Throughout the rest of the journey, Ron seemed to be in low spirits, slumped listlessly in his seat.
He was muttering to himself.
"My dad could get a promotion whenever he wants, he just likes his current position."
Harry comforted him: "I know, Mr. Weasley is very impressive."
Ron forced a smile, but he still looked upset.
Draco's words just now had really gotten to him.
It wasn't just about his father's position; it was more that he had always had to use secondhand things.
It was fine when he was younger, but now that he was in his teens, seeing others with new things made him feel inevitably inferior.
Charlie was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up.
"I have a question."
Ron looked up.
"What?"
"Your family won the 700 Galleon grand prize last year, right?"
"Yeah." Ron nodded, not understanding what Charlie was getting at.
"Did you spend all that money on the trip to Egypt?"
"Yeah." Ron scratched his head.
"Our whole family went to visit Bill, and we had a great time..."
"Not a single Galleon saved?" Charlie interrupted him.
Ron froze.
Harry and Hermione also realized what he meant, exchanging a glance.
"Do you think it's possible," Charlie continued.
"Even if you had saved just a hundred Galleons, that would have been enough to buy you several new robes, right?"
Ron stood there dumbfounded, scratching his head.
"Oh yeah..."
Charlie was speechless. This family being broke was purely their own fault; he couldn't bring himself to feel any sympathy.
The train continued on, and by nightfall, it gradually came to a stop, arriving at Hogwarts.
Getting off the train, it was pouring rain outside.
Charlie waved his hand, and a transparent curtain of light formed overhead. The rain hammered against it, creating a dense pattering sound, but not a single drop got through.
The surrounding students reacted quickly, instinctively crowding toward Charlie.
Charlie scanned them and didn't mind. He flicked his wrist, and the light curtain rapidly expanded, enveloping all the nearby students.
"Long live Charlie!" Fred was the first to shout at the top of his lungs.
The students cheered along, their voices sounding exceptionally loud in the rainy night.
Only the first-year students stood confused at the edge of the crowd, not understanding what had happened.
At this moment, Hagrid came walking through the rain, holding a large umbrella.
The umbrella was swaying precariously in the strong wind, looking like it was under a lot of strain.
Hagrid's gruff voice drowned out the sound of the rain.
"First-years! Come over here!"
The first-years looked at the pouring rain outside the light curtain, then at Hagrid's umbrella that could barely cover his own head, and their expressions turned increasingly desperate.
"Do we really have to go over there?" a scrawny boy whispered.
Except for the first-years, the other years all traveled to the Castle by carriage.
Charlie walked toward the carriages, and the light curtain moved with him.
The first-years lost their cover and were instantly drenched to the bone by the rain.
Hermione followed beside Charlie, glancing sideways at the first-years who were soaked like drowned rats, feeling a bit of pity.
"Taking boats across the lake in this weather... wish them luck."
The carriages arrived at the Castle. As Charlie walked through the entrance, a shrill, eerie laugh echoed from above the entrance hall.
Peeves was floating in mid-air, clutching a large handful of water-filled balloons, throwing them wildly at the students below.
"Hahaha! Take that, you brats!"
Many students who had just escaped the downpour were instantly hit by the balloons and soaked through.
Some were fuming and hopping mad, others were cursing loudly, but Peeves didn't care at all; instead, he laughed even more crazily.
But whether it was luck or because Peeves didn't dare, there wasn't a single drop of water near Charlie.
"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall rushed out of the Great Hall, her face livid.
"Get down here this instant!"
She had just stepped over the threshold when her foot slipped.
The floor of the entrance hall was covered in water; losing her balance, she tipped backward.
Charlie waved his hand, and the Levitation Charm was cast instantly.
Professor McGonagall's body steadied in mid-air, and she drifted gently back to the ground.
"Thank you, Charlie."
Professor McGonagall straightened her hat.
Peeves laughed even harder above, clutching more balloons, wanting to continue throwing them at the students.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and shouted.
"The Bloody Baron! Please come here for a moment!"
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Peeves' laughter came to an abrupt halt.
The balloons in his hands dropped to the floor with a "splat," and he froze in mid-air.
"No, no, no, Professor McGonagall, I was wrong! I was really wrong!" Peeves shrieked.
He tried to float out of the entrance hall as he spoke, but it was already too late.
A grayish-white figure floated slowly out of the Great Hall, making the air temperature seem to drop.
The Bloody Baron appeared, wearing robes stained with silver blood, his hollow eye sockets devoid of eyes, containing only two dark, gloomy shadows.
He said nothing, just stared quietly at Peeves.
"B-Baron sir..." Peeves' voice began to tremble.
"Look, the weather is bad, you should go back and rest. I'm leaving right now, leaving right now!"
The Bloody Baron still said nothing, just drifted a step closer to him.
Peeves let out a wail, dropped all the balloons in his hands, and turned to flee.
He flew extremely fast, smashed through a window, and disappeared into the rain.
The Bloody Baron didn't pursue him; he just glanced toward the window and then turned and floated back into the Great Hall.
The surrounding students erupted into cheers.
Seeing that Peeves had run off, Professor McGonagall turned and waved to the students.
"Hurry into the Great Hall, don't block the way here."
The students filed into the Great Hall.
Charlie prepared to go in too, but Professor McGonagall suddenly called out to him.
"Charlie."
Charlie stopped and turned to look at her.
A trace of a smile appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.
"Well done at the Quidditch World Cup."
Charlie smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Professor."
Professor McGonagall waved her hand, signaling he could go, and then stood at the doorway waiting for the first-years to arrive.
Charlie walked into the Great Hall, which was already full of students.
The ceiling reflected the storm outside, with thunder rumbling and lightning streaking across the sky.
Charlie went to the Hufflepuff table, while Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to the Gryffindor table.
Just as he sat down, Ernie tapped Charlie's shoulder excitedly.
"Charlie, I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup!"
Justin also leaned in, his eyes bright.
"I told the people around me that you were my classmate, and they didn't even believe me."
Charlie smiled and nodded. His gaze swept across the table, and he noticed Cedric sitting nearby, looking completely distracted, his eyes staring straight toward the Ravenclaw table.
"Cedric, what's wrong?"
Cedric snapped back to reality, his face turning a bit red.
"N-nothing."
Charlie nodded and didn't ask further.
But a moment later, Cedric suddenly turned his head and asked in a low voice.
"Charlie, how do you think one can get girls to like them?"
Charlie glanced at him. You, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, are playing the shy-and-reserved card too?
Cedric's face turned even redder, but he bit the bullet and continued.
"You've had such good relationships with the older girls since first year, so you must know a lot, right? Can you teach me?"
Justin nearly choked, staring at Cedric as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Mate, do you want to hear what you're saying?"
"You have good grades, you're a Quidditch Seeker, and you're handsome—although a bit less than Charlie and me—but you're already popular enough with girls!"
Ernie rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, mate, do you have any shame?"
Cedric scratched his hair, his voice becoming even quieter.
"But I haven't really talked to her much, and I'm afraid she doesn't like me."
Charlie understood instantly.
"A Ravenclaw?"
Cedric nodded, his ears turning completely red.
Charlie gave a devilish smile.
"You've come to the right person. Leave this to me, you can rest easy!"
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