After one practice session, Harry timidly and quietly discussed something with Michael—if Ron wanted to join SSC, what should he do? Would Wade agree?
Lately, every time Harry studied and trained at the Umbrella Room, he felt very happy, even felt a sense of accomplishment when he got hurt. But as soon as he returned to the dormitory, this happiness would disappear as quickly as a punctured balloon.
Ron hadn't spoken to him for more than half a month. Sometimes when they crossed paths, Ron would pretend not to see him. During classes, Ron always sat with Seamus or Dean (the other two boys in their dormitory), and the two of them were no longer inseparable like they once were.
Although SSC was great, Harry missed the times when he and Ron would slack off together, play Wizard's Chess, or complain about too much homework and how difficult the classes were.
Ron was his first friend after entering the magical world, and Harry cherished that friendship.
He thought, if Ron could join SSC, maybe things could go back to how they used to be.
Michael asked a few more questions and, after understanding the situation, had already crossed Ron off in his mind, once again feeling a sense of satisfaction with his foresight.
Michael thought for a moment and said:
"Harry, I understand that you want to reconcile with your friend. But have you considered that friendship needs to be maintained by both sides? You tolerate his temper, but has he understood your difficulties?"
Harry was taken aback before saying, "I... I did promise Ron I'd ask for him, but I didn't follow through..."
"That's another issue, Harry."
Michael spoke slowly:
"I believe that if someone wants to join an established group, they should take the initiative to show their abilities and willingness, and gain everyone's approval through sincerity, hard work, or talent—not rely on their friend to plead on their behalf. This puts us all in a difficult position."
He looked Harry in the eye and said, "First, you—you've probably had these words weighing on you for a long time, constantly wondering how to bring it up, worrying about being rejected, and feeling anxious about it every day...
Then there's us—if someone doesn't like Ron Weasley, they'll have to struggle with whether to refuse or tolerate him. If they refuse, will they seem petty? Will it harm our friendship?"
In fact, when Hermione initially wanted to bring Harry in, Michael had wanted to say something similar, but Wade's words convinced him—Harry Potter's parents had sacrificed their lives in the war, so of course their orphan should be given special consideration.
Hermione always looked after Harry with a motherly affection, and Michael could understand that.
Once these Gryffindors set their hearts on someone, their passion could be overwhelming, almost giving their all. But Michael couldn't tolerate them constantly pulling people into the group—if we let Ron join, would Seamus and Dean be next? And after a few more days, would all the other Gryffindor students end up being brought in too?
Michael didn't say it outright, but his disapproval was already clear. In the end, he said:
"Weasley has taken a problem that's originally his own and turned it into an issue between us. And what has he been doing during this time?—Giving you the cold shoulder.
Harry, if a friend is willing to break off a friendship over such a small matter, does he really cherish this friendship?"
"—Or is he so certain that no matter how he treats you, you'll always be the one to reach out and reconcile?"
Harry fell into a long silence.
...
Back in the Ravenclaw common room, Michael brought up the situation with Wade and asked, "Do you know what Harry Potter's life was like before he came to school?"
"I've heard he grew up with Muggle relatives," Wade replied. This was common knowledge.
Michael sighed. "His relatives probably didn't raise him well... Harry might have never had friends before."
"How do you know that?" Padma came over and asked, "He seems fine! There's no way he couldn't make friends, right?"
Although wizards tend to be more solitary, Padma and the others knew that children from Muggle families often played in groups. During holidays, they sometimes played with kids from nearby villages.
"His behavior around friends seems a bit... humble," Michael said, puzzled. "Even though his parents are gone, he's still the 'Boy Who Lived'! Why would he act like this? I thought Harry Potter would be prouder, maybe even arrogant like Malfoy!"
"Muggles probably don't understand the meaning of the 'Boy Who Lived.' To them, Harry was likely just an unwanted burden left by his relatives," Wade said as he flipped through a book.
Padma listened intently and murmured, "That explains it..."
"What?" Michael asked.
"Haven't you noticed?" Padma said. "Harry Potter's clothes under his robes are always ill-fitting... I thought it was some kind of Muggle fashion trend."
The two of them continued discussing their various guesses in low voices, while Wade turned another page without joining in.
In his impression, Harry Potter had been mistreated by his aunt's family when he was younger, but as he grew older, hadn't they reconciled? He wasn't sure if this was from the original story or some fanfiction interpretation that had left this impression...
But recently, Wade had noticed something odd—Harry's attitude toward Professor Quirrell had suddenly become quite enthusiastic. Every time they crossed paths, Harry would give him an encouraging smile.
It was said that in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry had also started answering questions more actively. Hermione didn't dare openly stop him and could only watch anxiously.
This change in behavior made a lot of people nervous. Snape began hovering around Harry more frequently, making Harry think that Snape was following him, trying to catch him doing something wrong and put him in detention.
This even caused Harry to miss two days of SSC training.
One day during SSC practice, Neville, whose wand had once again been knocked out of his hand, seemed deeply affected. He sat in a daze for quite a while, causing everyone to worry.
Wade signaled the others to continue training and walked over to Neville, patting him on the shoulder. He asked, "Want to talk?"
Neville nodded gloomily.
The two walked to the side and sat down on a sofa. Wade didn't rush to speak. Instead, he poured a glass of water and Neville drank it slowly.
After a long silence, Neville finally asked, "Wade, my Disarming Charm hand movements are correct, and the incantation is right too, aren't they?"
"Yeah, you're almost more precise than Hermione," Wade replied with certainty, though he was also a bit puzzled.
"But I still keep failing..."
Neville lowered his head, fiddling with the cracks in the table, as if what he wanted to say was hard to get out.
"—Is it because I'm too dumb?" he asked quietly.
"I don't think you're dumb. You do really well in Herbology, don't you?" Wade said. "Not being able to master the Disarming Charm might be because you lack confidence—if you doubt your own magic, it can't respond to you well."
"So—" Neville hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "It's not because of my wand, right?"
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