Chapter 255: Insider Information

The Memory Charm that Alaric cast on Rita Skeeter was quite effective. 

Due to the manuscript having been burned by Alaric previously, there wasn't much usable material for the day's news.

Eventually, in the Daily Prophet, the focus of the Triwizard Tournament news shifted to Harry.

The article was published ten days ago, and whenever Harry recalled it, he felt a burning and uncomfortable sense of shame deep within. 

Rita Skeeter had written about him saying many terrifying things—things he knew he had never said, let alone in the broom closet.

"I believe it is my parents who have given me strength. I know that if they could see me now, they would be very proud of me...

"Yes, sometimes at night, I still cry for them. I don't think it's embarrassing to admit this...

"I know there's nothing in the tournament that can harm me, because they watch over me in spirit..."

And that's not all. Rita Skeeter not only turned his stuttering into nauseating rants but also asked others for their opinions about him.

Harry finally found his first love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, said that Harry was inseparable from a boy named Ron Weasley but had only average relationships with girls.

Perhaps because he lost his parents at a young age, only the strong arms of boys could give Harry a sense of security, so it was understandable that he would fall for a boy. 

Mr. Weasley was born into the pure-blood Weasley family, with many brothers, but his closest relationship was with Harry Potter.

Since the article came out, Harry had to endure people—mainly Slytherin students—quoting passages from it to mock him as he passed by.

"Need a handkerchief, Potter, to wipe your tears in Transfiguration class?"

"Potter, where's your inseparable first love?"

"Need strong arms, Potter?"

Even Ron's sister, Ginny, looked at him with resentment and disappointment.

However, the only useful aspect of this article was that it led to Harry and Ron reconciling. 

Of course, even after reconciling, they dared not get too close to each other, because there were always people gossiping about them.

This report became a source of joy for many young wizards for a while, and even Alaric had to admire Rita Skeeter, saying she did a great job.

Ron and Harry being gay... seems like no big deal.

In addition, Alaric discovered a big problem, namely that Krum seemed to have fallen for Hermione, just as in the original story.

It was Cho Chang who brought this up. After dinner one day, on their way back to the common room, Alaric, Cho, and Hermione discussed this topic.

"Hermione, did you know?" Cho hesitated a bit as they walked out of the Great Hall, looking somewhat mischievous, "It seems someone has a little crush on you."

"Who is it this time?" Hermione asked impatiently, as quite a few foolish boys had been pursuing her lately because she was a champion.

"It's Krum."

"The Durmstrang champion? How come I didn't know?" Hermione said somewhat differently, even Alaric looked at Cho.

"I heard he often goes to the library and attends your classes." Cho looked at Hermione with a smile.

Alaric and Hermione immediately thought of Krum, who often stayed in their classroom. They thought Krum was just curious about Hogwarts' courses.

Now it seems strange that he attended their classes so frequently.

"He's not handsome at all! I don't like him at all. 

Oh, I heard other girls talk about him, and he has a lot of fame, isn't it, that famous fake thing." 

Hermione looked at Alaric, and when she found that he was not happy, she immediately expressed her lack of interest in Krum.

"It's a fake action," Cho Chang said, covering her mouth with a smile, and she also didn't care about it. 

Krum had used this trick on her before, and the cost was Krum falling from the broom.

They were talking about it when suddenly they met Harry when they turned a corner.

Harry looked a little urgent, apparently rushing all the time, but when he saw them, Harry brightened up in front of his eyes.

"Hi, Hermione," he gasped, "I'm looking for you?"

"You? Are you looking for me?" Hermione hugged her chest and looked a little guarded. "You won't say the same thing to those fools, will you?"

"Fool? Say the same thing? No!" Harry was a bit confused, but he quickly returned to the topic, "I have something important to tell you, very important."

"Oh? What is it?" Hermione looked at him suspiciously.

"It's..." Harry glanced at Alaric and Cho Chang beside Hermione, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to continue after thinking of Alaric's position as a judge, "It's like this..."

He leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said, "I saw it, the first task is dragons."

"What?" Hermione stared at him carefully.

"It's dragons," Harry said quickly, and there were people passing by here, "there are four in total, one for each of us, and we have to pass by them."

Hermione stared at him blankly, then looked at Alaric. 

Unlike the fear Harry felt when he saw the dragon, Hermione's brown eyes sparkled with excitement at this moment, which made Harry somewhat unbelievable.

"Are you sure?" Hermione whispered.

"Absolutely sure," Harry said, "I saw it with my own eyes."

"How did you find out? We shouldn't know..."

"Just forget it," Harry hurriedly said—he knew if he told the truth, Hagrid would get into trouble because Hagrid showed him.

"Not only I know. Fleur and Krum now know—Madame Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons."

"Why did you tell us?" Cho Chang asked, but Hermione obviously believed Harry's words.

"Because that's... fair, isn't it?" he said to Hermione, "And I don't know how to deal with dragons. I think you must have a way, or Alaric will."

"Yes, I certainly have a way," Hermione said proudly, looking a bit arrogant, "but my way is special, you definitely can't do it, sorry."

"Oh, is that so, too, because you have..." Harry lowered his head, looking a bit disappointed, "but congratulations on passing the first test."

He turned around, ready to leave, but Alaric stopped him.

"You just did a very graceful thing, Potter," Alaric said, "so here's a tip for you. Actually, dealing with dragons is not difficult; just play to your strengths, which have nothing to do with magic."

After that, Alaric left with the two girls, leaving Harry puzzled.

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