Chapter 234: Emotional Master

Harry walked out of the bathroom, half-amused and half-irritated, and slipped into the ballroom, pulling Donna aside quietly.

"Is there something you need, ma'am?" Donna asked innocently.

"I'm Harry," Harry said, deeply uncomfortable with the girl's voice coming from his throat. "Who is this? One of your classmates?"

"Impossible. I've never seen this person at Beauxbatons," Donna examined Harry's current appearance, clicking her tongue in fascination. "Since the hair was found on Barty's coat, this person must be closely connected to him."

"She doesn't look young. Could she be Barty's wife?" Donna plucked a strand of hair from Harry's head. "Now this is interesting."

"You shouldn't be this clueless," Harry snapped. "Barty has short hair, but this person has long hair. Are you deliberately teasing me?"

"Ah, to be precise," Parvati, transformed into Zhang Qiu, suddenly leaned in. "Ron didn't understand what Hermione meant by the Polyjuice Potion, but he knew it had something to do with us. So I promised him I'd play a trick on Harry to help Hermione vent her anger."

"To be honest, when we found the long hair on Barty's coat, we almost immediately assumed it was his wife," Donna said. "He rarely has physical contact with students, and frankly, I wanted to see how beautiful his Muggle wife really was."

"This person," Harry glanced again into the mirror. "She is indeed quite pretty—just a bit too wide-mouthed."

Suddenly, Harry realized something: under Donna's careless prank, he had seemingly caught a trace of the Wolf.

"I need to find Sirius," Harry instantly calmed down. "No more dancing. I must speak with him—this is critical."

Ten minutes later, Sirius entered the room Harry was in, looking startled. "What's going on? Are you my Harry?"

"I'm here—I drank the Polyjuice Potion," Harry said. "I need to speak with you alone. Later, I'll need to take a photo of this face. You must remember this woman."

"What's wrong?"

Harry took a breath and spoke slowly: "Considering all the evidence, I believe Barty Crouch Jr. is the Animagus hiding within the Triwizard Tournament—and this woman, as his wife, is very likely the 'Wolf' on the inside."

"I understand," Sirius stared fixedly at Harry's face. Though he knew Sirius was trying to memorize the Wolf's features, Harry still felt uneasy.

"Tell me the full story," Sirius said.

Harry hesitated, then began from the trial fourteen years ago: the shifts in Bartemius Crouch Sr.'s position and political stance, the Cover-Up Project, his speculation about Crouch's collaboration with the Soviet Union, and the coincidence between Ba Zhufu and the Wolf.

"So Donna, trying to prank you, deliberately gave you the Polyjuice Potion made from Barty's wife's hair—but she didn't realize this woman was the Wolf I've been hunting," Sirius mused. "Now that we have her face, it's a solid lead."

"But if we find this woman has no connection to the Soviet Union," Sirius nodded, "we may need to reevaluate your earlier theory."

After the potion's effect wore off, Harry had no desire to dance anymore. He glanced at Ron and Hermione dancing harmoniously on the floor and said to Zhang Qiu with relaxed tone: "This works out fine—you've made up for your divination gaps, and Ron and Hermione have made up their regrets."

"Actually, Hermione's emotional state is unstable right now," Zhang Qiu said. "From what I've observed, she doesn't truly like Ron."

"Huh?" Harry was confused.

"Hermione has fallen for Donald," Zhang Qiu analyzed. "But she keeps telling herself it's wrong. So she urgently needs a peer-aged boy to be her 'legitimate, reasonable, lawful' boyfriend—and she chose Ron."

"How do you know?" Harry countered. "Why couldn't she just genuinely like Ron?"

"Trust me—I'm a professional," Zhang Qiu said confidently. "During my year at Codovstritz, I read dozens of romance novels. I know these aristocratic love stories inside out."

Harry instinctively doubted her, but let her continue.

"Look: Hermione is a Muggle-born in the magical world, with no family background, yet fiercely proud and self-reliant—that's the classic 'little white flower' archetype. Donald? Also Muggle-born, now a member of the Magical Congress, with close ties to Dumbledore and Xuan Jun—that's the classic 'rags-to-riches' archetype." Zhang Qiu counted off three fingers, then switched hands. "In the Muggle world, Hermione's parents are dentists, harmonious, with modest savings—typical petite bourgeois. Donald? A media tycoon, investment genius, and patriarch of a powerful family. The archetypes are clear enough, aren't they?"

"I didn't fully follow, but it does sound clear," Harry nodded blankly. "So what are you getting at?"

"Under these conditions, their relationship would involve endless push-and-pull. For example, if Hermione develops feelings for Donald—oh, and add the teacher-student barrier—she'd refuse to acknowledge them. She'd think their statuses are too different, and use reason to convince herself Donald would never accept such feelings." Zhang Qiu wore an air of supreme confidence.

"But shouldn't that suit Donald perfectly?" Harry asked.

"I didn't say Donald—I said Hermione. She doesn't know Donald's feelings," Zhang Qiu replied. "As for Donald, given the status gap, if he openly confesses, it might trigger her suspicion and scare her off. So he can say nothing—only quietly care for and assist her."

"That does make sense. You're right," Harry began to believe her.

"Then Hermione feels increasing guilt. Her gratitude and affection for Donald clash. She questions herself: He treats me so well, yet I want to date him—is that right? For some love-struck girls like Cassandra, yes—but for someone like Hermione, fiercely self-reliant, she absolutely cannot accept this thought. Yet, her emotions remain pent up, causing her great pain."

Harry suddenly remembered something and interrupted: "Ah, so according to you, is it because Cassandra lacks self-reliance that Donald stopped seeing her?"

"Very likely," Zhang Qiu agreed. "Back to Hermione: in her third year, she grew close to Neville. That's partly because they shared a secret, but more importantly, she needed to suppress these feelings and redirect them elsewhere."

"But Neville chose Hannah," Harry said.

"Exactly. I thought Hermione had moved on. But Donald has started again—he brought Hermione to Beauxbatons to assist Elina. We all know he did it deliberately, but Hermione sees it as a rare opportunity." Zhang Qiu smoothed her scarf. "She'll work desperately to prove herself, fiercely maintaining the strained relationship between Elina and Fleur, and keeping all strategies secret from you."

"Why does Hermione think this opportunity is rare?" Harry asked. "Didn't Donald already ask her to be his date over summer and take her to the World Cup?"

"I already said it: under such a vast status gap, Hermione won't believe—or dare to believe—that Donald likes her. She'll find excuses for every favor: he's secretly helping Harry, he recognizes her abilities. And the most devastating part? Donald truly is secretly helping you—and Hermione found out."

"So helping me isn't part of his pursuit of Hermione?" Harry mused. "And yet, this makes her even less likely to accept him?"

"That's why I say you can't analyze Donald," Zhang Qiu shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he's afraid the Dark Lord will harm Hermione."

"So this is Hermione's current state: her emotions pull her toward Donald, but her reason tells her he'll reject her. Then she notices a capable peer nearby—someone close to Donald too—who shows interest in her. She immediately clings to him as a substitute."

"Hermione tells herself: loving Ron is 'right.' Loving Donald is 'wrong.'" Zhang Qiu concluded. "She's highly rational—and such people often bury their true feelings under logic."

"Phew," Harry exhaled. "That doesn't sound bad. I think this works."

"No, this balance is extremely fragile—because Hermione hasn't grown yet," Zhang Qiu said. "She abandoned Neville because he grew too fast—he wanted to be a lone heroic knight. She couldn't accept that archetype. But Ron? His growth path is that of a loyal, dependable Round Table knight. When he briefly abandons his knightly identity, he abandons all growth. So now, Hermione finds him easy to talk to."

Harry blinked. He felt Zhang Qiu had slipped back into her chessmaster mindset.

"Either Hermione grows into a wise, meticulous elite—and then she'll find Ron boring—or she never grows at all. After some turmoil, Donald will successfully win her over." Zhang Qiu said calmly. "Her relationship with Ron is ultimately unsustainable—unless you put her under your command alongside Ron. But that would harm your own career."