Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

056 Differences

"A little personal matter–" As soon as Bryan uttered these words, he noticed the three young faces in front of him tense up instantly. Hermione, who was sitting on the edge of her seat, desperately winked at Harry, trying to signal him to be careful. Ron, who was slouching on the couch, shifted uneasily and stared at his toes, avoiding eye contact. And Harry, who had been determined to find out the truth about this matter, felt a surge of doubt and hesitation.

Interesting, what do these three little guys want to find out from me. Bryan wondered with amusement, as he observed their reactions with a keen eye.

"You three seem to be very curious about the purpose of my visit to Hagrid," he said casually, breaking the silence.

"That's right, Professor Watson–"

Harry tried to sound calm and casual, but his voice betrayed a hint of nervousness. He carefully controlled his tone and expression, hoping not to look too suspicious. "Hagrid is our  best friend, and you are an investigator ," he said slowly, searching for the right words.

Bryan nodded sagely, as if he understood everything.

"You are worried that the matter of the Chamber of Secrets has something to do with Hagrid, so you are worried that I am going to investigate him?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Harry's face turned pale, and Ron's cheeks flushed red. As for Hermione, she was silent for a moment, biting her lip. Then she cleared her throat and spoke up with a confident tone,

"Sorry, Professor Watson, I have already told them that this is purely guesswork , He is Principal Dumbledore's most trusted gamekeeper, he is unlikely to have anything to do with the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets, right?" she said firmly, looking at Bryan with her brown eyes.

Bryan lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. Miss Granger, you are very clever, but you can't fool me so easily. You think you can play hard to get in front of me? You need at least thirty more years of experience for that!

He thought to himself, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at the three of them with a friendly smile and said lightly,

"It's actually like this. Pure theory and practice can't make you skillful enough to deal with the dangers that may come at any time. So, in the tradition of Defense Against the Dark Arts, I thought it's necessary to expose you to some truly dangerous creatures."

He saw that the three of Hermione were listening attentively, their eyes wide and curious. He paused for a moment and shrugged his shoulders casually.

"There are many interesting magical creatures living in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, and Hagrid is one of the people here who knows the Forbidden Forest best. So I asked him to be my guide–"

Phew!

The three little guys let out a sigh of relief in unison, and their faces relaxed visibly.

Under Bryan's playful gaze, Harry twisted his body with a shy smile, feeling a cold sweat on his back. He realized that he had been sweating profusely in just a short period of time.

"By the way, have you prepared anything for us?" Ron asked eagerly, his eyes sparkling. "I know there are hippogriffs and centaurs living there, but Fred and George told me that there are far more interesting things in the woods than that!"

"Ha!"

Bryan leaned back on the chair and raised his head slightly. His voice sounded very mysterious and intriguing.

"This belongs to the category of secrecy, Mr. Weasley. You know, facing the unknown and reacting immediately in times of danger is also very important. I didn't intend to give you time to prepare in advance. By the way, don't even think about going back to Hagrid to inquire. I have already told him that he will not reveal even a single word to anyone. In short, you three, wait for the surprise!"

Professor Watson's words made their eyes overflow with excitement and curiosity. They couldn't help but wonder what kind of dark creatures he had prepared for them. Even Hermione couldn't resist asking him for a hint or a clue. But Bryan ruthlessly refused.

"I can only tell you that I have prepared three kinds of dark creatures with different levels of danger. And each grade level must deal with one of them. For the rest, you don't even bother thinking about it!" He said firmly.

For a long time, Harry and Ron kept asking Bryan various questions, hoping to get some clues or hints about his visit to Hagrid and the dark creatures he had prepared for them. But Bryan smiled and kept silent, enjoying their curiosity and frustration. He let them guess and speculate, but he never confirmed or denied anything. In the end, even Hermione gave up on reading Lockhart's letters and joined the lively discussion.

The pleasant atmosphere of the conversation made Ron forget about Bryan's status as a professor and his house affiliation. He looked at Bryan with admiration and wonder, and blurted out,

"It's incredible, Professor, how could such a great wizard like you come from Slytherin?"

The question hung in the air, and Ron immediately regretted asking it. He saw Hermione's warning eyes and realized that discussing house affiliations could be a sensitive topic, especially in light of recent events. He quickly backtracked, trying to correct himself.

"I, I mean, we have never seen a Slytherin as friendly and helpful as you, Professor," he stammered, trying to salvage the situation. "We only know those little Slytherin wizards who always talk about pure blood and glory and look down on Muggle-born wizards. But you never mentioned these things. In my opinion, you are more like a Gryffindor!"

Ron's awkward attempt at complimenting Bryan made Harry and Hermione nod in agreement, echoing his sentiments. They had also been puzzled by this question since they met him. How could someone like Bryan, who was compassionate and caring, belong to Slytherin, a house associated with cunning and ambition?

"In fact, sometimes, Slytherin and Gryffindor are very similar."

Bryan's flat tone made the three of Harry look at each other in dismay. Slytherin and Gryffindor are very similar? What kind of novel theory was that?

In the eyes of everyone, among the four Hogwarts houses, Slytherin and Gryffindor were the most incompatible ones. This huge difference in values and ideals had already begun when the Four Founders created this magical school thousands of years ago. And even now, the current Chamber of Secrets incident was a trouble derived from this ancient conflict.

Should I add some trouble to Dumbledore?

Looking at Harry who was most resistant to what he said in his eyes, Bryan smirked and cleared his throat,

"According to Principal Dumbledore's philosophy, the most powerful and irresistible force in this world is love, because love can give people courage, and courage can give people the strength to face all misfortunes. This idea itself is very much in line with the idea of Godric Gryffindor, the founder of Gryffindor House."

"Isn't that correct, Professor Watson?"

When it came to Dumbledore, Harry immediately became alert and defensive. He wondered if Bryan was going to say something like 'pure blood is noble, mixed blood is despicable' or 'Dumbledore is a senile old fool'.

"I can't say that Gryffindor or Dumbledore's ideas are problematic or even wrong, but I personally have my own opinion,"

Bryan shook his head and chuckled,

"My opinion is that no matter how strong love or hatred is, it cannot make an ordinary person lift a rock that weighs five hundred pounds without using magic.

Potter, I think power is power, and it's something so simple that neither love nor hate can make you surpass it. Of course , these two extreme emotions can indeed ignite a person's determination to pursue power."

He looked at the three little guys who were lost in thought, trying to understand his words. He turned his head to look out the window, where the starry sky was still shining brightly. The boundless darkness was dotted with countless points of light, creating a mysterious and beautiful scene. From ancient times to the present, that mysterious universe was the shore that countless wizards and Muggles dreamed of conquering.

He felt a pang of longing in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it. He looked back at them with a light smile,

"If you have to associate strength and courage with love, I agree that strength can bring people infinite courage to pursue love and freedom."

"Which one do you think is right, Ron?"

On the four-poster bed in the dormitory, Harry asked in a low voice. He remembered the loneliness and longing that emanated from Professor Watson's body as he gazed at the stars.

"I don't know, Harry," Ron muttered, turning over,

"But I think I'm more lacking in power than love."

He yawned and closed his eyes, feeling sleepy after a long day.

Harry lay on his bed too, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of power Bryan was talking about. Was it magical power? Political power? Personal power? And what did he want to do with it?

He thought about Dumbledore's words about love and courage, and how they had inspired him to face many dangers and challenges. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, thinking about his friends who loved him and supported him.

He didn't know which one was right, either. Maybe they both had some truth in them. Maybe it depended on the situation and the person.

He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping to get some rest before the next day. He had a feeling that Bryan's surprise was going to be something he would never forget.