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Realizing that Harry, Fleur, and I were truly considering returning the prize of one thousand Galleons to Fudge, Ron became absolutely outraged.
To him, that decision was nothing short of sheer, incomprehensible foolishness.
He felt that we were acting on impulse or emotion, and that because of it we were about to commit what could possibly be the greatest mistake of our lives.
And what seemed to irritate him even more was the fact that the three of us appeared completely relaxed, as if this were no big deal. As if those thousand Galleons were nothing more than loose change forgotten in a pocket.
Even Sirius and Hermione seemed unconcerned about the matter.
That left him stunned.
But, at the same time, it gave him the clear sensation that he was the only sensible person in the room.
A sudden sense of responsibility seized him, and Ron could no longer stand by. He decided that he needed to "enlighten" us.
And that was how his passionate speech began.
For nearly five uninterrupted minutes, he spoke without taking a single pause to rest or catch his breath, pacing back and forth with such intensity that I was genuinely worried he wear a hole into the floor.
With a serious and almost dignified expression, the redhead listed all the things that could be done with that money. He also spoke of how deeply that prize was desired by countless people, and how absurd it would be to simply discard it.
According to him, returning the Galleons was practically a financial crime.
While Ron gave us what he certainly believed to be a masterclass on monetary responsibility — which, in reality, was nothing more than him venting all of his frustrations and indignation — we simply watched him.
From his words and the frustrated gleam in his eyes, it was obvious to us that he was disappointed in us.
But, considering his situation, that was perfectly understandable.
As someone who came from a family that had always faced financial hardship, our apparent disregard for those Galleons must have sounded like heresy to him.
So knowing that, none of us thought he was exaggerating or being dramatic.
Even so, our decision remained unchanged. We had no intention whatsoever of accepting that prize.
Our reality was different from Ron's. The money he valued so highly was not something we lacked. And besides, we still harbored a certain resentment toward the Ministry — which gave us yet another reason to turn it down.
While Ron continued his lecture, Harry, Fleur, and I exchanged glances.
On our faces were amused and exasperated expressions.
We then held a silent conversation among ourselves and, after reaching an agreement, turned back to face the agitated redhead.
Calmly, Harry took a step forward.
"Ron," the green-eyed boy called.
Unfortunately, Ron was too immersed in his own indignation to hear us.
Pressing his lips together, Harry shook his head in irony, before trying again.
"RON!" he almost shouted.
"What?" Ron finally stopped, turning toward him.
Instead of saying anything, Harry simply took the pouch from Sirius' hand and, not giving Ron time to react, walked up to him and placed the blue money pouch in his arms before stepping back.
"Huh?"
Blinking several times, Ron stared at the pouch in his arms, completely confused.
Raising his head, he looked at us with a question in his eyes.
"Keep the thousand Galleons. They're yours," Harry replied naturally.
As soon as those words left the green-eyed boy's mouth, a stunned silence fell over the room.
Ron was frozen, mouth agape.
His mind was clearly working frantically, trying to process what he had just heard.
...
...
...
"What?!"
After recovering from his initial shock, that was the first and only thing the redhead managed to say.
His eyes were wide open, shifting his gaze between the coin pouch in his hands and us.
"You... you're joking, right?" he let out a laugh that sounded both nervous and incredulous.
"You're not really giving me these... thousand... thousand..." he paused, unable to stop himself from glancing once more at the pouch.
Unconsciously, he swallowed hard.
"...a thousand Galleons... are you?"
"We're not joking," Harry replied firmly, "We really are giving it to you."
"Exactly," I added, smiling lightly at the Weasley boy, "Congratulations, Ron. You're now the proud owner of a small fortune!"
"But this... this..." Ron grimaced, not knowing what to say. At that moment, he seemed to be having an internal battle.
Seeing his hesitation, Harry immediately understood what was going through his head.
To prevent his friend from continuing down that line of thought, he quickly spoke again.
"Ron, I know what you're thinking," he began calmly, "This money isn't charity or anything like that. You and your family have helped me so much when I needed it most, so this is my way of showing my gratitude to you."
"And like you said yourself, returning this money to the Minister would be a waste. So instead of throwing these Galleons away, it's much better to give them to you."
Ron fell silent, lost in thought. Though he still hesitated, the firm resistance that had filled his eyes moments before was no longer there.
Noticing that, Harry decided to strike while the iron was still hot.
"Besides, in a way this prize also belongs to you, Hermione, and Luna."
Saying that, Harry cast a glance at the two Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw girl, who blinked in surprise.
"Ours?" Ron pointed to himself in confusion.
"Of course!" Harry nodded emphatically, "Without you, I wouldn't have made it past even the first task. So it wouldn't be wrong to say that we won the tournament as a team... the six of us."
"And in that case, since neither Ethan, Fleur, nor I want this money, then it goes to the three of you to divide among yourselves."
"Oh, no. I'll pass," Hermione refused quickly, raising her hands.
"Me too," Luna said. She then paused, tapping a finger against her chin, "Hmm, but if this prize were a hundred pots of pudding, I would accept it."
"You do know that with this money you can buy more than a hundred pots of pudding, right?" Ron looked at her strangely.
"Nah, it's not the same thing," Luna shook her head.
Ron: "???"
Knowing that arguing logic with Luna was a lost battle, Ron gave up.
His gaze then fell back onto the pouch in his hands.
It was a simple object, but he knew that it could change his life and his family's for the better.
While Ron pondered whether to accept those Galleons or not, I cast a glance at Harry, who calmly awaited his friend's choice.
'Hmm, it seems Harry's eloquence has improved quite a bit,' I thought, mildly satisfied.
In the past, he would have simply shoved the money into Ron's hands and said he didn't want it.
But now he could even build a solid argument around it. He knew exactly what to say to make his proud and stubborn friend consider accepting the money without feeling as though it were charity... or worse, pity.
'I'm actually very proud of him... my little lion if finally thinking ahead'
Then, setting that aside, I refocused on the present moment.
Ron remained with his head lowered, frowning with an intense and thoughtful expression.
But after a few seconds that felt longer than they should have, he finally seemed to have made his decision.
With a sigh, he looked back at us.
"I'm sorry... but I can't accept this money," he said, returning the pouch to Harry.
As if he had already expected it, Harry simply accepted the pouch back without protest.
Even so, he could not help making one last attempt.
"Are you sure about that?" he asked.
"Yes. I am," Ron nodded firmly, a resolute gleam in his eyes.
Harry sighed lightly.
"All right then..."
He knew very well how determined and stubborn his red-haired friend was. When he made a decision, he followed through with it to the end.
So he respectfully accepted his choice.
And I, seeing that, could not help but look at Ron with a new kind of respect.
The fact that he did not become furious or feel humiliated when Harry offered him that money showed that he had truly matured.
And his refusal also showed that greed — once one of his most obvious flaws — was no longer a problem.
He had overcome it.
I was not the only one who noticed.
Hermione was looking at her two best friends with a relieved and satisfied smile... like a proud mother.
Stepping closer to them, she gently held Harry's hand while placing her other hand on Ron's shoulder in support.
Watching the Golden Trio before me, I smiled softly.
I realized that they were no longer the impulsive and emotionally unstable youths I once knew. Now they truly seemed like a united, sensible, and responsible team.
And I could tell that here, right in front of me, true leaders were taking shape.
The kind of leaders who would serve as pillars for this new generation of witches and wizards.
'It seems that all my effort over these four years is finally bearing fruit,' I thought, giving myself a mental pat on the back.
And, for the first time in a long while, I felt that the future was in good hands.
End.
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