bookcurios Chapter 132 Dinner before Summer Vacation
Chapter 132 Dinner before Summer Vacation
Before Madam Pomfrey agreed to discharge Aerys and Harry from the hospital, many classmates came under the pretext of visiting them to find out one thing: whether the mysterious man was really resurrected.
Harry was very angry about his classmates' distrust and answered impatiently, but Aeris was very patient in answering his classmates' lame and roundabout questions.
During this period, Aeris also learned some news: 1. Professor Snape had not been seen for several days; 2. Principal Karkaroff left his students and left Hogwarts alone, suspected of escaping; 3. The Ministry of Magic began to put pressure on Hogwarts and ordered Professor Dumbledore to withdraw those false and disturbing remarks.
When Madam Pomfrey finally agreed that they could be discharged, Harry was almost the first one to rush out of the hospital door. Aris just smiled bitterly and shook his head, and followed Harry with the others.
As soon as Cedric walked out of the hospital wing, he was dragged away by a group of Hufflepuffs. Ernie MacMillan, Hannah Abbott, and Justin Finch-Fletchley looked at him as if they were afraid that Aerys would hurt Cedric.
Aris smiled bitterly again and said nothing, walking in the direction Harry had left. Not long after he had gone far, a group of Slytherins dragged Draco away. Looking at their hostile eyes, Aris knew that many of them were inclined towards Voldemort.
Harry was walking towards Hagrid's hut, but when he saw Hagrid and Madame Maxime reconciled, Harry walked towards the Black Lake angrily again.
"Harry!" Aris said as he followed Harry's steps, "Why so serious?"
Harry stopped at the shore of the Black Lake. Aris drew his wand. He was afraid that Harry would rush directly into the water of the Black Lake, but Harry just picked up a stone and threw it into the lake in the distance as if to vent his anger.
The stone seemed to have hit some creature swimming in the lake. A column of water sprayed over. Aris quickly pulled Hermione back to hide. The large curtain of water soaked Harry like a drowned rat. Even Ron and Ginny, who were following closely behind, were not spared.
Seeing the resentful looks of the three people, Aris smiled sheepishly, and quickly worked with Hermione to use a drying spell to dry the wet clothes on Harry, Ron, and Ginny.
"If they don't believe it, why did they come to ask?" Harry said angrily, "While asking, they looked at me... at us with suspicious eyes. Aren't you angry at all, Aris?"
"You're not usually this irritable, man," Aeris said. "This isn't the first time people have misunderstood you. Why are you so excited this time?"
"They just don't want to accept the reality," Hermione said. "If I tell you today that your peaceful life will be broken, and what awaits you in the future will be blood and despair, and endless fear will come, and you will have to worry all the time, worrying that you and your loved ones may disappear or die at any time, are you willing to believe this fact?"
"That's right, Miss Know-It-All," said Aris. "That's the truth, Harry. When people can't face a cruel reality, they will subconsciously escape. The road to truth is doomed to be full of thorns. Not only will they not be understood, but they will also be hurt if they are not careful."
"You're starting to sound like Professor Dumbledore, mate," said Ron heartlessly.
Ginny glared at her brother and walked over to Harry, trying to calm him down as much as she could.
Several people sat under the shade of a big tree by the lake. Ginny snuggled in Harry's arms and seemed to have fallen asleep.
Looking at Ginny's sleeping face, Harry's bad mood seemed to improve a lot.
Hermione also naturally leaned on Aries' shoulder. "Ginny is exhausted these days," Hermione whispered to Aries, "She's always worried about Harry..."
"Well, thank you for your hard work!" Aeris said, "You're so worried about me!"
"Humph! You have a conscience!" Hermione said with a blushing face, "Otherwise I would not only be miserable, but also miserable!"
Ron sat in the middle and couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Am I redundant here?" Ron muttered to himself, "Why do I have to come here and be a light bulb..."
"Ron!" Lavender ran over from a distance and threw herself into Ron's arms.
"No, again?" Ron said with a grin, "Can't you be a little gentler? Lavender..."
"You bastard," Lavender said angrily, "You don't even call me Wenwen..."
"When did I..." Ron hadn't finished his words.
"Hahahaha..." The undisguised laughter of Aeris and Harry came from both sides.
"Shut up...you two..." Ron said angrily and helplessly.
Professor Snape was still nowhere to be seen in the following days, and the students at Hogwarts seemed to be avoiding Aeris and Harry intentionally or unintentionally.
Cedric would sometimes come over to talk to Aeris and Harry, but would soon be dragged away by Hufflepuff classmates. The same was true for Draco, who would be dragged away by Pansy.
In short, the atmosphere in Hogwarts is very subtle now. Most of the students look at Aris and Harry in a strange way, as if they were liars.
The reason is that Fudge used his influence as the Minister of Magic to manipulate the Daily Prophet and portrayed Aris and Harry as two naughty kids who spread rumors indiscriminately to gain public attention. Most importantly, he portrayed Professor Dumbledore as a bad parent who easily believed and spoiled these naughty kids.
Harry's bad temper grew day by day. Once, he almost had a duel with some Ravenclaw students who were discussing him in the corridor. Even when Mr. Filch came over, Harry still refused to fight.
"Get away from me, you Squib!" said Harry viciously.
"You...you...how dare you..." Mr. Filch's old face turned pale and blue.
In the end, it was Professor Flitwick who stepped in and deducted 20 points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectively. The matter was finally over. The few Ravenclaw students who left were still cursing, "What a lunatic..."
If Aeris hadn't held him tightly, Harry would have rushed out again, "Let me go, Aeris..." Harry said through gritted teeth.
"That's enough, buddy!" Aeris shouted, blending the magic of soothing emotions into his voice, "Don't let inexplicable emotions control you."
Harry was breathing heavily, his face covered with cold sweat. He seemed to realize something and looked at Aris with some fear. "What's wrong with me?" Harry asked weakly.
Aries shook his head, hesitant to speak. "You may have suppressed too much, buddy," Aries said softly, "It's good to vent, but you can't let this emotion control your behavior."
In the days that followed, Harry did restrain himself a lot, but Aris could still see that Harry was having a hard time suppressing himself.
Time passed slowly and it was the day of the leaving school dinner. As Hogwarts was on holiday, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were also leaving.
Originally, Professor Dumbledore wanted to use the summer vacation to give students extra lessons to prepare for the return of Voldemort. But just when Professor Dumbledore wanted to use dinner time to announce this matter, the Minister of Magic Fudge came to the hall with a gloomy face.
All the students heard Fudge's angry roar: "What do you want to do, Dumbledore! Train your own army?"
The usually gentle old man had a huge argument with the Minister of Magic on that occasion.
The summer remedial class plan was thus abandoned. Just as Aris was lost in his memories, a pleasant female voice sounded:
"Can I have a word with you, Aeris?"
It's Fleur's sister: Gabrielle.
"Oh! Of course," Aeris said with a smile under Hermione's unfriendly eyes, "What is it? Miss Delacour."
"Well...if it's possible...I hope my last name in the future will be...Grindelwald..." Gabrielle's cheeks flushed and her voice became smaller and smaller.
Under Hermione's murderous eyes, Aeris said unnaturally: "Actually, in the second task, it was Harry who saved you, not me."
"No," Gabrielle said excitedly, "It's not because of that incident. I fell in love with you as early as the Quidditch World Cup, when that flaming bird dispelled all my fears. I just didn't dare to tell you. I just felt that if I didn't express my feelings, I would never have another chance. After all, we are leaving tomorrow..."
"Oh! You were there too!" Edwards looked at Hermione and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it at all. Thank you for your love, Miss Delacour, but I already have someone who is willing to be named Glenn." Edwards took Hermione's hand. Hermione's cheeks turned red and she held Edwards' hand in return.
Gabrielle looked at the two people in confusion, hugged Aeris, ran away without looking back, and threw herself into the arms of Fleur who was not far away. Fleur comforted her softly.
"You are quite charming, Mr. Grindelwald," Hermione said teasingly.
"Are you jealous?" Aeris said as he dragged Hermione away.
"Hmph! I won't be jealous of you!" Hermione said proudly.
Until the departure dinner began, many Hogwarts students were saying goodbye to their new friends. After spending a long time together, language and habits were no longer obstacles to becoming friends. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang also showed their reluctance to leave Hogwarts.
At the dinner, Draco came to the Gryffindor table, looking a little depressed.
"The situation is very bad," Draco said. "Some Slytherins are indifferent to the Dark Lord's return, some are friendly to him, and a few are eager to drop out of school and join the Death Eaters..."
"We didn't expect anything from Slytherin..." Harry said bluntly.
"Don't take it out on me, Potter," Draco said bluntly, "It wasn't me who resurrected the Dark Lord."
Just as Harry was about to say something, Professor Dumbledore stood up from the guest of honor seat. His tired face was full of kindness. "Enjoy your dinner, children and guests!" Professor Dumbledore said gently.
A meal even more sumptuous than that at the welcome banquet appeared on the plate. "Let's talk less," said Aris. "It takes energy to argue. Let's fill our stomachs first."
The atmosphere of the leaving school dinner was a bit depressing. Professor Snape was still not seen in the guest of honor seat. After the dessert was served, Professor McGonagall tapped the pure gold goblet in front of her with a spoon, and the hall immediately became quiet.
Professor Dumbledore stood up again and said in a serious tone:
"Another school year has come to an end. During this school year, I believe you have all learned a lot, experienced a lot, made friends from different countries, and established unbreakable friendships."
"I have a lot to say to all of you. I guarantee on my honor as the headmaster of Hogwarts School that every word and sentence I say next is from my heart."
"Everyone may have heard about what our four Hogwarts warriors experienced during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament."
"I think you have the right to know what happened, you should know the truth, you should know what to expect."
"Our Mr. Harry Potter witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort."
The students in the auditorium began to whisper, some were disdainful, some were afraid, some were suspicious...
Most of the students looked at Professor Dumbledore with pale faces and horror.
Professor Dumbledore just looked at his students quietly until the discussion gradually died down.
Professor Dumbledore went on to say: "The Ministry of Magic and even the parents do not want me to tell you this. Most parents may not understand and be shocked by what I have done."
"Your parents may think that you are too young to know these things, but I think this is unfair to you. Do we have to hide from you what the danger is and who the enemy is? Are you completely unprepared until you face these things? No! Absolutely not!"
"I believe... I hope I am mistaken... that we face dark and difficult times, and some of you have already faced persecution at the hands of Voldemort or his followers in this very hall..."
Professor Dumbledore's blue eyes looked at Neville, Harry, and Draco...
Neville lowered his head, his hands tightly grasping the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
The flame of hatred was dancing in Harry's emerald green eyes. Draco put his arm around Harry's shoulders, with an ambiguous expression on his face. After all, Voldemort had tried to hurt Draco more than once.
"Some people's families have been torn apart by Voldemort," Professor Dumbledore said. "Many people have suffered cruel harm from Voldemort. I don't want similar, terrible things to happen to any of you. I... We can't bear the pain of loss anymore."
An atmosphere of panic spread in the auditorium.
Professor Dumbledore continued:
"The purpose of the Triwizard Tournament is to enhance and promote the progress and exchanges of the wizarding worlds of various countries. Especially during this special period, the friendship between us should be stronger and more important than ever before!"
Professor Dumbledore looked at Madame Maxime and the students of Beauxbatons sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and then at the students of Durmstrang sitting at the Slytherin table. The students of Durmstrang felt a little ashamed, after all, their headmaster had left them alone and fled. Especially Viktor, he looked at Professor Dumbledore nervously, as if he was afraid that the old man would blame them in front of everyone.
Professor Dumbledore smiled gently, and then said: "Every guest here, whether it is Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, as long as you are willing to come back, the door of Hogwarts will always be open to you."
"Voldemort is extremely good at deceiving and alienating people. In this special period, we can only be strong if we unite. Otherwise, we will be vulnerable. We must show unbreakable friendship and trust in order to fight Voldemort to the end."
“As long as we have the same goal and open our hearts, we can understand each other even if we speak different languages and have different customs.”
Thunderous applause broke out in the auditorium, and the oppressive atmosphere was swept away. Even Draco was clapping excitedly, his light gray eyes full of hope and expectation.