Read my new story (ilham20)
Hogwarts : Black family bloodline...
Hogwarts, my partner is Tom…
Hogwarts : He Starts by Deconstructing Avada Kedavra...
In that moment, the air in the Great Hall solidified.
Harry wasn't aware of what had happened. He just saw the black snake preparing to attack Justin and instinctively wanted to stop it. The thought was so strong in his mind that when he opened his mouth, he didn't realize he wasn't speaking English.
"Sya-hasi-heth..." (Leave him...)
Rove's vision instantly turned blood red. Under the System filter, he saw Harry's clear green eyes now churning with black mist. The black snake seemed to hear its master's summons and obediently lowered its head.
"No..."
"It's controlling him... the Ring is controlling him! The Ring-bearer's mental defenses are collapsing!"
The surrounding students recoiled in horror, as if dodging a plague. Justin Finch-Fletchley's face was deathly pale, his legs weak, frozen in place.
"He was egging the snake on!" someone screamed, voice filled with terror.
"Stay away from him! He's a Dark Wizard!"
" The Heir of Slytherin!"
In this moment of spreading fear and panic, only one figure chose to swim against the current.
Rove Baggins threw away the frying pan in his hand; shields were meaningless now. Physical defense could not stop the erosion of the soul—this was now a battle of wills.
He roared like an enraged bear, forcefully breaking through the terrified crowd.
"Wake up! Frodo! Don't listen to that voice!"
Rove rushed onto the stage, grabbed Harry's shoulders with both hands, and began shaking him violently, trying to shake out the shadow clinging to his soul.
"Uh—Rove?" Harry was shaken dizzy, and the strange connection, as if he shared a mind with the snake, snapped instantly. He looked blankly at the contorted face in front of him. "What are you doing? I just told it to go away..."
"Look at me! Harry! Look into my eyes!" Rove didn't listen to his explanation at all. His face was extremely close, flames of anxiety and fear burning in his brown eyes. "Remember who you are! You are Harry of the Shire! You are the boy who lived in the cupboard! Don't let that dark thing occupy your mind! Push it out! Use your willpower to push it out! Don't put it on!"
Harry was shaken like a rattle, his glasses nearly flying off, barely managing to grab the frames. "I... I didn't put anything on... I was just..."
"Hold on! Think of happy things!" Rove shouted. "Think of the feasts at Hogwarts! Think of the moment you caught the Snitch on the Quidditch pitch! Think of the Chocolate Frogs you haven't eaten yet! Think of the cake Hagrid gave you! Don't yield to the shadow! Sauron is watching you!"
The students below stared dumbfounded at this scene: Harry had just spoken terrifying Parseltongue, seemingly urging the snake to bite someone; then Rove rushed up like a madman, frantically shaking the Savior while shouting about "Shire," "Shadow," and "Chocolate Frogs."
"What is he doing?" Ron's mouth was wide open, his wand still pointing at the snake, completely forgotten.
Hermione frowned, her brain whirring, trying to explain the scene. "I think... Rove is helping Harry snap out of it? Like slapping a hysterical person awake? Or... he's trying to distract everyone with this exaggerated method to get Harry out of trouble?"
At this time, the neglected black snake seemed dissatisfied. It raised its head again, flickering its tongue, emitting threatening hisses, preparing to find its next target.
Just as it prepared to bite Rove, who was closest, a black shadow loomed over it.
"Evanesco."
Severus Snape waved his wand, his movement elegant and cold. The black snake turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated in the air.
Snape put away his wand, his deep, hollow black eyes scanning back and forth between Harry and Rove.
> [Warning: Saruman is performing a Soul Scan]
> [Passive Skill Triggered: Elven Cloak presence reduction failed]
> [Threat Level: Extremely High (Boss-level Attention)]
> [System Suggestion: Evacuate immediately to avoid further exposure]
Rove immediately released Harry, stepped forward, and shielded Harry with his own body.
"He didn't lose control, Professor," Rove panted, speaking loudly. "He's just too tired. That thing... the power of the Dark Artifact is too strong; he was just temporarily lost for a moment. He is fighting the Dark Lord with his willpower; he is a hero, not a monster! He is carrying the burden for all of us!"
Snape's eyebrows raised high, a sneer curling his lips.
"Dark Artifact? Dark Lord?" Snape repeated with a voice full of malice. "Mr. Baggins, your imagination is as... fertile as ever. One might even call it pathological. Mr. Potter was speaking to a venomous snake just now, in a language we all understood—Parseltongue. If you call that 'fighting the Dark Lord,' then I have to question whether your mental state is suitable for remaining at Hogwarts."
"That was a whisper! A temptation!" Rove retorted unflinchingly, his hand still firmly protecting Harry. "You only heard the surface, but I saw his struggle on the edge of the abyss! If any of you carried such a burden, you would have collapsed long ago! You have no idea what he is facing!"
Whispers broke out in the hall; the originally one-sided wind of fear began to shift subtly.
"What is Rove talking about?"
"What burden?"
"Is Harry carrying something we don't know about?"
"Could that scar... actually be a seal containing some monster?"
Rove's words, though sounding crazy and full of chuunibyou, miraculously created a misleading effect. Young wizards were always willing to believe stories of mystery and tragic heroes. Under Rove's description, Harry's terrifying Parseltongue just now seemed to become a "painful groan while struggling against the evil power within."
Justin Finch-Fletchley was still shaken, but the look he gave Harry changed from pure fear to a complex mix of suspicion and confusion. "You... were you saving me just now? Or telling it to bite me?"
"I told it to go away!" Harry gasped, his heart sinking as he looked at the terrified faces around him. "I just told it to go away! I didn't want to hurt you!"
"I knew it!" Rove chimed in immediately, turning to shout at Justin. "Did you hear that? He was trying to control the situation! Even while being corroded by darkness, he still tried to protect you! What willpower that takes! If it were you, Justin, you'd have turned into Gollum long ago!"
Justin blinked in confusion, clearly his CPU fried, completely not understanding what "Gollum" was, but it sounded formidable.
"Alright!" Lockhart suddenly jumped out, breaking the deadlock, obviously not wanting all the limelight stolen. "Excellent! Though a bit... unexpected! Looks like today's meeting ends here! Everyone disperse! Disperse! Remember to buy my books; there are detailed chapters on how to deal with dangerous creatures!"
The crowd began to stir, the original fear replaced by eerie confusion. As everyone walked out, they looked back at the strange quartet—Harry, pale and bewildered; Rove, vigilant as a startled bird; Ron, whispering comfort to Harry; and Hermione, wearing an expression of "So that's it, no wonder!"
"Go." Rove grabbed Harry's wrist. "It's not safe here. Saruman's spies are everywhere. We need to find a safe place... to purify your soul. And we need a war council."
Harry stumbled as he was dragged out. Ron and Hermione hurriedly followed.
Only when they returned to the familiar portrait of the Fat Lady at the Gryffindor common room did Rove breathe a sigh of relief.
"Rove, what did you mean just now?" Harry leaned against the wall, asking quietly, his voice full of unease and self-doubt. "What Black Speech? What Dark Lord? I just spoke English... at least I thought it was English..."
Rove stopped and looked back at Harry. His eyes were filled with pity and heartache, like Gandalf looking at Frodo, who was wasting away under the Ring's torture.
"That is the terror of it, Harry." Rove sighed heavily, patting Harry's shoulder. "You don't even know what you are saying. It is subliminally changing you, twisting your perception. But don't fear... as long as I am here, I won't let you fight alone."
He pulled a slightly melted, misshapen piece of chocolate from his pocket and solemnly pressed it into Harry's hand.
"Eat this. It is Elven medicine (actually Honeydukes chocolate snatched from the dinner table). It can dispel shadows and restore Sanity. I will help you, I swear. As long as I have breath, I won't let Sauron take you."
Harry held the sticky chocolate, feeling the warmth from his palm. Looking into Rove's overly sincere eyes, he suddenly felt that having a crazy friend who thought he was a Savior seemed more of a headache—but also more reassuring—than the fact that he could speak Parseltongue.
At least, on this night when everyone treated him like a monster, there was one person who treated him like a hero in need of saving!