[The Next Day]
[Hogwarts Castle]
When the first ray of sunlight shone through the glass window into the Gryffindor dormitory, Harry suddenly jumped out of bed.
As if he had rehearsed it countless times, he quietly and quickly folded his bed, then rapidly finished washing up, dragged Ron, who was still lazing in bed, out with him, and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
After going through the entire process, a look of suffering had already appeared on Ron's face.
Waking up early was simply too difficult for him.
Under the effect of this painful debuff, even the roasted sausages he normally loved didn't smell as good anymore.
Poking randomly at the sausages and bacon with his fork, Ron frowned and looked at Harry, who was reading while eating breakfast beside him, then couldn't help complaining, "Harry, I think if you want to wake up early, you really don't need to drag me along."
"You know, sleep is extremely important to me. It's like a form of self-repair, reducing the pain of the past so I can continue living in a more numb state."
"Dragging me up every day the moment the sun comes up is destroying my self-repair progress. If this keeps going, I'm afraid I'll lose interest in life altogether.", As Ron spoke, Harry stopped reading.
His mouth gradually opened wider, and he forgot to put the bacon on his fork into his mouth.
He simply stared blankly at Ron for a long while before saying, "Oh my god. Since when did you become so philosophical? Just tell me honestly, where did you copy those words from?"
"The Quotations of Link Flamel. Those Slytherins recently put it together. Apparently it contains lots of Link's famous sayings."
"It's really popular inside the D.A. now. Almost everyone has a copy. Lots of lines from it have become catchphrases, like 'Knowledge is power' and stuff like that."
"Those Slytherin bastards are making a fortune from it... But you've never even seen it? That's honestly pretty strange."
After getting exposed, Ron wasn't embarrassed at all. With his relationship with Harry, it wasn't a big deal. He immediately started another round of complaints.
"Really? Let me see it too."
"No problem. I bought a bunch of copies. One for personal use, one for collection, and the rest for spreading the faith. I'll just give you the copy I have on me now, but you have to swear you'll take good care of it!"
As Ron spoke, he pulled a small black-covered booklet from the little pouch inside his robe and carefully handed it to Harry.
Harry also became unusually serious.
Because from the way Ron had taken the booklet out, it was clear that he had hidden The Quotations of Link Flamel near his chest. Ron obviously treasured it deeply.
"But honestly, even though I copied that passage, the meaning still reflects my own thoughts," Ron continued complaining after seeing Harry put the booklet away safely.
"Seriously, can you stop dragging me up with you every morning? This really hurts me! A very serious kind of hurt!"
"Sorry, no!" Harry said firmly.
"If waking up early feels awful to you, maybe you should try going to sleep earlier instead of playing wizard chess until midnight every day and forcing me to use the Ear-Sealing Charm just to fall asleep."
"That's also impossible for me. Don't you understand? I'm Ron Weasley. If Ron Weasley could become disciplined enough to sleep early and wake early every day, then I wouldn't be me anymore!"
Harry took a deep breath, about to continue arguing, but Ron frowned and cut him off first.
"By the way, Harry, you've also become less like yourself lately. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you've caught Hermione Syndrome."
"Hermione Syndrome? What the hell is that?"
"Oh, it's a disease I invented. The symptoms are acting like Hermione, doing nothing every day except burying yourself in books and forcing other people to study with you."
"You know, people like that are actually really annoying. That's why I never liked Hermione much. She and I were never the same type of person."
Ron kept talking nonstop, but he failed to notice that as he spoke, Harry's expression was slowly becoming horrified, as if he had seen something terrifying.
"So the way you are now isn't something I like much either. I think the old you was better, someone who shared the same... uh, what's that phrase again? Ah right, 'kindred spirits.'"
"That's a really obscure phrase. It's from The Quotations of Link Flamel. Damn it, I actually forgot some of it! Harry, hurry and take the book out again so I can..."
Smack!
A hand landed heavily on Ron's shoulder.
That familiar feeling made Ron freeze instantly.
Only then did he finally realize that Harry had been desperately signaling at him the whole time.
Ron stiffly turned his head.
And sure enough, what entered his sight was Hermione's face wearing a cold smile.
"Ha! Hermione, when did you..."
"Ron, I don't think 'kindred spirits' is the right phrase to describe your relationship with the old Harry," Hermione interrupted. "I think 'birds of a feather' fits much better. Don't you agree?"
Cold sweat immediately appeared on Ron's forehead.
At this moment, Hermione gave him a sense of danger no less terrifying than a life-or-death crisis.
Under the pressure of this crisis, Ron's brain operated at unprecedented speed. After a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he forced out a smile.
"Ah, Hermione, 'birds of a feather' is also from The Quotations of Link Flamel! Really unexpected though, you're interested in this kind of book too?"
"How about this then? I'll give you the collector's edition with Link's autograph that I was planning to keep for myself."
The moment she heard that, Hermione's eyes lit up, and she instinctively said, "There's an autographed version of The Quotations of Link Flamel? Why have I never heard of it?"
"There isn't one yet, obviously. Link and Dumbledore are still away at the conference and haven't come back."
"But once he returns, I'll go get Link's autograph immediately, won't I? With my relationship with Link, he definitely won't refuse me."
Hearing Ron say that, Harry frowned.
"Then why can't Hermione just ask Link for an autograph herself? Link wouldn't refuse Hermione either, right?"
"Hey! That's where you don't understand!" Ron said while wiggling his eyebrows. "With Hermione's personality, do you really think she'd have the courage to ask Link for an auto...ow!"
Hermione punched Ron hard in the back, turning the rest of his sentence into a cry of pain.
Unfortunately, Harry had already fully understood what Ron meant.
At this moment, Harry was looking at her with an expression that said, "So that's how it is."
A faint blush appeared on Hermione's face as she quietly said, "I want Link's autograph. The moment Link comes back, you go get it immediately. Understood?"
"Of course! I guarantee you'll be the very first person in all of Hogwarts to get..."
Ron patted his chest and promised, but before he could finish, Hermione spoke again.
"But don't even think about leading Harry astray again. Harry's been doing so well lately. Slughorn already calls him an outstanding potion maker whose talent can rival Snape's."
"During class the day before yesterday, he even invited Harry to visit the British Potions Association during Christmas!"
Ron stared at Harry in shock.
He simply couldn't connect the "high-class" term Potions Association with Harry, just like he couldn't imagine himself standing in formal robes among a group of potion masters for a photo.
He used to think he and Harry were the same type of person, but now it seemed he had been far too naive.
Harry, meanwhile, scratched his head shyly.
"No, something's wrong!" Ron suddenly became serious. "Harry, I'm starting to suspect you really are sick."
"Maybe you should go let Madam Pomfrey examine you properly. The current you isn't the real you. You must've caught some kind of strange illness!"
As he spoke, Ron got up, trying to drag Harry to the hospital wing.
Hermione hurriedly pressed Ron back into his chair.
"Are you crazy? I think you're just jealous, jealous of Harry's achievements! The current Harry is great."
"Even if he is sick, then it's a good sickness! I've even been thinking about learning from Harry and figuring out how to become this outstanding myself!"
The moment she said that, Ron immediately shut his mouth and sat there sulking silently.
Hermione's words had placed him in an extremely awkward position.
Anything more he said after this would just sound like jealousy.
Harry looked at the sulking Ron and the bright-eyed Hermione and could only smile awkwardly.
He had to admit that the changes in himself lately had indeed been huge.
His mentality had become more confident, his body stronger and more energetic, and his heart filled with kindness.
Not only had his talent in potions exploded forward, but his aptitude in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and even Divination had all improved greatly.
Most importantly, his daily habits had also improved.
Waking up early, which used to be difficult, now felt effortless.
Books he couldn't focus on before had become genuinely enjoyable to read, and usually he could fully understand the knowledge inside after reading it only once.
Just as Ron had said, he was no longer the same person he used to be.
If he absolutely had to say what had changed him, then the only thing Harry could think of was those recent dreams.