In fact, ever since school started, aside from the day the Hogwarts Express and Diagon Alley were attacked, Harry had been having that same dream every day.
Although the dream itself was actually very simple, just a voice endlessly repeating "I love you."
Harry never felt bored by it at all.
On the contrary, just like Ron had said before, "sleep is a process of self-repair." Harry felt that dream was repairing the emotional damage caused by losing his parents when he was little.
It could even be said that it was optimizing and improving him.
Because through that highly immersive dream, Harry could clearly feel all his talents and abilities steadily improving.
There was also a strong positive energy constantly pouring into his heart, making him feel that his mindset had now become confident and strong.
Harry agreed with Hermione very much.
Maybe this really was some kind of illness, but even then, it should be a good illness.
Because the wonderful feeling brought by this "illness" was something Harry had never experienced in the past ten-plus years.
People used to value him too, and wherever he went, crowds would gather around him.
But that was only because of his identity as "the Boy Who Lived."
Now, even someone as proud as Hermione sincerely acknowledged his game.
And every Slug Club gathering Slughorn held afterward treated him as the central figure. Every time Slughorn saw him, he smiled from ear to ear.
Hermione had previously said Slughorn recommended him for a visit to the British Potions Association.
But in reality, it was more than just a visit.
What Professor Slughorn privately meant was that after his recommendation, both the president and vice president of the Potions Association had become very interested in Harry's talent.
If this visit went smoothly, he could directly become a member of the British Potions Association.
That was undoubtedly a huge honor.
After all, aside from bug-level figures like Link, even Professor Snape had only joined the Potions Association many years after graduation.
And all of this had been earned through Harry's own efforts.
Taking a deep breath, Harry lightly patted Ron on the shoulder to comfort him.
He didn't think Ron was jealous. They had been friends for years, and Harry believed he understood Ron's thoughts pretty well.
In Harry's view, Ron was more worried about him and uncomfortable with how suddenly the gap between them had grown. At the very least, there was no bad intent.
After organizing his thoughts, Harry prepared to continue the duty he often carried out, mediating between Ron and Hermione so they could make up again.
But just as he was about to speak, the noisy Great Hall suddenly became quiet.
Even Hermione and Ron both sat down at that moment, pretending nothing had happened.
This strange change made Harry realize something.
As if sensing it instinctively, he subconsciously turned toward the entrance hall.
Sure enough, Snape was striding into the Great Hall.
His large black cloak billowed behind him, making him look like a giant bat.
Snape's arrival made the pressure inside the entire hall rise several levels. Wherever he passed, the nearby young wizards lowered their heads together, their faces red.
The only exception was probably Harry.
When their eyes met, Harry not only showed no fear at all, but smiled kindly and nodded at Snape.
Snape's steps paused, and a trace of surprise seemed to appear on his face.
But after that brief pause, he actually nodded back at Harry, something extremely rare.
A few minutes later, Snape left the Great Hall.
Judging from the direction, he had probably just passed through on his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The Great Hall instantly became noisy again.
Some of the students who had nearly shrunk under the tables in fear earlier were already joking about Snape's cloak.
Ron, meanwhile, grabbed Harry's arm and whispered excitedly, "Hermione, did you see that just now? Harry actually smiled at Snape?!"
"And you still dare say Harry's normal? If he were normal, how could he do something like that? He used to hate Snape the most!"
"At the start of the year when he heard Snape became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he was practically wishing Snape would die from the curse this year!"
Hermione said nothing, only stared at Harry with a strange expression.
She had also seen everything clearly just now. At this point, even she had to admit Harry's behavior really was strange.
After hesitating, she gritted her teeth and said, "Harry, maybe you should still go to the hospital wing? I'm starting to suspect someone put you under the Imperius Curse."
"Tch!"
Harry slapped away Hermione's hand when she tried touching his forehead.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I just smiled politely at Professor Snape!"
"That's exactly what confuses us," Ron shook his head. "Normally you'd be lucky not to spit at Snape when you saw him, but now you're smiling at him?"
"And another thing, you called him Professor Snape just now? You even used an honorific for him? That's even stranger!"
Hermione nodded in agreement.
Harry was almost going crazy and explained helplessly, "My opinion and attitude toward Snape really have changed, but that's because not long ago Professor Slughorn told me Snape actually had nothing to do with my parents."
"Especially my dad, back then he… he did some really excessive things to Snape. Ron, all of this is true. If you don't believe me, ask Hermione!"
Ron looked suspiciously at Hermione.
Hermione nodded and said, "So now you think you should make it up to Snape? That's stupid, Harry. I don't think you or your parents owed Snape anything."
"In my opinion, Snape brought everything on himself! Besides, your parents are your parents, and you are you."
"Snape shouldn't put his hatred toward your parents onto you, and naturally you don't need to compensate Snape for what your parents did!"
Harry said nothing and just lowered his head silently.
It was obvious he couldn't accept Hermione's advice.
"Harry!"
Hermione was furious and raised her voice, calling Harry's name again.
But Harry waved his hand and said, "Uh… I think we should go to class. If we don't leave now, we might be late."
After saying that, Harry hurriedly ran out of the Great Hall. Hermione and Ron exchanged anxious looks and could only chase after him.
Ron originally wanted to keep persuading Harry after catching up to him.
But when they reached the classroom door, he suddenly realized they were about to attend Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Looking at Snape's pale, rigid face on the platform, Ron wisely chose to keep quiet.
Hermione still looked unconvinced. She crossed her arms and sneered at Harry and Snape.
She was completely confident she could persuade Harry to give up his guilt toward Snape.
It would be easy.
Because in Hermione's experience, Snape genuinely hated Harry.
During this class, Snape's usual targeting would definitely happen.
And when that time came, Hermione would have plenty of reason to convince Harry.
After all, Harry clearly wasn't the kind of person who liked sticking his warm face against a cold shoulder.
But unexpectedly, something strange really did happen.
Throughout the entire class, although Snape still didn't seem to like Harry much, he also didn't target Harry in any way.
When Harry raised his hand, Snape even shockingly allowed him to answer a question and afterward awarded him one point.
Honestly, that kind of point might as well not exist.
But the students present were all stunned.
It was the first time they had ever seen Snape award points to a Gryffindor, especially when that Gryffindor's name was Harry Potter.
It was simply unbelievable.
"If you ask me, Professor Snape's actually pretty good. I greeted him in the Great Hall just now, and now he picked me to answer a question and even gave me points."
"To use words from Link Flamel's Quotes, this is probably called returning courtesy for courtesy, right?"
Harry happily said this to Ron and Hermione after getting points.
Seeing Harry's pleased expression, Ron couldn't help saying, "What are you so proud of? He only gave you one point. If you ask me, he only did it because he had no cho..."
Ron suddenly stopped speaking.
He only felt a gust of wind coming at him, followed by a burning pain on his head.
"Five points deducted for disrupting class order. Also, Ron Weasley, if you think my class is too boring, you may leave."
As Snape spoke, he used magic to pull back the textbook he had just thrown.
During that process, his gaze paused briefly on Harry, but unlike usual, he didn't mock Harry along with Ron.
That discovery made Harry even happier. Although he tried hard to suppress it, his joy still showed clearly on his face.
As for Ron, he trembled in anger but couldn't say anything.
He could only hold his head and sulk alone.
This continued until Snape announced class dismissal, and only then did Ron finally smile a little.
But his smile quickly froze again.
Because just as Snape packed up and prepared to leave, Harry suddenly rushed out and blocked him at the doorway, chattering away.
This instantly attracted everyone's attention in the classroom.
Even stranger, although their conversation was short, it was generally quite friendly. In the end, Snape even nodded at Harry, as if agreeing to something Harry had asked.
Many people looked like they had seen a ghost.
Meanwhile, Harry still looked completely normal, cheerfully carrying his bag as he followed Snape out of the classroom.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other in shock.
In the end, Ron gritted his teeth and chased after him.
"Harry! What were you talking about with Snape just now?"
After finally catching up to Harry, Ron impatiently asked.
"Nothing much. I just asked if he was going to the Slug Club Christmas gathering. Professor Slughorn said he's personally cooking for us."
Harry still had a smile on his face. "I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It'd really be a shame if he missed it."
"So… you just invited Snape to dinner?", Hermione also caught up, panting as she spoke.
"Uh… not exactly?"
"I think we really need to talk."
"Exactly, Harry. Your problem is more serious than we imagined."
Hermione and Ron spoke together. Then they directly grabbed Harry and dragged him toward Gryffindor Tower.
Actually, with Harry's current physical condition, breaking free from the two of them would have been incredibly easy.
But Harry still helplessly allowed Hermione and Ron to do as they pleased.
Because he also felt it was time to seriously talk with Hermione and Ron.
This misunderstanding needed to be cleared up, or their relationship might have problems in the future.
But when they returned to the Gryffindor common room again, they discovered another new change.
The entire common room was filled with cheering and noise.
Everyone, including the seventh-year students who had been preparing for the NEWT exams and looked gloomy every day recently, were now dancing excitedly.
Harry and the others even spotted a lot of Butterbeer on the coffee tables in the common room.
This was something usually only brought out to celebrate major events like winning the House Cup.
"Hey! Neville, what happened here?"
Ron grabbed Neville, who was dancing with a girl, and asked. Hearing this, Neville excitedly hugged Ron, then stuffed a copy of the Daily Prophet that still smelled strongly of fresh ink into Harry's hands and said, "You still don't know? Link and Dumbledore won! The British Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts won too!"
Neville's explanation was unclear, so the three of them could only look at the newspaper in Harry's hands.
On it was a magical photograph clearly showing Link shaking hands with the French Minister of Magic.
Below the picture was the headline of this urgent report, "Another Great Victory After More Than Four Hundred Years!"
"The French Ministry of Magic Admits Connection to Previous Terrorist Attack and Agrees to Pay Corresponding Compensation!"
Just reading the headline made Ron want to cheer already.
And the detailed report afterward made him tremble with excitement.
From the beginning, he had firmly believed Link and Dumbledore would not lose and would definitely "beat" the French Ministry of Magic badly at the negotiation table.
But like most people, he had never expected Link and Dumbledore to win so completely and beautifully.
The mediation conference held by the International Confederation of Wizards had lasted less than four days before the French Ministry of Magic completely admitted defeat.
Not only did they publicly apologize in the newspaper, they also paid a huge amount of gold Galleons and resources as compensation.
This result was practically a miracle in diplomatic history.
If there was any regret at all, it was that Norton of Beauxbatons, the mastermind behind the previous attack, had committed suicide.
But that couldn't be blamed on Link and Dumbledore.
Most people in Norton's position would have chosen death.
After all, if he had fallen into the hands of the British Ministry of Magic, he probably would have suffered a fate worse than death.
And honestly, reaching this point was already enough.
At least for the next two hundred years, British wizards would never run out of material to mock France with.
"Awoooo!"
Ron finally couldn't hold back anymore and roared.
With a ripping sound, he tore off his robe and waved it like a flag while shouting, "We won! Neville, come to the dormitory with me! I still have a whole box of Firewhisky George and Fred left behind! Tonight we drink until we drop!"
As soon as Ron finished speaking, the atmosphere in the common room became even more heated.
Hermione's eyebrows subconsciously rose.
This was a sign she was about to get angry.
Normally, once Ron saw this expression, he should already be preparing to run away or get beaten up.
But this time, as she watched Ron being surrounded by cheering Gryffindors while heading toward the dormitory, Hermione only shouted toward the crowd, "We still have afternoon classes, so don't get drunk!"
The only response was Ron raising his middle finger high above the crowd.
That obviously overconfident gesture made Hermione's eyebrows rise once more after they had only just lowered.
Meanwhile, Harry continued carefully reading the Daily Prophet.
Perhaps to emphasize how great this victory was, and to showcase the excellence of the current committee-style Ministry of Magic, the Daily Prophet had clearly put special effort into this emergency report.
It not only covered Link and Dumbledore attending the negotiation meetings, but also detailed reports about the previous large-scale riots in the French magical world.
Unfortunately, what most people cared about was only the news of Link and Dumbledore's victory.
Compared to that, the tragic state of the French magical world was more like seasoning enjoyed alongside the feast called "victory."
But Harry clearly wasn't part of that majority.
From beginning to end, his attention remained fixed on the reports about the French magical world.
Because the Daily Prophet had included many bloody and horrifying scene photos.
As Harry looked at the text and images in the newspaper, he felt an energy slowly spreading from the top of his head through his entire body.
Harry was already familiar with this feeling. Over the past half month, he had felt something similar every time he studied.
That energy seemed like the source of his mental strength, allowing him to complete all learning tasks with unbelievable efficiency.
Harry had not never suspected there might be side effects to this energy.
Or perhaps something had invaded his mind.
But this energy had brought him all his recent glory, and the feeling itself was so gentle and warm, just like being inside that dream.
Eventually, Harry even started suspecting it might be some ancient bloodline magic his mother had placed on him.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why he was being protected so much.
But now, Harry felt he might have guessed wrong.
Because although the energy attacking him this time was still warm...
Unlike the warm-water feeling from before, this warmth felt like standing inside a tropical rainforest during rainy season.
That hot and damp sensation tightly gripped Harry's throat, giving him a painful tightness in his chest.
Then, the familiar voice that had appeared every day in Harry's dreams over the past half month appeared again.
This time, instead of warm "I love you" repeated over and over, what carried the voice now were painful, sharp screams and cries.
Amid those screams, Harry felt his soul evaporating and his consciousness scattering.
Vaguely, it felt as if he had entered the world inside the newspaper photos.
He could see Norton in black robes decisively committing suicide.
He could see those dozen or so French Ministry of Magic staff members in uniform smiling as they calmly went to their deaths.
He could see the eyes of countless French wizards turn blood-red after hearing Norton's final words.
Slaughter and chaos were spreading across all of France.
Countless people flooded onto Furstenberg Square. Among them were angry protesters, but even more were spectators looking for excitement and thugs hoping to loot during the chaos.
The protesters held signs filled with slogans and continuously shouted at the fountain in the center of Furstenberg Square, trying to force open the tightly sealed entrance to the French Ministry of Magic below.
The thugs threw spells at everything around them... vehicles, buildings, old people, children…
Everything was a target.
As for the spectators...
At the beginning of the riot, they watched happily like it was entertainment.
But as the chaos escalated, when the thugs finally pointed their wands at them, the smug expressions vanished from their faces.
Replacing them was the same fear and pain as the Muggles.
Amid countless surging spells, blood and fire fused together.
The thugs recklessly vented the violence in their hearts, responding to the victims' piercing screams with crazed laughter.
"No..."
Harry couldn't help screaming.
The world of blood and fire around him froze and shattered piece by piece.
Harry, drenched in cold sweat, returned to the familiar Gryffindor common room.
Hermione, Ron, and the others' worried faces appeared in his sight.
Harry could see their mouths constantly moving as if urgently saying something.
But when the sounds reached Harry's ears, they became blurred muttering with no clear meaning.
The Daily Prophet in his hand had already been crushed into a ball in his agitation. Harry gasped heavily and wiped the sweat covering his face before gradually recovering.
"I saw… saw something terrifying!"
Harry tremblingly opened the crumpled "paper ball" in his hand and showed the magical photo of Furstenberg Square to everyone around him. His voice was chaotic and hoarse.
"A terrible massacre happened there, and it's still going on now… Blood and fire are spreading, everyone's eyes are blood-red…"
"What does that have to do with us? They're all French wizards. Honestly, it'd be even better if those arrogant French pigs all died! After all, they were the ones who made enemies of us. This is their punishment!"
The one speaking was Ron.
His voice clearly entered Harry's ears.
This was strange.
Because Harry was certain his hearing had not recovered.
Hermione had been tugging on his ear and talking nonstop since earlier.
But Harry hadn't understood a single word she said.
Even stranger, hearing Ron's words and seeing the mocking smile on Ron's face caused a fire called anger to suddenly rise inside Harry.
Harry's eyes also turned blood-red.
Then he suddenly broke free from Hermione's support and smashed a fist hard into Ron's face.
"You bastard!"
[🎉 Shoutout to Cesar and Kai for joining p@treon. Thank you very much 🤗]