Dispute

Harry's first reaction upon seeing Luke was delight.

Luke was the first Young Wizard his own age Harry had met, and he was exceptionally outstanding in temperament, bearing, and charm.

Although Harry had not spent much time with Luke, he genuinely liked him.

"Long time no see, Harry."

Luke still wore that impeccable smile. He looked gentle, sunny, and sincere.

"Long time no see..." After greeting him, Harry suddenly had no idea what to say to Luke. Then inspiration struck, and he pulled Ron, who was beside him, over.

"This is Ron, a new friend I've made."

Before Ron could react, Harry had dragged him in front of Luke. At the same time, he noticed Luke's gaze resting on him, which made him a little nervous.

For one thing, he had heard about the person in front of him many times over the past month. Whether it was Mom and Dad, or George and Fred, they often talked about this person's return, his bloodline, and the large inheritance he had received.

For another, out of curiosity, he had indeed gathered some information about the matter—about the Gaunt Family, for instance. Then he had been frightened by the Gaunt Family's history and the behavior of the people in that family. From every angle, the members of the Gaunt Family probably would not get along well with the Weasley Family.

Could a family that hated Wizards born to Muggles, even hated Muggles themselves, really produce an oddity like the Weasley Family?

Ron deeply doubted it. But since Harry had already introduced him, staying silent would be rude. Mom occasionally reminded him not to be discourteous in front of certain people. Of course, they could ignore those people they openly disliked—at least outside formal social occasions.

Ron had been confused when Mom first gave him that advice. Their family actually had formal social occasions? When he asked, Mom had snorted and then said helplessly that although they hated such things, the facts remained. Even if some people disliked them, they had no way of driving their family out of that circle. In fact, even if their family wanted to leave that circle themselves, they would not be allowed to.

So Ron never asked similar questions again. He did not understand yet, so there was no point in hearing about it.

"Hello, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."

The introduction was simple, but his tone was somewhat stiff and his expression a little gloomy. It was clear that his first impression of Luke was not very good.

Standing beside Luke, Hermione observed the red-haired, freckled boy, who bore some resemblance to the older student who had poked his head out earlier. She made a few guesses about his attitude.

That made her feel rather strange. Where had this inexplicable hostility come from? It seemed Luke's friendliness did not work on everyone.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

The moment Ron finished speaking, he regretted it a little. He actually had nothing against Luke. It was just that he was somewhat socially anxious by nature, and for certain reasons, he found it difficult to feel close to Luke.

Talking like that, he definitely won't give me a pleasant look either.

Ron felt faintly troubled, but he did not know how to make up for it.

"I've heard of the Weasley Family. I envy you for having so many brothers and sisters. After all, there's no one else my age around me. There's not even anyone else around me at all."

Luke extended his hand to Ron, still smiling, though it had dimmed slightly. His entire mood seemed rather low.

Ron apparently had not expected Luke to react like that. He was somewhat at a loss. After a moment of stunned silence, he hurriedly shook Luke's hand, doing his best to maintain the proper bearing.

"It's not necessarily a good thing. Just look at what I'm wearing."

There was a faint note of complaint in his words, but Luke could understand Ron's displeasure. As far as Luke was concerned, unless something was truly precious, he would rather buy another than use something someone else had discarded.

"There will be chances to change that."

In Luke's memory, although the Weasley Family currently looked poor enough to rattle, with barely any money left in the family Vault, this group of children would all become very capable later on.

Of course, what was even more enviable was their family's ability to have children. Wizards were not especially fertile, so the Malfoy Family's direct line—the person who could inherit the family—consisted of only Malfoy.

From the family tree Luke had found at home, the Gaunt Family had passed down through a single heir ever since the generation that split into branches. He had also obtained the publicly known Gaunt Family genealogy. That was thanks to his visit to the abandoned ancestral home of the Gaunt Family. He had not deliberately concealed his tracks, but neither had he shown much attachment to the deserted house.

He knew that one of the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone, was there. He also knew that the ring containing that treasure had been turned into a Horcrux, so he had not touched anything. He had merely copied down a genealogy before hurrying away. He had mainly wanted to confirm something.

As for destroying the Horcrux, that was not something he needed to do now. Besides, he truly did not have the ability to do so yet.

Of course, he had also learned that even the Gaunt Family was the same: each generation generally had only one male heir, two at most.

A family like the Weasley Family, which would clearly grow in size later, truly made the Pure-blood Nobility envious.

Afterward, Luke withdrew his hand and looked at the Malfoy trio, who had not fully recovered their senses yet.

"You're Draco Malfoy?" Luke asked, his voice carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Hearing someone call his name, Malfoy finally snapped back to his senses. Blood rushed back into his pale face, and anger surged up, leaving it flushed crimson.

"Yes! I'm Malfoy! You actually dared to attack me! You're finished! My Dad is a Hogwarts School Board Member! Just wait to be expelled!"

Luke looked at Malfoy's complexion with a little amazement. This guy did not seem very healthy. He was this angry, yet his face was only faintly red. His blood and energy were weak. Well, he should eat more foods that replenished blood and energy, such as red dates.

As for Malfoy's threat, Luke merely treated it as a joke.

"I thought the Malfoy Family's child would be so proud. I never expected you to be nothing but a petty thief who relies on having more people to bully those with fewer."