The person is at Hogwarts, but the system is in Middle-earth!

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Thank you for the continued support and reading. There aren't many readers following along; it should be around 20 words by the time it's released. Thank you all for the recommendations and monthly tickets. There might be quite a few flaws, but I had a lot of fun writing it. Thank you so much to the author "鸿蒙紫金三十十六品" for carefully pointing out the typos in each chapter; I've corrected them all. Thank you so much!

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"A rooster?" Hermione was completely bewildered. "What kind of Middle-earth remedy is this? I've searched through all of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I've never heard of using poultry to combat petrification."

"An ancient exorcism ritual, or perhaps it was simply because the monster's weakness was its cry. In some ancient ballads, the cry of dawn can dispel the deepest nightmares."

"Stop asking, let's go to the library. If we want to find the answer before the school closes, we have to race against time. Just like Gandalf searched for clues to the One Ring in Minas Tirith's library."

Ten minutes later, the group of four was already sitting at the long table at the very back of the library.

The rain outside the window lashed against the glass, making a pattering sound.

Status: Low morale ()

[Note: Fear, like a plague, is spreading through this fortress.]

In the library, groups of students gathered. Most of them weren't there to study, but rather to stick together and keep warm.

Fear acted like a powerful adhesive, binding students from different houses together, except for Slytherins—who always kept to themselves.

At a long table not far from them, Ernie McMillan of Hufflepuff was speaking urgently in a low voice to a group of badgers who had gathered around him. He was excited, waving his hands in the air. Susan Burns was among them; she looked somewhat angry, arms crossed, staring at Ernie with disapproval.

"I don't believe in that stuff, Ernie," Susan said sharply. "If Rowe says it's not Harry, then it definitely isn't. I trust Rowe's judgment as much as I believe the sun will rise in the east."

"Oh, please, Susan!" Ernie exclaimed, his face flushed. "I know you like...cough, I know you idolize Baggins. He's our hero, that's true. But he's too...too trusting!"

Ernie waved his arms, his voice involuntarily rising a few decibels, "Although Baggins has been guarding him like a knight in shining armor, haven't you noticed? Potter always appears at the scene of the incident. That night, he was the one who heard the sound first... It's as suspicious as always seeing the same suspect at a crime scene!"

“He was on guard!” Susan retorted. “Love said Harry has ‘rogue instincts.’ If he were the heir, Love would have already smashed him in with a frying pan! You know how sensitive Love is to ‘dark forces.’ Last time, Peeves just wanted to play a prank in the kitchen, and Love chased him down three hallways with a ‘tactical frying pan’!”

"Buggins is being bewitched!" Ernie insisted. "Like those followers in history who were controlled by dark wizards using the Imperius Curse! Harry Potter... some say he's a dark wizard, though it hasn't been confirmed, but the way he looks at people... that sinister look... he's practically the next Mysterio!"

Harry, sitting not far away, gripped his quill tightly. He felt like a criminal being publicly tried, his only crime being that he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ron, his face flushed with anger, wanted to stand up and rush over to argue, but Hermione held him firmly back.

"Don't go, Ron. That will only make things worse," Hermione whispered, her eyes filled with worry. "If you rush over there now, you'll only confirm their prejudice that 'Gryffindors are all violent.'"

But there was one person who couldn't stand it.

Rowe slammed the thick, brick-like book, "Defense Against the Dark Magic in the Middle Ages," shut with a loud bang.

"Bang!"

The entire library fell silent instantly. Mrs. Pince peeked out from behind the bookshelves, glaring angrily. But when she saw that the culprit was Rowe, the feather duster she was holding froze in mid-air. After all, this Hufflepuff "oddball" was an "excellent guardian" even Dumbledore had publicly praised, and it was said that he had even fixed Mrs. Pince's ever-biting "Book of Monsters"—albeit by physical means (tying it up like a dumpling).

Rowe stood up, grabbed the "brick" of a book, and strode over to the long table in Hufflepuff.

[Mission Triggered: Wavering Morale]

Objective: To quell rumors circulating within Hufflepuff and solidify trust with allies.

[Reward: Hufflepuff reputation increased, Susan Bornes' favorability increased.]

"Bar...Borgins?" Ernie's imposing manner instantly diminished as he looked down at Rowe. He still held some respect for Rowe, after all, this guy had actually dared to charge at the dark wizard last year. "I...we were just discussing..."

"How do we discuss pushing our allies into the abyss?"

He slammed the brick-shaped book heavily on the table in front of Ernie, making the ink bottle jump.

"Ernie, I thought that after a year together, you would understand what 'loyalty' means better."

"In my hometown, when we were camping in the wild and faced with the howling of wolves, if we started to doubt our watchman, we were not far from death."

"You are spreading panic. You are undermining morale. This is Saruman's favorite tactic—to sow distrust among allies until we crumble from within. You are doing for the enemy what they cannot do."

"I haven't undermined morale!" Ernie's face flushed as he tried to maintain his dignity, but his voice lacked conviction. "We must protect Hufflepuff! If Potter really is..."

“If he is, you’d all be a bunch of statues by now!” Rowe interrupted him. “I’ve been with Potter almost every minute of this week. We’ve eaten together, patrolled the hallways together… If he’s plotting an attack, then I’m an accomplice. Are you trying to say I’m also a Slytherin heir? Or do you think I, this Hufflepuff, am also a dark wizard?”

"No! Of course not!" Ernie exclaimed, startled, and quickly waved his hands. "You are the light of Hufflepuff! Everyone knows you... you're just too kind. Everyone says you were blinded by Potter because you were too naive."

“It’s not kindness, it’s judgment.” Rowe pointed to his eyes. “I’ve seen true darkness, Ernie. Believe me, Harry Potter doesn’t have that quality. He’s just a Ringbearer carrying too many burdens.”

"A person who observes the precepts?" The badgers around looked at each other, completely bewildered by the term.

"It means he's taking the pressure off all of us," Lowe put it more simply. "While you're all cowering in the break room, he's facing your fears head-on."

He turned his head and looked at Susan, who had been trying to speak up for him.

"Thank you, Susan." Lowe's eyes softened instantly. "You did the right thing. In the fog, only those with clear minds can see the way. You have more courage than all the boys at this table combined."

Susan's face flushed instantly, but she looked up to meet Rowe's gaze. "I...I just trust your judgment, Rowe. If you say it's alright, then it's definitely alright. I trust you, just as I trust Hogwarts to be the safest place."

She turned and glared at Ernie. "Did you hear that? Rowe said everything's fine. If you dare say another word, I'll tell Professor Sprout that you're slacking off in the greenhouse!"

Ernie opened his mouth, glanced at the imposing Rowe, then at the determined Susan, and finally shrunk back into his chair like a deflated balloon.

"Fine," Ernie muttered, reluctantly giving in. "Since you're guaranteeing this... but if something goes wrong, Rowe, it's your responsibility. If I turn to stone too, I'll haunt you even as a ghost."

I will take responsibility.

"If Harry becomes the Dark Lord, I'll be the first to knock him out with a frying pan. But until then, he's our comrade. And with a comrade, we either turn our backs on him or keep our mouths shut."

He glanced around at the Hufflepuff students, whose previously terrified eyes had now calmed down considerably.

"Remember, Hufflepuffs never abandon their friends," Rowe concluded, then picked up his "brick" and, under everyone's gaze, walked back to Harry like a victorious general.

Harry looked up at him gratefully, his eyes slightly red. "Thank you, Rowe. And... was that Susan Burns? She looks pretty fierce; that glare she gave Ernie just now was just like Professor McGonagall's."

"She's a good warrior." Rowe reopened the book. "A shieldbearer with potential. If one day we were to form a Hogwarts Expedition to conquer Mordor or the Forbidden Forest, I would consider reserving a place for her. Every great king needs a brave Éowyn."

Harry's expression softened. Although he didn't understand anything about the Shield Hero or the Expedition, and had no idea who Iowen was, he knew that at least someone and a group of friends behind that person were willing to stand by him. It felt like drinking a hot butterbeer on a cold, rainy night.

Before Luo Wei's eyes, a golden system notification appeared:

[Speech approved]

[Skill Unlocked: Speech/Persuasion Lv1]

[Effect: Your language now has a slight "Command" effect, temporarily stabilizing the morale of friendly units. When facing targets with weak willpower, there is a chance to induce a sense of awe and admiration in them.]

[Hufflepuff reputation: Slightly increased]

[Susan Borns' favorability rating: Increased to "Trust"]

A slight smile played on Luo Wei's lips as he softly hummed a tune about Ciel, hidden by the pages of the book.

"What are you humming?" Hermione asked curiously. "It doesn't sound like a wizarding tune."

“It’s nothing,” Lowe said softly. “It’s a song about home, pipes, and roasted mushrooms. That’s what keeps us going in the dark.”

But outside the window, the rain was pouring down harder.