Chapter 329 Behind the Indulgence
The second event was far more exciting than one could imagine, with speedrunners like Della who was impeccable, the most unlikely combination of Dmitri and Sadolin, and finally, the Savior even did something amazing.
He brought two people up by himself! He also brought back Gabrielle, the sister that Furong failed to bring back!
So Harry received the biggest cheers and admiration of the entire event, and he was once again the most inspiring savior.
Della looked at Harry, who had a somewhat annoyed and shy look on his face, playing with his wand, thinking to herself that "Harry Potter is the savior", which is almost common knowledge in the wizarding world.
She has never believed in prophecies. Even when she saw the future during the exam in Country D, she still wouldn't believe it, because a prophecy that only gives one result is too manipulable.
Like in the past, she always felt that Harry was actually being pushed forward by the title of "savior", but she didn't know if it was really his personality or if the push under high pressure had paid off, he now looked quite like a savior.
But it's still too weak.
Della learned about Barty Jr.'s actions from Maggie. Without the sacgrass that Dobby brought to Harry on his cue, today's hero wouldn't exist.
"He's really glorious," Draco muttered, dissatisfied with Della's glory being overshadowed, "He obviously came up overtime."
"Don't worry, there is no sentimentality in competitive games," Della said with a confident and calm smile, "The first place winner will not lose glory just because someone else received a bigger cheer."
"Della..." Draco looked at Della's eyes sparkling. He couldn't help but get closer to his girlfriend, as Della had used magic to dry his clothes. He put his arms around her waist intimately, "You are amazing! How could I have such a great partner like you!"
This hug actually happened in public. Della didn't find it strange to do this in public. It wasn't an underground relationship anyway, and she was used to being watched.
But she also felt a little uncomfortable in her heart, uncomfortable with the word "partner" that Draco mentioned. Although they wore couple rings and she was willing to make a promise to Draco about them, that was a matter for the future. To be realistic, it was a future with room for maneuver, and the word "partner", which had a stronger meaning, should not be used now.
It was as if Draco was already moving towards a more intimate relationship in the future, while she was still stuck in the slow present.
Della actually doesn't think she is wrong. Just because one party invests more in a relationship doesn't mean the other party has to match that investment, but the difference in between will make anyone who realizes this feel anxious.
This is also the problem. Anyone who realizes this will feel anxious. This is not an issue that can be discussed openly. After all, being heartless is never something to be proud of.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally reached a decision..."
Ludo Bagman's magically amplified voice brought Della out of her trance as he read out the results.
No matter how well Della performed, the maximum score was 50 points, so she and Dmitri, who also brought back the treasure within the specified time, tied for first place, both with full marks.
Fleur failed, but was awarded 25 friendship points for her skillful use of the Bubble Head Charm; Krum brought back the treasure but exceeded the time limit, so after comprehensive consideration he was awarded 40 points.
As for Harry, although he was the last one to come up, think about it, Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic of Country Y stood on his side, Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons would also lean towards Harry because her student sister was rescued, and Mikhail of Kodostoris always played a role in discussions, so the arguments of Durmstrang Karkaroff alone would be of no use.
So Harry finally scored forty-five, because of his noble character.
Harry's behavior was absolutely noble, but Della questioned the fairness of a competitive game that had no clear scoring rules and relied solely on a group of people discussing the results.
It's a habit for Della to have such thoughts. She has a very critical personality and won't really do anything most of the time. But often someone who sees the same perspective as her is not so kind.
There will be a satire about fairness in tomorrow's papers, and this is Maggie's decision.
But no matter how cruel it is, that is tomorrow's matter, and tonight, there will be a small celebration party for Della.
There is no doubt that Maggie proposed this in order to give Della some sentimental value and to add a little variety.
As for the location of the party, it was ironic that it was on the Durmstrang ship where one of its students only got fourth place. Considering the objective situation that most students didn't like Karkaroff and Karkaroff didn't care about most students, it was quite acceptable.
With the help of the loophole in the access of media personnel, Hogwarts became a sieve. People who would have been rejected by Hogwarts in the past were able to enter the school openly and board the Durmstrang ship.
"Why do you think Dumbledore is so tolerant of our little actions?" Before attending this not particularly willing party, Della leaned against the round framed window, watching the black-robed people who hurried in from time to time, and asked Maggie nonchalantly, "Even if he had failed to refuse the Dementors' stationing before, he had made clear gestures of refusal, but he never protested once this semester."
"Let me think about it. The one-man prophet newspaper and the famous journalist who speaks nonsense, these two things reflect the corrupt Ministry of Magic of Country Y," Maggie played with the milky white wand that Della made for him using the basilisk's teeth. "What we are dealing with temporarily should be what Dumbledore is happy to see."
"..." Della did not reply immediately. Maggie's answer could be regarded as an explanation, but she was more inclined to another explanation in her heart. Dumbledore was not indulging "us" but only "me".
Dumbledore was indulging her. Even though she had done many things that seemed completely contrary to the truth, dear Headmaster Dumbledore was still willing to give her the opportunity to show her talents.
It's a very touching act, but Della finds it difficult or unwilling to be moved by it. This kind of emotion mixed with pity and compassion is undoubtedly another kind of responsibility, and it will make people want to give equal emotional support.
Now, as a well-known descendant of the Dark Lord, Della looks at people with a cold face most of the time, and will not show mercy when it comes to interests and conspiracies. However, in front of people who are truly friendly to her and whom she really cares about, Della can show a cold face, but her heart is not really that cold and hard.
"Besides, Dumbledore, he is a conservative who is now boycotting the silver letter from entering the campus. He is the kind of person who cannot resist the trend and is destined to be eliminated." Maggie, who often smiles at others, is truly cold-hearted. There are not many people in this world that he cares about, and now only Della is dead. In short, he ignores everyone equally. "So, I understand his evenness as powerlessness."
"You really have a tendency to change the concept to make Dumbledore look confused, Maggie," Della sighed, feeling that Maggie was too uncontrollable after she grew up. "We all know that Dumbledore did not strongly resist the Ministry of Magic's flawed decree because he was concerned about all the ordinary wizards who believed in the Ministry of Magic of Country Y. This was his compromise, a compromise to reduce sacrifices, and it was a manifestation of his noble morality."
"But you deliberately used a bad description to correspond to the already bad results, and put all the blame on Dumbledore. This is illogical and unfair," Della said calmly of Maggie's language trick, "You seem to be committed to lowering my favorability towards Dumbledore."
"You're right, Della, I hate him," Maggie side-glanced at her and admitted frankly, "But do you know how closely Dumbledore kept an eye on Harry Potter in the first year? It was almost all the time, and every step of Harry Potter was under his control. From then on, I knew that he was a self-righteous planner."
"The kind of planner who would take all kinds of measures to ensure that things go as planned before he dies," Maggie waved her wand and drew the stone painting related to Horcruxes that Della had drawn for him in the air. "This information came from Hogwarts and must have been known to Dumbledore, but no one in the school knew this, and no one had ever heard of any damage to the Horcruxes from Voldemort."
"Maybe he didn't find it, or maybe he didn't know how to destroy it, or maybe he was leaving it to the savior, to the teenage boys who knew nothing," Maggie laughed, and he asked Della, "You know what I mean?"
"You mean Dumbledore is fabricating Harry Potter's fate as the savior." Della understood.
"Yes, so Dumbledore believes that the world really needs a savior." Maggie waved her wand, and the image in the air disappeared. There was even some pity in his words. "And I believe that the fate of the savior who is chosen to save more people will definitely be the one who will be abandoned, because the savior is a concept that stops at a certain point."
"You think Dumbledore's kindness is all related to the plan," Della now completely understood what Maggie meant, "You think Dumbledore is actually a hypocrite like you."
"You have to think about it from another perspective, Della. You actually knew in your first year that Dumbledore was afraid of you, just like he was afraid of Tom Riddle," Maggie said in a low voice. "Then have you ever thought about why Dumbledore could be so accurate in being afraid of Riddle?"
Maggie didn't give Della time to reply. He immediately said, "The explanation I most accept for this question is the intuition among the same kind."
"It's just that we went to Slytherin and he's a Gryffindor," Maggie said finally, and he smiled again, satisfied with Della's silence.
As a Gryffindor, Dumbledore is a little different from Slytherin. He does not have the same strong suspicious trait as Slytherin.
And he and Della did.
There was some deliberate guidance in what she just said, but it was definitely from the heart. Maggie thought that Dumbledore was a cunning man, and might use some huge price in the future to force Della to agree to do something.
Maggie is now sowing the seeds to cut off this possibility, blaming him for not satisfying Della's emotional needs enough before, which allowed these people to inadvertently seize the initiative, but he will never let that insignificant initiative become a chain that holds Della hostage.
Take it slow, he believes in his patience and thinks he has a good chance.