"I agree with Hermione. No one should have unchecked power."
Ron cut in, sounding much calmer than before. "It's like... like a Quidditch match. You can't just pull out your wand and curse an opposing Beater because he's especially nasty, always fouls, and keeps getting away with it. The whole game would turn into chaos, and in the end, there wouldn't even be a game anymore, just a brawl."
He snapped his fingers. "Rules are rules, even if they're sometimes enforced terribly."
"But what if the referee is blind, Ron?"
Harry turned to him, his tone no longer angry. "What if the referee's been bribed, or is simply afraid of that Beater?"
He spoke calmly. "Once fairness disappears from the pitch, the game itself loses its meaning. And honestly, I'd rather watch them fight than sit through an unfair match."
"I'm not saying Professor Greengrass handled everything perfectly. I'm saying... in that situation, I understand him. And honestly, when I saw those Death Eaters lose the ability to hurt others, the first thing I felt was... happiness and relief. Is that awful? Maybe. But that's how I truly felt."
Hermione let out a soft sigh. "I felt relieved too, Harry. Don't misunderstand me. When I saw the Professor turn them into Muggles, I also felt relief, because I knew they could never cast another evil spell."
She looked up, her eyes sincere. "But that's exactly what frightens me. It's far too easy for people to accept, forgive, and grow used to things they should fear. I'm afraid that in our hatred of one kind of evil, we might unknowingly pave the way for another form of tyranny."
Leaning forward slightly, her tone became even more earnest.
"We have to be able to acknowledge two things at the same time. First, Professor Greengrass's actions protected more people in the short term. Second, the methods he used contain enormous danger, and even his own situation is extremely dangerous."
Harry fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding.
"You're right."
To Hermione's surprise, Harry actually agreed with her.
"It's a trap of both thought and action, a steep slope that could drag us from one extreme to the other."
He admitted quietly, "I can't deny what you're saying, Hermione, but I also can't fully agree with it. Because we can't just stand there and watch more people suffer simply because we're afraid things might get worse."
He shook his head, as though weighing two unbearable choices.
"We can only choose what seems less unbearable right now between two dangerous options. The Professor made his choice, even knowing the risks you talked about. And I understand that you've chosen a different path. You've chosen to defend principles, even if that means enduring certain evils for now... Maybe your choice is braver than any of ours."
"I hate this choice too," Hermione said softly. "Because this isn't really a choice between right and wrong. It's a choice between bad and worse. No matter what we choose, we lose something important."
"Yeah," Harry whispered. "I think that's the hardest part. There isn't a perfect answer. The Professor stopped an immediate disaster, but he may also have planted the seeds of another disaster in the future. You're right, Hermione. We have to see both sides at the same time."
"And the most important thing is that it's not just us who see it now," Hermione said seriously. "So many people witnessed what he did. What are they going to think? Will they fear him? Doubt him? Or will they agree with him and follow him?"
"Maybe the Professor doesn't care at all," Ron interjected again.
He offered another possibility. "Maybe he's already seen through everything and just wants to walk his own path..."
The compartment fell silent once more, the heavy atmosphere almost suffocating.
After a long while, Hermione finally spoke in a near whisper.
"I can't... I absolutely can't just stand by and watch him become another enemy we'll have to fight someday..."
She stared out of the window, her gaze seeming to pierce through the glass toward that somewhat unfamiliar figure.
"We can't enjoy the protection and peace he gives us while turning away and doing nothing if he starts to lose his path."
She turned back toward Harry and Ron, her eyes exceptionally firm.
"We have to do something!"
Those words, like an invisible spell, broke the stalemate.
"If we only rely on his power, yet retreat in fear whenever he uses it, then we're no different from those Death Eaters."
"Hermione, don't say that," Ron quickly interrupted. "The Professor definitely isn't going to become another You-Know-Who..."
"Hermione's right," Harry said, his voice growing steady as well. "We can't just sit here arguing about right and wrong. If we truly believe his power needs restraint, then we shouldn't just stand by as spectators."
"You mean... we ask him?"
Ron sounded hesitant. "Go straight to Professor Greengrass and say, 'Hey, Professor, we think your power's too dangerous, could you maybe explain your thoughts to us?' That doesn't sound... very workable."
"Of course not like that, Ron."
Hermione immediately cut in, speaking quickly. "We can't approach a wizard who just saved countless people with suspicion and judgement. That would be not only rude, but foolish. What we need is... dialogue."
She carefully chose her words. "We need to understand his intentions. What has he seen that we haven't? Does he realise the risks he's taking? What are his plans for the future? We have to see him first as a leader walking a dangerous path, not as some potential enemy."
"Talk?"
A drawn-out, mocking voice came from the compartment doorway. "And with whom? Professor Greengrass? I thought I was about to hear some incredible plan, and this is all it amounts to?"
Draco Malfoy leaned lazily against the doorframe, the familiar sneer already on his face.
He had clearly overheard most of the conversation.
"And what's your brilliant idea, Malfoy?" Ron snapped immediately.
"Relax, Weasley."
Malfoy slowly stepped into the compartment, completely ignoring Ron's glare as his eyes swept across the three of them. "I was just passing by and happened to overhear some people greatly overestimating themselves, discussing matters they're completely incapable of understanding."
He smirked at Harry. "Potter, and you too, Granger, you really do love pretending to be heroes, don't you? Now you're even worrying about whether the Professor should use his power? How touching."
Hermione immediately shot back, "This has nothing to do with pretending to be heroes, Malfoy. No power should—"
"—be unchecked?"
Malfoy interrupted her coldly. "Spare me the childish speeches, Granger. You simply don't understand."
He took a step forward, a sharp gleam flashing in his grey eyes. "What Professor Greengrass did is how this world truly works. Magic is power, and power is truth. He proved that clearly and decisively. And now you're discussing whether he should be put in chains?"
He sneered. "How ridiculous. Like three chattering garden gnomes discussing how to control a giant."
He looked at them with open disdain. "His power far exceeds anything you can imagine, and his decisiveness is something the three of you will never possess. He did what everyone else was too afraid to do, and your first reaction is fear and doubt? Pathetic."
Harry and Hermione were both momentarily silenced by Malfoy's blatant belief that might made right, and the atmosphere inside the compartment instantly became tense.
The fragile camaraderie they had built while clearing dungeons together last semester vanished in an instant.
Yet unexpectedly, Ron did not explode in anger this time. He merely raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, really?"
Ron looked at Malfoy as though studying some strange creature. "Sounds to me like you're Professor Greengrass's biggest fan, Malfoy. So according to your new theory that 'power is truth'..."
He deliberately paused before asking with exaggerated seriousness, "Has House Malfoy already abandoned its old goals and rushed over to pledge loyalty? Because I don't remember seeing your father standing among the Professor's followers."
Malfoy's face instantly flushed red before turning even paler than usual.
He opened his mouth, only to realise that any response he could give would sound weak.
The disgrace of House Malfoy's past had been thrown straight back in his face by Ron using the very logic he himself had just preached, leaving him speechless.
"You... how dare you..." Malfoy's voice trembled with fury as his fists clenched tightly.
"Did I say anything wrong?"
Ron shrugged, looking almost innocent. "Because from the way you're talking, it really sounds like you're desperate to find yourself a new master."
Malfoy glared viciously at Ron, his chest rising and falling sharply.
But unexpectedly, he quickly calmed himself down, and that mocking smile returned to his face.
"Heh, and why shouldn't I?"
Malfoy looked at the three of them with a half-smile, as though he had regained control of the conversation. "Don't tell me you lot don't want to join the Professor's side as well? Or is it..."
He deliberately dragged out his words, his tone filled with provocation and mock pity.
"Are you arrogant enough to believe that one day, you'll have the courage and strength to raise your wands against Professor Greengrass?"
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