Time flew, and Christmas arrived in the blink of an eye.
Hogwarts was filled with joy and a festive atmosphere.
With no petrification incidents occurring for nearly two months, many young wizards had already put the matter out of their minds.
Meanwhile, Professor Sprout's cultivation of mandrake was nearing completion.
But Argus knew that the matter of the basilisk was far from over.
The joy they felt now was merely the calm before the storm.
Dumbledore's savior game was about to reach its climax.
"Argus, look! The Gryffindors are up to their disgusting tricks again!"
Hermione's disgusted voice pulled Argus's thoughts back from the distance.
Looking closer, a large group of Gryffindors were surrounding Harry, winking and making faces at him.
Their words were full of mockery.
In the past, they worried that Harry, as the heir to Slytherin, would petrify them, but with the intervention of the Aurors and a long period of peaceful life...
That worry had long since disappeared.
It turned into rampant bullying!
However, this was a long-standing tradition of Gryffindor.
It was only natural that Harry's father would have to pay for what he did back then.
"Hehe! What are you doing?"
Lockhart approached from a short distance and dispersed the Gryffindor students.
He had previously suspected that Harry was the Slytherin heir, but then he reconsidered.
Harry was right beside Mrs. Norris when she had her accident; he didn't have time to deal with so many other things.
Moreover, Harry was a key figure for him to capitalize on the popularity of Hogwarts.
He felt that his own reputation was more important than these rumors!
For most students, professors had a lot of authority.
Upon hearing Lockhart's words, the students scattered in all directions.
Lockhart walked over to Harry and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, Harry!"
"You know, to become a celebrity in the wizarding world, you always have to endure all sorts of stares."
Harry wasn't too keen on talking to him, but these days, apart from Lockhart, it seemed like not many people were willing to talk to him anymore.
"Argus, were you also like that back then...?"
Hermione looked at Harry and suddenly remembered that Argus had also been misunderstood as the Slytherin heir for a time.
Moreover, that period coincided with the most severe stage of the incident's escalation.
The pressure Argus was under back then was probably much greater than what Harry was under now.
While he was misunderstood by countless people outside, he was in the library thinking about how to compete internally and how to surpass him.
This made the little witch from Ravenclaw feel extremely guilty.
Argus looked at Hermione's worried eyes and a long-lost whimsical thought arose in his heart.
He feigned a sigh and said, "Yes, I was really tormented back then."
"Nobody wants to talk to me. Everyone avoids me like I'm a dark wizard."
"Especially that little witch, she didn't even glance at me."
"That's not how it is, Argus!"
Hearing this, Hermione felt even more guilty.
She hurriedly tried to explain, but met Argus's ambiguous smile.
She immediately realized she had been tricked!
Frustrated, she strode forward.
She kept blaming herself for not using her brain.
Given Argus's reputation in Slytherin, let alone whether he was Slytherin's heir.
Even if he really was, the Slytherin people probably wouldn't be afraid of him at all.
It might even make them more excited!
Not far away, Harry saw Argus's figure and was reminded of the time when Argus was also mistaken for the heir to Slytherin.
Both were misunderstood, but their situations were completely opposite.
Harry was constantly harassed, while Argus had no one who dared to raise their voice at him!
Even the Slytherins respected him more!
This puzzled him, and he couldn't help but feel a little wronged.
Why should you remain the same as before when you're both being misunderstood?
I'm not going to put up with other people's humiliation!
Just because you're the chief?
Does being a top leader make you stand out?
Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't have the chance to ask Argus in person.
...
Argus caught up with Hermione and spent a long time coaxing the little witch to calm her down.
"Hermione, are you going home for Christmas?"
"Of course!" Hermione looked at Argus as if he were an idiot.
Her expression seemed to say, "If I don't go home, where else can I go?"
"What I mean is, why don't you bring your parents to experience the wizarding world's Christmas?"
"They've been in the Muggle world for the past few decades, so a change of scenery might feel more exciting."
"What do you think?"
Hearing this, Hermione was also somewhat tempted.
Indeed, they'd been doing the same old things every Christmas for years.
It was fine once or twice, but after a while, it would get boring.
Experiencing the wizarding world might actually be a good choice.
"Won't they get into trouble this way?"
Hermione was still a little worried.
"It's just to let them experience the atmosphere, not to make them live here."
"With you by my side, nothing will happen."
Argus smiled and reassured her.
His invitation to Hermione's parents was actually driven by some personal motives.
Hermione's parents were dentists.
In the UK, dentists were among the high-income earners, and their patients often included business elites.
Having spent years navigating the business world, they understood its intricacies far better than someone like him, a mere novice.
He believed that the reason he had been able to develop the acolytes to their current state was largely due to his various business experiences from his previous life.
However, this experience could only be used to control some aspects; many specific details still required professional knowledge to analyze.
Argus also considered using magical means to make some Muggle business elites work for him.
But doing so was too risky.
These business elites almost all had extensive networks of contacts, and if problems arose, their impact on the Muggle world was far beyond what ordinary people could match.
The commotion they caused would be much bigger than Harry and his friends' flying car!
The acolytes' long-term plan would be in vain.
Left with no other option, Argus had to resort to this compromise: he contacted some business elites through Hermione's parents, hoping to learn from them under the guise of business cooperation.
In any case, the currency of the Muggle world was no different from waste paper to them.
If you were determined to do it, there were plenty of ways!
"I'll go back and discuss it with them."
"I've never experienced Christmas in the wizarding world before, so I'll just have to join them and see for myself!"
"If it gets too late, stay overnight at the Leaky Cauldron."
Hermione became excited, and her steps became lighter without her noticing.
Argus chuckled and shook his head: "You go to Diagon Alley, and I'll let you stay at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"If it's really too late, come to my place, or the acolytes have quite a few manors where you can ask the house-elves to tidy up."
"We'll talk about it later. I'll go home and discuss it with my parents first." Hermione couldn't stop smiling, seemingly lost in thought.
"I'll come find you when I get to Diagon Alley!"
"Is it a deal?"
"It's a deal!"
…
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