Hermione was a very forceful person, and she had never really liked him. She thought he was a bit stupid and liked to cause trouble.
Ron knew this very well.
If it wasn't necessary, Ron really didn't want to provoke Hermione.
Especially now, when Hermione was so completely absorbed.
It was just that the damn roast chicken was way too salty, and the only drink, the large teapot, was being held by Hermione.
Feeling the dryness in his throat, Ron's expression became conflicted. He spoke weakly, "Hermione, could you help pass me the teapot?"
Ron spoke extremely politely, and Hermione did indeed hear him.
But when Hermione turned her head, all Ron saw was her opening her mouth wide and silently mouthing the word "get lost," the ferocious look on her face completely different from how she'd looked when facing Link earlier.
Ron shrank his neck in fear, leaned over toward Harry, and complained in a low voice, "Did you see that? Such a violent woman. I bet she'll never get married in her whole life!"
Harry stared blankly at his plate. He looked completely spaced out, as if he were daydreaming, and clearly hadn't heard a word Ron said.
Seeing this, Ron wasn't discouraged and continued complaining, "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't marry her. Compared to Hermione, I like girls like Emily, strong on the outside but incredibly gentle on the inside."
"Oh! I'm not saying I like Emily. She's Link's fiancée, and I wouldn't do anything that scummy. Besides, she wouldn't look twice at me anyway."
"What I mean is, I prefer that type. At the very least, she should be gentler than Hermione!"
As soon as Ron said this, Harry finally reacted.
He first looked at Ron, then glanced at Cedric not far away, who was chatting happily with George, Fred, and the others, and finally lowered his head with a guilty look.
He felt like Ron had just indirectly hit something sensitive.
Ron was completely unaware of this. He licked his lips and finally said, "Harry, can you help me get a drink of water? You know, with how I look right now, if I go to someone else's table to ask, I'll probably just get laughed at."
Harry lifted his head with a horrified expression.
Ron wasn't wrong. Earlier, when he'd vented his fear on the food, he'd ended up with grease all over his face. He looked like a beggar now.
But… right next to Hufflepuff's table was Ravenclaw's long table.
After hesitating for quite a while, chivalrous Harry decided that brotherhood was more important than social death. Gritting his teeth and enduring the embarrassment, he turned around and helped Ron ask for a cup of pumpkin juice from the Ravenclaw table.
Ron drained the drink with a face full of joy, let out a satisfied sigh, and said solemnly to Harry, "Alright, I admit it, I was completely wrong!"
"Gentle girls are nothing special. If I ever get married, I want to marry someone like you! What a shame, Harry. Why aren't you a girl? I'm sure you'd be really pretty if you were!"
After saying this, Ron looked at Harry with eyes full of deep regret.
It sent a chill down Harry's spine.
He vigorously brushed the goosebumps off his arms, scooted his chair farther away, and only then felt a little better.
"Harry, what's wrong with you two?"
Link's familiar voice came from beside him. Harry only then realized that he'd unconsciously moved right next to Link.
Meeting Link's smiling gaze, Harry suddenly remembered something. He pressed his lips together and said, "Link, thank you. I..."
"That's too mushy, Harry." Link shook his head and interrupted him.
"You can keep that kind of thing in your heart. No need to say it out loud."
Harry was cut off so abruptly that he fell straight into silence. He nodded awkwardly for quite a while before finally working up the courage again, "I mean, Link… um… you know Occlumency, right?"
Link's knife paused mid-cut as he was slicing his steak. He turned his head and stared straight at Harry until Harry started feeling guilty, then said, "How do you know that?"
"Professor McGonagall told me. She heard it from Dumbledore. Okay, that part isn't really important," Harry explained.
"What matters is that my headaches have started acting up again recently. And not just that, I've started having prophetic dreams. Sirius being ambushed by the Death Eaters, and the scene at the Gringotts break-in… I saw all of it."
"You saw it?!"
Link's voice suddenly rose, and his expression turned serious.
Harry felt a jolt of fear. He instinctively avoided Link's gaze and said weakly, "Y-yes. Dumbledore said it might be because someone is invading my mind, so he arranged for Professor Snape to teach me Occlumency. But you know how much Snape dislikes me, so I thought…"
Harry's voice grew weaker and weaker until it was barely audible.
Link didn't answer right away. He simply stared silently at Harry, a faint, hidden blue glow beginning to flicker deep in his eyes.
Powerful tendrils of mental energy surged out from his mind, gradually wrapping around Harry's brain.
Link knew exactly what Harry's "prophetic dreams" were about.
The only thing that surprised him was that Harry had even seen what happened inside Gringotts.
Did that mean Harry had also seen the scene of him fighting Voldemort?
The answer was yes.
But judging from the results of Legilimency, Harry didn't seem to have told anyone about it.
Link didn't know why Harry had chosen to do that, but overall, it was still good news.
Thinking this, a smile slowly spread across Link's face.
Meanwhile, Harry, being stared at by Link, felt like his heart was about to explode.
The intense nervousness made blood rush to his head, his face flushing bright red. He was almost at the point of bolting.
But at that moment, Hermione suddenly leaned over.
"What are you two talking about?" Hermione shrieked at Harry. "Occlumency? Treatment? Why have you never mentioned this to us?"
"Because… I didn't want you to worry."
Harry spoke slowly, but his expression looked like he'd finally let out a breath of relief.
Hermione's sudden interruption eased the tension between him and Link quite a bit.
However, his answer clearly didn't satisfy Hermione. Just as her eyebrows began to rise, Ron suddenly cut in, "What's Occlumency?"
"A spell you'll never learn in your entire life!"
Hermione shouted without hesitation, then slapped Ron hard on the head as he leaned over, making him yelp in pain.
Hermione shook her hand and frowned, about to continue questioning Harry, when Link spoke calmly, "I do know Occlumency. But if you want to learn it, I recommend that you still go to Professor Snape. After all… he's the one who taught me Occlumency."
Link's words first made Harry's face light up, then fall.
The two emotions twisted together, making his whole face scrunch up.
To him, it sounded like Link was politely turning him down.
Seeing Harry like this, Link chuckled and said, "But if you really want me to teach you, that's not impossible. I just can't guarantee I'll be able to teach you successfully."
"Occlumency is the kind of spell that ultimately depends on talent. What Hermione said earlier wasn't nice, but in some ways, she was right. Without talent, you could study it for a lifetime and still never learn it. I want you to be clear about that."
"Ah? Ah! I understand, I understand!" Harry was practically knocked dizzy by the sudden joy, stammering excitedly. "Thank you, Link. Thank you."
"I told you, don't do that. It's too mushy," Link shook his head.
"Let's do it this way. We'll schedule the actual lessons during the D.A. meetings."
Link slowly put the last piece of pudding into his mouth, then stood up and said to everyone, "The feast is over. Prefects, lead your houses back to the common rooms."
After speaking, Link nodded to Cedric, and the two of them began directing the Hufflepuffs to line up and gather.
Watching Link become busy again, Harry looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
He still hadn't asked why Link had appeared at Gringotts.
But now really wasn't the right time to discuss that with him.
I'll leave it for next time. There'll be plenty of chances later.
Thinking this, Harry let out a deep sigh.
———
Ten minutes later, under Link's leadership, the Hufflepuff group returned neatly to the Hufflepuff common room.
The pace left quite a few students slightly out of breath, they had just finished eating, after all.
But Link didn't rush to dismiss the group and let everyone rest.
Not only that, after waiting a short while, Professor Sprout actually entered the common room, led by Cedric.
"Link, it's so late. Why aren't you all in bed? What did you call me here for?"
Professor Sprout asked in confusion as soon as she walked in.
Compared to the other Hogwarts professors, Professor Sprout lived more like a farmer.
In fact, she had it even worse than a farmer.
Farmers at least had off-seasons, but because magic existed, Professor Sprout didn't have to follow planting seasons at all.
For her, every day was busy season.
So going to bed late and getting up before dawn was her normal routine.
Fortunately, she knew that Link wouldn't disturb her sleep without a good reason, so she wasn't upset.
"Professor Sprout, we asked you here tonight to serve as a witness." Link bowed deeply to her.
This only made Professor Sprout more confused, and the surrounding students were equally puzzled.
They didn't think there was anything within Hufflepuff that required everyone present to witness something important. Their lives had always been relaxed and steady.
Link didn't say anything more. He simply took out a golden cup from the Undetectable Extension Charm pouch at his waist, its surface engraved with countless badger patterns.
The moment the cup appeared, the entire Hufflepuff common room fell silent.
Everyone stood frozen in place, as if the pause button had been pressed. Only the fire in the fireplace continued to flicker and dance.
As a Hufflepuff, who hadn't heard the legends of the Hufflepuff Golden Cup?
"Ah, this…"
Professor Sprout was the first to cry out.
Forcing down her excitement, she reached out a trembling hand, pointed at the cup, then at Link. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
Link smiled slightly and stepped forward, handing the cup to Professor Sprout.
This seemed to bring her back to her senses. With red-rimmed eyes, she leaned in close, examining the cup again and again, stroking it, and even licking it a couple of times.
Finally, she pulled out a piece of herb from somewhere, crushed it in her hand, and sprinkled it directly into the cup.
This was a necessary test.
In the past, a Ravenclaw graduate had once brought back a diadem, claiming it was Lady Ravenclaw's relic.
Professor Flitwick had been so happy he couldn't close his mouth for days and even placed the diadem on the Ravenclaw statue.
Later, after verification by Dumbledore and the Grey Lady, the diadem was confirmed to be a fake.
Professor Flitwick, and the entire Ravenclaw house, had been utterly humiliated.
Hufflepuff could not make the same mistake.
A soft rustling sound, like silkworms chewing mulberry leaves, filled the air.
The crushed herbs inside the cup immediately began dissolving, eventually turning into a pool of thick green liquid, with some leaf stems and roots that refused to dissolve.
Throughout the entire process, there was no colorful glow, no dazzling light.
Just like Hufflepuff's creed, plain and unadorned, yet profoundly magical and important.
Professor Sprout finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Tears poured from her eyes, blurring her vision.
She wanted to wipe them away but was afraid they might drip onto the cup, so she awkwardly rubbed her face against her shoulder instead.
"This… this is the real Hufflepuff Golden Cup. Lady Hufflepuff's relic…" Professor Sprout sobbed uncontrollably.
"Link, where did you even find this?" Professor Sprout was like a bomb.
The previously silent crowd exploded instantly.
All the drowsiness from overeating vanished. Everyone shouted "Don't push, don't push!" while pushing desperately forward themselves, trying to get closer to see the cup.
Link glanced at his classmates, who had already fallen into a frenzy, and smiled as he smoothly changed the subject with Professor Sprout, "It took quite a bit of effort, but that isn't important. Professor Sprout, could you allow me to personally present the cup to Lady Helga Hufflepuff?"
Professor Sprout clearly hadn't expected this. She froze for a moment, then, just as Link had anticipated, let her attention be redirected. She excitedly shoved the cup back into Link's arms and said, "Of course! Go on, child. This honor belongs to you!"
Link accepted the cup with both hands, his expression finally turning solemn.
Facing Helga Hufflepuff's portrait, and under the breath-held gaze of everyone present, he stepped forward slowly, one step at a time, and carefully placed the cup on the platform beneath the painting.
Hummm~
A soft humming sound came from the cup.
The flames in the fireplace below burst higher, and the smile on Lady Hufflepuff's face in the portrait seemed to grow even brighter.
Professor Sprout was already sobbing uncontrollably.
The students around her were just as overwhelmed with excitement, cheering endlessly.
The Golden Cup, which had upheld Hufflepuff's ideals for so many years, had finally returned to Hogwarts, to the land where Hufflepuff had once poured her heart and soul.
At this moment, perhaps only Professor Flitwick from back then could truly understand how Professor Sprout felt.
And at the same time, under Lady Hufflepuff's watchful gaze, Link slowly closed his eyes and began observing the lines of golden notifications drifting across his vision.