The next day, the sky over Hogwarts was gloomy, heavy dark clouds hanging low over the turrets as if threatening to crush them at any moment. The atmosphere inside the castle was even worse than the weather.
For Harry, Hermione, and Rove, this wasn't just about losing points. They had lost the goodwill of the entire world.
> [System Environment: The Exiled Court of the Steward of Gondor.]
> [Current Reputation: Hated.]
> [Status: Public Enemy of the School.]
When Rove walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, the hostility manifested as a tangible chill wind, stinging his face.
The Hufflepuff table was usually filled with laughter, the aroma of toast, and the chatter of students gossiping. But the moment Rove walked in, the noise cut off as if strangled.
He walked to his usual seat. The first-years sitting nearby scattered like he was the source of a plague, grabbing their plates and fleeing to the other end of the table in panic, leaving Rove sitting alone in the corner.
The hourglass that had once been filled with gleaming yellow gems was now empty, with only a few pitiful stones rattling at the bottom.
"That's him."
"The guy who ruined our points for the whole semester."
"He still has the nerve to come eat? If I were him, I'd find a hole to crawl into."
"I heard he's in with that Potter, always breaking school rules."
Whispers buzzed in his ears like flies. Even passing Slytherin students were clapping gloatingly.
Rove sat down expressionlessly, picked up his knife and fork, and cut into the sausage on his plate.
"Forgive them," Rove told himself internally. "They do not know under whose protection they live. A Ranger bleeds in the wild not for praise, but so the people of the Shire can enjoy their second breakfast in peace."
> [Willpower Check: Passed.]
> [Buff Acquired: [The Lonely Watcher] (Willpower +1, Resistance to Gossip +50%).]
Just then, he looked up to check the situation at the Gryffindor table.
Harry and Hermione were in an even worse state than him. Hufflepuff was at least relatively mild (mostly cold violence and ignoring him), but the Gryffindors were openly furious. Whenever Harry walked by, some people would loudly mock him as "The Star Seeker," and others would deliberately bump his shoulder as they passed.
Harry kept his head down, wishing he could bury his face in his porridge bowl. Hermione's eyes were swollen like walnuts; clearly, she had cried under her covers all night.
Rove wiped his mouth, picked up his pumpkin juice, and stood up.
He walked across the aisle between the two long tables. Under countless gazes of surprise and hostility, he walked straight to the Gryffindor table and sat down heavily opposite Harry.
"Good morning, Harry."
Harry jerked his head up, looking at him in surprise. "Rove? You... you shouldn't come here. Everyone is watching..."
"Don't speak." Rove raised a hand to stop him. "I know what you want to say. 'Sorry for getting you involved'... Swallow those words, Harry."
He glanced at the empty seat next to Harry. "Where's Ron? Still in the Hospital Wing?"
"Yeah." Harry's voice was low and filled with guilt. "Madam Pomfrey said his hand is swollen like rising dough. Norbert's teeth were poisonous. He wanted to come out and eat with us, but Madam Pomfrey pinned him back down."
"That is a warrior's medal." Rove pulled a clean handkerchief from his robes and handed it to Hermione, who was secretly wiping away tears. "Tell him to rest well."
Hermione paused, looking up at Rove.
"This is war, my lady." Rove looked at Hermione's red, swollen eyes. "In war, misunderstanding is a weapon sharper than Orc blades. If we fall apart ourselves, who will stand against the darkness?"
Hermione took the handkerchief in a daze, and the tears that were about to spill over actually stopped.
"But... everyone hates us," Harry said painfully, his voice choking up. "Wood won't even talk to me. And tonight at eleven, we have detention."
"Where?" Rove asked, knowing the answer.
"The Forbidden Forest," Hermione said tremblingly, her voice full of fear. "Filch said Hagrid will be waiting for us there. And Neville... oh god, Neville just wanted to warn us, and he got caught too. And Malfoy, Professor McGonagall said 'wandering around at midnight is also against the rules' and punished him too."
"The Forbidden Forest..." Rove narrowed his eyes.
> [Mission Preview: Into Mirkwood]
> [Primary Objective: Assist the Skin-Changer (Hagrid) in investigating the source of darkness.]
> [Secondary Objective: Protect the Ring-Bearer from being devoured by dark creatures.]
> [Companions: Ring-Bearer (Harry), Elven Scholar (Hermione), and two deadweights.]
"Rove, aren't you scared?" Harry looked at Rove's still calm face and couldn't help asking. "Everyone hates us now. Even Hufflepuff is ignoring you."
"That is because they are mortals." Rove took a bite of a green apple he grabbed from the table. "Mortals only see the loss of points, not the approach of the Shadow. But we are different."
"Remember, Harry. I am your gardener, and your sword. No matter what happens, no matter how the world spits on us, I will accompany you to the end. Even if it is to Mount Doom."
Harry looked into Rove's eyes. Although he didn't understand "gardener" or "Mount Doom," the feeling of being firmly chosen and unconditionally supported made his heart beat again.
On this morning when the whole world had turned its back on him, a strange friend stood firmly by his side.
"Thank you, Rove." Harry sniffed, genuinely touched this time.
Just then, an unexpected figure walked over.
It was Susan Bones.
Her face was flushed, and she was holding a steaming cup of pumpkin juice with honey. Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes in the school, she walked through the no-man's-land of the Hufflepuff table and marched firmly to Rove's side.
"For you, Rove." Her voice was trembling, clearly nervous to the extreme, but the hand holding the cup was steady. "I don't think you did anything wrong. You... you must have your reasons. I believe in you."
The hall erupted in an uproar. Even the mocking laughter from the Slytherin side stopped for a moment.
Rove looked at Susan in surprise.
Under the System filter, Susan at this moment looked like an Elven maiden handing over the Phial of Galadriel in the darkness.
> [Item Acquired: Gift of Galadriel (Special Pumpkin Juice).]
> [Effect: Restores massive Sanity, removes [Lonely] status, minor increase to all stats.]
"Thank you, Susan." Rove stood up and took the cup, smiling genuinely. "May the stars shine upon your path forever."
Susan's face turned completely red, like a ripe tomato. She nodded flusteredly, turned, ran back to the Hufflepuff table, and buried her head in her arms.
Although the hostility around them remained, the suffocating frost seemed to have cracked open slightly.
Rove raised his cup to Harry and Hermione.
"To the exiles."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and raised their cups too. Although Hermione's eyes still glistened with tears, and Harry's hand still shook a little, a trace of a smile finally appeared on their faces.
"To the exiles."
Of course, this "spiritual victory" couldn't change the fact that they were facing detention soon.
But at least they were no longer fighting alone.