Chapter 87: Sympathy

Time flew by, and before he knew it, October had arrived.

Hogwarts had been in class for over a month now.

Unlike their first year, second-year students Harry and Ron found themselves burdened with heavier work.

Every day, they would beg Arthur to let them see his homework for reference.

Arthur didn't mind, but the look in Hermione's eyes made Harry and Ron feel guilty, as if asking for homework assistance was a sin.

On this day, as Arthur and the others sat in the Great Hall for breakfast as usual, Arthur noticed that many young wizards were looking at him with admiration.

This puzzled Arthur.

Although he was already quite famous at school, it had never been this far where these young wizards seemed to want to devour him.

"What's going on?" Arthur whispered to the person beside him, Cho.

"I have no idea either," Cho replied with confusion.

Just then, Colin rushed over, excitedly shouting at Arthur.

"This is amazing! Arthur, can I take a picture of you? I never knew you were so kind!"

Huh?

Arthur greeted Colin with a puzzled expression.

'What was this kid up to now?'

"Colin, what's going on? Can you tell me what happened?" Arthur asked gently, restraining the urge to throw this little brat aside.

"Don't you know? You made it into the Daily Prophet! It turns out, Arthur, you have such noble aspirations!"

"Wuwuwu, you... you're really too kind!"

As Colin spoke, he even choked up.

Arthur's mouth twitched.

Colin had been babbling for ages without getting to the point, but Arthur caught the key information: the Daily Prophet.

He quickly had Cho bring a copy of the newspaper, and Arthur began to read.

Sure enough, on the second page, a massive headline occupied a noticeable position.

"Genius Wizard Arthur Gaunt - Researching Wolfsbane Potion for the Sake of Magical World Peace."

Arthur hadn't expected the topic of the Wolfsbane Potion to be reported in the newspaper. It was probably Professor Snape's doing to boost him.

Arthur didn't mind and continued reading:

"Arthur Gaunt, a second-year student with a special talent and handsome looks, but what truly touches people is his dream..."

An entire page was filled with descriptions of Arthur and the Wolfsbane Potion.

However, what left Arthur speechless was that the article pointed out that despite being an orphan from the Muggle world, Arthur had always maintained a kind heart.

The newspaper even fabricated a few heartwarming stories, describing his life's hardships and hardworking studies.

Not only was he willing to help his classmates, but when seeing the difficulty of werewolves, he couldn't bear it and specially developed the Wolfsbane Potion, publicly disclosing its recipe without charge.

After finishing reading, Arthur was moved by the version of himself portrayed in the newspaper. He had no idea his life was described as challenging.

Cho, who had also finished reading the newspaper, stared at Arthur with a strange expression.

"How much did you pay the Daily Prophet to make them speak so highly of you?" she asked, patting Arthur's head.

Giving Cho a light smack on her head, Arthur replied irritably, "I didn't give them a single Galleon. I don't know why they wrote it like that. Maybe that's the image people have of me..."

Cho fixed Arthur's messy hair and had no words to say about his self-obsession...

Soon, all the young wizards learned about the info from the newspaper.

Some young witches read the faked stories and discreetly wiped away their tears.

Some of the witches, if Cho hadn't stopped them, they would have wanted to give Arthur a loving hug.

Arthur had to endure these gazes and quickly finished his breakfast with Cho, preparing to find Professor Snape.

He wanted to ask Professor Snape why he had staged such a drama.

In Professor Snape's office, Arthur and Professor Snape sat facing each other.

Shaking the newspaper in his hand, Arthur expressed his frustration.

"Professor, this newspaper article is way too much, isn't it? They wouldn't come up with these stories just by doing a simple investigation."

Listening to Arthur's complaint, Professor Snape couldn't help but feel helpless.

He had simply asked a few old friends to help promote Arthur's image.

One of his friends happened to be the editor-in-chief of the Prophet, so he mentioned it. He never expected it to turn into such big news.

But Professor Snape wouldn't admit his mistake to Arthur. He could only awkwardly say, "This is to better arouse public sympathy and impress Fudge..."

"He won't miss this opportunity to win the hearts of the people. Your Order of Merlin is secured; we just don't know what level it will be," Professor Snape added.

Hearing Professor Snape's explanation, Arthur had to admit that he had a point. Since the situation had already spread, he could only accept it.

The following day, owls kept delivering letters to Arthur. Some thanked him for his contributions to werewolf wizards, while others offered condolences for his challenging life.

Many people even sent him comfort packages.

It took Arthur and his friends the entire afternoon to sort through the letters and packages.

And to maintain his image, he personally replied to each letter, especially those from werewolf wizards.

Arthur made sure to mention that a shop in Knockturn Alley had started selling Wolfsbane Potion.

He had actually sent a batch of the potion to Knockturn Alley last month and instructed Alia to sell it with low-cost options for those who couldn't afford it immediately.

This was a tactic to attract werewolf wizards.

In fact, werewolf wizards had impressive combat abilities. Their reflexes and physical qualities far exceeded those of ordinary wizards.

With some training and learning a few powerful spells, they could become a strong force.

Arthur used magic to move the quills and write the reply letters automatically, greatly reducing his workload.

Finally, before dinner, Arthur completed all his tasks.

He returned all the comfort packages because he wasn't truly needed them. He couldn't accept those things.

Sure enough, during dinner, Dumbledore announced that this Saturday, Fudge would come to present Arthur with the Third-Class Order of Merlin to recognize his contributions.

This news made Professor Lockhart's face turn sour.

He hadn't expected that this little wizard, whom he always had some conflicts with, would suddenly receive the same honor as him.

...

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