"Wouldn't that be more beneficial for you all?" Michael asked casually.
"Yes, it would—but I think Cedric and the others would definitely prefer a fair game," Ryan said seriously.
"Hmm... That's Hufflepuff for you," Michael mused.
Ryan retorted, annoyed, "Don't think I don't know you're actually trying to say I'm stupid."
"Haha, how could you think that?" Michael said with a dry laugh.
He knew that if it were Ravenclaw, his own house wouldn't pass up such a golden opportunity.
"Actually—Wade—I wanted to ask—" Hermione hesitated, then pleaded, "Can Harry join SSC too?"
The air suddenly grew quiet.
Ryan felt a little uneasy.
He saw the smile vanish from Michael's face as he looked at the brown-haired girl, then at Wade.
Wade's expression didn't change; he even agreed readily: "Of course, Harry Potter isn't difficult to get along with. The problem is you—Hermione."
"—Me?" Hermione looked over, feeling apprehensive.
"Have you forgotten how Ron Weasley made you cry? Potter and Weasley are inseparable; if he joins, he probably won't keep it from Weasley—are you ready to forgive him?" Wade asked gently.
It seemed he had no objections, and all his considerations stemmed from concern for Hermione's feelings.
"Oh, that!" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, smiling serenely. "That's long in the past, and he did try to warn his friends later, didn't he? Even if it didn't do much good—after spending time together recently, I don't find Weasley so annoying anymore. You can't hold a grudge for a single argument forever, can you?"
"Turning enemies into friends, I think that's great," Ryan interjected, easing the tense atmosphere. "And Ron Weasley's brothers are all excellent, so he must have a brilliant side too, right?"
On that point... Hermione probably didn't quite agree.
Once she relaxed, she couldn't help but explain further: "Actually, I wasn't planning on bringing them in at first... Ron found Neville had made great progress and kept asking, but Neville didn't say anything... But you all know Harry—if the Death Eaters and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named return, Harry will be the first one they go after—but he's really not very outstanding academically, his grades are just so-so, he hasn't mastered the spells taught in class, and he often has Quidditch practice—"
In Hermione's eyes, Harry Potter was originally "a scoundrel with a reputation but no effort in his studies."
Later, he was—"a good scoundrel with decent character but still not working hard enough."
When she truly realized that Harry Potter had lost his parents due to the war and was still being threatened by Voldemort and his remaining followers—
Harry Potter was enveloped in an aura of "poor little thing" in Hermione's eyes.
—What did it matter if his grades were a bit low or if he was a bit playful? Seeing him grow up so happily and healthily, how relieved his parents must be!
But then, a greater anxiety welled up in Hermione—she was already a very anxious person.
The thought of Voldemort being so close, Quirrell lurking, Dumbledore having mysterious, unknown plans, while Harry just ate and played foolishly all day, either patching up his homework or copying someone else's...
Hermione almost wanted to pry open his skull and cram her own ball of anxiety inside!
Undoubtedly, Harry Potter's future would face immense challenges and dangers, and those were not things he could cope with by simply copying homework.
Hermione tried to teach them all the spells she learned in the Umbrella Room, but the problem was—when Wade taught them, she found it very clear and easy to understand. When she tried to teach Harry and Ron in the same way, they seemed as if a Troll had smashed their brains, and they didn't understand for ages.
Hermione didn't understand why; she just felt incredibly irritable. Sometimes she wondered about their intelligence, but seeing Neville's progress, she had to admit that perhaps her teaching method was the problem.
To help Harry improve his abilities quickly, joining SSC seemed to be the only option. The only thing better would be if Dumbledore himself was willing to personally tutor Harry... but how could that be possible?
Therefore, despite knowing it was very presumptuous and might even cause others to be displeased with her, Hermione still made the request.
Fortunately, Wade agreed.
Having been in SSC for so long, Hermione naturally understood that as long as Wade agreed, no one else would be a problem.
...
"Why did you agree?" Michael couldn't help but ask when they were alone.
"About Harry Potter?" Wade asked, feigning ignorance.
"Of course." Michael said seriously, "Wade, I don't think you're unaware of how much trouble Harry Potter means—I thought you wouldn't like that kind of trouble."
"Hmm, I certainly don't like it," Wade said, leaning back in his chair. "But if it's Harry Potter, then an exception can certainly be made."
"But—" Michael frowned, puzzled. "After all this time, even Neville should have understood—he's just an ordinary boy who escaped the killing curse for some unknown reason... And for some unknown reason, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named disappeared that night, and the whole world put the title of 'Savior' on him, as if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated by a baby—I also thought he had powerful magic from birth, but—"
Michael trailed off, hesitant.
"But after starting school, you found that his intelligence and abilities didn't match the reputation of the 'Star of Salvation'?" Wade looked out the window, saying what Michael wanted to say but didn't.
Michael sighed in relief. "Exactly, that's what I meant."
He paused, then added, "You should also see it clearly; you wouldn't have any special expectations for Potter because of it. But why—"
"But Michael—" Wade turned his gaze from the window, looking at his friend, and said, "You shouldn't have forgotten that Potter's parents both died fighting He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; they fought bravely to the end. That night, Harry Potter not only became the 'Savior'—he also lost his closest family—"
"Yes—yes, that's right—" Michael's face flushed with shame, and he stammered.
"So no matter what he did—or didn't do—back then, it has nothing to do with any of this," Wade sighed. "Harry Potter—is the orphan of a Martyr."
"The orphan of a... Martyr?" Michael chewed on the words, suddenly understanding why his parents wouldn't let him speak ill of Harry Potter when he gossiped about him with them.
"Exactly," Wade said finally. "Everyone who luckily escaped the shadows of war, everyone who enjoys this peaceful life now, has an obligation to look after him—and children like him, don't you think?"
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