The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 322 The Control of Human Nature

In the original story, the little badger did not cause trouble because Cedric was among the warriors.

But now the situation has reversed. Slytherin, having gained Ino, has chosen to remain on the sidelines, and the burden of conquering Harry has naturally fallen on Hufflepuff's shoulders.

Even though a month and a half had passed, the little badgers were still deeply saddened.

However, Hufflepuff is still Hufflepuff.

Although the little badgers were very dissatisfied, they did not do anything outrageous, nor did it escalate to a direct conflict or personal attack.

However, as the academy with the largest number of students in the castle, even if each person only says one sentence, the sheer number of students is enough to make one's scalp crawl.

That's exactly how Harry feels right now.

He'd had enough. The daily taunts and sarcastic remarks weren't enough in the past, but now even eating a meal couldn't be peaceful.

But just as Harry was about to explode, another voice rang in his ears.

"If you're not satisfied with the Goblet of Fire's decision, go find Professor Dumbledore! Go find the two directors of the Ministry of Magic! Making sarcastic remarks here won't demonstrate your courage!"

Ginny stood up! Although she was only a third-year wizard, she did not back down at all. She stood in front of Harry and faced several Hufflepuff students alone.

Although she appeared somewhat frail, Ginny's presence was in no way inferior to that of a boy. Especially at this moment, her expression and tone resembled that of a lioness protecting her cubs.

Upon seeing Ginny step forward, Hermione did not hesitate and also stood up.

She didn't have many friends in the castle, in fact, very few, but among those few friends, Ginny was definitely one of them.

A chain reaction seemed to have begun. After Ginny and Hermione made their stance clear, Ron, Neville, Seamus, George, Fred... more and more Gryffindors began to express their opinions through their actions.

As the person involved, Harry felt an unprecedented warmth in his heart, and the neglect and ridicule of the past month and a half seemed to become so insignificant.

Even the rage that had just arisen vanished in an instant.

Because he always had friends by his side.

Harry's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the familiar figures blocking his way.

In that instant, he had a magical feeling, as if as long as he had friends, there was no difficulty he couldn't overcome.

A power called self-confidence also quietly rose at this moment.

Seemingly sensing something, Ginny, who was at the front, subconsciously turned around to look.

As their eyes met, a unique feeling arose amidst the tense atmosphere.

……

At the same time.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Draco remained on the sidelines after witnessing the Gryffindors' argument.

They neither went up to join the fun nor chose to leave.

"Draco, shouldn't we go over there? We might end up fighting!" Crabbe chimed in.

With his tall stature and honest expression, he did seem like the right person.

"What are we going there for?" Draco looked up and glanced at Crabbe beside him.

"Go yourself if you want to go. Ino won't let me near Harry!"

Even when faced with the excitement right in front of him, Draco chose to refuse after a brief moment of observation.

He picked up the dinner on the table and walked out of the auditorium without looking back.

As Draco's figure gradually disappeared outside the Great Hall, Crabbe's previously naive expression changed, and he stood there thoughtfully looking towards Gryffindor.

After a while, a simple, honest smile returned to his face.

……

In the Slytherin dormitory.

"You mean, Harry almost got into a fight, and then a bunch of Gryffindors stepped in front of him to protect him?"

While eating dinner, Ino listened to the news broadcast on his Malfoy tape recorder.

"That's right, I didn't leave but I didn't get close either, but I saw everything."

Draco spoke earnestly about what he had seen and heard in the Great Hall.

"I just didn't expect that the first one to stand up would be George and Fred's sister. Oh, and your Granger too, she was the second to stand up..."

"What do you mean 'my Granger'? Speak properly!" Ino interrupted the news broadcast abruptly.

Just a moment ago it was showing the hottest news, but then suddenly it switched to the entertainment and relationship channel.

"I'm speaking properly!" Draco said, adopting a different, mysterious expression.

"Although you've been hiding in your dorm room all this time, and no one but me knows that you two have been chatting through the two-way mirror every day, you also know that you can protect yourself but not the other side..."

Draco talked on and on about all sorts of things he had seen and heard. During his time away from Harry, he had found a new hobby.

He would gather all sorts of secret and interesting stories and then share them with Ino.

"So! Your affair has spread throughout the castle thanks to the Gryffindor girls, and now many girls don't believe in love anymore, because only this way will you two break up..."

"Stop!" Ino interrupted the rambling conversation again, glancing at the excited Draco, and said speechlessly:

"Honestly, it's a mistake for the Malfoys not to get involved in newspapers and media. If you started a magazine, it might actually become a hit!"

But sometimes, an unintentional joke can have an unexpected effect.

Upon hearing about the magazine, Draco paused for a moment, then visibly entered a state of rapid mental processing.

……

Ino didn't care about Draco's change; now that he had stopped his previous nagging, he was happy to have some peace and quiet.

But today's "news" gave him a different idea, an unprecedented one.

Perhaps he overcomplicated Dumbledore's situation; or perhaps, there wasn't much of a plan at all...

But regardless of the truth, a little review of today's events makes it easy to see Harry's changes.

After nearly two months of criticism and discussion, when he was at his most helpless, a group of friends suddenly stood up for him and shielded him from all the attacks.

Although family ties are lacking, there is friendship, and even romantic love.

For Harry, lacking the trials of the first two years of the original story, he is bound to be somewhat vulnerable, but it is also during times of great joy and sorrow that a person is most likely to grow.

"Still so wise..." Ino couldn't help but sigh softly.

If his guess is correct, Dumbledore has undoubtedly accurately predicted human nature.

The principal should have known long ago that the problem of inequality, rather than scarcity, would inevitably attract criticism.

But in the same way, Dumbledore also believed in the glimmer of humanity in this matter, and was certain that when Harry was at his most vulnerable and in need of help, someone would stand up to share his burden.

This was probably not a meticulously planned scheme, but merely a matter of controlling human nature.

From any perspective, Ino found it ingenious.

Harry might suffer some injustices, but no protagonist in any story is without suffering.

(End of this chapter)