The weeks leading up to Halloween were a period of peak efficiency for Harry.
His days were an optimized schedule of Grinding.
Mornings were dedicated to AGI/DEX and Flying training with Wood; afternoons were focused on MAG and DEX checks in Charms and Transfiguration; and nights were spent in the common room (or sometimes the library's Restricted Section) with Hermione, harvesting INT points.
[Daily Grind Status: Successful]
EXP Gained: 250 (Approx.)
Skills Leveled: Flying (LVL 6), Knowledge Acquisition (LVL 7), Silent Casting (LVL 21).
Ron Weasley, however, began to show the severe limitations of his Low Loyalty trait combined with his inherent lack of INT and high resentment.
The constant, visible success of Harry and Hermione grated on him, amplified by Harry's immediate superiority in classes and on the Quidditch pitch.
One afternoon, in the common room, while Harry and Hermione were diagramming the precise wrist movement for the Wingardium Leviosa charm, Ron exploded.
"Are you going to spend the whole year acting like a know-it-all, Hermione? No wonder no one else can stand you!"
Ron snapped, throwing his book across the room.
Hermione flinched,
her lower lip trembling.
The insult was a direct attack on her most valued trait, her intellect, and it instantly threatened the viability of Harry's Knowledge Grind.
Harry's System assessment ran instantly:
Asset Analysis: Ronald Weasley.
Risk Assessment: High. Hostility parameter detected toward Core Ally.
Value Assessment: Low (Mainly minor social cover).
Action Required: Mitigation of Detrimental Asset.
Harry calmly closed his textbook.
He looked at Ron with the same cold, flat intensity he had used on Malfoy.
"Ron, your failure to understand a basic first-year charm is your problem,"
Harry stated, his voice quiet.
"Insulting the only person trying to actually master it is a display of both poor intelligence and abysmal social skill. She is helping me. You are currently obstructing my progress."
Harry leaned forward, letting the full force of his Undetectable Focus hit Ron.
"You are loud, you are careless, and you are currently a pain in the ass. If you have nothing productive to contribute, leave and do not disrupt our study again."
Ron, red-faced and humiliated by the precise, public dismantling of his character, sputtered something incoherent and stormed out, slamming the portrait hole shut.
[MISSION COMPLETE: Mitigation of Detrimental Asset]
Objective: Neutralize immediate threat to Core Ally Hermione Granger.
Reward: +1 INT, -20 Reputation (Ron Weasley).
INT: 196 → 197
Harry felt a strange mix of satisfaction and something heavier.
He had protected his intellectual resource, yet the sight of Hermione's momentary pain felt... discordant.
It was an unnecessary variable in his clean data flow.
He realized, with a minor shock, that his concern went beyond her usefulness as a walking library.
Data Update: Hermione Granger now registered as Core Ally/Friend. Protection Trait upgraded from Minor to Moderate.
Harry turned back to Hermione.
"I am sorry for the distraction. He is acting like a dick."
Hermione looked at Harry, her eyes still teary, but filled with a depth of gratitude she hadn't shown before.
"You… you defended me, Harry,"
She whispered.
"You didn't have to."
"Yes, I did,"
Harry replied simply, retrieving Ron's discarded textbook.
"You are the only person here who prioritizes knowledge as highly as I do. Your presence ensures my intelligence remains sharp."
He intended this as objective, pragmatic reassurance. But to Hermione, who had always been shunned for her intelligence, this was the ultimate validation.
Harry wasn't just tolerating her; he saw her knowledge as necessary.
In the following days, the bond deepened.
Harry, utterly dependent on her textbook-perfect theory for his spellcasting and Potions, constantly sought her out.
Hermione, validated and protected, began to rely entirely on Harry's pragmatic calmness, his ability to manage hostile social situations (Malfoy, Ron), and his sheer, unquestioning belief in her intellect.
They moved as a perfect, self-sufficient unit.
They were the most powerful intellectual pairing in their year, and they barely noticed Ron's absence.
Little Spoiler: Vacation with Hermione
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