Chapter 467 Harrow's Resentment

August 8, London, in the dining room of 20 Grimmauld Place.

The morning sun poured in through the windows, adding a rare warmth to this old and gloomy house. The long oak table was filled with breakfast carefully prepared by Mrs. Wesley, including bread, jam, bacon, fried eggs, and a pot of hot tea, which smelled delicious.

The Weasley twins were sitting at the table, busy pouring milk, but they obviously couldn't eat breakfast quietly. George used his wand to gently tilt the milk jug by itself, but at the last moment he deliberately let Fred's cup overflow, and the milky white liquid instantly overflowed across the table and almost spilled on Ron's clothes.

"Hey!" Ron leaned back suddenly and almost fell off his chair.

"Sorry, sorry--" George apologized, but the smirk on his face remained unrestrained.

"Can you two be quiet?" Ginny cut her omelette without looking up, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness. Compared to the twins' mischief, she was obviously more concerned about her breakfast.

Mrs. Weasley was busy in the kitchen, stir-frying the food in the pot with her wand. She turned back and glared at the twins: "You two, don't make me kick you out! There's still cleaning to do later!"

Harry and Ron yawned and sat at the table, chewing toast listlessly.

"It's our turn to clean the living room today, right?" Harry poked the bacon on the plate with a fork, his tone full of listlessness.

"Well." Ron covered his face in pain, "I swear, if I come across an old cabinet with poisonous spiders hidden in it again, I'm going to blow it up."

Harry sighed and looked at Ron, both of them had despair written all over their faces about the day ahead.

At this moment, an owl flapped its wings and flew into the restaurant, landing in front of Hermione, holding the latest issue of the Daily Prophet. Hermione drank her drink and threw a copper Knut over, then opened the newspaper. As soon as she took a look, she suddenly spit out a mouthful of drink -

"Hermione!" Ginny dodged and looked at her with a frown, "What's wrong?"

Hermione seemed not to have heard it, her eyes were fixed on the newspaper, her expression was extremely complicated. Everyone followed her gaze and saw the words written in large classical font on the cover of the newspaper:

"The Wizarding Inter-School Potions Championship has come to a successful conclusion - the talented teenager Shaylin Malfoy from Great Britain won the championship!"

In the photo in the report, Schelling was in high spirits, receiving the golden crucible, a symbol of the highest honor, from the referee Hector. He was calm and composed, with a light smile on his face, allowing countless spotlights to be focused on him. Beside him, Fleur Delacour stood very close, looking at him with a gentle and proud smile.

Hermione's eyes slid down and saw a small report attached to the bottom of the newspaper cover. This was the interview segment with the contestants - in this segment, Fleur and Sherin were interviewed together. What did this mean?
The most eye-catching thing is that there is another photo attached to the bottom of the report - Furong kissed Xie Ling on the cheek in front of all the reporters. Xie Ling did not refuse, but showed an expression of acquiescence.

Hermione's heart suddenly tightened.

She should be happy for Xie Lin, after all, this is an extremely brilliant achievement, proving that his talent, hard work and strength have been recognized by the wizarding world. However... she felt an indescribable discomfort in her heart, as if something was stuck in her chest and could not be relieved.

Xie Ling's success made her proud, but the person standing next to him made her inexplicably depressed, even a little bitter.

She didn't like this feeling.

She bit her lip and pressed the newspaper on the table, trying to make her expression look more natural, but her fingers unconsciously clenched the edge of the newspaper, her knuckles turning white.

Compared to Hermione's complicated emotions, Ron and Harry's feelings were quite different.

Ron had just been eating biscuits on the table while complaining that he had spent the entire summer cleaning up dust and pests at Grimmauld Place, and his hands were covered with cobwebs and stains. But when he saw this news, his face instantly turned grim.

"Sharin Malfoy?" Ron frowned, looking at the newspaper in disbelief. "This guy actually won the Wizarding Inter-School Potions Championship?"

His tone was full of injustice and jealousy.

He thought of how he had been forced to do boring and hard cleaning work throughout the summer vacation, covered in dust and sweat, while Xie Ling not only participated in such a high-level international competition, but also won the championship, received the attention of all the people, and even made headlines in the newspapers!

Looking at the photo of Fleur kissing Shailene, Ron's expression twisted for a moment. Fleur Delacour, the girl who looked down on him and didn't even bother to look him in the eye when they were at Hogwarts, actually took the initiative to kiss Shailene?

"…Why does this guy do that?" Ron couldn't help but mutter, his tone sour enough to make pickles.

Harry's mood wasn't much better.

He stared at the photo in the newspaper, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table, his eyes deep.

It's not that he doesn't agree with Xie Ling's ability. On the contrary, Xie Ling's winning the championship shows that he is indeed very good. But it is precisely because of this that Harry feels even more uncomfortable.

He has experienced too many unfair things in the past few months.

He was clearly a hero who witnessed Voldemort's return with his own eyes, but he was ridiculed as a madman by the entire wizarding world, suppressed by the Ministry of Magic, smeared by the media, and talked about and questioned by his former classmates.

He was first trapped in the Dursleys' house for a month throughout the summer, isolated from the wizarding world and unable to practice magic. Now he was trapped in this gloomy house, spending his days in dull sweeping and cleaning. He was even almost expelled because of the Dementor incident.

And what about Schelling?

This genuine descendant of a Death Eater also has an unclear relationship with Voldemort. Not only did he not face any hostility from society, but he stood gloriously on the stage of the whole world, receiving applause and glory, and even won the favor of a Veela.

Harry couldn't tell whether he was angry or jealous, or both. He had always known that Shaylin Malfoy was extraordinary, but now he really realized that Shaylin was not just a "descendant of Death Eaters", he was also a capable, charming, powerful, and increasingly powerful person.

"I can't believe it." Harry whispered, with a little suppressed emotion in his tone, "This guy is really lucky."

He was not denying Xie Ling's efforts, but the world was just so unfair - some people, no matter what happened in the past, would always be in the spotlight, while some people, even if they tried their best, would only be regarded as "troublemakers" or "lunatics."

Harry clenched his fists, feeling extremely heavy--for the first time in his life, he felt a yearning for strength and power, even if it was only a little bit.

"Yeah, this guy really has some shitty luck," Ron frowned, his tone full of dissatisfaction, "It was the same during the last Triwizard Tournament. You were obviously the champion, but I don't know what magic he used to deceive the Goblet of Fire -"

"Lucky?" Hermione looked up suddenly and looked at Ron and Harry in a bad tone, "You don't know the rules of the Potions Championship at all! This is not a game that can be won by luck. Shaylin was able to win the championship because of his strength."

"Oh, come on, Hermione." Ron rolled his eyes, his tone sour, "You don't really think he won by 'strength', do you? He just relied on his family's wealth to get all the best resources! - I bet he has never even failed a Potions class in his life."

Hermione frowned, "Shaylin has always been good at potions, it's only natural that he wins."

"Of course?" Ron sneered and continued, "I heard that the original representative of Hogwarts was a seventh-year Gryffindor student, but the place suddenly fell to Sherin. Don't you think it's suspicious?"

"Snape must have accepted a favor from him to allow Shaylin to participate." Harry also echoed with a bit of displeasure in his eyes, "Maybe he was able to win the championship because he bribed the referee."

"That's enough!" Hermione slammed the newspaper shut and glared at them fiercely, her voice rising several decibels. "What the hell is wrong with you? Xie Ling's strength is recognized throughout Hogwarts, how dare you say such things?"

Harry and Ron were both shocked by her reaction. After a moment's pause, Ron frowned and said, "Hermione, you don't have to be so excited, do you?"

Hermione took a deep breath and tried to suppress her anger: "Xellin's ability is there, he fully deserves this championship, what makes you doubt him?"

Neither Harry nor Ron said anything, but their expressions clearly showed they were unconvinced.

Hermione was so angry that she didn't want to continue this topic. She folded the newspaper, put it hard on the table, and said firmly: "Anyway, no matter what you think, Xie Lin has already won. He is the champion."

After she finished speaking, she stood up and left the table, leaving Harry and Ron staring at each other, both looking unhappy. (End of this chapter)