As Hermione foresaw, when she revealed some of the accusations made by Crouch to Professor Brenn outside the library earlier, Harry and Ron were extremely indignant. Just like Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Brenn, who is in the limelight of the magical world, is also a flag waving at Hogwarts.
Now, Crouch even believes that Professor Brenn may be a notorious admirer of Gellert Grindelwald, and every Hogwarts witch or wizard who hears this should feel angry.
Who does he think he is!
As Harry exited the warm common room, he shouted,
"Professor Brenn has killed more dark wizards than he has seen!" Harry shouted as he emerged from the warm common room.
As a passionate Quidditch enthusiast, Harry's intense remark about a popular Quidditch international superstar like Crouch shows how angry he is. And Ron, who is even more obsessed with Crouch himself, says that he will throw away the Crouch figure model he bought outside the World Cup venue tonight.
Hermione silently heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that she hadn't told Harry and Ron about the purpose of her conversation with Crouch. Otherwise, they might not have known how to react!
"But back to the point –"
Hermione slipped the note from Professor Brenn into her pocket, mulling over her thoughts as she spoke.
"Crouch said that symbol is Grindelwald's mark."
"He must be lying, I bet there must be some other meaning!"
Ron immediately said.
Since he had fought and reconciled with Harry and Hermione, these days, whenever Harry and Hermione shared their opinions, he always tried to agree with them, and Harry and Hermione both noticed that Ron was doing so to mend their friendship.
Of course, Harry and Hermione wouldn't hold grudges against Ron during that time. Seeing Ron still cherishing and valuing their friendship warmed their hearts. Meanwhile, they both reflected on their attitude towards Ron in their daily lives.
"I think you're right, Ron."
Hermione nodded in agreement, a rare clear sign of approval for Ron's conclusions in the past.
"But the problem is, what does it really mean?"
"Hermione, do you think that symbol has anything to do with the terrifying 'door' we saw in Hagrid's office and the three sacred objects?" Harry looked around to make sure no one was close before speaking softly.
"Before Crouch called me out, I was looking up information in the general book section, but I didn't see Professor Brenn. I think he must have been in the restricted section at the time."
As she walked through the corridor, Hermione compressed her disheveled hair with her hand, and her brown eyes glinted with a strange light.
"If I can --"
Harry understood Hermione's meaning, and his expression flickered with interest.
The experience in the secret room behind that terrible corridor in the Chamber of Secrets was also very strange throughout his "trouble-making" career. Harry knew that there was something extraordinary hidden behind that illusion, and as a normal wizard, he could see it without much intelligence. It didn't require much wisdom to realize that there was some great secret hidden behind that vision, and as a normal wizard, anyone would feel curious about it. Moreover, Professor Brenn only forbade them to tell others about it, but he didn't forbid them from investigating themselves.
"Let's wait and see —"
Ron's suggestion left Harry and Hermione looking at him in surprise, but under their gaze, he still looked gloomy.
"Don't forget, Harry and Hermione, because of this, we have to clean the sports classroom all the way to Christmas. I've had enough of Snape's sarcastic looks every time your classes end. At least, wait until this punishment is over before we take action, okay?"
Okay, to be honest, Ron's suggestion is quite reasonable.
Familiar with the layout, Harry and his two friends came to the door of the sports classroom after passing through several corridors. Of course, they were not there for cleaning purposes on a weekend.
Ron faced the sports classroom with its labeled door, his pale cheeks showing a hint of melancholy due to the cold.
This classroom, Ron had only used twice.
The first time was during second year, when Professor Brenn was still the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. He turned this classroom into a terrifying maze, where the two young witches encountered the most frightening dark creatures they had ever seen. He tasked them to deal with the two wraiths, and in the end, only Harry succeeded.
The second time was during third year, when Professor Brenn helped Professor Lupin with his lesson. He turned the classroom into a vast marsh, where the young witches from four houses competed in a boat race.
Now looking back, these two lessons were among the most interesting in all of their magical education.
Because of Professor Brenn's punishment, he had also become quite familiar with this classroom over the past period. While Harry and the others were attending classes inside, he would stand alone outside, in the quiet corridor, silently tasting his bitterness in the darkness.
This was entirely his own fault. Even Ron himself felt that way, as he believed that Professor Brenn had given everyone a fair opportunity.
But luckily, Professor Brenn was kind enough. Although he refused to accept him, he at least pointed out a clear path for him.
Clickety-clack...
Harry and Hermione stood behind Ron, letting him push open the door to the sports classroom. They both knew that this was of great significance to Ron.
Despite its enormous space and lack of fireplace, the isolated, quiet classroom with its insulation was still warm, keeping the chill outside at bay.
Though familiar with it, as Ron stepped into the classroom, he lingered at the door, silently surveying it. The complex emotions on his face were a mix of various tastes.
Because it was during the day and the sunlight outside made the classroom bright enough, the wall-mounted torches did not need to be lit. However, upon sensing someone entering the classroom, the armor standing against the walls made a faint clanging sound as if they were swords striking metal. The clear, resonant sound of these clanging metal pieces echoed in the spacious room, making it sound like a vast and mysterious space.
Finally, Ron slowly walked in and stood at the starting line where the previous students had practiced dodging fertilizer eggs. He gazed at the other end of the classroom, lost in thought.
Harry and Hermione stood behind Ron, maintaining silence. They knew that Ron needed a moment to process his emotions.
"You say –"
After a while, Ron suddenly turned to face Harry and Hermione, his freckled face showing a hint of hesitation.
"I mean, I'm just a bit, um. ambitious? I mean, you guys practiced running drills for a month before practicing dodging the fecal eggs, and I've only been doing it for half that time."
"I think you're completely fine, Ron!" Harry comforted him with a worried expression, "Because of the greater training volume during that time, I believe you have reached the standard for participating in the second phase of training!"
"Physical training is very important and requires long-term persistence, Ron—"
Hermione is more skilled at giving lectures than Harry. Her serious expression resembles Professor McGonagall's very much in class.
"But the second-stage dodge training focuses more on reaction and agility, rather than purely relying on strength. So, these two training do not conflict and can be done simultaneously. Professor Brenn had us run drills for a month in the past, not just to improve our physical strength, but also to screen us."
Hermione suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence.
Professor Brenn's actions at the time were also to filter out students with weak willpower and those who were not willing to take losses, and that's why Ron voluntarily gave up and didn't persist.
Ron pursed his lips and fell silent. If possible, he even wished he could apply for a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic and punch himself hard back then.
"Ron--"
Ron fell into a long silence, and this made Harry extremely uneasy. Hermione and Ron were his best friends, and he couldn't remember how much help he had received from them over the years. But being friends with them was indeed somewhat surprising.
Spending time with Ron was more fun, and undoubtedly, it would be missing a lot of joy to be friends with him alone. At the same time, it would also add more time spent in the library.
Therefore, Harry was happier than anyone else to see Ron make up his mind to enter the dueling training. He feared that Ron would give up again due to fear of difficulties.
"Then, let's get started —"
But this time, Harry's concerns were clearly unnecessary. Ron suddenly lifted his eyelids and smiled brilliantly at Harry and Hermione.
"What are we waiting for!"
(Chapter Ends)
