Chapter 197 – Optimistic Ron
Time, 8:15.
Next to a bed by the window in the school hospital on the second floor of Hogwarts Castle, fiery red hair loomed through the gap in the bed curtain. Under the guidance of Madam Pomfrey, Alexander and Draco entered this empty room.
It was now approaching the end of the semester; today was Wednesday, and they would leave Hogwarts next Monday. No student was willing to come to the school hospital actively or passively.
This also resulted in the fact that only Ron was still lying in the school hospital.
This allowed Alexander and Draco to reach the bed by the window without any further effort.
At this time, the sky had turned dark, stars were looming, and the aroma of green grass and herbs constantly drifted in from the surroundings.
This made Alexander feel calmer, and it also made him notice something he hadn't before.
Before they arrived, beside the hospital bed covered with crisp white linen sheets, the table next to it was piled like a mountain, as if half a candy store had been moved here.
But there was something completely different from the sweets looming among the candies—a toilet seat.
"Oh, is it Alexander?" Ron opened the bed curtain, with half a chocolate frog still struggling in his mouth, trying to escape the fate of being eaten.
This made Alexander stop complaining about the toilet seat and say in surprise, "Ron, are you okay?"
"It's nothing, Alexander—your protective charm worked well. I almost woke up as soon as I touched the pillow, and then—ah, you know." Ron showed an expression of pride, pointing to the candy next to him and leaning his elbows on the table to lie down more comfortably.
"But it's a pity that I was still confused at the time and didn't have time to tell my story—I dare say this story must be more exciting than all my previous stories!" Ron swallowed the remaining half of the chocolate frog in his mouth, speaking with a grimace.
"Malfoy, why are you here?" Ron pretended to be surprised, as if he had just discovered Draco's presence.
"Weasley, you idiot, why don't you lie down and rest—and look at your elbows." Draco said with half concern and half sarcasm, showing a look of disgust.
"Ouch! What is this? Damn it! It must be Fred and George—my candy!" Ron shouted, and Madam Pomfrey from the head nurse's office next door heard the sound.
"What is this? Mr. Weasley, I need to confiscate it. This is unhygienic! This is the school hospital!" Madam Pomfrey's usually stern face showed anger for the first time that year.
"Please—I don't want it, can I be discharged from the hospital? Hello—" Ron said quickly, looking at Madam Pomfrey expectantly, hoping she would allow him to leave.
However, Madam Pomfrey pretended not to hear and returned to her office with the toilet seat in hand.
"Weasley, do you want these candies?" Draco asked with a smile.
"Why not—are you crazy? They're all packaged and clean inside." Ron looked at Draco like he was an idiot. "It's really unfair. Last time my hand was stained with undiluted bubotuber pus, and I had to rush to class.
"This time, I protected the Philosopher's Stone and became a hero—I fainted for a short while and was imprisoned in the school hospital. I won't be discharged until tomorrow.
"When the time comes, will my popularity—no, I mean, will anyone still want to hear my story?"
"Alexander, how about I tell you the story I made up—no, the real story I experienced." Ron looked at Alexander expectantly.
"Weasley, you're crazy. We went to the restricted area on the fourth floor together." Draco was not the kind of person who indulged Ron's bad habits.
"Ron, does your head still hurt? Do you want to rest for a while before we talk?" Alexander asked, worriedly looking at Ron's head—there was no bandage on it, just a mop of fiery red hair.
His whole face was also glowing red. If it weren't for the hospital gown on his body, Alexander would have doubted whether he was just pretending to be sick to get into the hospital.
No, there is a kind of patient very much like Ron now—a mental patient, Alexander couldn't help but think.
Ron, of course, didn't know what Alexander was thinking. He really thought his friend was caring about him. He felt a little ashamed for a few seconds and quickly asked with concern what had happened after he fainted.
When hearing about the troll: "It's just the troll, our men were defeated."
When he heard Snape's riddle, he was confused for a moment, then thought he might have just suffered a heavy blow and couldn't understand it, his head still muddled—then he regained his optimism. "That's it, I'd have done fine too."
After hearing that it was really Quirrell inside, he was stunned again by Alexander's spell. "Quirrell? Is it really him? He can break into such a difficult level… sure enough, he's not as simple as he seems."
Alexander and Draco almost laughed when they heard Ron call the level "difficult."
"Alexander, Malfoy, it is indeed very happy to protect the Sorcerer's Stone. However, is it necessary to be so happy? I am still a patient." Ron didn't mention this time that he had only fainted briefly and was about to be discharged.
Ron had flexible evaluation criteria.
However, when he heard that Alexander had faced Voldemort, Ron finally returned to normal, showing an expression of fear and worry. "Merlin's beard! We stayed with the mysterious man for a whole year—"
"I'm really a genius. I'm going to tell my parents and Ginny when I get back! Now it's my grade—hehe." Ron quickly regained his optimism.
This made Alexander and Draco, who already knew what kind of person Ron was, stare speechlessly.
Alexander continued telling the story, and when he mentioned the Unbreakable Pact—
"I know, it's also called the Unbreakable Vow."
"The unbreakable oath cannot be broken, and it's not difficult…"
"If you disobey it, you will die."
"When I was five years old, Fred and George wanted me to do one. I almost did it. I had already shaken Fred's hand and everything. Dad found out and he was furious." Ron's eyes lit with nostalgic mischief. "It was the only time I saw my father as angry as my mother. Fred said the left side of his butt was never the same."
"Alexander, go on. If you did make an unbreakable vow with You-Know-Who, it might be a good thing."
"Where is the mysterious man? Isn't he the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next semester?" Ron asked with a grimace.
"Weasley, with the Dark Lord's accomplishments, he must have a way to break the contract," Draco said angrily. As a second-generation Death Eater, he had almost blind trust in Voldemort's abilities.
But Ron, unusually, didn't argue—he wanted to hear the rest of the story.
"Wait, the Dark Lord is a half-blood?" Draco interrupted. Only now did he realize that in what Alexander had just said, Voldemort admitted his bloodline.
"Get away with your blood discrimination, Malfoy—Alexander, go on." Ron said casually.
Draco could only mutter to himself, saying things like "impossible."
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