he'd probably fail again.

Ron slowly caught his breath and asked curiously, "Harry, what did Wood say to you when he came back?"

Harry remained silent for a moment, and before he could answer, Loren suddenly said slowly, "Wood said that once Angelina graduates, Harry will take over as captain of the team."

"What!?" Ron's eyes widened as he looked at Harry in disbelief. "You're the captain!?"

"Just kidding, you'll be the captain," Loren said again.

"Huh... huh?" Ron was a little confused.

"Wood said you have a strong sense of strategy, understand tactics, and happen to be a goalkeeper. After Angelina graduates, you can take over the captaincy." Loren sipped his tea calmly.

Harry held his teacup and drank, silently nodding to Ron, his eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight.

Neville seemed to want to say something but held back, as if he was struggling to keep it to himself.

Hermione suddenly became interested in the tea leaves in the teacup, staring intently at them as if she were in Divination Class.

Ron slowly frowned, wanting to believe but not daring to. He had many doubts but didn't know where to begin, so he began to ponder the truth of these words.

After sitting there for almost half an hour, just as Ron was starting to question his existence, Loren reminded him:

Why don't you go and verify this with Wood?

Ron sat up abruptly, turned around, and ran off to find Wood.

Harry looked up at Loren, his expression complicated. "Wood didn't mention the captaincy, he just told me to help Angelina build the team..."

"Really?" Loren took a sip of tea and sighed. "Then why didn't you remind Ron?"

Harry's expression became even more complex, a mixture of pleasure and a touch of guilt lingering in his mind.

A few minutes later, Ron returned with light steps. He put his arm around Harry's shoulder and patted him repeatedly, saying happily, "It's really unexpected! Wood actually made me captain! He said he's already talked to Angelina, and as long as I prepare more tactics for the team and grow into an excellent goalkeeper, he'll make me captain from now on!"

Ron happily popped an earwax-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans into his mouth, smacked his lips, and surprisingly found it quite tasty.

Harry's expression turned sour, and Neville and Hermione beside him looked at Loren with surprise and suspicion.

He wasn't just playing a prank on someone?

Loren looked at the grinning Ron and fell silent. Was this a case of fools having all the luck...?