Besides Harry, the person most furious about Rita Skeeter's article was Ron.
His fiery red hair seemed ready to combust. "Sherlock, look at what she's written about you! Jealousy? Absurd theories? Premeditated conspiracies? She's completely insane!"
People often cannot tolerate seeing their own flaws reflected in others. Ron knew perfectly well that this woman was spouting nonsense—Sherlock harbored no such thoughts at all.
The problem was, Ron did. He'd simply hidden it well, never letting it show, until Sherlock and Harry were selected as champions for the Triwizard Tournament. Only then had he expressed even a hint of it. But Sherlock had quickly called him out on it, and once Ron understood what had happened, he'd felt deeply ashamed.
Yet now, days later, this madwoman had published such an article. The words she used to describe Sherlock could be applied to Ron himself without changing a single character.
In stark contrast to Harry's anger and Ron's agitation, Sherlock didn't even lift his head. "Anger solves nothing, dear Ron. I actually find this article rather interesting."
"Interesting?" Harry whipped around to face him, incredulous. "She portrayed me as a pathetic, sniveling wretch who can only rely on his dead parents for support! And she made you out to be a scheming conspirator lusting after my fame!"
"That's precisely what makes it intriguing," Sherlock looked up. "Consider this—her words aren't entirely false. Harry, you did indeed say you weren't being forced into this. As for my initial motives in approaching you, describing them as a carefully planned, ambiguous, deceptive setup wouldn't be wrong either. And behind all this, there truly is a plot that even Dumbledore hasn't detected. It's just that this particular plot happens to be harmless."
Harry and Ron stared at each other in confusion. What was happening? Why was Sherlock actually defending Rita Skeeter?
"However, aside from those elements..." Sherlock's voice took on an icy, mocking edge. "The rest is her standard, clumsy technique, identical to everything she's published before. I told you once—expecting professional standards from this journalist would be unrealistic.
Truth, accuracy, timeliness—only the last one matters to her. Taking things out of context and stirring up conflict are her specialties. Her pathetic logic and so-called evidence don't even reach the level of Hermione's first-year History of Magic essays."
"Did I just hear you discussing me?" Hermione suddenly entered the common room, catching Sherlock's last sentence. Glancing at the Daily Prophet on the table before them, she laughed. "Sherlock, you think this is perfectly normal, don't you?"
Seeing Sherlock nod, she continued, "Exactly—I thought the same thing. Just ignore it, Harry, Ron. Simply ignore it."
But Harry couldn't ignore it. The article had set the entire school ablaze.
At Hogwarts, the Gryffindor lions handled it well.
Whether the quotes were genuine or not, they threw their full support behind Harry and Sherlock, displaying their characteristic reckless loyalty. While this approach wasn't necessarily wise, it certainly felt good—especially in this situation where it seemed the whole world had turned against them. Having people still in your corner truly mattered.
Of course, there were exceptions. Ginny Weasley was perhaps the angriest person besides Harry and Ron. She specifically sought out Colin Creevey to demand why he'd said such things.
Colin protested his innocence. He'd only spoken to Rita Skeeter because he'd heard she wanted to promote Harry properly. As Harry's devoted fan, he'd naturally praised him enthusiastically. In Colin's view, he hadn't even been exaggerating, Harry truly embodied that heroic image in his mind.
The topic of Cho Chang was easily explained as well. When Rita Skeeter asked whether Harry was popular at school, Colin naturally confirmed it. When she asked if girls also liked Harry, Colin again answered affirmatively, mentioning names like Hermione Granger, Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and the Patil twins.
But Rita Skeeter, shrewd as she was, immediately spotted the most prominent name among them.
"She didn't just interview me—she talked to loads of people," Colin said miserably. "But I never said Harry was dating Cho Chang!"
Ginny, hearing this explanation, found herself speechless. Colin hadn't really done anything wrong.
Beyond Gryffindor, the other three houses reacted differently to the article.
The Ravenclaw students remained largely indifferent, though a few of Cho Chang's friends would occasionally tease Harry about it when they crossed paths.
As for Cho herself, she naturally endured considerable attention, particularly from the numerous boys who pursued her. These male admirers naturally redirected their resentment toward Harry.
The Hufflepuff students were absolutely unhappy. Of the nine champions in the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory's name hadn't appeared even once. He was the captain of Hogwarts' three-person team! The badgers, who generally got along well with Gryffindor, suddenly turned cold toward them.
A single Herbology class proved this point sufficiently. Clearly, the badgers felt Harry had stolen their champion's glory. Hufflepuff rarely received recognition, and Cedric Diggory was one of the few who brought them honor. Combined with his previous Quidditch victory over Gryffindor, their resentment intensified.
Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, who'd previously been on good terms with Harry, now refused to speak to him, even as they worked together transplanting bouncing bulbs at the same tray. When a bulb squirmed free from Harry's grip and smacked him in the face, their malicious laughter was distinctly uncomfortable.
Even Professor Sprout seemed cooler toward Harry, which was understandable given her position as Hufflepuff's Head of House.
Ironically, Cedric himself took it all in stride. Shortly after the article's publication, he sought out Sherlock and Harry to assure them he wasn't bothered in the slightest. He even tried persuading the badgers not to target Harry, explaining that he'd been present during the interview and knew those weren't Harry's words—Harry simply wasn't that kind of person.
However, his efforts proved futile. Prejudice—no amount of effort can move it. Apart from Hannah Abbott and a handful of others, most still regarded Harry with hostility. In the badgers' view, this merely demonstrated Cedric's magnanimity in not stooping to Harry's level.
Honestly, Harry deeply admired how Cedric handled the situation.
As for the Slytherin students, nothing more needed to be said.
The snakes had never gotten along with the lions, so they seized this opportunity for mockery, declaring that Harry was desperate for fame.
With Snape, the snake king, fanning the flames, Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts became Harry's most unbearable classes. Gryffindor's hourglass points plummeted during this period, landing them firmly in last place.
Yet compared to the snakes, students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were even more hostile. Why should they tolerate it? Everyone was a champion. Why had an article about the Triwizard Tournament become Harry Potter's personal interview?
Yes, you were the Boy Who Lived. Yes, you saved the wizarding world. But note the qualifier—the British wizarding world. Though Voldemort's dark reign lasted decades, it had remained largely confined to Britain and its immediate vicinity. It hadn't significantly affected France, where Beauxbatons was located, and certainly not Northern Europe, where Durmstrang resided.
Their gratitude toward Harry Potter's name naturally couldn't match the British intensity. Moreover, the six champions from both schools were crammed into the article's final line—with names misspelled, no less!
This was absolutely outrageous!
Combined with Rita Skeeter's article content, they became convinced that Harry was an attention-seeking showoff. Look, even within his own school, not many supported him, did they? So, whenever they encountered Harry, they'd quote the article to mock him coldly.
"Need a handkerchief, youngest champion? Wouldn't want you sobbing during the competition."
"Honestly, I think he needs something else—extreme nervousness can make you wet yourself, after all!"
"Everyone from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons saw it—I never said any of those things! Not a single word!" Harry fumed with anger.
But it was useless. Not one of the six champions from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang stood up to explain, unlike Cedric. Hearing Harry's complaints, Sherlock wasn't surprised. "I imagine they assume you gave a separate interview after leaving."
"There's no evidence of that!"
"Good habit, Harry," Sherlock smiled, patting his shoulder. "But they equally lack evidence proving you didn't say those things."
"I..." At that moment, Harry nearly let a curse word slip. Fortunately, he restrained himself.
However, one thing did comfort him—he finally met with Cho Chang. Cho didn't mind the article at all. Her eyes held only laughter as she looked at Harry. "Do we need anyone besides ourselves to know whether we're inseparable or not? Harry, I think Sherlock and Hermione are absolutely right—just ignore it. Also, good luck on Tuesday! Make sure you perform brilliantly!"
Only after this encounter did Harry's mood improve. At that moment, Sirius's words from his letter suddenly surfaced in Harry's mind: "If anything unusual happens, I still want you to write and tell me."
The current situation couldn't be more unusual. He eagerly began counting down to the weekend.
That day finally arrived. Students in third year and above submitted their guardian-approved permission forms to Filch, the school caretaker, and set off in droves for Hogsmeade Village.
Sherlock had never been particularly interested in Hogsmeade. However, since Sirius had specifically mentioned it in his letter to Harry, Sherlock joined the group.
Since it was their first outing of the school year, with Christmas approaching, Hermione decided to join them to purchase some treats her parents enjoyed. Ron needed no explanation—he never missed an opportunity to visit Hogsmeade.
But once they reached Hogsmeade, their group gained three more members: Ginny, Luna, and Cho Chang.
Luna and Ginny had just entered third year, so this was their first permitted visit to Hogsmeade Village. As for Cho, she'd originally been with her two housemates, but when Lucy and Alicia spotted Sherlock's group at the intersection, they laughingly pushed Cho forward.
"Harry, take Cho with you quickly!"
"We can't be guilty of preventing you two from being 'inseparable'!"
Cho watched her roommates giggle and run off, shaking her head helplessly before graciously asking the four whether they minded. They certainly didn't—in fact, Harry felt a hidden flicker of anticipation.
This scene was witnessed by Luna and Ginny from a short distance away, causing Ginny to nearly grind her teeth to powder. As she stood there in a daze, Luna had already pulled her forward.
"Wait, Luna, what are you doing?"
"Going over there!" Luna replied in the most matter-of-fact tone. "Since you're uncomfortable, let's go over there!"
"I'm not uncomfortable..."
Luna simply looked at Ginny without speaking.
Ginny sighed. "Fine, I'll listen to you."
Thus, Sherlock's party of seven entered the Three Broomsticks pub and successfully met up with Sirius.
Seeing this configuration, Sirius looked somewhat surprised. However, upon noticing both Cho Chang and Ginny present, he immediately beamed with delight.
"Come, come, sit right here! I've been waiting for you!" He ordered butterbeers for everyone, then brought up the Triwizard Tournament. "I must say, I truly envy you all! To encounter such a grand event at school! Even more enviable is that you can actually participate... Well then, tell me, Harry—how did you manage to provoke that madwoman Rita Skeeter?"
"I didn't provoke her!" Harry protested indignantly. "She's the one who came after me!"
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