the Gambler

Soon there would be the third Quidditch match, the first of which was between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and the atmosphere could not have been more subdued.Although Slytherin was still singing 'Weasley is our king', Ron was not affected too much. His performance could even be said to be extraordinary, and only one out of ten balls was missed.The hardest part of the game was reconciling the new batsman who replaced the Twins, who, while decently coordinated, also had a lot of turnovers.

Harry quickly grabbed the Snitch to end the match, and he could see Monta angrily fingering himself in the Slytherin stands.Slytherin also easily won the match against Ravenclaw, but fortunately the score was not too big.Gryffindor is now the highest ranked gemstone in each house. The rewards of the Quidditch Cup allow the lions to easily overtake the second-ranked eagles. After all, the latter is won by answering various questions in class Fraction.

When leaving the arena, Harry was carried out by the team members holding the trophy. Everyone was very happy. There were sparks from the jumping dragon firecrackers everywhere, and there were round pink fire dragons——Harry felt more like a long kiss Buttercups and long-tailed pigs - a new product from the Weasley twins, given away for free to celebrate, though Harry suspected they were trying to experiment with it.

Gryffindor was very late this time. The lounge was full of empty bottles of Flame Whiskey and Butterbeer. Even Professor McGonagall waved his hand and allowed them to party all night, provided the secret was not revealed to other colleges. Know.Harry didn't drink much by himself, and was basically drunk as a hero. During this period, he ran to the bathroom countless times, and the feeling of dizziness was uncomfortable.

"He's drunk." Harry vaguely heard Tom's voice, and he raised his half-closed eyelids to look boldly at him.Tom still looked quite sober, and Harry remembered that he had drunk a lot, too, and had huddled in a corner of the lounge early on, which soon became a gathering place for witches.He caught a glimpse of Tom slipping away from Lavender, who was trying to press his ample breasts against his arm.In fact, Harry still admires Tom. He has always maintained the image of a good student who never refuses anyone, but he easily stops many people from toasting, and those fooled wizards don't notice.

"I'll take him to bed. Is his bed here still available?" Tom asked the people around him, and Harry turned his head with difficulty, barely recognizing Dean in a mass of chocolate-colored skin.

"Harry's bed is near the window sill." Dean replied, his eyes were not very clear, and he stared at Tom for a long time before he recognized him.

"Thank you." Harry could feel a pair of firm arms under his armpits, and he leaned his whole body against Tom.Drunk people are heavy, even little Harry, and Tom reeled from the sudden weight.Seeing him stretching out his wand, Harry instinctively touched the holly in his pocket, but Tom pressed his hand, and the latter cast the Feather Charm, and Harry suddenly felt light and light, not only his body but also his head.

Harry could feel the warm body temperature radiating from his side through the thin pajamas. Normally, he would take out his wand without hesitation, but now he has no intention of paying attention to the person occupying the bed. His brain hurts. It's like someone chiseled it with an awl and stirred it.Harry groaned in pain and buried his head under the pillow.The person next to him twisted his body because of the sudden disturbance. Not long after, he was pulled out with his hands from under the soft pillow. He was poured with a potion in a daze. The smell of rotten eggs made him want to vomit.Obviously aware of his intentions, the other party covered Harry's mouth with a thick hand, and the boy had to swallow the disgusting liquid down his throat.Harry put his head on the chest of the person next to him, and the latter hesitantly held him in his arms. He let out a contented sigh and burrowed into the other person's arms. nasal cavity.

"You smell good." He muttered and rubbed his head against the man's neck.Harry's eyelids felt heavy, his hangover was much better, and now he could just close his eyes and continue—

The severe pain in his shoulder made Harry jump up instantly, because there were layers of mattresses on the ground, Harry lost his center of gravity and fell back on his back. Someone quickly grabbed his hand holding his wand, and another An arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him back abruptly.His head was just poking through the heavy flannel curtains, and Seamus in the next bed complained in his sleep, rolling over dramatically, and Ron smacked his mouth and pulled the sheet over his head.

Harry pushed the fabric off his face and ducked back into the four-poster bed, just in time to meet Tom's amused expression, his hair tousled and his pajamas rumpled.Tom moved back some distance, leaned against the bedpost and said jokingly, "I smell good?"

Harry covered his face.

Tom pulled out his wand from under the pillow, and a row of numbers appeared out of nowhere above their heads.He lifted the quilt and walked into the bathroom barefoot.Harry fell forward into the still warm place. He knew he had to get up. Tom would definitely seize the time to 'torture' himself. It didn't matter if he had a rest day or nothing. Harry would definitely be buried in a mess of books today.

And it's all Tom's fault.Harry rolled over, eleven subjects, couldn't have been worse.

Hermione was naturally very happy when she found out, and looked at Tom with some admiration.Seriously, since the second year, Hermione has taken every opportunity to persuade Harry and Ron to give up doing nothing and learn more useful knowledge.The two flatly refused, and Harry didn't want to know what Hermione's so-called useful knowledge was. After all, the boring history of magic that everyone admitted was wonderful in the eyes of witches, not to mention that Quidditch training was by no means idle!Hermione was encouraged by Harry's obedience. She didn't know the boy's requirement to pass all E's, and she foolishly thought that Harry had finally gotten the hang of it, so she turned her attention to her boyfriend, and Ron turned pale when he heard it Face.

By the time Ron was dragged out of bed by an excited Hermione, the other two were already nestled in the warm living room, and Harry couldn't help but move closer to the crackling fireplace.The weather was slowly turning cooler, Harry rested his head on the arm of his chair, and Halloween was less than a week away.

The four of them picked the most out-of-the-way corner of the library, the place Harry and Tom had occupied last time.On the morning of the rest day, there were not many people in the entire library. The sudden appearance of Dobby and Winky brought about quite a dispute. Although Harry had been prepared for a long time, he did not expect to come so soon. Fortunately, Tom reacted Quickly cast a Silencing Charm around to avoid the fate of being driven out again.

Winky was wearing a baby pink dress this time. She tidied up very neatly and looked at Harry with sparkling eyes.She and Dobby had come to deliver 'breakfast to the great Mr. Harry Potter and his mates who were not at the Great Hall'.Hermione was furious to know that Harry had claimed the freedom of two poor house-elves by claiming them.

"But Mr. Harry Potter promised Dobby and Winky a salary!" Dobby defended Harry, and Winky glared at Dobby and Hermione with her big eyes. money practices.Hermione has a bad reputation among elves.The other elves had resisted the idea of ​​serving in the Gryffindor common room since several hats buried in the rubbish had been swept out of the Gryffindor common room.The hats ended up in Dobby's hands.

"One Galleon a week is too little!" Hermione turned to look at Harry, signaling him to raise his salary.

"Dobby and Winky don't need to spend so much money, Miss Granger!" Dobby retorted, "The great and kind Mr. Harry Potter said that he would take Winky away after inheriting the position of the head of the family. Winky is honored, elf!"

"how about you?"

"Dobby and Mr. Harry Potter are in an employment relationship!" Dobby puffed out his chest proudly.

Hermione squinted her eyes and looked at Harry suspiciously. Under the witch's sharp gaze, the boy squirmed under the pile of books uneasily, trying to avoid the other's sight, but Hermione didn't want to put down the topic at all. She grabbed Harry's arm : "Why did you suddenly bind them to yourself? You never had such an idea," she shifted her gaze to Tom, "You encouraged Harry to make such a decision!"

"What's wrong with a win-win solution?" Tom said with sarcasm. "I don't understand how Muggle education affects you. All creatures are equal? ​​Don't make me laugh."

"They should have the same rights as wizards!"

"Do they really want to be liberated? Dobby is an exception, and Winky's situation is the most portrayal of house-elves," Tom stretched his hand in the direction of the two house-elves, "when you say you want to fight for their legal rights , when you freed them from bondage, did you ask their opinion? No, you just imposed your ideas on them. The house-elves cried and begged you to help them? No, they even hated you That kind of deceitful behavior, the practice of hiding their clothes, is detrimental to their dignity."

"They just don't understand the meaning of freedom yet! When they really taste the sweetness of making their own decisions, they will come out of slavery!" Hermione looked even more angry than when arguing with Harry Ron , perhaps because the two would hardly confront the witch on this issue, they mostly avoided talking about it, and Tom didn't like being denied.

"Tell me how long it will take them to really understand, Miss Granger," Tom leaned back in his chair, he squinted at Hermione, "five years? 50 years? Or 500 years? That's why I The reason why you hate Muggles, they always think that they are right and everyone is equal? ​​It is absolutely impossible, if the Muggle world can’t really abandon racial discrimination, why do you ask the wizarding world to do it? It’s up to you Read a few more books? Maybe you do know more about the history of the wizarding world than many purebloods, but do you understand magic?"

"Of course I understand, I have read a lot of books about magic!"

"You just read a lot of books, and you think the few you come into contact with are everything? No, you're just a smart nerd at best. I can bet most Ravenclaws can do it too." Tom continued, "House-elves are themselves a species created by wizards. They are ashamed of labor and leisure. Their ideas are completely different from yours. Why don't you respect their wishes? You think what you are doing is right. Have you thought about it? Don’t you think about their feelings? Your decision to act on their behalf is essentially putting yourself above them.”

"I don't think so." Hermione hastily argued, she just wanted those poor creatures to be free, they shouldn't be born slaves!

"But you did. If you really think that house-elves and wizards are equal, the first thing you should do is respect their decision." Tom ended the discussion, he didn't care how obsessed Granger would be, from Ha He could tell from Leigh and Weasley's expressions that this was not the first time they had tried to persuade Granger.Even if Granger amends the bill, Tom still has the ability to revise it back. House elves need to be restrained, and the more powerful they are, the more they should be restrained.

Even with Dobby and Winky gone, the atmosphere at the table was tense.Hermione's eyes were red, although Harry, the sympathetic witch, couldn't help admiring Tom's speech. Hermione's intentions were good, but her behavior made it difficult for Harry to agree. As Tom said, their nature So, as an outsider, what qualifications do you have to judge right from wrong?

"I'll get the book from last time." Tom glanced at Hermione, who was still sullen, with disgust. After greeting Harry, he left his seat. It didn't take long. Harry saw him holding a book. A book with a reddish-brown cover came over, and he raised his eyebrows.

Tom didn't explain. Harry took the book and opened it. The content inside was the same, obviously "High-End Dark Arts Declassified", but the outer cover was changed.Tom lowered his voice: "Muggles have some ideas that can solve many small problems."

Harry nodded, and he didn't intend to let Hermione and Ron know.Harry could imagine their faces if they found themselves reading books about the Dark Arts these days, even though he wasn't practicing the Dark Arts.In fact, he felt that a lot of black magic didn't look as evil as he thought, at least this soul mate ritual wasn't.Harry knew why so many people regarded this ritual as dark magic, some of the ingredients used in it could only be found in Knockturn Alley, and the summoning of a companion was mandatory.