Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 165 The Birth of a Warrior

"Thea, why don't you give it a try too?"

Daphne's previously suppressed expectations surged up again. "I guarantee that no one in Slytherin can compare to you!"

"I'm not going," Thea said with a smile, rejecting Daphne's urging.

A hint of melancholy then appeared on his face. "If Slytherin has no one more capable than me, isn't that a very sad fact?"

Sensing the hidden meaning in Thea's words, Daphne asked in a daze, "So..."

"I've decided to add dueling as a regular activity to our study group starting this semester."

Thea's smiling expression was like a bolt from the blue to the people around her, but when they thought of the benefits of their increased strength, they immediately forgot about the various bitter magic potions that had just flashed through their minds and started to agree.

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"I suppose you're not so presumptuous as to think you can just throw my name into the Goblet of Fire?"

After Thea routinely prepared the compound decoction for Little Barty again, she said in a cold tone.

“Of course not,” Little Barty replied calmly.

"That's good." Thea lowered her eyes, it was unclear whether she believed it or not.

Just before leaving, Thea suddenly said, "By the way, I've already had Lucius purchase a batch of ingredients for Polyjuice Potion. Remember to go out and pick it up tomorrow in Hogsmeade."

“…Okay.” Little Barty seemed startled by Thea’s sudden turn, and his right hand immediately clenched as if on fire.

This year's Halloween dinner felt like it was cursed once again.

The Goblet of Fire, which was supposed to have only three names, has actually produced four!

Amidst countless questioning and shocked gazes, Thea watched as that familiar figure stumbled and walked towards a room next to the hall.

“Potter…how dare he…”

Suddenly, Draco's teeth-gritting voice came from beside Thea.

“He probably didn’t do this. He’s with the Weasleys all the time. Didn’t you see how shocked Weasley and Granger looked?” Thea defended Harry.

Daphne and the others followed Thea's suggestion and looked toward the Gryffindor table—without exception, their faces were filled with shock.

"Then how did his name come out of the Goblet of Fire?"

Draco calmed down considerably, but still asked with doubt.

"Who knows? Maybe even Merlin wants him to participate in the competition," Thea joked.

“Thea,” Gella nudged Thea’s arm, “look, Dumbledore looks terrible.”

Indeed, after Harry's incident, Dumbledore's smile was unusually absent.

"It seems that the Porter matter... is indeed not simple."

Gella pondered for a moment, and this was met with approval from many.

"Be careful this semester, and don't just become a stepping stone for those with ulterior motives."

Thea glanced meaningfully at the long tables of the other colleges and whispered a warning.

Seeing the barely suppressed indignation on the faces of the other young wizards, everyone felt a chill and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

They're not like those stubborn kids from Gryffindor who know the water's deep but still jump in to see what happens.

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If the Goblet of Fire displaying Harry's name was the spark that ignited the fire, then Dumbledore and the others' confirmation that Harry was qualified to participate in the tournament was essentially the final snowflake added to this avalanche.

On Sunday morning, Harry opened his eyes amidst waves of sadness and anxiety.

The sight of the red curtains immediately reminded Harry of the nightmarish events of the previous night.

He became a warrior!

Amidst everyone's skepticism, he became the fourth warrior in history!

Just like how he gained the title of savior in exchange for the deaths of his parents when he had nothing...

Now he's in the same boat, paying the price of losing friends for a hollow title of warrior...

Harry sat on the bed for a long time, until his legs went numb, before he came to his senses, dressed in a daze, and went down the spiral staircase to the lounge below.

As soon as he appeared, his classmates, who had already eaten breakfast, cheered him enthusiastically. Harry was a little tired, but he still couldn't refuse them.

Although Harry was mentally prepared that the other houses wouldn't give him a friendly welcome, he was still shocked by their undisguised indifference and suspicion when he actually faced the situation.

He had been through a similar period before, back in second grade, when everyone suspected him of being the murderer of those classmates who were petrified.

Back then, although things were difficult, at least Ron was on his side! But now…

Harry felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his heart when he thought about what Ron had said to him the night before.

Harry walked down the corridor with a cold face. He had thought that Slytherin would be the house that mocked him the most, but to his surprise, apart from a few Slytherins who looked at him with disdain, he did not suffer any verbal attacks from any Slytherin!

Even Malfoy, who always liked to go against him!

Harry quickly realized who could do this, and he didn't think of anyone else but Thea.

Harry wanted to go to Thea, even if she could just say one word that she believed him.

But...would she believe herself?

—Of course! She even disciplined Slytherin!

That might be...maybe she's just not that kind of person, or maybe she just believes me...

Harry's inner voice was arguing, but he still didn't go. He was afraid to see suspicion in those usually gentle eyes...

“...Porter?”

A familiar voice rang in Harry's ears. Harry turned around abruptly, and the dark-haired girl was looking at him with a smile.

“Hi… Thea…” Harry greeted Thea stiffly.

Merlin! I did terribly!!!

Harry was inwardly wailing.

Fortunately, Thea didn't seem to mind. Instead, she held up her potions notebook and said, "We have potions class this afternoon. I heard from the prefect that Professor Snape might have us make the antidote. Would you like to take a look?"

Oh, right! There's also Potions class!

Damn it! How does the old bat still remember this?!

In Potions class, a matter of life and death for Harry, he temporarily forgot about the cold stares of his classmates and the doubts of his friends.

Seeing Harry eagerly take the notebook, Thea smiled slightly.

Thanks to Thea's notebook, Harry was able to successfully conceive the antidote formula in his mind, and now he just had to put it into practice.

Because he was confident, Harry had the courage to look back when Snape cast a death stare at him.

Just as Snape's anger was about to explode, Colin Crevet's appearance allowed Harry to escape the battlefield.

"What is it?" Snape asked impatiently.

"Excuse me, sir, I need to take Harry Potter upstairs."

Snape's gaze shifted from his hooked nose to Colin, and the smile vanished from Colin's eager face.

“Potter has an hour of Potions class,” Snape said coldly. “He’ll go upstairs after class.”

“Sir—sir, Mr. Bagman wants him to go,” he said nervously. “All the warriors are going; I think they want to have their picture taken…”

Harry felt his head start to ache again. He glanced at Ron, who was staring intently at the ceiling.

Harry was kicked out of the classroom by Snape, and he and Colin walked up the stairs to the foyer: "Why are they taking pictures, Colin?"

“I don’t know… maybe it was published in the Daily Prophet?” Colin replied.

“Great,” Harry said dejectedly, “exactly what I wanted. Further embarrassment.”