Chapter 309: Complex Emotional Issues

After the Death Eater gathering ended, Harry soon received the first probe from Malfoy.

"Harry, I'm a bit curious," Draco said at the Torchwood gathering, appearing casual. "Did Deng Buliduo leave you anything?"

"He gave me the first Snitch I ever caught. Many people know about this; it's not a secret," Harry said with a half-smile.

"What's in the Snitch?" Pan Xi asked, quite cooperatively.

"Nothing. It's empty," Harry said.

"How is that possible?" Cui Ge questioned.

The two little Death Eaters hadn't even spoken yet, and the pure bystanders had already noticed something wrong.

"But it is empty. I guess the accident happened too fast, and he didn't have time to put anything in," Harry said very honestly.

"That's not it. If Deng Buliduo really didn't have time, you wouldn't have received this Snitch—since he decided to leave you something, there must be something," Cui Ge shook his head.

In Harry's guess, the reason Deng Buliduo didn't have time to put anything in the Snitch was that he originally intended to put in something he still needed. From this angle, Harry felt the most likely possibility was the Resurrection Stone.

However, in front of these people, Harry couldn't say "Resurrection Stone" directly, nor could he tell his analysis, so he could only shrug helplessly: "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. He really didn't hide anything in the Snitch."

"Then why did Deng Buliduo leave the Snitch to you?" Cui Ge looked a bit confused.

"According to him, it's a souvenir to remind Harry that 'courage and skill are both indispensable,'" Ivy added.

"I think maybe there really is something in the Snitch, and Harry just doesn't intend to tell us," Ernie blinked. "This is a secret between Harry and Deng Buliduo; we shouldn't be overly curious."

"I'm telling the truth; there really is nothing in the Snitch." It was only when he said this for the third time that Harry truly understood Deng Buliduo's intention: what was hidden in the Snitch could be anything, entirely up to Harry to make up. For example, now that Snape had spread the lie of "Deng Buliduo's Horcrux," no matter how much Harry emphasized that the Snitch was empty, people would only think he was trying to cover it up.

"I don't think Harry needs to lie," Lu Na said airily. "Maybe you all didn't notice, but what's hidden in the Snitch is just a smokescreen; what's truly important is the Snitch itself."

"Ah? But what use is a Snitch that's already been caught?" Crabbe asked.

"Meaning is assigned by people," Lu Na said, holding her head high, confidently.

"Ah, right, he wants to remind me that courage and skill are both indispensable," Harry said, nodding.

Draco lowered his head, thoughtful, while Pan Xi smoothed things over, turning the topic in another direction: "Speaking of which, do you remember Cedric?"

After graduation, Cedric signed with the England national team and was a substitute Seeker for a while, then decided to transition to a Beater. This was a quite bold decision, but the effect was surprisingly good. He had a strong sense of the big picture, which was cultivated during his four-year tenure as House Captain.

Jin Ni immediately chimed in, chatting about his several dates with Penelope Clearwater. This had become an enduring gossip topic for Torchwood. Clearly, Fred and George hired Penelope to help Percy keep his first love. But Percy felt the Ministry of Magic was more comfortable than home, while Penelope, after a chance encounter, started chatting with Cedric.

These gossips always allowed Harry to relax. The name Cedric often evoked those memories of his time at Beauxbatons—back then, Deng Buliduo was still alive, and Harry didn't need to worry about the big picture every day like he did now.

As the Christmas holidays approached, another thing that made Harry recall the beauty of the past began to circulate among the children: Snape, defying all opposition, moved the time of the Christmas Ball to December 22nd and slightly increased the number of holiday days.

For most students who didn't care about the situation, this move alone made him immediately surpass Deng Buliduo and become one of the greatest Headmasters in history.

Naturally, students interested in the ball began to look for their partners. Some innocent girls began to fantasize about dancing with Harry. Unfortunately, unless Zhang Qiu announced that her partner was someone else, they didn't dare to truly invite Harry. But because of this, Harry Potter's overflowing prestige naturally flowed to Luo En, the only single person in their small group.

On Thursday evening, Harry and Luo En had just sat down in the common room when they saw Parvati casting shy glances in their direction.

"Run," Luo En whispered.

"But, what are you thinking?" After returning to the dormitory, Harry couldn't help but ask. "You've rejected almost every girl in the entire school."

"Yeah," Luo En said unhappily.

"If you want to attend the ball with Hermione, why don't you just invite her?" Harry asked directly.

"I think, maybe she," Luo En hesitated, "it doesn't make sense. I'm so popular; it should be her inviting me—unless she really intends to hide on the day of the ball and see no one."

"Didn't she find a partner herself?" Harry couldn't help but frown. "There are always boys inviting her, right? By the way, who did she dance with last year?"

"Tang Tang Nade," Luo En said with dissatisfaction.

"I'm talking about the one at Hogwarts," Harry blinked.

"Also Tang Tang Nade," Luo En clicked his tongue. "Did you forget? She didn't spend Christmas at Hogwarts at all."

"That is indeed the case," Harry said, rubbing his chin. "Then if you don't intend to invite Hermione, we... should we go to Gilnis instead?"

If they found a partner for Jin Ni and let Luo En dance with Ivy, not to mention whether they were willing, this would cause a great shake-up in their right to speak among the girls.

"Let's see," Luo En said listlessly.

At noon the next day, when Harry mentioned this to Zhang Qiu, she immediately said firmly: "Luo En is thinking of Alina."

"What you said makes sense," Harry remembered the ball at Downton during the summer vacation; that was when Luo En seemed the most impatient.

"Harry, don't underestimate the impact a ball can have," Zhang Qiu said very seriously after thinking for a while. "You should persuade Luo En to invite Hermione."

"But he's not willing."

"You have to tell him, either let Hermione be taken away by Tang Tang Nade under some excuse, or invite Hermione and force Tang Tang Nade to come over."

"What do you mean?"

"If Luo En sits and waits for death, then on the day of the ball, he can only dance with a girl he doesn't like. Don't think about going to Gilnis; Harry Potter taking the lead in not giving Snape face is devastating to the school's pattern," Zhang Qiu pointed out this problem that Harry hadn't noticed before. "But if Luo En invites Hermione, then either he dances with Hermione, or Tang Tang Nade has to come and solve this problem."

"And for Tang Tang Nade to break them up, he must bring Alina—" Harry clapped his hands. "Either way, Luo En can have a pretty good partner."

"No, no, that's not right either," Zhang Qiu suddenly said. "This is Hogwarts; Hermione won't agree to dance with Tang Tang Nade."

"It would be one thing at Beauxbatons; no one knows them there, and the atmosphere there is open," Zhang Qiu shook her head. "But Hermione still has to go to school at Hogwarts, and Tang Tang Nade has also been a professor here, not to mention the reason he resigned was for pedophilia."

"That's good too. Does this mean Luo En can indeed invite Hermione and let her be his partner?" Harry suddenly became happy. "Luo En is secondary; the key is I really don't want Hermione to have any more contact with Tang Tang Nade."

"Regardless of whether your conscience agrees or not, your interests will open the door for that American guy," Zhang Qiu sighed.

After a brief silence, she proposed a new idea: "What if we reverse the order of the invitations?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you directly let Luo En invite Hermione, Hermione will most likely agree, which would become a forced palace coup against Tang Tang Nade. You are right not to do this; offending Tang Tang Nade at this stage is not good for the big picture," Zhang Qiu summarized the previous plan slightly. "But if you let Luo En write a letter to invite Alina, then Tang Tang Nade is in a situation where he can come or not, because Luo En, who worries him the most, has already been cured by Alina."

"Luo En has to look at Tang Tang Nade's face to pick a partner?" Harry muttered with dissatisfaction.

"Unless you let Luo En be brave, make up his mind, and go invite Hermione regardless," Zhang Qiu shrugged helplessly. "We insist that they are in a free relationship, then the one with the headache will be Tang Tang Nade."

"Eh, Luo En is also very awkward now; he's still waiting for Hermione to find him," Harry sighed.

"Luo En doesn't want to be active? There's a way," Zhang Qiu continued. "You write letters to other schools in the name of Torchwood, inviting them to send their student council presidents to attend the ball, just like that time in the summer vacation. This way, Luo En doesn't need to summon the courage, and it doesn't have to touch Tang Tang Nade's sensitive nerves."

"To avoid them misunderstanding, you can make some hints and throw the blame on Snape," Zhang Qiu suggested. "Just say he's a traditional, conservative old antique who can't stand any new ideas, so they won't make any trouble."

"What does 'make trouble' mean?"

"You wouldn't believe how far the cultural progress over there has gone," Zhang Qiu said with lingering fear. "No matter how much we promote LGBT, at least it's still limited to humans and humans." ===== CHAPTER 310 =====