Gryffindor's New King!

As June arrived, the atmosphere in the castle became tense and exciting again, with everyone looking forward to the third competition to be held a week before the holidays.

Harry didn't pay any attention to the complex world of adults inside the Headmaster's Office.

He certainly understood the logic of politics; after all, back in the Malfoy family, Mr. Septimus had practically taught him how to make a name for himself on the political stage... But it was precisely for this reason that he was actually quite resistant to these complex things.

It must be said that this may also be a negative influence on him from the Malfoy family's cramming education.

However, Harry was indeed quite grateful to Mr. Malfoy. Although he was just Cassandra's sidekick, the Malfoy family never truly treated him as a servant.

People often only understand the good intentions of their elders after they grow up, and Harry only understood why Mr. Septimus had nurtured him so much, even to the point of exhausting the family's resources, after confirming Cassandra's feelings.

Last summer, he returned to the Malfoy Manor and had a long chat with Mr. Septimus.

Although Mr. Septimus always looked at him with disapproval, he was still willing to have a good chat with him and remind him that "the British Ministry of Magic can only be the Britain Ministry of Magic."

Harry didn't quite grasp the point of Mr. Septimus's words, but he still kept them in mind.

However, when he left the Headmaster's Office, he told Cassandra in detail what had just happened.

Cassandra seemed a little impatient, but Harry wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that she was actually quite happy.

On the day of the competition, the breakfast table in Gryffindor was bustling with activity.

The owl that delivered the mail arrived, bringing Harry a lucky card from Sirius.

It was just a piece of Parchment, folded in two, with a muddy paw print on it, but Harry liked it.

"Oh, it seems your Godfather dog quite likes marking places," Cassandra said, sitting down beside him with a hint of disdain. "But I feel like he hasn't grown up yet. I really don't know which of you two is the child."

"That's your Godfather too," Harry replied without looking up.

Cassandra grunted, but said nothing.

"So," she said again, "Are you ready? After all, your plans..."

At this point, Cassandra fell silent.

"It's alright," Harry shrugged. "Knowing something means you're prepared, which is better than being suddenly sent to your destination without any warning, isn't it?"

Cassandra did not speak.

After a moment, she took a pendant from her neck and handed it to Harry.

"Put it on." Her words left no room for argument.

"What's this?"

Harry reached out and took the pendant. It felt incredibly warm to the touch, still warm from his body heat.

"It's quite warm," he commented again.

Cassandra's face visibly flushed red. She turned her head away, pretending to look at the professors in the High Table, without saying a word.

Harry realized he had said something wrong and made her shy when she didn't speak, so he put the pendant around his neck.

"It's alright, not cold at all," he said deliberately, going along with the mistake.

As a result Cassandra's foot appeared on top of Harry's foot.

The sole of that little leather shoe was still a bit hard, making Harry grimace as he stepped on it.

"This is because you didn't keep your mouth shut," Cassandra said coldly. "If you don't want it, I can sew it up stitch by stitch!"

"Oh," Harry replied honestly, then added cheekily, "I really didn't know you could sew..."

"Hmph." Cassandra glared at him, then got up and returned to the Slytherin's long table.

A little while later, Pabbie came over again.

"Harry ~" Pabbie sat down beside him, smiling, and said, "How are you feeling? Are you nervous?"

"My name is Not Nervous," Harry replied casually. "Actually, I wasn't that nervous, but after you asked me that, I suddenly got a little nervous."

"Huh?" Pabbie. "Really? Are you really nervous? I didn't sense it..."

"Feel it if you don't believe me." Harry pointed to his arm. "I'm so nervous I'm shaking a little."

Pabbie obediently touched Harry's arm, only to find it wouldn't budge.

"You're just kidding!" she said sweetly, gently pinching Harry's arm. "I didn't feel you trembling."

"Because I wasn't nervous after seeing you," Harry chuckled.

Pabbie:...

"You're getting worse and worse!" she snorted, then glanced around furtively and whispered to Harry, "I've found out exactly what Magical Creatures Newt lent Dumbledore..."

"You'd better keep me a surprise, Pabbie," Harry said, shaking his head. "That wouldn't be fair to the other two champions."

"Ha, actually, Madame Maxime and that wretched Karkaroff already knew the result!" Pabbie said in a low voice. "Knowing that doesn't count as cheating!"

"Don't worry, Pabbie," Harry said softly. "They are them, and I am me. Don't you have any faith in me?"

Pabbie pouted, but still respected Harry's opinion.

"Then I wish you peace," she said. "I hope everything goes well for you..."

She stopped mid-sentence.

Pabbie was certainly aware of Harry and his friends' plans, but with so many people around and so many people talking, it wasn't convenient for her to say much. She could only leave things unsaid and remain a riddle.

She had no doubt that Harry could win the final championship, but Pabbie felt a little uneasy about falling into Voldemort's trap.

"Of course." Harry patted Pabbie on the shoulder.

Just then, the hooting of an owl came from outside.

Hedwig flew in and threw a stack of newspapers on the table.

Pabbie picked up the newspaper, glanced at it, and then suddenly spat out all the coffee she was drinking onto it.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"See for yourself," Pabbie said, handing the newspaper to Harry. "Veratia might not be able to come today..."

Harry took the newspaper, glanced at the photos, and then sprayed Pumpkin Juice onto it.

The picture above is of Veratia, wearing the Diadem on her head, with the words "The Queen is crowned today" written in bold and capital letters.

Of course, this title is just a gimmick, meant to attract attention.

The following is Veratia's overwhelming victory in the latest round of voting, which led to her being elected Minister of Greater German Ministry of Magic.

"This..." Harry looked up at Pabbie, then glanced at the newspaper, feeling that all of this was not quite real.

Holy crap, how come he was the Minister for Magic this time last year, and now he's successfully become the Minister for Magic?

Your triple jump was incredibly fast...

He truly couldn't forget the scene of Veratia standing like a lackey during the World Cup when he was seventeen...

"I'm not surprised," Pabbie said, wiping his mouth. "After all, that Vera Rosier looked like a puppet of the Grindelwald family... Now Veratia's probably stopped pretending and is too lazy to manipulate things from behind the scenes..."

Harry could tell, of course, that Veratia had pushed him to the forefront, but he never expected that Veratia would be so eager to take the position.

Is something urgent?

"What?" Hermione asked, craning her neck. "Rita Skeeter again?"

"Uh... see for yourself." Harry handed the wet newspaper to Hermione.

Hermione didn't seem to mind; she took the newspaper, glanced at it, and then let out a soft "pfft."

Fortunately, she hadn't drunk any water, so she didn't spray it all over the newspaper.

"No!" Hermione immediately stood up. "I have to hurry and write a letter to congratulate Veratia on becoming Minister of Greater German Ministry of Magic..."

Before she could finish speaking, Hermione grabbed her bag and ran out of the Great Hall.

"Hey!" Ron called from behind, "The History of Magic exam starts in ten minutes! Merlin's Socks, you're such an impatient person..."

After saying that, Ron turned to Harry and said, "Seriously, man, I'm really envious of you. You don't have to take exams..."

He was extremely relaxed now, having become completely at ease after learning that the person from yesterday was not Professor Snape.

However, Ron also kept the name Nymphadora Tonks in his heart, planning to teach this woman a lesson the next time he saw her.

"Envious?" Harry glanced blankly at Ron. "It was earned by fighting Fire Dragon."

Ron shuddered upon hearing this, and quickly shook his head, saying, "Forget it, I'd rather face Professor Snape than fight Fire Dragon."

"Face him with what?" Harry asked.

"I'd rather say to his face, 'Hey, Snape, you Old Bat need to wash your hair!' than fight Fire Dragon," Ron said, fully empathizing with the situation.

"Oh? Is that so?"

A greasy voice came from behind him. Ron turned around and saw Snape's sinister face.

To everyone's surprise, Ron was not afraid at all; instead, he stood up and drew his wand.

"Stop pretending." Ron pointed his wand at Snape. "I know it's you. This trick won't work on me a second time!"

Harry slapped himself in the face.

The students around him also turned to look at Ron —because of his courage.

Many people also covered their mouths with their hands to avoid making any noise.

Snape was clearly taken aback by Ron's bravery; he was stunned.

In Gryffindor ... no, at Hogwarts, there are actually little animals that aren't afraid of me?!

Wait, did this Gryffindor lion cub eat some kind of Jubilee Potion? Or some strange and wonderful Potions?

"Gotcha, huh? Aha!" Ron was even more certain after seeing Snape's reaction. "Let me see what you're made of... Stupefy (Stunning Spell)!"

With a flick of his robes, Snape's Charms vanished without a trace.

Then, Ron's wand spun and flew into Snape's hand.

Snape's eyes turned deep and dark as he stared coldly at Ron, a bloodthirsty smile curving his lips.

"Very good, very good... Weasley, attacking a professor in the Great Hall will result in Gryffindor losing fifty points because of you... Come to my office for your solitary confinement punishment after your exams!"

The reason he hasn't said it now is because he hasn't figured out how to punish Ron yet.

With that, he flicked his long robe, and it blew away with a whoosh.

Even if Ron was stupid, he understood what had happened.

He let out a soft "whoosh" and turned to look at Harry.

"Am I doomed, Harry?"

"Let's look at it from a different angle," Harry said gleefully. "At least you acted bravely and spiritedly in front of him, you didn't embarrass yourself! You're a true Gryffindor!"

These words came from the bottom of his heart. After all, no matter how brave Harry felt, he wouldn't dare to be so aggressive towards Snape in person.

"Weasley is our king!" Seamus shouted. "He never gave ' The Old Bat ' a second thought!"

He uttered the words "Old Bat" in an extremely low voice to avoid being discovered by Snape.

Ron smeared it on his face; he felt he was really doomed.

"Don't worry, at least no one will blame you for deducting points from Gryffindor." Harry patted Ron on the shoulder. "To dare to provoke Professor Snape to his face like that, I think your name will live on forever in Gryffindor..."

"Yes, no matter how many years pass, you will never be forgotten," Fred said sincerely to Ron, leaning closer.

"Even in the darkest days, people will sing your name," George said, leaning out from the other side.

"The world will call you—"

The Twins exchanged a glance and exclaimed in unison, "The King of Gryffindor!"

At that moment, the entire Great Hall began to applaud.

For no other reason than Ron's courage to challenge the Old Bat.

Some new classmates even stood up, stepped over several people, and reached out their hands to Ron, wanting to shake hands with Ron.

It's Daniel, Colin Creevey's younger brother, and also a socialite.

"You're amazing, Ron!" Daniel exclaimed. "You've accomplished what so many people wouldn't dare to do. You're a true Gryffindor!"

"The real Gryffindor!" the Hufflepuff students exclaimed in unison, expressing their highest respect for Ron.

"The King of Gryffindor!" the Ravenclaw students cheered.

The Slytherin students didn't say anything, but their eyes were clearly filled with respect as they looked at Ron.

That's awesome, this guy is amazing.

Ron was about to say something when he saw Professor McGonagall walking towards them along the Gryffindor table.

He accidentally spilled scrambled eggs on himself, and he thought Professor McGonagall was coming to cause him trouble.

"Potter, warriors, gather in the meeting room next to the Great Hall after breakfast," she said.

"Isn't the competition starting at night?" Harry asked curiously.

"I know, Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "The Warriors' relatives have been invited to watch the finals, and you can meet them."

(End of this chapter)