"Everyone, be sure to give this story a Powerstone! Also, 30 advanced chapters of this story are uploaded on my Patreon—you can go there and read them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
for 30 advanced chapter, visit my patreon
'patreon.com/fatimasoomro123'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Chapter 164: Harry's Past
Therefore, in a highly competitive yet unfriendly world, preventing others from advancing can sometimes become an effective—and even accepted—means of competition.
"Perhaps that's one of the reasons the wizarding world has been declining," George murmured to himself.
He gently lifted a black gemstone the size of a goose egg from an exquisite box lined with crimson velvet and trimmed in gold.
Holding it in his hand, he found it as dark as the cosmos, as radiant as the stars, as warm as jade, and as smooth as flowing honey.
George had seen countless treasures in his life, yet he had never encountered anything quite like this.
"I never thought it actually existed."
Even with the artifact in his hand, he still found it difficult to believe. No matter how many myths and legends he had read, when something truly legendary appeared before him, words failed him.
"Knockturn Alley was originally just another move on the chessboard. I never expected such an incredible reward."
After admiring the gem for a while, George reluctantly placed it back into its box.
Without worries weighing on him, time passed quickly.
Harry could focus on studying and training in peace, and he found himself falling in love with this relaxed and happy life.
Hermione and Ron were always nearby, and best of all, he no longer had to deal with Snape.
Nothing could be better than that.
As for Malfoy, Harry occasionally ran into him in the Great Hall. Malfoy seemed to have realized something about the previous incident. He had become more withdrawn and gloomy, but he also mocked Harry less often, which was a relief.
The Gryffindor common room was warm and comfortable, but the constantly burning fireplace sometimes made it unbearably stuffy.
After finally finishing his review of the assignments for the second half of the term, Harry left the cozy common room to get some fresh air.
Outside the castle, everything was covered in snow.
Energetic students were building snowmen and throwing snowballs across the grounds.
The recent period of peace had eased everyone's fear of the attacks. Apart from avoiding dark corridors and deserted passageways, life at Hogwarts had mostly returned to normal.
Harry wandered through the castle grounds.
The castle looked strangely different from usual.
The pathways were nearly empty, with few students around. There were no crowds bustling through the corridors, no constant flow of people moving from class to class.
For a moment, Harry realized that being alone wasn't always a bad thing.
Nor was it always lonely.
When he lived with the Dursleys, he had been alone all the time.
Yet he had also been surrounded by their noise, cruelty, and hostility.
Being alone then had never brought him peace.
That had been a different kind of loneliness.
A darker loneliness.
His childhood had often been spent inside a tiny, freezing cupboard. Whenever the Dursleys had guests over or went out, they would lock Harry inside to keep him out of sight.
Hogwarts, on the other hand, was rarely quiet. There were always noisy classmates and strict teachers around.
More importantly, Harry genuinely enjoyed spending time with Hermione and Ron.
Ever since the attacks began, the three of them had become nearly inseparable.
Yet today, as Harry walked alone through the snow-covered courtyard while a cold breeze brushed against him, he felt a strange sense of comfort.
A peaceful solitude.
A harmless freedom.
Then he noticed another lonely figure.
A small girl wrapped in thick robes sat against a stone pillar on a bench beneath the corridor, silently watching the snowflakes drift down into the courtyard.
"Ginny."
Harry paused.
He hesitated, wondering whether he should go over and say hello.
Now that he thought about it, Ginny hadn't seemed herself lately.
She rarely spent time with everyone else in the common room anymore.
Looking at her sitting there alone, Harry suddenly realized how little attention everyone had paid to Ron's younger sister.
Harry had always remembered Ginny.
Not just because she was the only daughter in the Weasley family, but because she had always treated him with unusual kindness.
Last year, she would blush whenever she saw him.
She could barely look him in the eye and always stuttered when speaking to him.
She admired Harry, but it wasn't like Colin Creevey's hero worship.
With Colin, Harry mostly felt overwhelmed.
With Ginny, however, Harry could almost physically feel her genuine warmth and goodwill.
Compared to the equal treatment he received from Ron and the other Weasleys, Ginny's admiration made him uncomfortable.
Because Harry knew the truth.
He was just an ordinary person.
He wasn't as intelligent as Hermione.
He wasn't as capable as George.
And the person who had truly defeated Voldemort wasn't him—it was his mother.
Harry never knew how to respond to Ginny's feelings.
He wanted to tell her that the Harry Potter she admired—the hero from the stories—wasn't real.
At least, it wasn't him.
He wanted to be friends with Ginny, just as he was with Hermione and Ron.
But Ginny still seemed trapped inside a dream.
A dream about a hero.
A hero who rode on colorful clouds and defeated the most terrifying Dark Lord in the wizarding world.
"I'm not the hero from the stories," Harry thought as he looked at Ginny's lonely figure.
"But I can be her friend."
Quietly, he walked over and sat down beside her.
"Ginny."
The sound of Harry's voice still had an immediate effect on her.
She visibly trembled and became so nervous that she couldn't even form a complete sentence.
"H-Harry..."
Harry chuckled.
"Why are you so scared? You don't think I'm the Heir of Slytherin, do you?"
He winked playfully, hoping to lighten the mood.
Instead, the joke seemed to have the opposite effect.
Ginny grew even paler.
Her body trembled slightly as she hurriedly replied,
"No... I know you're not the Heir."
Realizing something was wrong, Harry quickly corrected himself.
"I was just joking. Don't worry. We're friends, aren't we? You can tell us anything."
Ginny lowered her head and bit her lip without saying a word.
Only then did Harry realize what an idiot he was being.
Instead of helping her, he'd only made her more nervous.
"I'm such an idiot," Harry muttered.
"I can't even have a normal conversation without scaring my friends."
He lowered his head and began speaking honestly about himself.
"Even though it seems like a lot of people know who I am, I've never really had many friends."
"When I lived with the Dursleys, they controlled almost everything I did."
"I wasn't allowed to wander around the house or talk to people freely. Whenever they had guests over, they would lock me in a cupboard so I wouldn't make a mess of things."
"At primary school, Dudley and his gang bullied practically everyone."
"But they especially liked targeting me."
"They'd kick footballs at me, dirty my clothes, and make sure I'd get yelled at again when I got home."
(To be continued...)