The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 328 Glory Returns to Hogwarts

Gryffindor.

The noisy common lounge.

Ginny chased after Harry, and perhaps no one else noticed, but Hermione saw it all.

A smile of relief and blessing quietly appeared on her face.

Hermione knew very well that Ginny's feelings for Harry were genuine, not because of his reputation as a savior.

Perhaps that was part of the reason at the beginning, but with Harry's fame waning in the last two years, only Ginny has remained unchanged.

But boys seem to be very dense and can never guess what girls are thinking. However, today, after seeing Ginny chase after them...

She sincerely wished Ginny well!

After all, it's really difficult for a girl to actively pursue someone she likes, something Hermione knows all too well.

……

To witness my friend's happiness.

Hermione sat alone on the sofa in the corner with her legs crossed, holding an open can of butterbeer in her hand, glancing at the entrance to the common room every now and then.

As for the others, they remained immersed in the joyful atmosphere.

About half an hour later.

Suddenly, the portrait of the fat lady was opened.

An entrance, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, led Harry and Ginny in. Unlike before, when they walked side by side, this time their hands were clasped together.

Hermione witnessed this scene, and while she was happy for Ginny, she also felt a little envious.

"We haven't even held hands yet..."

She's starting to regret it. She shouldn't have overthought things in the Requirement Room. If she had just gone for it and collapsed, things probably wouldn't have gone beyond just holding hands...

As she thought about it, Hermione pursed her lips and took another small sip of the butterbeer.

……

At the same time.

Unlike the Gryffindor feasts, the Slytherin common room was very quiet.

Their long-term interaction revealed that Ino was quite "capricious." Whenever he wanted some excitement, he would take the initiative to chat with everyone, tell stories, or even sing a song when he was happy.

But when he didn't want any excitement, even if they were from the same college, sometimes they wouldn't see each other for an entire day.

Today seems to be the same.

The common room was full of people, but everyone tacitly kept quiet.

Tomorrow morning is the first game of the Three Kingdoms Tournament, and they know that they probably won't see the Warriors in the morning. It seems that the only time they can give them their final blessings and encouragement is tonight.

However, after waiting for a while, the corridor leading to the boys' dormitory remained empty.

Slytherins are not as passionate as Gryffindors, nor as aloof as Ravenclaws, nor as resolute as Hufflepuffs; the little snakes always appear reserved and introverted.

But this is only a facade. When it comes to emotions or wanting to do something, Slytherins are more persistent, even obsessive.

Like today, everyone wanted to offer their blessings, but no one took the initiative to knock on the door. Even though they had been here for almost an hour, they remained quietly sitting in the common lounge, and no one left in the middle of it.

……

"Is he not coming? Didn't someone see him go back to his dorm, or was he asleep?" Daphne asked softly.

Daphne spoke very little, but even in the quiet surroundings, her voice still reached many people's ears, causing a slight commotion in the common room.

"What do you think?" Pansy chuckled, her gaze shifting to the boys' corridor beside her.

"There are some people you can always trust. But above that, there are others you can completely entrust to while still trusting and confiding in them."

Pansy didn't deliberately lower her voice; she spoke openly and frankly, as if having a normal conversation.

Her words resonated greatly among the Slytherin.

Everyone present, except for the first-year students, strongly agreed with this statement.

This recognition is not blind worship, but a trust that arises from established facts.

Many people present had witnessed Ino's promise, and that promise was indeed fulfilled.

Harper Vick is one of them. As a half-blood wizard, he was sorted into Slytherin by the Sorting Hat after enrolling in 1992.

With the advent of the video mirror, at the banquet at Malfoy Manor last year, he went all out, investing his savings of many years, a full two Galleons.

Now, the dividend income alone has tripled the value of what used to be two Galleons.

Despite the enormous potential profits, Harper remained true to his promise, even after sitting quietly for an hour without complaint.

He would be willing to sit for another hour or even two hours.

Throughout Slytherin, there have always been many people like Harper.

Even those who didn't attend the banquet for various reasons later contributed in small ways, and they also received corresponding rewards for it.

……

Public lounge.

The slight commotion caused by Daphne's words was instantly resolved by another sentence.

Looking at the now peaceful lounge, Pansy nodded slightly. She was satisfied with everyone's performance; Slytherin should be united, not ungrateful.

at the same time.

Suddenly, soft footsteps echoed down the corridor leading to the boys' dormitory.

"I'm so sorry! I was held up by something earlier, I didn't expect everyone to be waiting for me here."

Ino looked around and saw that the huge Slytherin common room was almost full, with two or three girls even crammed together on a single sofa.

It seems that Salazar Slytherin never imagined that more than a thousand years later there would be so many young wizards, and that they would all gather in the Slytherin common room on the same day and at the same time.

Seeing this, Ino slightly raised his right hand, "Thank you all for your support! Glory to Hogwarts."

He didn't try to be sentimental, and his tone was very calm, as if he were discussing the weather.

But this seemingly ordinary sentence prompted many people to read it aloud involuntarily.

"Glory to Hogwarts!"

When one person speaks calmly, their voice may be soft. But when dozens, hundreds, or even millions of people speak together, although their tone remains calm, they convey an undeniable conviction.

……

In the dormitory.

Ino leaned back in his chair, and as he recalled the scene in the common room, he gradually began to understand why Tom had gradually turned into Voldemort.

A tragic childhood is one factor, but the shift in mindset during school years also seems to play a significant role.

A teenager with the mental age of ten or so can easily become arrogant and conceited when faced with the adulation and worship of many people.

And if this boy is an orphan with a somewhat twisted personality, the consequences are predictable.

But this can't be blamed on Slytherin. If we have to find a reason, it's probably because their own abilities were not enough to bear a reputation greater than themselves.

(End of this chapter)