Three's Company-Should We Start a Rumor? / Luna: Hah, the Wisdom of Mere Mortals

"Oh..." Upon hearing Harry's request unexpectedly, Winky froze on the spot.

"Is there a problem, Winky?" Harry raised an eyebrow and pressed on. "Did Mr. Crouch say that you absolutely have to personally deliver the trays to the patients?"

"No... no!" Winky hurriedly protested, explaining sheepishly, "It's just... this is Winky's job, and she should do it herself."

"No, that's not your job." Harry shook his head with a smile. "Winky, you're Mr. Crouch's house House-elf. You only need to serve him. In this nursing home, you're a resident. You have no obligation to serve the other residents, so I'll do it."

"Well... thank you very much, sir." Winky bowed again to Harry, seemingly grateful, handed over the plate, and left, glancing back several times.

Only after its figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did Harry withdraw his gaze and simultaneously suppress the smile on his face.

He used Levitation Charm to control the plates, took out a clean medicine spoon from his ring, took a small sample of each dish, and then briefly examined the ingredients with his wand.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the food, he carried the tray to the private ward.

That's true... Even if that gentleman had some ulterior motive, he wouldn't be so foolish as to poison the food, especially since it was only the first day.

"Bertha Jorkins... you've got quite a few connections."

Harry offered to deliver food for Winky because he had just pieced together two new clues in his mind!

Neville - Memory Charm - Bad Mind - Bertha Jorkins

Barty Crouch - Winky Food Delivery - Hospital Ward - Bertha Jorkins

The intersection of these two clues is that Bertha Jorkins once worked under Barty Crouch Sr..!

Sirius once told Harry that Bertha Jorkins used to be a gossipy woman who could accurately remember all sorts of gossip, and that she only became the dull and forgetful person she was after leaving Barty Crouch Sr.'s department.

This sudden change is actually very similar to Neville's situation, which means... she may also have had her brain damaged by a powerful Memory Charm!

If this deduction is correct, then who was the one who initially cast the Memory Charm on her?

And... why did Barty Crouch rush to have Winky bring him food? Rather than wanting to help Harry relieve some of the pressure, it was more likely that... he wanted Winky to scout out the situation in the ward.

The only person in the ward who could be associated with Barty Crouch was Bertha Jorkins!

Therefore, the conclusion drawn from all the clues so far is that Barty Crouch used Memory Charm on Bertha Jorkins!

After delivering lunch, Harry instructed Mrs. Strout to take good care of the patients, especially to carefully check their food, clothing, and other necessities. Then he went to the nursing home's front desk.

He checked Barty Crouch's recent entry and exit records at the nursing home and found that since moving in, Crouch had hardly gone out and spent most of his time locked in his room.

Crouch only left the nursing home alone on the day the Champion fought the Dragon, and the reason he registered was to go to Hogwarts as a spectator.

The Triwizard Tournament... After some analysis, Harry finally discovered that Barty Crouch was also involved in the biggest conspiracy of the year, and his role might even be quite important.

However, the old man's Occlumency was quite skillful. Although Harry was confident that he could break through the man's brain blockade, it would be difficult not to arouse the man's vigilance.

If he seizes the opportunity to alter his own memories and brazenly turns against Harry, things might get complicated.

However... while it might be a bit troublesome for Barty Crouch to move around now, it doesn't mean he's completely without weaknesses.

Thanks to Voldemort, because it was this old Basilisk's memories that taught Harry... House-elf, though powerful and skilled in many special spells, cannot shut down their minds.

Their consciousness can be controlled, their brains can be hacked, and even their memories... can be altered!

After Christmas, Harry didn't go home; instead, he went to stay at the nursing home with Hermione and Luna Lovegood.

Strictly speaking, he had stumbled upon the enemy's scheme by chance, rather than engaging in a prepared confrontation. Therefore, he felt that now was not the time to let his guard down.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter where he stays. He already has his own room, and he can learn from experienced therapists every day. And most importantly... he doesn't have to cook.

Two days of this leisurely life passed, and as the end of the month approached, Harry received a letter from Rita Skeeter.

After reading the letter, Harry gave a wry smile, took it to Hermione, and as expected, the latter immediately became furious.

"What on earth is going on?" Hermione glared at Harry and demanded angrily. "That wretched woman, why did she suddenly write to you, trying to stir up trouble about us two and Luna Lovegood?!"

"Well, although this is a last-minute change of plans, the general intention is still the same as before," Harry explained helplessly. "Hermione, there's a saying that 'flies don't land on eggs without cracks.' Our defenses are too perfect right now. We have to deliberately leave some openings so that our opponents will take the bait."

At this stage, Harry has almost perfected his team's defense, but this is not entirely a good thing.

Because Harry is the target of both the Death Eater and the Ministry of Magic, by not giving them any chance, he will only cause all the forces to remain inactive in a stalemate.

This means they are all accumulating strength separately, and the final battle will then become a desperate all-out war of raw power.

This would undoubtedly increase their own losses, which is not in line with Harry's interests.

Therefore, he had to find a way to provoke the other side and prevent them from developing in peace. For example, he could expose his own weaknesses and lure the other side into making rash moves while he himself played along.

If we're talking about the Ministry of Magic, then Harry's biggest 'weakness' is naturally his relationship with Hermione.

Don't forget, Hermione is a chosen Champion, while Harry is a referee in the Triwizard Tournament. Their relationship and status definitely suggest something interesting.

Harry had originally planned to do the same to the Death Eater, but he abandoned the idea when finalizing the initial plan.

As it turns out, there is now a wise man among the Death Eater; they won't fall for such a stupid trick.

"Even so, I still don't understand why they have to create a scandal involving three people?" After hearing Harry's explanation, Hermione was still a little unhappy and threw the letter directly on the table.

But then she noticed Harry looking at her with an innocent expression.

"What... what's with that expression?" Hermione frowned, puzzled. "The way you're making it seem like it's all my fault?"

Harry responded with a weak shake of his head, followed by a frantic, rattle-like shaking of his head.

"Harry, you better explain yourself!!"

Chapter 679 Luna Lovegood: Ha, the wisdom of mortals

So why is this Hermione's fault?

Because at the previous Yule Ball, Hermione had indeed done something drastic to Harry's side.

Harry had planned to deliberately expose the flaws in the plan long ago, but he had simply delegated the task entirely to the magazine's staff.

Even if those guys were incredibly carefree, they wouldn't arbitrarily decide to spread gossip about Harry and his two friends.

Therefore, their actual plan was to use this Yule Ball to promote the Harry and Hermione pairing.

After all, if "The Quibbler" spends more time describing how Harry and Hermione behave at the ball, how they behave in private, and even what might happen before and after the competition, the impatient and opportunistic people at the Ministry of Magic would be very likely to take the bait.

Besides, there's this guy named Akinbad who's also quite interested in this, so let's let him join in and fuel the fire.

If they dare to openly accuse Harry of helping Hermione cheat, then Harry can turn the tables and catch them off guard once again.

However, to everyone's surprise, a small mishap occurred at the ball: Hermione actually asked Luna Lovegood to be her dance partner!

This whole mess turned a perfectly good couple into a broken-up.

Harry thought the terrible idea might have come from Rita Skeeter, since she was the best at making things up.

However, she was sensible enough to let me make a decision before the new issue of the magazine was published.

"Is that so..." After carefully understanding the cause and effect, Hermione couldn't help but show a hint of embarrassment.

She truly hadn't expected that her idea, which she thought was very clever, would coincidentally disrupt Harry's original plan.

However, Harry wouldn't blame her, since he himself hadn't paid much attention to the matter.

As the leader of a faction, Harry doesn't need to do everything himself; he should focus more on controlling the overall direction.

Besides, Hermione already apologized that night, didn't she?

The problem now is that what was originally a matter between two people involves a third person. Even if Hermione doesn't mind, they still have to consider the other person.

"Yeah... what should we do about the Loony now?" Hermione asked, her face full of worry.

"I just received the news myself, and I haven't had a chance to ask her yet." Harry shrugged helplessly. "But judging from the tone of the letter, the fact that Xenophilius Lovegood sent it to me means that he must have agreed..."

"How is this possible?" Hermione exclaimed in disbelief. "Why would he agree?"

To Hermione, this was absolutely unbelievable. How could Xenophilius, Luna Lovegood's father, possibly let his daughter get involved in something like this?!

"I think it's pretty ridiculous too, but he probably agreed." Harry pointed to the stamp on the envelope and explained, "It's the magazine's official seal. This Sickle always been kept in Xenophilius Lovegood's safe. Even if Rita Skeeter had ten times the courage, she would never dare to steal it!"

Harry was now just as strange as Hermione, because in his view, Xenophilius had absolutely doted on Luna ever since Luna Lovegood mother's death.

If it were Harry, he would absolutely not agree to joke about his daughter's reputation.

Moreover, the plan itself has some problems.

Even with the dance partner mix-up, Harry and Hermione still danced in the end, and even ran away while dancing, which didn't stop them from being paired up as a couple at all!

So why...

Bang bang bang~

Just as Harry and Hermione were frowning in deep thought, an untimely knock on the door came again... wait, why did I say "again"?

"This noise..." Hermione was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized who was knocking on the door.

"They've caught up with us, haven't they?" Harry hesitated, then stood up. "I'll go drive it."

Well, now all three main characters are together.

However, as the saying goes, what's meant to happen will happen. Since this matter is related to Luna Lovegood anyway, and we have to talk about it sooner or later, we might as well do it sooner rather than later.

When the door was opened, Luna Lovegood was indeed standing there gracefully, looking into the room with a blank expression.

"Are you two whispering to each other?" Luna Lovegood ignored Harry and slipped into the room. "So, are you done?"

"Uh, something's come up that's a bit of a headache." Harry picked up the envelope from the table, looking embarrassed. "It's about this..."

"I agree."

However, Luna Lovegood didn't even read the contents of the letter. She merely glanced at the magazine's official seal before casually agreeing to its contents.

"You agreed?" Hermione was taken aback. "We haven't even explained what it is yet."

Harry was now completely puzzled, thinking to himself, "This girl has good tetrachromatic vision, but she doesn't have X-ray vision, does she?"

"Was that letter asking you to write about the three of us having an affair?" Luna Lovegood glanced at Harry, who immediately nodded weakly.

"And aren't you curious why my father agreed to this plan?" She then turned to Hermione, who nodded weakly in return.

"The reason is simple: I proposed this plan."

"What?!" Ha and He were both stunned, exchanging bewildered glances.

Wait... what's going on?

Harry had always assumed this was Rita Skeeter's crazy idea, so why was it Luna Lovegood?!

"Is it hard to understand?" Luna Lovegood tilted her head, her voice becoming ethereal, sounding rather profound.

"You're always good at using special events to make a fuss, and the Yule Ball is no exception. The only thing you can use to make a fuss about the ball is your relationship with the Know-it-all, and then use that to imply cheating in the competition."

Luna Lovegood looked at Harry calmly. She didn't use Legilimency, but her large silver eyes seemed to see right through Harry's thoughts.

"All of this is actually quite easy to guess, because... this is the wisdom of mortals."

"Oh my god!" Harry suddenly jumped, his eyes filled with a hint of fear as he looked at Luna Lovegood.

Hey there, we're revealing secrets, but we're not going to scare you!

"Just kidding, looks like it didn't work out very well." Luna Lovegood shrugged nonchalantly, then turned to Hermione. "As for Know-it-all, I already guessed you probably wouldn't ask Harry to be your dance partner. That's why I volunteered to complete the whole plan for you, because... I didn't want irrelevant people to interfere with our real plan."

Luna Lovegood didn't mention who that unrelated person was, but Hermione knew perfectly well... someone had even brought out Firebolt for the dance partner exchange segment, jumping around quite energetically.

"What happened next was quite simple. After what happened at the Yule Ball, it would have seemed abrupt to continue focusing on your relationship, so I convinced my dad to involve me as well."

Continuing her explanation, Luna Lovegood shook her head slightly. "As for why you don't understand why my father agreed, it's because you don't truly understand his thoughts. It's true that my father cares about me a lot, but what he really wants is for me to be free to do what I like."

So... what you enjoy is creating scandals with us?

Harry rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, genius is on the left and madness is on the right; a genius going mad is enough to annihilate the universe!"

"In short, that's the general situation, but there's one more thing I need to tell you... the current plan isn't powerful enough," Luna Lovegood concluded. "We need to involve one more person to make things bigger!"

"Who is that going to involve?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Ludo Bagman."

This time, it was Harry who gave the answer.