Madam Pomfrey was a very special person.
She held absolute authority in the hospital wing, and once she made up her mind, even Headmaster Dumbledore would be thrown out by her.
Because of this, Harry was forced to stay in the hospital wing for three whole days.
During this time, many people wanted to visit him, but they were all stopped by Madam Pomfrey.
This was mainly because the first wave of visitors had been the Weasley twins.
They were too noisy and seriously disrupted the hospital environment.
Not only that, but the gift they brought Harry also made Madam Pomfrey very unhappy.
A toilet seat.
This was obviously meant as a joke for Harry, but Madam Pomfrey only saw it as foolishness.
She not only threw the twins out but also confiscated the gift on grounds of it being unsanitary.
Thanks to them, Madam Pomfrey refused to let anyone else visit Harry after that.
Only a few prefects were granted permission to visit on behalf of their respective houses on the third afternoon.
There was no helping it—Sherlock had been spending these days either with Hagrid or with Professor Flitwick, so they could only focus their attention on Harry, who was stuck in the hospital.
After all, in everyone's view, this whole affair had mainly relied on the Lion King and the Boy Who Lived.
As a Gryffindor like Harry, Percy gripped Harry's hand tightly from the moment he entered, unwilling to let go for a long time.
It lasted so long that if Harry had been female, this behavior would have been classified as harassment.
After finally letting go, Percy first severely criticized his twin brothers' prank behavior.
Then he highly praised the heroic actions of Sherlock and Harry.
Finally, he inquired in detail about Ron's role in the whole affair.
When he learned that Ron had cooperated with Sherlock to win that chess game and had voluntarily made the sacrifice, he couldn't help but praise:
"Well done! Worthy of someone from the Weasley family—didn't disgrace us!"
Hufflepuff also sent their male prefect, Gabriel Truman.
He brought Harry heartfelt blessings and plenty of delicious treats.
Unfortunately, more than half of them were confiscated by Madam Pomfrey.
The reason was that certain substances in them exceeded safe levels and weren't conducive to Harry's recovery—she would return them when he was discharged.
Even so, this small portion still made Harry deeply feel Hufflepuff's sincerity.
It was so delicious!
What surprised Harry was that even Slytherin House had sent someone.
Gemma Farley—when this female prefect, who had once confronted Percy on the Quidditch pitch, appeared before him, Harry's small hand trembled as he was cleaning his glasses.
His glasses immediately slipped from his unsteady grip, fell to the ground, and one corner of the lens chipped.
"You seem very surprised, Mr. Potter?"
Gemma Farley was tall and elegant. She smiled slightly at Harry:
"I know that because of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; many people have prejudices against Slytherin.
But I hope you, the savior of the wizarding world, won't look at it through colored glasses.
As the Sorting Hat said, Slytherin is just as excellent as the other houses."
She bent down to pick up Harry's glasses, tapped them with her wand, and when she returned them, they looked brand new.
Gemma Farley's graceful behavior and refined conversation surprised Harry.
Combined with the fact that this female prefect was also very beautiful, Harry couldn't help but blush when he took back his glasses.
"Th-thank you—"
"You're welcome. I hope my gesture can change your view of Slytherin."
Just as Harry was about to speak, a not-so-polite voice came from the doorway,
"Farley, what are you doing here?"
The two turned to look and saw Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater walking over with Cho Chang.
"Clearwater," Gemma Farley stood up, "I was just telling Potter that all four houses of Hogwarts are equally excellent. You wouldn't disagree, would you?"
Penelope glanced at this old rival who was her equal in every aspect and snorted lightly.
"The four houses are indeed equally excellent, but the same can't necessarily be said for the students."
Hearing Penelope's words, Gemma Farley smiled faintly without arguing, and instead turned to Harry:
"Get well soon, Mr. Potter."
After saying this, she nodded slightly to Penelope and Cho Chang beside her, then left gracefully.
Compared to Gabriel Truman and Gemma Farley, Penelope's attitude seemed much more casual.
After all, Sherlock had once helped Cho Chang find her eyeshadow during Easter.
Since Harry was closest to Sherlock, he naturally became more familiar with them too.
Penelope didn't need an invitation—she pulled Cho Chang to sit by the bed. Her short boots lightly kicked the brass corner of the bed frame. Noticing that Harry was staring intently in the direction Gemma Farley had left, she revealed a mischievous smile,
"She's already gone, stop staring!"
Penelope's words snapped Harry back to reality.
He immediately looked away, his face reddening, and hurriedly explained: "I wasn't—I didn't—"
"No need to explain. Although I really dislike those guys with serpent silver clasps, Farley is indeed like a moon-calf that wandered into a nest of vipers.
It's a pity that in the Slytherin dungeons now, such moonlight is becoming increasingly rare."
Penelope tilted her head slightly, a hint of melancholy appearing on her face as she sighed softly.
After her moment of reflection, she looked at Harry with a half-smile.
"But I originally thought she only attracted older boys. I didn't expect our savior would be enchanted by her even as a first-year—you have good taste!"
"Prefect Clearwater, I didn't—"
Harry's voice grew weaker, and even he felt his explanations seemed pale and powerless at this point.
"It's understandable. Big sisters like that have always been very attractive to little boys like you."
Penelope said this with a curve of her lips, revealing a confident smile.
"But I'm not bad either—would you like to consider me?"
As she spoke, she stood up and gracefully turned in a circle in front of Harry, her skirt swaying lightly with her movements.
Harry became even more embarrassed.
However, after stealing a glance, he had to admit she was right.
In terms of appearance alone, Penelope Clearwater and Gemma Farley each had their own merits, differing only in temperament. It was really hard to say who was superior.
"Um, I—"
Just as Harry was about to speak, he was interrupted by Cho Chang's gentle voice.
"Prefect Penelope, I think Mr. Potter was probably just surprised by Prefect Farley's visit."
Cho Chang's voice was soft and soothing, like a babbling stream in the mountains. The look she gave Harry carried a faint smile: "After all, the relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin has always been tense."
"Cho, what are you worried about?"
Penelope sat back down, looking at Cho Chang with interest.
"I was just teasing our cute little savior—you know I already have a boyfriend."
Cho Chang's ear tips turned red. She didn't respond to Penelope but instead addressed Harry again,
"Mr. Potter, the story of you and Mr. Holmes has already spread throughout the school. We deeply admire your courage."
Her smile was warm and sincere, helping Harry's tense mood relax somewhat.
"Hey, you stole what I was going to say!"
Penelope pretended to pout in dissatisfaction, though her face still carried a smile. However, she quickly changed the subject:
"It's just that compared to Slytherin, our relationship with Gryffindor is more tense now, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
Harry couldn't help but be stunned. What was that about?
How could Gryffindor's relationship with Ravenclaw possibly be worse than with Slytherin?
"You don't know yet?"
Penelope was also surprised, her eyes widening slightly. "Didn't any of those guys who came to see you tell you?"
"Tell me—what?"
Harry looked at them both with complete confusion, becoming even more puzzled.
"Those awful guys—"
Penelope clenched her fists resentfully, then told Harry something that shocked him greatly.
This morning, the final Quidditch match of the season had officially begun.
Gryffindor, playing one person short, had faced off against Ravenclaw head-on.
The result was that Gryffindor had been thoroughly dominated in the air.
The huge point differential directly broke Gryffindor's record from that match in 1692, giving them their worst defeat in three hundred years.
Hearing this news, Harry's mouth fell open in surprise, his throat feeling blocked by something.
He wanted to say something but couldn't get any words out.
Seeing him like this, Cho Chang lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks as she said softly:
"I'm sorry, Potter."
Seeing Cho Chang looking even sadder than he felt, Harry suddenly snapped to attention and waved his hands quickly,
"This has nothing to do with you!
It's all my fault. Because I couldn't play, Gryffindor lost so badly.
Wood must be heartbroken—he always thought we had victory in the bag—"
His voice was full of self-blame and regret. Clearly, Sherlock had already led him through barrier after barrier, so how had he collapsed at the final moment?
If he could have participated in this match, this wouldn't have happened.
"Potter, you're truly a kind person."
Cho Chang's eyes were full of approval and admiration as she looked at Harry seriously:
"Even at a time like this, you still take the blame upon yourself."
"This was my fault to begin with."
"No, you stopped Quirrell, saved the Philosopher's Stone, and protected all of Hogwarts. That's more important than Quidditch."
"That was all Sherlock's achievement. I just gave him a little insignificant help."
Harry scratched his head embarrassedly, showing a sheepish smile.
That feeling of "I teamed up with Chamberlain to score points" was back again.
"Sherlock is certainly excellent, but your contribution was also indispensable."
Seeing Cho Chang and Harry getting along better and better, gradually realizing she couldn't get a word in, Penelope pursed her lips and simply walked outside to wait for her.
She leaned against the corridor wall, absently playing with her wand while boredly looking at the scenery outside the window.
That Percy guy didn't even tell Harry about the match between the two houses.
Hmph!
Her wand tip created small sparks on the windowsill, frightening away a small bird that had flown past.
Ten minutes later, Cho Chang finally came out. She asked apologetically: "Penelope, when did you leave?"
"I saw you chatting happily with the savior, so I didn't want to disturb you."
Penelope teased with a mischievous smile: "In a few years, will you be considering dating him?"
"It's not—it's not what you think!"
Cho Chang's face instantly turned red like the evening sunset. She lowered her head, her hands nervously tugging at her clothes.
"Actually, setting aside his identity as the savior, Harry is just like everyone else—an ordinary little boy."
"You're already calling him Harry, and you're still explaining!"
"I—"
"Alright, stop explaining. Explaining is just covering up.
Let's hurry and get ready—the year-end feast is about to begin."
Penelope interrupted Cho Chang, linked arms with her and pulled her quickly toward the dormitory, leaving only a string of cheerful laughter echoing in the corridor.
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