Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1019 Voting
"Finally solved!"

Hermione sighed and brushed the snow off her clothes.

“In the corridor next to the library, a few second-year students tried to use magic to throw snowballs out of the window to ‘ambush’ someone, but their aim was too bad and they broke the glass. Then their ‘fiery blast’ almost burned the window frame… It took me almost an hour to fix it.”

She looked up and saw the crowd gathered in the umbrella house. Her eyes lit up, and her weariness was replaced by joy.

"Great! At least everyone's here now!"

As she spoke, Hermione winked at Harry.

Harry understood, immediately took a stack of parchment from his bag, distributed it to everyone, and then cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Please give me a minute!"

Harry waved the parchment in his hand and said, "This is Ron's application; he hopes to join the SSC."

The room was quiet for a moment, then a loud whistle rang out.

"Wow!" Fred exclaimed, winking. "George, look, am I seeing things? Who was it that said... only nerds and weirdos would want to join those study clubs!"

"Let me take a closer look—"

George held the parchment up to the light, squinted at it for a long while, and then said cautiously:

“Look at the hook on this ‘K’, and then look at the spelling and the extra ink dots… Yes, Fred, this really is Ronnie’s handwriting! It’s absolutely genuine!”

"Did a troll kick him in the head? Or did some little imp sneak in and cause trouble?" Fred stroked his chin, pondering. "This doesn't seem like Ronnie's style at all!"

"Alright, you two!"

Hermione called out to stop them from teasing her brother.

Harry glanced around instinctively, relieved that Ron wasn't following Hermione.

if not……

He could almost imagine that if Ron were here, he would be ridiculed by the brothers until he blushed, and might even turn around and leave.

At the same time, Harry couldn't help but recall the scene when the two of them returned from the headmaster's office that afternoon.

Although Harry was lost in his memories and forgot to answer Ron's question, Ron had already gotten the answer from his face. In an instant, the last bit of color in Ron's face vanished completely.

He realized that Voldemort would indeed return, and the struggle against the Dark Lord was not truly over.

In the following History of Magic class, Ron was restless for the first half of the class, but in the second half, he suddenly seemed to have an idea. He started to lie on the table, holding a quill and writing and scribbling on the parchment, without letting Harry see.

Only after class did he discreetly slip a revised and rewritten parchment into Harry's bag.

"what is this?"

Harry glanced at it as he asked the question and discovered that it was actually an application form.

Ron's face was flushed red, and he looked like he was about to explode if Harry asked him one more question.

Harry, of course, wouldn't be so tactless. He stuffed the parchment deep into his bag and said, "Don't worry... I'll definitely remember to pass it on this time."

Seeing that he wasn't making a fuss, Ron breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "I'm not actually shamelessly insisting on going in... it's just that if there's trouble in the future... buddy, I can't let you face it alone."

A terrible shadow loomed over Harry; not only Harry, but even Ron felt a sense of crisis and urgency.

This emotion was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, awakening his sense of responsibility that had long been hidden by inferiority and laziness, and also igniting the resentment deep within him that he had concealed with indifference.

Harry was touched and was about to say a few words of comfort to Ron when he saw his friend frown in confusion and say:

"But we're all at school, what trouble could we possibly have?"

Harry paused, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ron's gaze fell on Harry's schoolbag, and remembering what he had just written on the parchment, he was so embarrassed that he scratched his toes on the ground.

He wanted to take the application back, but a certain emotion in his heart warned him not to do so. What did it matter if he lost face if it could make him stronger?
……

"Clap clap clap!"

A burst of applause interrupted Harry's reverie.

Hermione looked at everyone, her expression serious, and said, "According to our original rules, the addition of any new member must be approved by everyone." She pointed to the parchment in everyone's hands, then took out a white board with options written on it beforehand, and said:
"At the bottom of each of these copied applications, there are two options: 'Agree' and 'Reject'. I cast a linking spell on them. After three minutes, everyone's choices will be displayed on them, but it won't show who cast which vote."

"So everyone, don't worry about what I or Harry think, just make your own choices according to your true wishes. Whatever the outcome... we can accept it."

She looked at Harry, who quickly nodded and said, "Yes! Hermione is thinking the same thing!"

Even so, when he hurriedly checked the "agree" option, he still subconsciously felt nervous, his mind racing with all sorts of guesses about what others would choose.

If even one person disagrees... even just one person... Ron's application will be rejected...

Given Ron's personality, even if he says he doesn't care, it will be difficult for him to hang out with everyone in the future, right?

Harry could only hear his heart pounding; he felt more nervous than when he opened his report card.

Wade looked down at the application in his hand.

I know I may not be very smart, I don't have any particular strengths in any subject, and I don't have a very good temper either. I often get angry over stupid things.

I want to join SSC not because I feel like I've suddenly become more capable, but because I don't want to continue like this; I don't want to be able to just stand by and worry whenever there's trouble, unable to do anything, or even potentially hold them back.

I want to improve my abilities, but my abilities are limited, and I don't know what I can do for everyone.

I promise that I will take every activity and learning session seriously, whether it's researching information, practicing spells, or running errands. If anyone needs my help, I will absolutely do my best!

I know this may sound trivial, but it's all I can do right now, and I hope there will be an opportunity to make it a little more useful.

Please consider my application.

—Ron Weasley

The words are straightforward, even somewhat clumsy, but the sincerity and longing within them leap off the page.

Wade paused only briefly before drawing a circle on the paper, then looked up at everyone.

Theo and the others had already put down their pens. Michael was poking his chin with the handle of his quill pen, while Padma was carefully reading the application, as if weighing it seriously.

The group exchanged glances, and the two Ravenclaws immediately made their choices.

Three minutes passed in silence, each second feeling exceptionally clear and slow, with only the slight crackling of the firewood in the fireplace.

Harry didn't look at anyone, his eyes fixed on the table in front of him, his palms slightly sweaty. Hermione, meanwhile, placed her hands clasped on the table, her fingertips turning white, but she tried to maintain a calm expression.

The room was unusually quiet; there wasn't even a whisper. Everyone seemed focused on the parchment in front of them.

Even the most boisterous twins were unusually quiet at this moment. Fred nudged George with his elbow, but George shook his head.

While waiting, some people shifted their bodies uneasily, some clenched their fists silently, while others remained perfectly calm.

Compared to those grand wars, deaths, power struggles, and so on, today's events seem insignificant; they are merely a vote between student groups, a poll on acceptance or rejection.

But at this moment, the air in the room seemed to thicken, carrying a weighty sense of deciding the fate of others.

It wasn't until almost the end of the time that Harry began to hear the "shush" sound of the quill pen gliding across the paper.

A golden countdown timer floated in front of the whiteboard. Once all the numbers returned to zero, Hermione took a deep breath and said:

"Time's up... Let's see the results."

Harry immediately looked up, and everyone involuntarily held their breath.

Bright orbs of light appeared one after another on the whiteboard, as if guided by an invisible pen...

One, two, three...

They were arranged in a neat row, each radiating a soft, affirmative pale golden light.

Without pause or hesitation, the orbs of light continued to increase until their number perfectly matched the number of people present.

They are all below the "Agree" button.

The "veto" column remained empty, utterly silent.

(End of this chapter)