Maybe he really had been moved by Link. Of course, it could also have just slipped out.
Anyway, Harry then, without stopping for breath, poured out to Link the whole thing about secretly having a crush on Cedric's girlfriend.
He even voiced the darkest thought buried deep in his heart, that perhaps only if Cedric died would he ever have a chance to win Cho Chang's favor.
The moment those words left his mouth, Harry regretted them.
Because this time Link didn't look shocked and shove his hand into his mouth. Instead, he just stared straight at him, silent.
Harry felt Link's gaze at that moment was a bit like Snape's when he was angry, yet with more humanity in it than Snape's, and also disappointment.
Under the weight of that complex gaze, Harry, feeling guilty, quickly lowered his head in shame.
He was already prepared to be scolded viciously by Link, maybe even beaten.
But what Harry didn't know was that Link was actually shocked at how thoroughly Harry had seen through the possible development of things, or guessed, rather.
Because according to the story's original trajectory, after Cedric's death Cho Chang really did give Harry a chance at her affection.
Only pity that Harry didn't cherish it.
Sighing, and seeing Harry at this moment so ashamed he nearly had his whole head buried in the sink, Link spoke softly, "Cho Chang is indeed outstanding, it's normal for you to like her. But wishing Cedric dead just for Cho, that's going too far."
"I didn't!"
Harry immediately lifted his head to refute, but after meeting Link's eyes, which seemed to see right through him, he once again lowered his head in shame.
"I know. You only thought it, that's all. That's not shameful. You see a pretty girl and YY a bit, nothing strange there."
"If you'd studied Muggle psychology, you'd know this is something in your personality called the id acting up."
Link continued, "The id represents your biological instincts. It drives all your desires, eating, sleeping, and of course, lusting after someone like Cho who already has a boyfriend."
"But if you act purely on the id, you're no different from a beast. So the id is restrained by the superego, which is born from moral and ethical teachings."
"Of course, if the id and superego fight too hard, you'd go mad. That's when the ego steps in to mediate, seeking balance."
"So, merely 'thinking' isn't wrong. The key is how you use your ego and superego to keep those bad impulses from the id under control, so they don't drive your body to do truly bad things."
"Otherwise, you become an immoral villain."
"You don't want to be a bad guy, right?"
Link's words had no decoration, like a scalpel laying bare all of Harry's ugly thoughts before the world.
It made Harry instinctively feel ashamed.
But he fully agreed with Link's words and nodded so hard it was almost as if his head would fall off.
Seeing this, Link breathed a little easier and went on, "Let me confirm again. You do know there's no way you and Cho can really be together, right?"
Harry nodded again.
"Good!" Link clapped his hands. "From now on, just treat this as your first unrequited love ending in heartbreak!"
Harry nodded once more as Link wished, though this time with difficulty, and afterward he collapsed into the sink like all strength had left him.
Link reached out and hauled him up, grinning,
"Since you're heartbroken, we should talk about how to compensate yourself after heartbreak, so you can get over it quickly!"
"How… compensate?" Harry asked weakly, feeling utterly miserable.
Link, on the other hand, seemed excited, speaking faster, "Remember your Nimbus 2000?"
"Of course!" Harry said firmly. "That was my first broomstick! Too bad the Whomping Willow smashed it."
"And do you remember how long you stayed sad after it was destroyed?"
"I was sad for a lo..."
Harry's voice cut off abruptly, his eyes widening.
Link burst out laughing, "All that sadness vanished the instant you got the Firebolt, right? People love the new and despise the old! When you feel sad at losing something, the best cure is to get something even better!"
"So, what you need to do now is find a girl better than Cho! And hey, you don't have a partner for the Ball yet, right?"
"Go find that girl, then openly invite her to the Ball! Of course, she has to be single, you can't steal someone else's girlfriend, that's shameless!"
"You make sense!" Harry nodded firmly, then asked a little dazed, "But who should I look for?"
"Why ask me? This is your business, I don't know your type!" Link's tone hardened. "Just don't go after Hermione, that's all!"
The latter half of Link's words left Harry stunned. Realizing, he sneered, "Looks like when your 'ego' mediates, it favors your 'id.'"
Even thick-skinned Link felt embarrassed being jabbed with his own theory like that.
Luckily, Harry had given up on stealing Cedric's girl, and he wasn't going to chase Hermione either.
Link was sure of it.
He'd seen it clearly with Legilimency.
That let him sigh in relief, and also decide that when he got back, he'd extort a pumpkin cake the size of a man's head from Cedric.
It had taken him a lot of effort to talk Harry down and save Cedric from this trouble.
Having settled that, Link's embarrassment eased.
He pulled a golden egg from his Extension Charm bag and set it before the confused Harry.
Before Harry could ask, the egg opened.
A terrifying screech filled the bathroom, echoing off the walls, even making ripples spread across the water.
Confusion vanished from Harry's face, replaced by pain. But then his mouth dropped open in shock as his gaze shifted to the mermaid painting still playing a flute.
The screaming from the egg sounded exactly like that mermaid's voice.
Seeing he'd realized, Link quickly dunked the egg in the water.
And a miracle happened.
The screams filtered away through the water, vanishing. But when Link forced Harry's head under, a beautiful song immediately filled their ears.
[Come seek us where our voices sound, but on the land we cannot sing. We've taken what you'll sorely miss, and only an hour time we'll bring, to search and seize, try all you wish, but past an hour, the hope is gone, it's lost forever, never won.]
"Ha! This, this is…"
Harry gasped as he wiped water from his face.
"As you heard, that's the egg's secret, and the clue to our next task."
Already feeling dizzy from soaking too long, Link didn't want to drag this out. Drying himself, he said, "My guess is they'll put our most precious things at the bottom of the Black Lake, and we'll have one hour to fetch them."
"Yeah, right, that must be it! Only the lake has merpeople, so that's the place. But… how do they even know what's most precious to us? Even I don't know for sure. And if we really don't get it in an hour, will they truly not give it back?"
"That's not an issue. Of course they don't know your most precious thing. But that doesn't stop them from choosing. Suppose they grabbed Ron and said he was your treasure, would you deny it?"
Harry was struck dumb.
Of course he wouldn't deny it. Denying would only anger Ron.
"If you fail the task, don't worry. They won't kill anyone now. Most likely the merpeople just bring the thing back up and you get zero points."
Link had dressed by now. Glancing once more at Harry, he slung Arkam under his arm and walked toward the door, "If you're unsure, just take the egg and listen to the mer-song a few more times yourself. I'm going back to sleep."
The bathroom door closed gently, leaving Harry alone in the water, his expression turning troubled.
He now realized he'd forgotten to ask Link how to stay underwater for a long time.
For a moment, he wanted to chase after him. But then he crushed the thought.
Link had already helped enough. He had to show his own ability.
Otherwise, wouldn't he be a complete useless waste?
Unlike Harry's troubles, Link felt refreshed after his bath, and when he got back, he slept soundly.
In the days that followed, however, the atmosphere at Hogwarts grew sweeter with the approach of the Yule Ball.
Everywhere Link went, he saw young men and women inviting their crushes right on the spot.
If the invitation succeeded, the crowd would erupt in cheers and teasing.
Some even used the chance to confess outright.
As a result, couples suddenly abounded, clinging together all day, kissing, hugging, even making out in public, driving Professor McGonagall furious.
Some got so carried away they turned what should be romantic into something nauseating.
But she had no authority to ban student romance.
After all, the wizarding world had a low population, declining birthrate, and the Ministry always encouraged such things.
Of course, not everyone succeeded.
For example, Link himself turned down nearly ten invitations a day, from girls of all years.
Thanks to his adult soul, his EQ was high.
To every girl who invited or confessed, Link would first sincerely praise her looks or character, then thank her for her affection, and only after that politely decline.
So though disappointed, none of the girls suffered too much mockery.
By contrast, Fleur was far worse.
Every boy who invited her got ruthlessly humiliated on the spot.
This quickly ruined her reputation among Hogwarts students.
Madame Maxime grew more displeased with her by the day.
Not just because of Fleur's cruel refusals, but also because after Link had rejected her, she stopped hanging around him.
And there were plenty of other pretty Beauxbatons girls.
So, under Maxime's direction, many flamboyant French girls suddenly swarmed around Link.
At first he thought they were being forced, just like Fleur, poor girls.
But after a few days of talking, he realized they were willing.
After all, Link was outstanding.
More importantly, for some reason they hated Fleur and wanted to prove they were better by snagging the boy even she couldn't charm.
Once Link understood, he dropped any sympathy and let Emily's people drive them off.
In short, in the following days, most people Link knew had found their partners.
John and Cedric openly invited their girlfriends, Lillian and Cho.
Even Harry and Ron got dates.
Parvati Patil and Padma Patil, the Indian twins.
They were the twin flowers of Gryffindor, beloved by all.
So when people heard they'd agreed to Harry and Ron, the world seemed questionable.
Even Link thought so.
In his eyes, the best match for them would have been George and Fred, the twin stars.
Twins with twins, perfect.
As for Hermione, her situation was rather grim.
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