Link had no idea what had happened at the professors' meeting.
That weekend, he completely took the hands-off approach, leaving everything about the factory renovation to Cedric.
Meanwhile, he and Emily hid away in the Room of Requirement, studying and practicing the NEWT-level potions curriculum, and, of course, doing the kind of things that young couples are expected to do.
They were so absorbed in their "studies" that even their daily meals and drinks had to be delivered to them by house-elves.
Link, being young and full of affection, didn't feel that what he was doing was wrong in the slightest.
Even though his soul was well past his teenage years, he still believed that "youth" referred to a state of the body, to the sensations brought about by the hormones secreted from a strong, energetic young body.
From that perspective, being "a young man" had nothing to do with one's soul age, only with one's physical state.
Besides, as a wizard, sometimes indulging one's own desires was necessary to better maintain one's magical power.
After all, in this idealistic world of magic, powerful desire and belief were both important sources of a wizard's strength.
All of the above were the "theories" Link had used as an excuse when he handed Cedric the task of overseeing the renovation project.
Cedric had been speechless at that.
He had known Link not just for one or two years, and he was well aware of Link's habit of throwing out a bunch of grand, seemingly logical arguments that sounded profound at first but somehow didn't hold up once you thought about them carefully, all to get others to do his work for him.
That sort of thing worked especially well on clever people, because clever people loved to overthink. And the more you overanalyzed those half-baked sophistries, the deeper you'd fall into the trap.
So now, Cedric had learned his lesson.
Whenever Link tried that trick again, Cedric would simply turn off his brain and act as if he'd heard nothing at all.
Still, even though he didn't buy into Link's nonsense, Cedric carried out his task faithfully.
In fact, in order to ensure the factory could begin production as soon as the license was approved, he had not only employed house-elves but had also recruited a large group of Hufflepuff students to help, leveraging his own reputation to get them onboard.
Of course, their help wasn't unpaid.
Cedric promised that once the factory officially opened, everyone who had helped during construction would be the first to be hired as workers.
And so, thanks to Cedric's efforts, by Sunday evening, when Link and Emily finally emerged from the Room of Requirement to inspect the progress, the renovation was nearly complete.
"Wow! Cedric, I can't believe you managed to do all this in just two days, it's a miracle!"
Looking down the corridor, where rows of classroom doors had already been completely refurbished, Link couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
No one in Hogwarts understood better than he did how massive this project really was.
Compared to the Weasley twins' little backroom workshop, the factory Link envisioned was more than twice the size.
Not only that, it included a potions workshop for producing semi-finished potion ingredients, an alchemy workshop for crafting basic alchemical goods, and even several lines for manufacturing official Hogwarts merchandise.
Although converting disused classrooms into workshops saved a lot of time and materials, ensuring production safety and efficiency still required heavy machinery and major structural changes.
So Link truly admired Cedric.
If it had been up to him, he'd never have managed to finish a project of this scale in just two days, not even if he'd stayed up all night.
But Cedric, faced with Link's genuine praise, didn't look pleased at all.
His eyes, dull and resentful, moved back and forth between Link and Emily, until both of them began to feel awkward under his gaze. Finally, he said, "Cut the crap. Just tell me, there won't be any problems with the factory's license, right? I've promised away a ton of job positions to speed this up. If we can't open, we're all in trouble."
"You and I both know what we've done to make sure the paperwork goes through," Link said, laughing as he patted Cedric's shoulder.
"Don't forget, I'm a Hogwarts board member. If Dumbledore still refuses to let us open after all that, I have other ways to force his hand. So relax."
Cedric swayed a bit under Link's enthusiastic pat, but his expression did ease somewhat. He nodded.
"In that case, fine. Oh, and John wanted me to tell you something, he's made up his mind. He's agreed to be the factory's manager and promises there won't be any problems."
"Huh?" Link frowned. "Why didn't he come tell me himself? Don't tell me he's embarrassed now?"
He shouldn't have said that, because the moment he did, Cedric's face, which had just relaxed, darkened again. He glared at the two of them and snapped, "Do you think everyone's as irresponsible as you two? John still has assignments to finish, and he's been coming here to help without pay these past two days. He's exhausted and already went back to rest!"
Cedric's voice was loud enough that several house-elves nearby stopped their cleaning to stare.
Emily went crimson with embarrassment. She couldn't really scold Cedric for it, so she simply reached out and pinched the soft flesh at Link's waist, whispering furiously, "This is all your fault! I told you we shouldn't have done that!"
"Oh really? That's not what you said at the time. I remember you were the one who pulled me and said, ow!"
Link's skin was much thicker than Emily's; he was about to tease her further when her grip suddenly tightened, cutting him off mid-sentence.
He caught her hand and raised an eyebrow at her, then turned to Cedric with a half-smile, saying, "All right, all right, Cedric, I know you've worked hard. Tell you what, take a break too."
"Forget about all that school stuff for a while. Go take Cho out for a walk, have a nice meal. And, you know, before the factory officially opens, that office of yours could be used for... other things."
He gave Cedric a knowing grin that every man would understand.
Cedric understood all right, but his reaction shocked Link.
In an instant, all that bitterness vanished from his face, replaced by pure panic, shyness, and, just barely hidden, a flicker of yearning.
Link, whose skill with Legilimency was now almost as natural as Dumbledore's, immediately read Cedric's thoughts.
"No way, no way, Cedric," he gasped, "don't tell me you and Cho haven't..."
Before he could finish, Cedric clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Wh-who says we haven't! We've... already tried it!" Cedric blurted, still trying to sound tough.
Link pried his hand away, unable to stop the grin spreading across his face.
Even Emily, beside him, covered her mouth and giggled, it was rare to see Cedric acting like an awkward teenager.
When Cedric's face turned pale and flushed by turns, looking ready to explode, Link finally composed himself and said seriously, "It's okay, Cedric. Restraint and modesty are admirable virtues for Cho, she's from the East, after all. That's a good thing for you. Don't overthink it."
Cedric slapped Link's hand away, muttering under his breath, face still red, "She's not modest at all."
His voice was quiet, but Link heard him loud and clear.
"What?" Link said in disbelief.
"So you're the modest one? I never would've guessed, Cedric, I didn't know you were that kind of person."
"What's wrong with that?" Cedric shot back angrily.
"That kind of thing is supposed to be the fruit of love! You and Emily can do whatever you want, but I haven't even given Cho a promise yet. What right do I have to do something like that?"
At those words, all laughter instantly stopped.
Link and Emily both looked at Cedric in astonishment.
After a long moment, Emily nodded seriously.
For the first time, the proud Emily truly acknowledged that Cedric deserved to be called the model Hogwarts student, or rather, the perfect young man.
His perfection wasn't just in his magical talent or his intelligence, but in his noble character and deep sense of responsibility.
Just then, as the three stood there in silence, voices of argument suddenly echoed from the far end of the corridor, drawing closer.
They turned and saw Ron Weasley storming toward them.
Unlike usual, Ron's face was filled with anger; his steps were heavy and aggressive, clearly looking for trouble.
He strode right up to Link and said bluntly, "Link Flamel! Didn't you say Percy was sent to the Ministry as an undercover agent for you? Then what's this? Look!"
He pulled out an envelope and made to slap it against Link's chest.
Link didn't move, not even a flinch, because he knew it would never touch him.
Sure enough, before Ron's hand could land, the nearby house-elves, who had been cleaning up, all raised their hands and pointed at him.
House-elves might live humble lives, but technically, they were a type of fae, their magic was by no means weaker than that of ordinary wizards.
A dozen of them releasing power at once froze Ron completely in place; he couldn't move a muscle.
"W–why... are they... listening to you?!" he strained out.
Even just speaking seemed to take all his strength; his face was flushed red, whether from effort or embarrassment.
Link smiled slightly.
"Because I'm a Hufflepuff. And beyond that, I'm also a Hogwarts board member. But most importantly... I'm one of the house-elves' best friends."
He bowed slightly to the elves, who all returned the gesture in unison.
The sight stunned Ron. His lips trembled as if he wanted to speak again, but Cedric stepped forward and said, word by word, "Ron Weasley, you just attempted to attack Link Flamel, Hogwarts Prefect and a member of the school board. I'll be reporting this to Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore!"
"No! This is a misunderstanding! Ron didn't attack Link!"
A familiar voice called from behind, Harry and Hermione came running up, breathless.
"Link, Ron he..."
Link ignored them. He raised a hand to signal for silence, then calmly took the letter from Ron's hand and began to read.
———
[Dear Ron,
I just heard that you've become a Hogwarts Prefect.
Hearing that made me both happy and surprised, congratulations! I must admit, I've always worried you might go down the same road as George and Fred, so you can imagine how relieved I was to learn that you've finally stopped defying authority and have decided to take responsibility.
But Ron, I'm not just writing to congratulate you, I have some advice as well.
That's why I'm sending this letter at night, so you can avoid the morning post rush and read it somewhere private, to spare yourself any embarrassment.
Now, to the point!
You must start distancing yourself from Harry Potter.
I know you're very close to him, and my words might sound strange, but just trust me on one thing,
If you keep hanging around that boy, you're in very real danger of losing your Prefect badge.
This is no exaggeration!
Yes, Harry has always been Dumbledore's favorite, and in theory, that should make him someone to curry favor with.
But Dumbledore's days of calling all the shots are coming to an end!
Believe me on this, I have extremely reliable sources saying that some very powerful people are dissatisfied with Dumbledore and are preparing to strip away his excess authority, forcing him to focus on what he should be doing.
Don't ask me what that means, I'm not entirely sure either.
But soon, Hogwarts will be swept by a terrifying storm.
This will be a carnival for the strong!
A feast for the ambitious!
Ron, it's not that I look down on you, but with your abilities, you won't even have a place at the table, let alone share in the spoils.
You might not even manage to hide under it like a dog, waiting for scraps to fall.
So, Ron, stop spending time with Harry Potter.
Avoid anyone loyal to Dumbledore. Never defy Umbridge.
And most importantly...
Be careful of Link Flamel!!!
Only then will you survive this storm unharmed.
Once again, congratulations on becoming Prefect.
Your brother, Percy]
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