Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 299 Shared Responsibility! Empathetic Respect!

"Dali, what brings you here? Is there something else, or...?"

Hermione was a smart woman. From the moment she saw Dudley enter the classroom, she had a vague idea that Dudley was there for her.

So when Dali called them over, she couldn't help but ask.

However, towards the end of his sentence, he became slightly embarrassed and stammered, falling silent.

Hermione is a proud girl and doesn't like being scolded in front of her friends.

Even if the person is Dudley, and even if what Dudley says makes sense, it will still make her feel uncomfortable.

Dudley saw this and quickly devised a plan to comfort Hermione, speaking to her as follows:

"I came to find you, and it is indeed related to what just happened, but I'm not just targeting you, I'm targeting all three of you!"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed. "Hermione dragged Harry and me to wait for Professor Lockhart in the Great Hall, so how is Harry and me being blamed for this?"

Ron's words earned him a disappointed glare from Dudley, a raised eyebrow and a glare from Hermione, and a pitying look from Harry.

This overloaded Ron's brain, and he scratched the red hair on his head, even more confused.

Seeing this, Dudley looked at his cousin and said, "Harry, you tell Ron what you and Ron did wrong."

"Yes, cousin!"

Harry responded quickly, then thought for a moment and continued, "Ron and I were in the Great Hall earlier. We didn't really want to wait for Professor Lockhart with Hermione, but we agreed because of Hermione's request. We didn't clearly express our thoughts."

“Not this one,” Dali said with a straight face.

Upon hearing this, Harry panicked and his mind raced, replaying what had just happened in his head several times.

Then, tentatively, she asked, "Is it because we didn't remind Hermione that blindly idolizing celebrities is wrong?"

“Not this either.” Dali’s reply remained brief and indifferent.

Harry panicked even more, and after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with anything else.

Seeing this, Ron was also extremely flustered, his expression filled with fear and unease.

Hermione, who was standing to the side, was initially a little upset, especially in the few seconds after hearing Harry's first answer.

But soon, in the increasingly tense atmosphere, her petty emotions vanished, replaced by an anxious desire to help her two friends out of their current predicament.

Dudley allowed the oppressive silence to continue for about a minute.

Then, he suddenly frowned and revealed the answer: "It's responsibility! It's the responsibility to stand with friends through thick and thin! It's the responsibility to dare to shoulder the burden!"

Upon hearing this, Harry suddenly realized what was happening and lowered his head in shame.

Ron was still completely bewildered when he heard this.

Hermione felt even more guilty and remorseful upon hearing this, realizing that she was ultimately to blame.

"Ron, you still haven't figured it out?"

Dudley glared at Ron with exasperation, then spoke up and made things clear, “Courage and responsibility shouldn’t just be shown in matters of principle; they should also be shown in the small things in everyday life!”

It was clearly the three of you who wasted time together in the Great Hall. As soon as I asked, Ron shrank back, while Harry blurted out that it was Hermione's fault.

Is this a sign of taking responsibility?

Whether you liked it or not, now that you've made the decision to wait with Hermione, you should take on this responsibility!

Even if you're facing me, you shouldn't back down and try to shift the blame.

Tell me clearly that you two were waiting for your friends, which is why you wasted some time. Isn't that a valid reason? Can't you convince me?

Would I blame you for this?

Ron understood now and lowered his head in shame.

"I hope you two will take this as a warning. It's not enough to just practice magic without cultivating your mind. Without a strong and responsible character, even if you have immense magical power, you won't be able to control it!"

Dudley summarized Ron and Harry's mistakes in one last sentence, then turned to look at the remorseful Hermione.

"Hermione, it seems you've grasped something."

Dudley then said to Hermione, “It’s your business if you have your own preferences, but you can’t force your friends to have the same preferences as you.”

Friendship requires mutual respect. Today's incident was just a small matter. Your stubbornness made Harry and Ron wait for Lockhart with you, which was not a big deal.

However, you cannot allow your personality and behavior of demanding that your friends accommodate your preferences to grow and become stronger.

I don't want to one day see you, when you disagree with your friends on matters of principle, still throwing a tantrum and unknowingly using friendship as a bargaining chip to force your friends to agree with you.

This is an act that severely damages friendships and relationships!

You've just experienced it firsthand and know that your friends who stand with you on the same side and stand with you through thick and thin bear responsibility!

If you ignore your friends' feelings and disregard the responsibilities they bear for you, your friendship and affection will slowly deteriorate until it reaches zero or even becomes negative, making it difficult to recover.

Dudley's words went straight to the heart of the matter. He was not only working on the regrettable events Hermione had just encountered, but also laying the groundwork and indirectly correcting certain ideas and behaviors Hermione might develop in the future.

Judging from Hermione's expression, she had clearly taken it to heart.

Dudley was about to let Hermione process the issues they had just discussed before addressing her twisted, paranoid, and unhealthy tendency to extend her affections to everything connected to her.

Unexpectedly, Hermione put aside her pride and turned around to apologize to Harry and Ron.

This left Harry and Ron quite embarrassed and bewildered.

After realizing what had happened, he hurriedly apologized to Hermione for his irresponsible behavior.

Seeing this, Dudley was very satisfied and thought Hermione was indeed a promising talent.

But the better the material, the better the carving skill is needed to bring out the maximum value of the material.

Dudley didn't abandon his original plan. After the three children calmed down a bit, he got back to the main topic with Hermione:

"I also want to discuss a principle with you, Hermione."

"Go ahead and speak, Dali! You are more mature than us, and the principles you speak of are very profound."

The point I just made wasn't mentioned in the portraits of Professor Binns, Professor Bubbaggie, and Professor Dumbledore after the curriculum reform; it's something I should learn from.

Hermione overcame her emotional hurdle and switched into her all-knowing, studious mode, treating Dudley's discussion as a valuable opportunity to learn and enrich herself.

Dudley was slightly surprised, and also felt a bit amused and exasperated. He also gained a deeper understanding of Hermione's current curling technique.

Hermione, a first-year student, actually went to take a Muggle Studies elective course that was only offered to third-year students.

Dudley paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing:

"The lesson I'm about to share can be summarized in one sentence: Don't let your affection become excessive!"

In particular, don't blindly project your liking for something onto the person behind it.