is so heartbreaking.

Edmund wanted to applaud himself as soon as he said it. He felt great about himself, thinking it was a brilliant sarcasm.

But seeing that Lily remained speechless for a while, he felt a little embarrassed.

"Uh, I'm sorry," he said as sincerely as possible, but his tone was still light and indifferent.

"I didn't really mean it that way, to mock you or to dislike you... If I've hurt your feelings, then I'm truly sorry."

Lily's large, green eyes trembled, as if she had barely regained her senses. Her face was extremely pale, and her lips moved, but she didn't speak.

After she composed herself and swallowed all her weakness, she spoke in a trembling voice:

"So...so you mean, Avery...he's a racist? He used offensive language on me, discriminated against me, and hated me?"

Tsk.

Edmund realized that he had gotten himself into trouble because of his quick wit, and he had to explain to Lily Evans the intricacies that were not taught in textbooks.

But whatever, it doesn't matter.

"Generally speaking, we—oh, I mean the wizards in the magical world—call people like Avery 'pure-blood advocates' or 'pure-blood theorists.'"

Edmund stared directly into Lily's astonished eyes.

"Yes, yes, that's right. These kinds of people may not be the 'vast majority,' but they're not uncommon either... Actually, I could add an example, but that would most likely cause me trouble. I hope you understand what I mean."

To be honest, Edmund wasn't afraid of trouble.

But he just likes to make things difficult for others, he likes to speak in a cryptic way, and he won't give the other person much respect until they guess the correct answer.

"Slytherin..."

Lily Evans was certainly not stupid; her weak tone did not prevent her from guessing the correct answer.

"I...I don't understand...this is so strange."

A flame seemed to ignite in those green eyes, like a raging inferno. But when Darmond looked closely, that fervent fighting spirit vanished.

"Is this true? I simply can't comprehend it, Edmund... I'm not trying to doubt you, but... Severus told me that those pure-blood families in Slytherin are just exceptionally conservative and refuse to accept new things... I..."

Edmund grinned.

He hesitated between immediately undermining Snape and leaving a few nails in the coffin, thus damaging the friendship.

"I understand," Edmund said politely, making sure his tone was sympathetic enough.

"Of course I understand, you'd be more willing to believe him! Who would want to believe that nearly a quarter of the students in a school hate them?"

How amazing! This girl's complexion can even be whiter.

"And I don't blame Snape for saying that. Although he tried his best to hide it, those in our house who were paying attention to him were basically certain that he was a half-blood... Snape's situation was also very difficult. If he hadn't shown his talent in Potions class, he probably would have been in deep trouble by now."

Lily covered her mouth, and strangely enough, that anger—that anger that seemed capable of destroying everything—was reignited.

That's true. A good person like her naturally cares more about her friends than herself.

"I feel I have to emphasize this to you: I don't support the idea of ​​pure blood; I think it's incredibly stupid."

Edmund raised his hands and gave a fawning smile.

"But I guess I've pissed you off... Are you alright? You, uh, you're not going to take the magazine back, are you? I really like the illustrations that are basically about space."

He spoke with a mix of seriousness and amusement, tugging at Lily's emotions.

The little witch had never dealt with someone like him before, and his interruption felt like being doused with a bucket of cold water.

Lily shook her head reluctantly, indicating that she wouldn't do that. Edmund nodded happily, preparing to excuse himself and slip away, citing "to avoid making you even more agitated."

But the red lion in front of him... wasn't about to let him go.

"...Why were you laughing just now?"

Edmund paused for a moment upon hearing this, almost thinking that she was about to vent her anger on someone and was going to bring up old grievances with him.

"I mean... tell me why Avery smiled with that expression before saying that word?"

Lily looked up with a very strange expression on her face. She looked more like a paladin about to draw his sword than a witch, which startled Edmund.

"Uh? Oh, let me think about it." Edmund quickly came up with an idea.

"Do you really have to listen? I don't think it will do you any good. The truth is often like this, and it will only make you angrier and more creeped out."

Edmund.

"I understand," he replied obediently.

"Oh, that's when I realized that James and the others really didn't tell you about the conflict that day, so as someone involved, you had no idea what was going on and couldn't tell who was the enemy and who was the friend."

Lily shifted uncomfortably.

Edmund, however, started talking and began to laugh again—because it was indeed funny, wasn't it?

"You just told me you wanted to go to the professor to stop the bullying. I think you're amazing. This isn't just flattery or trying to comfort you; I genuinely think you're a very upright person. Even though James is in the same department as you, and Avery is just an annoying bystander, you still insist on doing the right thing."

"Of course, cough, that's one of the reasons I laughed: although his individual heroism is incredibly stupid and his methods are quite childish and low-level, he is indeed standing up for you, doing it 'for your own good' in his own way."

Edmund wasn't sure if he really saw tears in those green eyes, but he decided to ignore them.

"I'm not trying to condemn you, but this is my feeling: in the wizarding world, there is no such thing as an 'absolutely correct' standard. It's a good thing to have your own standards when most people just follow the crowd."

"However, most wizards usually assume that whichever side has more voices is right."

"But once the side with fewer people becomes louder—once a few strong voices emerge that contradict common sense, the majority will start to waver."

"Perhaps I shouldn't be telling you these things. You can't change them, yet you're forced to bear the consequences."

"You're a strong girl, and you might want to talk to Avery. But I think that's just asking for trouble, and I guess you'll still go—so go ahead and try, see if they can change their minds."

"Of course, you might talk to James and tell him that you don't think whoever knows more spells or has more magic is right. But I don't think he'll listen to you."

Edmund smiled cruelly.

"Do you remember what we talked about at the beginning? I asked you to buy me some magazines, and you asked me why I didn't go and see the Muggle world."

"You don't understand, but it's one thing for a kid like me from a pure-blood family, but how come even James Porter, who claims to have a great affinity for Muggles, never actually went to see the Muggle world?"

"...I have a very unpleasant answer, Lily."

"Arrogance, the answer is arrogance. Whether it's a pureblood advocate like Avery or a 'Muggle enthusiast' like James who claims to 'respect Muggles and like Muggles,' they are all arrogant."

"They are all willing to die for their beliefs, but what are they believing in? The illusion of pure-blood camaraderie! The glory of Muggle guardians! They die for illusions—welcome to the wizarding world, first-year students, where arrogance and prejudice abound."

Edmund spoke his mind freely, and at the end, he even extended his hand in a welcoming gesture.

Then?

Then Lily Evans couldn't hold back anymore, and tears welled up in her eyes. She immediately knelt down, covered her face with her hands, and cried sadly.

Uh.

……Well?

Edmund withdrew his hand and instinctively took a step back.

He scanned his surroundings warily to make sure no one had seen what was happening.

"If I said I didn't mean to upset you, could you force yourself to believe me even a little?"

"..." Lily sobbed. "...I'm alright."

That's pure nonsense. However, although she cried very badly, her voice remained steady.

"I'm just... just a little sad."

She whispered in a sob:

"I'm just a little sad, Edmund, I'm very sad... but I'll be okay."