The next day. Rumors spread like a plague.
Wherever Harry went, the bustling corridors would instantly fall silent, and people would slink away hugging the walls.
> [Warning: Morale Collapse]
> [Ally Status: Dispersed]
> [Environmental Debuff: Chain of Suspicion]
> [Harry Potter Current Status: Isolated and Helpless]
In the library, this isolation reached its peak. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together, surrounded by an obvious vacuum zone.
When Harry tried to find Justin Finch-Fletchley to explain what happened the previous night, Ernie Macmillan shielded Justin behind him like a hen protecting a chick, even pointing his wand at Harry.
"What do you want, Potter?" Ernie's voice trembled, but his eyes were full of hostility.
"Put your wand down, Ernie!" Ron shot to his feet, blocking Harry. "Harry didn't do anything!"
"We just want to explain," Hermione said urgently. "Harry was saving him..."
"Saving him? That was a Dark Wizard's trick!" Ernie screamed.
Harry opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Rove's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Don't waste your breath, Frodo."
"Fear has corroded their minds. Now, whatever you say will sound like the Dark Lord's lies to them."
"But I didn't..."
"I know." Rove interrupted him, scanning the whispering Hufflepuff students, his eyes holding no anger, only a worldly sorrow. "This is the fate of the Ring-bearer. You carry the darkness to protect people who won't even look you in the eye. Come, we have more important things to do."
Rove forcibly dragged Harry out of the library. Ron and Hermione exchanged a look, grabbed their bags, and hurriedly followed. The group crossed the empty Entrance Hall and went all the way to the biting cold shores of the Black Lake.
A thin layer of ice had formed on the lake surface, and the grey sky pressed low.
"What are we doing here?" Harry shivered from the cold, tightening his scarf. Hermione and Ron also shrank their necks, their breath turning into white mist.
"Special training," Rove answered briefly.
He found a slightly drier rock and brushed the snow off it. "Sit. You too; members of the Fellowship all need to strengthen their wills."
The three sat down doubtfully.
"Last night proved one thing," Rove stood before them, back to the lake. "Harry, your mental defense line isn't strong enough. That voice... that whisper from the abyss can easily breach your mental defenses and control your tongue."
Harry lowered his head. "I really didn't know it was Parseltongue..."
"It's not your fault. That is its power." Rove pointed at Harry's scar. "To prevent it from possessing you again, we need to strengthen your mental resistance."
"How?" Hermione asked curiously. "Some kind of Occlumency?"
"Spells are for the weak." Rove snorted disdainfully. "True mages rely on the heart. Listen, Harry. Close your eyes. You too."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione obediently closed their eyes.
"Now, clear your mind. Imagine you are in the Shire... or the Burrow. Imagine memories that make you feel warm, happy, absolutely safe." Rove's voice became gentle. "Maybe a perfect Quidditch catch, maybe a sweater knitted by Mrs. Weasley, or... a piece of melting chocolate."
Harry tried hard to think. The feeling of riding his Nimbus 2000 for the first time surfaced in his mind, the wind whistling in his ears...
"When that hissing sounds again," Rove continued to guide, "don't listen to its content. Fill your mind with these happy memories. Like lighting a bonfire to drive away the darkness."
Saying this, Rove pulled a handful of Honeydukes' premium dark chocolate from his pocket and stuffed a piece into everyone's hand.
"Eat it. Feel its bitterness and sweet aftertaste. This is the taste of reality; it helps anchor you in this world."
Harry sucked on the chocolate, the rich sweetness melting on his tongue. In this icy world, this warmth seemed to truly disperse the gloom in his heart. He felt his head clear significantly, and the anxiety that had been haunting him lessened. Ron hummed in satisfaction, and Hermione also showed a relaxed expression.
"I feel... much better," Harry opened his eyes and said pleasantly.
"Good." Rove nodded with satisfaction.
> [System Alert: Mental Special Training Complete]
> [Targets: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger]
> [Buff Acquired: Mental Resistance Lv. 2 (Group)]
> [Note: Actually just dopamine secretion from sugar intake, but the placebo effect is also a power.]
"Remember this feeling, Harry." Rove said seriously. "This is your weapon against the Dark Lord. As long as there is light in your heart, Sauron cannot completely possess you. And look around you; Sam (Ron) and the Elven Princess (Hermione) are always here."
Ron puffed out his chest. Although Hermione blushed a bit at the title "Elven Princess," she firmly held Harry's hand.
Just then, hurried footsteps broke the tranquility by the lake. Hagrid, wearing his gigantic moleskin coat, ran over in a panic.
"Harry! Rove! Thank heavens you're all here!" Hagrid was pale, looking terrified. "Something's happened... go back to the castle quickly! Professor McGonagall is looking for you!"
Rove's heart sank.
When they ran panting back to the second-floor corridor with Hagrid, the scene before them made Harry's heart skip a beat.
Justin Finch-Fletchley lay on the floor, stiff as a board, an expression of extreme terror frozen on his face. And floating beside him was Nearly Headless Nick, but he was no longer transparent; instead, he had turned an eerie black-grey, like a frozen cloud of smoke.
Dead silence filled the corridor.
Rove stopped abruptly, pupils constricting violently.
> [Scene Analysis: Petrification Attack]
> [Victim 1: Justin Finch-Fletchley (Fully Petrified)]
> [Judgment: Viewed target through ghost]
> [Victim 2: Sir Nicholas (Spirit Dead Silence)]
> [Anomaly Detected: Spirit Color Blackened]
> [System Judgment: Lethal Gaze directly hit spirit body]
"Even the dead are not spared..." Rove muttered. "This verifies my deduction. Only that ancient creature's gaze can kill the living and make the dead 'die' again. The ghost blocked its line of sight, saving this Hufflepuff's life, but turned into charcoal himself."
"Basilisk." He recited silently in his heart. "It is right here."
Harry was about to step forward to check when Peeves suddenly popped out of the ceiling.
"ATTACK! ATTACK!" Peeves screamed, his voice echoing in the empty corridor. "ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! POTTER'S KILLING AGAIN!"
Doors banged open, and students poured out. When they saw Justin on the floor and Harry standing nearby, screams rose one after another.
Ernie Macmillan rushed to the front, face red, pointing at Harry and shouting: "Caught in the act! I knew it! Yesterday you tried to sic a snake on him, today you..."
"What are you talking about!" Ron rushed forward angrily. "We were together just now! By the Black Lake!"
"Harry couldn't do this!" Hermione also retorted loudly, blocking Harry. "We have an alibi!"
"Then what is this?!" Ernie pointed at the bodies on the floor.
"SHUT UP!" Rove suddenly exploded with a roar, instantly drowning out all the noise.
He blocked Harry, like a wall cutting off all hostile gazes.
"Use your rusty brains and think!" Rove pointed at the blackened Nick. "Harry is a wizard, not a Necromancer! Only a cursed weapon from the darkest abyss can harm a ghost! Do you think Harry Potter... a second-year student... can kill a ghost that's been dead for five hundred years again?!"
The crowd was stunned. Everyone looked at the pitch-black Nick and indeed felt an inexplicable fear. This was beyond their scope of understanding.
Professor McGonagall hurried over, lips pressed into a thin line.
"Disperse!" she said sternly, waving her wand to conjure a large fan to waft Justin to the Hospital Wing. "Potter, Baggins... come with me."
Harry looked at Rove in despair.
"Don't worry." Rove patted Harry's back, whispering. "This is just part of the trial. As long as you haven't given up hope, this is not the end."
Harry looked at Rove's determined profile and suddenly felt that even if the whole school thought he was the murderer, as long as this strange "Fellowship teammate" still believed in him, he could persevere.
> [Mission Settlement: The Lonely Ring-bearer]
> [Completion: Perfect]
> [Reward: Harry Potter's Affinity (Trust) Greatly Increased]
> [Mental Resistance Lv. 2 Active]