Chapter 263: Hermione's Confidence

In the Great Dining Hall, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Ron and Hermione watched Harry walking away, and no one spoke.

After a long moment, Ron said sympathetically, "Harry's always been like that, blindly trusting others; he's always too optimistic."

Ron turned to look at Hermione as if expecting something.

"Like Harry, I believe in Ivan too." Hermione repeated, "He's done a lot to prove that he's not like an evil dark wizard..."

"I believe in him too, we all believe in him!" Ron said grimly, vigorously waving the silverware in his hands, "I know, Ivan's really good. He's done a lot of great things that I can't do in my whole life. But the problem now is that he's an ordinary person, and he may not be able to resist the temptation of power. Dark magic is much stronger than ordinary magic, maybe that's why it's strong, do you understand what I mean, Hermione?"

The more Ron spoke, the more he leaned towards this possibility. If Ivan didn't study dark magic, how to explain all the magical power he had at such a young age?

Ivan was an ordinary Muggle. He never had an encounter with magic before he came to Hogwarts. If it wasn't for some special "reason", he wouldn't have been able to become so powerful so quickly, even surpassing all the young pureblood wizards.

Ron didn't deny that Ivan was a hard worker. But with hard work, he should be at most in Hermione's league, no more.

This was very abnormal. He must be studying evil dark magic in secret. At the thought of this possibility, Ron felt it was more unfair than frightening. In his opinion, Ivan was cheating.

Ivan cheated others and got what he shouldn't have.

Thinking about this, Ron's breathing became a little faster. After being saved by Ivan last semester, he intended to give up all his bad thoughts and decided to see Ivan as his true friend, just like Harry and Hermione.

But it made Ron uncomfortable to think that Ivan might be studying dark magic, that everyone was blind, and that he currently had it all. The thought kept entering his mind that if he had studied dark magic himself, he wouldn't be much worse than Ivan.

Immense strength, great fame, adoration from the eyes of others, supreme glory, and Hermione's affection.... All of those things were initially out of his reach, but suddenly there was a shortcut, and he only had to reach out his hand to get there.

Ron had this fantasy, and then shook his head and repeatedly told himself he wouldn't do it.

Unlike Ivan, he would not degenerate into the study of black magic. Such a thing should be absolutely forbidden.

Hearing Ron's words, Hermione didn't answer, she shook her head in bewilderment.

"I mean, it's possible for Ivan to make mistakes too." Ron was dissatisfied with Hermione's reaction, he frowned and continued, "We have to be careful, and if Ivan is working on dark magic now, we have to act."

"What do you want to do?" Hermione looked startled.

"I haven't thought about it yet, but I should at least stop him and publicize it so everyone knows what he's doing. It's only fair, isn't it?" said Ron.

"Listen to me, Ron!" Hermione took a deep breath and decided to say, "If you want to ask others what they think about this, I don't think Ivan's study of dark magic is anything to be surprised about. Others would probably think the same thing, and that's the main reason why no one believes that ridiculous rumor. We all know what kind of person Ivan is. He studies magic not to use it, but to increase his power against future powerful enemies."

"What a noble reason. What enemies does he have to face?" Ron scorned and said, "Pettigrew has been captured. This is HOGWARTS. Dumbledore is HERE, how can there be enemies?"

"Did you forget the prophecy Ivan told us the other day over Christmas break?" Hermione said, "Voldemort will be back, and he will be stronger than ever, with the help of a Chosen One."

"You mean the prophecy made by Professor Trelawney, I thought you never believed it?" Ron waved his hand dismissively. "We all know she's faking it again, tricking Ivan to make Christmas more exciting."

"Professor Trelawney may be a liar, but you can't deny that she could make a real prophecy." Hermione continued, trying to persuade Ron, "In addition to this, Ivan mentioned the Secret Treasure left behind by the Four Founders. There must be something they knew was coming that made them leave something behind."

"It's just that Ivan himself is the one who said he'd seen it, or that it had returned to Hogwarts a thousand years ago. No one can guarantee it's true." Ron said stubbornly, "Even if the Four Founders really did leave some magical item behind, it's another matter whether it would work properly. After all, it's been so long that any kind of magic should be ineffective!"

"But Ivan said that at the Centaur colony in the Forbidden Forest...," Hermione said.

"Don't change the subject, Hermione. We're all talking about Ivan researching dark magic. It's not about the Founding Four or the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest." Ron looked at Hermione and said expectantly, "Come with me to look for evidence, Hermione. I'm sure Ivan is working on the Dark Arts. We can go and find out. I feel like I'm about to get to the truth."

"No, whatever it is, I believe in Ivan!" Hermione repeated again, her voice firm.

There was no need for any proof. What Ron said, Ivan had already told her, and she had made her decision as well.

"I know, I believe in him too!" said Ron grumpily as he stood up, "I can't understand it, what's wrong with you two? Look at you and Harry. It looks like I'm doing something wrong again. I'm just being kind enough to remind you that if you're not careful, you'll probably regret it in the future."

Drawn by Ron's shout, everyone in the Great Dining Hall turned to him in surprise, wondering what had happened and what he was talking about.

Feeling everyone's stare, Ron sat up with a red face and red ears.

A few seconds later, seeing Hermione's unchanged eyes, he sat there like a deflated balloon, saying helplessly, "Well, maybe you're right, I'm too sensitive. You know, because when it comes to dark magic, I want to be more careful."

"I see what you mean, Ron!" Hermione patted Ron on the shoulder and comforted him. "We should be careful. I'll convince Ivan. But I still say I believe in him. He promised me he'd never let me down."

The corner of the long Gryffindor table was silent again, and neither Ron nor Hermione spoke. They ate breakfast in silence.

They both seemed to have their worries and didn't know what the other was thinking.