Hoare thought that as long as he didn't say anything, the rumors would quickly die down. To his surprise, the rumors grew more and more outrageous.

"Say that again?" Hoare couldn't help but scratch his ear, clearly shocked by the absurd news he had just heard.

Ron forced himself to suppress his fear, glaring at Hoare with anger. Just as he was about to speak, Harry beat him to it.

"Hahaha, I don't really believe it, but Ron kind of does, so I wanted to ask you," Harry said, his voice trailing off to the point where Hoare could barely hear him, probably out of embarrassment.

Hoare looked at Harry, then at Ron. This brother was beyond saving; better to just toss him aside.

Harry gathered his courage and shouted, "The school rumor is that you're Voldemort's illegitimate child! That's why the entire Slytherin house follows your lead!"

Hoare...

Today was Halloween, and the Great Hall was beautifully decorated with various pumpkins and all the ghosts floating around.

At this moment, the three of them stood at the entrance of the Great Hall, amidst the bustling crowd.

With Harry's shout, everyone froze, their eyes all turning to Hoare.

"Where the hell did this ridiculous rumor come from?!" Hoare was almost laughing in anger.

He turned to look at Ron. How could Ron believe something so absurd?! They had practically come out of Molly's womb one after the other!

Hoare couldn't help but ask the system in his mind, "Can I exchange for a brain for Ron?"

[Ding]

[Exchange failed]

"You believe this? Such an outrageous thing! You believe it?" Hoare tried hard to keep his voice from rising too high.

Ron, frightened by Hoare's slightly ferocious expression, took a step back.

His voice twisted involuntarily.

"I believe~ it."

Ron's two words infuriated Hoare, who pounced on Ron like a hungry wolf and gave him a good beating.

It was one-sided; Ron was beaten black and blue without any ability to fight back.

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In the end, it was Professor McGonagall who appeared and forcibly separated the two.

"Henry William, Ron Weasley!"

"Five points from Slytherin and Gryffindor each!"

"For fighting in public!"

Even though Hoare quickly pulled Ron over, pretending they were just play-fighting like good brothers, it couldn't stop Professor McGonagall from deducting points.

Hoare looked at Ron with resentment, then snorted coldly and turned to enter the Great Hall first.

It was all because of Ron; otherwise, he wouldn't have lost points.

At home, he knew to protect the weak (Hoare), but once at Hogwarts, he just followed the crowd.

Inside the Great Hall.

A thousand bats fluttered around the walls and ceiling.

Clusters of low clouds swirled above the tables, causing the candle flames inside the pumpkins to flicker.

The school's ghosts suddenly appeared from the walls and tables, laughing and mocking every student they scared.

"Hmph! Lucky you ran fast, or you'd be in trouble!" Ron clenched his fist and swung it forward twice.

Harry covered his face, unable to watch. He had tried to stop Hoare from beating Ron, but Hoare had just brushed him aside.

Seeing the two of them with similar builds, he hadn't expected Henry to be so strong, knocking him off balance with a single push.

It was understandable that Ron couldn't fight back.

"Ron, let's go in too. I'll give you some potion tonight, and it'll be gone by tomorrow," Harry comforted.

Ron continued to mutter, "I could actually beat Henry, but my subconscious told me not to fight back, or something bad would happen."

He shivered, "The way Henry hit me just now was exactly like Hoare!"

It really was similar, except Henry was much stronger than Hoare, Ron recalled Hoare's style of hitting him.

The moves were the same, but at least Ron could resist; just now, he really couldn't!

He was completely overpowered, and Ron felt aggrieved.

"Hoare?" Harry asked curiously, "Your brother is like Henry?"

"Not in appearance, but in feeling..."

The two chatted as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Meanwhile, over at the Slytherin table, Draco was nearly laughing himself off his seat at the sight of Ron's bruised face.

Hoare glared at Draco, knowing full well that this person was partly responsible for the increasingly ridiculous rumors.

"You should hold back," Blaise, sitting nearby, advised Hoare, seeing his increasingly dark expression.

"Hahahaha, Blaise, look back at that Weasley's face, hahaha why didn't Potter get beaten up!" Draco couldn't stop laughing.

Hoare, sitting across from him, quietly said, "Harry didn't, but do you want to?"

Draco quickly covered his mouth, sat up straight, and faced the main table, pretending to be a good student waiting for the professors to arrive.

---

Today was a holiday, and the food was noticeably more luxurious and abundant than usual. Hoare was eating happily, a chicken leg in one hand and a pure fruit drink in the other.

Recently, he had been working nonstop, feeling like he had lost a lot of weight. If he didn't eat more to replenish himself, how could he help others in class or play as a Quidditch starter?

You see, Snape had already started thinking about making Hoare an assistant for all seven years, having him take on more work.

That way, Snape could apply to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

His reason was that his current workload was very light, and he could easily handle two subjects.

Fortunately, Dumbledore didn't agree.

Hoare thought that if Dumbledore had agreed, he would have gone to the Ministry of Magic's labor arbitration committee to protest!

Doing the hardest work for the least pay!

This deal, Hoare would never agree to.

If the pay increased to be similar to that of Hogwarts staff, then he might consider it.

As everyone was enjoying the feast.

"Bang"!!!

The tightly closed doors of the Great Hall were slammed open by someone, and it turned out to be their long-lost friend Quirrell.

Quirrell shouted, "Troll in the dungeons! I thought you should know..." and then fainted with his eyes closed.

Upon hearing this, the Great Hall descended into chaos.

In the end, it was Dumbledore who used the Sonorus Charm to organize the students' movements.

Hoare saw Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table sneaking out of the line.

He frowned and quickly followed.

What on earth was Quirrell up to?

In Hoare's memory, Quirrell did this to draw the professors away so he could have time to search for the Philosopher's Stone.

But now, the 0.1 Voldemort on the back of his head was gone, so why was he still taking such risks, doing something so suspicious?

Hoare couldn't figure out Quirrell's intentions.

Could it be that Quirrell had really gone mad, and his thoughts were just different from normal people?

Countless possibilities flashed through Hoare's mind, but he dismissed them one by one.

He knew Ron and Harry were probably heading to the girls' bathroom to find Hermione.

However, as he was about to approach the girls' bathroom, he heard a dull sound coming from behind him.

The sound was very grating, like something heavy being dragged across the floor.

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