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Chapter Text

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Harry woke up from the dark night. The first sense to return was his hearing. He heard Aunt Petunia slamming the cupboard door, shouting for him to get up and make breakfast.

Even though Harry had been the Headmaster for over a hundred years, this scene still left him stunned for a moment.

After the war, Harry naturally became a hero, recorded in the newly written history of magic textbooks. He worked as an Auror for a few years, but his lover always opposed him taking on such a high-risk job.

Draco, who worked as a healer, had more than one chance encounter with him at St. Mungo’s.

At the age of 25, Harry and Draco returned to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions, respectively. Three years into his teaching career, Headmistress McGonagall passed away.

He was then pushed to become the new Headmaster.

The youngest Headmaster in history, and one who would never be surpassed. Wizards generally lived long lives, and Harry and Draco worked at Hogwarts for nearly a century. When Draco passed away at the age of 130, Harry was left alone.

The stronger the wizard's magical power, the longer their life. After becoming Headmaster, Harry no longer taught but instead spent a long time researching various types of magic. He created many powerful spells, and even made significant achievements in Potions—once an area he had struggled with. He introduced foreign herbs into the study of magical plants, developing a potion that could completely cure lycanthropy.

He sat in the Headmaster's office, at the highest seat in the Great Hall, watching Ron and Hermione’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren enter Hogwarts.

Eventually, they all left, leaving him alone to face an almost endless stretch of time.

His immense magical power and the fact that he was the Master of Death made him long-lived, and his appearance did not seem aged. He traveled all over the world, learning and mastering countless forms of magic. Over time, he even figured out a counter-curse for the Killing Curse—though it had certain limitations, it was still a counter-curse.

To the students, he was a man of vast knowledge, capable of anything. The portrait of Dumbledore once said that Harry had long since surpassed the man he once was.

In the endless stretch of life, Harry chose death. A child, jealous of his long tenure as The headmaster, handed him a poisoned drink. Harry knew it was poisoned and knew how the child had gradually changed from a respectful student into someone driven by greed.

But he raised the cup and drank it.

He longed to see his lover and friends again.

But what he never expected that is... when he opened his eyes again, the scenery before him would be what it was.

Harry had once dabbled in time magic and had applied for a Time-Turner for research. However, the magic to send a person back in time was not something he could ever accomplish.

He instinctively responded to Aunt Petunia and began making breakfast while swatting a little spider off his sleeve.

When Harry stepped out, Aunt Petunia was stunned. “What’s wrong with your hair?”

Harry, confused, touched his hair. It felt smooth and fine, with no problems.

He suddenly remembered that his hair should have been messy at this time.

The Potter family’s hair seemed truly truly magical—it not only grew back overnight after being cut but also changed texture based on the owner’s state of mind. Harry, once bold, honest, and courageous like a lion, had messy hair.

But after growing older, losing his sharpness, and focusing on academics, his hair naturally became smoother.

Draco had once been quite fond of that long, snow-white hair, which felt like the fabric of an invisibility cloak.

"I don’t know," Harry replied, just as Uncle Vernon stormed out. “Don’t try any tricks! You look a little more presentable now, but I’m still watching you!”

Harry nodded in acknowledgment.

The thought of seeing his friends and lover again filled him with joy and excitement, and he nearly burst into tears in front of Dudley.

An old man with a long life, who had long since put himself in a coffin, was now experiencing the return of his heartbeat.

Thank Merlin.

Harry cast a silent, wandless "Ignoring Charm" on the acceptance letter from Hogwarts in his hand and, as he passed by the cupboard, tucked the letter inside.

His wandless magic was famous throughout the wizarding world. As long as it wasn’t the Patronus Charm or an Unforgivable Curse, he didn’t even need to say the incantations. To Harry, the wand was more of an enhancer than a necessity for casting spells.

He carefully wrote and sent a reply, thanking them and cleverly describing his current situation. The implication was clear—he hoped the person who took him to Diagon Alley would somehow help him convince his aunt and uncle to treat him a little better.

At least give him a place to store his luggage.

Thanks to Harry’s prompt reply, the scene of owls flooding Privet Drive on his birthday did not occur this time. At seven in the morning, there was a knock on the door.

To Harry’s surprise, the visitor was not Hagrid.

It was Snape.

The butterfly effect is such that even the smallest change can cause huge ripples in the future. Harry had only understood this concept after becoming Headmaster, and it amazed him how much more advanced Muggle thinking often was compared to wizarding studies.

Harry had begun to grasp the results of this shift. But by now, he had long ago left all concerns behind.

He was seeing Severus Snape alive again.

It was the real, living Severus, not a mere portrait.

Snape’s dark attire, resembling a bat’s wings, caused an uproar from Uncle Vernon, while Harry, still in the kitchen, almost flipped a slice of bacon out of the pan.

When Snape saw Harry’s cupboard bed and the oversized, worn-out clothes he was wearing, he responded with sharp, biting sarcasm directed at the Dursleys.

Snape was angry on his behalf. Harry blinked in mild surprise, then, seeing the scene escalating, hurried out of the kitchen, tugging gently on Snape’s sleeve.

“Professor... are we ready to go yet?”

The emerald eyes filled with a wet, eager longing locked onto Snape’s.

The man took a deep breath and grabbed Harry’s arm, pulling him straight out the Dursleys’ door.

Perhaps because Harry’s hair, now soft, no longer resembled James’, Snape didn’t pull his sleeve away. Harry found himself walking beside him, feeling a strange enjoyment in the short journey.

Like a child, Harry mocked himself in his thoughts: he was getting younger the longer he lived.

Snape, looking at the now well-behaved Potter, recalled the letter Dumbledore had shown him. The child had written with elegant handwriting that he had just discovered he was a wizard and had no idea where Diagon Alley was. He mentioned strange things happening to him but knew nothing of magic. He also noted that his cupboard was too small for books or cauldrons, and that his relatives wouldn’t give him any money for school.

This made Snape furious.

What could one expect from a family that made a child sleep in a cupboard? He remembered how they had treated Harry, their attitude toward magic, and the boy’s frail body compared to others his age.

Maybe out of sympathy, Snape allowed Harry’s small tugging motion on his sleeve.

But nothing more.

Harry was led by Snape through the Leaky Cauldron. Because his arrival time was different from Hagrid’s, Harry didn’t encounter Quirrell this time. Instead, Snape pulled him through the excited crowd and onto the main shopping street.

After withdrawing money from Gringotts, buying textbooks and clothes, Harry had grown accustomed to the routine. After becoming Headmaster, he often took Muggle-born students to Diagon Alley for such errands. He watched as the stores changed one by one, but a few remained unchanged. This made Harry feel a strange sense of nostalgia during this trip.

The person who retrieved the Philosopher’s Stone this time was Snape, not Hagrid. Harry saw Snape take the small bag, sneer, and pocket it.

As they left Gringotts, Harry immersed himself in the familiar sights of Diagon Alley, choosing to ignore Snape’s occasional sharp remarks.

The only regret Harry had was that, because of the changes in time, he didn’t meet his young lover at Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions this time.

Finally, at Ollivanders, Snape’s last stop, but not Harry’s, as he planned how to drag Snape into Eeylops Owl Emporium.

“You have your mother’s eyes,” Ollivander said, and Harry froze instinctively—please, don’t say that in front of Snape.

What followed was the wands of his parents. After so many years, Harry had nearly forgotten them, but now he carefully remembered them again.

At this moment, Harry once again carefully remembered these two wands.

After waving who-knows-how-many wands, Ollivander finally took out the wand Harry was most familiar with.

"Phoenix feather, holly wood, eleven inches."

Harry took the wand and gave it a wave, but to his surprise, Ollivander immediately took the wand away.

"No, no, no, this isn't suitable for you," he said, and once again began rummaging through the shelves.

Harry was a bit surprised, but not overly so. Just like the Elder Wand’s choice of its master, sometimes the wand that suits a wizard best isn't just determined by the wizard themselves, but also by fate and their magical reserves.

Now that things had started over, the fate of a nearly two-hundred-year-old old man and an eleven-year-old lion cub would obviously be different.

Even if Voldemort at his peak were to face Harry, who didn’t have a wand at this moment, Harry was confident he could still make Voldemort suffer a great loss, all while ensuring his own safe retreat. His fate had completely changed with this new beginning. Moreover, Harry no longer needed a Disarming Charm to increase his chances.

Finally, after nearly two hours had passed, Ollivander fell into rare silence. By now, three young witches and wizards were waiting outside with their parents.

"Is there no wand that suits me?" Harry asked carefully.

"No, no, no. Maybe you are even more... you don’t suit a regular wand," Ollivander murmured, walking into a corner of the shop.

He brought out a dusty box.

"Try this one. It’s my father’s work, elderberry wood, dragon heartstring, thirteen inches."

Harry waved it, and once again, the wand was taken away.

Another dusty box was brought out.

"My early work, lightning-struck holly, unicorn tail hair, eleven inches."

"Try this one," Ollivander said. "It’s my great-great-grandfather’s work—mimosa wood, thestral tail hair, thirteen inches."

Harry took the wand and gave it a wave.

It was as if the entire spring had blossomed inside the wand shop, with the fragrance of flowers mingling with the sunlight and birdsong bursting from the tip of the wand, sweeping through the surrounding air. Warmth, new life—this feeling completely captured the hearts of the three people present. After the flowers and leaves withered, they decayed into the soil, nurturing the life of the next season. Life and death replaced each other, an endless cycle of renewal.

"Marvelous, marvelous, absolutely incredible! Unparalleled, unprecedented!" Ollivander exclaimed excitedly. "After one hundred and eighty-two years, this wand has finally found its master!"

One hundred and eighty-two years. When Harry drank the poisoned wine, it had only been three weeks since his one hundred and eighty-second birthday.

Was it a coincidence?

"Only a few elderberry trees are suitable for wand making. My great-great-grandfather happened to encounter one while traveling. Elderberry wood possesses extraordinary magical properties, symbolizing rebirth and hope. As for the thestral tail hair..."

"Mr. Potter, only those who have seen death can see a thestral."

"The collision of elderberry wood and thestral tail hair is the collision of life and death. The chance of successfully making a wand with this combination is almost nonexistent. My great-great-grandfather originally made this wand just to study the ratio of materials and review wandmaking techniques, so his craftsmanship wouldn’t grow rusty in retirement. He never imagined it would actually be completed. But to everyone’s surprise, he succeeded—what seemed to be the key to success were the golden threads enhancing the magical conduction and the sapphire stabilizing the wand’s tail end."

"Before this, gemstones on wands were mostly for decoration; examples like this one where gemstones were part of the material were rare. Unfortunately, this type of wand can only be wielded by a master with a powerful magical talent and reserve. No one specifically studied the crafting of such a wand. This was also the last wand my great-great-grandfather made in his life, and he didn’t live to finish the related papers."

"This combination is so rare. Both elderberry wood and thestral tail hair are uncommon materials, so it’s hard for me to determine what kind of magic it suits. But there’s no doubt it will be a perfect fit for you. This combination is extraordinary, incomparable. You will achieve great things, sir."

"Because of this collision and cycle of life and death, when you held it, it displayed the most beautiful spring I’ve ever seen."

Harry walked out of the wand shop still feeling a bit dazed, almost forgetting to take Hedwig home.

"Sir, can I go there?" Harry shook Snape's sleeve. "This has been the best birthday I've ever had, and I want a gift for myself."

Snape stood in place, meeting his gaze, and Harry did his best to make his green eyes look sincere.

The old bat compromised, being dragged into the owl shop, filled with the chirps of owls, by the excited little giant.

When Harry tugged at Snape’s sleeve with a scowl, bringing Hedwig home, Dumbledore had just stepped out of Number 6, Privet Drive.

Harry blinked in confusion, and Snape sent him back. Harry was then informed that he now had his own room.

It seemed the reply letter had more of an impact than he had expected.

Although it was just an old room of Dudley's converted, Harry was still quite satisfied. Out of a special kind of tolerance parents have for children, he secretly gave Dudley a toffee that the owl shop owner had insisted on giving him once he knew Harry’s identity.

He’s just a child, Harry thought as he looked at Dudley, who seemed to be hesitating, trying to say something.

As he lay in his small room, drifting to sleep, Harry hoped to meet his lover in his dreams, someone who yet to know him.

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Additional note: The inspiration for the wand came from the language of the elderflower: resurrection, new life, and hope. 

Chapter Text

Harry, as usual, did chores for the Dursleys until the day school started. Surprisingly, Uncle Vernon, who had never been particularly fond of him, voluntarily offered to take him to the station.

From Aunt Petunia's casual remarks, Harry learned that they had received a sum of money from Dumbledore. He didn't know the exact amount, but at least it was enough to make the Dursleys treat him a little better.

Though he still had to do work, Uncle Vernon was now able to resist the impulse to shout at him most of the time, and his meals weren't always so scanty.

As Harry passed through Platform 9¾ and saw the familiar train, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

He had ridden it countless times before, and after that, even more often when taking the children. Hermione and Ron's kids were always nervous when boarding, but were easily soothed by the thought of "seeing Harry Godfather again when they got back to school." After Ron and Hermione's passing, Harry had grown a little distant from their grandchildren, but every holiday, he would still receive gifts from them.

How fortunate he was to have met these friends.

This time, Harry kept an eye out and deliberately walked around the platform until he found Draco's compartment. After waiting a while for most of the people to arrive, he finally entered.

"Sorry, all the other compartments are full. Is it alright if I sit here?" Harry smiled at Draco.

"Of course." Draco answered, his words laced with an unmistakable aristocratic tone.

Very cute, Harry thought, his heart involuntarily beating faster.

"Great. What's your name? Are you a first-year too?"

"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Yes, I'm a first-year at Hogwarts this year."

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

"Oh! You're that Harry Potter?" Blaise suddenly sat up, and Draco blinked in surprise.

"Uh, I suppose so. Professor Snape told me I'm rather famous in the wizarding world." Harry said, sitting down a little awkwardly. "It's the same when I went to Diagon Alley. As soon as people hear my name, they gather around to look at me. I'm not used to it."

"Not used to it?" Draco laughed softly. "Wait until you get to Hogwarts. There'll be tons of people wanting to befriend you. You'll get used to it."

Harry almost smiled. He remembered how much he disliked Draco back when they were kids, but now, looking at him, it was clear Draco was simply mimicking his father's mannerisms.

"You'll make a lot of friends," Draco extended his hand, "and I'll be the one most worth befriending."

Harry shook his hand and almost laughed out loud.

Merlin, Draco was sweating like mad, his hand trembling, yet he managed to look so calm on the outside.

"Can I call you Draco?" Harry leaned closer and sat down next to him.

"Of course, Harry." The blonde little troublemaker looked a bit smug now.

Teasing kids was so much fun.

Draco had almost said something else, but when he saw Harry smile at him, he froze. There was something in Harry's smile that Draco didn't fully understand yet, but that didn't stop his heart from skipping a few beats.

Harry was very good with children, and of course, with the person he had been living with for so many years, his lover.

He missed him.

So, so much.

For fifty years, from Draco's passing until Harry drank that cup of poison, not a day went by without Harry longing for him.

As Harry interacted with the children, he felt at ease, effortlessly guiding conversations toward topics that were more interesting to them. By the time they got off the train, Blaise almost considered him a brother.

But Draco had frowned for a long time because of it. Harry knew exactly what Draco was thinking; with just one raised eyebrow, Harry could tell whether Draco was surprised, jealous, or trying to stir things up. Even while in love with him, Draco never stopped being difficult. His way of expressing affection was often a mess.

Life with Draco had looked glamorous, but only Harry knew that the guy was a bit whipped.

Harry thought, if he could go back, he wouldn't mind spoiling Draco just a little bit.

What was wrong with pampering his husband? Absolutely nothing!

Harry cheerfully grabbed a bag of snacks and headed off the train with Draco.

At the sorting ceremony, Harry had a faint premonition-that he probably wouldn't be sorted into Gryffindor this time.

He certainly still had courage deep down, but he hadn't needed it in a long time.

When your opponent's difference from you is as vast as that between a firefly and the full moon, and you could win with just a casual flick, there was no need for much bravery.

In such circumstances, even timidity could turn into caution.

But when it came to Slytherin, he wasn't so sure.

He had been headmaster for so long, had seen every type of person, lost and gained much, and had long passed the stage of doing whatever it took to get what he wanted.

Except for Draco.

When the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, Harry heard its whispering voice.

"Oh, oh, a very talented child... My word, your magic- I know now, but where should I place you?"

"You put me in Gryffindor last time, but you insisted that Slytherin would suit me as well. You only put me in Gryffindor because I kept opposing you," Harry said silently to the Hat.

"Gryffindor? Oh, you could go there, but it's no longer the place that suits you best."

It was like the holly wand he had used in his first life-it had been with him for over a hundred years, growing alongside him, perfectly suited to him right until the end of his life. But now, facing a holly wand that had never been with him before, it felt wrong.

"Slytherin you could go to as well, but you don't have much desire for it. If you truly want to, though... You're leaving the decision to me? Very well, I'll place you where I think you belong. I see vast knowledge, a relentless pursuit, excellent thought processes, and fruitful results. I know where is best for you."

"Ravenclaw!"

Harry removed the Sorting Hat and made his way to the Ravenclaw table. Cheers erupted from there, and someone shouted, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

Harry wasn't surprised.

Ravenclaw's common room didn't have a fixed password; students needed to answer a riddle to get in. If they got it wrong, they had to stand there and wait for someone else to get it right.

"Which came first, the fire or the phoenix?"

"The phoenix!"

"Incorrect."

The Head Boy, Robert, looked mildly frustrated as he pondered the riddle.

"This is the feature of Ravenclaw's common room," explained an older student to Harry. "Anyone can enter if they answer the riddle correctly. There's no fixed password."

"An endless cycle, with no beginning," Harry said.

The door opened with a soft click.

The crowd cheered briefly, and Harry smiled as he walked inside.

His Animagus form was a white phoenix, and after experiencing his own rebirth once, he knew the answer to that riddle well.

As for why his Animagus form was a phoenix instead of a regular animal, Harry had written a paper titled On the Influence of Magical Reserves on the Type of Animagus Form to explain (or rather, to cover up) the issue.

In his later years, Harry had become deeply engrossed in magical research, particularly after Draco's death. His collection of magical texts could fill the shelves of his office as Headmaster. Harry had long suspected that he might end up in Ravenclaw.

Harry's Patronus was a unicorn, and Draco's Patronus was a stag. The reasons for that were clear to everyone.

So now, Harry truly had no fear of Voldemort. In his prime, Dumbledore couldn't have beaten him while holding a wand-so why should he fear that half-dead, noseless wraith?

What surprised Harry was that because he had been sorted into Ravenclaw, his first-year schedule seemed to change. Originally, the classes that were shared between Slytherin and Gryffindor were now taken with Ravenclaw, while those that were shared between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were now with Gryffindor.

Harry could guess the reasoning behind this arrangement. Since he hadn't been sorted into either Slytherin or Gryffindor, Dumbledore had set up the schedule this way to observe whether he gravitated more toward Gryffindor or Slytherin, thus helping him judge Harry's personality and potential alignment.

By this point, Dumbledore probably already knew about the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside Harry and was testing how it might affect him.

But that fragment had almost no place to anchor itself in Harry's soul, which had grown unusually strong due to his rebirth. It wouldn't take long before it would be naturally destroyed and absorbed.

It was like dropping a single drop of water into a room full of flames.

Harry had never felt the crushing weight of absolute power so intuitively.

Like a firefly-no matter how powerful and bright it was compared to its kin-it could never compare to the glow of the full moon.

He was the one who had used time to cheat.

Although Harry looked a bit disheveled climbing the stairs and answering riddles, when he sat by the window in the dormitory, looking out over all of Hogwarts, he really did look quite handsome.

Harry had been placed in the same dormitory as a bookish, socially awkward student. This year, Ravenclaw didn't have many new students, so the two of them were in the same room.

Harry's new roommate, Jones, greeted him and then went straight to bed. The sounds of the wind whistling through the tower made it perfect for sleep. But perhaps because Harry had seen Draco today, he, who had grown accustomed to sleeping alone, tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep. In his dreams, he could still feel the warmth of another person in Draco's embrace.

The next morning, Harry wasn't late for Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, although he did get nervous for a moment when he absentmindedly transfigured a matchstick into a silver needle with wandless magic. Fortunately, everyone was focused on their own matchsticks, so no one noticed his non-wand magic.

Professor McGonagall added points to Ravenclaw after seeing Harry's needle, though she didn't realize it was made of the rare metal, mithril, which could kill vampires and pierce dragon scales. After class, Harry quietly pocketed the needle in a matchbox when the professor wasn't looking.

In Potions class, Snape, as usual, asked him questions. But after Harry answered all three correctly, Snape let the Ravenclaw hourglass go, continuing his lecture on the potion in the cauldron. When Harry handed in the perfectly brewed potion, Snape surprisingly gave Harry points.

The first day at Hogwarts was peaceful, and Harry had successfully made friends with Ron and Hermione-after spending so much time with them in his past life, he knew exactly how they behaved at this age, and making friends with them was almost effortless.

Harry had also decided to experience the school life again as a "max-level player" returning to a "beginner village." But after dinner, when he returned to the dormitory, his roommate found him.

"Harry!" His roommate, Claire Jones, rushed up to him, his face still filled with panic. "I... I've caused trouble!"

"What happened?" Harry asked, concerned.

"That Malfoy-he's really famous in the wizarding world, isn't he?"

"Sort of. He's one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families, one of the richest among the aristocrats. Old Malfoy is even a Hogwarts governor," Harry explained briefly. "Are you a Muggle-born?"

Jones stiffly nodded, looking like he was about to cry. "My family's really poor, I don't have much money. I came to Hogwarts on a scholarship. I accidentally knocked over his ink bottle and stained his book... He called me a Mudblood and said I had the audacity to offend him. What should I do? I can't handle him..."

"You're a wizard," Harry patted him on the back. "Ink can be cleaned up easily. It's no big deal. It was just an ink bottle."

"But Malfoy doesn't think that!" Jones' emotions were spiraling out of control. "He thinks I did it on purpose, that a Muggle-born witch like me dared challenge the superiority of pure-bloods and all that!"

"It's fine," Harry reassured him, giving his back a comforting pat. "This is school. If there's a real issue, the professors will keep an eye on it."

His roommate really wasn't doing well. Jones, who had opened up, told Harry that he had been teased since childhood for his feminine name, Claire. After discovering he was a wizard, he always feared falling behind others, so he studied day and night to catch up. As a Muggle-born, he felt a natural sense of fear and inferiority toward people like Draco, who came from pure-blood families.

Harry had met many students like this before, and using the diplomatic skills he'd honed as Headmaster, he was able to calm his roommate down.

The next day, during the flying lesson, Harry's vague premonition came true.

Claire, too nervous, accidentally flew too high and fell. Draco picked up his notebook and openly mocked the Muggle-born for his clumsiness.

"Look at him!" The Slytherins laughed.

Time is a curious thing. You think you've changed something and affected the future, but the fated future still unfolds. However, the small things you do without thinking can snowball and lead to a series of unexpected consequences.

"Draco," Harry flew up on his broom with a coaxing tone, "Give me Claire's notebook back."

"I don't think so." Draco sneered. "I'm going to hide it and make that bookworm search for it himself... How about the roof?"

"Draco," Harry's voice carried a hint of exasperation, "Stop it. Why are you doing this to Jones? Just because he accidentally spilled ink on your book yesterday? That could've been fixed with a simple cleaning charm."

"I'm more interested in why you're so protective of that Mudblood," Draco spat, his voice tinged with irritation. "What's so great about him? I was the first one to befriend you..."

"Don't say that word." Harry's tone became firmer. "It's very rude."

In a huff, Draco threw the notebook into the air. Harry instinctively reached out to grab it and dove down to catch it as it fell.

Having once been a professional seeker in Quidditch, Harry's reflexes were sharp, even though he hadn't played in years. The Potter family blood instinctively guided him, and he expertly caught the notebook, even throwing in a playful, loose fake-out, a "Lonsky feint" just for fun.

"Harry!"

As expected, Professor McGonagall saw his actions. But since Harry was from Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor, she only gave him a brief warning and didn't deduct any points from Ravenclaw.

"How dare you-" Ravenclaw students stared at him in surprise. "You could've broken your neck!"

"I couldn't just watch Claire's notebook being tossed onto the roof, could I? He can't get it down." Harry looked up at Professor Hooch, who was staring at him intently. "Professor, is there a problem?"

"Well," Professor Hooch's expression was excited and eager. "Would you mind coming with me to find Professor Flitwick?"

The young Ravenclaws misunderstood Professor Hooch's meaning, thinking Harry was going to face consequences from the Head of Gryffindor House after escaping Professor McGonagall's attention. But Harry understood what Hooch was planning, and obediently followed her to Professor Flitwick.

"Flitwick! This boy is a genius-I've found a new Seeker for Ravenclaw! If we don't let Harry join the team just because he's a first-year, it'll be a loss for all of Hogwarts! Can you believe it-Harry pulled off a perfect Lonsky feint!"

And so, Harry officially joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. But that evening, after leaving his friends, he made his way to the Slytherin table. An eagle had flown straight into the snake's den.

"What are you doing here?" Blaise asked, surprised.

"You're still upset." Harry addressed Draco. "Are you mad that I argued with you over Jones?"

Draco had originally ignored Harry, but when those emerald eyes glanced at him, he almost forgot his own name and just nodded.

"But you were wrong in this situation," Harry leaned in closer. "Jones didn't mean to dirty your book. You didn't lose anything. Just because he's Muggle-born, you're going to pick on him?"

"Why not?" Draco retorted, and Harry knew he wasn't done being angry.

"Why should we be enemies because of our blood status? Whether pure-blood, half-blood, or Muggle-born-why divide ourselves by bloodline?" Harry stared into Draco's eyes, which still held a trace of youth's innocence. "Aren't we all human?"

"I've always thought that blood purity and discrimination are meaningless. Some people just need prejudice to give themselves a false sense of superiority."

"Does pure-blood magic really make you stronger than a half-blood? Is a Muggle-born really weaker than someone with magical ancestry? Hogwarts has been admitting Muggle-borns and half-bloods for years, and that proves it's not true."

"Draco, you think you're noble, and you try to demonstrate your nobility and superiority with actions like this."

"But no one is born noble, Draco. Nobility should come from character, not from birth."

The Slytherin students were stunned by Harry's words. They instinctively wanted to argue with him, but couldn't figure out where to start. Most of the Slytherins came from noble or pure-blood families, and changing their mindset wasn't something that would happen overnight. Harry was content with having planted a seed in their thoughts.

Having been a teacher and Headmaster, the habit of lecturing was ingrained in Harry's instincts.

Draco, who hadn't yet experienced the trials that had worn him down in Harry's previous life, still had his flaws. But Harry would rather see him stay like this until he gradually helped him improve than have him go through the harshness of life too soon.

"Is this how you really think?" Draco's expression was complicated.

"Of course." Harry responded firmly. "My mother was Muggle-born too, but she protected me from Voldemort."

"But there are objective differences between people. You come from a pure-blood family, so you've been exposed to magic from an early age. Starting out, you're definitely stronger than Muggle-borns."

At this point, Harry winked mischievously at Draco.

"Status may divide nobles from commoners, but it doesn't mean there's a divide in character, does it? Like I said, we're all human."

"I'm sorry. Don't be mad, Draco."

Chapter Text

“Gringotts was robbed,” Jones said, chewing on bread as he handed Harry the Daily Prophet. “Michael gave me this paper; this edition is the most interesting.”

“I know, the intruder didn’t actually steal anything. The vault had already been emptied by Snape,” Harry said, sipping his pumpkin juice. Draco, who was sitting behind him, turned his head at the sound of his voice. “Snape? How do you know Snape took what was in the vault?”

(Note: In the original book, the house table order is Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. The movies changed it to Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw. Here, for the sake of the storyline, I’ve followed the original book's setting.)

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Harry wiped his mouth. “I was with Snape when we went to Diagon Alley to get supplies for the new students. When we went to the vault to get money, we went to Vault 713 together.”

“What’s in Vault 713?” Pansy asked curiously. “Is it full of money?”

“There’s only a wrapped package,” Harry said, glancing over at Michael, who was eavesdropping from across the table.

“You must know what’s in it,” Michael shouted. “Harry always knows everything.”

“I not only know who the intruder is, but I also know what’s in the package, where it's hidden, who’s guarding it, and who’s trying to steal it,” Harry said, raising his wand, inlaid with gold filigree, and with a flick, turned Michael’s paper into a sapphire butterfly.

As he spoke, Harry wore a casual smile, his voice radiating the confidence and elegance that came from overwhelming power. He lightly touched the butterfly with his fingertip, and the girls around him instinctively covered their mouths to stifle their screams.

When Harry was younger, Draco adored this attitude of his. The entire wizarding world was cheering for young Harry Potter, who had successfully defeated Voldemort, offering all their love for him to choose from. Every time Harry smiled like this in front of the camera, the roar from the crowd was almost enough to knock him over.

He turned his head sideways and made eye contact with Draco, whose eyes were practically glued to him. The blonde troublemaker hastily turned his head away, colliding with Goyle, who had leaned over to grab some food.

Harry, satisfied, turned his gaze away.

During the Charms lesson, Harry was unable to stop the conflict between Ron and Hermione, which meant he would have to face the troll again—defeating it wasn’t difficult. This time, Harry would definitely not shove his wand up the troll’s nose. However, just the thought of facing the troll’s foul stench made Harry feel uneasy.

“Troll! In the basement!”

The sudden shout brought Harry back to reality. He frowned and grabbed Ron’s sleeve. “Hermione doesn’t know about this, she’s still in the bathroom!”

Ron froze in shock, grabbing Harry’s hand and preparing to run to the fourth floor.

“Where are you two going?” Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at Ron and Harry—more precisely, at their clasped hands.

“We’re going to find Hermione, she doesn’t know about the troll, and we need to bring her back.”

Before Harry could finish speaking, Ron hurriedly tugged him along. Harry looked back to see Draco awkwardly following behind them.

“Just don’t get points deducted for that Granger,” Draco said as he walked. Harry smiled reassuringly.

He knew Draco was starting to change his views on blood purity; his efforts to change Slytherin's views had not been in vain.

The shadow of the troll flashed on the hallway walls in front of them.

“Clearly, the troll is no longer in the basement,” Draco stopped. “We need to find a professor.”

“But Hermione is still in there—”

“Draco,” Harry interrupted Ron, “you go find a professor. Ron and I will go in and hold off the troll.”

He spoke in a tone that automatically carried the commanding authority he had developed while being a professor, and Ron instinctively nodded, following Harry into the bathroom.

Draco looked like he wanted to say something, but seeing Harry’s back, he gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

“Hermione! Get out of the way!” Ron shouted as they entered. The troll was sweeping through the bathroom cubicles with a huge club, and Ron threw a piece of wood at the troll’s head, distracting it.

“Use that spell Hermione taught you today!” Harry shouted from the side.

“Wingardium Leviosa!”

The wooden stick floated up and then slammed onto the troll’s head. Taking advantage of their distraction, Harry quietly cast a minor spell to change the troll’s fall direction, preventing it from landing on them, and then used a few “Air Freshening” spells.

Thanks to Draco’s help, the professors arrived just as the troll fell. Hermione didn’t take the responsibility, as Draco had obviously explained everything to the professors.

In the end, all three houses gained five points—Gryffindor had lost five points due to recklessness, but overall, it was a good outcome.

Harry noticed that Snape still had the scar on his leg. After some thought, Harry decided to anonymously have Hedwig send Snape a small bottle of white freshener.

Because Harry wasn’t in Gryffindor at the time and was already familiar with the moving staircases at Hogwarts, he didn’t end up entering the room with the Philosopher’s Stone. Harry was content with that—since he now had the ability to face danger alone, it was better not to involve his friends.

After the troll incident, the former Golden Trio had reunited, and Draco had brought along Crabbe and Goyle. Their little group quickly expanded beyond Harry’s expectations.

Ravenclaw had Harry and Jones, Gryffindor had Ron and Hermione, Slytherin had Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, and occasionally, they would bring along Blaise or Pansy.

Now, the whole of Hogwarts knew that the new Ravenclaw savior had done something no one had ever thought possible—he had brought together the lions and the snakes.

Children’s friendships were a magical thing, Harry thought, watching his noisy yet inseparable friends. It was like how two Quidditch teams, no matter how fiercely they argued the day before, could still sit together and eat after a large three-legged race.

“I hope today’s Transfiguration class isn’t too hard,” Jones sighed, still flipping through his spellbook as he walked.

“Harry’s with you, isn’t he? Is there any magic he doesn’t know?” Ron elbowed him.

“The problem is, today’s Transfiguration class is with Slytherin and Ravenclaw!” Jones complained. “Whenever we’re in class with Slytherin, Draco always steals my seat and sits next to Harry, leaving me with Michael.”

“Got a problem with that?” Draco raised an eyebrow, and Jones instinctively shrank back. He then smirked and moved a bit closer to Harry.

“You’re going to squeeze me out, Draco,” Harry said with a helpless tone, but a smile on his lips.

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked away.

Finally, Harry successfully turned the rat in front of him into a delicate goblet, with a design that Draco would consider "highly aesthetic." Draco was clearly displeased, secretly competing with Harry throughout the lesson. In the end, he produced a cup made from owl feathers, and though he seemed unsatisfied with the result, Professor McGonagall still awarded him points.

“How did you do that?” Draco asked, somewhat vexed as they left class.

“Because I’m Harry Potter,” Harry replied smoothly, casually brushing off the owl feathers from Draco’s collar, secretly watching his ears turn red.

Time flew by in the midst of friends’ bickering, and before Harry knew it, he was about to play in his first-ever Quidditch match.

Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff.

“Don’t be nervous, mate,” Ron kept shoving food at Harry, almost sitting in Ravenclaw’s section to make sure Harry was well-prepared. “You’ve got this!”

“I think you’re the one who’s nervous, Ronald,” Hermione pointed out without hesitation. “Harry’s abilities are amazing, you should trust him.”

Harry decided to be kind and didn’t point out that Hermione’s bowl of porridge had long been empty.

Hufflepuff’s Seeker, Diggory, came over to wish Harry good luck before the match.

“I thought you’d be really nervous,” he teased, “after all, you’re the youngest Seeker of the century.”

“The one who should be nervous is you,” Harry fired back without hesitation, finally feeling a rush of excitement—something he hadn’t experienced in ages. After being alive for so long, this feeling was rare. But now, in this new life, his emotions were in sync with his youthful body, almost as if his soul had been reborn alongside it.

Harry was enchanted by this feeling.

He had finally crawled out of that coffin.

“Whoosh—”

Ravenclaw’s team wasn’t bad at all. Harry, flying on the Firebolt Professor Flitwick secretly gave him, hovered high above the pitch, searching for the Golden Snitch.

“Hufflepuff scores! A beautiful feint, and now the score is tied!”

As Harry circled the pitch, he caught sight of Jones waving the Ravenclaw banner and the Weasley twins cheering loudly for him

Harry was flying around the pitch, his peripheral vision catching sight of Jones holding the Ravenclaw banner and the Weasleys cheering loudly for him.

Suddenly, Harry's broom jerked violently.

"What's wrong with Harry's broom?" Hermione frowned, looking up at the sky.

Harry's broom seemed to go wild, shaking and bucking uncontrollably. Harry looked as if he was about to fall, but in reality, he was maintaining his balance—he just looked more precarious than he actually was.

He had been part of a professional team before; he could handle this level of turbulence.

"Are you okay?" Cedric called out, concerned. "Do you want to stop? Your broom seems to be malfunctioning..."

"No need, I can handle it," Harry replied with a confident, almost proud smile. "I really want to win, Cedric."

If it weren't for the fact that he still needed to play along, Harry would have already sent a counter-curse at Quirrell.

Harry felt the shaking of the broom begin to subside. He knew Snape must have started casting a counter-curse. Harry allowed the broom's tremors to ease, subtly mimicking Snape's counter-curse to make the broom return to normal.

After the match, Harry's fanbase exploded to an astonishing level, with Rita Skeeter always eager to report on anything related to the "Boy Who Lived." She wrote about his perfect dance moves (which Draco had helped him perfect—"a sharp and captivating elegance"), his office decor ("simple yet warm with small details"), and his Quidditch style.

Rita Skeeter compared him on his broom to a fish breathing in the sky. "His turns are as nimble as a fish playing with falling leaves, and his mid-speed gliding is as graceful as the wings of aquatic glass, unfolding effortlessly."

At that moment, Harry's flying embodied the unique style he had developed over time: light, agile, unpredictable, and elusive. When he spotted the Golden Snitch, this style of chasing stirred the crowd into an unending wave of excitement.

"Harry's broom has suddenly accelerated! He's diving—he’s spotted the Golden Snitch! Diggory’s right behind him—wait, did you see that turn? In less than a second, Harry switched directions completely!"

In truth, the Snitch wasn't where Harry had led Cedric to believe. The Golden Snitch had briefly hovered just above and to the right of Harry. With a move that wasn’t quite a feint, but close enough, Harry managed to gain some distance from Cedric. Taking advantage of this, he boldly sped toward the Snitch above him.

The ensuing chase was a visual feast.

The Golden Snitch, quick and unpredictable, changed direction and sped up relentlessly. Yet no matter how fast it turned, Harry stayed just a foot behind, in perfect sync with its every move.

His cloak billowed out in a perfect circle as he turned, his broom's front remaining still while the back spun—a move reminiscent of a Muggle car drifting. As the Snitch slowed just slightly, Harry made a decisive grab and caught the Snitch as it descended toward him.

"Harry's caught the Golden Snitch! 200-60—The match is over! Ravenclaw wins!"

As soon as Harry landed, he was surrounded by his excited teammates and tossed high into the air. He saw Ron and Hermione rushing toward him, and Draco sprinted ahead of them with even greater speed. On the distant bleachers, Snape, noticing that Harry had managed to adjust his broom in time to avoid Hermione’s singed robes, cast a thoughtful glance toward Quirrell.

“You were amazing, Harry!” Ron and Hermione shouted loudly through the crowd. Jones, red-faced, waved the Ravenclaw flag vigorously, while Draco was the first to reach Harry, though he stood frozen, simply staring at Harry's beaming smile.

In Draco's eyes, there was nothing but Harry.

Harry grinned and, as he descended, blew Draco a playful kiss. Draco’s face turned bright red, and his gaze remained locked on Harry.

Draco watched the joyful, sky-bound fish of a boy, flushed inappropriately from that kiss, which hadn't even really been a kiss. Fortunately, his blush wasn’t noticeable amidst the exuberant crowd, and this was Draco’s first time seeing Harry smile so brightly.

It wasn’t the gentle, always-appropriate smile that Harry usually wore, but a joyful, radiant, unabashed one. It wasn’t a smile for anyone else—it was for himself, a deep, genuine laugh.

This version of Harry was unfamiliar to him, yet strangely nostalgic, as though it belonged to another life.

He really liked this version of Harry.

He liked it—very, very much.

Chapter Text

Harry ignored the protests of his teeth and took another bite of rock cakes.

He hadn't tasted this flavor in a long time.

"I really don’t understand what’s so great about these," Draco said, openly expressing his disgust for the rock cakes, but Hagrid didn’t notice at all. He was still enthusiastically chatting with Ron about the moment Harry caught the Golden Snitch, while Fang quietly lay by Harry’s feet.

Getting Draco to Hagrid’s hut was quite a rare achievement for Harry. But children's friendships were always magical. Now Draco had even stopped making snide remarks about Hermione’s heritage.

What were they doing at this time in his past life? Oh, right, they were still discussing the three-headed dog with Hagrid back then. But in this life, they had never even entered the room with the Philosopher’s Stone. The meeting now was a purely Quidditch-related discussion.

"Harry, do you know why your broom had a problem?" Hermione asked, her expression serious as she looked at him. "When your broom malfunctioned, I saw Snape casting a spell on you."

"I thought it was just a problem with the new broom, maybe it wasn’t stable," Harry said innocently, blinking. "The problem was fixed pretty quickly, wasn’t it?"

"It’s because it’s a new broom that it shouldn’t have had any problems! It’s a Nimbus 2000—brand new! It wouldn’t just malfunction like that. Snape was trying to hurt you, Harry," Ron chimed in. "He can’t stand you! If your Potions grades weren’t so good, he’d definitely be docking points from you every day."

"Impossible!" Draco instinctively defended his Head of House. "Why would Snape want to harm Harry?"

"I think Mr. Malfoy is right, Ron," Hagrid countered. "Professor Dumbledore trusts him greatly, and Snape has no reason to harm Harry. He’s not someone who would act out of personal dislike and jeopardize the bigger picture. In fact, I think Snape quite likes Harry. Harry’s Potions grades are outstanding!"

"Yeah." Harry swallowed the bite of food in his mouth, much calmer than the friends around him. "I don’t think Snape is like that, and my broom was fixed quickly. If he really wanted to harm me, he wouldn’t have stopped halfway through the spell, would he? Maybe someone else is trying to hurt me, and Professor Snape was actually trying to reverse the curse."

His friends’ words gave Harry a reminder. It was time to start getting along with Snape.

Since marrying Draco, Harry had figured out Slytherin’s unique indirect ways, and dealing with Snape was no problem at all.

Besides, Snape had already started to show favor towards Harry because of his smooth hair and perfect Potions grades. This surprising fact even made Harry wonder if Hedwig had accidentally revealed something when delivering Snape the white freshener.

Quirrell’s little schemes had stopped at that.

After quickly brushing aside the topic, Draco and Ron simultaneously began complaining about the rock cakes that could chip your teeth.

"Although the rock cakes are tough to bite, the tea’s great," Harry smiled at Draco. "The milk and tea here have flavors that aristocrats never get to taste—everyone always thinks the finest tea leaves and fresh milk are the best, but Hagrid’s coarse tea leaves retain the most original woody fragrance, and the taste is really rich. I think it’s better than all those over-processed noble teas."

Draco froze for a moment while holding his cup. He suddenly realized he’d almost finished an entire cup of tea without noticing.

"I didn’t know you knew so much about tea," Draco said grumpily, clearly still trying to maintain his noble image.

"You can taste it after drinking a lot of it," Harry said, taking Draco's empty cup from him, their fingers briefly tangling around the handle.

Ah, he’s blushing, Harry thought happily.

When Hedwig, wrapped in snow, flew to the Ravenclaw table, Harry suddenly realized Christmas was almost here.

For someone who was older, time was the easiest thing to overlook. Many times, when Harry sat in the Headmaster's office, he felt like he had just finished the summer holidays, only for Christmas to suddenly be right in front of him.

Hedwig had Draco’s letter in her beak, no envelope, no wax seal—very unlike Malfoy’s usual style.

There wasn’t even a signature, as though the letter had been abandoned halfway through.

Harry looked down and saw that the letter was an invitation from Draco, asking him to spend Christmas at the Malfoy Manor. But at the end of the letter, there were large sections crossed out and crumpled.

The words that were crossed out were long and thoroughly obliterated, with not a single letter visible. Harry could easily use magic to restore them, but he didn’t want to.

It was clear that this invitation had been abandoned.

But it had ended up in Harry’s hands.

"Did you brought this to me, good girl?" he whispered to Hedwig, who was sipping pumpkin juice.

Hedwig cooed a couple of times, flapped her wings, and flew off.

During Potions class, while Harry and Draco were working together on a healing potion, Harry took the letter out when Snape wasn’t looking.

"Is this yours?" Harry pulled out the letter that could barely be called an invitation, nearly startling Draco, who almost knocked over his vial of water.

"Where did you get this?" Draco asked in a low voice.

"Hedwig brought it to me," Harry blinked innocently. "You wanted to invite me to your house for Christmas?"

"Yeah," Draco looked away, lighting the flame under his cauldron. "I heard Ron and the others say you weren’t planning to go home."

"Of course I’m not going home. Hogwarts is better than anywhere else," Harry replied instinctively. "Do you really want me to come to your house?"

Draco nodded. "My father told me to build a good relationship with you when I enrolled, so I think he’d let you come. It’s just that I messed up the invitation letter, which is why I didn’t send it. I don’t know how you got it."

"Hedwig brought it to me," Harry sighed. "I’ve already signed up for staying at school. I guess I’ll have to visit next year."

"It’s fine," Draco’s tone suddenly grew urgent. "You can come over during the summer."

"Okay," Harry agreed immediately. "But what did you write at the end of that letter? You crossed it out so thoroughly that I couldn’t read a single letter."

"Nothing." Harry noticed Draco’s eyes were darting around. "I just got distracted while writing it."

"Then you wrote your feelings, didn’t you?" Harry teased.

Draco didn’t deny it.

Christmas holidays were long, and the Weasleys stayed at school because of their parents' sudden change of plans. Harry, at the Christmas feast, encouraged everyone who wasn’t going home to sit at the Ravenclaw table. They didn’t quite fill the table, but once they all squeezed in together, the previously quiet hall immediately became lively.

Harry watched with satisfaction as the four houses blended together. Sitting all the students at one long table had been his idea when he was Headmaster, and he’d even ordered the other three tables removed. Although there were always some arguments during meals, by the end of the holiday, their relationships would warm up quickly.

Dumbledore had once given Harry a heartfelt compliment for this in the portrait frame.

The next morning, Harry received a pile of gifts from his friends.

Jones gave him a feather quill, Dumbledore sent an invisibility cloak, the Weasleys sent candy and sweaters... Hermione gave him a thick book, which he had edited in his past life, correcting twelve mistakes inside... The Malfoys sent homemade biscuits from Narcissa and a jade brooch. Pansy sent him a set of hair ribbons decorated with tiny gemstones.

The note attached by Pansy said that she thought this was the best gift for Harry. The hair ribbons would likely be sold out once his hair grew long, so she decided to give them to him for Christmas so that he could tie them up when his hair grew longer.

Harry's hair had now grown long enough to cover his ears, and ever since Pansy found out that Harry intended to grow his hair out, she had been quite attentive to it. (“Merlin, you must look absolutely stunning with long hair.”)

For Harry, the length of his hair was just a small matter of a charm; in his previous life, after his hair became smooth, he had grown it long at Draco’s suggestion. During this rebirth, he had found himself uncomfortable more than once with his short hair; habits were never easy to change.

What Harry didn’t expect was that Draco sent him a letter during the holidays.

"Dear Harry,

You once asked me about the words that were crossed out on that invitation. In fact, they were a momentary lapse on my part, something I wrote by mistake. You must have already noticed.

I’m really quite troubled right now.

Ever since I came to Hogwarts, the day I met you, I’ve been having strange dreams that I can’t quite remember. In the few seconds after I wake up, most of the details of these dreams fade away, leaving only a deep feeling.

I can only vaguely remember some blurry images, and they’re all related to you.

I dream that you and I are arguing about something, but I’m happy. Or I dream of you smiling at me, kissing my forehead, holding my hand, and walking with me down a Muggle street.

And sometimes, I dream about heavy things, like death and war, and in the end, I have nothing left. But then someone suddenly reaches out their hand to me. They stand in the light, shining like the sun.

Those heavy dreams have left me with many feelings. One time, I woke up from one of them and suddenly thought that the idea of pureblood supremacy was as silly as a joke. I couldn’t bring myself to mock Weasley and Granger anymore. I think that, after waking up one morning, the Muggle-born witches and wizards suddenly seemed much more likable.

I don’t know why this is happening, but these dreams give me only vague images and various feelings. I don’t know what I’ve been dreaming about, but many of them are related to you.

I’m always troubled by things related to you.
I wish your gaze would stay on me for a long time, I wish I could see you every day. Your words always easily stir my emotions. I think this is very strange, but I can’t stop myself from getting closer to you.
I went to the library and looked through many books, but none of them could explain these strange dreams.
I’m troubled by this, and if possible, I hope that when you return, we can talk about it.

Yours, Draco"

Harry squinted his eyes.

Did Draco know how much the last part of this letter sounded like a love letter?

And… he dreamed about things from before his rebirth?

He’d better wait until Draco was back to discuss it.

The night after the Christmas holiday ended, Harry used a small spell to make his hair grow down to his vest in just ten minutes. He tied it into a low ponytail with the hair ribbon Pansy had given him, decorated with blue and green gemstones. He put on the gold-rimmed glasses from Blaise and the brooch from Draco, then slowly got his way over to the Ravenclaw House's table.

Jones dropped his fork in shock the moment he saw him.

"Are you Harry Potter? You really are Harry Potter, not some imposter?" Luna said, circling around him in surprise. Harry winked at her and pushed his glasses up with the tip of his finger.

Several girls nearby screamed in excitement.

"Mate! You really—" Ron’s eyes went wide as he stared at Harry. "You’re beautiful!"

It wasn’t until the words left Ron’s mouth that he realized how odd they sounded. But the group around him, including himself, didn’t find anything wrong with the description.

Harry was beautiful, and this beauty, enhanced by his aura, became an astonishing elegance.

"Draco, snap out of it," Blaise said, patting his shoulder. "Your eyes are practically glued to Harry."

"His hair—how, how could he—!" Draco was dumbfounded, especially when he saw Harry look up and glance in his direction, winking at him.

Draco’s heart was pounding loudly.

"What’s wrong with him, Draco?" Blaise turned to look at Harry. "He looks amazing. I told you those glasses would look perfect on him, and the brooch you gave him is nice too. The jade matches his eyes perfectly."

Harry folded a paper crane and blew on it.

The paper crane flapped its wings and flew into Draco’s hands. Blaise leaned forward, trying to read what was written on it, but Draco pushed him away.

"9 o'clock tonight, 8th floor of the castle, the room opposite the troll tapestry."

"Is there a room here?" Draco frowned, but still decided to go ahead with the meeting.

He folded the piece of paper and tucked it into his pocket.

"Is this real?" Draco stared at the door in front of him, momentarily confused. He distinctly remembered there being no room here.

He pushed the door open.

Inside, the room was filled with various clutter, stacked into high piles, creating an oddly familiar feeling. Draco saw Harry walk out from one of the piles, holding an unusually shaped crown.

"You came?" Harry tilted his head and smiled, taking Draco’s hand as he stepped out of the room.

"What’s going on?" Draco asked, puzzled.

Harry closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening the door again.

This time, the room wasn’t a storage room but looked more like the Gryffindor common room.

"This is the Room of Requirement," Harry said, closing the door behind him. "It changes its contents based on people’s needs. Not many people know about it."

"What did you take from that room earlier?" Draco raised an eyebrow, eyeing the crown Harry was holding.

"The diadem of Ravenclaw, one of the items left by the four founders, alongside Gryffindor’s sword, Slytherin’s locket, and Hufflepuff’s cup."

Harry placed the crown into his pocket. "Unfortunately, someone tampered with the diadem. I’ll return it to the Headmaster once I’ve cleaned it up."

"Someone tampered with it?" Draco sat down beside Harry on the couch.

"An annoying person—let’s not talk about him. Weren’t you supposed to be the one wanting to have a conversation with me?" Harry looked at him, his emerald eyes even brighter in the firelight. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Harry," Draco looked him in the eye seriously, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Harry paused, then nodded decisively.

"Is it related to those dreams?"

Harry nodded again. "I know a little, but I’m not sure about the reasons behind it yet. How did you figure it out?"

"I saw you using wandless magic." Draco looked at him intently. "That cup, too. The magic you’ve used in many classes is far beyond what’s expected for your year, and those spells were all cast without a wand."

"You’ve been playing Quidditch for less than four months, but you fly like a professional—you’re way beyond first-year level. This can’t just be explained by natural talent. At first, I couldn’t connect those dreams to you, but there was a strange instinct telling me that the answer lies with you."

Harry sighed in resignation.

He could fool the teachers, fool the students, but he could never fool his young lover. Draco always knew.

Draco Malfoy was always so perceptive when it came to Harry Potter.

"I’ll tell you, but not now." Harry took Draco’s hand and gently patted it in reassurance. "Even I don’t have much of a clue yet, but when everything is over and the sparks no longer shine, Draco, I’ll tell you. I promise."

"Is it related to that diadem?"

Harry nodded.

"I understand now." Draco exhaled slowly, as if finally letting go of something, and stood up with Harry to leave the Room of Requirement.

"You look much more relaxed?" Harry couldn’t help but ask.

"Yeah. Because I know you’ll figure it out. As for the other issues, I’ll find the answers myself."

"You really trust me that much?"

"Of course—you’re Harry Potter! You have all my trust, Mr. 'Can Do Anything'."

When Harry returned to the dormitory, his face was still flushed from Draco’s words.

"I’m really going backward with age."

𓅪

Chapter Text

𓅪

After Christmas, Harry saw the dragon egg in Hagrid's hut, which meant that Quirrell already knew the way to enter the secret door.

This time, Draco followed Harry to Hagrid's hut, and his obsession with the dragon egg was as intense as Hagrid's. He visited Hagrid's hut multiple times a day.

On the day the dragon hatched, Harry was dragged directly to Hagrid by Draco. Hagrid and Draco had already prepared the baby dragon's food early on—although Harry had already discussed with everyone how to handle the dragon, Hagrid and Draco were still keen on taking care of it before Charlie took it away.

Oh, and Hagrid's beard got burned.

The baby dragon had just hatched and hadn't fully opened its eyes yet but was struggling to crawl towards Harry.

Harry poked it with his finger, and the dragon didn't breathe fire. Instead, it extended its tongue and licked his hand.

Magical creatures often have a strong instinct to seek comfort and avoid danger, and the powerful magic flowing through Harry was enough to make the baby dragon show an unconscious loyalty and submission towards him.

"Looks like the little dragon really likes you, Harry!" Hagrid said, looking very happy.

"But I like another dragon," Harry said pointedly. Ron looked confused, while Hermione, who had caught on, gave Harry an exasperated look. "Alright, alright, we get it, you two are so in love, but can we not show off at a time like this?"

Harry and Blaise burst out laughing.

Harry remembered that in his past life, he had been caught by Professor McGonagall because he returned the dragon, which led to him being found in the Forbidden Forest, where he encountered Quirrell, who had killed the unicorn.

This time, Harry certainly wouldn't let anyone catch him. He was capable of handling the situation in the Forbidden Forest on his own.

"Want to come with me?" Harry tugged at Draco's sleeve. "We can take the dragon to the Astronomy Tower, the Invisibility Cloak will cover both of us."

Draco nodded without hesitation, though there was a trace of sadness in his expression.

"It's not like we'll never see each other again," Harry said, patting his back to comfort him. "Maybe over the summer, your dad will let us go to Romania for a vacation, and we'll have a chance to see Norbert again."

Finally, Hagrid sent them back to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry was already thinking about when to go to the Chamber of Secrets and search for the basilisk he had killed in his past life.

Looking into the basilisk's eyes would immediately lead to death. In his past life, Harry had researched this aspect. The effect of death caused by the basilisk's gaze was similar to the Killing Curse; both quickly drained a person's life force in a very short time, leading to death. If the basilisk didn't directly meet someone's gaze, the magic would change, and it would only petrify them.

The counter-curse for the Killing Curse, which Harry had researched, worked by stabilizing and locking a person's life force to prevent the curse from taking it away. The Killing Curse was like a hook that drained life, and the counter-curse was like a weight that anchored the life force. If there was a large enough magical difference between the person using the Killing Curse and the one using the counter-curse, the Killing Curse could still kill, just as a powerful hook could lift a lighter weight.

In reality, this wasn't a true counter-curse but more of a preventive measure, similar to using armor to defend against dark curses. However, someone hit by the Killing Curse would die immediately unless a resurrection spell was cast—though resurrection was a forbidden magic in the wizarding world. Harry's counter-curse was more of a prevention, though the Ministry of Magic insisted on calling it a counter-curse in the textbooks, and Harry simply went along with it.

The basilisk's deadly gaze worked similarly to the Killing Curse, and Harry believed that this counter-curse would work for it as well.

Harry was lost in thought, counting the cards in his hand. He couldn't help but marvel.

His hand was full of royal flushes, straights, and bombs—no matter how he paired them, he could easily win. How could he lose?

"Ah, look who's here," Fred said, throwing his arm around Harry's shoulder as he ran to the Gryffindor table.

"Our little Ravenclaw prince—"

"The all-knowing Mr. Know-it-all—"

"Fred, George," Harry said with a laugh. "I'm here to ask you for a favor."

"Of course, of course," George nodded repeatedly. "After all, even our mum sometimes mistakes us."

"And you've never once done that," Fred added.

"With that alone—"

"We'd be happy to help His Royal Highness."

"Alright," Harry interrupted them. "I know you're good at some things. You can take your time with this, even if it takes two or three years. After dinner tonight, meet me in the Room of Requirement, and I'll explain the details. You’ll be well compensated."

As he said the last part, Harry winked at them playfully.

That night, the Room of Requirement was shaped like the Gryffindor common room—Harry felt most at home here. Fred and George sat across from him on a long couch, looking at him with perfectly synchronized postures.

"You two know about the two-way mirror, right?" Harry leaned forward, placing a pair of two-way mirrors on the table in front of him.

Harry had found these mirrors in the Room of Requirement. When he had paced in front of the door earlier, he had been thinking, "A room where I can talk to Fred and George," and at the last minute added, "Preferably with a pair of two-way mirrors."

Sure enough, the Room of Requirement had conjured them for him, and Harry was even thinking about making a pair for himself over the summer.

Fred and George nodded in unison.

"The essence of a two-way mirror is that it reflects whatever one mirror shows onto the surface of the other mirror, including sound," Harry tapped the mirror. "I want you to make some modifications to these mirrors—you're familiar with Muggle projectors, right?"

"Yes, we've heard of it," Fred answered. "Dad mentioned it once, but we're not exactly clear on how it works."

"You don't need to know all the details," Harry replied. "You just need to replicate the effect using magic." He set one of the two-way mirrors upright and aimed it at himself. "For example, this mirror reflects me, and I want the other mirror to display my image, but magnified, like a projector, so that it can cover the entire hall, or even more people, so they can see clearly."

"That doesn't sound too hard," George said, cautiously picking up the other mirror. "Even someone who's not great at alchemy could do it."

"And also make sure the mirror I'm holding can gather as much information from my surroundings as possible," Harry added slowly.

Harry placed a bag in front of them. "This contains one hundred Galleons as a deposit. I'll pay the rest once it's done. How much depends on the quality of the final product. The better it is, the more I'll pay."

The twins both jumped in surprise, hastily pushing the bag back. "No, no, no, Harry, we don't need that much money," Fred protested. "It's just a small favor—"

"But I need an extraordinary, unparalleled product," Harry said, smiling at them. "Make something worthy of that reward—just have it ready before my fourth year."

Before Fred and George could say anything else, Harry left the Room of Requirement.

Harry was preparing for the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year. He still clearly remembered what Fudge had done during his fifth year to dismiss Harry's claims.

But what if it wasn’t just Harry who witnessed Voldemort's return, but the whole of Hogwarts, or even representatives from other schools?

Fudge could keep deceiving himself and denying it, but no matter what, it wouldn't be as easy for him as it had been last time.

On the morning of the agreed day to send the dragon away, Draco was visibly downcast. Harry didn't recall Draco being so upset at this point in his previous life, so he deliberately sat next to him at the Slytherin table and tried to comfort him for a while.

"If you really want to keep a dragon, why not take better care of yourself?"

Blaise couldn't hold back a laugh and was immediately shot a glare by Draco.

That evening, Harry and Draco made their way to the Astronomy Tower with the dragon in a box. Harry had used a charm on the box so they didn't have to carry it. The baby dragon behaved very well, and Harry rewarded it with some meat.

Charlie arrived as promised and took the Norwegian Ridgeback. Harry didn’t immediately send Draco back but instead pressed him to stay at the top of the tower with him. They sat together on the tower’s roof.

"That’s the constellation Draco," Harry said, undoing his tie and pointing at a distant corner of the galaxy.

"You haven't even started Astronomy classes yet," Draco remarked, following his gaze. "Is Mr. All-Knowing planning to change his name to Mr. Know-it-all?"

"I wouldn't want that," Harry said, not looking back as he continued to gaze at the stars. "It would sound like Hermione and I are a couple. Ron would get jealous."

"Ron and that Granger girl…" Draco began.

"He likes Hermione," Harry said confidently. "He just doesn’t realize it yet."

"But don't they argue all the time?" Draco looked confused. "I thought they were enemies."

"They don’t argue all the time," Harry replied, thinking it over. "They have small disagreements now and then, but if Ron didn’t like Hermione, he wouldn’t care about those arguments so much. They're still young, they don't really understand what liking someone means, but Ron definitely likes Hermione."

"Still young? You sound like an old man," Draco frowned. "I can't see how they like each other."

"Well, imagine one day if Ron and Hermione broke up and stopped speaking to each other," Harry said, smirking. "What do you think Ron would do?"

"He’d probably cry," Draco said with distaste. "I can picture it. He'd look like the world was ending. And Granger would cry even harder than when she saw that troll."

"If they stopped caring that much, they wouldn't act like that," Harry said, taking Draco's hand. "What if one day, you annoyed me and I said I never wanted to talk to you again, and then didn’t speak to you for three days? What would you do?"

"You wouldn't do that!" Draco said quickly, his voice tense. "I've never seen you angry since we’ve been here! You wouldn’t do that! Right?"

"Well, this is what it looks like," Harry said with a smile, raising Draco's hand as the wind at the top of the tower tousled their hair. "I'm not someone who can be easily dismissed in your mind."

Draco stared at Harry, transfixed. It was as if every time he looked at Harry, he couldn't pull his gaze away, unable to break free from the overwhelming thoughts that made his heart race.

From the top of the Astronomy Tower, they could see all of Hogwarts below, the sky full of stars, but no moon. Harry's long hair blew in the wind, revealing the back of his neck, usually hidden.

The night was quiet, the wind gentle. Harry’s emerald eyes locked onto Draco, the depths of his gaze swirling like the motion of water.

It felt as if Harry loved him just as Draco loved him.

Harry put the Invisibility Cloak back on, took Draco's hand, and, avoiding the patrolling professors, quietly descended the Astronomy Tower.

Draco didn't let go of Harry’s hand. The night breeze was cool, but Draco had sweated through his palms.

Harry saw Draco safely to the entrance of the Slytherin common room, then, after watching him enter, he slipped back to Ravenclaw Tower under the Invisibility Cloak.

That night, Draco's dreams were devoid of stars, dragons, or anything else—just a hand holding his in the evening wind.

When he woke up, he was drenched in sweat, his palm still tingling with the warmth of the boy’s touch.

On the night Harry ventured into the Forbidden Forest in his past life, a small white bird flew out of the window of Ravenclaw Tower.

To avoid drawing attention, Harry had undergone a rebirth the night he sent Norbert away. The young phoenix’s wings grew strong enough for long-distance flight after a few days. Even during its growth stage, the phoenix didn’t draw as much attention as a fully grown one would.

Being in an Animagus form that’s too noticeable is not always a good thing.

The small white bird, still too young to be recognized as a phoenix, carried a small twig—actually a magically shrunk wand—and flew toward the Forbidden Forest.

Harry searched a specific area, guided by vague memories, until he spotted an injured unicorn.

The little white phoenix spread its wings and landed beside the unicorn, which lifted its head warily. But upon seeing the phoenix, it relaxed.

The tiny phoenix stayed by the unicorn’s side, its tears falling onto the wound caused by dark magic.

The wound quickly healed, and the unicorn let out a joyous cry, nuzzling its face against the still-growing phoenix.

Harry carefully transformed back into his human form.

The unicorn didn’t seem surprised at all. Harry tentatively reached out to touch its horn, and the unicorn gently nuzzled his palm in response.

"Good child," Harry murmured, giving the unicorn a dose of the healing potion he had prepared. He watched as the unicorn slowly regained its strength, enough to stand up.

Harry gently nudged it away. "The one who hurt you is coming. You need to go."

The unicorn circled around him a few times, clearly reluctant, but eventually followed Harry’s direction and left.

Harry cast a Disillusionment Charm to conceal himself and lay in wait by the pool of blood.

Quirrell arrived.

He didn’t seem overly surprised by the unicorn’s disappearance, as he bent down to drink the unicorn's blood.

Harry, holding the now-restored full-size wand of yew and mistletoe, cast a silent "Stupefy."

Quirrell was caught off guard. Since Harry had put all his strength into the spell, Quirrell immediately collapsed, his robes stained with a bit of the unicorn’s blood.

Harry knelt down, pulled back Quirrell’s hood, and began unwrapping the layers of his headscarf.

His skull was still marked with the face of Voldemort. But Voldemort and Quirrell were now one; Quirrell’s state affected him too. Both heads were now unconscious.

The sound of hooves echoed nearby. Firenze emerged from the undergrowth and stood beside Harry. He seemed to want to say something but fell silent when he saw the unconscious Quirrell and Voldemort.

"An evil and grotesque soul," Firenze said, looking at the blood of the unicorn. "One who would harm such a pure creature, cursed to prolong its own life..."

"And you…" Firenze lifted his gaze to the stars before looking down at Harry. "You are cloaked in the mists of time and fate. I cannot see through you. But I know you have unparalleled power, and strength beyond what anyone could imagine."

"Is Mars bright tonight?" Harry asked him.

"Bright, but not as bright as it should be," Firenze replied, his gaze sharp as he met Harry's eyes.

"That’s good," Harry smiled in relief. "That’s all I was hoping for."

"Can you take care of the unicorn's blood?" Harry asked him, glancing toward Firenze. "I don't want this guy waking up and going back to drinking it."

Firenze nodded, and Harry cast a Floating Charm on Quirrell, sending him toward a nest of Acromantulas. As he left, he made sure to re-wrap Quirrell’s headscarf.

The brightness of Mars meant that war was unavoidable. If Harry had killed Quirrell or destroyed the part of his skull where Voldemort was, trying to forcefully change the course of fate, it might have allowed Voldemort to resurrect in an even stronger form.

Fate follows its own rules, and it cannot be tampered with easily. Many people believe that interfering with fate results in backlash, but that's not necessarily true. With enough power, one can shift the current path of fate, but in the end, it will correct itself in another form.

At that point, the consequences would be far beyond what the person trying to alter fate could bear.

Harry just wanted to save a pure unicorn and make Quirrell suffer a little, nothing more.

Fate could not be easily changed, but a person strong enough to transform into an Animagus in the form of a phoenix should be entitled to some privileges, shouldn’t they?

Harry transformed back into a white phoenix, clutching the shrunken wand in his beak, and flew back to Ravenclaw Tower.

He yawned. Tomorrow he’d sleep in, he thought.

The next morning, Harry indeed overslept. Professor Jones shook his arm to wake him up, and Harry groggily washed up and tied his hair, barely making it to Potions class without even having time for breakfast.

In Potions, Harry wasn’t fully awake yet. Still half-asleep, he yawned and tried to chop nettle roots with a cracking motion, nearly cutting himself.

Harry hadn’t expected that after being reborn, his ability to stay up late would be exactly the same as when he was over 180 years old—no improvement whatsoever!

Wasn’t a lively eleven-year-old supposed to be good at staying up late?

Well, Harry wasn’t. If he stayed up past one o’clock, he felt completely wiped out by the next morning. The whole morning would be a struggle.

"Are you sick?" Snape frowned as he observed Harry yawning repeatedly.

"No," Harry shook his head, his eyes filled with tears from yawning. "I didn't sleep well... I dreamt about a unicorn dying. It was a nightmare, really scary."

"Sleep after class," Snape said in a low tone, raising his hand to check Harry’s forehead to see if he had a fever before leaving.

Harry suddenly realized that Snape was concerned about him and hadn’t docked any points. It made him snap awake, and he managed to finish Potions class reasonably well.

Though Harry’s handling of the materials was a bit odd, mainly thanks to Draco’s help, the final potion still turned out perfectly, exceeding Snape's expectations.

Harry decided he would go to the Chamber of Secrets to search for the Basilisk over the weekend; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to muster the energy for his classes the next day.

Chapter Text

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Harry slipped into the bathroom, hearing the splashing sounds of Moaning Myrtle struggling in the toilet.

He didn’t use the Invisibility Cloak, as the tunnel wasn’t exactly clean. Instead, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and raised his hand to touch the snake-shaped tap.

"Open," Harry spoke in Parseltongue.

The sink twisted open, revealing a deep underground tunnel.

Harry cast a Weightless Charm on himself and jumped down.

Compared to the last time he entered the Chamber of Secrets in his previous life, this time, the Chamber wasn’t damp. It had the dry, sandy feel typical of underground spaces.

With the dim flicker of his lumos spell, Harry moved forward. He found himself longing for Muggle flashlights, especially high-powered ones.

They worked far better than his current spell.

After walking for a while, Harry came across a large snake shed. This was a rare potion ingredient, so Harry had brought a bag suited to preserving such materials. After casting a Shrinking Charm on the shed, he placed it inside.

Professor Snape’s birthday was just a few days away. He would like this gift.

The sound of water reached Harry’s ears.

He was there.

"Open," Harry spoke to the row of emerald-eyed serpents.

The door to the Chamber of Secrets opened with a hiss, revealing enough space for a basilisk to move around and the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"Speak to me, Slytherin—greatest of the Four Founders," Harry hissed, repeating the words Tom Riddle had once spoken.

The statue's mouth slowly opened, and just before the basilisk emerged, Harry raised his wand.

"Eros."

A flash of blue light streaked through the air, and the basilisk’s eyes could no longer kill him.

The counter-curse for the Killing Curse could stop the flow of life, but the incantation was the name of the god of love.

The creators of the Dark Arts textbook had called it the "Love of Death," but Harry had originally wanted to call the counter-curse something simpler, like "Cupid’s Curse." However, that idea was rejected because it didn’t emphasize the nature of the Killing Curse’s counter.

The true way to overcome death was not through Horcruxes, the Deathly Hallows, or any other means, but simply through love. Because of love, death could no longer shake fragile life.

This was something Voldemort could never understand.

When the basilisk emerged from the tunnel and locked its yellow eyes on Harry, a look of surprise crossed its snake-like face, something even Harry could see.

"You didn’t die," the basilisk hissed, circling Harry. "Are you a descendant of Slytherin? But even they could not look directly into my eyes."

"Sort of," Harry replied, looking at its eyes. "Salazar left you here to cleanse Hogwarts of those he deemed unworthy of magic, correct?"

"Yes, and to guard Hogwarts when necessary," the basilisk said, rearing up and looking down at Harry. "You’ve summoned me. Why?"

"But that is wrong," Harry said calmly. "Non-magical bloodlines should also have the right to learn magic."

The basilisk rose a bit higher, its tone threatening. "Are you questioning Salazar’s decision?"

"Yes, I think I have the right," Harry stood tall, staring back into the basilisk’s eyes, unafraid. "Salazar’s order was wrong, and next year, a piece of his descendant’s soul will give you that command. I hope you do not obey."

"Only Salazar’s descendants have the right to command me," the basilisk hissed, narrowing its eyes. "Though you speak our language, I can tell you do not have Slytherin’s blood."

"Yes, but you’re not curious about how I speak Parseltongue?" Harry said. "Only Slytherin's descendants have that ability, yet I do not share his blood."

"Speak."

Harry took out the diadem of Ravenclaw.

"This has an eighth of that man’s soul," Harry said, watching the basilisk flick its tongue, sensing the diadem’s scent. "You know of Horcruxes?"

"Dark magic," the basilisk hissed, its pupils contracting. "Salazar made me consume one of these dark wizards."

"An eighth of a soul..."

"This man killed my parents, and because of that massacre, a piece of his soul was accidentally split and merged with mine. Because of that, I gained some of his traits, including the ability to speak Parseltongue."

"Even so, will you still serve him?" Harry asked softly. "A mad, fractured Dark Lord?"

"He is a descendant of Slytherin. He has a purpose in doing this."

"He has no purpose!" Harry's voice rose sharply. "He seeks immortality—to ensure his crimes and reign can continue forever! Salazar’s mistake flows down through the bloodline. They think pure blood means strength, but they don't understand the damage caused by inbreeding! This ignorance—accepting only pure-bloods had merits in the past, but we are no longer in the past. What worked a thousand years ago is harmful today!"

"How dare you—" the basilisk roared, its mouth opening to reveal fangs longer than Harry’s forearm.

"Stick together." Harry pointed his wand at the basilisk's wide-open mouth.

The basilisk couldn't use its venomous fangs and instead twisted its body, attempting to strangle Harry with brute force, but it was quickly undone by a weakening spell.

The basilisk collapsed to the ground, unable to move, coiled loosely like a black rope. "I’ve defeated you," Harry said, looking down at it. "I thought magical creatures usually obey those stronger than themselves?"

"That’s something only mindless beasts would do!" the basilisk hissed angrily, its mouth still unable to open—fortunately, snakes didn’t need to open their mouths to speak. "I admit you’re powerful, but I will not obey your commands."

"Such a shame," Harry sighed. "Then we’ll have to meet again next year. Next year, someone like me will come to find you and make you harm the students at Hogwarts. You can obey them, but you’ve already been awakened by me."

"I hope that in this year, you’ll see for yourself what Hogwarts is like now, and judge for yourself whether Salazar’s decision was truly correct."

"You're not going to stop me?" The basilisk narrowed its eyes slightly.

I can't stop fate. Harry looked at him. "I can only change its direction to a limited extent." If you are willing to repent, I can keep you. "

"What if I don't want to? "The basilisk spat out a letter from the gap between its lips.

"Then you will be killed by me next year, along with one of eighth of Mr. Riddle's soul. Harry hissed back with more force. "Hogwarts doesn't need a monster that can hurt students now."

"The basilisk didn't respond because it knew that Harry would really kill it. He definitely has the ability. But admitting the mistakes Slytherin made also made it resist. "Slytherin's approach was indeed unique at the time. rationality."

Harry looked at the statue of Salazar behind the Basilisk. "But today, mistakes are mistakes. Salazar left you here because he must have hoped that you could protect Hogwarts for a long time. If you really hurt the students here, does that count as violating the second order Salazar gave you? You have a year to think it over, take your time,” Harry said, lifting the spell off the Basilisk and tucking the crown back into his pocket as he turned to leave the chamber.

“Don’t disappoint Hogwarts’ expectations.”

Harry felt that he had done all he could. If the Basilisk still insisted on its own path, Harry wouldn’t hesitate to kill it, just like he did in his previous life with Godric Gryffindor's sword.

After all, the Basilisk’s death wouldn’t affect the effectiveness of its venomous fangs.

Harry hadn’t managed to stay at Hogwarts for so many years just by relying on his fame as the "Chosen One." Over the course of more than a century, there had been many attempts by the Ministry of Magic and parents to interfere politically with education. But during Harry’s time as headmaster, not a single Umbridge had managed to set foot in Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was known for his mercy and enlightenment, while Harry, having inherited those qualities, also possessed the iron grip and unassailable authority of a former Head of the Auror Office.

Professor Flitwick once said that when Harry sat in the headmaster’s office, rejecting the Minister for Magic’s opinions, he looked every bit like a regal king.

Harry always smiled in front of the students, and many forgot that the seemingly wise and gentle big cat was, in essence, a giant lion with steel teeth and eagle wings.

Inside the heart of the giant lion was a snake, and so Harry possessed the cunning of a serpent, the bravery of a lion, and the wisdom of an eagle. On the day he was made Headmaster, he stood at the heart of Hogwarts and swore his eternal loyalty to her.

Under Harry's nearly 150 years of leadership, Hogwarts thrived and remained safe.

“Can you believe it—there are still two months until finals, I mean, two months!” Ron waved his chicken leg around, while Hermione was still on her way back to the Great Hall from the library. “And she’s already making us revise!”

“But two months really isn’t that far off,” Jones said, dodging a drop of oil that had splattered off Ron’s chicken leg. “Keep your voice down, Hermione’s almost back.”

Ron immediately fell silent, the traits of a henpecked husband already showing. Harry chuckled as he popped a piece of beef into his mouth. Ron insisted that he didn’t want Hermione to cry like she did after the troll incident.

True. person. who's. emotion that's. only. worth. a. teaspoon.

And when Snape volunteered to referee the Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin Quidditch match during Harry’s second game, even though Snape had already received the Basilisk skin Harry had gifted him, Harry knew Snape would never stop favoring Slytherin just for him. So, just like in his previous life, Harry caught the Golden Snitch in less than five minutes into the match.

The Ravenclaw team erupted in cheers as they threw Harry into the air again. In his peripheral vision, Harry saw Cho Chang, who hadn’t yet made the team, waving the Ravenclaw flag and cheering for him.

After finally escaping the crowd, Harry gathered his courage and approached Professor Snape.

“Is there something you need?” Snape asked, looking at Harry, his tone uncharacteristically calm.

Goodness, Harry still hadn’t gotten used to this—Snape, who wasn’t mocking him and could communicate normally!

“Did you like the birthday gift I gave you?” Harry asked, looking up at him. His hair, which he had tied up for the match, had returned to a low ponytail. “I didn’t mention in the letter that the Basilisk skin was shrunk; it’s actually quite large. I was afraid it might fill up your office when the charm wore off, so I didn’t write about it.”

“I see.” Snape’s voice remained low, but it seemed to carry a hint of… satisfaction and perhaps even joy? Harry suspected he was hearing things. That old Muggle saying was true—no matter how many years you’ve graduated or even served as headmaster, when you see a former teacher, you still shrink back a little.

“Are you afraid of me?” Snape asked, eyeing him.

“Uh…” Harry shivered, “A bit, yeah. Because of how you were in class…”

“Are you referring to how I was strict in class?” Snape furrowed his brow. “That attitude is reserved for the trolls who have brains full of weeds. Your grades are excellent, and many of the ideas in your papers even gave me some inspiration. You don’t need to be so afraid of me.”

It wasn’t entirely Harry’s fault. Whether as a student or as headmaster still unfamiliar with the workings of Hogwarts, he had often heard Snape’s biting sarcasm. For example, “If you remember the format of this document, even the first line, don’t respond to the poor new Head of the Auror Office with words that even a Pigwidgeon would consider too abstract,” or, “If your finger hasn’t been pierced by a Hungarian Horntail, don’t use that kind of pressure to handle this poor parchment.”

Even after Harry had improved significantly, Snape remained silent, only offering a brief compliment when Harry had developed an improved version of the Wolfsbane Potion.

And it had only been a single compliment.

Now, the shock Harry felt from this Snape was no less than witnessing Ron tell Hermione, on a day that wasn’t April Fool’s, “I don’t like you anymore. Let’s get a divorce.”

"Then, can I call you Severus?" Harry asked carefully.

"Of course."

My goodness, Harry thought, staring at Snape, who seemed completely unbothered and even a little pleased. He was speechless with shock.

Could the change in his hair—now so smooth and longer—have had such an effect?

But no matter how shocked Harry was, the exams still had to be taken. Although Harry was more than capable of grading the papers at his current level, he was still a student.

It’s worth mentioning Draco's birthday. Harry had been tinkering with something in the Room of Requirement for two weeks, and on Draco’s birthday, he gave him a watch.

Harry had made some modifications to the watch’s face, essentially embedding a long-lasting Eros charm. As long as Draco wore the watch, he couldn’t be harmed—unless Voldemort in his full strength personally cast Avada Kedavra on him.

He had shaped the hands of the watch into the form of a snake, and the back of the watch bore the Malfoy family crest. It was understated yet conveyed a sense of elegance and luxury, perfectly matching every aesthetic preference Draco Malfoy had.

Draco loved the watch and wore it almost all the time, except when he was sleeping.

As the time for the end-of-term exams and the day when Quirrell would steal the Philosopher’s Stone approached, Harry found himself visiting the library more and more, with a large group of people all sprawled out across the tables with him.

The view from Ravenclaw Tower was beautiful. Harry had developed a habit of standing by the window every night before bed, looking out at the landscape. He had been observing Hogwarts for a long, long time.

Back when Muggle technology had integrated with the magical world in his past life, a base station had been built next to Hogwarts, and the castle had undergone renovations—still largely the same as it was a hundred years ago, but with noticeable differences in the details.

From student to headmaster, and now back to being a student again.

Since he was now in Ravenclaw, wouldn’t it be a bit odd not to aim for first place?

No matter the time, preparing for exams was always a torment. Harry felt like he was a Muggle university student who had aced calculus, trying to help a group of elementary schoolers revise basic arithmetic.

As a result, daydreaming became the norm. Eventually, Harry just stopped worrying about them and focused on writing his paper, "The Effects of Magical Input on the Brewing Process and Final Results of Potions."

This was one of his core research findings from his previous life. According to the magical power conversion formula he had developed, it was theoretically possible to shorten the time required to brew Felix Felicis to just three days.

Of course, it was just theoretical. Even Harry couldn’t achieve such precise and complex long-term magical output. However, before Harry drank that poisoned drink, several students had tried to combine magical output with Muggle technology to create a high-precision magical output device.

If that poisoned drink had arrived two or three years later, Harry might have actually been able to witness the entire process of brewing a batch of Felix Felicis in just three days.

Whenever someone came to ask Harry a question, he would generally just hand over the notebook he had carefully compiled, along with the papers he had written. The only subject that required more attention was History of Magic. But Harry had studied it seriously, and his notes, along with Hermione's, became Ron’s lifesaver.

Draco was also dragged into running to the library every other day, and by the time the exam days arrived, Harry was calm as if he wasn’t about to take an exam, while Jones nervously bit his nails down to the quick, relying entirely on the calming and sleeping potions Harry had brewed to survive.

Compared to the exams, Harry cared more about what Quirrell would do after the tests were over. He had originally thought he would be the one to face the obstacles alone, but unexpectedly, Ron and Hermione rushed to find Harry on the very day after the exams.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking at Ron, whose face was full of anxiety.

"Harry, we need your help!" Hermione said, as if she had just hurriedly come from somewhere. "The Philosopher's Stone is about to be stolen!"

Chapter Text

Hi dear readers, before the story started well-- if you can, do me a favour and read this new one shot I translated? I promise it is good. (I cried myself at the first time I read it) qwq

[Drarry] Miss Granger Has a Secret.

Anyways! If not its alright, let's get the story started!

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“Philosopher’s Stone?” Draco raised an eyebrow, clearly knowing about it. “It’s at Hogwarts?”

Harry, through Hermione’s explanation, pieced together the details.

While Harry was in his Ravenclaw lesson, Hermione and Ron, just like in their previous life, had accidentally stumbled into the room on the fourth floor with the three-headed dog. They were terrified, but it was also how they noticed the trapdoor guarded by Fluffy.

Without Harry’s involvement, they hadn’t realized that the items stolen from Gringotts were connected to Hogwarts. They had learned about Nicolas Flamel from Hagrid, but they still didn’t know who he was. That was until Ron ate the Chocolate Frog Harry had passed him and found Dumbledore's card in the box.

Hermione quickly uncovered who Nicolas Flamel was, and the significance of the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog became clear.

“Snape wants to steal the Philosopher’s Stone!” Ron said hurriedly. “Do you remember the day we defeated the troll? Snape had that scar on his leg, that was from Fluffy! Malfoy went to the professors for help, and he said Snape had come down from the fourth floor!”

“Impossible!” Draco instinctively retorted. “What would he want with the Philosopher’s Stone? He’s never been after immortality or wealth—”

“It’s not Snape,” Harry’s voice interrupted the argument that Ron was about to make. “I know who it is. We need to stop him, we’re running out of time.”

Harry’s expression was unusually serious. He had originally thought that Quirrell would try to steal the Stone at the same time as in his previous life, but the actions he had taken couldn’t have had no impact. Perhaps it was the inability to drink unicorn blood that made Voldemort weaker, perhaps it was Harry’s attack that gave him a sense of urgency, or maybe it was a combination of other events influencing the timeline.

Whatever the case, Quirrell was attempting to steal the Philosopher’s Stone earlier than before.

“Let’s go!” Harry stood up and ran toward the fourth floor, with the other two following closely behind. Familiar with Hogwarts like the back of his hand, Harry led them through the castle, and the stairs, which usually had a mind of their own, suddenly became quiet, turning to the exact spot Harry needed.

Harry had been loyal to Hogwarts his entire life, and he had ruled her heart for over a hundred and fifty years. Even now, reborn, the mark Hogwarts left on his soul hadn’t disappeared.

The castle recognized his loyalty and submitted to his rule.

When the Ministry of Magic had once schemed to send Harry to Asia, hoping to secretly place two professors there, the magic of the castle had refused them entry. Harry had returned three months later, smiling faintly at the Minister of Magic, who was standing at the castle door, waiting for an explanation.

“Hogwarts, do you want them to enter?” Harry asked softly.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind surged out from the castle doors, blowing away the Minister and his supporters, while bypassing Harry entirely. The wind only served to lift his long hair and the edges of his robes, as if a mere decoration.

Now, Hogwarts had chosen to help Harry, even though she was still unfamiliar with him.

Because Harry’s soul still carried his loyalty to her, and hers to him.

The castle acknowledged this Headmaster, an acknowledgment that spanned both the past and the future.

“Here, this way!” Harry led them through a door that suddenly appeared behind a portrait.

The door took them through a corridor that would have normally taken them three minutes to navigate.

Hogwarts was paving the way for her king.

In less than five minutes, they arrived at the room on the fourth floor. The door opened for Harry before he even used Alohomora, revealing the three-headed dog and the harp inside.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Harry flicked his wand, and the harp floated directly into his hands.

He strummed it carelessly a few times. Though it didn’t produce any coherent tune, the three-headed dog slowly fell asleep.

Ron immediately ran to open the trapdoor, and Harry stood by the door with the harp in hand. “You go first!”

Once the three of them had jumped down, Harry quickly lowered the harp, jumped down himself, and closed the trapdoor before Fluffy could wake up.

Not long after Harry landed in the Devil’s Snare, Draco summoned fire. Before it could entangle him, the Devil’s Snare quickly retreated.

“But there’s no match here—Granger, don’t you know you’re a witch?” Draco’s tone was full of mockery and sarcasm. Seeing Ron about to explode, Harry had to step in before they could start another argument.

“Hermione’s not from a wizarding family. In a crisis, she’s probably just more used to Muggle ways.” Harry spoke up to ease the tension, but unexpectedly, Draco wasn’t pleased.

“We should just keep going,” Hermione said, trying to change the subject. Fortunately, the situation didn’t allow for any further distractions, and the group quickly dropped the topic and continued forward.

Harry sent Hermione a quiet, thankful glance.

Next came the room filled with winged keys. Ron used Alohomora on the door, but it didn’t work.

“This door’s been charmed with an anti-Alohomora,” Draco said, examining it. “It can only be opened with the key.”

“Looks like we need an old-fashioned, big key,” Ron said. Harry, meanwhile, had already taken to the air on his broomstick.

“The youngest Seeker in a century, hmm?” Draco looked up at him. “Seems like this challenge was made for you.”

Harry quickly found the key with a broken wing and inserted it into the lock, opening the door.

Behind it was a giant wizard's chessboard.

“Looks like we need to play the pieces on the board.”

Though Harry was familiar with the rules of wizard’s chess, he didn’t play often. He simply watched as Ron and Draco argued over the best moves.

With Draco’s help, this game didn’t require any sacrifices to win. The king threw his crown at Harry’s feet, and the pieces parted to let them through.

As soon as Harry opened the door to the next challenge, he was hit by the stench of the troll. Unable to bear it, he pulled out his wand and cast several Air-Freshening charms. Ron stepped up and slapped Harry on the shoulder.

“You’ve basically saved my life, mate.”

Draco looked even more disgusted than Hermione. They skirted around the troll and arrived at Snape’s challenge.

Harry had long since forgotten the contents of the bottles, but after Hermione read the poem aloud, he quickly deduced the correct answers.

“What’s curious to me,” Harry said as he glanced at the note, “is that clearly, each challenge corresponds to a professor. Fluffy is Hagrid, the Devil’s Snare is Sprout, the key is Flitwick, the chess game is McGonagall, the troll is Quirrell, and this potion challenge is Snape—looks like we’re almost at the end, just as it said. Only one potion will let us pass through the flames.”

Draco tilted his head and studied Harry. He noticed Harry addressed Snape and McGonagall by their first names, without the usual "Professor" title.

But Harry truly had just forgotten. He’d worked with these professors for so long in his past life, and after years of being a student, then a colleague, and now Headmaster, it was a shift that was difficult for them to accept.

They always called him "Headmaster," but Harry had never quite gotten used to calling them "Professor." When he first started as a teacher, McGonagall had corrected him for weeks before he got the hang of it.

“—For example, this one will let us pass through the black fire, and this one will let us return through the purple fire.”

Harry and Hermione both pointed to the two bottles.

“This one probably only has enough for one drink,” Draco observed, glancing at the potion that would let them pass the black fire. “But the other bottle has plenty.”

“Up ahead will be the person trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone.” Harry’s voice was low but melodic, almost like a whisper. “I have to face him, and you—”

He turned to look at Ron, Hermione, and—Draco.

“You need to go back and find Dumbledore immediately. If he’s not there, go find McGonagall. Make sure you tell Dumbledore as soon as possible and get him back here in time.”

“Harry!” Draco frowned, his tone reluctant. “You’re going alone?”

“I am.” Harry interrupted him. “In that kind of situation, I can’t worry about anyone else, and there’s not enough potion for more than one of us. If you really want to help me, go find a professor and bring them to me.”

“Trust me.” Harry stepped forward and gave Draco a reassuring hug, whispering softly in his ear. “I promise, I’ll be fine.”

Draco awkwardly rubbed the side of his neck, which had turned red from the soft words Harry had whispered in his ear.

“Go.”

Harry watched as the three of them disappeared into the purple fire before drinking the potion that felt like ice coursing through his body. He stepped into the room where the Mirror of Erised was kept.

The room where Quirrell and Voldemort awaited.

“Quirrell,” Harry said, looking at the man standing before him. “It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me,” Quirrell replied with a smile. “Who would suspect poor, st-st-stammering Professor Quirrell?”

“I would,” Harry said, looking up at him. “Because I never doubted Snape from the beginning.”

“Snape, ah, of course, he’s always suspected me.” Quirrell paced in front of the mirror. “He’s cautious, though I don’t know how he managed to reverse the curse and get your broom to work again, but that’s no longer important.”

“He failed, and here I stand.”

Quirrell snapped his fingers, and a rope appeared out of nowhere, binding Harry tightly. “Now, I need to have a look at this mirror.”

And Harry knew that he would gain nothing but the false illusion in the mirror.

“I see the Philosopher’s Stone. I’m giving it to my master,” Quirrell muttered, searching around the mirror. “But where is it? Could it be hidden in the mirror? Do I need to break the mirror? What should I do? Master, Master, help me!”

“Use that boy… use that boy…” The hoarse voice came from under Quirrell’s turban, sounding even weaker than it had when Harry had heard it before.

Harry struggled with all his might not to immediately destroy Voldemort in that moment.

The course of destiny could not be altered recklessly. If Harry did that, fate would only have Voldemort return in an even stronger form and take away Harry’s advantage of controlling his own fate, which he had gained through his rebirth.

“Use that boy… Harry!” Quirrell grabbed him and pulled him in front of the mirror. “Tell me, what do you see?”

This was the first time Harry had seen the Mirror of Erised since his rebirth.

At first, the mirror reflected nothing. Then, slowly, the entire Hogwarts castle appeared, including the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest. The image in the mirror gradually zoomed in and shifted. Harry saw himself, newly appointed Headmaster, dancing with Draco in the middle of the dance floor. Ron, holding Hermione, who was pregnant, walked by the Black Lake. Students ran and played inside the castle. His parents, Sirius, Severus, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Fred, Cedric… all the regrets of his past life were made whole in the mirror.

Then everything in the mirror vanished, leaving only Harry and Draco. The figures in the mirror grew younger and younger, until they matched their present selves.

In the mirror, Draco kissed Harry on the corner of his lips and placed something in his pocket.

Harry’s pocket felt heavier—he had received the Philosopher’s Stone.

“What did you see? Tell me, what did you see?”

“I saw myself grow up, becoming a powerful wizard, and I became the Headmaster of Hogwarts,” Harry said. “The person I love is happy, holding my hand and kissing me.”

“He’s lying! He’s lying!”

“Let me talk to him…”

Quirrell, unable to argue with Voldemort, slowly removed his turban.

Harry looked at the face on the back of Quirrell’s head, his expression calm, not at all like that of an eleven-year-old child.

“Look at what I’ve become now! No body, just a shadow and steam. Only by sharing a body with another can I have a physical form…”

“Congratulations,” Harry said, a smile that could only be described as cruel spreading across his face. “You’ve finally realized you’re nothing more than a fly that can only buzz and hover around trash bins.”

The blue and white flames suddenly flared up, easily severing the ropes that bound Quirrell. Harry didn’t draw his wand; instead, he rushed forward and grabbed Quirrell’s face with his hands.

The magic Lily had left behind before her death remained powerful even after over a hundred and eighty years. This love protected Harry, even though time had passed and her child no longer needed her protection.

Harry no longer suffered from headaches when touching Voldemort. Coldly, he reached for the part of Quirrell’s skull that was still connected to Voldemort and forced the smoky form to leave the body.

The magic that burned Quirrell and Voldemort flowed through Harry’s veins, and he was surrounded by love.

If Voldemort had witnessed Harry developing a counter-curse for the Killing Curse, he would never have believed or understood that the counter-curse to the Killing Curse was the name of the god of love.

The love of family, the love of friends, the love of a partner, the great love for both Muggles and wizards—Voldemort understood none of these types of love, and for that reason, he was destined to fail.

Quirrell crumbled and disintegrated like ash. Voldemort shrieked and fled the scene, the dark shadow slamming into Harry’s body.

Harry didn’t use his magical power to defend against the blow. After all, fate must be followed at the right time. Harry allowed himself to fall, closing his eyes.

Even without defense, with the amount of magic Harry had stored inside him and Voldemort’s weakened state, Harry would be fine. It was no worse than a mild cold.

It was like catching up on sleep, Harry thought as he closed his eyes.

Facts: This time, Harry did not lie to Quirrell.

𓅪

Chapter Text

Draco barely managed to get through the flames, but when he saw Harry lying on the ground, his heart nearly stopped. They had gone to find the professors just as Harry had instructed them—things had gone more smoothly than they had imagined. Snape had been nearby and immediately believed Hermione and the others, leading Professor McGonagall to the hidden passage. They had also sent the letter to Dumbledore. Draco had thought they would make it in time and that the professors would help Harry get rid of the intruder.

But Harry was just lying there, all alone, surrounded by a pile of dead ashes. For a moment, Draco thought he had lost him—they had arrived too late, and Harry was already gone.

It wasn't until he touched Harry’s warm skin and felt his steady heartbeat that he could finally breathe again.

Draco didn't even know when he had thrown himself by Harry’s side.

"He’s still alive," Draco spoke, only realizing how tight his vocal cords were. "He’s alive... he’s fine..."

Snape approached and cast a few diagnostic spells on Harry before picking him up. "I’ll take him to the hospital wing."

Looking at Draco’s pale and disoriented expression, Snape, unusually soft, added, "He’s fine, just passed out."

Liar, Draco thought as he heard Hermione sobbing. But he wasn't thinking of Snape; he was thinking of Harry.

You promised me you wouldn’t be hurt.

When Harry woke up in the hospital wing, it was already dark. At first, he thought he had passed out and slept until evening, but when he checked the time, he realized he had been asleep for three whole days.

His injuries weren’t severe enough to cause such a long sleep. Perhaps it was time magic, or fate, or the effects of the potion. But at least Harry had slept soundly; he felt well-rested and was about to stretch when he noticed an unusual sensation in his right hand.

He looked down.

Draco was sitting on a low stool, slumped over with his head resting on the side of Harry’s bed. The Malfoy heir rarely showed such a disheveled side—his hair was a tangled mess, looking like it hadn’t been washed in days. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face had visibly thinned out.

On the bedside table, there were piles of gifts. There were so many that some had spilled onto the floor.

"Draco," Harry whispered, gently shaking him.

The blonde young man woke up almost immediately, staring blankly at Harry, which made Harry chuckle softly.

"Why aren’t you in bed?" Harry asked, reaching up to gently smooth his hair. His tone was scolding but soft, so tender that it made the moon outside seem to blush. "You haven’t been eating properly, have you? How could you not take care of yourself?"

"I thought I was too late," Draco said, his voice suddenly filled with a sense of deep hurt. It was as if there had been many times before when Harry had almost lost his life, and Draco could only stand by his bedside, helpless. "I thought I was going to lose you."

Draco was terrified. He had been afraid for Harry’s safety, his heart aching whenever Harry even furrowed his brows. He didn’t know what had happened, but three days ago, he had suddenly realized just how much he cared for Harry Potter—cared in a way that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

He still vividly remembered the feeling of his heart stopping when he saw Harry lying there, as though the whole world inside him had collapsed, leaving only the shell of his body behind.

That feeling had become his instinct, an instinct he couldn’t understand, one he didn’t know where it came from.

"You haven’t lost me," Harry said, cupping his face and looking into his eyes, his green eyes full of tenderness that could drown Draco. "I’m still here. I’m fine, just really tired. I slept longer than I should have."

"Who sleeps for three days?" Draco frowned as Harry gently pulled him onto the bed.

"How long has it been since you’ve slept?" Harry asked, brushing his fingers over Draco’s dark under-eye circles. "You’ve lost weight. Look at all the food by your bedside—how could you let yourself get like this?"

Draco suddenly felt an impulse to cry.

It was as though he had lost Harry and those gentle words for a long, long time—so long that he could almost forget his own name. Yet now, once again, he had Harry by his side.

The tension that had been building in Draco for so long loosened all at once. He couldn't hold on much longer and fell into a deep sleep. Harry watched his sleeping face, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.

Draco's expression and words earlier... it was almost as if they had been in love for over a hundred years in a past life. Harry even had the illusion that Draco had been reborn alongside him.

Harry remembered the dream Draco had mentioned in his letter to him.

Although Draco hadn't shown any signs of reincarnation yet, Harry recalled that in their previous life, Draco had briefly been the master of the Elder Wand.

It was hard to say.

Harry had already been asleep for three days, but after Draco's passing, it had taken Harry almost five years to get used to sleeping alone. Now that he was once again sleeping beside his lover, his body’s memories reignited like a blazing fire. The well-rested Harry found himself sleeping from night until noon.

When Harry awoke, Draco had returned to his usual neat and composed Malfoy demeanor, though the weight he had lost was still very noticeable. Harry finally managed to send Draco off to the Great Hall for a meal, giving himself some time alone with Ron and Hermione.

"He stayed by your side for three whole days, not even Madam Pomfrey could get him to leave your bedside!" Ron said, still looking incredulous. "If I didn’t know you two were just friends, I would’ve thought Draco was guarding his—"

"Wife," Hermione finished, and Ron immediately agreed, though he still felt something was off, but quickly shrugged it off.

"Everyone knows now! Just look at all these gifts, and this is after we’ve already cleared some away! Harry, you're amazing."

Harry blushed a little at Hermione’s praise. "Don’t say that, you two are amazing as well. If it weren’t for you, I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far. I’m terrible at chess, and my knowledge of Herbology is barely anything."

"We solved this together, not just you," Ron and Hermione said in unison.

They fell silent for a moment, then Ron slapped Harry on the back, grinning like the sun shining down on Harry's face. "Exactly, mate!"

Harry smiled contentedly on the bed.

To have two friends like them in life—this was enough.

Later, Dumbledore visited Harry, and reluctantly asked Draco to leave.

"Mr. Malfoy cares deeply for you," Dumbledore said, smiling as he took a lemon drop from Harry. "I heard he kept watch over you for three days straight, never leaving your side."

"That’s him," Harry said with a fond, yet helpless smile.

"Ah, youth is a wonderful thing," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I was going to tell you something, but now it seems there’s no need."

"Indeed," Harry sighed. "I didn’t believe it at first either."

"Didn't believe what?"

"That I actually got into Ravenclaw," Harry said. "It’s so strange, and I’m more used to sitting in the Headmaster's office than a classroom. One morning, I woke up late and, still groggy, ended up walking to the Headmaster’s office by habit. The two stone guardians stepped aside for me, and only then did I realize something felt off. And then I realized, oh, I’m not the Headmaster anymore."

"You became Headmaster?" Dumbledore's eyes lit up, filled with disbelief and joy. "Child, you—"

"Though I don’t want to admit it, Albus," Harry cut him off, "I’m nearly three generations older than you now. You can call me Grandpa—oh, Merlin, that’s too strange. Let’s forget that part."

"Headmaster," Dumbledore settled on a more neutral term. "So, you’ve lived to be 160? If I make it to your graduation, but there’s never been a wizard with that kind of lifespan, unless they constantly use the Elixir of Life."

"Speaking of the Elixir of Life, what happened to the Philosopher's Stone? If I recall, Nicolas Flamel wanted to destroy it."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "He still has some Elixir left, enough to see to everything. And—"

"And for someone with a clear mind, death is just another grand adventure."

They both said the words at the same time.

"It truly is a novel adventure," Harry said with a wry smile. "And I suppose my long life comes from becoming the Master of the Deathly Hallows. I didn’t die of natural causes—Draco passed away when I was 130. Hermione and Ron also left me, and since then, the rest of my life has felt endless."

"I even wonder if I could live forever, but what would that mean?"

"You love him," Dumbledore sighed. "It seems young Mr. Malfoy doesn’t have complete amnesia of the past either."

"Obviously. In our past life, he was still at odds with me," Harry laughed softly. "Earlier, you told me why Voldemort couldn’t harm me, and about my mother’s love for me."

"I’m honored," Dumbledore nodded. "I won’t disturb you any longer. Otherwise, young Mr. Malfoy might chase me away."

As soon as Dumbledore left, Draco immediately pounced on Harry.

"What did you two talk about?" he asked.

"He told me a few things, like why Quirrell couldn’t touch me."

"Why?"

Harry explained to Draco about his mother's magic, and the power of that magic.

Draco listened silently, his hand tightly gripping Harry's.

"Voldemort doesn’t believe in love, Draco. That’s why his defeat was inevitable," Harry said, noticing that Draco didn’t even react to Voldemort's name. Draco might not have even noticed it himself.

"Voldemort sees love as a weakness, while immortality and power require strength and control. But love is the most powerful force of all. It transcends death and time, and that’s something Voldemort will never understand, nor will he ever possess. Just as my parents loved me, and Hermione and Ron loved me, and I loved them."

"Just like I love you."

Draco looked up sharply, meeting Harry’s eyes, which were full of warmth and affection.

"Do you love me, Draco? Do you love me as I love you?"

Draco knew Harry was talking about love as friends, but as he stared into those eyes, his heart racing, he realized that his feelings for Harry were far more than just friendship.

"Of course, I love you too."

Draco lied.

He answered Harry's question about friendship love with the love of lovers.

That evening, when Harry left the hospital wing and joined Ron and the others in the Great Hall, he was startled by the thunderous applause that erupted.

"I knew this would happen!" Ron yelled in Harry’s ear. "You’re the hero of Hogwarts, Harry!"

"You are too," Harry said, giving Ron a playful punch on the shoulder, before sitting down at the Ravenclaw table near the Slytherin side, amidst the cheers.

Because of Harry’s outstanding achievements, he had earned many points for Ravenclaw—especially in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration. He could earn more than twenty points for Ravenclaw each day. This time, without Professor McGonagall taking away 150 points from Gryffindor, their score was still impressive.

When Harry arrived at the Great Hall, the decorations were in blue and white Ravenclaw style, but he wasn’t sure if Ravenclaw was still in first place after the points were tallied.

"Hufflepuff: 412."

Had Harry remembered wrong? He thought Hufflepuff's score hadn’t been that high last time.

"Gryffindor: 423."

"Slytherin: 473."

"Ravenclaw: 540!"

"Fantastic, Harry! Everyone knows how many points you’ve earned for our House!" Jones cheered. "The know-it-all, our lucky star!"

"But I think everything that’s happened recently should also be counted."

"Ron and Draco, they played the most brilliant game of chess Hogwarts has seen in fifty years, giving Slytherin and Gryffindor an extra fifty points."

Cheers erupted again.

"Hermione Granger, for her brilliant analysis and reasoning, Gryffindor earns fifty points!"

"Harry Potter, for courageously confronting Quirrell and protecting the Philosopher’s Stone—Ravenclaw earns sixty points!"

"Wait, does this mean Slytherin and Gryffindor are tied?" Jones exclaimed in surprise.

"The final result is—Ravenclaw, 600 points, in first place!"

A wave of cheers, applause, and whistles erupted from the long table. Many people gathered around Harry, praising him and offering words of gratitude.

"Second place, Gryffindor and Slytherin! It’s quite rare to have a tie, especially considering the good relationship between the first-year students of Slytherin and Gryffindor this year—"

Ron and Hermione both looked up at Pansy and Blaise, their faces full of shared distaste. However, neither of them voiced any objections to Dumbledore’s announcement.

"—So, I’ve decided, on my own authority, that Gryffindor and Slytherin will share second place!"

"Third place, Hufflepuff!"

"Let’s congratulate Ravenclaw!"

"Draco!" Harry turned and grabbed Draco’s hand. The room was filled with cheers, but Harry's eyes were focused only on one person. "I can come to your house this summer, right?"

"Of course," Draco replied, gripping Harry’s hand in return. "Always."

Harry thought to himself, he would always, always remember this night.

𓅪

Author’s Note: When I wrote the part where Harry says "I love you," all I could think was, Draco, kiss him! Kiss him already, damn it!

Chapter Text

𓅪
On the return train, Harry found himself in a compartment with a mix of Gryffindors and Slytherins. He still had to stay with the Dursleys for a while, but this time it wouldn't be as long—only about ten days, rather than two weeks.

Harry planned to stay with the Dursleys for ten days before going to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and then spend the rest of the summer at the Malfoy Manor.

He really missed Grimmauld Place and Mrs. Weasley’s cooking.

This summer, thanks to Dumbledore, Harry's life was much easier. At least he could do his homework normally, without having to hide under the covers to sneakily write papers. Hedwig was also able to deliver letters freely, as long as she didn’t make too much noise, although Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were very displeased with his mannerisms ("Letting your hair grow that long—you're a boy! Unkempt!"). Draco had written to him several times asking about his summer plans, and when Harry mentioned that he'd be arriving at the Malfoys’ only at the end of July, Draco seemed rather displeased.

"Look on the bright side," Harry wrote back. "That way, I can spend my birthday at your house."

"But I want to see you sooner," Draco replied.

Harry’s heart melted hearing this. All he wanted was to hop on the Floo Network and get to Malfoy Manor right away.

But he still had to go to Grimmauld Place first.

In order to enjoy his summer, Harry finished all the homework that posed no challenge to him, and he even wrote an extra essay on Transfiguration and Charms that was of personal interest. He also planned to submit the first chapter of his paper, On the Influence of Magic Input on the Brewing Process and Results of Potions, to Snape.

Unlike in his previous life, Harry received quite a few letters from his professors. They were intrigued by some of the ideas and explanations he had written in his exams. Through these letters, Harry began to engage in academic discussions with his teachers. His advanced and well-rounded viewpoints amazed them, and their suggestions often sparked new ideas for Harry.

Even after being reborn, Harry still valued intellectual exchange. After McGonagall, Flitwick, and Severus passed away, the magical world never again saw individuals with such high achievements in their respective fields.

Engaging with excellent people was always captivating, and after finishing his assignments, Harry spent large chunks of time corresponding with his teachers. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick lamented that Harry couldn’t use magic outside of school and even suggested they help him apply for permission.

Harry thanked them but politely declined.

The truth was, he didn't need to apply for anything—he wasn’t under any magical restrictions. His own magic was unrestricted, and at over 180 years old, an old wizard like him didn’t need any permission to use magic.

Ten days later, Harry and the Dursleys bade each other a cheerful farewell. Harry carried his suitcase and boarded the car Mr. Weasley had sent to pick him up.

The space inside the car was much larger than it appeared from the outside, and Harry even saw Hermione sitting inside.

"Good morning," Harry smiled at her. Today, he had tied his long hair into a high ponytail, letting the straight strands fall neatly, silky and smooth.

"Good morning, you still look so handsome, Harry," Hermione complimented him generously, while Ron seemed slightly put off by the word "handsome." Harry didn’t remember Ron expressing his fondness for Hermione this early in their previous life.

Upon arriving at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley gave Harry her usual bear hug, nearly crushing his ribs. "Everyone’s inside! Let’s go have breakfast!"

Harry had stayed at Grimmauld Place many times in his past life, so he felt completely at home here. He easily made his way to the table and began picking out the food he liked.

The moment Ginny saw him, her face turned bright red. Harry tilted his head and smiled at her, and the young girl squealed and ran upstairs.

"What’s with her?" Harry wondered aloud, and then remembered that Ginny at this age still had a crush on him, born from admiration.

"Ginny's liked you for a long time," Fred and George winked at him, and Harry instantly caught their meaning, nodding discreetly.

"By the way, Ginny’s eleven this year, right? I heard Ron mention it," Harry said, sipping his pumpkin juice.

"Yeah, by the coming September 1st, she’ll be a first-year at Hogwarts," Arthur said.

"She’ll be a great Gryffindor," Harry said with a smile. He remembered how talented Ginny had been in his previous life, especially in the Bat-Bogey Hex. He had once turned her down when she confessed to him in seventh year.

He knew that Ginny’s love for him wasn’t just the admiration of an idol. Ginny was one of the few who truly saw him for who he was and loved him despite his flaws and weaknesses. But by that time, Harry had already realized his own feelings and had only ever seen Ginny as a sister.

Draco had often been jealous of her for this.

Harry always felt sorry for Ginny, and for the Weasley family in general. When he heard that Ginny had married Colin later on, he finally felt at ease.

He knew Colin well enough to know he'd be a good husband.

Now, Harry hoped Ginny would see him as a brother and not as the hero everyone else thought him to be.

Their bond of family was enough.

After a pleasant breakfast, Harry was taken to Ron’s room.

"It doesn’t look like much, mate," Ron scratched his head.

"What are you talking about?" Harry punched him lightly on the shoulder. "This is brilliant, Ron. A thousand times better than my aunt and uncle’s house."

Ron laughed, encouraged by Harry’s lack of any hint of rejection or distaste.

Soon enough, Fred and George Weasley kicked Ron out and squeezed into the room.

"Harry, Harry."

"Potter, Potter."

"What’s up?" Harry asked, holding back his laughter.

"We've had a fantastic idea for that thing you mentioned before—"

"We came up with a brilliant plan!"

"Even though it all started with Fred accidentally breaking a mirror."

"Hey, I wouldn’t have broken that mirror if you weren’t standing next to me—"

"But anyway, those shards gave us a whole new idea!"

Fred pulled out a complete mirror, while George pulled out a pile of shards. The shards were obviously carefully handled—almost all the same size, and very thin.

"So, what are you planning to do with these?" Harry asked, intrigued, as he stared at the mirror shards.

"You said you wanted to show as many scenes as possible. We thought, screen—we got that word from Muggles, you know what it means, right?"

Harry nodded.

"The screen is small, and it can't really compare to the human eye."

"When we saw the shards, we suddenly got an idea!"

"We want to make these shards float around you and arrange them like this."

Fred picked up one of the shards. It was small, almost like a collection of tiny pieces pieced together, resembling a polygonal pyramid without a base, or an umbrella with jagged edges. The piece, made of shards, was only slightly bigger than a thumbnail, yet it looked intricate and delicate.

"These little parts can reflect multi-angled scenes. Just five or six of them, and they’ll show everything around you, moving to the position where the most interesting scene is."

"Although we can’t use magic outside of school, so our research is currently on hold for practical reasons—"

"But we promise, we’ll have it ready before third year!"

"That’s amazing," Harry marveled. The Weasley twins’ ideas never failed to surprise him. They turned an accident with a mirror into a breakthrough, and Harry knew just how brilliant they were.

"I’ll get the final payment as soon as I can," Harry said, carefully fiddling with the tiny components. "This is brilliant, but let’s keep this between us for now, okay? I’ll figure out a way for you to make some money off this in the future."

Harry was referring to the Triwizard Tournament—getting the Ministry of Magic to pay for a live broadcast wouldn’t be difficult. Fudge would probably be more than happy to fork out the money, even if it made him look like a fool.

"Of course."

"Our honor, Your Highness," Fred and George chimed together.

Harry couldn’t help but smile. This was exactly why, despite being skilled in Potions, he still trusted them to handle this. The Weasley twins always had an endless supply of fresh, creative ideas—something Harry himself couldn’t do.

He really liked these two brothers.

After Harry and Hermione finished their lunch, several owls swooped in simultaneously, dropping a number of thick letters onto Harry.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, a little annoyed, but only Hedwig seemed polite enough to drop the letters gently at his side.

"Thanks, good girl," Harry pushed some pumpkin juice and bread in Hedwig’s direction.

"So many letters, and they’re so thick!" Ron exclaimed. "Who are they from?"

"Minerva’s, this one’s from Flitwick, this one’s from Sev. Haha, he’s probably really excited—this one’s thicker than the first two combined," Harry said, laughing as he started opening the envelopes.

"Minerva? Sev? Who are they?" Percy asked, looking confused.

"Minerva is Professor McGonagall’s first name, and Sev is Harry’s special nickname for Professor Snape," Hermione explained. "At first, I didn’t believe Harry when he told me, but he really has been having academic discussions with these professors for over ten days during the summer!"

Harry quickly finished his meal and rushed off to reply to the letters.

To give Hedwig a break, Harry borrowed the Weasley family's owl to send his replies. He would carefully cut out the important parts of the letters and paste them into his journal. Over the past ten days, he had filled an entire notebook.

Time flew by when you were having fun. Harry felt like he had only eaten a few meals with the Weasley family, played a few games of Quidditch, and answered a few letters—and suddenly, more than ten days had passed.

"So, you’re planning to go to Malfoy Manor next?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. What about Hermione? Is she staying here?"

"Uh, no," Ron looked a bit downcast. "She’s going on holiday with her parents. But your birthday is in two days, and I thought you’d be celebrating it at Grimmauld Place!"

"You can celebrate my birthday at Malfoy Manor," Harry grinned. "It’s a good chance to further ease the tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Though, this opportunity was brought to you by a Ravenclaw," Hermione added dryly.

"Are you going?" Harry turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Of course! Besides, I’m curious to see what their house is like," Ron answered.

Harry decided it was probably best not to mention that some of the professors would likely attend his birthday party.

Harry had initially only wanted a small celebration, but Draco had made it clear he was planning a big one. There wasn’t going to be a ball, but it was shaping up to be a grand feast. Perhaps because Harry had decided to go to Malfoy Manor, Dobby had not come back to the Dursleys to visit him this time.

Dobby would likely be there at Malfoy Manor.

After packing his bags, Harry used the Floo Network at the Weasley house to reach Malfoy Manor. As soon as he stepped out of the perfectly clean fireplace, a house-elf hurried forward to take his luggage. Draco bypassed Lucius and came up to give him a hug.

"Alright, your parents are watching," Harry laughed, patting Draco’s back. "I write you almost every day, and yet you're still this clingy?"

After Draco released him, Harry shook Lucius’s hand first. "Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," Lucius said, giving Harry a subtle but careful look, observing his slightly worn yet neat clothes and his unintentional air of someone accustomed to higher status.

"Draco wanted to invite me to Malfoy Manor during Christmas," Harry said with a gentle smile. "Thank you very much for the invitation and the upcoming birthday party."

"It is the Malfoy family's honor," Lucius replied. Harry could hear the closeness in his words, the subtle attempt to build a better relationship. Harry decided to play along, pulling another watch and a serpentine bracelet from his pocket.

"A little gift for you," Harry said, handing Lucius the watch. The bracelet was, of course, for Narcissa—compared to Draco’s watch, Lucius’s style was more composed and understated. The bracelet for Narcissa was a small silver serpent, coiled twice around itself, with two emeralds for eyes.

Unlike the curse-breaking charm in Draco’s watch, the gifts for the Malfoys contained protective enchantments designed to weaken most dark curses.

If someone were to be cursed with the Cruciatus Curse, the bracelet would help alleviate the pain to some degree.

Lucius looked genuinely surprised, and Harry's biggest expense over the summer had been purchasing alchemical materials. Fortunately, the money left to him by his parents was more than enough for Harry to indulge in, and the silver for Narcissa’s bracelet was made from purified silver he had extracted from melted Slytherin silver. He had used magic to transmute it into Mithril, strong enough to make werewolves and vampires think twice about approaching her.

At Draco's strong insistence, Harry did not stay in the guest room but instead moved into Draco’s room.

The life of the aristocracy was indeed luxurious—Harry had lived at Malfoy Manor in his previous life, and he was already very familiar with their ways. Draco even gave him a tour of the estate, and Harry had spent so many years here that he could walk from the front gate to the back garden with his eyes closed.

Harry began spending most of his time with Draco—riding broomsticks together, having afternoon tea, brewing potions, and so on. Even his frequency of writing letters to the professors decreased.

After all, academic pursuits couldn’t compare to spending time with his little boyfriend.

In such a peaceful, idyllic atmosphere, Harry reached his twelfth birthday.

On that day, everyone came—The Weasley family arrived, with all the children from Fred and George down, along with several other families who were close to the Malfoys. To many people's surprise—several professors from Hogwarts were also present.

"Sev!" Harry called, standing on tiptoe and waving at Snape. "What are you doing here?"

Lucius’s steps faltered ever so slightly when he heard Harry call Snape "Sev."

"You should have told me earlier that you were at Malfoy Manor; I wouldn't have waited until today to come," Snape said in a low voice. "Your paper is quite impressive, Harry. If you continue this research—"

"Today’s my birthday, Sev!" Harry exclaimed, sounding rather petulant, almost like he was pouting. "Even Minerva isn’t discussing this with me!"

"You’re right," McGonagall said with a smile, ruffling Harry's hair. "We’re here to celebrate your birthday today, but it wouldn’t hurt to talk a little as well." She gave him a playful look. "You’re probably the most talented student Hogwarts has seen in centuries. Now, go on and open your presents, Harry."

Harry eagerly rushed to the pile of gifts.

The Weasleys had given him an enormous box of sweets, Hermione had given him a Muggle literature book, Blaise sent cufflinks, and Pansy had gifted him a beautiful peacock feather quill. Snape gave him a potion that would permanently cure nearsightedness, and Harry immediately unscrewed the bottle and drank it; it had a special pumpkin juice flavor.

It seemed McGonagall had coordinated with Snape on their gifts for Harry, because as soon as Harry finished the potion, he noticed that McGonagall’s gift was a pair of glasses—one gold-rimmed and one silver-rimmed, both with plain lenses. Professor Flitwick gave him his old charms textbook from when he was young, filled with insightful notes, and Harry couldn't put it down.

The Malfoys had given him a large gift set of clothes, including his Hogwarts robes for next term and an elaborate dress robe. Draco seemed to be following up on the watch he had given Harry for his birthday, gifting him a delicate, old-fashioned pocket watch. Harry noticed that when Draco handed over the watch, the expressions of the Malfoy couple subtly shifted.

"This is the Malfoy family’s pocket watch," Draco said, placing the gold-chained watch into Harry's palm. "It’s not an alchemical creation, nor does it bear any magic, but it’s been passed down for a long time, all the way to my tenth birthday when my father gave it to me."

"It must be a very precious thing," Harry said, running his fingers over the intricate Malfoy family crest and the peacock-shaped diamonds inlaid in the watch. "Are you sure about giving this to me?"

"I’m the heir to the Malfoy family, of course, I have the right to dispose of this pocket watch," Draco said, his face filled with pride. "There’s only one of these in the Malfoy family, and it’s like the family ring—it represents the Malfoy’s position. The only difference is that the family ring represents the whole family, while this watch only represents its owner."

"Harry, you are my position and my loyalty."

Harry stared at the old, intricate pocket watch, almost forgetting to breathe.

In his previous life, when Draco had proposed to him, this very watch had been presented along with the ring. Harry knew all too well what the watch represented.

"I... I don’t..." Harry shook his head. He wanted to say that he wasn’t worthy of such an expensive gift, but Draco firmly pressed the watch into Harry’s hand.

"We’ve only known each other for a year, Draco," Harry said softly. "And you’re giving me the family’s pocket watch."

"You’re different," Draco said, his grey-blue eyes locked onto Harry’s. "Everything about me pulls towards you, Harry. When I saw you collapse last term, I even thought that if something happened to you, I wouldn’t want to live anymore."

Harry suddenly looked up and met Draco's slightly reddened eyes.

"I’m so scared for you, Harry. Those three days I spent waiting for you to wake up in the hospital wing, I still get terrified just thinking about it. From now on, you’ll keep fighting Voldemort, and you’ll risk your life over and over when I’m not around. I really can’t bear it, Harry. Just thinking about you getting hurt makes me want to be with you twenty-four-seven."

"I don’t know what’s wrong with me," Draco added softly, gently touching his left chest. "Harry, it’s like you’re connected to my heart. When you were hurt, it felt like my heart was about to stop."

"To prevent theft, this pocket watch has a generationally passed-down seal, so its owner can always sense its location. As long as you wear it, I’ll always know where you are."

"Please take it," Draco said, his eyes pleading. He knew Harry would soften.

Kids often didn’t realize how deeply their sincere words could touch someone.

"I really was doomed from the start with you, Draco," Harry sighed helplessly, tucking the pocket watch into his coat pocket.

"Me too," Draco said, flashing a contented smile.

That evening, the Gryffindors and Slytherins played and laughed together until late into the night. Harry and Draco, rarely indulging like this, had fun, while the adults gathered to chat and drink. Lucius was subtly probing for information about Harry.

Harry was already quite familiar with Lucius. After the war, the Malfoy family had been spared from imprisonment thanks to Harry’s testimony. At first, Lucius had hoped to improve the Malfoy family’s reputation by becoming friendly with Harry. However, he hadn’t expected Draco to immediately share the news of his successful proposal to Harry.

Lucius had nearly fainted, though Narcissa was thrilled that they were together, taking charge of most of the wedding decorations.

Harry had called Lucius "father" for so many years that he knew exactly how to deal with him.

The return of Voldemort seemed like an unavoidable fate, but Harry could at least prepare for it and try to salvage some of the losses.

After finishing the cake, Harry ran to join the professors, while the children finally quieted down and retired to the guest rooms to sleep. Harry told Draco to take a shower first while he knocked on the door to the master bedroom.

𓅪

Draco: You are my position and my loyalty.

Harry: Do you love me the way I love you?

Harry: "I really was doomed from the start with you, Draco."

Draco: "Me too."

Q: What is the relationship between these two?

Ron: "Aren’t they just really good friends?"

Lucius: (No way. It can’t be what I’m thinking... right?)

Dumbledore: "Ah, youth is just truly wonderful."

Chapter Text

𓅪

"Who - Harry? Why aren't you asleep so late?" The person who opened the door was Narcissa. "Are you here to see Lucius?"

Harry nodded and slipped into the master bedroom.

"Harry?" Lucius frowned, watching Harry curl up on the sofa next to the bed with familiarity.

"Is your master bedroom protected from eavesdropping?" Harry looked straight into Lucius' eyes without fear. "I have something I hope to discuss with you and Mrs. Malfoy."

Lucius sat up from the bed, and sat down on the sofa opposite Harry with Narcissa in pajamas. "Go ahead."

Harry knew that Lucius's good attitude towards him was largely influenced by the professors' evaluation of him, but he still felt very respected.

"You should have heard from Draco that someone wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and I repelled him."

"Yes." Lucius looked cautiously at the light black tea that the house elf had just brought to the table. "He also described to us the adventure he participated in."

"Then he shouldn't have told you what happened when I faced Quirrell." Harry drank a sip of light black tea that would not affect his sleep. "Voldemort's soul was attached to the back of Quirrell's head."

Lucius's hand trembled as he tried to take the black tea, and he almost knocked over the small teacup.

"And it was Quirrell who died, and Voldemort's soul escaped." Harry put down the teacup in silence, and the porcelain teacup collided with the tray with a sharp sound. "He will come back, you know it well."

The temperament of the ruler who made the Minister of Magic retreat in fear was revealed from Harry, and it was heavily pressed in this room.

"Tell me the position of the Malfoy family."

Silence.

Harry folded his hands into a tower shape and sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. The invisible aura surged towards the person opposite him like a tide.

"What would you do if I said that we were on the side of the Dark Lord?" Lucius narrowed his eyes.

"Not much." Harry replied lightly, "But I know that Draco will only stand on my side."

"Are you confident?"

"Confidence without reason is called arrogance. People who are truly confident have a foundation." Harry fiddled with the pocket watch in his pocket and cleverly avoided the topic. "Do you need me to add more?"

"Tell me about it." Narcissa's expression revealed a sharpness.

"I have the solution to the Killing Curse." Harry threw a huge shell directly, and Lucius could even hear the sound of this sentence exploding in the room.

"And the improved version of wolfsbane potion that can completely cure werewolves."

Another bomb.

"As long as I announce this news - even if the formula is leaked, I can guarantee that less than three people in the whole UK can make this potion, and two of them are in Hogwarts."

"The werewolf camp will no longer exist. Are these two chips enough for you to follow?"

Lucius seemed to have not recovered from the shock. "You are-"

"Shh." Harry raised his hand and tapped his lips. "Now what I said, only the three of us know."

Harry took out his wand and waved it casually, and a bunch of roses bloomed at the tip of the wand.

"I have more chips." He put the flowers on the tray next to the teacup, "but there is no need to say it anymore."

"As you wish." After a long time, Lucius said this sentence, "The Malfoy family will no longer stand on the side of the Dark Lord."

"Great decision." Harry showed a very gentle, rewarding smile, "When necessary, I will come to you. Before that, I have never been to this room, and you are still Voldemort's men."

"Good night."

Harry pushed the door open and walked out, leaving only the bouquet of bright roses next to the black tea.

Cupid gave a bouquet of roses to Habercrates, and from then on Habercrates remained silent and kept the secret of Venus forever.

"Where have you been?" Draco watched Harry push the door in.

"I chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy for a while. They are very curious about my affairs." Harry said the truth that avoided the important point, "I haven't taken a shower yet, you go to bed first."

Harry flashed into the bathroom.

Draco, on the other hand, closed his eyes and listened to the sound of water in the bedroom bed, but he couldn't fall asleep as quickly as before.

He couldn't help but imagine Harry's bathing appearance. What would his body look like when he was always wrapped in a robe?

Merlin, what am I thinking about?

When Harry walked out of the bathroom in pajamas, he faced Draco with his eyes open.

"Can't sleep?" Harry yawned and got on the bed, crawling into the quilt warmed by Draco. Although Malfoy Manor doesn't have Muggle air conditioning, magic makes it warm in winter and cool in summer.

It's strange, Draco thought. When Harry lay on the bed and heard Harry's breathing, he suddenly felt sleepy.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Harry asked him wrapped in the quilt, his expression and posture were as familiar as if they had slept in the same bed for countless nights. "I will discuss my potion thesis with Sever tomorrow."

"No." Draco closed his eyes. "Just do what you like."

"Good night?"

"Good night."

A few days after his birthday party, Harry specially sent Draco away and found a quiet afternoon to sit on the swing in the garden and drink afternoon tea with the fragrance of flowers.

He specially created an ideal environment for Dobby to be alone. Harry stayed with the Malfoys these days. This was a rare afternoon alone. Harry knew Dobby would not miss this opportunity.

A slight explosion was heard in the air.

"That's enough of biscuits." Harry yawned in the warm sunshine. "Please put less lemon in the tea, thank you."

"Harry Potter!" Dobby, wearing ragged clothes, looked at Harry with his big tearful eyes. "Harry Potter said thank you to Dobby, but Dobby didn't come to him to serve him, bad Dobby, bad Dobby!"

"Dobby?" Harry opened his eyes and looked at him. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Dobby hopes that Harry Potter will not return to school! Stay in Malfoy Manor, or at his uncle and aunt's house - in short, Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!"

"Why?" Harry raised his eyebrows. "I'm a student. Is there any problem going back to Hogwarts to study?"

"Horrible things will happen in Hogwarts!" Dobby opened his tearful eyes. "Harry Potter will be in danger. He is a great hero who saved the wizarding world. Although Dobby's life has not changed much, Dobby still respects Harry Potter. Dobby will ensure your safety!"

"No need, Dobby." Harry lowered his head and looked at him calmly. "That is my destiny. I will face it sooner or later. Whether it is that person or the possible danger in the next year, I must face it."

Before Harry could continue to say anything, Dobby disappeared with a snap. Not long after, Harry heard Draco's footsteps.

He sat on Harry's right, just blocking the dazzling sun for him.

The following summer vacation life was so comfortable that it made people sigh. Harry felt that he had turned back to the old principal who was obsessed with academic research all day. The difference was that he didn't have to stay in the castle all day, and there were no various official duties to bother him.

The headmaster swam happily in the ocean of knowledge, and with the help of Flitwick, he focused on meteorological spells.

Fortunately, Harry now would not subconsciously call Lucius "father" when his hair was still golden. And this summer, Draco grew taller and was already half a head taller than Harry.

Harry's hair became longer - oh, never mind, for wizards, the impact of long hair is almost equal to nothing. If Harry was a Muggle, he would sooner or later cut his hair short because of the trouble of washing and drying his hair.

More than halfway through the summer vacation, Hogwarts finally sent their report cards.

"Almost all O." Harry looked at Draco's report card. He only had E in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration.

"And your report card needs to remove the almost." Draco glanced at Harry's report card full of O.

"Grades are not everything." Harry yawned on the swing in the garden. "I'm just good at theory."

Draco seemed very skeptical of this sentence.

"Speaking of which, the book list for next semester has also been sent." Harry flipped through another letter. "They are all regular books... Oh, Gilderoy Lockhart, all the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks are his books."

"What?" Draco frowned. "That third-rate writer?"

"What third-rate?" Harry replied lazily. "He is a great writer, his books sell very well, and he has a lot of honors--"

"If you don't drag the ending so long, I might really believe it." Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at him. "I have read his books."

"Oh? How are those books?" Harry seemed to be a little interested. It was so long in his previous life that Harry had forgotten what he had just glanced at.

"An excellent story book, but the details are totally unremarkable. It's just a pastime to kill time. I don't understand why such a book would become a textbook." Draco showed contempt. "How can such a person get the Order of Merlin?"

"Be bold, maybe he is our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year?" Harry ate a biscuit slowly - God, has he gained weight recently? - and said this inference in a standard Malfoy accent.

"It's hard to say." Draco snorted. "Dumbledore's vision in choosing teachers is not flattering."

"We are going to buy a not flattering book written by a not flattering teacher tomorrow." Harry said in a long sentence and touched the head of the white peacock who came over.

After agreeing on a time with Ron and Hermione, Harry went to Diagon Alley the next morning to buy the items needed for school. Harry specifically asked Ron to help him buy Lockhart's book. He really didn't want to be used as a gimmick by Lockhart to gain popularity and be manipulated in front of the camera.

Harry went to buy parchment and quills for four people. Harry spent a lot of money on parchment this summer, and used up a large stack of it just for writing letters. He bought more this time so that he wouldn't have to buy more after arriving at school.

After buying the things, Harry and Ron met at the Leaky Cauldron. Ron gave the book to Harry, and Harry gave the parchment and quills to Ron and Hermione. At the same time, Harry glanced at Ginny's cauldron without leaving a trace, knowing that Lucius had probably given the notebook away at this time.

Harry's fate in the second year of school was to find the truth and destroy the notebook in the panic created by the basilisk. If Harry destroyed the notebook at this time, the behavior of the basilisk would not match.

Harry had to let Ginny suffer this punishment. Out of guilt, he specially helped Ginny carry the luggage that was a little too heavy for her.

Ron and Hermione planned to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for one night and go to King's Cross Station tomorrow. Harry and Draco returned to Malfoy Manor. On the way back, Harry planned a way to let Draco enter Platform 9¾  first, so that Dobby would not stop Draco outside.

Because of Harry's thinking, he did not notice that Draco was a little unhappy since Harry took care of Ginny.

𓅪

Draco: jealous

Chapter Text

𓅪

"You go in first." Harry bumped Draco's shoulder, holding the parchment that came out of the suitcase with both hands. "Save a seat for me first, otherwise I'll have to find a vacant carriage."

Draco followed his words and entered the platform first. Harry took out his pocket watch to check the time.

There were still twenty minutes before the train left.

Harry deliberately sent Draco away, otherwise Draco would not be able to get in if he followed him.

He packed his things hastily, pushed the cart into the wall - he couldn't get in, the wall suddenly didn't allow him to pass.

As expected, Harry sighed. He found a corner that was not noticed by others, hurriedly wrote a letter to Flitwick, and asked Hedwig to mail it.

But not long after, Hedwig flew back, the feathers on her wings seemed to have been carelessly grabbed and ruffled by a hand, and the letter tied to her feet was nowhere to be found.

Dobby. Harry sighed, combed Hedwig's feathers, and thought about how to get back to Hogwarts.

Floo? The fireplace in Snape's cellar should work, but he couldn't get back to Malfoy Manor or the shack for a while.

How about riding a broom? But what about the luggage?

Oh, Knight Bus!

Harry left the station and raised his wand on a deserted path.

Soon, the Knight Bus stopped in front of Harry. Stan Shunpike was still the conductor.

Harry got on the bus and handed the luggage to him.

"Where to?"

"Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts - oh, you are a student, why don't you take the train? Didn't you catch it?"

Harry nodded randomly and left his sight before he noticed his lightning scar.

"Then you better sit tight!"

The Knight Bus was as bumpy as ever, and Harry was almost thrown out. Harry felt a little bit overwhelmed when he thought that such a bumpy ride would last for quite a long time.

It would be better to ride a broom, he sighed in his heart.

"Fuck, what's wrong with this bus!" The driver shouted, and made an emergency right turn to avoid a Muggle vehicle that suddenly turned.

Harry frowned suddenly.

It seemed that in just a blink of an eye, the Muggle vehicles near the bus began to turn and all blocked the Knight Bus. The driver dodged it with his driving skills and the transformation of the bus. It was going smoothly until a traffic light suddenly broke and fell straight towards the bus.

The Knight Bus stopped completely.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Stan Shunpike waved to Harry. "This bus is now damaged. It should not be able to drive. We will refund you the fare, or are you willing to wait for us to repair the car?"

"Forget it, I'll get off." Harry sighed, took the returned Sickle and got off the bus.

Draco should have noticed that he didn't get on the train. Harry touched the pocket watch in his pocket and looked at the luggage that obviously couldn't be lifted onto the broom.

Harry opened the box helplessly and searched for it. He took out a paper bag used to hold robes from the suitcase and cast a space spell on it.

Then Harry stuffed all the luggage in it, and cast a weight reduction spell.

"In the end, I still have to fly back." Harry sighed, hung the bag on the broom handle, and flew into the sky.

This time Dobby didn't stop him, or there was no way to stop him. Harry flew in the direction of the train according to his memory and successfully found the track.

Harry used his free hand to cast a position indicator, and the result showed that the train was in front of him.

Harry started to accelerate on the Nimbus 2000.

About ten minutes later, Harry saw steam coming out of the top of the train.

And a Draco sticking his head out of the window.

Draco must have sensed his position along the way, Harry thought. Fly to the window where Draco was, find the right time to crash into it.

He fell into a warm embrace, Draco hugged him with great strength, and didn't care about the broom that fell under the seat.

"Why didn't you catch the train?" Draco's tone was very anxious. "I got on the train but couldn't find you. I sensed your location and found that you were still at the station-"

"I can't get into that wall." Harry answered calmly, "Platform 9¾ was suddenly closed to me. I asked Hedwig to write a letter to the professor, but the letter was also intercepted. This is not an accident. Someone doesn't want me to return to Hogwarts."

Ron and Hermione, who were originally surprised, also became serious.

"But," Blaise frowned tightly, "Who wouldn't want Harry to return to Hogwarts? There is no reason at all!"

"I don't know." Harry shook his head, picked up the broom and put it in the small paper bag.

"Huh?" Pansy widened her eyes.

"Space spell and weight reduction spell - I can't ride a broom while dragging a cart." Harry put the paper bag on the table and slammed himself into the seat.

"If I find out who did it -" Draco's expression was a little scary.

Harry patted Draco's shoulder soothingly.

In the eyes of others, Draco was a little too nervous about Harry. He was worried about nothing just because he hadn't seen him for a while.

But Harry knew what was going on, so he never hesitated to give Draco enough sense of security to the greatest extent he could.

Fortunately, the carriage Draco chose was very far back, and no one saw Harry except them. Otherwise, Harry suspected that his deeds would be widely spread again, and then Lockhart would notice it like he and Ron drove to school in the last life.

Harry could face Voldemort calmly and fearlessly, but when he met Lockhart, he just wanted to stay away from him.

After the train arrived at the station, Harry, as a second-year freshman, saw the Thestrals pulling the cart. Draco looked startled by them. "What is this?"

"Thestrals, the carriages for Hogwarts." Harry said as he got on the cleanest-looking carriage and took Draco with him.

Then Harry suddenly realized that Draco should not be able to see thestrals at this time.

Draco is now twelve years old. Harry is sure that Draco saw thestrals after he witnessed death in the battle that year.

——Those dreams from the past life.

This is the only explanation at the moment. Draco also told him in a letter that he had dreamed of a feeling like war and death. Although he did not remember the content of the dream, he did witness death from his past life in that dream.

He could see thestrals because of this.

At the sorting ceremony, Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor as expected. Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table with Draco back to back, hands folded, and sang the Hogwarts school song with their own tunes.

Colin Creevey came to him as he did last time. Harry was on his way to class at the time and had no choice but to refuse his request.

"You can come over in the evening or on the weekend." Harry said. He was always patient with children.

This time Harry was not put in detention. He was very happy that he didn't have to write back to that damn Lockhart. But he still had to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Harry looked at the paper in front of him with Lockhart's high concentration and took out his quill pen resignedly.

"I'm glad someone remembered my favorite color and secret ambition - Miss Granger! Gryffindor plus ten points. And, Harry."

Lockhart shook his head as he spoke.

"I heard that you were a top student with the highest grades, but look at this test paper - what's written! My favorite color is not green, my favorite food is not green apples, and my birthday is not June 5th. My dream is not to raise a dragon!"

Harry couldn't help but cough as if to cover up something. He didn't expect Lockhart to read out his answer directly. Although he only read a few questions, people who are familiar with him should know that he has written a questionnaire for Draco.

Hermione turned her head away with an expression of being shown off.

However, when Harry turned his head, he saw Draco's suppressed happy expression and red ears.

It's worth it.

"Okay, let's get back to business! My mission is to teach you how to resist the most evil creatures in the wizarding world-"

Harry played with his hair out of boredom.

Then, the screams caused by the release of the Cornish elves filled the classroom. But all the elves avoided Harry and did not touch anything of his.

Magical creatures often have a natural awe and fear of beings that are much stronger than themselves.

Harry waved his hand, and a wandless and silent freezing spell froze all the elves in the classroom.

He pointed at the cage, and the frozen elves returned to the cage as if they were being pulled by something.

At this time, most of the students and Lockhart himself were no longer in the classroom.

Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at Harry's hand without a wand. Harry smiled and tapped his lips with his index finger to signal him to keep it secret.

Draco was stunned.

After Harry took his hand away, Draco showed a look of loss.

Why didn't he take the opportunity to kiss his fingertips.

In the afternoon, there was a friendly match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Harry and Cedric happily competed for several rounds of Golden Snitch. Qiu Zhang was already training to pass the Quidditch team selection.

After dinner, Harry and Draco met Colin Creevey again while walking by the Black Lake.

Draco separated Harry and Colin calmly.

"Your fans, huh?" Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

"Just a fan." Harry smiled and pushed Draco's shoulder. "You care about this?"

"Harry! Can I take a picture for you?" Colin looked at him with shining eyes. "It won't take you too long, just a little while!"

"Of course." Harry smiled and put his arm around Draco's shoulder. "Take a photo of two people. You can take two more and give us a copy after the photos are developed."

Colin nodded hurriedly. Harry put his arm around Draco's neck and tilted his head slightly to look at the camera. Draco raised his hand and hugged Harry's waist. When Colin pressed the shutter, his gray-blue eyes were still looking at the smile on Harry's mouth.

It was not a polite and decent smile, but a happy smile from the heart.

Draco was so fascinated by Harry's smile that he couldn't look away at all.

After three clicks, Colin ran away with a red face. "Thank you, Harry! I'll come find you after the photos are developed!"

"Go back." Harry turned his head and looked at the gradually darkening sunset. "It's getting dark."

The gold chain of the pocket watch hung in the pocket of his robe, swaying slightly as he walked.

The days of school passed quickly in study. When Harry came to his senses, a scream pulled him out of tonight's potion paper.

"What's going on?" Harry frowned, and then suddenly thought that it should be the time for the basilisk to petrify Mrs. Norris.

But he didn't hear the basilisk's voice this time, and words like "It's time to kill" and "Tear you apart" did not appear again. The corridor was silent.

"Let's go." Harry grabbed Draco's hand and ran to the place where the scream came from.

Ron and Hermione followed closely behind.

"Oh my god." Crabbe retched when he saw Mrs. Norris hanging up. "I just finished eating."

There was a line of blood on the wall: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Be careful if you are against the heir."

A circle of students surrounded him. Harry squeezed through the crowd and walked directly into the flooded corridor, carefully observing the traces of magic on Mrs. Norris.

She was petrified by the eyes of the basilisk, that's right. It is estimated that Mrs. Norris saw the reflection of the eyes of the basilisk on the water.

"My cat!" Filch rushed over in horror. "My Mrs. Norris! Who killed my cat!"

Filch stared at Harry, who was closest to Mrs. Norris.

"It's not him." Luna shook her head. "Harry just came here not long ago, just checking her condition."

"She's not dead." Harry frowned. "Just..."

"She's petrified." Dumbledore added the second half of Harry's sentence. "Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris can be cured."

"Mandra can cure petrification." Harry gently said the knowledge mentioned in the Herbology class not long ago. "It's just that we just changed the pots for them, and they haven't reached the mature season yet."

"That's very true." Dumbledore's eyes flashed, and Harry suspected that if it wasn't for the wrong occasion, he would have given Ravenclaw extra points. "Mrs. Norris will be fine."

Dumbledore comforted Filch for a few words, and the students dispersed back to their respective colleges under the command of the teachers.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened," Hermione frowned and repeated the line of blood words. "Those who are enemies of the heir, be careful. What is the Chamber of Secrets, and what about the heir?"

"I heard from my father that the Chamber of Secrets is related to Salazar Slytherin." Blaise said carefully, "Does the heir refer to the heir of Slytherin?"

"I remember that the Slytherin line was cut off a long time ago, right?" Pansy rejected Blaise's point of view, "Maybe it's something else."

"Instead of thinking about it, it's better to ask the people who know the truth about this matter." Harry raised one eyebrow, "Who do you think is most likely to know this?"

"The line of blood mentioned the heir. Since it is an heir, there must be an ancestor." Hermione analyzed calmly.

"For example, Salazar Slytherin." A red head suddenly popped up next to Harry.

"And if you want to know about this--"

"You should find someone who knows the history best."

"Professor Binns." Harry gave the answer, and smiled at the Weasley twins who suddenly appeared beside him. "Fred, George, why are you here?"

"I just saw you whispering to each other."

"And I just listened to a few words beside you out of curiosity."

Draco frowned at the two Weasleys who were not in tune with each other.

"So if we want to know about the Chamber of Secrets, it's best to ask Professor Binns?" Ron was thinking about something. "Do we have a History of Magic class tomorrow?"

"Yes, but Slytherin and Gryffindor will take it together." Draco squinted at them. "We have to pry the Chamber of Secrets out of Professor Binns tomorrow."

"Then I'll wait for your good news?" Harry smiled at the Slytherins.

"Don't worry." Draco assured him, "As long as these stupid red lions don't cause us any trouble."

"Malfoy!" Ron was furious. Harry stood at the entrance of Ravenclaw Tower, watching the little snakes and lions laughing and playing away with a look of relief.

Before going to bed at night, Harry was still thinking about why the basilisk didn't speak again this time.

Or, it didn't show its desire for killing again.

Harry sincerely hoped that the basilisk was awakened by him and saw the current situation of Hogwarts, and thus changed its mind.

Otherwise, its ending would not be too good.

After class the next day, Slytherin and Gryffindor explained the story of the Chamber of Secrets to Harry together.

Harry, who already knew everything, looked thoughtful. "The heir of Slytherin... Has any information been circulated among you Slytherins?"

"No." Blaise slumped in his seat. "The Slytherins themselves want to know who this so-called heir is."

"It doesn't say it must be Slytherin." Hermione closed the book in her hand. "The descendants of Slytherin may also enter other colleges."

"Let's talk about it later." Harry sighed. "It started with Mrs. Norris. It's hard to say whether other people will suffer later. What if that monster really wants to purge the Muggleborn wizards in Hogwarts..."

Hermione was slightly nervous. "Impossible, there are not many pure-blood wizards in Hogwarts. Most of them are half-blood or Muggleborn wizards. Even Slytherins are not all pure-blood. The heir of Slytherin will not want to attack people in his own college, right?"

Harry frowned involuntarily when he heard Hermione's words.

In the previous life, after the war, Slytherin was in a very bad situation, and was often despised or picked on by other colleges. This situation was not fundamentally alleviated until Harry announced his marriage to Draco and became the headmaster of Hogwarts.

It was also from then on that Harry began to deliberately look for traces of Salazar Slytherin left in the future. Apart from the legend of the Chamber of Secrets that "Salazar was dissatisfied with the standards of the other three giants for recruiting students, so he left weapons in the Chamber of Secrets to purge the Hogwarts of muckborn wizards and left", there are almost no clues.

Harry found Slytherin's relics in the old Gaunt house. There was a handwritten book left by Salazar in the relics. Harry repaired it with a spell and started to study it.

According to the autobiography-like handwriting, Harry learned that Salazar himself did believe that pure-bloods were more powerful and more suitable for learning magic, but Salazar did not seem to have the idea of ​​purging the Mamborn wizards in Hogwarts. He simply regarded the Chamber of Secrets as a place to preserve his legacy. This is actually easy to understand. If Salazar wanted to do this, why did he let the Basilisk sleep for a thousand years? Wouldn't it be better to let the Basilisk take action after leaving?

In the later period of the notes, probably in Salazar's later years, he did change his mind and believed that Mamborn wizards were also qualified to study in Hogwarts.

But these clues and traces are completely contrary to the original intention of the Chamber of Secrets, and the Basilisk personally admitted that it was Salazar's order to purge the Mamborn wizards in the academy. It is difficult for Harry to tell whether the problem is this autobiography or the memory of the Basilisk, but the Basilisk personally said that Salazar's order was to purge the Mamborn wizards in the academy, and this Basilisk was left by Salazar, so Harry would believe the Basilisk's words more.

But anyway, this contradictory situation is very strange.

Harry's way of dealing with this matter in his previous life was very simple and crude. He directly killed the basilisk and part of Voldemort's soul. He didn't have any clues to make him think deeper at that time. But after getting the clues, the basilisk's behavior made Harry very confused.

Let's take it one step at a time.

Hogwarts has been a little turbulent recently because of the attack on Mrs. Norris. Harry could hear no less than three tables of people discussing this matter when he was writing a paper in the library. Although everyone was not very sad about the petrification of the cat who always told tales, the mugwort wizards in Hogwarts were still in danger, worried that the next person would be themselves.

In such an atmosphere, Harry ushered in his first Quidditch game of this semester.

𓅪

Chapter Text

𓅪

"Welcome, everyone, to today's match—Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw!"

Harry sighed as he took off his glasses. He knew that Dobby would continue trying to keep Harry out of the center of events, and that he couldn't casually blow up that Bludger until after the match ended.

Troublesome.

The whistle blew.

Harry immediately accelerated to distance himself from the people below. He certainly didn’t want that Bludger to accidentally hurt someone while chasing him. Draco and Blaise were holding up a blue flag that read "Support Harry Potter," and fortunately, this time, the Slytherin seats were close to Ravenclaw's, and since there were also some fans of Harry in Slytherin, they weren't too noticeable. Compared to them, Luna was much more conspicuous. She wore a massive eagle-headed hat that let out a sharp screech whenever she tapped it with her wand.

Just as Harry was paying attention to the audience, the Bludger charged at him.

Harry frowned, making a quick turn to dodge the frantic Bludger, and scanned the field below, desperately searching for the Golden Snitch.

The sun wasn't too intense today, and the flash of the Golden Snitch was easily visible in this kind of weather—advantageous to him.

"Harry, what's going on with that ball?" one of Ravenclaw’s Beaters had to fly up beside him. "Do you want to request—"

"No need," Harry decisively rejected him, knowing that would only be a temporary solution. "Another Beater will help me."

Harry then dived toward the Gryffindors. Just as he was about to crash into Fred, he made a quick turn, and the Bludger, following its momentum, charged at Fred, who knocked it away with his bat.

"Hey, Harry, that’s a bit rude, don’t you think?" Fred complained.

Harry laughed, making another quick turn and teasing the Bludger, making sure it couldn’t get near his robes. "I’m helping you by drawing a Bludger away—making it much easier for you. Is that still not considerate?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Bludger seemed to be aggravated and sped up, its movements becoming much more agile.

Harry cursed in his mind while dodging and searching for the Golden Snitch. One of Ravenclaw’s Beaters was closely monitoring him, and Harry would occasionally lead the Bludger toward the Weasley twins. Whenever this happened, even though the twins grumbled about Harry, their bats still reliably sent the Bludger flying in the opposite direction from Harry.

About ten minutes later, the audience below noticed something strange about the Bludger. Harry’s risky maneuvers and dodges often caused gasps from the crowd, and it was during one of these moments that Harry spotted the Golden Snitch.

Harry immediately accelerated his broom, heading toward the small golden ball high in the air.

Gryffindor's Seeker thought Harry was just accelerating to dodge the Bludger again, as he had done many times in the past ten minutes. And Harry had intentionally done so, knowing that only when he began chasing the Golden Snitch would people notice.

"Harry's spotted the Golden Snitch! Oh my, I thought he was just dodging the Bludger! What an incredible turn! Now Gryffindor's Seeker has seen it too, but he’s way behind—"

Harry placed one leg on the broomstick's handle, straightened up, and reached for the Golden Snitch.

Just as Harry grabbed the Golden Snitch, the Bludger hit his extended arm.

Harry immediately felt pain, and his vision went dark. He knew his arm was broken. But he didn’t let go of the Snitch. With his other hand, he drew his wand from his pocket and cast a spell that shattered the Bludger that had been trying to attack him.

Only then did Harry slowly descend to the ground.

Such injuries were often unavoidable.

A large group of people immediately surrounded him, and Harry saw Gilderoy Lockhart in the crowd. He immediately wanted to land elsewhere, but the second Bludger, which hadn't been captured yet, seemed to malfunction and crashed into Harry’s back!

"Obstacles ahead!"

Harry heard Snape and Flitwick both casting spells at the same time, but they were too far away. The Bludger, moving at a slow speed, collided with Harry's back and knocked him off his broom.

Fortunately, Harry was close to the ground and only stumbled a bit before quickly regaining his balance. But now Lockhart had him in his sights. "Harry, it’s okay! I know how to fix you, just a quick little spell—"

"No!" Harry shook his head firmly. His broken arm still gripped the Golden Snitch. "I’m going to find Madam Pomfrey. She can fix my arm in seconds."

"I can do it too," Lockhart smiled confidently. Harry, at this point, was desperately wondering how someone so foolish could end up in Ravenclaw. He cast a pleading look toward Draco, who was trying to push through the crowd. Snape and the others were also walking toward them. But it was too late; in a flash of light, Harry and his arm, now without a bone, found themselves lying on a hospital bed in the infirmary.

"That Lockhart..." Draco’s expression was almost snarling. "He’d better not give me the chance—"

"Draco." Harry patted his shoulder with his uninjured hand. "I’m really fine... well, I guess I’m not. But attacking a professor is against the rules."

Draco just gripped Harry's good hand tightly, his eyes filled with shadows.

Madam Pomfrey brought over a dose of Bone-Mending Potion. This one seemed to have Snape’s touch, and it tasted much better than the one Harry had drunk before, though it was still enough to make his face wrinkle.

After Harry drank it, Draco immediately handed him a piece of chocolate.

"Draco, you're my angel," Harry sighed as he chewed the chocolate, lightly tracing his finger along Draco's palm.

Draco shivered as if burned but didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he tightened his grip on Harry’s hand.

"You’re always getting hurt," Draco’s voice was low.

Harry knew he would get hurt many more times. He didn’t mind it, but the person in front of him cared deeply. He cared so much that seeing Harry hurt hurt him more than if he were hurt himself.

"I’ll be more careful next time." Harry nuzzled his face against Draco’s.

"They really are a perfect couple," Ron said, marveling from the side.

Hermione shut her eyes in disbelief.

"Ron, I was wrong. Your love emotions probably doesn’t even worth a teaspoon, half a teaspoon at most," she said sincerely.

After watching them leave, Harry didn’t immediately lie down. Instead, he sat quietly on the bed. Soon enough, Dobby popped up beside Harry's bed with a soft pop.

"Those Bludgers—the two Bludgers—did you do it, Dobby?"

Harry said this in a tone of certainty, and Dobby’s tears immediately started flowing.

"Harry Potter is back at Hogwarts. Dobby just hoped Harry Potter would get a little hurt and then go home! Hogwarts is very dangerous!"

"And I choose to face that danger," Harry said calmly. "Dobby, I know you meant well, but I really don’t need protection. Please, don’t bring more danger into my life."

"Dobby, I want you to promise me that you won’t interfere in my life again."

At this point, Dobby realized that Harry was determined to stay at Hogwarts. After crying for a while, he reluctantly agreed.

Harry let out a relieved sigh. He couldn’t bring himself to be stern with Dobby. The elf meant well, but his methods were definitely not helpful.

That night, Colin would be petrified. Harry had cast an enhanced hearing charm on himself, and although he heard the basilisk moving in the pipes, it still didn’t speak.

Harry watched Colin and his burned camera on another bed in the infirmary, sighing inwardly.

This year, Hogwarts was destined to be turbulent. Harry hoped that the conversation he had with the Malfoy family over the summer would prevent Dumbledore from leaving the school. Hagrid being sent to Azkaban seemed inevitable, but Harry would do everything he could to stop it.

He wouldn't let any more innocent people get hurt.

The next day, Harry’s arm, which had healed, still didn’t fully obey him. Draco wouldn’t let him awkwardly drink soup with his left hand. He personally fed Harry two meals.

Harry didn’t think much of it. When he and Draco were in the honeymoon phase, they occasionally engaged in silly behaviors. He even used to bite down on the spoon to stop Draco from pulling it away when he’d zone out, then lick the bottom of the spoon teasingly, leaving the tip of his tongue outside his lips.

Draco would often raise an eyebrow at him.

In his past life, Harry had discussed with Draco about Dobby, who had died for him. Harry had joked, "I didn’t expect my fame to be so great that even house-elves knew about me." Nearby, Narcissa couldn’t contain a laugh.

"He used to talk about Harry Potter to everyone in the house," Lucius said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Every house-elf, every friend he had from childhood—everyone knew about you!"

At that moment, Harry was stunned on the sofa, while Draco, who had only recently married him, was blushing so deeply that even his ears and face turned completely red.

In a way, the whole situation with Dobby was also trouble that Draco had brought upon himself because he cared so much for Harry.

Thinking about it from that perspective, Harry found it much easier to accept everything.

Love makes people blind, Harry thought to himself as he decisively threw himself into cuddling with his little boyfriend.

By the time evening came and Harry could eat normally again, Draco's expression still seemed quite regretful.

Everything was going well—studying, life, academic research, and Quidditch. The only exceptions were the panic caused by the Basilisk in Hogwarts and Gilderoy Lockhart’s obsession with having Harry play various roles in his classes.

"I was just about to lunge at that vampire—Harry!"

Harry was then forcibly pulled by Lockhart and made to hold him down, while Lockhart poured "holy water" onto himself.

Damn it, Harry gritted his teeth internally. Lockhart wasn’t planning to let him go, and as Harry twisted to try to stand, Lockhart pressed down on his waist.

Harry couldn’t help but gasp.

Mainly, Harry’s waist was particularly ticklish, and Lockhart pressing down there had taken him by surprise, causing him to let out a gasp without meaning to.

Draco used to like pinning him down like that on the bed, and since Harry’s waist was sensitive, it had become almost a reflex.

The sound Harry made wasn’t loud—only the people in the front rows could hear. Pansy and Blaise, however, witnessed Draco’s face turn as dark as ink after Harry's gasp.

Hermione even suspected that if it hadn’t been for class, Draco might have skinned Lockhart alive right there.

Lockhart, oblivious as ever, foolishly added, "Very good, Harry, that’s exactly how the vampire groaned at that moment—keep going!"

In any case, Harry, while having dinner in the Great Hall, suddenly heard that Lockhart had been stabbed in the palm by a mad quill while writing a letter. The moment Hermione and Pansy heard this, they both turned to look at Draco, whose expression was remarkably calm.

"The right hand was injured? Well, that's good—now he can't use his dominant hand to perform any strange spells, can he?"

Pansy shuddered at that and moved closer to Blaise, trying to distance herself from Draco, who was practically a walking cauldron of bitterness.

Harry, taking advantage of their distraction, squeezed Draco's hand as if to warn him, though it was laced with a touch of affectionate exasperation.

Lockhart, clearly someone who never learned his lesson, hadn’t been healed for long before he began organizing the so-called Duelling Club.

He had even invited Professor Snape.

"I really don't understand how he stays so calm," Harry muttered from the sidelines. "When Severus looks at me like that, I feel like I should be picking out my tombstone already."

Draco gave his hand a light squeeze in response to this, while Blaise and Ron nodded in sync.

They hoped Severus would give him a proper lesson, Harry thought as he glanced toward the stage.

"Expelliarmus!"

That was the spell that had helped him defeat Voldemort.

Then Lockhart was knocked flying, and Harry smiled as he and Draco, as if in a past life, were pointed out and stood at opposite ends of the dueling platform.

"Duelling me, Draco?" Harry said with a smile, looking at him.

"I won’t go easy on you," Draco said, unusually showing a competitive streak in front of Harry.

"For example, you won’t just use Expelliarmus?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Funny, I won’t either."

"Three, two—"

"Expelliarmus!"

As a former Auror, if Harry had been hit like that, he might as well have walked into a wall and died.

Harry swiftly dodged the spell, and whether by coincidence or design, Draco’s Expelliarmus—which Harry had avoided—seemed to target Lockhart behind Harry instead. But Harry didn’t care about that right now. As Draco followed up with another spell, Harry spun and dodged with agility, almost like he was dodging the Quaffle on a Quidditch pitch.

"Serpensortia!"

Ah, here it comes, Harry thought.

"Expelliarmus!"

Draco’s wand flew from his hand in response to Harry’s Expelliarmus, which was so quick it was almost a flash of light. The spell hit Draco before he could finish speaking it, and the spell’s light flashed by so quickly that if you weren’t paying attention, you might miss it.

Snape’s eyes widened slightly.

After Draco’s wand flew out of his hand, the snake didn’t disappear. Harry, acting quickly before Lockhart could use a spell to provoke it, spoke up.

"Don’t attack anyone," Harry hissed. "Good boy, come here... Yes."

Harry crouched down, extending his hand toward the snake. It obediently slithered up his arm, coming to a relaxed halt on his shoulder and then playfully flicked its tongue at Harry’s face.

Harry couldn’t help but wonder if the snake had been influenced by Draco in some way.

"Can you talk?" Harry teased the conjured snake with his finger.

The snake didn’t respond. It just nudged Harry’s face. Many people were watching with incredulous or puzzled expressions. Harry didn’t care what they were thinking; he just smiled at Snape while holding the snake. "Professor, does this count as me winning?"

"You never told us about this!" Ron said, looking excitedly at Harry. "You—you speak Parseltongue!"

"But I didn’t even know about it," Harry said with an innocent expression. "I was just speaking normally. How could I use another language without knowing it? I thought you all could understand me."

"The problem isn’t that," Pansy sighed.

"The problem is," Hermione continued, "Parseltongue is a trait of Salazar Slytherin. Now everyone thinks you're his great-great-great-grandson or something."

"That’s impossible," Harry shook his head. "I’m a Ravenclaw, though the Sorting Hat did consider putting me in Slytherin."

"The Sorting Hat tried to put you in Slytherin?" Blaise asked incredulously, raising his voice.

"It even tried to put me in Gryffindor!" Harry retorted, not pleased. "It said I was suited for all three houses. I suspect if I mentioned Hufflepuff, it might’ve considered that, too. It just said I could go anywhere, but Ravenclaw was the best fit for me."

They all fell silent at that, and Harry continued, the snake now coiled twice around his neck. "Rather than Slytherin, I’d say I’m more closely related to Peverell. That would be more believable."

"But," Draco said, looking at the snake on Harry’s neck, "other people who hear you speak Parseltongue won’t believe you like we do. They’ll just think you’re Slytherin’s heir, the one who opened the Chamber."

"Why should I care if they believe me?" Harry said softly, his emerald eyes reflecting only Draco’s image. "Time will reveal the truth. Until then, all that matters is that you believe me."

Once again, Harry found himself treated with suspicion by people from other houses, especially since he often had the snake Draco had conjured with him. The snake had become a bit smarter, could understand more, and even pushed Harry’s pumpkin juice cup toward him during meals.

Draco was very insistent on getting rid of the snake, whether through a spell or some other method, but Harry firmly refused his suggestion, keeping the snake with him despite Ron and Draco’s objections.

When Harry was pointed at and whispered about by students at the next table in the library, the snake was still helping Harry by coiling around an empty ink bottle and pushing it out of the way, then bringing him a new one.

"Thanks," Harry said, petting the snake’s smooth, dry scales. — Snakes weren’t slimy like most fictional accounts suggested. Their scales were dry and smooth, not secreting any sticky substance. The sensation of a healthy snake's scales was actually quite pleasant, and Harry couldn’t help but adore it.

As Harry thanked the snake, his hissing Parseltongue reached the nearby table, and their conversation grew louder and more intense.

"What were you just saying?" Luna asked curiously, reaching out to pet the snake as it rested its head on her hand. "What a cute little creature, Harry."

"I was just thanking him," Harry smiled at Luna. She was still as unique as he remembered from his past life, and recently she had become much closer to him.

During their conversation, Draco, joined by Blaise, cast a cold, threatening gaze at the group of Gryffindors whispering and pointing at Harry. The Gryffindors were immediately intimidated by Draco’s cold stare and quickly fell silent.

As Harry was leaving the library, he grabbed Draco’s hand and led him to a quiet corner behind a row of shelves.

"What’s wrong?" Harry asked with concern, his tone soft and gentle, just like Draco knew it to be. "You seem upset lately."

"I..." Draco leaned against the bookshelf. Despite Harry’s soft tone and actions, Draco stepped back as if he were a vampire in the sun, retreating a step at a time. "Even if you're not the so-called heir of Slytherin, it was still my spell that made everyone suspect and gossip about you."

"Draco," Harry laughed softly. "I didn’t know you were the type to overthink things."

"I’m not," Draco relaxed a bit. "But the one at the center of all this talk is you, and I can’t ignore it."

"Is that how you’ve always been?" Harry moved closer, the snake quietly sliding off his shoulder and coiling around his pant leg.

"Care about me," he whispered.

The pocket watch in Harry’s jacket pocket swayed with his movements.

"Pay attention to me," Draco unconsciously swallowed, his eyes fixed on Harry, so close now that it seemed like their lips could meet with just a tilt of the head.

"Love me?"

Draco trembled slightly when he heard the word "love", and his hands clenched into fists as if he was trying to suppress something.

If he didn't do this, Draco suspected that he would not be able to help but hold down the evil little cat.

It would be better to press him against the wall, the bookshelf would block them, and he could press Harry's waist like Lockhart did before. He was very ticklish there, and he would unconsciously make a seductive gasp when touched.

If I could hear those sounds, if I could kiss his lips...

"Of course." Draco answered the green-eyed little cat in front of him, and the hand hidden under the robe pinched a large piece of flesh.

If he didn't do this, Draco would never be able to suppress his desire under the smiling gaze of those eyes.

"I love you, more than all my friends."

Draco lied again,

He answered friendship with love again.

"Me too." Harry then laughed. "I love you, more than anyone else in the world."

Draco suddenly took a deep breath and pinched his hand with more force.

Harry held his hand hidden under his robe, and his fingers, which were originally so tight that they hurt, were easily pried apart by Harry. He stretched out his fingers and interlocked them with Draco.

"My uncle and aunt treated me badly, and my cousin always bullies me at school." Harry shook his hand interlocked with Draco. "Although I don't hate them, I definitely can't say I like them. It was only after I came to Hogwarts that I really liked someone, my friends, teachers, and you."

"And you are different from them. To me, you are more important than a friend. So you never have to feel guilty about what you did to me. If it were you, I would never resist."

Draco's hands tightened and interlocked with Harry's hands tightly, as if they would never separate.

Don't say such things to me. Draco looked at Harry in despair. You know I can't escape. As long as you wink at me, I'll have lost everything to you.

Harry's words were so sincere and so... ambiguous.

Don't tell me something that will make me misunderstand.

I really will believe it.

𓅪

Harry: The Little Prince of rizz (Limited Edition of this Chapter)

Chapter Text

𓅪

When Harry saw Nearly Headless Nick and Justin's statues, he was lost in thought, wondering how to start the discussion with Snape about the topic he had planned for that evening.

Harry had just completed his research on a new Wolfsbane potion, using his own unique formula. He intended to bring up the idea to Snape as soon as possible and hoped to develop a cure for werewolves before he finished his third year.

Although Harry had already figured out the formula, he couldn’t just present it out of nowhere. He had to make sure the process went through Snape first.

Lost in thought, Harry didn’t notice the two statues waiting for him around the corner. His friends were either in class or practicing, so he was alone.

As Harry followed Professor McGonagall to the Headmaster's office, he recalled that Dumbledore was aware of his rebirth. When Dumbledore asked, "Is there something you'd like to say to me?" Harry would never say, “nothing.”

After Hagrid barged into the Headmaster’s office and quickly left, Dumbledore turned his attention back to Harry without asking the same question again.

Instead, Dumbledore asked, "Harry, are you confident?"

"There are some puzzles that are difficult to explain," Harry said, shaking his head. "Unless I meet Salazar Slytherin himself, the truth will be hard to uncover. I could solve it easily, but I can only act when the time fate allows me comes."

"But I am confident, Headmaster. All I seek is kindness and truth."

"Truth," Dumbledore sighed. "It's both a dangerous and beautiful thing."

"I learned from Muggles the obsession with truth," Harry laughed. "They really care about it."

"Muggles..." Dumbledore repeated the word. "Of course, I believe you, Harry."

"That's great," Harry smiled, and Fawkes, perched on his shoulder, playfully poked the snake with his talons. The snake, docile, allowed the phoenix to play with it, curling tighter into Harry's arms.

This Christmas, Draco had no plans to return home, while Pansy and Blaise had gone back. Before leaving, Pansy even made plans with Hermione to visit her Muggle family.

"This really surprises me," Harry said, watching Pansy and Hermione walk away together. "I thought pure-blood families would never care to learn about Muggles."

"You've changed a lot in Slytherin," Draco said, flicking the snake's tail and pushing it toward Blaise. "Think about it — Slytherins and Gryffindors gathering around a Ravenclaw savior, all because of you as a buffer and leader. Now, Gryffindors and Slytherins are practically like one big family."

"Like one big family? Not quite," Blaise shook his head. "But the relationship has definitely improved. During the Quidditch matches, we hardly cheat anymore. I even heard that Wood and Flint had a butterbeer together in Hogsmeade last time."

"That's great," Harry said sincerely.

This Christmas, Harry once again gathered those who stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays at one long table for dinner. The students from last year's Christmas had already made their way to the Ravenclaw table before Harry could even invite them.

What was even better was that many of the students who stayed this year were the same as last time, and the majority of them no longer considered Harry to be the so-called heir of Slytherin. Because of this, Harry was able to enjoy an entire evening playing with his mute snake. Many gathered the courage to pet the very tame-looking snake.

"Does it have a name?" a first-year Hufflepuff asked, carefully petting Harry's snake, expertly running her hand from its head to its tail.

"Not yet," Harry said, swallowing a bite of beef. "Since it's a magical creation, it doesn't speak Parseltongue like normal snakes. It might just disappear one day."

"Oh," the girl said, looking a little disappointed. "That's too bad. Are you planning to get a real snake? I really like them. I was going to join Slytherin, but then I heard their dorms were underwater and gave up. Although the Sorting Hat did say I wasn't a good fit."

"If I get the chance, sure," Harry thought of the basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. "But that snake is really smart and might not want to be kept by me. If not, I'll settle for a regular one."

"Yay!" The young badger cheered, biting into another chicken leg.

The next day, Harry’s Christmas presents were piled high on the floor of his dormitory.

Goodness, Severus had sent him Felix Felicis… Harry marveled as he carefully put the small vial away. The Weasleys had sent him a sweater and some fudge, Hermione sent a box of Muggle chocolates, and Pansy had gifted him a simple leather bag, inspired by the space charm Harry had put on a paper bag at the start of the term, and enchanted it to serve as a storage space. Blaise had sent him two pairs of glasses chains adorned with tiny gems. The attached note said that Blaise had always disagreed with Professor McGonagall’s choice of thin-framed glasses, and how could they not go with a chain?

Harry had no words for this and decided to carefully store the two glasses chains, only wearing them if absolutely necessary.

Harry wasn’t particularly good at gift-giving. Each year, he’d lose countless brain cells thinking of birthday presents for everyone. His Christmas gifts were mostly the same — books, candy, small toys, and snacks. Gifts for the teachers were easier; for Snape, Harry gave a potion formula for a universal magical potency output, one of the foundations of his previous life’s studies, and the theoretical basis for the Wolfsbane Potion that could cure werewolves. Harry could already picture Snape searching for ingredients to verify it.

But for Draco, Harry's gift had to be carefully chosen and unique.

He gave him a feather pen made from the white phoenix feathers shed by his Animagus form. The final product was flawless, with a slight blue shimmer around the edges. The pure gold nib was inlaid with a sapphire, and the hollowed-out feather quill contained a unicorn tail hair, which could even serve as a rudimentary wand in emergencies.

The gold used for the nib had been purified by Harry after melting down a gold Galleon.

The feather pen had clean, sharp lines, emitting a rhythmic magical pulse that made its extraordinary origin clear. Every so often, the pen could "rebirth" itself, fixing damage and restoring itself to pristine condition.

The unicorn tail hair, of course, had been taken from Hagrid’s collection.

And Draco’s gift to Harry? A… an egg?

The egg was about the size of Harry’s palm and clearly alive. The note from Draco read, "Since you like snakes, I got you an Alps serpent egg. It should hatch in about five days. Hope you like it."

It was the first time Harry had received such a gift. He was thrilled. Although he had heard of these serpents in his previous life, he didn’t know much about them. That very day, he ran to the library to find more information.

The Alps serpent was a highly intelligent magical creature that could manipulate fire. Its scales, shed skin, and venom were all valuable ingredients for potions.

These serpents only laid their eggs at the foot of the Alps, and thus the name. The snake mother would lay eggs in the summer, and their incubation temperature was close to that of a human’s. The young would feed on the mother’s magical energy, only later hunting rabbits and chickens.

Though Draco had said the egg would hatch in five days, it wasn’t until seven days later that the egg showed any signs of movement. That day, while Harry was helping Snape with potion ingredients in the dungeon, the egg in his pocket suddenly burst into a flame, nearly setting his robe on fire.

Startled, Harry quickly realized that the little snake was hatching.

So, the King of Slytherin snakes witnessed the birth of the serpent alongside him.

Unlike dragons, snake eggs were soft and didn’t crack like dragon eggs. The little snake would simply make a hole in the egg and slither out.

The newborn snake was pure white, with delicate, smooth scales. Its eyes were like two bright red garnets, lively and beautiful.

"Hello," Harry greeted in Parseltongue.

"Hello," the little snake replied. "You’re the one who hatched me. I remember your warmth and scent."

"I’m Harry Potter. Are you a girl?"

"I’m a male snake, not a girl," the snake responded, looking a bit irritated. Harry quickly gathered some magic at his fingertips and fed it to the snake.

The little snake wasn’t very hungry, taking a long time to consume the magical energy Harry had given it.

"Do you have a name?" Harry asked, wiping off the remaining egg liquid from the little snake’s body.

"No. You hatched me, fed me, you're my kin. My name is up to you to decide."

"Then... I'll name you Aipho." Harry looked at the small snake coiled around his palm. "Aipho symbolizes life and breath. Your arrival is a gift from Draco and Merlin together."

"Who are Draco and Merlin?" Aipho hissed, flicking out his tongue.

"Sev." Harry didn’t answer Aipho but instead gestured to Snape with the small snake in his hand. "Draco’s birthday gift to me was an Alpine Snake."

Snape leaned in and carefully examined the small snake. "The Alpine Snake is not a rare species, but the white variety is quite uncommon. Most of them are black or green. He certainly put some thought into it."

Harry pushed the fresh snake egg shell towards Snape with a happy smile on his face. "I remember that the shell of this snake’s egg is an important potion ingredient. You can take it, Sev, I have no use for it."

The Snake King raised an eyebrow and decisively accepted the rare potion ingredient.

Aipho and the snake Draco conjured got along quite well. According to Aipho, the snake couldn’t strictly be called a snake, and who knew, it might disappear any day.

"I’m afraid I might eat it when I grow up," Aipho said seriously. "It’s essentially a bundle of magic in the shape of a snake, merged with thought. When we grow up, we don’t necessarily need to eat meat. We can live off magic too. It looks really tasty."

Harry carefully pulled Aipho a bit further away.

"I can’t eat such a big snake right now," Aipho yawned. "At this stage, we generally hibernate. If you hadn’t kept my egg warm, I’d have had to wait until next summer to hatch. I’m glad you were here, or I’d have had to hibernate right after hatching."

Aipho slithered up Harry’s robes and coiled around his arm.

...it’s almost time, Harry thought, looking at the crowded Great Hall.

That notebook had probably already been thrown into Moaning Myrtle’s stall by Ginny.

During lunch, when no one was around, Harry went to the restroom where Moaning Myrtle was.

"You’re a boy," Moaning Myrtle said, peeking her head out from the stall. "Hey, I know you. You’re Harry Potter, the little prince of Ravenclaw."

"Little prince? What a strange nickname," Harry couldn’t help but laugh. "Who told you that?"

"Oh, I can’t tell you, it’s a friend of mine." Myrtle sized him up as she spoke. "She really likes you. She always sneaks in here to look at your photos, and I caught her. That’s how we became friends. She told me all sorts of things about you."

"She said you’re the little prince of Ravenclaw, that you get perfect scores in all your exams, that you’re close with many professors, handsome and talented, totally charming, ‘I love you so much I could go mad,’ I heard her say that about the picture. She also said your potion-making is especially outstanding, and that Professor Snape dotes on you."

"What?" Harry shook his head. "I’m not as great as they think. I’m just here to get something."

"What?" Myrtle stared at him wide-eyed.

Harry stepped into Myrtle’s stall and used the Levitation Charm to lift a wet notebook from the floor.

"Tom Riddle." Harry softly read the name on the notebook. "Do you know him?"

"Oh, him!" Moaning Myrtle excitedly spun around in the air. "This morning, someone suddenly threw this notebook into my stall, and it passed right through me. I was so angry at first, but then I realized it was his notebook!"

"You know him?"

"Of course! He was my senior, elegant, handsome, charming, and he figured out the truth behind my death! But even he didn’t have a young girl who liked him enough to sneak into the stall and look at his picture."

"He figured out the truth behind your death?" Harry ignored the latter part of Myrtle’s words. "What was the truth behind your death?"

"Oh." As soon as her death was mentioned, Moaning Myrtle became much more animated, completely unaware of Harry’s probing. "He figured out who killed me! That day, Olive Hornby laughed at me for wearing glasses and called me a four-eyed dog. So, I hid in this stall and cried. I cried for a while, and then I heard someone talking, very strange words."

"What kind of words?"

"They were hissing, very low, I couldn’t understand them. But I didn’t care at the time because I heard that the person speaking was a boy! I was so angry that I pushed open the stall door and ran out."

"And then, I saw a pair of huge, frightening yellow eyes."

"And then?"

"Then I died." Moaning Myrtle puffed out her chest with a certain pride as she said this.

"Where did you see those yellow eyes?"

Moaning Myrtle pointed to the snake-shaped faucet. Harry looked up at the spot and estimated how much time was left before Ginny was taken.

"So, that Tom Riddle is quite an impressive person, huh?" Harry continued to ask, pretending to be very interested.

"Of course!" Moaning Myrtle immediately became enthusiastic. "He's very, very handsome. His voice is like velvet when he speaks. His grades are excellent too. You know Professor Slughorn, right?"

"Severus told me about him. He used to be a professor at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, yes, you guys probably don't have him as a teacher now. Let me tell you, this professor really likes to curry favor with students who are likely to achieve great things. He especially liked inviting Tom to his parties and always discussed academic matters with him in his office, just like you!"

"What do you think he’s like, or rather, what’s his personality like?"

"Oh, he's like a prince, his way of speaking makes you feel comfortable, just like you. But there was a boy in his year who didn’t like him at all. He said that Tom’s gentleness and politeness were just a mask, and the real him was an ugly beast! I really don’t understand why anyone would dislike him like that, it must be jealousy!"

"Oh." Harry said thoughtfully. "When did you become a ghost? I mean, if you had turned earlier, you could have seen how Tom figured out the truth for you. Did you see it?"

"I was in a daze at the time, I can’t remember clearly. But I kept hearing that hissing, strange language." Moaning Myrtle tried to recall. "The hissing went on for a long time. I think I even heard Tom calling out Salazar Slytherin's name."

Harry squinted his eyes. "That does sound a bit strange, but the Chamber of Secrets was left by Salazar Slytherin, so it’s not unusual for him to mention it."

"No, no, it’s different!" Moaning Myrtle immediately contradicted him. "When he said that name, it sounded very commanding, like he was giving someone an order. I’ve never heard him speak like that, I remember it very clearly!"

"Is that so?" Harry lightly shook the notebook in his hands, causing a crack to form in his previously gentle and polite demeanor. His thoughts, like droplets of ink, fell onto the ground as he glanced at Myrtle. "You say he’s a prince, and he's in Slytherin, so he must be a pureblood, right?"

"He never mentioned that," Moaning Myrtle shook her head. "But he must be a pureblood! He's so handsome, so graceful—"

"A pureblood prince from Slytherin. I guess he probably doesn’t like half-bloods."

"Tom never showed any malice toward others," Moaning Myrtle argued. "But... he probably didn’t like half-bloods or people without wizarding blood. Back then, he was always surrounded by pureblood wizards, and he didn’t interact with half-bloods at Slughorn’s parties."

"Actually, I always feel like he doesn’t care about blood status, but that doesn’t really make sense..."

Moaning Myrtle fell into her own thoughts, while Harry, after drying the notebook with a spell, quietly left.

Voldemort certainly didn’t care about blood status. Harry sneered. On the surface, he cared about the status and dignity of purebloods, but in reality, he didn’t care about blood at all. He only sought immortality and control over the magical world. The whole "pureblood supremacy" thing was just his way of manipulating people and consolidating power.

Voldemort only ever cared about himself.

Harry put the notebook away and left the bathroom, but he unexpectedly bumped into Draco at the door.

"Harry," Draco’s gaze was dark, filled with deep jealousy and a beast-like possessiveness, as if he had been waiting for him outside the girls' bathroom for a long time.

"Who were you in there with?"

𓅪

Harry: uh oh

Chapter Text

𓅪

Harry was genuinely stunned; he hadn’t expected to run into Draco at the girls' bathroom door. Or rather, Draco was waiting for him by the door.

Suddenly, Harry remembered the pocket watch Draco had given him.

That pocket watch—Draco could sense his location! No wonder Draco was here!

In the few seconds that Harry was lost in thought, Draco’s emotions had already exploded uncontrollably.

He remembered that he had been casually sensing Harry's location from the common room, not expecting to discover that Harry was heading toward the girls' bathroom on the fourth floor.

At first, Draco wasn't sure. He thought Harry was off to secretly embark on some kind of adventure again. Draco figured he might catch Harry in the act, so he followed, staying just far enough behind to avoid being noticed.

But he never expected Harry to go into that particular place.

Draco paused at the corner for a long moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality and instinctively followed him inside.

He had barely taken a few steps when he heard a shy, hesitant voice.

“I always sneak in here to look at your photo…”

“The Ravenclaw Prince, perfect scores in every subject, connected with many professors, handsome and talented, irresistibly charming—I love you so much I think I’m going mad…”

Draco recoiled as though burned, instinctively stepping back several paces.

Harry... was someone confessing to him?

No, if Harry was being confessed to, why would he specifically go into the girls' bathroom on this floor alone?

Was he... on a date with someone?

Draco stood at the door, listening to the muffled conversation.

He didn’t dare go inside. He couldn’t bear to hear the words of love that might push him to the edge of losing control.

When had Harry gotten a girlfriend? He was always around Harry, how could he not know?

I’m jealous, Draco clearly felt it.

He felt anger and jealousy, like a fierce fire burning in his chest. These intertwined emotions almost drove him to storm in and tear apart the girl who was on a date with Harry.

Would Harry hug her, or kiss her?

Will Harry show that lucky girl his infatuated smile? Will she hear Harry's sincere sweet words, ambiguous promises and love words?

Draco stood at the door of the bathroom and waited for a long time.

Maybe not long, but it seemed to him that he had been standing there waiting for decades.

Until Harry walked out of the bathroom door.

And Harry showed a kind of surprise as if a secret was exposed under his questioning.

"Draco, I'm not--ah!"

Harry's wrist was held tightly, and before he could react, he was pushed against the wall of the corridor.

"Did she touch you?" Draco pinched Harry's chin and forced him to look up, stroking his lips with his thumb "Did you kiss her?"

"I didn't, Draco. I was--"

His kiss fell suddenly, like a rainstorm.

Draco rarely kissed him like this.

Now, the beast born in Draco's heart popped up on the edge of jealousy.

But this was the first kiss between Harry and Draco since his rebirth, and the first in more than fifty years. He responded to Draco eagerly, and his kissing skills were so awkward as if he was really just a twelve-year-old boy.

His kiss was eager and passionate, and Draco had never thought that kissing Harry would be such a wonderful feeling. When Harry's soft lips and tongue were entangled with his, Draco felt unprecedented satisfaction and happiness, as if the soul separated into two halves was reunited in such contact.

It took a long time for Draco to let him go, and Harry felt that the tip of his tongue was numb from sucking.

"I'm not dating anyone." Harry explained to Draco, who seemed to be calmer. "I'm asking about Moaning Myrtle and the Chamber of Secrets."

"Really." Draco still looked at him with that creepy look. "Will asking about the Chamber of Secrets mention your photo and her admiration for you?"

Harry was really stunned.

After being kissed again, Harry finally found out what Draco meant by "admiration" and explained to him what Myrtle said with a smile and tears.

Harry was genuinely stunned; he hadn’t expected to run into Draco at the girls' bathroom door. Or rather, Draco was waiting for him by the door.

Suddenly, Harry remembered the pocket watch Draco had given him.

That pocket watch—Draco could sense his location! No wonder Draco was here!

Draco seemed to relax considerably. “So… you’re not dating anyone. But Moaning Myrtle told you that you have an anonymous admirer. What are you going to do about that?”

“What do you mean, ‘what am I going to do’?” Harry ran his fingers through Draco's slightly messy, light blonde hair. “I’m not interested. But you—grabbing people and kissing them on impulse. Luckily, there’s no one around at this time. What would you have done if someone saw?”

“Sorry,” Draco said decisively, though his expression showed no sign of regret. “I was just a bit…”

“A bit what?” Harry freed his wrist from Draco’s grip, placing his hand lightly on the back of Draco's neck, gently pressing it, both affectionate and somewhat threatening. “Even if I did have a girlfriend, you wouldn’t need to react this strongly, would you? After all, my first kiss went to you. Aren’t you going to say something about that?”

Ah, he’s blushing, Harry thought with amusement.

“I-I just…” Draco, who hadn’t shown much emotion when he had forcefully kissed Harry, now blushed deeply. “I thought you might have already been kissed, and, well, because of jealousy…”

“Jealousy, hmm?” Harry teased, drawing out the word with a smile. “I’ve already told you, the person I like the most is you. I’ve also said that you’re the most unique person to me. What’s there to be jealous about? Are you worried that I’ll neglect you once I have a lover?”

Draco nodded distractedly.

“I’m not the type to forget my friends because of romance,” Harry said, taking Draco’s hand and walking away. “I won’t neglect you because of love.”

Because my only lover will be you.

The whole misunderstanding ended with no harm done, and Harry let out a deep sigh of relief as he returned to Ravenclaw Tower.

“Harry.” Aipho, who had been listening from Harry’s collar, emerged and spoke with a tone of confusion. “Didn’t you tell me you liked that human named Draco? Kissing is a way humans show love, and he kissed you. Doesn’t that mean he loves you? Why don’t you just marry him?”

“How do you know I’m not already with him? Don’t you understand human language?” Harry was taken aback.

“Because if you were married to him, he’d be thrilled. He definitely wouldn’t be acting like this,” Aipho said with certainty.

Harry fell silent.

Look at that, a baby snake who already has better emotional intelligence than Ron.

“Because… sigh,” Harry sighed. “Right now, Draco is still a child. He’s only twelve, Aipho. I love him a lot, but there should be some boundaries, at least wait until he’s fifteen, right?”

Aipho vaguely felt that something about this explanation was off. He didn’t think that Draco was a child at all. But, well, he wasn’t the one who would lose out, so he happily slithered back into Harry’s robes to warm up.

𓅪

"Hello." Harry wrote in the diary. "Are you Tom Riddle? I saw your name in the diary."

"Hello." New handwriting appeared in the diary, a very beautiful cursive "I am Tom."

"What happened to you? Is your soul locked in this notebook? This is so strange." Harry wrote in a pretentious manner.

"You can think so." The notebook paused for a while before the handwriting appeared. "But I live forever because of this."

"Then won't you feel bored, staying in the diary all the time."

"Because you are chatting with me now, I am not lonely."

Tsk tsk tsk tsk, Harry couldn't help but be amazed. No wonder Ginny was so fascinated by this notebook that she said everything in her heart. Look at this rhetoric.

Harry closed the notebook with a snap, pretending to be an innocent and innocent little girl who couldn't resist the gentle offensive.

After a while, Harry reopened the diary.

"Tom, a friend of mine is having a birthday, but I can't think of a gift for him. Do you know any suitable gifts?"

"What kind of friends?" Voldemort answered quickly.

"Pure-blood nobles are my favorites." Harry wrote, subtly stabilizing his innocent and young girl persona.

"Nobles generally like more expensive gifts. Does your financial situation allow it?"

"My father dotes on me a lot. I can afford it."

Adding a spoiled woman doted on by her parents, Harry communicated with the diary expressionlessly in the tone and font of a shy little girl.

"Pure-blood nobles value family and inheritance. You can try giving watches, precious metal quills and the like."

"I've given all these - wait, I have an idea! Thank you, Tom!"

Harry closed the diary before Tom could say anything else.

This diary that automatically replies gave him inspiration.

𓅪

While Harry was immersed in alchemical materials and preparing gifts, he obviously did not think about the disastrous Valentine's Day that was coming.

Because of the "little cupid" that Lockhart found, Harry, known as the Prince of Ravenclaw, was harassed all day. Including but not limited to being forced to be late when Snape's class was about to start because eight dwarfs circled around him and blocked his door to read love letters at the same time - Snape now favored Harry because of his amazing talent in potions. Not only did he not deduct points from him, he even helped him drive away the eight "little cupids".

Draco also suffered. When Harry and him walked together, the dwarfs who came to find them were almost swarming, and Draco was also jealous of those love letters written to Harry.

On Valentine's Day, Harry would of course write love poems to Draco. But he would never use Lockhart's cupids to deliver them.

Harry has a better idea.

In the hall that evening, when everyone was about to finish dinner, a huge silver-white unicorn broke into the hall.

In fact, this was not a real unicorn, but Harry's patronus. The patronus' eyes were clear gray-blue, and it had long silver mane that almost dragged on the ground, just like Harry in his previous life, and it was two meters tall.

The unicorn patronus kicked its hooves and ran to Draco on the Slytherin table and opened its mouth.

"

What should I use to describe you

I have been obsessed with your face countless times

Your golden hair shining in the morning light

And your lips filled with the scent of roses

When I look into your eyes

I see the starlight of Draco looking at me across 88 light years

What should I use to resist you

Whenever I feel your proud and moving voice

Gray-blue eyes more beautiful than all gems

Whenever I look at your profile

Love is like the weeds that keep growing taller on the Quidditch field

And the wind that grows infinitely beside your broom

I am defeated

In my love for you

If Eros is willing to show me mercy

If this world There really is something that can defeat death

Merlin

I know what it is

It lives forever when you look at me

In my shining eyes

And this unicorn

Born when I said "Expecto Patronus"

The light in my mind

In all the memories of you

Only on this day

Please allow me to say your name quietly in this way

Let me enjoy the glory of your poem alone

Let me enjoy your thoughts for a few minutes alone

Let me know

At least when you listen to this poem

Your heart beats only for me

"

The voice of the unicorn patronus is beautiful but ethereal, with a deliberately blurred etherealness. Not to mention who is reading the poem, it is hard to tell whether the person reading the poem is a man or a woman.

But this poem is indeed full of love. The unicorn's gray-blue eyes looking at Draco contain the deep affection given by its owner.

After reading the poem, the Patronus suddenly disintegrated into a large silver-white mist and light spots that spread wantonly in the hall, and even some of them floated to the classroom seats.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden love poem. Harry hurriedly finished the remaining dessert on the plate and hurried back to the dormitory with Jones.

Oh my God, Harry blushed and covered his head with the quilt. Except for the wedding with Draco in his previous life, this was the first time he was so straightforward in such a public occasion-

He still remembered the stunned look on Draco's face. To be honest, Harry still had a little confidence in his poems that were inspired by the style of Muggle literature, but he really cared about Draco's opinion.

And what is Draco doing now?

After listening to the love poem, Draco's first reaction was to look at the Ravenclaw table. But he only saw a savior who lowered his head and remained silent and the back of him hurriedly leaving with his roommate.

He guessed that Harry might be unhappy, and because of this guess, Draco, who was already a little uneasy because of the Cupids who confessed to him, became even more uneasy.

Although he was very jealous of those love letters written to Harry, he was still mostly uneasy at the moment. It can be said that he was quite henpecked - although Draco himself did not realize this.

In fact, he also wrote a love letter to Harry, but he really didn't dare to sign his name. In order to prevent Harry from recognizing himself from the handwriting, he specially copied the original manuscript in a standard printing style.

He didn't dare to let the Cupid read the love letter because it was too long. In the end, Draco just stuffed it into Harry's Potions textbook, praying that Harry could see it when writing his paper.

Just when Harry ran to Snape's cellar to avoid the Cupid and study the new wolfsbane potion with him, the letter floated out of the textbook Harry brought with him.

Harry quickly put the pink letter with obvious traces of Draco into his robe. Fortunately, Snape was concentrating on the potion and didn't notice this little episode.

That night, Harry couldn't sleep after reading Draco's letter full of immature but sincere words of love.

Draco thought he couldn't recognize the font if it was written in a printed style. Harry could only recognize that it was Draco's handwriting from the end of the letter Y and the upturned end of the letter A.

Harry, Harry, you are already an old and experienced headmaster. How can you blush like this for a love letter...

But Draco said in the letter "You are my Mirror of Erised".

Who can stand this!

Harry couldn't stand it. As long as the person who told him that he loved Draco Malfoy, he would never be able to fight.

It's great to be young, Dumbledore sighed as he looked at the little Cupid walking around in the hall.

𓅪

Hermione: You two are not together yet? How are you two not together yet? ?

Dumbledore: Ah, the breath of youth.

Lucius: Cardiopulmonary arrest

Pansy: Draco, the fucking chance are literally infront of you but you still didn't kissed him. are you a coward.. Or did you chickened?

Chapter Text

𓅪

On Draco's birthday, Harry gave him a diary.

There were two diaries, one for Harry and one for Draco. Whenever Harry wrote in his diary, Draco's diary would show the corresponding words.

It was like the Muggle communication apps people in the future would enjoy. When the other person wrote in the diary, the Malfoy family crest on the cover of Draco’s diary would glow, much like a message notification.

The cover of Harry’s diary featured the Hogwarts crest.

Draco really liked the gift, and after returning to the dorm, he often pulled Harry into conversations.

As time passed, despite Harry's vigilance, things inevitably happened—whether it was Hagrid being forced into Azkaban or Hermione being petrified by the basilisk.

Looking at Hermione, petrified on the hospital bed, Harry realized more clearly than ever that some fixed points in time truly couldn’t be changed.

For instance, Hermione would certainly be petrified, Hagrid would certainly end up in Azkaban, and Voldemort would certainly return and rise again.

If Harry tried to change these events, fate would make them occur in an even stronger, unchangeable way.

This time, Hermione still had a note in her hand.

“Harry, I’ve been searching for a creature that could petrify someone, but I haven’t found any clues. I found a book in the library, Fantastic Beasts: Dangerous Creatures, which might have some hints. I don't think I'll have time to search for it now; I hear something moving behind me... like a big snake.”

This time, without the clue from the spider or her conversation with Aragog, and without mentioning the sound Harry had heard in the walls, Hermione wasn’t able to deduce that it was the basilisk. But it didn’t matter—Harry already knew.

After visiting Hermione, he went straight back to the dorm and opened Voldemort’s diary.

“Tom, someone else at Hogwarts has been petrified today. It’s so terrifying…”

“What’s wrong? It’s fine, it won’t happen to you.”

Harry snorted inwardly. Sure enough, Tom had started his gentle approach, trying to charm the innocent young girl.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve told you what’s been happening at school.”

“…In any case, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, and we still don’t know how many more people the heir plans to hurt.”

“I know about it. The Chamber was opened fifty years ago, and I witnessed part of the process of capturing the culprit. Would you like to come and see it?”

Here it came. Harry narrowed his eyes.

Tom Riddle, after lowering people’s defenses through conversation, would control them further and drain their magic. That’s how Ginny had been controlled.

Harry entered the memory from fifty years ago.

Everything was just as Harry had seen in his past life, but Tom in this memory looked particularly handsome.

Damn, Harry muttered to himself.

When Harry left that memory, he quickly wrote in a slightly messy handwriting to dispel Tom’s suspicions about not being able to invade his soul.

“Tom, my mother’s pendant suddenly grew hot. She said it would protect me. Was the monster trying to secretly hurt me when I left?”

“I’m a half-blood; will the monster hurt half-blood students too?”

“Calm down, Lilia (a name Harry had just made up), it’s fine. Can you do me a favor? I’ll do my best to protect you.”

“What favor?”

“Do you know Harry Potter?”

“Oh, of course, the little prince from Ravenclaw!” Harry wrote without changing his expression, “He’s very handsome, and all the teachers like him! But I saw your face in that memory, and I think you’re even more handsome.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” The flowing script in the diary was even more beautiful than usual. “I hope you’ll give me to Harry Potter. I know what happened fifty years ago, and he’s a very talented student. I should be able to help him find the monster hurting everyone.”

“Then I’ll have to be separated from you?”

“It’s alright.” The diary comforted the innocent Lilia. “After everything is over, I’ll have him return me to you.”

“Alright.”

Harry closed the diary, his expression cold.

The next day, Harry opened the diary again in the dorm and changed the original handwriting to clean, slanted script: “Hello, I’m Harry Potter. Lilia said you can help me.”

“Hello, I’m Tom Riddle.” The usual flowing script appeared in the diary. “I personally participated in the events fifty years ago. I can share my memories with you.”

“No need.” Harry wrote decisively. “I’m not stupid enough to trust an enchanted object so easily. Lilia might believe you, but I won’t.”

“I mean no harm.” The words in the diary began to appear faster. “I’m just a diary. What harm could I do?”

“I looked up information on the Acromantula,” Harry continued writing. “Your guess was wrong; Acromantulas can’t petrify people. Hagrid has left the school, but nothing has stopped.”

“I never said that. It must have been Lilia who told you about Hagrid. I only showed a memory; I made no guesses.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Harry closed the diary.

It’s almost done, he thought.

Two days later, Ron rushed over in a panic, telling Harry that Ginny had gone missing, and the diary had disappeared.

“It’s fine, Ron.” Harry patted his shoulder. “I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. Trust me, Ginny will be fine.”

“You know?” Ron blinked at him. “I’m going with you—she’s my sister!”

“Alright.” Harry nodded, and the two of them rushed toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

At that moment, Harry suddenly realized that Lockhart wasn’t involved in this adventure. But Harry had no intention of looking for him—Lockhart would only make things worse. His time in the spotlight was over.

The two of them ran quickly, but someone was faster.

Harry suddenly collided with Draco as he turned a corner, and Draco’s smooth voice rang in his ear. “In such a hurry, are you going to check on the girl in the bathroom?”

Even without looking up, Harry could sense how sour Draco’s expression was.

“Draco?” Ron blinked in surprise.

“Forget it, you can come too.” Harry grabbed Draco’s hand. “If we wait too long, it’ll be too late!”

Draco, realizing that Harry wasn’t on a date but actually in a rush, followed Harry silently into the girls’ bathroom on the fourth floor.

“You again?” Moaning Myrtle sprang out of the toilet, splashing water everywhere.

Harry ignored her and ran to the snake-shaped faucet, looking at the two snakes staring at him. He spoke in Parseltongue, “Open.”

The sink twisted and spiraled, revealing a dark passage below.

Harry had been here before, and without Lockhart to cause trouble, the three of them jumped down and landed inside the tunnel.

“Lumos.” Harry flicked his wand.

Normally, without Lockhart around, Lockhart wouldn’t cast his reversed memory charm, and there wouldn’t be any debris separating them. But when Harry reached the place where Lockhart had once erased his memory, the tunnel began to shake, and debris started to fall.

Harry quickly pushed Draco out of the way, and in the next second, a massive rock fell exactly where Draco had been standing.

Harry broke out in a cold sweat from the shock, and the subsequent collapse completely blocked the tunnel, separating Harry from the others, forcing him to face the unknown ahead alone.

Fate had made it this way. No matter whether Lockhart was there or not, the tunnel would collapse.

“Harry! Are you okay?” Draco’s anxious voice reached him.

“I’m fine!” Harry shouted. “We’re separated, but I have to keep going to save Ginny. You two figure out how to notify the teachers!”

“But it’s too deep here—” Ron’s voice was frustrated. “We can’t get out!”

“Moaning Myrtle is outside. She might be able to hear us.” Harry comforted the uneasy black snake and Aipho in his arms. “We all need to do something.”

“Ron should go.” Draco’s voice trembled. “I’ll stay here and move these rocks. That way, you can crawl out when you come back.”

“I’ll be fine, Draco.” Harry softly reassured him. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“You always lie.” Draco’s voice was muffled. “You said the same thing when you went to face Quirrell.”

Draco didn’t get a response. The mark left by the pocket watch told him that Harry had already gone far away.

With a frustrated punch, Draco struck the rocks that separated them, then drew out his wand, attempting to levitate the debris.

He would find him.

“Open.” Harry gazed at the row of stone statues shaped like snakes. The mute black snake coiled tightly around Harry’s neck, trembling.

“Harry, he’s afraid.” Aipho, coiling around Harry’s hand, looked at him with its onyx-red eyes. “The one who created him is nearby. Its emotions are affecting him.”

The black snake was indeed afraid. Harry looked at it as it coiled around his neck, its tail tip resting near his heart.

It wasn’t the basilisk’s scent or the danger ahead that scared the snake; it was the fear that Harry might get hurt in the process of investigating.

But I will face it in the end.

Harry took a step forward, entering the open door.

“Ginny!” Harry saw Ginny lying on the floor. He rushed over to check her condition. Thankfully, aside from being weak, she didn’t seem to be in any serious danger.

Harry pulled out a potion he had prepared and gave it to her. Thanks to the modified healing potion he and Snape had developed together, Ginny woke up quickly. As soon as she opened her eyes and saw Harry, tears began to fall.

“Oh, Harry,” Ginny sobbed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have trusted that diary... I…”

“Shh.” Harry gently comforted her. “Now’s not the time to talk. It’s still dangerous here. This is an emergency potion. Drink it, and if you feel worse, drink another bottle.”

“How touching, the little Ravenclaw prince saving the girl who loves him,” Tom Riddle’s voice echoed from some unseen corner. “Too bad you won’t have the chance to leave here.”

“That’s him—he’s the liar!” Ginny screamed, backing away. “Harry, don’t trust him!”

“Ginny, go!” Harry gently pushed Ginny toward the exit. She was a smart girl, and after a quick glance back, she ran off.

“Now it’s just the two of us.” Harry looked at him. “Your goal was to bring Ginny here, wasn’t it?”

“Of course not. She’s just a means to an end. She told me a lot of things, including everything about you, Harry Potter. You’re going to die here.” Tom grinned a cruel, satisfied smile. “Wait and see—speak to me, Slytherin, the greatest of the Four Founders.”

The statue of Salazar Slytherin slowly opened its mouth, but this time, the basilisk didn’t crawl out.

“Unfortunately,” Harry responded in Parseltongue, “your help is gone.”

“Impossible!” Tom’s eyes widened. “I’m a descendant of Salazar. I have Slytherin blood! You obeyed my command before—come out and kill him!”

“Is that what you wanted, to kill me?” Harry continued speaking in Parseltongue. The black snake tightened its grip on his shoulder, pulling even tighter around his heart as it listened to Harry. “How foolish.”

“What did you say?” Tom looked over, his gaze flashing with malice in the dim light.

“I said, you’re very foolish.” Harry felt Aipho position itself in an attacking stance on his collar, ready to strike. “You think splitting your soul into pieces grants you immortality, that power comes through violence. You simply deny love because you never had it as a child, and now you reject it as an adult.”

“You think that driving Dumbledore away means you’ve defeated him, that killing one person means you’ve killed everything about them. You put on a proud facade, yet deep inside, you’re more insecure than anyone else. Isn't that laughable? Not only is it laughable, it's foolish.”

“How dare you—”

“The diary’s flying!” Harry raised his yew wand, and Fawkes flapped his wings and descended from the air, dropping the Sorting Hat.

Harry quickly put on the hat and drew out Godric Gryffindor’s sword from it.

He thrust the sword down fiercely at the words “Tom Riddle” in the diary.

The fragment of a soul let out a final, reluctant, and painful scream, as ink flowed endlessly from the diary until it finally fell silent.

It was dead.

Harry tightly gripped Gryffindor’s sword, pointing it at the basilisk, which had appeared behind him at some point.

The basilisk’s amber eyes stared at the emerald ones, but Harry, having already cast the Errolus charm on himself, wasn’t afraid, just like last time, and looked directly at the creature.

“You’ve drawn Godric Gryffindor’s sword.” The basilisk pressed its body flat against the floor, appearing to have no desire to attack. “Only a true Gryffindor could pull this sword from the hat.”

“The Sorting Hat did say I could go to Gryffindor.” Harry smiled. Fawkes landed and perched on his shoulder. “Not just Gryffindor, Slytherin too, I suppose, and I think Hufflepuff could work as well. But it insisted that Ravenclaw was the most suitable for me now.”

The basilisk fell silent.

“So, do you still want to follow Slytherin’s orders?” Harry asked, looking at the basilisk. “To kill those Muggle-born wizards?”

“I don’t,” the basilisk hesitated, its voice unsure. “I didn’t kill them… I’m not even sure what Salazar’s command to me was.”

Harry froze.

“Whenever I try to look into the eyes of those children, I feel this impulse to avoid them, so I end up looking at their reflections or through mirrors. I haven’t killed any students. Their petrification can be undone. I didn’t even kill that creature from the Forbidden Forest.”

Suddenly, Harry recalled a famous saying among Muggles.

“When a coincidence happens more than three times, it’s no longer a coincidence.”

Moaning Myrtle had been petrified by the reflection in the water, Colin had been holding a camera and hadn’t looked directly at the basilisk, and neither Justin nor Hermione had died because they didn’t look directly into its eyes.

So many people hadn’t directly looked into the basilisk’s eyes—could this really be a coincidence?

“So, why didn’t you kill them?” Harry asked softly.

“I rarely want to kill anyone. Not even when I’m really, really hungry.” The basilisk flicked its tongue, as thick as Harry’s forearm. “The only time I killed someone was fifty years ago, when I was awakened by a descendant of Slytherin. It was then that I accidentally killed a girl just by staring at her.”

“A year ago, when you called me out, you questioned Salazar’s orders in front of me. But now, I feel that Salazar never gave me these orders.”

“In my memory, Salazar only commanded me to guard Hogwarts. But somewhere along the way, I subconsciously began to think that getting rid of Muggle-borns was also an order from him.”

“You’re right. Every time I try to kill someone by looking at them, my instinct to protect Hogwarts stops me. It forces me to petrify them instead.”

Harry unknowingly furrowed his brow.

So, what exactly is going on here?

“Hello.”

Harry was suddenly startled. Instinctively, he cast Expelliarmus and Petrificus Totalus toward the source of the voice. Fawkes, startled by Harry’s sudden movement, flew off and landed far away on Salazar’s statue.

This was an instinctive reaction Harry had developed during his time as an Auror, and it had remained a habit even after he became headmaster, due to occasional battles.

Because Harry had been lost in thought when he was startled, both spells were cast with full force. The disarming spell struck the air in front of him, creating a huge web of cracks in the wall of the Chamber of Secrets, while the petrification spell froze the falling debris in place.

“Wow.” The basilisk was stunned. “That was just a disarming spell, right? Does a disarming spell have this much power?”

“In the hands of the master, of course it does.” Aipho arrogantly poked its head out from under Harry’s collar. “The master is really strong!”

"Indeed." The translucent person who was not affected by the spell replied in Parseltongue. "The Disarming Spell is not an offensive spell, but it can cause such a strong impact. You are probably the most powerful wizard I have ever seen."

"Who are you?" Harry put on a defensive posture.

"You can call me Salazar Slytherin. Of course, I am not him. I am just a little bit of his remaining consciousness." The translucent figure smiled and looked at the basilisk that was already stunned. "I don't know what the secret chamber is described as in your later legends, but when I first built the secret chamber, I planned to use it to store the legacy of the four of us."

"Four people?" Harry frowned.

"The four founders of Hogwarts." The consciousness that looked only in his twenties said, "And the four of us unanimously agreed that only those who have passed the trial and been recognized are qualified to obtain our legacy. My appearance here has proved that you have this qualification."

"Come with me." Salazar walked towards the hole where the basilisk crawled out.

"Just go in directly?" Harry looked at the hole. He felt that there was a breath similar to space magic here. It should be able to lead to two different places if the conditions are met.

"Drop your blood on the ground near the hole - I don't know the exact amount. At the beginning, only a small amount is needed, but after so many years, the mechanism has probably become much slower."

Harry took out Gryffindor's sword and cut a hole on his wrist.

Blood dripped down, but there was no movement at the hole.

Aipho looked up at the consciousness.

"Uh, try to spread the blood over a larger area."

Harry did as he was told, but there was still no movement at the hole.

"Ahem! More and more, the mechanism may be slow but it will definitely not be ineffective!"

Harry cut another hole speechlessly.

This time it was successful. The space around the hole slowly twisted, revealing a long staircase winding down.

Harry used the potion he had prepared in advance to stop the bleeding, hung the sword of Gryffindor on his waist, and followed Salazar into the cave.

The space returned to its original position after Harry walked through the cave, as if the staircase had never existed.

And Draco's expression outside the secret room suddenly changed.

He could not sense Harry's location.

𓅪

Tom: Online dating is risky, be cautious when meeting them in person

Chapter Text

𓅪

"Child, you should have heard about what happened when Hogwarts was founded, right?" Salazar followed Harry and talked.

"At that time, the Muggle Church and the wizarding world were at war." Harry answered simply, "Young wizards were persecuted, burned or drowned by Muggles. In order to kill wizards, Muggles even hired wizards to kill each other."

"That's right." Salazar sighed, "The original purpose of Hogwarts was to protect those young wizards while educating them."

"At that time, Muggle-born wizards were quite unwelcome, because it was the Muggle Church that was at war with the wizarding world, and no one knew whether these Muggle-born wizards had already converted to the Church and were spies who came in to investigate the news."

"So this is why you don't advocate accepting Muggle students?" Harry walked down with the faint light emitted by the fluorescent flickering.

"Yes, but not entirely. The magic circles and some advanced magic at that time were indeed not something that Muggle-born wizards could learn, just like blood magic. Some magic relies on blood to be powerful. There were many such magics at that time, unlike today, where many blood magics have been lost with the disappearance of descendants."

"And most of the time, the talents of Muggle-born wizards are indeed not as good as those of pure-blood and half-blood."

"In the process of building the school, we had many conflicts, but we eventually overcame them one by one. Relying on mutual understanding and solidarity, the four of us successfully established Hogwarts and ended the war launched by the Muggle Church against the wizarding world."

Harry keenly noticed that Salazar's tone was a little sad. No matter what the result is, the process of the war will definitely not be beautiful. Maybe Salazar also lost important partners and relatives in it. This was the case when Harry fought against Voldemort in his previous life, let alone the war between the two worlds that was much larger than that?

"In order to prevent this from happening again, I decided to build a secret chamber. The basilisk is the guardian of the legacy and the level of testing for the heirs. It is also the blade that protects the safety of Hogwarts. Only those who can make the basilisk surrender from body to heart can open this legacy."

"But only your descendants can speak snake language, right?" Harry asked doubtfully, "Since you can't communicate with the basilisk, how can you make him 'convinced'?"

"This secret chamber was just to store my legacy from the beginning!" Salazar sounded a little angry, "If Godric hadn't let it slip..."

Harry didn't say anything else because he saw the golden light emanating from the bottom of the stairs.

"That is a past I still don't want to recall." Salazar's voice was low. "My friend left in the war. Although the children were protected by Hogwarts, they were still uneasy. People's hearts were unpredictable, betrayal and lies were staged every day. The worst time, they almost broke into the castle. Red hats were everywhere, and my favorite junior died in that attack. Blood flowed into the river in the Forbidden Forest with the rain. For three days, the river was red."

"But we know that no matter how difficult the moment is, hope will always come. Whenever I look at the smiling faces of the children-they smile so beautifully, I know they are the future of the wizarding world."

The golden light is getting brighter and brighter.

"Welcome to the real heart of Hogwarts, heir."

Salazar's figure was illuminated by the golden light.

In front of Harry was a golden magic circle that was as large as the area of ​​Hogwarts.

The light of the magic circle flickered rhythmically, like the breath of a giant beast. Huge and brilliant magic flowed in every branch of the magic circle. It was dark and lightless underground, but the magic circle was as bright as the scorching sun in summer.

Harry knew what it was.

"The cornerstone magic circle of Hogwarts." Harry murmured, "I have been the headmaster for 150 years. I can feel the magic fluctuations of Hogwarts every day. I even figured out the law of magic tides. But I never thought that she was here."

"She is here." Saraza looked at him, "She saw the memory in your heart and felt your loyalty to her. Because she recognized you as her king, my remaining consciousness had the opportunity to wake up from long sleep and bring you here."

Salazar led Harry to the center of the cornerstone magic circle.

"Come in."

Harry felt himself falling.

About two or three seconds later, he fell into a soft antique sofa.

"This is--" Harry looked up and looked around.

This looks like a study room, with bookshelves along the walls, filled with many books Harry has never seen before, and a large part of them are unbound manuscripts and notes. The study room is about the same size as the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, with a desk and a miscellaneous pile of miscellaneous items on the floor, including crucibles, potion materials, some alchemical works of unknown use, and a large number of very old-style gold galleons and silver Sickles.

Harry even had no idea where to start for a moment.

"This is where I originally planned to store the relics." Sarah looked at the messy room. "At first, there were not so many bookshelves, nor so many miscellaneous things. Since Godric revealed this place, I was forced to stuff other people's things here. Later, I left Hogwarts in a hurry and didn't have time to take care of other things except books and manuscripts."

"This is the original Chamber of Secrets I envisioned."

"In the end, Godric moved the Chamber of Secrets to the cornerstone array, and also made such a strange statue for me!"

Harry thought of the basilisk that came out of the mouth of the Salazar statue, and couldn't help laughing.

"By the way, the basilisk..." Harry opened his mouth and wanted to ask the basilisk about the two contradictory orders of Salazar in the memory of the basilisk.

"The basilisk was damaged." Salazar waved his hand. "In the years after the war subsided, frictions of all sizes occurred from time to time. One time, the basilisk was injured while being ordered to protect Hogwarts, and confused the order I gave him. Before I left Hogwarts, I had abolished that order. At first, I asked him to purge the members of the church who disguised themselves as students to enter Hogwarts, and such wizards could only be Muggle-born."

"His early memories were very confusing. Although he is awake now, you need to explain those confusing memories to him."

"Of course." Harry nodded.

"This heir, Mr." Salazar winked at him. "The cornerstone magic circle can be opened at most once every ten years, and it can form a huge protective shield that lasts for half a month and covers the entire Hogwarts. Now, sign your name on this contract, and you have the qualifications to open it."

Harry used his wand to sign "Harry James Potter" on the magic contract that emerged out of thin air.

Magical power flowed out of Harry's body like a tide, flowing into the cornerstone magic circle to establish an unbreakable contract.

"This is also one of the purposes of setting up the test. The establishment of the contract requires a lot of magic power as support. People who are not strong enough don't even have the ability to inherit the contract." Sarah looked at Harry's magic power, which was still strong after losing a lot. "This is the key to this room. As long as you press the school badge on it, he can take you to this place."

Harry took the golden key handed over by Salazar.

"From now on, you are the master of Caesar. Caesar is the name of the basilisk. Take him to visit Hogwarts now."

Harry nodded.

"We established Hogwarts in the war years, originally for protection. Now we pass all this to you, hoping that you can protect Hogwarts and the children like us."

"I will." Harry looked at Salazar's remaining consciousness with a firm expression. "I will protect her with everything I have."

"That's good, that's good."

The wisp of consciousness smiled and slowly became transparent.

"You are the one who defeated the god of death, but reversing time cannot be without cost. We have conducted relevant research and hope to help you."

"Good night, child."

"Good night, Salazar."

Harry whispered, watching the wisp of consciousness completely dissipate.

How brave a person must be to pull up such a large school in such a tense and harsh situation?

How powerful a person must be to create such a magic circle that is still as powerful as yesterday after thousands of years?

Hogwarts was just a castle at the beginning.

But the people who created her, the people who protected her, and the people who grew up in her arms all told her their love.

The castle therefore has temperature and its own will.

And Harry stood here, listening to the heartbeat of Hogwarts. A steady stream of magic power gushed out from the center of the array, and there was still no sign of drying up after thousands of years.

Love makes the magic here endless.

When Harry finally climbed up the layers of stairs to the cave entrance - damn, the stairs here are longer than those of the Ravenclaw tower - he was still panting for a long time at the cave entrance, and only walked out after his breathing became smooth.

When Harry walked out of the cave entrance, he noticed that the spatial fluctuations at the cave entrance disappeared.

No one can enter there by spilling blood and conquering the basilisk anymore. The only way to enter is the key Harry got from the legacy.

So when Harry walked out of the cave entrance, it was almost like he appeared out of thin air. He heard Fox let out a joyful cry, and then he was pressed hard into a warm embrace.

"Where have you been?!" Draco's voice was still trembling. "The tracking mark on the pocket watch disappeared. I thought..."

Harry suddenly realized that the powerful magic fluctuations radiated by the cornerstone array would cover the tracking traces of the mark.

"I went to a very beautiful place." Harry touched Draco's hair and put his lips to his ear. "I'm fine isn't it?"

"Don't make it sound like the blood on the ground isn't yours." Draco's voice was cold. "Is it the basilisk?"

"No, I did it myself." Harry couldn't help laughing. "I used the potion, and my hand didn't hurt anymore. I almost forgot that I had a wound."

Harry wanted to say something, but he felt dizzy.

He suddenly remembered that in his previous life, after killing the basilisk, he was poisoned by the snake. Although he was cured by Fawkes, he was still weak for a while.

This time it seemed to be due to the resonance of blood loss and the magic of the cornerstone array. The contract he signed to inherit the cornerstone array itself required a lot of magic to establish a corresponding connection, so that Harry could open the Hogwarts array even if he was on the other side of the earth.

Fate seemed to think that Harry's weakness and coma were also an inevitable node, so the loss of blood and magic power replaced the snake venom and the magic taken away by the notebook.

He fell asleep in Draco's arms, and the key touched the Gryffindor sword hanging on his waist through the fabric of his pocket.

He vaguely heard the clear cry of Fawkes in his sleep.

When Harry woke up again, Draco was still guarding his bedside as last time. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Draco sitting by the bed and looking at him with his gray-blue eyes.

"How long have I slept?" Harry asked softly, he felt it shouldn't be too long.

"Only a few hours, it's just after the meal time at Hogwarts." Draco grabbed Harry's hand "...what do you want me to do with you?"

"Draco?" Harry keenly noticed that his mood was not right.

"When I couldn't sense your location - I really thought you were going to die, especially when Ron asked Myrtle to help call the professor, and I went through the stones to the Chamber of Secrets. There was nothing there except a notebook and a large pool of blood, and I couldn't sense your location."

"I really thought you were going to leave me, Harry."

"You always promise me that you will be fine. In your opinion, as long as you are not dead, everything is fine?"

"Draco." Harry kissed the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry."

Harry didn't say anything, but tried to comfort him as much as possible, but before Voldemort died completely, he might always encounter something at the end of each school year.

He couldn't avoid it.

"Don't do this again next time, okay?" Draco hugged him and rested his head on his shoulder. "Don't put yourself in danger again."

"But Ginny is in the Chamber of Secrets." Harry patted his back gently. "If I don't go, the basilisk and the consciousness in the diary will take her life - she will die."

"Then let her die!" Draco's emotions burst out suddenly. He raised his hand and pressed Harry to the bed, and almost sat on Harry. The gray-blue eyes were full of bloodshot, staring straight into Harry's emerald lakes. "I don't care about Ginny or the Philosopher's Stone. I just know that you will be in danger, but you still want to save them knowing this - Saint Potter!"

"I don't care if a hundred or a thousand people die, as long as you are not among them!"

"Draco." Harry didn't say anything, but just recited his name sadly, as if he knew the reason for Draco's unusual possessiveness and protectiveness. "I'm here, Draco, I'm fine."

He pressed Harry's hands tightly to release the strength, and then put his arms around Harry's slender waist.

"What can I do with you?" he asked softly. "When you are in danger, I can't always be with you."

"You can never do anything to me." Harry answered him with a smile. "That's why I am Harry Potter, but I have to tell you, Draco. Every time I face those dangers, you may not be by my side, but I think you will be sad, so I have scruples and try not to hurt myself too badly."

Harry's voice was full of laughter, and it became poisonous honey in Draco's heart, so sweet that he was full of joy, and unknowingly let him be infected with the poison called Harry Potter.

What a powerful poison, Draco thought, looking into Harry's eyes, making his whole heart filled with love, making him feel sad as long as he left Harry.

And he faced the sunshine of early summer and fell directly into the pool of honey in Harry's eyes.

Draco suddenly wanted to kiss him.

Harry had seen his dark and shameful thoughts, but still showed him such an attractive smile.

The proud lion locked his wings and walked into the territory of the snake, willingly.

Wanted to swallow him whole.

Wanted to leave his mark on him.

Will he be shy when he reveals his inner feelings to Harry?

Or will he run away?

Will he think I'm disgusting?

And Harry couldn't see the dark thoughts surging in his heart, but smiled at him as warm as the sun.

How can a snake dream of swallowing the sun?

But at least now...

Draco hugged the person in his arms tightly, suppressing his overly fast heartbeat.

"I really fell for you in my last life." Draco gritted his teeth and said.

"Me too." Harry answered him with real tenderness.

"Come out." Harry finally coaxed Draco to the kitchen to get him food, and took advantage of the time alone to cast Eros on himself with his wand and said in Parseltongue.

The basilisk came out from the corner of the hospital wing.

"The pipes in Hogwarts move, right?" Harry asked, looking at the basilisk, whose head was almost as big as the bed Harry was lying on.

"Yes." The basilisk replied, "The pipes can be deflected to a certain extent according to my will. And I can feel that you are already my master."

"Because of the contract I signed in the real Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I belong to Hogwarts, and now that Hogwarts' will is subject to you, I belong to you. You can seal my eyes so that I can no longer kill people with my eyes - Salazar has done a corresponding magic to prevent me from hurting innocent people when protecting Hogwarts."

Harry then activated the magic circle hidden under the scales of the basilisk, and watched the big yellow eyes lose the overflowing light, looking like an ordinary snake.

Harry used a shrinking spell to make the basilisk become about the same size as the black snake that Draco had conjured. But Harry was a little bothered by the fact that the basilisk had crawled through the sewer, and it took several cleanings before he allowed the basilisk to crawl into his sleeve.

"Now I have three snakes." Harry touched the horn on the basilisk's head and said, "Welcome to join, Caesar."

"Your body is so hot." Caesar moved his body uncomfortably, "But I like it."

"You won't feel hot in winter." Aipho leaned over and rubbed Caesar, "When it's cold, I can't leave my master!"

"Yeah." Caesar looked at the young snake and didn't respond too much.

He's still young, the basilisk who has lived for more than a thousand years thought.

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Author's note: The history of the founding of Hogwarts in this article is a private setting. I remember seeing the setting from another long article, so I used it here (because it really fits the feeling I want to express). If there is any discrepancy with the original work, please forgive me, because I will probably not change it again.

Chapter Text

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Harry was not surprisingly full after the big meal, and was walking in the garden with the Weasleys to digest the food.

"Harry." Fred stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. "It's almost done."

"Great." Harry exclaimed. "What's left? I know a little about alchemy, maybe I can help you."

"The two-way mirror for collecting information is ready." George said, throwing a goblin he stepped on out of the garden. "The only thing left is to make the second two-way mirror into the projector effect you mentioned."

"We spent a lot of effort to make those small lenses, and we also set an instruction for them to actively collect exciting scenes. It's just that the judgment of exciting scenes is a bit difficult to handle. But believe us, you can use it after the summer vacation."

"Thank you." Harry put his arms around the twins' shoulders respectively - he was a little shorter than the twins, and this action looked a bit awkward.

The twins lifted Harry up together and ran around happily in the garden.

"Is he really our master?" Aipho, who was eating meat in the window, asked Caesar in a choked voice.

Caesar buried his head in eating meat, pretending that he could not see anything.

"Harry, Harry, when are you coming!"

The Hogwarts school badge on the cover of the diary kept flashing, and Harry seemed to have returned to the days when Muggle technology entered Hogwarts and he stayed at school to work overtime and was bombarded by Draco's text messages.

"Didn't I say I would come after staying at Ron's house for a week?" Harry wrote in his notebook to reply to Draco for the countless times.

"Time passes so slowly." Draco's handwriting was even aggrieved, "I really want to see you soon."

"Why are you so clingy?" Harry almost laughed, and the tone of his reply was so gentle that he almost spoiled Draco.

"It's because you don't want to come to my house from the beginning."

"I can't live in your house for the whole summer vacation, that would be too much trouble for Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

"What's the trouble?" Draco wrote with more force, and Harry's diary had a slight scratch. "The Malfoy family has no shortage of house elves, you can just live in my room, it's not a trouble at all."

Harry wanted to say something, but suddenly there was a loud cry and the sound of things knocking over outside.

"Something seems to have happened outside, I'll go and see." Harry hurriedly left a word and walked out of the room.

"Hermione, take care of your cat!" Ron shouted angrily.

Harry sighed.

Ron and Hermione had a good relationship from the beginning of this life. Hermione heard about Harry's summer vacation plan and planned to follow Harry to live in the hut for a while.

Originally, this was a happy thing for everyone - if Hermione hadn't brought Crookshanks here.

"Scabbers, come." Harry spread his hands on the ground.

The mouse quickly ran over and hid in Harry's palm. Only Harry could save him from Crookshanks.

The ginger-faced cat, who could not be stopped by anyone, rubbed its two front paws against the ground and braked suddenly in front of Harry, meowing at him.

"No, Crookshanks, no." Harry shook his head at it.

"It's not time yet." Aipho hissed at Crookshanks.

Crookshanks seemed to understand what Aipho said, and he cried a few times unwillingly, but still left.

Harry closed his palm and held Peter Pettigrew in his hand.

He had done this several times in the past few days to save Scabbers from Crookshanks. Fate would not allow Crookshanks to succeed before the time came, but Harry didn't mind helping him a little at this time to reduce Peter's vigilance against him.

"Don't be angry with Hermione." Harry sat down next to Ron. "It's the nature of cats to catch mice, and Crookshanks is afraid of me. Why don't we let Scabbers stay with me? My three snakes won't do anything to Scabbers, and Scabbers is not afraid of them."

"I know, brother." Ron sighed. "I think I still need some time."

Harry patted Ron's shoulder with great understanding.

In his previous life, Ron had a big fight with Hermione for this. Harry still remembers the feeling of being caught between them.

Their relationship seems to be much better in this life, and Harry is deeply relieved.

Maybe it's the influence left over from the previous life like Draco.

And Harry had a nightmare again the night before going to Malfoy Manor.

He dreamed of a black sphere that seemed to swallow even light. The sphere spread into wisps of dark mist that entangled Draco. The wizard who manipulated the black matter laughed arrogantly, but didn't realize that his body was also cracking and breaking.

Harry used the incomplete and incomplete position-reversal spell that he had just learned from the books in the Hogwarts library.

Intense pain, even worse than the pain of a heart-wrenching bone-cutting, instantly swept through his body.

He bit his lips tightly to prevent himself from screaming.

"Harry!"

"The headmaster--"

"Harry, Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes with sweat.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Ron looked at him with concern. "Did you have a nightmare again?"

"I'm fine." Harry sat up from the bed and hurried into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Harry walked out again, and he was a neat and clean little prince of Ravenclaw again.

"I heard from Jones that you had nightmares at Hogwarts before." Ron touched his forehead worriedly. "No fever either... Harry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I guess." Harry collapsed on the sofa in an unpresentable manner. He still hasn't recovered from the aftermath of the pain.

Although it was just a dream, dreams often evoke more distant memories.

Harry picked up his luggage, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and walked into the Weasleys' fireplace.

As long as he could see Draco, Harry thought.

Chapter Text

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Just like last year, Harry spent the remaining one month of summer vacation at Malfoy Manor. Draco still rushed over and hugged him tightly as soon as they met, as if they had been separated for more than ten years.

"Draco." Narcissa reminded with a smile, and Draco took Harry into his room with the posture of a nobleman.

This year's birthday must have been spent at Malfoy Manor. Although Lucius looked very dissatisfied with the Weasley family and Muggles entering here, Harry saw him and Mr. Weasley arguing and drinking last year.

Maybe this is the way Slytherin and Gryffindor get along, just like Ron Hermione and Pansy Blaise?

But no matter what, Harry must develop a real wolfsbane potion that can cure werewolves this summer.

Remus will come to Hogwarts soon.

Since Harry put a date on this research, Snape's letters have become more frequent, and Harry has to take time out of replying to other teachers to write back to Snape.

Before leaving school, Harry counted his inheritance. The most valuable were of course the books, but Harry's key could not work outside Hogwarts, so he could only study it after returning to Hogwarts.

On the day Harry came to Malfoy Manor, Snape arrived almost at the same time as him, and as soon as he came in, he grabbed Harry and took him to the special potion room in Malfoy Manor.

Harry's daily life has since become a cycle of sticking with Draco before bed, studying potions with Snape, and replying to teachers. During this period, he was so busy that he didn't even have time to go to the garden to have afternoon tea with Draco.

Fortunately, Harry had already carried out the entire improvement process of the wolfsbane potion - in his previous life, he had tinkered with the healing version of the wolfsbane potion by himself. It was because Harry successfully made the improved version of the wolfsbane potion based on the formula he created that he dared to be sure of the correctness of the formula he created.

Snape helped him confirm this formula in this life, and with the blessing of Harry's experience, the improvement of the wolfsbane potion was basically completed on his birthday.

Now this version of the wolfsbane potion needs to be taken for three consecutive months, one dose every full moon and half moon, and the werewolf can be restored to human. And as the course of treatment progresses, the symptoms of turning into a werewolf will be greatly alleviated every month.

Later, after his theory was perfected, Harry also created a wolfsbane potion that could be cured with one dose, but that version of the potion was very strong and could only be used by adult and strong individuals. For young or weak werewolves, the first version of the improved wolfsbane potion is still used.

Malfoy Manor held Harry's birthday as big as last year, but there was one more person, Dumbledore, than in the previous life.

"Albus!" Harry greeted him, and Fawkes chirped and landed on his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Harry." Dumbledore smiled cheerfully, "I hope you like my gift."

Harry rushed to the pile of gifts when he heard this.

Hermione's books and the Weasley family's candy gift packs, they were still the same, but Hermione bought the Muggle philosophy books that Harry specifically mentioned last time that he was interested in, and Ron's candy was also made by Mrs. Weasley herself, all of which were the types he liked.

His friends have always been very concerned about him.

Pansy and Blaise gave small jewelry, both of which were very aristocratic in style, beautiful but not suitable for daily wear. Harry properly put it in the small leather bag with extra space that Pansy gave him.

And Snape gave a bottle of very precious potion that could save his life at critical moments. Harry treasured it so much that he carefully put it in the pocket where the Felixir was placed, intending to drink it at a critical moment.

Dumbledore's gift was in a long box. Harry thought it was a pocket broom or something, but when he opened it, he found that it was the sword of Gryffindor.

The egg-sized ruby ​​and the words Godric Gryffindor on it proved that it was authentic.

"Albus?" Harry stared at his headmaster in a daze.

"I will give you the ownership of this sword." Dumbledore's blue eyes hidden under the half-moon lenses smiled, "I am not qualified to give you this sword. It belongs to Hogwarts, but it is no problem to transfer the ownership to you. My real gift should be the scabbard in the box."

Caesar shrank back with a little fear.

Harry looked at the sword that was still extremely sharp after thousands of years, touched the hilt in amazement, put it properly into the scabbard, and also put it into the small bag.

The scene of a one-meter-long sword being stuffed into a simple leather bag made Lucius look sideways.

Finally, it was Draco's gift. Harry was used to leaving his gift to the last one to open.

Draco's gift seemed to always correspond to his gift. Last time Harry gave a watch, Draco gave a pocket watch. Harry gave a feather pen, and this time Draco also gave a pen.

This feather pen is also pure white (Harry suspected that the feathers came from the flying feathers of the Malfoy family's white peacock). It is not as ostentatious as the peacock tail pen Harry received before. The silver nib is inlaid with an emerald on the upper part, and the feathers at the tail are tied with broken diamonds and silver wire to form a star map of the Draco constellation.

Harry unconsciously stroked the star map at the tail of the feather pen. The whole feather pen is pure white, which makes the high-quality emerald on the upper part of the nib particularly conspicuous.

"I like it very much." Harry gave Draco a smile that was enough to make him blush and his heart beat.

Just like Draco only used the Phoenix feather pen to write after receiving it, Harry would do the same.

Tonight, the Gryffindors and Slytherins had a happy cake, and at the end of the game, they were inevitably driven to the guest room by the adults. Sometimes Harry felt that his birthday party was simply a large-scale team-building event for Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Here you go." Harry handed over a photo.

"What is this?" Draco took it and looked down.

The photo showed him and Harry, with the thawed Black Lake behind them. Harry raised his arm to hug Draco's neck and tilted his head to smile at the camera. Draco put one hand around Harry's waist and looked at Harry's smiling face intently and tenderly.

"This is the photo Colin took of us." Harry looked at Draco who was combing his hair in the photo. "Colin was petrified at the time and couldn't give us the developed photos in time. He only sent them to me during the summer vacation. I could have sent them to you directly, but I think it's better to give them to you in person."

"Do you like it?"

Draco didn't know what else he could say except "like it".

Harry slept in Draco's room tonight, and when he woke up the next morning, he was not surprised to see himself and Draco hugging each other.

In the following August, Harry and Snape devoted themselves to the exciting research and development of the new wolfsbane potion. In Harry's words, "School has started and we can't get together for a long time to develop potions like this." Snape had no doubt about the truth of this sentence, and worked overtime with Harry to completely perfect the formula in mid-August. This time, with the participation of Snape, Harry's original potion was taken to a higher level. The stirring method proposed by Snape can make the potion more relieve the pain of the werewolf transformation. "Finally it's done!" Harry cheered and threw himself into Snape's arms - it took him five years to develop a new wolfsbane potion in his previous life, and this time it took less than a year. Although Harry had developed it once before, it was amazing enough to complete the whole process in one year. "Yeah." Snape looked at the silver-glowing potion in front of him, "It worked."

"It's just that the efficacy is only theoretical at present." Harry said casually, "If there are a few werewolves willing to try the medicine, it would be great to completely confirm the efficacy."

Looking at Snape's expression, which was obviously thinking about something, Harry knew that it was very likely that Snape would find Lupin to try the new medicine.

After all, the matter of rebirth cannot be casually said, the fewer people know the better. Or Snape knew that he was reborn, so why did he need this series of research, and he could just report the formula directly.

But it is undeniable that Harry did gain a lot in this process. Snape's ideas gave him a lot of inspiration, which could not be achieved by directly reporting the formula.

And Snape obviously listened to his words. As long as Lupin was willing, this medicine could cure him.

The rest was just a matter of time.

After Harry finally solved the wolfsbane potion, he had a lot of free time. He started to happily catch up with Draco to make up for the missed parts.

It is worth mentioning that Lucius and Narcissa also learned about the successful development of the new wolfsbane potion from Snape, who frequently came to Malfoy Manor. Harry specifically asked them to keep it secret.

Lucius originally thought that Harry found the formula from somewhere, but when he knew that this potion was developed based on Harry's own original theory and formula, his attention to Harry rose to a higher level.

One day, when Harry was alone in the garden enjoying flowers and drinking afternoon tea, Dobby appeared in front of him with a snap.

"Dobby heard what Master Lucius said. Harry Potter has developed a medicine that can completely cure werewolves. He has accomplished something that many potion masters have never thought of..."

"Hello, Dobby." Harry smiled at him. He noticed that Dobby was wearing a simple but neat new outfit. "What are you doing?"

"Dobby asked Master Lucius for his freedom, so that Dobby can follow Harry Potter to Hogwarts and serve the young master and Harry Potter!" Dobby looked at Harry with bright eyes. "Master Lucius agreed. Dobby!"

"It's a return gift." Lucius came out from behind a flower tree, still wearing the watch Harry gave him. His eyes were bright. "Your magic is very powerful. Even I didn't realize until recently that the gift you gave me had such a powerful protective magic."

"You're flattering me." Harry smiled with his eyes narrowed. The slightly upturned tail of his eyes was charming enough to make people forget to breathe. He leaned loosely on the chair. His home robe slid from his collarbone to his shoulders because of the tilt. Every wrinkle of the fabric was full of laziness. The afternoon sun made his bones soft. At this time, anyone who came to him to make a request would be allowed. "I am also very grateful that you are willing to let me be Dobby's master."

Lucius paused involuntarily.

Harry's eyes...how to say it.

It was like carrying a hook.

Lucius didn't swing it at him. Lucius told Harry that Narcissa was accidentally attacked by a werewolf from Greyback some time ago, and Lucius was not with her. At that time, Narcissa was wearing the silver snake bracelet Harry gave her. She liked this jewelry very much, and it was especially cool to wear in summer. It was on that night that the silver snake showed its mithril fangs and almost killed the werewolf who attacked Narcissa.

At that time, the watch on Lucius's hand began to heat up, and a red alarm appeared on the dial.

It was that night that they realized that what Harry gave was not ordinary jewelry.

As a thank you for saving Narcissa and for this valuable gift, Dobby got a new set of clothes.

The Malfoy family never lacked house elves, and Lucius immediately decided on the person to be the gift after learning that Dobby had contact with Harry.

"Thank you very much for your generosity." Harry's voice was even lazier. "But for me, in addition to Dobby, the Malfoy family's complete trust is also important."

Dobby was so happy after signing a magic contract with Harry to confirm the master-servant relationship. Lucius did not stay any longer, leaving Harry alone to enjoy the afternoon alone.

Not long after, Draco hurried over.

Harry looked up, and the two glittering emeralds almost made Draco unable to walk.

"Are you here?" Harry was as crisp as a cookie soaked in milk for an hour when he was slumped in the chair, and every inch of his skin was signaling to the person who saw him that he was delicious. This cookie softened by the sun regained its toughness the moment it saw Draco. He sat up from the chair, and his loose hair shone like melted gold in the sun.

Draco was hooked in front of him.

"Have you seen Dobby?" Draco heard his voice tightened a little. "Father said he would give you a thank you gift."

"I have received it." Harry fell back into the chair, raised his hand to stroke the branch with a rose on the side, closed his eyes, and slightly tilted his head to smell the fragrance in the center of the flower.

Draco looked at Harry's lips buried in the center of the flower and swallowed unconsciously.

As if he noticed his gaze, Harry half-opened his eyes and gave a smug smirk to Draco's straight line of sight.

Harry's eyes were round, and when half-opened, they became narrow and long. The slightly upturned tail of his eyes was like a hook dripping with honey, which immediately hooked him and made him addicted.

"Would you like to have a cup of tea?" Harry invited.

Draco came in response.

Harry smiled secretly in his heart as soon as he saw his eyes.

The larger size clothes he chose today really made sense.

About ten days before the end of summer vacation, Dumbledore brought Snape and Lupin to Malfoy Manor. Lucius seemed to have been informed of this meeting long ago, and even vacated a guest room for them in advance.

When Harry saw Lupin again, he almost couldn't suppress his inner emotions. Fortunately, he calmed down, pretended not to know Lupin, and gave him a perfect smile. "Who is this...?"

"Remus Lupin." Snape explained on the side, holding the wolfsbane potion that Harry and he had worked together to research. "Your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher next semester is also a werewolf."

Harry blinked and said with a smile, "It's really Dumbledore's style."

He was referring to the matter of hiring a werewolf as a professor.

"You look a lot like your father." Lupin said in a complex and relieved tone. "Your face looks a lot like him, but your eyes and hair are like Lily. James' hair is always messy."

"Do you know my parents?" Harry widened his eyes slightly.

"I was their classmate when we were studying at Hogwarts." Lupin looked down at Harry. "I have heard colleagues talk about you. You are amazingly smart. No wonder you got into Ravenclaw. Your parents are both Gryffindors. I thought you would be one too."

"Let's stop with the digression. I didn't invite you here today to reminisce about the past." Snape interrupted Lupin with a bad look, and seemed very reluctant to hear him talk about his past school life. "You are the first test subject of the new medicine that Harry and I have developed. Dumbledore should have told you. This medicine is mainly Harry's credit. Don't look at me with that annoying look."

"Is it true?" Lupin looked at Harry, and it sounded like he didn't doubt Snape's words at all.

"If the basic formula for magic ratio that I created is also considered as part of the research and development of potions, then yes."

Harry did not shirk the credit.

"You are too modest." Snape said in a deep voice, "If this potion is compared to a piece of clothing, the formulas and corresponding theories you created are a loom. I am at best a tailor. Without a loom, I can't turn silk into cloth anyway."

"A clever metaphor." Harry sighed, "Although I can barely be considered an excellent inventor, I am really not good at manual work. I preliminarily estimate that this potion will take two to three months to completely cure... I have currently calculated that the healing time is three months. The moon is a little bit waning now, but the problem is not too big."

"Then I drink it?" Lupin looked at the crucible on the side.

Snape took a goblet and scooped a cup from the crucible and handed it to Lupin, "Drink it while it's hot."

Lupin carefully sipped the still smoking potion.

"This tastes much better than what I've had before. Ordinary wolfsbane potion always makes it hard for me to swallow." Lupin sighed.

After he finished a whole cup of potion, Harry carefully observed his eyes and nose.

"It looks like there is nothing wrong." Harry nodded. "Five to six doses will restore you to human form. Remember to drink it again in ten days."

"I always feel that you are more like a professor than me." Lupin put the cup back and watched Snape put the excess potion into the glass bottle.

After confirming Lupin's condition, the three left the room.

"How is it?" Lucius came over and asked.

"Quite successful." Harry rarely showed a not-so-perfect smile with youthfulness and pride. "Even better than I expected."

"In three months at most, he will be human again."

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Dr. Harry developed a good medicine to restore people to life and save people at the full moon

Professor Lupin repays his gratitude and goes deep into the enemy camp to deliver a message at midnight

Horizontal banner: Deep love between doctors and patients

Chapter Text

Before the story starts! I need to apologise for the mixed of chapter 17 and 18, i posted chapter 18 first which I thought it was chapter 17 (I made them the same thing)

But I've updated chapter 17 (to the chapter it originally should be) ,if you needed please head for it 

Link 👇 

If I Sink To The West - Chapter 17 : The Other Side of the Mirror

Now onto the chapter as a apology 👉 👈

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When the school was about to start, Harry yawned and was dragged by Draco to Diagon Alley to buy things.

Sirius' wanted posters were posted everywhere, and Harry remembered that Hagrid would be the professor of their Care of Magical Creatures class starting from this school year.

Harry thought of Buckbeak, the hippogriff who carried Sirius away, and his eyes were filled with nostalgia.

When they arrived at the bookstore, "The Monster Book of Monsters" caused a commotion as expected. When Harry told the bookstore owner how to touch the spine of the book, he was so happy that he almost cried.

When Draco knew that Harry was going to take the Divination class, he also bought "The Mist of the Future", even though Harry told him that Trelawney's class was not very good.

"She predicts the death of a student every year." Harry said as he stuffed the book into his bag, "I heard from Dean Flitwick."

But Draco still insisted on taking the same class as him.

This time, Harry chose an ancient rune class. Many of the books Harry found in the heir's chamber were written in ancient runes. Although Harry had already learned it by himself in his previous life, he would still be happy to choose this class if he had the opportunity to communicate with the teacher.

"Why do I feel like Hermione seems to have bought textbooks for every class?" Draco looked at Hermione's bulging bag. "I think those books are three times as many as ours."

Harry sighed. He knew he couldn't persuade Hermione. He could only wait for her to drop the class in a year.

Maybe he could try to start with Ron?

There is no need to buy a crucible. Harry has never exploded a crucible since the beginning of the first school year. It is still in good condition. As for potion materials, although Snape now pays for all his potion expenses, Harry still insists on buying some basic materials himself.

Harry met Ron in the pet store. The owner was handing Ron a bottle of rat tonic.

"Hey, Ron, how's Scabbers?" Harry went forward and bumped Ron's shoulder, and used his fingers to tease Scabbers, who looked listless.

"Not very well, he hasn't been very energetic recently." Ron looked very sad. "They all said that Scabbers is almost old, and the owner just advised me to buy a new mouse."

"Speaking of which, Ron, what classes did you choose?" Harry changed the subject.

When Ron finished signing up for the classes, Harry seemed to be relieved. "Except for the fact that I chose one more ancient runes than you, the others are almost the same. We can take classes together, Ron!"

"That's great, brother." Ron looked a little happier. "I wonder if Hermione has also chosen these classes."

"Speaking of Hermione... Ron, do you want to go and persuade her?" Harry began his performance.

"What?" Ron was confused.

Just after Harry unobtrusively told Ron that "Hermione might have chosen every class", Ron picked up his bag and ran out in a hurry, briefly forgetting about Scabbers.

"I told him that he liked Hermione." Harry proudly puffed up his chest and looked at Draco.

Draco couldn't help but laugh and raised his hand to pinch the kitten's nose.

Just as Harry walked out of Madam Malkin's robe shop, he almost bumped into Lucius.

"Harry, it's just right that you came out." Mr. Weasley on the side breathed a sigh of relief, "Come here, we have something to tell you."

He was going to tell him about Sirius.

"Help me take my things back, okay?" Harry turned his head and looked at Draco with his green eyes, essentially asking for a space to talk to the elders alone.

If he didn't speak, Draco would definitely listen along. Harry knew Draco's temper. If he heard something like "Sirius came to Hogwarts to attack Harry", he would not be able to sleep well for a semester.

After sending Draco away, Harry was taken to the Leaky Cauldron by his parents. They went to a room in a corner.

"Harry, you know about Sirius's escape, right?" Arthur started talking.

"Yes, there is a wanted order for him on the Muggle side, I saw it on TV." Harry drank the tea handed to him by Mr. Weasley cautiously. They were going to talk for a long time.

"I don't know if you have heard some rumors - he left Azkaban for you." Mr. Weasley weighed his words, and Lucius on the side looked at him like a fool - after Harry's conversation asking about the Malfoy family's position, he no longer regarded Harry as a child who needed protection.

"I don't understand." Harry frowned. "I don't know him at all. Why would he want to attack me? Is it because I am the savior of the wizarding world?"

After Harry finished speaking, he laughed at himself.

His acting skills are indeed very good.

"He used to be a classmate of your parents." Lucius looked at Harry, who even wanted to joke, with a complicated expression. "When the Dark Lord was at his peak, he wanted to attack the Potter family because of a prophecy. And Sirius became the informer, which directly led to the death of your parents. He was a classmate of your parents. To be honest, when the news of his betrayal of the Potter family came out, many people didn't believe it. He has a very good relationship with your parents. It is said that your father intends to make him your godfather."

"Are you sure he did it?" Harry asked softly.

Mr. Weasley nodded.

"No one can jump to conclusions before the truth of the matter is fully revealed." Harry looked at the black tea in the cup. "Besides, even if someone really wants to attack me, I will not surrender. I am very confident in my magic power, and I will put a shield on my bed every night before going to bed. As long as the shield is attacked, a huge alarm will sound. Can you rest assured?"

"You are much more mature than we thought, Harry." Mr. Weasley looked at him in amazement. "Molly has always disagreed with us telling you this. She thinks you are a good student and this will scare you."

"Of course I won't." Harry's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the temperament of the person in power flowed heavily from him. "I am never afraid. What I should be afraid of are those guys who have done something wrong and are hiding."

Harry was talking about Peter Pettigrew, and Mr. Weasley obviously thought he was talking about Sirius, and was relieved because of Harry's strength.

"Then I'll go back first." Mr. Weasley stood up. "Hogwarts hired guards from Azkaban to guard against him. You are still safe in the school."

"He can even escape from Azkaban, a place guarded by so many Dementors. Now he can certainly enter Hogwarts." Lucius coldly choked Arthur and touched Harry's head. "Be careful."

"Of course I will." After just a short while, Harry sorted out his emotions and turned to Lucius with a playful smile. "I won't let your investment go to waste."

Arthur followed Harry away without knowing why, leaving Lucius standing in the room, looking at Harry's back with a complicated expression.

He sat down on the chair again and unfolded a letter with frayed edges in his hand.

"Dear Father:

You may be surprised when you receive this letter, but after thinking it over again and again, I decided to tell you this in this way.

I plan to pursue Harry.

I like him, the kind of like that I want to be with him for the rest of my life.

I don't know your opinion, but I still decided to say this: whether you agree or not, I will pursue him.

Harry and I are both boys, and we will not have offspring, but if you mind, we can try to adopt a child. But I will not be with anyone other than Harry.

Every time I look into his eyes, his smile. Including what he said to me, every time he held my hand and hugged me, I knew that I would never fall in love with anyone else except him.

I heard that you were engaged to your mother in the sixth grade and got married as soon as you graduated. I know you two are very loving. If you put yourself in your experience with your mother, you will understand my determination for Harry.

Draco"

Lucius looked at the letter for a long time, thinking of the afternoon when he handed over the ownership of Dobby to Harry, he half leaned on the rattan chair in the garden, looking careless and lazy.

His son might have been trapped by this Harry Potter with hooks in his eyes.

Let him go. Lucius sighed and comforted himself.

Harry is such a capable person, married into the Malfoy family, except that he is not a girl, he is impeccable in every aspect.

He folded the letter and suddenly missed his Sissy very much.

Draco is going to school tomorrow, so he should take some time to have a date with Sissy, Lucius thought.

At this time, Draco didn't know that his parents were going to have a romantic date after getting rid of him. He was concerned whether Lucius called Harry over because of the letter he wrote. Although he believed that his father would not reveal his thoughts, he was still nervous.

He was relieved until he saw Mr. Weasley going with him. Because his father would never tell this to outsiders.

Draco was happy and unhappy, although he was a little confused about where the latter came from.

"Goodbye!" Harry waved to Lucius and Narcissa. Draco wanted to find an empty carriage, but Harry pulled him to the carriage where Professor Lupin was.

Harry had Scabbers in his coat pocket. Ron said he was really worried about letting Scabbers and Crookshanks stay in the same room without Harry.

Harry received Dumbledore's reply to Dobby's request on the train. Dobby was allowed to prepare Harry and Draco's meals and clean up the dormitory while working at Hogwarts, and he praised the new wolfsbane potion developed by Harry.

Harry just yawned, leaning on the backrest of the seat in the carriage. He had a shallow nightmare last night and didn't sleep well.

Draco put his arm around Harry's waist and let him lean on his shoulder, silently signaling him to rest for a while.

Harry fell asleep on Draco's shoulder.

The nightmare from last night suddenly surged up and wrapped him up.

Crying, screaming, the sound of Avada Kedavra's spell, the scene of Sirius falling down, Snape's "look at me", Dumbledore falling down the tower...

Harry opened his eyes suddenly and met Draco's worried gaze.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione looked at the sweat on his forehead.

Harry looked away and looked at the frozen water droplets outside the window.

"Something is coming." He took out his wand and held it tightly in his hand.

Black, surging cold, with skinny hands and huge hoods.

--Dementors.

There were only one or two, and it was not difficult to drive them away.

Harry closed his eyes and recalled Draco's gaze at him in the flowers, Ron laughing and bumping into his shoulder, and Hermione looking at herself with helpless eyes as she stuck to Draco. And when he was awakened from a nightmare last night, Draco stared at his gray-blue eyes worriedly.

"Expecto Patronus!"

White light bloomed from the tip of his wand, spreading out layer by layer. The Dementors let out a creepy scream and fled away from the train.

Harry did not reveal his Patronus form.

What a joke, if Draco saw the unicorn, wouldn't he know that the person who wrote the love poem was Harry?

So Harry changed the way of outputting magic power when casting the spell, and turned the physical Patronus into an external white light that was lethal to Dementors.

"It's amazing." Lupin's voice came from behind Harry, his eyes were bright, looking at the tip of the wand that had not yet faded the white light. "Very powerful Expecto Patronus, but I didn't see your Patronus, which is a pity."

Harry smiled and looked at Hermione's amazed expression. "You can actually use Expecto Patronus! That is a very advanced magic, and only a small number of wizards can master it!"

"It's not difficult, but many people don't plan to maintain long-term practice." Harry's teacher's preaching instinct immediately took effect, and he subconsciously refuted her.

"Generally speaking, even people without talent can successfully summon a physical Patronus as long as they are willing to practice for half a year or more."

"As expected of the all-powerful Mr. Know-it-all." Pansy whistled at him, and Lupin's eyes brightened after hearing Harry's explanation.

"So why do Dementors appear on the train?" Draco frowned.

"They are here to find Sirius Black, to prevent him from sneaking on the train." Lupin explained while distributing chocolates to everyone. "Hogwarts hired them as guards to prevent him from sneaking into the school. You should see them again."

"Damn it." Ron cursed a little and was hit on the head by Hermione.

"Are you okay?" Harry touched Draco's sweaty head. "Dementors seem to have a big influence on you... I should have driven them away earlier."

"I'm fine." Draco held Harry's hand that was wiping his sweat, lowered his head and buried it in Harry's shoulder, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I seemed to hear your voice when the Dementors approached."

"Huh?" Harry touched Draco's head to comfort him.

"You seem to be in some kind of torture, but you are trying hard to suppress your voice. I can only hear your throat sound like crying. I also heard someone shouting that you are dead, and then many people laughed. I stood among them and could only laugh with them. My heart seemed to be broken and painful."

"I'm here, Draco." Harry put his arm around his shoulders and kissed his forehead. "I'm not in any kind of torture, let alone dead. I'm fine."

Draco tightened his arms around Harry's waist.

Lupin watched their interaction from the side, showing an expression that he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. But when he saw that everyone else in the carriage was used to this scene, he seemed to understand something and shut up silently.

The heavy rain was still falling. Harry held up an invisible umbrella with his wand and found the carriage with a large group of people including Luna and Jones.

Draco and Harry shared a carriage as expected. When they passed the Dementors guarding the castle gate, Harry and Draco hugged each other subconsciously.

They could always get endless courage from each other.

"Arrived safely." Harry took out the Scabbers from his jacket pocket and threw them to Ron. The three snakes huddled in Harry's robe and shivered because of the low temperature caused by the rain and the Dementors. Harry and Draco sat back to back at their respective college heads' tables, but Pansy really felt that if Snape wasn't here, Draco, who forgot his friends for the sake of beauty, would have run to the opposite side and Went to the Ravenclaw table.

Peeves was throwing water-filled balloons at the freshmen, but ran away screaming after Harry scolded him. As the heir of Hogwarts, Harry, to some extent, the ghosts in the castle had to obey his orders.

After sitting down, Harry watched the entire sorting ceremony, applauding from time to time to welcome the freshmen to Ravenclaw. When Dumbledore announced that Hagrid would be their new professor of Care of Magical Creatures, there was a long applause in the hall.

Lupin did not receive a very warm welcome because of his shabby robes and not very good mental state. But Harry knew that it would not take long for them to like this excellent teacher.

At dinner, Harry and Draco's food was a little richer and more exquisite than others, but the difference was not too big and it was not easy for others to see. Harry had seen Dobby's cooking skills and thought that he did this probably because of the advice of other house elves in the kitchen, otherwise Dobby would definitely make dinner much richer than others to show Harry's specialness.

Three snakes were eating the raw meat that Dobby had specially prepared beside Harry. The Hufflepuff badger that Harry had met at Christmas last time, who particularly liked snakes, came over and stroked the snakes.

Aipho was dizzy from her strokes, and Caesar felt sympathetic and stayed away from the badger who seemed to be particularly interested in snakes.

At night, Harry said goodnight to Draco with his diary and went to bed.

The sound of rain was still echoing outside the castle.

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Chapter Text

Hi dear readers, before the story started well-- if you can, do me a favour and read this new one shot I translated? I promise it is good. (It's the same level of good as "Miss Granger Has a Secret") 

【HP/Drarry】The Obscure Life of Mr. Ghost

Anyways! If not its alright, let's get the story started!

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When Harry climbed the stairs panting and walked to the Divination classroom, Draco seemed to be only slightly out of breath.

"Why do you, huh, look, not, tired at all!" Harry gritted his teeth and looked at Draco, whose face was full of smugness and asking for a beating. Because of panting, he had to split the sentence apart.

Such a Draco reminded Harry of the school days when he and Draco were tit-for-tat in his previous life, and he suddenly felt like his fists were hard.

Draco just smiled and pulled him into the Divination classroom.

Then he was almost suffocated by the strong smell inside and pushed the door open directly.

Harry grabbed Draco's collar with a grim smile and pulled him back. He hadn't even breathed out yet.

"Aren't you a Ravenclaw?" Draco pouted and looked at Harry. "There are so many stairs in the Ravenclaw Tower. Didn't you walk up the stairs for two years?"

"The problem is that I walked those stairs, but I ran up the stairs this time." Harry finally smoothed his breathing and said unhappily.

Harry and Ron sat at a table, selectively ignoring the predictions Trelawney made to the students before class. Following her instructions, they drank the tea in the cup, shook the tea leaves a few times, and began to observe.

"I'd rather drink Hagrid's black tea than this." Draco pushed the cup away, looking disgusted.

Harry used his wand to point at Draco's teacup in the air, "I know you're picky, young master. I'll add some sugar to you, and let Dobby make you a cup of good tea after class."

Draco then obediently picked up the teacup and drank the cup of black tea of ​​poor quality. The sweetness of the tea seemed to flow down his throat into his heart, making him feel dizzy.

"Exchange your teacups and observe the omen of fate!"

Draco rolled his eyes and handed the teacup to Harry across the table, but Harry refused him and handed his teacup to Ron.

"What did you see, Harry?" Ron came over.

"A crooked cross, or a cross, you may suffer painful tribulations, but there is a sun next to it, symbolizing... joy? You will suffer but feel happy? It sounds like you are going to the library with Hermione to write a paper, Ron."

"What... I won't feel happy because of this!" Ron loudly refuted Harry. If his face was not so red, his rebuttal would sound quite powerful.

"Let me see your teacup." Ron raised Harry's cup. "There is an acorn and a bowler hat in it. You may go to the Ministry of Magic to take a high-paying position in the future, Harry."

So Harry seriously recalled the salary when he was the head of the Auror Department in his previous life. It seemed quite high. Anyway, it was higher than when he was the headmaster, but not much higher.

Harry had to admit that maybe these divinations did make some sense, but he couldn't tell whether it was a coincidence or the result of his so-called "third eye" opening.

Draco started to observe Blaise's teacup after listening to their conclusion. Before he could figure out what was going on, Trelawney came over and took the teacup from Ron's hand.

"Let me see." Trelawney turned the teacup.

"Eagle... dear, you have a mortal enemy."

In his previous life, Harry thought it was talking about Draco. In fact, it was more like referring to the mysterious man.

"A big club, an attack..."

Harry thought of the Dementors on the Quidditch field.

How is it so accurate?

"A book, you have profound knowledge, dear."

"Everyone knows this." Hermione said loudly in dissatisfaction, "Everyone knows what other teachers think of Harry. Harry always ranks first in every exam!"

Trelawney glared at her and continued to observe.

"A nebula symbolizing destiny, a very rare pattern. And this is-ah!"

She gasped and screamed, breaking the cup in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Draco frowned.

"Unknown, in your cup!" Trelawney's eyes, which were originally big, looked straight at Harry under the glasses, and tears were slowly accumulating in them. "This is a bad omen of death!"

Draco's hand trembled, and he almost smashed Blaise's cup.

Harry ignored her and left after class.

"Have you forgotten? Minerva told me that Trelawney predicts that a student will die every year." Harry looked at Draco, whose expression was obviously wrong. "I told you, even if it's not me, it will be someone else."

Draco seemed to be relieved suddenly. "That's it, I said that lunatic..."

Harry held his hand.

Pansy on the side slowly showed a hideous smile, biting her lower lip with her teeth, as if enduring something.

Blaise had an expression that couldn't bear to look directly at it.

"You still don't confess after all this? Is Malfoy not capable?" Pansy gnashed her teeth and whispered to Blaise, "I beg him to let us go. Harry stares at that broken photo all day, and my ears are calloused because he and I are not in the same dormitory!"

Blaise nodded with a sympathetic heart.

Before the Care of Magical Creatures class began, the atmosphere of the class was much better because Harry actively promoted the method of opening the monster book.

"Hippogriffs! Beautiful guys." Hagrid introduced them enthusiastically, "So, who wants to be the first?"

Everyone took a step back.

Now Harry became the one who stood out. Draco, who was standing behind Harry, happened to be with the others now - but Harry himself was quite happy and walked up.

"Look him in the eyes, yes."

Magical creatures often show obedience and obedience to beings that are much stronger than themselves, not to mention that Harry has a basilisk on his body. After Harry bowed, Buckbeak soon followed suit.

"Great, Harry, I think he'll let you ride him!"

Harry was caught off guard by Hagrid and put on Buckbeak's back, just like in his previous life.

"Be careful not to pluck his feathers! Go!"

Buckbeak flapped his wings and flew.

Harry had flown many times after becoming an Animagus, but the feeling of flapping his wings and flying with something was completely different. Harry could feel Buckbeak's body temperature and breathing, the muscles and airflow when his wings flapped, and the fluffy feathers that felt great, which were very different from riding a broom or flying by himself.

He liked this the most.

When Buckbeak glided low over the Black Lake, Harry couldn't help but cheer.

Buckbeak seemed to sense his mood and flew for a while before returning to Hagrid.

"Great, Harry!" Hagrid led the applause. Harry got off Buckbeak and touched his head and beak.

Buckbeak lowered his head and rubbed Harry's movements, looking very obedient and harmless.

Although Buckbeak's particularly good attitude was because he was in awe of Harry's strength, others obviously had a big change in their image of the Hippogriff. Encouraged by Hagrid, they all walked towards these "beautiful big guys".

Draco also walked towards Buckbeak under Harry's gaze. To Harry's surprise, this time Draco completed the whole set of actions of looking at each other and bowing very seriously, and did not say anything arrogant that would anger Buckbeak.

"Draco, have you changed your personality today?" Blaise on the side noticed something was wrong. "I thought you would look down on these beasts."

"I don't know." Draco frowned. "But I always have a feeling that if I cross the line, he will scratch my arm with his front claws. It must be painful."

Blaise didn't understand.

Harry laughed at the side. He remembered the way Draco lay on the ground after being scratched by Buckbeak in his previous life.

He must have had such a dream, Harry thought as he looked at Draco's back, but he had forgotten all those dreams, and only a little intuition remained.

"Draco." Harry came up suddenly and put his head on his shoulder. "Do you want to join us?"

Draco was startled and instinctively turned his head to look. As a result, he rubbed his face against Harry's, and his lips almost kissed the end of his eye.

Draco maintained his face to face with Harry, and his voice was a little stiff due to nervousness. "What do you mean together?"

Oh my god, Harry's skin is so good, how can his face be so soft... Draco tried his best to resist the desire to rub against Harry.

Too close.

"Let's go ride Buckbeak together." Harry blinked at him, smiling with his eyes slightly narrowed. "Don't you want to?"

"Yes!" Draco answered immediately.

Harry seemed to be laughing even more happily, leaving Draco's shoulder, instead holding his wrist and leading him to Buckbeak.

Pansy and Blaise on the side were stunned.

"Buckbeak!" Harry tiptoed to touch his beak, and Buckbeak lowered his head obediently. "Can you take us flying again?"

Buckbeak cried and shook his wings.

"He agreed." Harry smiled, took the meat from Hagrid and fed it to Buckbeak, watching him swallow it in a few bites.

"You or me?" Harry looked at Draco.

Draco climbed up without saying a word, and pulled Harry up with him.

Buckbeak didn't seem to have any difficulty flying with the two of them. With a few flaps of his wings, he could fly as high as the Astronomy Tower.

Draco hugged Buckbeak's neck, his body a little stiff because of nervousness.

Merlin - Harry hugged his waist, put his chin on his shoulder, and pressed his whole body against him!

Draco felt hot from the body temperature of another person behind him.

"The scenery of Hogwarts is nice, isn't it." Harry's lips were on Draco's earlobe. "I didn't notice it when I played Quidditch before. Although Ravenclaw Tower is also suitable for viewing the scenery, it's not as good as it is now."

Draco was flushed by the hot air beside his ear.

Harry didn't let go of him until Buckbeak was about to land. Draco was dissatisfied with why Buckbeak didn't fly for a while longer, but he got off the ground reluctantly.

Harry waved goodbye to him and ran to Ron and Hermione to feed the hippogriff with them. Draco's eyes followed Harry all the time, and his ears were still red.

"Harry just hugged my waist." Draco said to Blaise in a dreamy tone.

Pansy rolled her eyes, and Blaise looked disheartened. "Yeah, congratulations. So when are you going to confess?"

"It's too early, and it's not formal. We need to find a suitable place and time. Harry seems to like the Hippogriff very much. Do you think he will be more willing to agree if I propose to him while riding Buckbeak?"

"You should say I love you to Harry first before you consider proposing." Pansy said weakly, and Crabbe and Goyle looked numb and indifferent, and even wanted to take out the cake to share.

"So why do you think Harry doesn't like you?" Blaise was puzzled. "Will he put his head on other people's shoulders like he did to you? Will he always hold other people's hands? No, right? He only does this to you, okay? Do you know that those girls who have a crush on Harry are so jealous of you that they want to unite and do something bad to you? You can't even do this? Draco, are you not capable of that?"

"Keep your voice down!" Draco was so scared that he covered Blaise's mouth. "If Harry hears..."

"I hope he hears!" Blaise roared.

Fortunately, the corner chosen by the Slytherins was relatively hidden, and their conversation was not heard by others.

"Harry, you and Draco..." Hermione looked at Harry with a complicated expression. "You like him?"

"Hmm, is it obvious?" Harry smiled at Hermione, not looking surprised at all.

Ron looked confused.

Harry laughed at Ron's expression.

"He's a coward." Harry narrowed his eyes and smiled at Hermione, like a fox, like a mean kitten. "Give him some time."

It was actually okay when Draco confessed to him in his previous life. He has a very strong style when he grows up. Even if Harry really leaves Draco alone, he will come to Harry after they graduate.

But it's a pity not to be together during the good school years, isn't it?

"Someone has found Sirius's trail." Jones ate a pie with a newspaper in his other hand. "It looks like he will be caught soon."

"It was reported by a Muggle." Ron said behind Harry.

Harry touched Caesar's head and said nothing.

"You're not in a good mood, Harry." Caesar spit out his tongue, as if he could smell the taste of Harry's heart. "Do you want to find the human named Draco? He can always make you happy."

"Thank you for your concern, Caesar." Harry scratched the root of his horn and watched the basilisk narrow his eyes comfortably. "It's okay, I know what to do."

"Harry!"

The basilisk immediately retracted Harry's sleeves conditionedly.

Harry turned his head helplessly and looked over. "You are here again, Alisa. Caesar and Aipho are afraid of you."

"Then you can let the black snake that can't speak come out." The little badger wiped the oil on his mouth when he ate. "I really like snakes!"

The black snake got out of Harry's collar very consciously.

"Today we have Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Jones looked at Alisa who was stroking her snake vigorously. "I heard from seniors that Lupin is a good teacher."

"That's a good thing." Harry swallowed the food in his mouth and let the black snake go back into his sleeve. "I have exchanged letters with him several times. He has profound academic knowledge and is a very good teacher."

Harry is going to face the Boggart - although Lupin will probably not let him take the class.

And Lupin's class is as good as ever, because Harry answered the questions correctly and gave Ravenclaw ten points. When Harry saw Snape wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes, he burst into laughter unexpectedly. He completely forgot about it. In this life, he had a good relationship with Snape so that he could call him Sever, so seeing Snape like this was a hundred times funnier for him than in the previous life.

If Ron hadn't supported him, Harry would have laughed himself to the ground.

Lupin still consciously prevented Harry from getting close to the Boggart, so he was happy to watch the show from the side. Draco was right behind Ron, and when he saw the Boggart turn into a giant spider, he showed obvious disgust on his face. Harry leaned against the window, lazily playing with the frangipani wand in his hand.

Ron made the spider's legs disappear.

Next was Draco, the legless giant spider It paused when it met him, and there was no response for nearly ten seconds.

"What's wrong with this Boggart? Has it become stupid because of too many people?" Jones looked at the motionless Boggart.

As soon as the voice fell, the spider suddenly dispersed into black mist. Harry's figure could be seen in the mist, and a faint cry came from it, as if the person in the mist was suffering from extreme pain.

Harry frowned immediately.

He was about to move over to cast a spell on the Boggart, but Draco suddenly raised his wand.

"Ridikulus!"

The black mist suddenly dissipated, revealing Harry who fell on a rattan chair in the back garden of Malfoy Manor during the summer vacation. He yawned lazily and climbed the rose branches to smell the delicate flower. The oversized clothes slid down to his shoulders along with his movements, revealing his delicate collarbone and shoulder sockets, and a few strands of long hair hung on it, making his skin look whiter.

His hook-like eyes gently swept over Draco.

"What the hell!" Ron was stunned.

To be honest, not only Ron, but Harry himself was also confused.

Is he like this at that time?

Draco's face suddenly turned red, and he fled away from the Boggart. Now the Boggart was facing another person. The lazy Harry turned into a giant centipede, making the Gryffindor girl behind Draco scream.

"What happened just now!" Blaise grabbed Draco's shoulders and shook him hard a few times. "Isn't that chair in your back garden?"

"It's in my garden." Draco covered his face. "I saw it when Harry came to live with us during the summer vacation. I didn't think too much at the time, and subconsciously..."

"Oh my God." Pansy was amazed. "That look, that collarbone, and that posture, oh my God - he is too delicious, right?"

Blaise nodded seriously.

As for how much of a stir Harry's limited image of afternoon tea in the back garden caused after this class, he himself was not aware of it, and naturally did not know that someone had brought a camera over in that class.

After that class, Harry received an improved version of the two-sided mirror made by the Weasley twins.

It is called a two-sided mirror, but in fact there is only one mirror.

One mirror, and seven small parts the size of a fingernail.

"This is the finished product." Fred tapped the umbrella-shaped small parts with his wand, and they immediately floated up and rotated evenly around Harry, like satellites around planets.

"The password is brilliant." George picked up the mirror.

As George said the password, the mirror projected a large light curtain, on which Harry's figure was clearly reflected, and the picture was quite similar to the shots of the Muggle TV series he saw in his previous life.

"You can freely adjust the size of this light curtain, and the lock objects of these components can also be changed. From now on, you are its owner."

"Great." Harry looked at the small components rotating around him, "You have helped me a lot. I have prepared the balance--"

"No, no, no."

"Harry, Harry, you really gave enough."

"Okay." Harry smiled and stuffed a bag full of gold coins into their hands, "One hundred and fifty Galleons, thank you."

Harry is not short of money, especially after inheriting the Chamber of Secrets. Now he can help the twins and the future Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, of course he is very happy.

The twins looked at each other and accepted it.

"Harry, I heard that you are worried about not being able to go to Hogsmeade?" George put his shoulder.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon won't allow it, no matter how well I behave." Harry thought of his uncle who was frightened by the snake language and refused to sign for him. "And Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy wanted to do it for me, but they are not my guardians and can't sign for me."

"Then you must need this." Fred put a piece of worn parchment in front of Harry.

Harry smiled involuntarily.

He once again had the Marauder's Map.

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Chapter Text

There's no chapter 21! (It was removed)

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"Unbelievable!" The captain of the Ravenclaw team complained, "The special training we did before was to deal with Hufflepuff, but now we have to play against Slytherin!"

"Think positively, Captain." Harry tied up his long hair to avoid affecting his vision. "Slytherin must not have been sure to play against us when he applied for a change of team. Now we are not familiar with each other's tactics, and we are on the same starting line."

After hearing this, their captain looked at Harry with a sad look.

Harry sighed, "Okay, okay, I promise to catch the Golden Snitch as soon as possible."

He looked relieved, "That's good, everyone get ready, the game is about to start."

"The captain is putting the expectation of victory on you." Chang Cho stepped forward and patted Harry on the back, "Don't take those words to heart, just follow your own rhythm."

"Thank you." Harry gave her a grateful smile.

Outside the stadium, lightning and thunder, heavy rain poured down, and the vision was extremely poor. Hermione and Ron sat in the audience, Hermione and Luna both wore the conspicuous eagle-head hat.

Harry took off his plain glasses and flew above the court on his Nimbus 2000.

He was used to flying to the highest point at the beginning of the game to overlook the entire court and look for the Golden Snitch with his extraordinary eyesight. But the heavy rain now obviously did not allow him to do so. Harry could only circle with Draco on a plane that was neither too high nor too low, looking for the trace of the Golden Snitch.

And Draco consciously flew beside Harry from the beginning.

Draco knew Harry's ability to find the Golden Snitch, so he followed him closely. Even if Harry found the Golden Snitch, he could win the fruits of victory with a better broom.

For Harry, rainy days were a limitation, and Draco found opportunities in this limitation.

Harry remembered that Sirius secretly came to see him in this game, and for this, he could not lose at all.

They were not the type who would give each other a hand on the court.

"Slytherin scores!"

Harry heard some people whispering as he flew over the audience.

"It's incredible that Slytherin hasn't committed a foul yet."

"With the prince here."

"Slytherin rarely commits fouls when playing against Gryffindor now, even when they are angry..."

"I hate rainy days, it's getting colder here."

Harry was shocked.

The Dementors are coming.

It was at this moment that he found the Snitch.

The Snitch was briefly staying at a very high place, close to the clouds and thunder.

Harry suddenly accelerated and rushed to the other half of the field.

"Harry suddenly accelerated-he found the Snitch!"

The commentator was right, Harry thought, but he was not chasing it now.

Draco was fooled.

A dull sound.

Harry waited the moment he heard the thunder. When the second lightning flashed and dazzled everyone's eyes, Harry suddenly raised the broom handle and pulled it up.

In Draco's eyes, Harry was still in his sight a second ago, but he suddenly disappeared after a flash of lightning.

When he looked around the court, Harry had already flown very high.

"It's just a flash of lightning..." Draco muttered, and rushed to the clouds with Harry.

"Catch it!"

Draco was startled and hurriedly dodged the bludger.

"Don't bother our golden boy!" The captain of the Ravenclaw team laughed and raised his bat to block Draco.

He ignored the captain and just flew up. The bludger hit him two or three times, and although he avoided it, it inevitably delayed him a little.

At this time, Harry was very close to the golden snitch flying through the clouds.

Very close, and very cold.

--The Dementors are coming.

He seemed to hear someone screaming in the stadium below. Everything was getting colder. Lightning was like ferocious silver snakes. Loneliness, emptiness, loss, everything weighed heavily on Harry's heart.

"Tsk." Harry frowned.

He closed his eyes and recalled Ron and Hermione's eagle hats, the big black dog sitting in his seat watching his game, Lupin drinking his improved wolfsbane potion, the spring bursting out from the tip of his wand, and the dream he had the night he returned from Hogsmeade.

"Expecto Patronus!" Harry shouted the spell, but his hands were still holding the broomstick and he didn't take out the wand.

White light fell from the sky, as if a sun suddenly burst out from the clouds.

The light spread out layer by layer, and the Dementors screamed and fled. Occasionally, there were a few in the audience who didn't have time to escape, and they turned into black ashes in those lights in a few seconds.

Harry raised his hand and caught the Snitch, which seemed to be attracted by the light and moved slightly closer to him.

Successful, Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, a lightning bolt suddenly struck his broom, and the electric current entered his body along the rain. Although Harry consciously set a protective spell for himself before the start to prevent him from falling fifty feet, this protective spell might not be enough for lightning.

Harry fainted in pain, and was glad that he did not bring the three snakes to the Quidditch field today.

Harry heard something in a daze.

"Fifty feet, definitely fifty feet!"

"Be quiet, he is resting."

"Fortunately, this kid casted a defensive spell, otherwise the lightning bolt would have killed him."

"He is the hero who drove away the Dementors, such a powerful Patronus..."

He woke up briefly during these words, and then fell into a deeper sleep.

When Harry woke up again, the three snakes cheered together.

"You've been sleeping for two days." Aipho tightly wrapped his arms around Harry. He had grown very tall. "Cesar and I waited for you until the evening, but you didn't come back. Or we followed your scent and sneaked to find you! How come you are injured again, and it's such a serious injury!"

Harry touched Aipho's head and tried to sit up with difficulty. A pair of hands stretched out from his side and helped him up.

Harry felt sore all over his body. He felt that his body was in the same state as his legs the next day after running three marathons in a row.

"It's the effect of the potion." Draco explained softly beside him. "If it weren't for your protective spell, you would be dead now."

Harry shook Draco's hand.

He must have been scared.

"I thought you should know my physique very well?" Harry teased him with a smile. "Trouble always comes to me."

Draco hugged him silently.

He hugged him tightly and didn't let go even when Snape came in.

"Awake?" Snape looked relieved. "If you can wake up, it's no big deal. Drink the medicine."

Harry obediently swallowed the potion that tasted not bad.

As soon as he drank the potion, Harry felt very sleepy.

"It's the effect of the potion. You need to sleep more to recover. With your current physical condition, it's uncomfortable to be awake." Snape's voice faintly came into his ears. "It will be fine when you wake up."

It was a day later when Harry opened his eyes again. He woke up with full blood. He turned his head and saw Draco lying on the bed doing homework.

"How long have I slept?" Harry asked with a smile. The teachers must have given him a lot of nutritional potions in the past few days. He felt that he had gained a few pounds of weight.

"It's been four days since you were injured and woke up." Draco immediately threw away his homework and came over. "You are really-you were struck by lightning and still held the Golden Snitch."

"So Ravenclaw won in the end?" Harry looked at him.

Draco nodded.

"That's good." Harry laughed.

"What's good?" Draco came closer, his tone lowered, "Harry Potter, do you know you almost died?"

Harry blinked.

He was also seriously injured at this time in his previous life, and this time it was fate's handiwork. Because Harry's power reversed the fact that he was affected by the Dementors and fell from the sky, fate let the lightning strike to make this happen in a different way, and it was more serious and unavoidable than being affected by the Dementors.

It's just that it's a bit strange that fate has determined that something cannot be changed. Harry was very concerned about Professor Lupin's condition at first, because the new wolfsbane potion should not appear at this time, and it's hard to say whether fate will make the potion ineffective to prevent the deviation of the trajectory. But the potion is quite effective, which means that fate does not regard this as a node that will affect the overall situation.

The disappearance of the werewolf camp has become inevitable in front of this potion, but fate does not think this is a deviation, but thinks that Harry did not fall off the broomstick is a deviation.

... This makes Harry a little confused.

But fate will not let him die. Even if fate really wants him to die, it will only make him have an accident at the second year or at the age of thirty-one. Therefore, although Harry was seriously injured by the lightning, he was not worried that his life was really in danger.

"I'm fine now." Harry held Draco's hand. "I didn't know that lightning would fall."

Draco held Harry's hand tightly and said nothing.

Because the danger this time was not caused by Harry, Draco's mood seemed to be much better than the previous times. But looking at him lying on the bed doing homework, I'm afraid he didn't go to class and was just guarding him.

"Your broom." Draco lowered his eyes. "Because of the attack of the lightning, the broom has been completely broken and can no longer be used. If you mind, I can give you a new one."

"No need, someone will give me a new broom." Harry rubbed Draco's shoulder. "The old one doesn't go, and the new one won't come."

"Does it hurt?" Draco held Harry's hand that held the Golden Snitch.

"To be honest, I didn't feel anything. I fainted right after being hit. When I woke up halfway, I just felt sore all over, but I fell asleep again after taking the medicine. It doesn't hurt anymore now. I should be able to leave the hospital, right?"

Draco frowned and called Madam Pomfrey to give him a full-body check.

"In good condition. It's hard to believe that you recovered from such a serious injury in just a few days." Madam Pomfrey touched his head. "Did you use the Patronus?"

Harry nodded.

"Good boy, Dumbledore was furious. He wanted to drive away the Dementors himself, but you got there first. Because of this, he could catch you so properly when you fell. Remember to thank him."

"I will." Harry nodded to Madam Pomfrey.

"You're here, Harry." Dumbledore looked up from the table. "I'm so sorry I didn't visit you."

"I was mostly asleep when I was in bed." Harry smiled at him. "You don't have to feel sorry for this."

"Did you put that Patronus?"

Harry nodded.

"It's very powerful." Dumbledore said admiringly. "And it has a strong killing power against Dementors, but can't you summon a physical Patronus?"

"Of course not." Harry laughed. "Because my Patronus is not suitable to be summoned in front of others."

"Why?" Dumbledore looked at him curiously.

Harry waved his hand.

A silver-white unicorn jumped out from his palm, with long and smooth mane and beautiful gray-blue eyes like gems, looking at Fawkes beside him.

"Oh, this is--" Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "So you wrote that love poem! I was thinking that such a powerful Patronus was not the work of a student."

Harry coughed embarrassedly.

"It's amazing that you summoned the Patronus of the Expecto Patronus without a wand and without a sound." Dumbledore whispered, "I still remember that love poem. It's a very ostentatious way of confessing."

"Because they don't know it's me, I dare to be so ostentatious." Harry smiled with a slightly red face.

"Mr. Malfoy loves you very much." Dumbledore looked at the unicorn that gradually turned into mist and dissipated. "You should be able to see why you don't stay with him?"

"He's still a child." Harry sighed. "At least he has to wait until he's fifteen, right?"

"That's not necessarily true." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "As long as you are with your beloved, any time is appropriate."

"You asked Madam Pomfrey to call me here just to say this?" Harry pouted.

"Of course not. Well, I originally wanted to talk to you about Sirius, but I accidentally went off topic." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Harry, Mr. Malfoy should have reminded you at the beginning of the school that he was coming to attack you."

"Indeed." Harry's expression became serious. "But he tore up the portrait of the Fat Lady in Gryffindor Tower. If he really wanted to attack me, he couldn't have made a mistake in the college."

"Yes, do you have any clues, Harry?"

Harry took out the Marauder's Map from the small cloth bag.

"I solemnly swear that I am not good." As he spoke, he pointed at the map with his wand, and a real-time floor plan of the entire Hogwarts appeared on it.

"Here." Harry handed over the map and pointed at a name in the Gryffindor dormitory.

"Peter Pettigrew?" Dumbledore looked at the name.

Harry nodded at him.

"A dead person... I know. So, are you willing to lend me this map? You know, I need evidence to convince others to believe what I say."

"Of course." Harry handed over the map. "Just don't remember to return it to me. At the end, say that the prank is over, and it will turn back into ordinary old parchment."

"Great, Harry." Dumbledore touched the yellowed edge of the map. "Where did you get it from?"

"From the Weasley twins." Harry winked slyly. "My father and his friends during their time at school."

"They are amazing, aren't they?" Dumbledore flipped through the map with great interest. "Their alchemy is quite good, and the secret passages marked on it are also very complete."

"The only drawback is that these secret passages were marked after they discovered them themselves." Harry's expression showed some pride. "And Hogwarts will pave the way for me. The map can't record those roads."

"You already know who these four people are?" Dumbledore looked at the four names on the map.

"Of course, the three living ones are now in Hogwarts." Harry said, with a sigh in his expression, but not sadness.

"I thought you would miss your father more." Dumbledore looked at Harry's calm expression.

"I have accepted this fact for nearly two hundred years." Harry looked at his younger self reflected in the window. "Because they love me. , so I will never be alone, and naturally there is no need to be sad. "

"They are always by my side."

Now that Christmas is approaching, Draco invites Harry to return to Malfoy Manor for the Christmas holiday. Harry agreed.

Pansy laughed at Draco, who was so happy that he was smiling in the potion class, but he mocked her back and she was so angry that she almost picked up something to fight.

It was Blaise who stopped her to prevent a conflict from turning into a tragedy of killing each other in the same house.

Harry put on his invisibility cloak and slipped out of school on the last Hogsmeade day before Christmas to buy Christmas gifts for his friends.

To Ron The customary gift is candy, and Harry specially selected an introductory book on ancient runes and magic for Hermione. Based on Harry's understanding of Hermione, she will definitely be very interested in this.

The gift for Draco must be made by hand, and Harry sneaked to Knockturn Alley to buy some rare potion materials, intending to imitate Professor Snape and make a dose of Felix Felicis for him.

Although the materials needed for Felix Felicis are quite precious, the amount Harry boiled is not much, and he can still buy it in a short time.

The original Felix Felicis needs to be boiled for six months. During Harry's Potions School It is said that after perfection, it can be boiled in three days in theory. Although the conditions required for three days cannot be achieved by human power alone, with Harry's strength, it is still possible to boil a pot of Felix Felicis with only two spoons in a week.

Harry originally wanted to boil two portions, but if the amount was larger, his magic would not be able to control it, and the time required for boiling would have to be extended to half a month.

Even so, Harry was tormented by the Felix Felicis and peeled off a layer of skin in that week, and had dark circles under his eyes for nearly three days. It is not easy to squeeze six months into one week, but fortunately the final product The quality is quite perfect.

Harry used this potion of Felix Felicis, which he had brewed for a week, as a proof of the second formula for magic ratio, and sent it to Snape as a Christmas gift, along with the formula and a drop of Felix Felicis.

For Harry's new formula and the last dose of wolfsbane potion that Lupin was about to drink, Snape moved directly to Malfoy Manor during the Christmas holiday, dragging Harry to discuss potion theory with him.

Harry finally got rid of Snape on the day of the Christmas dinner and got a day of free time.

"You are really amazing, Harry." Draco took Harry's hand and walked with him in the garden. "I used to think I was amazing enough, but creating a significant theory including corresponding formulas like you did..."

Draco shook his head as he spoke.

"Don't say that about yourself." Harry shook their hands, and the new snow was creaking under their feet. "I'm just a cheater."

"But you did research those, didn't you? "Draco turned his head and looked at him.

Harry did not answer, looking at the garden that looked particularly plain in winter.

"It would be nice if there were wintersweets here." Harry said softly.

"What kind of wintersweets?" Draco frowned.

"Wintersweets are a kind of flowering tree." Harry touched the bare rose branches in winter. "It is a flowering tree that grows in the East and only blooms in winter. If there were wintersweets here, this garden would have flowers blooming all year round."

"A flowering tree that blooms in winter?" Draco looked surprised. "Is there such a tree?"

"Yes. Wintersweets have beautiful flowers and a delicate fragrance. Because they bloom in the snow most of the time, they are very conspicuous. In foreign countries, they are regarded as a symbol of nobility, aloofness, and fearlessness of frost and snow. "Harry's expression was a little nostalgic.

In his previous life, Harry had no idea that this flower existed. Not long after Harry became the headmaster, the new Minister of Magic transferred Harry to Asia on a business trip in order to insert people into Hogwarts and interfere with education through politics.

It was called a business trip, but in fact, it was just a small matter, and then a high-sounding excuse was put on to send him away from Hogwarts.

They thought that they could insert people into the castle without restraint when Harry was gone, but at that time he had already shared the will of the castle and knew that the castle would not allow those officials and the minister himself who were full of politics to come in. He simply took Draco away and said goodbye. They arrived in Asia just in time for the Chinese New Year. Harry had friendly magical exchanges with local Taoist priests and monks. Although the translator assigned by the Ministry of Magic was unfamiliar with many Chinese magical terms, Harry had a very happy time during that time. He fought a magic battle with an old Taoist priest and ended up in a tie. He was dragged to visit the Taoist priest with a feeling of regret for not meeting him earlier. They also exchanged their wands and whisks to experience the difference. During the Spring Festival of that year, Harry encountered a plum blossom garden next to the Taoist temple.

It was the Spring Festival at that time, and there was a misty snow in the sky. There was no one near the Taoist temple. Harry held Draco's hand and chatted while While taking a walk, I suddenly smelled a refreshing fragrance of flowers.

Harry looked up and saw the bright red wintersweets in the white sky. Because the sky and the earth were white, the red color was extremely bright and bright, and it was engraved in his heart.

After returning, Harry specifically asked the Taoist what flower it was, and learned how to write these two Chinese characters.

At that time, he didn't think it was a big deal, but he was very excited to pull Draco to the yard full of wintersweets every day. As a result, on Christmas of the second year, Draco covered his eyes and took him to the back garden of the manor.

A small wintersweets forest appeared there overnight.

This is what Draco gave Harry that year Christmas present.

After Draco's death, Harry always went to the forest to smell the flowers and indulge himself in his thoughts.

He also learned to collect fresh wintersweet petals in winter, mix them with tobacco leaves, and make special cigarettes. When they were lit, the whole Black Mansion could smell the refreshing floral fragrance.

It was as if he was back to that Christmas Eve, when Draco took him by the hand and took him for a walk in the new snow at midnight, and kissed him under the wintersweet in the yard.

Hermione, who was already old at that time, also said that when Harry stood in the forest with white hair and white robes, he looked like he was going to disappear in the flying snow between heaven and earth.

"Do you like the flower called... wintersweet very much?" Draco's not very standard pronunciation of the word wintersweet brought Harry back to the current reality.

"I like it very much. "Harry said, looking into Draco's gray-blue eyes.

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Author notes: In the next chapter, Drarry confirms their relationship

ｸﾞｯ!(๑•‌ㅂ•‌)و✧

To other stories :

[Drarry] Miss Granger Has a Secret.

【HP/Drarry】The Obscure Life of Mr. Ghost

Chapter Text

I apologise for slow update, it's recently holiday for me
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- This chapter contains a little bit of NSFW part--
(If you felt uncomfortable please skip it to the next chapter)

Harry opened the presents before enjoying the Christmas dinner.

The gifts from several friends were the same as always, and Crabbe and Goyle also gave him gifts, which were Honeydukes candies. Hagrid specially gave Harry a few bottles of chicken blood suitable for basilisks to eat. The basilisk happily enjoyed this Christmas gift and gave one bottle to Aipho and Black Snake. Hermione gave a collection of Shelley's poems. She thought that Harry had already read all the books in the library, and it was meaningless to give Harry books related to magic, so she insisted on giving Harry works of Muggle literature.

There was also an unsigned Firebolt.

Lucius was surprised by the broom, but he didn't care anymore after hearing Harry say he knew who gave it.

And to Harry's surprise, Snape gave Harry the old but obviously cleaned Half-Blood Prince Potions textbook.

In his last life, Harry had won the appreciation of Professor Slughorn with this textbook, and this time, Snape gave him this textbook in his third year.

Harry opened the textbook and looked at the dense notes on it, which he almost memorized by heart, and smiled with satisfaction.

When Harry opened the title page of the book, the original signature of the Half-Blood Prince was erased. Harry laughed for a long time at this little detail, until Draco came over and asked him what he was laughing at.

"Just remembered a joke." Harry answered him.

The gifts given by the teachers were almost all related to academics, only Dumbledore gave Harry a box of lemon sherbet and a large set of Bebe's multi-flavored beans.

Draco didn't react to what Harry's gift was when he received it, but when Harry told him about the information of the Felix Felicis and told him that he made this gift himself, Draco was shocked for a while.

Draco gave Harry a box for storing potion materials, which contained ten special potion materials.

"I heard from Professor Snape that you have an amazing talent for potions. He even said that you can publish a new potion system when you graduate. I see that you like potions, so I gave you this. These materials are difficult to obtain and are rare in China. I guess you will like them." Draco looked at Harry's surprised expression and explained a few words awkwardly.

"I like it so much, Draco." Harry smiled and rushed over to hug him. "Oh my God, I remember that the scales of mermaids are only produced in the far east. How did you get them?"

"The Malfoy family has the corresponding channels." At this point, Draco raised his head proudly. "These materials are not difficult to obtain in the corresponding places of origin, but they are rare here."

"Yes, yes, I know that Mr. Malfoy is amazing." Harry pulled him to the dining table. "Let's eat first. Christmas dinner will not taste good if it gets cold."

Lucius and Narcissa's Christmas dinner was held on a small dining table with roses and candles, which created a dog-abuse atmosphere and cruelly excluded Draco and Harry.

"Do you spend Christmas like this every year?" Harry looked at the candlelight dinner scene on the side. In order to match the atmosphere, they even turned off the lights in the entire manor and only lit candles.

"Almost, but this year is especially bad." Draco's eyes revealed a little resentment. "They didn't turn off all the lights for a candlelight dinner last year."

Harry patted Draco's shoulder sympathetically.

"But think about it, I'm with you this year." Harry smiled and raised the fork with beef. "Ah-"

"I'm not a child anymore." Draco's face was a little red, but he still ate the food Harry fed him.

Harry smiled happily, and his face showed a temptation that made Draco unable to look away under the soft candlelight.

Dobby quietly helped Harry fill the pumpkin juice.

Draco still wanted Harry to sleep in the same room with him like in the summer vacation, but Harry said that they had grown a lot taller and it was a bit crowded to sleep in a single bed, so he resolutely moved to the guest room.

Draco was unhappy about this for a long time. Harry was just worried that if he dreamed about something that lofter didn't approve at night, his physiological reaction when he woke up the next morning would make him so embarrassed that he would find a hole to hide in. (The author was making a joke about the app - lofter is being too stitct with its Audit--)

Draco had a dream that night, dreaming of wintersweets that he had never seen before.

In his dream, he was wearing winter clothes, leaning on a cane, and slowly walked out of the manor and came to the depths of the garden.

There was a small forest there.

The fine snow was falling in the sky, and there were only his footprints on the ground. He walked into the unfamiliar forest and smelled the refreshing fragrance of flowers. The branches were covered with a layer of snow, which made the bright red flowers more attractive.

Draco walked in step by step, and in the depths of the forest, he saw a person.

The person's back was very straight, his back to Draco, looking up at a branch of flowers stretched in front of him.

His hair and robe were the same white as the snow, with a layer of snow on his shoulders and a fallen plum blossom.

He seemed to hear Draco's footsteps, and turned slightly to look at him.

As he moved, the snow on his body fell off, and the plum blossom perched on his shoulder slid onto the snow. Draco's sight followed the plum blossom and saw that there were no footprints on the snow near the plum blossom.

In the wind and snow, he was thin and pure white, as if a gust of wind could take him away.

Draco saw the man's emerald green eyes. He looked only thirty years old at most, with a layer of frost on his eyelashes, and he was so beautiful that he didn't look like a human being.

Draco suddenly felt an indescribable panic in his heart. He wanted to rush up and hug him, but his stiff legs made it difficult for him to walk even with crutches. He walked up step by step with difficulty, wanting to tell him to go home and let him warm up by the fire.

His lips were the same color as the winter plum, and his eyes were the new leaves that had not yet grown on the branches in winter. He was covered in the cold wind of the late night, standing silently like the quiet new snow in the winter plum forest.

"Draco?" He seemed to have not expected that the person coming was Draco. He ran over and hugged him with an exclamation, "Why are you here so late? Go back quickly, don't catch a cold."

"What about you?" Draco heard himself asking him this, his voice was old and hoarse, like an old man who was already in his twilight years, "Why did you come here at this time?"

The man fell silent.

"I'm looking at the newly opened winter plums tonight." He said this, and his emerald eyes stared at Draco, "I just can't sleep a little, let's go back."

He supported Draco and walked back step by step as he came.

The snow on their bodies fell down, and Draco felt that his hands were very cold, so he opened his winter clothes and carefully wrapped his hands inside the clothes.

He smiled and said nothing, but his emerald eyes were clearly filled with sadness. They walked back, but the short distance took a long time, and no one of them spoke.

"Draco." He heard the man calling his name "I'm sorry."

"Why apologize." Draco heard himself asking him this "I should be the one to say sorry."

"Forgive me, Draco." He said, while pulling his warm hand out of Draco's clothes. This hand was warm, but the hand supporting Draco was still cold.

"You know I won't die for you." He said.

"But you have all my splendor."

Draco opened his eyes suddenly, but forgot the content of the dream the moment he woke up. He only remembered a flurry of new snow, a refreshing scent of flowers and unspeakable sadness and panic.

He suddenly wanted to see Harry very, very much.

He thought so, and he did so. He hurriedly put on his clothes and ran to Harry's room, but didn't see him.

Following the vague premonition left by the dream, Draco ran towards the garden.

His steps were messy and hurried, and when he ran to the depths of the garden, he startled a rustling sound of snow.

He saw Harry.

Harry squinted and leaned against an apple tree by the garden, looking up at the sky between the branches, with a cigarette in his hand.

He opened his eyes and blew a hazy white mist into the air.

Draco stopped suddenly.

Harry held the cigarette between the middle and ring fingers of his right hand, and flicked his thumb and index finger to shake off a piece of ash.

He held the filter in his mouth, and the sparks flickered, and the thin cigarette was a quarter less.

Draco swallowed unconsciously.

He suddenly felt very thirsty, very thirsty.

Harry's smoking look was so sexy that it made him angry.

When there was only a small piece of cigarette left, he took a deep breath and smoked it, then loosened his hand and snapped his fingers.

The falling cigarette gave off a burst of bright blue flames with the snap of fingers, leaving only a few ashes after burning out and the smell of nicotine remaining in the air.

Harry stood up and planned to go back.

He turned around and looked Draco in the eye.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"See?" He raised one corner of his mouth, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

Draco nodded subconsciously.

Harry walked over, grabbed Draco's collar, and kissed him directly on the lips.

Harry used his tongue to pry open his teeth, and passed the cigarette pressed in his lungs into Draco's breath along their touching lips.

The tongues touched and entangled.

Harry decisively separated after passing the cigarette, and Draco gasped for air, and the remaining smoke overflowed from his breath.

He was so hard that it hurt. Harry's kiss with the smell of smoke instantly turned the flame in his heart into a raging fire. But the man in front of him showed him a smile that seemed innocent but was actually full of evil, as if the kiss he gave Draco was really just to let him taste the smoke.

"Why did you come here suddenly? This is the deepest part of your garden, right?" Harry asked him.

"I didn't see you when I got up this morning." Draco replied, praying that his pajamas were loose enough to cover his abnormality.

"Oh, that's right, I brought your pocket watch." Harry said suddenly.

Draco wanted to say, I didn't sense the location of the pocket watch, I just thought you would be here, so I came.

But he didn't say anything.

Because Harry suddenly came up and held his desire with his hand.

"So energetic so early in the morning?" Harry smiled and looked up at him "Do you need my help to solve it?"

What happened next was so crazy that he almost lost his mind.

Harry pinched his shoulders and pushed him hard against the apple tree. Draco's back hit the tree trunk, and before he could say anything, Harry untied his belt.

He knelt down.

It was a cold winter morning, the sun was hiding in the clouds, and there was new snow on the ground, but Draco's body was hot as fire.

Harry knelt on one knee in front of Draco, holding his thing with both hands and kissing his front gently.

Draco felt that his blood was boiling.

Harry had tormented Draco enough, opened his mouth and took the whole thing deep into his mouth, licking it with his tongue in circles.

Draco held Harry's head with his hand, his fingers entangled in his long hair, and unconsciously thrust his waist into his mouth.

He deep throated him.

Draco suddenly gasped, and the whole person was so comfortable that he could hardly stand, and leaned back against the apple tree for support, but Harry was still fearless and played with the part left outside with his other hand.

As if complaining about Draco's over-lasting, Harry deep-throated at the most critical moment, and then coughed due to the choking of the liquid.

Draco's eyes were filled with exploding white light for a while, and he leaned against the tree trunk to breathe, with sweat running down his forehead to his collarbone.

He looked down at Harry,

Harry swallowed all the liquid and spit out his stuff. He looked up at Draco, knelt on one knee, gently rubbed his half-hard tool with his flushed face, and licked the sensitive area at the root with the tip of his tongue.

It was as if he was proposing to Draco.

Draco's fire had just subsided for a while, and now it was burning again.

"Harry." He called Harry's name with difficulty, trying to suppress the surging desire.

"Hmm?" Harry looked at him with a smile, and gently licked the remaining milky white at the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.

Fuck reason, Draco's eyes were burned red. He grabbed Harry's hair and rammed into his mouth fiercely.

Harry let out a groan from his nose.

Adding fuel to the fire.

It was an hour later when Harry finally calmed down Draco's anger. Because one of his legs was pressed against the snow, Harry managed to resist the urge to let the two of them fight on the apple tree for the whole morning.

One of his knees was frozen red by the snow, so Draco simply carried him on his back and walked from the depths of the garden to the manor.

"You won't tell them?" Harry lay on Draco's back, his lips pressed against his earlobe "About my smoking"

Draco shook his head, as if he suddenly confirmed something, his steps were steady, as if the person on his back was his whole world.

So Harry was quietly carried by him, his hands around his neck.

He didn't mean to do it so hard, Harry thought. He just had a bad dream last night that was not a nightmare, so he brought cigarettes and wanted to go to the plum garden to relax. But when he walked to the apple tree, he remembered that there was no wintersweet in Malfoy Manor at that time.

He leaned against the apple tree and lit the cigarette, thinking about the past, thinking about the time he spent in this forest that had not yet appeared.

Every new leaf in the wintersweet forest knew that he missed Draco.

But Draco came.

So all the regrets and all the thoughts disappeared completely, leaving only the Draco in front of him.

"Where are your father and mother?" Harry asked him. "When I got up in the morning, they seemed to be gone from the manor."

"They went out to travel." Draco put him on the sofa in the manor and wrapped his legs with a blanket. "They didn't have them before, but I talked to them, and my father took the opportunity to propose to go on a trip with my mother, leaving us here."

"Talk about what?" Harry took off his shoes and stepped on Draco's instep with his soles.

"Talk about what I like about you." Draco looked into Harry's eyes and knelt on one knee as Harry had done for him before. "I told my father about this at the beginning of the school year. This year, I asked to be alone with you during the Christmas holidays, so my father asked my mother to arrange a Christmas trip."

Harry didn't say anything, but just looked at Draco gently with his eyes, letting Draco hold his hand and kiss the back of his hand.

"Can I think so?" Draco's voice was full of Hope "Harry, do you love me?"

"I've asked you since the beginning." Harry chuckled.

"What?" Draco was stunned.

"In the first grade." Harry held Draco's hand with his backhand and interlocked his fingers with his. "I asked you while lying on the hospital bed, Draco, do you love me? Do you love me as much as I love you?"

"You said, of course, I love you too."

Joy surged into his heart belatedly.

"Did you agree?" Draco asked again.

"If I didn't want to, I would have stayed away from you as early as the second grade when you kissed me outside the bathroom of Myrtle." Harry squeezed his hand.

Draco stood up suddenly and bit Harry's lips.

He raised his head obediently and let him pick it.

But when Draco was about to give the second kiss, Harry raised his hand to cover his mouth.

"Hmm?" Draco licked Harry's palm, and Harry shrank subconsciously, but did not move his hand away.

"No more." Harry glared at him. "Today's share is up."

"Why is there still a share?" Draco bit Harry's index finger in dissatisfaction, licking his fingertip with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

"Let's talk about it after my fifteenth birthday." Harry blushed and insisted on his bottom line. "Now I only kiss you once a day."

"Only once?" Draco looked even more dissatisfied.

"I'll lift the restrictions for you when you reach the age." Harry pulled out his index finger and kissed Draco's chin. "After your fourteenth birthday, I'll relax the restrictions for you."

"Whose birthday?" Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Yours, yours, yours, okay?" Harry fell on the sofa in a bad mood, and Draco immediately followed and hugged him tightly.

"Just bear with it for now." Harry kissed his forehead. "We still have a lot of time."

𓅪

Author's note: - Harry didn't carry any snakes with him at that time.

In the West, apples cannot be given on Christmas, because apples are the forbidden fruit that the devil used to win over Eve. Giving them on Christmas also has a hidden meaning of seeking boombayah ahem.

Chapter Text

𓅪

After Draco and Harry confirmed their relationship, he was quite dissatisfied with Harry's "restrictions". He often saved the daily limit of one kiss until before going to bed, and tried to prolong the kiss as much as possible.

When Harry was soft-hearted, he would be bitten on his lips for several minutes. In fact, that quota was not only limited by Harry to Draco, but also to himself.

He was worried that he could not help but tease Draco.

If Draco got a taste of it, he would not be able to live in peace in Hogwarts.
Harry had been with Draco for so long in his previous life, and he knew exactly how much desire this guy had. When Harry resigned from the Ministry of Magic, he was kissed on the face by a girl who liked him. That night, Draco tossed him until the middle of the night before letting him go.

At this time, Harry looked into Draco's eyes, and he rarely felt like he was being stared at by a beast.He didn't mind being asked for by this beast, but before that, he had to put a collar and chain on him ——For his future.

After the Christmas holiday, Harry returned to Hogwarts. He received a postcard from Lucius and Narcissa before he came. They flew directly to the warm tropical beach for vacation. Harry sighed as he looked at the blue ocean and warm sunshine on the postcard.

"Want to go?" Draco asked him.

"Of course." Harry blinked at him.

God knows how much effort Draco had put in not taking today's share now.

After returning to Hogwarts, Harry knew that the Firebolt could not be concealed. The captain of the Ravenclaw school team was so happy when he knew that Harry had a Firebolt that he almost regarded the Quidditch trophy as a sure thing.

Harry sighed helplessly and escaped from the captain who seemed overly excited under Cho Chang's cover.

"You performed so well, Harry." Cho Chang pulled Harry to the corner next to the locker room. "The captain is used to your victory, but the outcome of the game is not determined by the seeker alone. Don't feel too stressed about it, okay?"

Harry looked at Cho Chang with a gentle look - his first love in his previous life. He liked her to a large extent because of the impulse of adolescence, but it is undeniable that she was indeed gentle and powerful, and had the qualities he longed for at the time.

"It's okay." Harry replied softly, "I'm already used to their personality, and the position of the seeker is indeed important. The captain will graduate next year, and he will definitely do everything for this year's trophy."

"But this is not a reason for him to pin all his hopes on you." Cho Chang frowned.

"Isn't he also training very hard?" Harry laughed, "There's no need to pour cold water on him at this time."

Cho Chang suddenly fell silent.

"Harry." She looked into Harry's eyes. "You seem to be used to this kind of thing."

"Hmm?"

"I mean, you seem to be used to being pinned with hope by others."

"Ah." Harry replied in a daze.

It seems to be true. In his previous life, people regarded him as the savior and placed their hopes of defeating Voldemort on him. Later, he became the headmaster of the Auror Department, and people placed their hopes of eliminating Voldemort's remnants and stabilizing the wizarding world on him. Later, he became the headmaster, and students and teachers placed their hopes of maintaining Hogwarts and resisting the Ministry of Magic's interference in education on him.

"It seems so." Harry sighed, "But to be honest, I'm so used to this that I don't feel like I'm being relied on."

"But that's not right." Cho Chang frowned and looked at him, with a firm tone, "No matter how good you are, you are not omnipotent, and these sustenances will make you exhausted. They put their hopes on you, but what about themselves?"

"You are not God, Harry. You should learn to refuse them, whether it's Quidditch, homework or notes before exams, you should learn to refuse, and then let them fulfill their own hopes."

"Cho." Harry called her name softly, with a sigh in his tone, "But what if you can't refuse?"

Cho subconsciously wanted to say something else, but she closed her mouth when she saw Harry's slightly sad expression.

She realized that her words reminded Harry of something unpleasant, which seemed to be related to what he said he would take on.

Something he didn't want to take on, but had to take on. Cho gave Harry a hug. "Whenever you want to talk about your heart, you can come to me. I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." Harry hugged her back gently. "I will. Just don't think I'm too annoying."

"How is that possible." Cho smiled. "By the way, I remember the Slytherin who always walks with you. His name is Malfoy, right?"

"There are more Slytherins walking with me." Harry pretended to complain. "Do you have something to do with him?"

"No... cough." Cho's expression suddenly became awkward. "I just want to ask, are you and him a couple?"

"Huh?" Harry was stunned. "Is it that obvious?"

Cho Chang suddenly covered his mouth. "So you two are really--"

"Ahem-" Harry's ears were a little red. "It was really confirmed this Christmas. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Harry put his hands together and shook at Cho Chang, blinking his green, innocent eyes at her.

Cho Chang nodded, and couldn't help hugging him again. "You are so cute, this style suits you better."

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation." A person suddenly appeared next to him. Harry turned his head and looked at Cedric.

"Hello, Harry." Cedric greeted him.

"Hello, Cedric." Harry moved aside a little. "Are you here to see Cho?"

He smiled and nodded.

"Okay, you just asked me if I have a lover, and now your going on a date with Cedric." Harry teased her.

"Don't make fun of me." Cho Chang's face turned slightly red. "I wish you happiness, Harry. He really likes you."

"I will." Harry's expression looked very serious when he said this. "I wish you happiness too."

"Hey!" Cedric pinched Harry's shoulder with a smile, but he dodged. Harry smiled and ran away, and didn't forget to turn around and wave goodbye to them.

After three years of Quidditch, Harry and Cedric have become very familiar with each other. He had been the headmaster for so many years, and he could tell Cedric's feelings for Cho Chang at a glance.

And this time, Cedric would not lose his life because of Voldemort again.

They could be together.

That was great.

"Someone is watching you." Caesar said softly to his master lying on the bed in Parseltongue.

Of course I know, Harry thought, he just remembered that today was the day when Sirius attacked Peter Pettigrew at night, so he drank the refreshing potion before going to bed.

Harry guessed that Sirius would come to see him before taking action.

It turned out that he guessed right, Sirius did not have a knife in his hand. He lifted the curtain of Harry's four-poster bed and looked down at Harry quietly.

Harry cast a wandless and silent bewitching spell on Sirius, then opened his eyes and looked at him seriously.

Sirius's hair was messy, quite long, and stained with some dirt. His eyes were slightly red, and he looked at his godson very seriously.
Harry's eyes were a little red, thinking of the last life when Sirius reconciled with him, and he stayed in Hogsmeade for Harry and lived on mice.

In this life, Harry's name is quite loud, the boy who survived a disaster, the prince of Ravenclaw, and the all-powerful know-it-all. He has contacts with many teachers, and is trained as a successor by Snape and Dumbledore. There are a lot of people who like him and talk about him.

Will Sirius be proud of him when he hears this?

Sirius stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to touch Harry's head, but stopped halfway and finally retracted it. After staring for a little while, he put down the curtains of the four-poster bed again.

Harry knew that he had to go to Gryffindor Tower to find the mouse with missing fingers.

The footsteps gradually disappeared from near to far.

It was not long ago that Gryffindor won the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Although they celebrated until late, they were almost all asleep now. Harry drank the water of life and death that was used to neutralize the effect of the refreshing potion at the bedside.

"Good night, Caesar." Harry murmured in Parseltongue.

"Good night, Master." Caesar replied softly. Abel made a few meaningless sleep murmurs beside him. Caesar hooked the quilt with his tail and pulled it up to cover Harry's shoulders.

Then he got into the quilt and wrapped his arms around Harry's wrists, and fell asleep with his body temperature.

It was a dreamless night.

When he woke up the next day, the news of Sirius Black had spread throughout Hogwarts, and Scabbers had been "missing" for a while, and Ron had not found it yet. Sirius naturally couldn't find the mouse from Ron's bed.

The people in the castle were panicked, but the teachers seemed to have encountered something collectively. Although the defense was comprehensive, it was not very tight.

Harry knew that this was the Marauder's Map he gave Dumbledore. At this time, Lupin had probably found or was about to find Sirius.
After making sure everything was normal, Harry devoted his time to the next study life.

There was just a small episode - Valentine's Day.

This year's Valentine's Day, Harry still planned to write a love poem to Draco, just like last year.

As expected, this year's Valentine's Day, Harry and Draco were almost drowned in love letters, and Blaise and Ron also had a lot of attention. Some seniors even tried to give Draco aphrodisiacs, but fortunately Harry found out.

Harry, who had just escaped from a burly boy's confession to him, panted and hid in the Room of Requirement to cast his Patronus.

This was the most outrageous point! Harry covered his face and thought, why are there men among those who stuffed him with love letters? ?

Draco was almost jealous of this.

And in the Hogwarts Great Hall on Valentine's Day night, a huge silver-white unicorn arrived as expected.

The unicorn ran to the Slytherin table, stopped after a few hooves, opened its mouth and recited an anonymous love poem in an ethereal and ethereal voice.

"
I have seen flowers blooming in winter

Leaves withering in summer

I have seen mornings that cannot be brightened

And dusks that cannot be darkened

If you ask me

If I sink

Will you still love me?

I will give you a positive answer

When my sinking lover closes his eyes

I will still give you the love that blooms on the plum branches in deep winter

You are the light of my life

The fire of my desire

My sin and nobility

My soul rests

You are the rose hidden in my heart

Speaking of fresh and fierce love

You are the warm yellow sunlight in the afternoon garden

The moonlight shimmering on the waves of the Black Lake

The quiet forest after the rain The sound of a deer's cry

Appeared with the sound of the rising tide

The silver river that illuminates the entire night sky

On this day

Only on this day

Let me secretly say I love you

Say a few words that I can't say on weekdays

Let the author of this poem be nowhere to be found

Become a shield for my cowardice

I love you

My lover with light blonde hair

The dragon with gray-blue eyes

"

"Here we go again." Blaise looked at the unicorn that drifted away in the wind after reciting the poem. "It was the same last year. It's the second year, Draco. This secret admirer really likes you."

And Draco's subconscious reaction was to look at Harry.

Harry sat at the long table of Ravenclaw, looking down at the plate in front of him, praying that Draco would not notice his slightly red face.

He hoped that Draco would find out, but he didn't want him to find out.

Harry, Harry. He said to himself in his heart, you are really going backwards.

After Valentine's Day, because they were approaching the end of the semester, the amount of homework almost increased in a straight line. When Ron and Blaise came to Harry for help, he could only give them a helpless look.

It's not that he doesn't need to do homework, but the homework he writes is different from that of ordinary students. Ron wanted to learn from Harry's potion class paper at first, but after he saw the densely packed advanced potion theory and formula reasoning and verification process on the parchment, he decisively gave up the idea.

Muggle mathematics gave Harry a lot of help. Many problems that are difficult to infer in the wizarding world can often get an accurate and perfect result after calculation and deduction using Muggle advanced mathematics.

This led to Harry's potion class paper full of functions, coordinate systems and various curves, just like some advanced mathematics papers and problem solving processes.

In short: a heavenly book.

Many times Snape only looked at the conclusions and medicinal material ratio formulas calculated by Harry, but now he is working hard to practice the Muggle mathematics textbook that Harry sent him until he is old.

Fortunately, Harry would follow them to the library. Anyone who had any questions could ask Harry and get a result.

Draco, Harry and Hermione, the diligent trio, led Ron and Blaise Pansy to bury themselves in the sea of ​​books, and even Crabbe and Goyle's grades were brought up to a higher level.

At least Mrs. Weasley was quite satisfied with Ron's current grades.

After the Easter holiday, which was basically spent in the library, it was the exciting Quidditch final.

Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor.

Harry's Gryffindor nature made him want to win at any time, so this time he would go all out and would not give up the victory just because this was Wood's last chance to win the championship.

Of course he wouldn't.

Before the game, the captain of the Ravenclaw team came to Harry.

"Harry, um, although this occasion is a little inappropriate, I still hope to talk to you before the game."

"What?" Harry tilted his head slightly and looked at him, and he had already predicted what he was going to say. "Cho Chang came to see me." As expected, Harry thought, "She told me that I put too much pressure on you, and I reflected on myself, Harry. But I don't want to put all my hopes of victory on you or anything, mainly, I'm really happy." The captain who had been followed by Harry for three years smiled shyly

"To be honest, in the eyes of many people, you have always been omnipotent. Whether it's studying, Quidditch, or friends, it feels like you can do anything. You fly so well, Harry, since you joined our school team, no game has had the Golden Snitch fall into someone else's hands."

"Especially, you have a Firebolt."

"I and everyone else always take it for granted that you should be so good, and you should catch the Golden Snitch in every game. But to be honest, if you really make a mistake and we lose, no one will blame you, Harry." Harry looked up at the tall batsman captain, his expression a little stunned, as if he didn't expect him to say such a thing. He hugged Harry.

"Although I will be very sad, because this This is my last year at Hogwarts. If I lose this time, I will never have a chance to get the trophy. However, your mistakes will not be considered as faults. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. "

"Harry, whether we win or lose this time, you are our pride."

"Of course you are our pride!" The particularly lively chaser from Ravenclaw rushed over and hugged Harry, with a big smile on his face. "Since you joined our school team, we have almost never lost any game you participated in!"

"What do you mean by almost? I have never lost!" The captain knocked his head.

"Our pride, Harry!" Cho Chang shouted his name, "The Prince of Ravenclaw!"

"The know-it-all, our pride!"

Everyone in the team rushed over and surrounded Harry tightly in the middle.

"Hey, it's almost time to play!" Ms. Hodge looked at the children with a smile on her face.

"Ravenclaw, must win! "The captain shouted.

"We must win!" Harry cheered with the people around him, and flew out of the preparation room on his broom.

Even though the game hadn't started yet, they seemed to have won.

Harry smiled and let the Firebolt soar into the cloudless sky.

"Let the game begin!"

"The Ravenclaw team is very energetic today - the Bludger, towards Harry, he dodged it, a very beautiful dodge! This time the Gryffindor team has made a clear move against the Seeker, and it seems that they are going to limit Harry's performance!"

Many Slytherins held blue flags. Although Ravenclaw defeated them, they obviously didn't want Gryffindor to win. Draco was even more conspicuous. He directly asked for Ron's unused eagle hat and let it make a majestic cry from time to time.

Hufflepuff became a sea of ​​red and blue.

"Spin, change direction, Harry suddenly accelerated! Did he see the Snitch? No, Harry blocked George's sight, and he hit the ball in the wrong direction, and the Bludger rushed towards Wood! "

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Ravenclaws launched a powerful attack, and the Quaffle was thrown into the goal farthest from Wood.

"Ravenclaw goal!"

"Harry!" George shouted in dissatisfaction.

"You are targeting me, so why don't you let me play tricks on you in return?" Harry smiled at him like a headmaster who had succeeded in his plan. As if infected by him, George also said harshly, "Then you just wait! The Snitch will fall into our hands!"

"That's not necessarily true!" Harry used a broom handle and went to the sky where he could overlook the entire stadium as usual.

"It's a smart move. After Harry came to the sky, the Gryffindor team can't pull up the field as a whole to target him. But in this case, the difficulty of finding the Snitch has also increased. Who will win?"

The commentator's voice echoed in the court, but Harry ignored it and just circled around the court.

He turned around and didn't see the black dog that Sirius had turned into. Harry was a little confused at first, until he passed the classroom seats and saw a big dog lying at Lupin's feet.

Harry's eyes widened suddenly, his face full of surprise.

Dumbledore waved at him and winked playfully.

It was his work.

Harry was relieved and focused on the court.

Time passed by.

"Gryffindor scored, 50:80, Gryffindor leads! Ravenclaw's formation loosened up - they are ready to counterattack!"

Just as the Gryffindor team's formation shrank to prepare for defense and attack, Harry saw a small golden ball reflecting bright sunlight next to the goal guarded by Wood.

Golden Snitch.

"Ravenclaw's Seeker suddenly dived - Gryffindor's too, they found the Golden Snitch at the same time! "

But the Snitch stopped at the edge of Wood's goal, and the Gryffindor Seeker was too close to it.

Harry pressed the broom handle hard without saying a word.

"Stop it! Don't let him have a chance to catch the Snitch!" Wood roared.

But it was too late.

Like a bolt of lightning striking the ground from the sky, Harry made three consecutive arc changes in a high-speed dive to bypass the person who wanted to stop him, and snatched the Snitch when the Gryffindor Seeker's fingers were only ten inches away from the Snitch.

The Seeker's hand had no time to brake, and he grabbed Harry's hand holding the Snitch.

"Harry Potter caught the Snitch, Ravenclaw wins! ! Oh my God, oh my God! Did you see the last sprint? The distance between the hands of the two Seekers was definitely less than ten inches, my God - Harry snatched the Snitch from Gryffindor's palm!"

The court was boiling after a brief silence.

Almost every Ravenclaw went crazy. They shouted Harry's name and ran down to greet their hero who fell to the ground. Professor Flitwick in the classroom seemed to be almost fainted. The big black dog under Lupin's feet stepped on the fence of the audience and barked loudly.

"You played very well, Wood." Harry stepped forward and put his arm around Wood's shoulders. He looked very sad, but did not push Harry away. "You are also great, really."

"Don't comfort me, Harry." Wood showed a somewhat ugly smile. "You were very powerful that time. I mean-ah, it's nothing. It would be great if you were in Gryffindor."

"The Sorting Hat has this idea." Harry hugged him. "But he said that it's not the best place for me."

"Very powerful, Wood." Harry's captain rushed up and hit Wood's chest.

"You blocked almost six of our goals. God, it would be great if you were in Ravenclaw. "

"Okay,go get the trophy, Ms. Hodge is waiting for you." Wood pushed him.

"Why are you pushing me?" He frowned. "Of course we go together, isn't that natural?"

"What?" Wood was stunned.

"Let's go!" Harry grabbed Wood's robes and ran away when Wood wasn't paying attention.

"Come on, Gryffindor!" Cho Chang waved at them. "You are a pretty good opponent. If it weren't for Harry's move, we all know who would be the champion."

"Harry, we all agree that this trophy should be held by you!" Cho Chang took the trophy and passed it to Harry.

"Me?" Harry smiled and was pushed to the center of the crowd.

"It's wonderful, Harry! "Professor Flitwick, who had just squeezed into the crowd, shouted to him breathlessly, "That will go down in the history of Ravenclaw, our prince!"

"Prince of Ravenclaw!" They cheered and lifted Harry up, and he was thrown up and down with the trophy in his arms, just like his first Quidditch game.

The crowd was in chaos, and Ravenclaw was particularly excited. They cheered and put all kinds of titles on Harry.

"Come on, Wood!" Harry handed over the trophy.

"Oh." He carefully took the trophy and finally showed a real smile.

Cheering and singing. Ron and Hermione were still concerned about Harry at first, but when they found that Wood didn't care about it at all, Ron rushed over directly.

"It's amazing, Harry, I haven't even seen how many turns you made, and you caught the Golden Snitch! "

Suddenly a rose flew from the crowd, and Harry subconsciously grabbed it and smelled its faint fragrance.

He looked in the direction of the rose and saw Draco with a sparkle in his eyes.

His eyes suddenly became gentle.

Harry raised his hand and blew a kiss to Draco. Unlike the first graders, Draco caught the kiss and returned it.

He saw Snape, who looked at the black dog with disdain, and Dumbledore, who waved at him with his wand. Lupin's eyes were shining, as if he saw a distant old friend in him.

Youth and youth, everything is the best.

𓅪

Some of the love poems refer to the classic lines of "Lolita"

Chapter Text

𓅪

After the Quidditch match, there were the particularly agonizing exams. Harry had no worries about grades, but everyone still went to the library every day during this period. Harry did not go with them this time. He began to shift his focus to the books and manuscripts left by the founders in the Chamber of Secrets.

Draco was quite dissatisfied with this, and the kisses before parting every night became much longer, almost kissing Harry until he was about to react before he was willing to separate.

Harry could complete the Potions exam with his eyes closed, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam set by Lupin was very good. Harry crossed the pool with hinkypunk and used a spell to turn it into a blooming spring before the Boggart showed him the ruins of Hogwarts.

And the only exam Harry cared about this time was the Divination exam, which was why Harry chose this course this semester.

Trelawney would tell Harry the prophecy when he took the exam.

Harry was reborn, and the content of the prophecy would most likely change.

The content of the exam was not difficult for him, and Harry took the Divination class again for a year, but still did not feel any signs of "third eye". Divination was probably the only subject he was not good at. All his Divination homework was written in a formal way after calculating the angles of the planets. He had no talent for divination.

As for the crystal ball, he had never tried to see anything in it.

Harry had already made up his mind to make up something.

"How was it, did the exam go well?" Harry asked Draco with a smile.

"I couldn't see anything except a white mist." Draco complained, "I don't know if it was an illusion. I saw some black mist in the white at the last moment, so I just said it out. I don't know how many points it will count."

"It won't be too bad." Harry comforted him.

After a while, Harry was called in.

"What did you see, kid?" Trelawney stared at him.

Harry looked at the crystal ball that showed nothing clearly, "Well, I saw myself."

"Yourself?" Trelawney pushed her big glasses.

"Well. There is a layer of mist around me, like the starry sky, and like lake water. Those things enveloped me, like fog, and I could hardly see myself clearly."

Harry was talking about Firenze's words at the beginning, "You are wrapped in the fog of time and fate, and I can't see through you." Strictly speaking, this is also a revelation from the centaurs, and it is not a problem to use it as an answer for the divination test.

Suddenly, Harry saw something appear inside the blank crystal ball.

"Then, well." Harry stared at the changes in the blank space intently. "Some black mist appeared in my body."

"Oh, I know, kid." Trelawney wrote something on the paper.

Harry stood up, but did not leave immediately.

Not long after, Trelawney seemed to fall into some mysterious and transcendent state, and her voice became low and harsh.

"Tonight." Her voice was eerie. "The Dark Lord lies alone, friendless, abandoned by his subordinates, and his servants have been chained for twelve years. Before midnight, the truth will be revealed under the promotion of the Lord of Death. The Dark Lord's servant will return to him with a powerful weapon discovered by chance. The master of Death... loses his love... the opportunity given by fate and time... Merlin's gaze... must pay a price... to get..."

The more Trelawney talked, the hoarse and weaker her voice became, with occasional stutters, like a Muggle computer that was not running smoothly.

Blood flowed from Trelawney's ears and nostrils.

Harry raised his wand and cast a simple healing spell on her. He was not good at using spells for healing, and he could only use the most basic healing spells he learned when he was trained as an Auror to stop the bleeding. But Trelawney's injuries were not serious, and a healing spell plus a cleansing restored her to her original state.

Because he had three Deathly Hallows, Harry could indeed be considered the master of Death. Once involved with "God", the prophet will inevitably pay the price for snooping.

This is why Trelawney was injured.

Harry did not try to change the owner of one of the three Deathly Hallows, but he failed.

The true owner of the Invisibility Cloak can only be changed through blood inheritance, just like the owner of the Invisibility Cloak became Harry after James died. Its identification of the owner is not only based on the holder, but also related to blood. Harry, as the only descendant of Peverell, fell in love with Draco. Of course, it is impossible for the same sex to give birth to offspring with blood connection. Harry's Peverell bloodline was cut off in his generation, and the owner identified by the Invisibility Cloak through bloodline has only him since then.

The Elder Wand will change its owner after the owner is defeated. The so-called "defeat" does not mean real defeat, but means that the owner of the Elder Wand loses the wand if he does not want it. Just like the Disarming Spell Draco used on Dumbledore. When Harry discovered this and wanted to change the owner of the Elder Wand, his wish was to "lose the Elder Wand", so even if someone really took the Elder Wand from Harry, it just happened to comply with Harry's wishes, and the Elder Wand could not change its owner. The problem of changing the owner of the Elder Wand has become an unsolvable vicious circle.

The owner of the Resurrection Stone is simply his holder, but Harry completely gave up looking for the lost Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest before he knew that he was immortal. Even if he wanted to find it again later, he could not find it, so he became the last person to hold it.

Harry did not try other methods, but no matter what he did, the three Deathly Hallows recognized Harry as their master and refused to change their owner.

So the god of death bowed to him, and Harry obtained the eternal life that Voldemort dreamed of.

It's not that he has not experienced criticism. He has sat in the principal's office of Hogwarts for more than 150 years, but his appearance has always remained at the age of 30. Even his long hair turned white because of the loss of vitality in that serious disaster.

What does it feel like to live forever?

Voldemort might answer that it was wonderful, but Harry only felt that it was a catastrophe.

His friends and lovers left one after another, leaving him alone facing the cold tombstone.

After knowing that he could not age, Harry decided to die.

The student who wanted to kill him with poisoned wine certainly knew that ordinary poisons would not work on immortals. In order to prevent Harry from getting in his way, the once humble student found the source of the catastrophe, combined it with a highly toxic potion and mixed it into the sweet wine presented to Harry.

How could Harry not feel the power that almost killed Draco and turned his hair completely white? How could he not see through the poor bewitching spell cast by his student?

But this was exactly what he wanted, and all he wanted was death.

He missed his lover and friends very, very much.

He raised the cup of poisoned wine that looked normal because of the bewitching spell, released the magic in his body to defend it, and drank it all.

Then, he opened his eyes again.

At first, Harry also thought about what power allowed him to live again. But at present, the only thing he could be sure of was that this matter was related to the three Deathly Hallows that were unwilling to change their owners.

Merlin's gaze.

Is his rebirth related to this great wizard?

Now he is still the master of the Invisibility Cloak, but before seeing the Elder Wand, he can't be sure whether the master of the Elder Wand is still him.

Harry really hopes not, because he doesn't want to become the immortal again. He deliberately immersed himself in the joy of rebirth and the joy of seeing his lover again, and put this question far behind him.

But now it seems that his most unwilling expectation seems to have come true.

The word "Master of Death" appeared in Trelawney's prophecy.

The person referred to by that word can only be him.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Draco looked at Harry's sad eyes. "...Didn't you do well in the exam?"

Harry pulled himself out of those thoughts and shook his head at his friends who were looking at them worriedly. "I'm fine, I was just distracted. Anyway, since we have finished the exam, why don't we celebrate together tonight?"

Their attention was immediately drawn to the word "celebration", and everyone talked about planning tonight's party. Only Draco came over to look at him, and said with certainty, "Did Trelawney say something ominous and black dog again? You look very wrong, Harry."

Harry turned around suddenly and hugged Draco hard.

"Harry?" Draco was stunned and hugged him back subconsciously.

After hugging for a few seconds, Harry smiled as if he was rekindled. "Okay, I'm fine. Don't we still have to discuss the details of the celebration party tonight?"

"Are you really okay?" Draco took his hand and led him to follow the crowd, with a worried tone.

"Because you are here." Harry looked at him with a soft look that could make Draco fall in love with him. "No matter what is waiting ahead, as long as I think you are still by my side, I can face anything."

Draco grabbed Harry's hand and tightened it a little.

"Me too." He replied in a low voice.

Coincidentally, just as everyone started to prepare for the party, Professor Flitwick came over and called Harry, Ron and Hermione out.

"Principal Dumbledore wants to see you." He took Harry to the principal's office. "Almost all the teachers are there."

Harry understood that this was to deal with Sirius's matter.

When Harry saw the big black dog lying at Lupin's feet on the Quidditch field, he guessed that Dumbledore might have done something extraordinary behind his back.

When Harry walked into the headmaster's office, ran into Fudge and saw Peter Pettigrew, who was tied up, and Rita Skeeter, who was holding a shorthand quill, he realized that he had underestimated the old headmaster's skills.

"Albus." Harry greeted the old headmaster who was smiling at the side, and pretended not to know Sirius, who was standing beside him with disheveled hair. "Who is this...?"

"Sirius Black." He wiped his neat new clothes with his hands a little awkwardly. "Well, you may think I'm here to murder you, but..."

"I know." Harry smiled and nodded. "The first time you damaged the portrait of the Fat Lady, the second time you broke into the Gryffindor common room. If you were here to attack me, you wouldn't have found the wrong place twice in a row."

Ron and Hermione looked a little terrified when they knew that this person was Sirius, but they quickly calmed down surrounded by teachers and the Minister of Magic.

"Oh, yes." Sirius looked relieved. "I watched a few of your games, especially the final. You caught the Golden Snitch and it was amazing!"

"Okay, Black, let's talk later." Dumbledore came up and patted Fudge on the shoulder. Crookshanks, who was sitting on the bookshelf nearby, called out.

"Oh, Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, and the ginger cat jumped down and nestled on Hermione.

"So this is your cat." Sirius looked at Hermione. "This cat helped me a lot."

"You'd better--" Fudge was about to speak in an angry voice, but Snape came up and knocked Fudge shut.

"Veritaserum." He handed a potion bottle to Dumbledore. "Only three drops."

"Then let's see if what Mr. Black said is true." Dumbledore pulled out the cork and dripped three drops into Peter's mouth as he struggled.

"Did Black change the secret keeper of the Potters' address to you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." Peter's voice became flat, without any emotion. "He believed me, and this is my chance to serve my master and be appreciated by him. I told my master the address of the Potters' home, and he was very happy. I seized this opportunity."

Hermione covered the exclamation that was about to come to her mouth.

"Is Sirius Black wronged?" Dumbledore asked.

"Unjust? Maybe. I know him well. He will only feel that he has made a mistake, and then he is willing to stay in Azkaban to atone for his sins. In his own opinion, he has not been wronged, and this is what he deserves."

"So you faked your own death and have actually been lurking?"

"Yes."

"How did you escape the eyes of the world?"

"I am an Animagus, and no one knows except the kidnapper. I turned into a mouse and became their pet at the Weasley family. No one suspected that Scabbers was me."

"What!" Ron roared. "My mouse is you - a traitor! I'm still wondering where Scabbers went!"

"Why?" Harry asked the question before Dumbledore. "Why did you betray them? They treated you as a friend and spent so much time with you. Why did you defect to Voldemort and betray them?"

"Were they not good to you?"

Peter Pettigrew's face twisted visibly.

"Of course they are good to me." He said, "We practiced the Animagus form together and helped Lupin together, but the Dark Lord promised me power and benefits! They can't beat him, I know it very well."

"They..."

Peter Pettigrew seemed to want to say something, but the effect of the truth serum was almost over, so he closed his mouth and refused to speak again.

"Now it seems that the facts are obvious, right." Dumbledore looked at Peter who was tied to the chair, "Sirius is indeed innocent."

Harry secretly praised Dumbledore's approach in his heart. Fudge might not be willing to admit this mistake, but if Rita was there, she would definitely not let go of this ready-made big news.

"Harry." Sirius now looked at him with hope in his eyes. "Actually, I went to Ravenclaw to see you before I went to Gryffindor Tower. I didn't think I could answer the question at first, but the question asked by the door knocker happened to be related to Animagus. I went into the dormitory and took a look at you when you were sleeping. You look a lot like your father, but your eyes and hair are like your mother."

"You may not know that I am your godfather. I mean, if you don't mind..."

Harry looked at Sirius's somewhat embarrassed look, and his eyes were slightly moist.

"So, I still have relatives, right?" Harry looked up at Sirius. "Can I call you godfather?"

Sirius stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

"Well, now that the misunderstanding has been resolved and the truth has been revealed, please leave now." Dumbledore happily watched Peter Pettigrew being taken away by the Aurors. "Professor Lupin, Harry and Sirius, can you stay for a while?"

Fudge, Rita and others retreated one after another. Harry knew that Pettigrew would find a chance to escape, and Trelawney's prediction confirmed this.

It might be Fudge who was attacked by the Dementors this time.

"Okay, Harry." Dumbledore clapped his hands and took out a worn-looking parchment from the drawer of his desk. "Your map has helped us a lot. Now it's time to return it to its original owner."

Harry took the map and saw Sirius's surprised and nostalgic expression as expected.

"So, what did you do?" Harry raised his eyebrows and looked at Dumbledore.

"After discovering that Mr. Black's intention was not to hurt you, we found him with the Marauder's Map under the guarantee of Professor Lupin and had an in-depth conversation." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "After that, we relied on this map and gathered the idle professors this morning to carry out a roundup of Peter Pettigrew. And Severus ensured the quality of the truth serum."

"Although we all know your ability." Dumbledore reached out and touched Harry's head. "But you are just a child now. What a child should do is to study hard and be happy without always thinking too much. Harry, my actions may be beyond your expectations, but you are just a child now."

"You only need to worry about what a child needs to worry about. As the headmaster, I have a group of adults around me. It is not difficult to help you accomplish something."

Dumbledore's blue eyes are wise and gentle.

"I see." Harry suppressed the indescribable feeling in his heart. "Thank you very much, Headmaster."

"Harry, are you okay?" Lupin looked at him with concern.

"I'm fine." Harry smiled at him. "I remember there's a party in Gryffindor tonight. Professor, if you don't mind, would you like to go with us?"

"No." Lupin sighed. "I won't teach at Hogwarts next year."

"Why?" Harry was stunned. This time Lupin didn't reveal his werewolf identity. Logically, he should be able to stay.

"Because I arranged another job for him." Dumbledore interrupted. "If Mr. Malfoy and his wife hadn't come to talk to me, I wouldn't have thought of this."

"It doesn't matter." Harry understood. "The sooner the werewolf camp is affected, the better."

"Werewolf?" Sirius looked a little confused, and then he was shocked. "By the way, today is a full moon day, Remus, you have to go to the Shrieking Shack!"

"No, Sirius." Lupin looked at him with a smile. "I'm no longer a werewolf."

"What?" Sirius was stunned.

"Let's go." Lupin grabbed Sirius's shoulders and pulled him out. "I'll tell you slowly."

"Has Lupin recovered completely?" Dumbledore looked at Harry after they went out.

"Three to two and a half months, six doses." Harry nodded. "It's also useful for young werewolves."

"Great." Dumbledore repeated. "Great."

"Let's get down to business." Harry sat down on a chair beside him. "What did Lucius talk to you about?"

"He told me that his Dark Mark has become active recently." Dumbledore took the teacup beside him, but it was empty.

"Dobby!" Harry shouted.

Dobby appeared in front of Harry with a snap.

"Can you please give us two cups of tea? Thank you."

"Harry Potter asked Dobby and thanked Dobby! Of course, Dobby will be ready soon!" Dobby bowed and disappeared again.

Not long after, two cups of black tea at just the right temperature appeared out of thin air on Dumbledore's table.

"Thank you, Harry." Dumbledore took a sip of tea from the cup. "Are there any other points I missed?"

"Maybe let Minerva pay attention to Hermione's health and tell her not to use the time-turner to take so many classes." Harry smiled, "That's too tiring."

"Indeed." Dumbledore sighed with a sense of realization. "Harry, do you know what the Malfoys think?"

"I had a negotiation with Lucius and Narcissa and pulled them to our side." Harry squinted at the steaming black tea in front of him. "Although even if we don't say it, Lucius's position is also biased towards us, but it won't be wrong to tie him to this ship completely."

"Does young Mr. Malfoy know?" Dumbledore asked him.

"He's still a child." Harry shook his head.

"You're also a child." Dumbledore looked at him.

"How can I be considered a child?" Harry laughed. "I am an old man who is almost 200 years old in my two lives."

"I mean." Dumbledore looked at him with a soft look. "I hope you can be a child."

Harry raised the teacup and paused slightly.

"I am lucky enough to be able to start over again." Harry's edges melted in the hot steam of the tea. "I am lucky enough to meet you, Lupin, my godfather, Ron and Hermione, and Draco."

"That's enough, Albus, that's enough."

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

Harry smiled at him. "I should go. My friends are waiting for me to have a party."

He closed the door quietly and left.

That night, Harry took five Slytherins (Draco, Pansy Blaise and Crabbe Goyle), two Hufflepuffs (Cedric and Alisa) and the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team to the Gryffindor common room. They played so much that they had to be urged to go to bed by Professor McGonagall in pajamas. Fortunately, because all four colleges came together and Harry was making jokes, Professor McGonagall did not deduct points from any college. Harry and Draco said goodbye at the corner leading to the basement and Ravenclaw Tower. Before leaving, Draco pressed Harry into the corner for a long kiss.

"Are you not going to live in my house this summer?" Draco frowned and said in an unhappy tone, "Your godfather will definitely take you away." "I really don't plan to go to Malfoy Manor." Harry kissed Draco on the face, "But I didn't say you were not allowed to come to the Black Mansion." Draco's cloudy weather turned sunny. "There's a Quidditch World Cup this summer, do you want to watch it together?"

"Okay." Harry answered.

𓅪

Author's Notes :

I removed the original Shrieking Shack plot related to the Time Turner and let Dumbledore settle the matter, because no matter whether Dumbledore showed up or not, with Harry's personality after rebirth, he would not tolerate Peter Pettigrew staying up so late.

If fate hadn't stopped him, Harry would have gotten Voldemort's remnant soul into Peter Pettigrew's mouth in the first semester and rescued his godfather from Azkaban.

Harry letting Scabbers hide in his hands during the summer vacation was a sign that he was about to take action. He would never let his godfather fall into danger surrounded by so many Dementors even if he had enough ability to deal with them.

At first, Harry only intended to give Dumbledore a reminder, that is, to tell him that Peter Pettigrew was Sirius's target and then let him explain to other teachers so that they would not worry too much. But when he saw the black dog lying on the classroom seat during the competition, under Dumbledore's nose, he knew that Dumbledore had done this behind his back.

And Dumbledore did not fail to understand Harry's meaning, but he hoped to help Harry do this.

As he said to Harry in the text, "I hope you can be a child", instead of habitually taking everything on yourself.

And Harry gave him an affirmative and irresistible answer, "I am lucky enough, that's enough, Albus, that's enough"

Harry said this enough to himself, not to Dumbledore.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Harry was pulled out of bed by Sirius and Lupin in the early morning.

"He really didn't turn into a werewolf again! I watched him all night, and he didn't grow a single wolf hair!" Sirius, with two dark circles under his eyes, pinched Harry's shoulders and shook him very energetically, "Harry, how did you do it!"

"My unique theory." Harry smiled like a fox who had stolen the fish. "When I graduate, I will publish my own potion system. The potion world will be shocked by my conclusions and achievements for a long time."

"Great, Harry, great." Lupin said while pulling the overly excited Sirius, "I knew you would be the pride of us and your parents."

"Am I?" Harry looked at Lupin.

"Of course!" He and Sirius hugged him together.

The only thing that was not wonderful about this wonderful morning was that he learned that the people who escorted Peter Pettigrew last night were attacked by nearly a hundred Dementors on the way out of Hogwarts. Although no one died, many were injured, and Peter Pettigrew took the opportunity to turn into a mouse and escaped from Fudge's eyes.

Many people sighed for this, and Sirius was probably the most emotional one - considering that he didn't sleep all night last night, his emotions were easily volatile. Lupin persuaded him to go to bed, and Harry offered him the remaining water of life and death he drank last time, so that Lupin and Sirius both slept well after staying up all night.

"It's not your fault." Harry wrote to Dumbledore, "Fate will make Peter go to where he should go, and these are things we can't change."

Next, all Harry needs to do is enjoy his summer vacation.

This year, Sirius followed Harry back to Privet Drive, and he had a friendly conversation with them as a "murderer who was released after paying the government" in Uncle Vernon's cognition. Harry was not interested in this. He would only stay for less than ten days after returning. When the time came, he would go to the Black mansion to live—with his three precious snakes.

Now the Dursleys would not provoke him at all. They basically treated him as invisible. Now Harry could read magic books while eating. To Harry's surprise, Dudley took the initiative to find him and said he wanted to know something about the wizarding world.

"Why do you suddenly want to know about us?" Harry tilted his head and looked at his two cousins ​​who were as old as him.

"You are my cousin." Dudley lowered his head. "Before, I mean, before you went to that magic school, my friends and I did a lot of...not so good things to you. I'm sorry."

Harry's heart was filled with long-lasting surprise.

He didn't expect Dudley to say these words to him. Although Dudley was the only blood relative of the Dursley family who was willing to accept Harry after he publicly announced that he was with Draco in his previous life, and Harry knew that Dudley was not a bad person, Harry had not saved him from the Dementors at that time, and at most he would send Dudley some candy every holiday.

As for those old things from 150 years ago, Harry had long forgotten them.

He took out a book called "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" from the small leather bag, and Dudley's eyes widened in shock when he saw the storybook, which was obviously larger than the leather bag, being taken out from such a small opening.

"This book is a fairy tale book of the wizarding world." Harry handed him the story collection. "Just like your Snow White, Cinderella and the Ugly Duckling. If you want to understand the wizarding world, you can start from here."

"Oh, thank you." Dudley took the book and looked at the briefcase in Harry's hand with hesitation. "That is..."

"The briefcase has been expanded by the space spell." Harry zipped up the zipper indifferently. "The space inside is larger than this room, but you can rest assured that I will not cast magic here."

Then Dudley's eyes moved to the photo Harry put on the table.

Harry in the photo was a little shorter than now, squinting and leaning on Draco's chest. Draco was putting his robe on the sleepy Harry, and his gray-blue eyes were full of tenderness.

"Does your wizard's photo move?" Dudley asked softly. "How strange."

"Yes." Harry raised his hand and poked himself in the photo. The sleepy Harry in the photo wrinkled his nose and looked unhappy. Harry wanted to poke it again, but was stopped by Draco's outstretched hand.

"Look." Harry turned his head to look at Dudley. "If you use the revealing potion, the developed photo will move. If it is a specially drawn portrait, the person in it can even speak, leave the frame and go to another picture, and it will be no different from a real person."

"My mother never told me this." Dudley frowned. "Your mother is my mother's sister. Since your mother is a wizard, my mother should know this too."

"She may really not know." Harry sighed. "If your mother is willing, show her this book."

Dudley nodded and turned away.

Because of Sirius's visit, the Dursleys didn't even dare to let Harry work this time. Despite this, Harry insisted on cooking his own meal and washing the dishes he used. In the past two summer vacations, except for ordering Harry to work, they basically treated him as a transparent person on weekdays. Harry has become accustomed to this way of getting along.

A week later, Harry was taken to the Black Mansion by Sirius, who couldn't wait.

The house was just as gray as Harry remembered, and there was a portrait of Mrs. Black at the door, who would scream at everyone. But because there were not many people in the house at that time, she was covered by a curtain, so it was very quiet, and Harry almost forgot about the painting.

Kreacher's attitude towards Sirius was still not good, but Kreacher served Harry until he died in his previous life, and left a will hoping that his head would be chopped off and decorated on the wall. Harry still knew him very well, as long as he treated him with equality and respect, Kreacher would not disobey orders too much.

And Harry specifically asked Sirius to say "please" and "thank you" to Kreacher more often. And on a morning with good weather, Harry personally cleaned the Black Mansion.

The old house full of dust would not make people happy to live in. In the previous life, with the magic of Harry, the Black Mansion was always spotless no matter how long he was away. In addition, Harry was used to living in Malfoy Manor, and he really couldn't stand such a gray and depressing environment.

Harry strictly abided by the rule of "no magic outside the school" in front of Sirius, and cleaned the old house completely manually. If it weren't for Sirius and Dobby who could help him with magic, a tea table cloth stained with old tea stains would be enough for Harry to rub for a whole morning.

Harry first dealt with the living room of the old house. He replaced all the dark curtains and installed light yellow translucent curtains. Although other places were still messy, Harry felt a sense of accomplishment when the living room became clean and tidy.

"I can't stand such an environment." Harry said to Sirius and Kreacher, "This is our home. Since it is a home, it should look like a home, right?"

Dobby kept nodding on the side.

Since then, Kreacher joined Harry's cleaning business without saying a word.

Harry stopped only when the entire Black house was renovated to the point that Sirius could hardly recognize it. It had been ten days since he moved in.

On the eleventh day, Harry carefully lifted the curtain covering Mrs. Black's portrait.

"Hello, Mrs. Black." Harry gave a standard noble salute to the woman who looked at him with a complicated expression. "I'm sorry to lift your curtain so late."

"Are you Sirius' godson?" She looked at Harry with long hair. "You look a bit aristocratic. Which house are you from?"

"Ravenclaw." Harry answered, and saw that her eyes showed regret and dissatisfaction. "I heard from my godfather that all members of the Black family are Slytherins?"

"Except Sirius." She now put the focus of her regret and dissatisfaction on Harry's godfather.

Harry knew that the prejudices of the older generation could not be changed overnight, and she was just a painting now. Harry, who had been cleaning for more than ten days, was too tired to correct it. So let it be.

"At the end of this month, the Malfoy family and my friends will come here to celebrate my birthday. There are many friends from Gryffindor. If you are unhappy about this, I can draw the curtains for you or choose a quiet room for you. Do you mind?" Harry looked up and looked at her, with a gesture that he himself did not notice, the unique temperament of a superior.

Although his words were gentle and polite, what he said was "declaration" and "discussion", and what he wanted to do would never be "changed".

Mrs. Black was keenly aware of this temperament.

She realized that this child was different from any kind of person she had known before.

No child would show this attitude so naturally and unconsciously. Only those who have long been accustomed to giving orders, accustomed to having power and actually possessing the strength that matches the power, will unconsciously reveal this gentle but irresistible sense of oppression.

"I don't mind, as long as they are not too noisy." So she chose to accept it.

"Thank you for your understanding." Harry bowed. "There will be several teachers attending the banquet at that time, and they will not be too noisy."

"Teachers? Who?" Mrs. Black narrowed her eyes.

"Albus, Minerva... Oh, the headmaster and the deans, and the teacher who taught me ancient runes." Harry didn't elaborate. "It will be a big party. I have celebrated my birthday at Malfoy Manor for the past two years. They are used to having big parties and inviting many people. But this time I hope to make it warmer and only invite close people."

"Are you on good terms with the Malfoys?"

"I have a good relationship with Draco, the youngest son of the Malfoy family." Harry couldn't help laughing. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are also very kind to me. I spent two summer vacations in their back garden. It was indeed a wonderful time. Especially Mrs. Malfoy, I usually call her Cissy when there are no outsiders. I heard her say that her original surname was Black."

Harry looked at Mrs. Black with a complicated expression. "I decided to hold my birthday party here, and I also hope that you can meet."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, child." Mrs. Black sighed.

Harry turned and left, pretending not to see Kreacher who had listened to the entire conversation on the stairs.

On the birthday, the Black mansion was unusually lively. Harry did not draw the curtains. Lucius and Narcissa stood in front of the portrait and chatted with Mrs. Black. Teachers and Harry's friends walked past them and came in. Narcissa introduced them to Mrs. Black from time to time.

"Good evening, ma'am." Dumbledore looked at Mrs. Black happily. "How long ago was the last time I saw you?"

"Your style hasn't changed at all." Mrs. Black looked disgusted.

"Sev!" Harry ran over. "Did you receive the paper I sent you?"

"I have received it. Another amazing research, Harry." Snape glanced at Black and Malfoy who were quietly listening. "After the wolf poison potion that can completely cure werewolves, you started to study the antidote?"

"It's just to prove the correctness of the formula." Harry retorted in a sophistry, with a smirk on his face.

"I have used your formula to make a dose of Felixir in half a month." Snape and Harry walked into the living room together. "I have already verified the correctness. Do you plan to publish this theory as soon as you graduate? I think it can be published earlier."

"No hurry." Harry smiled like a fox. "This is a good banner. I want it to be planted at the point of public opinion I need most at the right time."

"Fake eagle." Snape snorted coldly.

"Agree." Flitwick, who was lying on the sofa, drank pumpkin juice. "The way he squinted his eyes and calculated people and planned things always made me feel that he was in the wrong college. He should be in Slytherin."

"Are you willing to give it up?" Harry looked at him sideways.

"Of course not!" Flitwick immediately retorted, "Harry should be in Ravenclaw!"

"Actually, I want to go to Gryffindor more." Harry said leisurely as he walked to the children's territory.

"Harry, come and open the presents!" Ron smiled and pounced on him.

"Here we go!" Harry avoided the owl piglet who was too active because of the party and walked to the pile of gifts.

Dobby and Kreacher worked together to lift a big cake onto the table. Sirius happily placed bottles of butterbeer and fire whiskey next to the cake. Even Snape couldn't ruin his good mood.

"Underage wizards are not allowed to drink." Professor McGonagall pulled the eager Weasley twins away. "Before you come of age, drink a cup of butterbeer to satisfy your craving."

The first gift Harry chose was from Sirius. After the Firebolt, he gave Harry a book that looked very old. The corners of the book were covered with black mold, but the profound and comprehensive types and detailed explanations of magic circles in it made Harry's eyes widen.

"Lupin said that you like reading very much and are very good at academics." Sirius grinned at him. "I just found this book in the corner of the old house. I didn't understand it at first, but I guess you will like it."

"I like it very much!" Harry shouted in surprise, "Thank you, Sirius!"

Snape still sent potions. This time, he sent a cultivation potion that is very beneficial to the development and growth of magic power. Harry drank it immediately like the potion that permanently cured myopia last time.

Minerva sent a game of wizard chess with unique chess pieces. Harry guessed that these chess pieces were originally immobile. She cast a spell on them personally. And Filius sent a delicate and realistic model of the Golden Snidget. Harry almost thought it was a real Golden Snidget when he saw it for the first time.

The Weasleys still sent a candy gift bag. This time, Hermione sent a book of Crime and Punishment. Harry had never read this book, so he gladly accepted it.

Draco gave Harry a pair of snake-shaped earrings. The snake's body was the same color as Draco's hair, coiling along Harry's earlobe, and the tail was tied with a gold chain with gemstones about an inch long. It was completely fixed by fitting and hooking with Harry's earlobe, and could be worn without piercing the ears.

The snake's eyes were two gray-blue gemstones.

"Did you make it custom?" Harry looked at the snake-shaped earrings. "I remember you didn't measure the size."

"No need to measure." Draco hugged Harry from behind and breathed on his earlobe. "I can draw the outline of your ear with my eyes closed. I asked the designer to make it according to the picture."

Draco helped Harry put on the earrings. The size was exactly right and it fit perfectly, proving The correctness of Draco's words.

Draco and the professors admired the beautiful earrings and urged him to change into the dress robes given by Lucius and Narcissa.

Ron was stunned by Harry like that.

How to say it... Harry, who was already very extraordinary, immediately became more unattainable after wearing the aristocratic dress and single earrings.

But Harry quickly changed out of the dress robes after they took the photos, saying that he couldn't wear such clothes for the cake battle, leaving only the earrings in the color of Draco Malfoy.

Harry knew that Draco was using this conspicuous ornament to show his possessiveness. No matter who saw the earrings, they would understand: he was Draco Malfoy's person.

And Harry was happy with it.

Harry slipped out of the room after everyone went to bed. He took advantage of the birthday party to hold a secret conversation in a quiet room in the old Black house. Dobby and Kreacher were also brought by Harry, who specifically told them to stay in the corner of the room.

On the surface, they were asked to be on call to serve the person who was having the conversation, but in fact, Harry intended to let Kreacher and Dobby hear the conversation.

The only problem was that Harry had to stay with Draco for quite a long time in order to make him fall asleep. His legs were a little weak when he walked into the room, and there were several kiss marks and tooth marks on his neck covered by his long hair.

But Harry's face was motionless, as if nothing had happened.

"The Dark Mark is heating up." Lucius got straight to the point as soon as he sat down. "There will be a Death Eater event at the Quidditch World Cup."

"You have to go." Harry looked up at Lucius. "And you have to be active, so that the organizers of the event can see your loyalty to Voldemort."

"In exchange." Lucius raised his chin slightly. "You have to ensure the safety of my wife."

"We will protect her safety even if you don't say it, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said, without the usual smile on his face.

Lupin sat quietly by the side, without saying a word. Snape looked at Harry with a complicated expression, his fingers unconsciously grasping the handle of the cup.

"Voldemort asked you to keep a diary." Harry straightened his back and crossed his fingers into a tower. "This is one of his Horcruxes, and now it has been destroyed by me. Based on this, Voldemort will not let the Malfoy family off easily."

"And Voldemort has been forbearing for a long time. He will be back next year at the latest. Lucius, you have to find a way to get close to the organizer of this event, and get into Voldemort's plan to resurrect through him. And I--"

Harry's eyes were as sharp as a knife.

"I will make that person fail, and then you will become the only one who can help Voldemort resurrect. I want you to resurrect him, and then use this to get the position closest to him."

You can hear a pin drop in the room.

"You want to resurrect him?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.

"Fate wants him to live." Harry sneered. "Even if we prevent his resurrection this time, he will come back in another way in the future. In this case, it is better to let him resurrect under my arrangement, so that I can at least have an eye on him."

The sharpness and vigilance in Dumbledore's eyes disappeared.

"Let's go back to what I said just now." Harry took a sip of tea. "Then, Lucius will be punished by Voldemort for losing the diary, but you are already a great contributor, and he will not punish you severely. Instead, you can use this opportunity to withdraw from the core circle of Death Eaters around Voldemort and stay in a position that is not far away, but will be trusted and reused by him."

"Simple but effective plan, Harry." Narcissa looked at him. "We will execute it."

"What about Greyback?" Harry turned to look at Lupin.

"Lupin has won over a small group of people with your potion." Dumbledore answered for him, "But the news of the potion cannot be made public. Greyback is a madman who hopes to infect more people. If he knows about this potion, he will definitely destroy it at all costs. And the news of Voldemort's plan to resurrect has reached his ears, and he will definitely join Voldemort. With him around, it will be difficult for us to completely influence the werewolf camp."

"Then let him die." Harry's tone was as cold as a blade. "If you are not strong enough or don't want to kill people yourself, I can do it for you. After killing Greyback, the werewolf camp will definitely fall into chaos for a period of time. Lupin can use this opportunity to spread the news of the wolfsbane potion, and I can control the senior members who are biased towards Greyback."

"Let the werewolf camp disappear." Harry said softly.

For a while, the room was filled with suffocating silence.

"I will do it." Lupin spoke first. "But, there is no need..."

"No need to kill?" Harry sneered. "Kidnap, imprisonment, anything is fine, but don't kill people? Whatever, anything is fine, but he must disappear. And, I don't think Greyback can be considered a 'person'."

"I will make him disappear, Harry." Dumbledore avoided the word "Remus and I will take care of the werewolf camp. This may require you and the basilisk to join our action at the right time and remove the seal on the basilisk's eyes, Harry."

They invisibly regarded Harry as the one who made the decision.

And Dumbledore had no discomfort with this. Harry was the king of Hogwarts, and he was the headmaster of Hogwarts. He should be loyal to this king who was older than him and had an iron fist.

"When the time comes, just come to me directly." Harry nodded.

Caesar seemed to have heard someone calling his name, and slowly emerged from Harry's sleeve, coiled in his palm and spit out his tongue.

"Severus." Harry looked up at Snape. "You are the same as Lucius, but you don't have to get close to Voldemort. If Voldemort asks Lucius how he got the inside information of Hogwarts, you stand up and testify for him. Collusion and cooperation, okay?"

"Yes." Snape answered immediately, and the atmosphere in the room finally warmed up a little because of Harry's relieved tone.

"Then let's stop here. Is there anything else to add?" Harry looked around at everyone present.

"Draco." Lucius closed his eyes. "Our child will definitely be chosen by the Dark Lord as a pawn to overthrow Dumbledore in Hogwarts. He... is most likely to choose Draco."

"I won't let him get hurt." Harry said decisively. "I can assure you of this. No student will be harmed by Voldemort."

"Are you sure?" Narcissa looked at him.

"I am sure." Harry answered.

He saw the light flashing in the mother's eyes.

"Does Sirius know?" Snape looked at Harry with a complicated expression.

"Of course not." Harry's tone became lively again. He drank the tea in one gulp and slumped back on the sofa. He was instantly full of fatigue. "Why tell him? To be honest, I'm almost fed up. If Voldemort hadn't been thinking about resurrection every day and making a lot of trouble, who would be willing to say this here? I just hope he can die quietly in the grave and don't disturb me from studying and reading at Hogwarts. I was thinking about drinking tea, taking a walk, enjoying the flowers and having a relationship at Christmas, but because of him, I have to take time out of the good holiday to discuss with you how to deal with him!"

Harry rolled his eyes at the ceiling.

"Okay, Harry." Dumbledore patted his shoulder, trying not to laugh. "You will have many happy holidays in the future."

"I hope so." Harry waved his hand weakly. "If nothing else, I'll go back first. I haven't finished writing the paper for Filius yet."

Kreacher and Dobby came over without saying a word and followed Harry out of the room.

"Harry brought two house-elves here?" Lucius frowned.

"House-elves can Apparate in Hogwarts without restriction. They have powers that wizards generally despise and don't understand." Dumbledore mentioned it briefly.

"Master, you are so handsome." Aipho immediately came out from Harry's collar. "They are all scared by you!"

"Not scared... well, it's kind of." Harry touched Aipho's head.

"That's right! I'm learning from Caesar to listen to humans. That Lyme guy, he's afraid of you." Aipho wagged his tail. "The human you like, the one called Draco, are you married to him? The way he looks at you is so straightforward, you are together!"

"Yeah." Harry's expression softened the moment he heard Draco's name. "When the time comes, I'll take you to watch the Quidditch game."

"Is it the kind that the master participated in before?" Aipho rubbed Harry's outstretched finger.

"It's different. There will be a lot of people, more than in school." Harry separated Aipho who wanted to fight with the black snake.

The Quidditch World Cup is coming.

Chapter Text

Harry moved to the Weasleys' house a few days before the game, and was pulled out of bed by Hermione on the morning of the third day. "Get up, Harry, we have to travel today."

Harry's hair was almost tangled from sleeping, and he woke up after drinking the refreshing potion prepared in advance. He quickly washed up, took his small leather bag and followed the Weasleys out.

This time, Harry happily introduced Sirius to Fred and George. Sirius happily offered to help them smuggle Fat Tongue Toffee in Harry's room last night.

"Great, thank you Padfoot!" They cheered.

Harry also met Percy. He had a deep impression of Percy in his previous life. He was obsessed with pursuing power at first, but later changed a lot after the war. After Harry became the headmaster, the Ministry of Magic officials who did the work handover with Hogwarts were either him or Hermione. Occasionally, when they were alone in the headmaster's office, Percy and Harry would chat together and talk about the past.

Percy smiled bitterly more than once and said that he was too naive and stupid. Obviously, Percy is now in the period of "too naive and stupid" in his future self's mouth, but Harry really admires such people.

Go for what you want, and have the courage to face your mistakes and correct them when you find that you have taken the wrong path.

Although Percy is a bit annoying now, Harry sighed as he hurried on his way.

Hermione's time converter is no longer with her. It seems that she does not plan to take so many courses next semester. Harry is sincerely happy for her.

"Harry, you are here!" Cedric came forward and hugged Harry. "I knew you were coming, so I came with my father."

"Good morning." Harry smiled and hugged him back, and asked in a low voice beside his ear, "Have you caught up with Cho?"

"Soon." Cedric also answered him in a low voice, and the two of them smiled at each other. And Harry chose to filter out the unpleasant words that Mr. Diggory said to him.

When the time came, Harry and everyone else touched the old boot.

His belly button was hooked suddenly, and then the world spun around. Harry was dizzy for a while when he landed, and almost took Ron, who had finally stood up, down with him.

Harry followed the Weasleys to exchange Muggle currency, get tents and maps, and successfully set up the tent.

Harry skillfully helped to pick up firewood and make a fire, watching the adults walk around for routine socializing. Mr. Weasley wanted to keep Harry, but not long after, Lucius took Harry away with Draco.

"What were you doing just now, making a fire?" Draco frowned and wiped Harry's sleeves that were stained with dust. "Did they ask you to do this?"

"I want to do it myself. They don't understand the Muggle method. If Hermione wasn't there, Mr. Weasley could have struggled with the box of matches for half an hour." Harry held Draco's hand with a gentle and soft smile on his face.

Lucius frowned slightly. "But even if you grew up in a Muggle family, your movements are too skilled, as if you have been doing these jobs for a long time."

"To some extent, yes." Harry sighed slightly. "My uncle and aunt are very opposed to the wizarding world. I was used to working when I was a child. Cooking and cleaning, taking care of the lawn in the back garden, painting benches, etc., all kinds of things."

Draco's brows frowned more and more as he listened.

"No wonder." His expression was quite ugly. "I was wondering why your hands had such a large area of ​​calluses when I held your hand on the train in the first grade."

"No now." Harry moved the hand that was holding Draco's hand. "I am not the type that easily grows calluses. Those calluses have fallen off long ago. Dobby took good care of me."

Draco's brows were still tightly frowned.

When they entered the Malfoy family's exclusive luxury tent, Harry took advantage of Lucius' absence to kiss Draco's forehead, and finally let him relax his frown.

"Are those Muggle relatives still asking you to work?" Draco hugged Harry, sat on the sofa in his room and bit his ear. "I haven't seen you for a long time, Harry."

"Yeah." Harry's ears were reddened by him, and his face was burning. "I only live in their house for one week a year now, and the work I do is limited to cooking for myself and washing dishes. My cousin is still trying to build a good relationship with me this summer vacation. They are not that bad, really."

Draco then let go of Harry's ears and kissed his lips instead.

Although there are diaries and owls, it is always tormenting not to see each other. Harry responded to Draco enthusiastically, which was rare. The two of them almost kissed each other in the room, but Harry pushed Draco away in time.

"My share is up." Harry avoided Draco's kiss with red ears.

"Nonsense." Draco hugged him tightly. "It's been almost a month. Make it a whole. Give me thirty kisses."

"It's only been twenty-two days. What's the point of making it a whole!" Harry's face turned red. "Didn't you make me suffer enough on my birthday last time?"

"Not enough..." Draco kissed Harry's lips and looked at him with the kind of eyes that Harry couldn't resist the most.

The burning fire didn't stop at last. Draco and Harry went into the bathroom to help each other. Harry couldn't suppress the moans in his mouth when Draco comforted him. Draco looked at Harry with eyes that he hated not being able to kill him on the spot.

Draco took advantage of Harry's longing for him after a short separation and did whatever he wanted. For a whole morning, Harry had to let his hair down to cover Draco's teeth marks on his ears and neck during lunch. The burning desire when Draco bit Harry's lips almost made the situation out of control.

In short, during lunch, the two of them basically kept their clothes well-dressed. Lucius probably just thought they were having a little kid's prank in the room, and didn't pay much attention to Draco's slightly wrinkled shirt hem.

After lunch, Harry dragged Draco out, and the two walked all the way back to the Weasleys' tent and met Ron and the others. Fred and George were placing bets with Ludo Bagman.

"Harry, do you want to place a bet?" They turned to look at Harry.

"Who did you place a bet on?" Harry glanced at the bag in Bagman's hand.

"Irish team." George replied.

"I think Krum will catch the Golden Snitch." Harry looked at the moving team figurines on the stall next to him, "but the winner is still the Irish team."

"Really? You want to place a bet?" Bagman couldn't help but look at him.

"No." Harry shook his head. If it were the original him, he would be happy to place a bet, but since he learned about the Muggle gambling industry in his previous life, Harry never participated in any form of gambling again.

"I'd rather take this opportunity to study the magic of the Irish leprechauns. They should appear in this competition." Harry smiled, his eyes vaguely sweeping towards Bagman. "They can use magic to conjure up a large number of gold coins, but they will disappear after a few hours. I'm already familiar with the vanishing spell, but the magic they can use to conjure up gold coins depends to some extent on their blood talent. It would be great if there was a leprechaun willing to be studied by me."

"You are worthy of it."

"——Ravenclaw"

Fred and George sang the same tune.

"Is there any difference?" Draco seemed to hear the implication of Harry's words, raised his eyebrows and looked at him and asked.

"Just use a detection spell on the gold coins." Harry said and walked away, Draco immediately followed, and the two walked to the side of a souvenir shop.

Krum's little man was riding a broom on the table and flying low. Aipho and the black snake curiously poked their heads out to look at it. Krum's little man tilted the broom handle to avoid Aipho's head.

"It has grown so big." Draco looked at the snow-white Aipho.

"Yes, I still remember when you first gave him to me, he was still an egg." Harry smiled as he looked at Abel who was sniffing here and touching there. "He is a curious baby."

"Is he obedient?"

"It's okay to be naughty. Caesar is watching him." Harry touched Caesar who also joined in the fun. "The basilisk has been in Hogwarts for so long, it is not very lively anymore. It is good to take them out to see the outside world."

"You still brought this snake?" Draco pinched the black snake that his dragon had transformed into. The black snake was not aggressive to him. After all, its essence was a ball of magic from Draco.

"This is your gift to me." Harry looked at him with a smile.

Draco felt that his heartbeat was too loud.

He wanted to kiss his green-eyed kitten again.

Harry took a quick look before sitting down and saw Winky sitting in his seat with a nervous look on his face.

He put his wand deeper into his robe without leaving any trace.

Under the operation of the two parents, Ron and Draco sat next to each other this time.

After Ludo Bagman finished his opening speech with the "loud voice" blessing, the Veela appeared.

Draco's eyes were dazed for only a moment before he woke up and frowned at the Veela, "What are these?"

Harry didn't even have that trance because of his high magic level. At this moment, he simply felt the charm of the Veela flowing in the air, "This is a Veela, which has a strong temptation for people with weak wills. Look--"

Harry pointed to the referee of the game.

The referee had torn his clothes, and many people seemed to want to jump down to attract the attention of the Veela. To Harry's surprise, Ron also broke free from the influence of the Veela after struggling for a while, and shrank back slightly in fear.

"A person with a weak will?" Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

Harry took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and leaned over to kiss Draco on the lips.

Draco immediately grabbed Harry's arm, his face full of dissatisfaction and wanting to do it again.

Fortunately, the leprechaun's gold coins fell one after another, attracting the attention of most people. Harry quickly took this opportunity to get away and raised his hand to pick up a fallen gold coin.

"Is this really a fake gold coin?" Draco looked at the heavy gold coin in his hand. "Magical magic."

"Indeed." Harry took his time to look at Bagman who was frantically picking up gold coins in the distance.

The game began.

It must be said that this was indeed a feast for Quidditch fans. Harry's eyes followed the players, who attacked and defended quickly, and the seekers wandered around the field looking for the Snitch.

"The Snitch is there." Harry pointed to a spot near the ground soon after the game started. "See it?"

"It's a loss for those two teams that they didn't recruit you." Draco couldn't help but sigh.

"Just luck." Harry shook his head. "And the Snitch is almost touching the ground. Although there is a chance to catch it, it is too risky to catch it directly. It is likely to crash into the ground. Even if Krum saw it, he would not catch it."

"Can you?" Draco looked at him. "If you ride a Firebolt."

"Fifty percent success rate." Harry looked at the Snitch resting on the tip of the grass. "But I can guarantee that I won't get hurt even if I fail."

Harry and Draco held hands while talking.

"Ireland is too aggressive. If this continues, the score difference will soon exceed 150." Draco sighed as he looked at the scoreboard. "No wonder you said that Ireland would win if Krum caught the Snitch."

"More than." Harry looked at the scoreboard. "The score difference is too big. If Krum could catch the Snitch when the score difference is less than 150, he could still win, but he knows that there is no chance."

"Here it comes." Harry's eyes lit up.

Both Seekers began to speed up, and the Firebolt was as fast as a beam of light.

"Not as good as you in the Hogwarts final." Draco said affirmatively, "They are not as flexible as you."

"There was no one blocking them at all. They didn't need to turn. How can you tell that they are not as flexible as me?" Harry said unhappily.

"Krum caught the Snitch, but Ireland won!" Bagman announced the result loudly. The score difference between the two teams was less than 20 points.

"It's a wonderful game." Harry said, standing up slowly. "Let's go back."

Harry took Draco's hand and left, glancing at Lucius vaguely before leaving.

When Harry and Draco returned to the tent, Lucius and Narcissa were already sitting in the living room, seemingly waiting for them.

"Dad, Mom?" Draco was a little confused, and sat down on the sofa opposite them with Harry. "What is this?"

"Draco." Narcissa sighed. "I have something to say to you-Harry, do you mind leaving for a while?"

Harry glanced at Lucius and nodded slowly. He stood up, walked to Draco's room and closed the door.

The revelry crowd outside the tent was crowded, and cheers and voices poured into the quiet living room.

Harry didn't try to eavesdrop or anything else. He asked Caesar and the others to stay in the small leather bag to sleep for a while, without reading or anything else. Just sit on the bed and wait for him.

About half an hour, or an hour? Harry didn't remember, but he gave Draco a tight hug and kissed his forehead when he pushed the door open.

"Do you know these things, Harry?" Draco's voice seemed to tremble slightly. "Have you always known?"

"Yeah." Harry answered him gently, and felt Draco tighten his arms around him.

Harry leaned on his chest. The half-grown child hadn't fully grown yet, but the strength to hold him was frightening.

"What did they say to you?" Harry kissed Draco's Adam's apple, hoping to comfort him. "It's okay, Draco, I'm here."

"Just some news you already know." Draco raised his hand and stroked Harry's hair, his voice gradually calmed down. "You have to face much more than me, Harry."

"But you will always be with me, right?" Harry smiled in Draco's arms, feeling the vibration of his chest when he spoke. "I will always have to face all this, but I have my friends and teachers, Hogwarts, my family... and you, Draco."

"That's why I'm fearless."

Draco took a deep breath, and the two teenagers hugged each other, gaining infinite courage from each other's body temperature.

Harry kissed Draco's cheek and walked out of the room under his eyes.

Lucius had already put on the robe and mask of the Death Eater, and Narcissa was tidying up his clothes for him.

"Are you going?" Harry looked at Lucius. "Remember to hide your hair, otherwise you will be easily recognized."

Narcissa nodded and put on the Death Eater mask with Lucius.

"Don't go too far." Harry said in a deep voice. "Be safe, go early and come back early."

Harry could feel Lucius and Narcissa through the mask With complicated expressions, they walked out side by side, and Harry stood in the living room and watched them leave.

The curtain of the tent door was lowered.

That day, Harry sent Dobby away and cooked a dinner himself. After Draco knew that Harry cooked the dinner, he finally became interested and ate his portion very cleanly.

Two hours after dinner, there was a commotion outside.

"Here they come." Harry sighed, dragged Draco's hand and ran out.

The arrival of the Death Eaters directly put an end to the carnival, and the venue that was full of music and laughter not long ago was filled with screams. People fled in a hurry, and Harry and Draco ran into Ron and Hermione on the way.

"Oh Harry, I finally found you!" Hermione rushed up and grabbed Harry's hand.

"You didn't get separated?" Harry asked Hermione loudly.

"Let's go. Now it's just Hermione and I together - Ouch!" Ron said as he was bumped by someone. "They say the Death Eaters are causing trouble. We have to leave here!"

"Let's go!" Harry led them deeper into the forest. Just like in his previous life, he saw three people bragging to each other in front of the Veela. Harry bypassed them and stopped behind a big tree with everyone.

"Let's wait here until it calms down outside. There are not many people here." Ron suggested panting.

Harry nodded, and the four of them carefully gathered together, holding their wands tightly in their hands.

"Who's there?" Someone came out from behind the tree.

Draco protected Harry behind him reflexively.

"Mr. Crouch." Harry recognized the person.

"What are you kids doing here?" He frowned at them. "Where are your parents?"

"We escaped." Harry looked up at him. "There was a riot in the camp. Some people said it was the Death Eaters. They burned the tents and were going to find the Muggles."

Barty Crouch cursed and immediately Apparated away.

"Someone is coming." Harry carefully pulled Ron and Hermione to hide behind the tree. The four of them quietly lurked behind the tree and watched several people walk into the woods.

"Well done, Barty Crouch Jr."

Lucius' voice.

"This is just our first move to make a name for ourselves." Barty Crouch Jr. laughed crazily. "When the master wakes up, he will be greeted by a magical world that fears him and is extremely obedient!"

"I'm afraid that old bee Dumbledore doesn't think so." Lucius' voice was somewhat suggestive. "He holds Harry Potter in his hand. With such a banner, the master's dominance will be a little more complicated. Maybe we can try to strike first."

"Do you have a way to attack that old bee?"

"Severus does." Lucius glanced at the Death Eaters behind him. "He has been lurking in Hogwarts for many years and has gained Dumbledore's trust. As long as the master Wake up, the advantage will be on our side. "

"Have you got any news about the master? I only feel that the Dark Mark is becoming active, but I have no news about the master."

"Of course I do." Barty Crouch Jr. showed a hideous smile "You are also a good person, I don't mind taking you to meet the master. But don't try to steal my credit!"

"We all know who has the greatest credit here." Lucius responded tactfully "Leave first, or your father will come."

"Humph." Barty Crouch Jr.'s expression turned cold "That guy... I will kill him sooner or later."

He raised his wand and fired the Dark Mark.

Harry sighed.

Everything that followed was just like in the previous life. Barty Crouch arrived and Winky was used as a scapegoat. Winky's pitiful appearance aroused Hermione's anger.

Harry knew that this was the beginning of the director of the Ministry of Magic's Legal Department in the future who decided to embark on the road of equal rights.

When Harry and Draco returned to the tent and reunited with the Weasley family, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ron almost immediately told what he saw and heard in the forest. He said in horror that there was an undercover agent of Voldemort in Hogwarts.

Ron and Hermione were not familiar with Lucius. Under the cover of the mask, they failed to recognize Lucius' identity.

"Impossible!" Draco couldn't help but retorted, "The dean is not that kind of person!"

"Calm down, Ron. Draco, you too." Mr. Weasley calmed the children's emotions, "I had some communication with Dumbledore before, and I can confirm that Snape is indeed on our side."

"Oh." Ron relaxed, "I thought..."

"Not everyone will be happy with the dark and oppressive life under Voldemort's rule." Harry's tone was a little cold, "He's coming back, I know."

Everyone fell into a brief silence.

"Okay, kids." Mr. Weasley sighed. "It's late, you should go to bed. Draco, you too, your parents must be worried about you."

"I'll go back with him." Harry held Draco's hand. "I'll stay with him."

"That's fine." Mr. Weasley breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll take you to the Malfoys' tent."

When Harry and Draco followed Mr. Weasley there, Lucius and Narcissa were already waiting at the door.

"Draco!" Narcissa immediately hugged Draco. "Fortunately you're okay. We've been looking for you since we got separated!"

Harry couldn't help but glance at Narcissa, secretly admiring her acting skills.

"I'm glad you're okay." Lucius looked at Draco, and the emotion in his eyes didn't seem fake. "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay."

That night, Harry and Draco slept in the same bed. They hugged each other tightly and fell asleep in confusion and exhaustion.

Although the outside world was stormy, they had returned home.

Chapter Text

I'm thinking of changing the translation for Aipho's name to Abel start from next chapter :D

Anyways enjoy the story!

☆

The next day, Harry was taken back to the Black Mansion by Sirius after returning to the Burrow. Sirius rushed over to him the moment he saw him this morning. According to Kreacher, Sirius had been wanting to run outside to find Harry after seeing the news of the Death Eaters appearing this morning. If it weren't for Narcissa sending a message to Sirius to report that he was safe, he would have ridden his broom to see Harry to make sure he was okay.

After this incident, Draco finally moved into the Black Mansion. But it wasn't long before the end of the summer vacation.

At the Black Mansion, Harry preferred to cook by himself. Kreacher had resisted this, but Harry insisted that Kreacher was already very busy keeping the house clean, and finally took over the cooking job.

Harry also asked Kreacher for advice on cooking techniques and ingredient ratios. He had been working for the Dursleys since he was very young, including cooking, and Harry himself was a good cook. In his previous life, when he was still idle, he had learned cooking from Kreacher and the house-elf of Hogwarts, and he was quite confident in his cooking skills.

When Sirius tasted his cooking for the first time, he ate without even looking up.

This time, Sirius had been successfully vindicated, and he no longer needed to transform into an Animagus form to accompany him to the station to see him off. This time when Harry went to Diagon Alley to buy books, Sirius also went with him.

Textbooks, parchment and other items were quickly bought, and Harry also met the Weasley family who were arguing about something on the way. Fred and George asked Mr. Weasley something, but he never said anything.

Harry walked over curiously, and the gemstones hanging from the earring on his left ear collided with each other as he moved, making a very subtle crisp sound. "What are you talking about?"

"You will know when you return to school." Mr. Weasley smiled and waved his hand. "I won't tell you. I almost let it slip just now."

Harry looked at Draco on the side.

"I know." He smiled smugly and whispered in Harry's ear, "Cancel the quota limit today, and I'll tell you."

"No." Harry smiled and raised his hand to push him away, but Draco pestered him again. Harry took advantage of Sirius stepping forward to block them and quickly leaned over to kiss Draco on the cheek.

"Say it or not?" Harry looked at him with a smile.

"No." Draco blushed and shook his head.

"Forget it then." Harry hummed and walked away.

Anyway, he knew what it was.

"Fred, George." Harry waved at them, and when he saw them coming, he leaned over to their ears and said, "Your chance has come."

"What chance?" Fred was stunned.

"I just asked you to help me improve the two-way mirror, but I didn't say that you can't use the method you have researched to make another mirror like this." Harry winked playfully, "Maybe, you can try to sell it to Dumbledore or Fudge?"

Fred and George looked at each other and patted Harry's shoulders respectively.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione got on the train to Hogwarts, his heart began to slowly rise.

This year, the Triwizard Tournament will be held, and Barty Crouch Jr. will also come to Hogwarts disguised as Moody.

"Draco." Harry turned his head and looked at him, "Have you done what I asked you to do before?"

"It's in the opposite carriage." Draco reluctantly let go of Harry's hand.

Harry stood up, walked to the opposite carriage, and closed the door tightly.

"You?" Pansy raised her eyebrows. "You are the one Draco said he wanted to talk to us about?"

"It's me." Harry sat down next to Crabbe. "You should have heard about the Quidditch World Cup, right?"

The children looked at each other.

"What do you want to say?" Blaise frowned.

"I don't know which side you choose to stand on." Harry sighed softly. "But I hope you can put aside your parents' ideas and make your own choices."

"No matter what, Hogwarts is always a home."

Harry stopped there and didn't go into it. He took out several envelopes from his arms and gave them to the people present.

"Please help send this letter to your parents." Harry looked at them and observed the envelope. "I didn't cast a spell on it. If you want to peek, I can't stop you. But it's better not to do that."

"What's written on it?" Blaise asked.

"If your parents want, they will tell you." Harry avoided the question and left the carriage.

"Done?" Draco looked at Harry who pushed the door back.

"Done." Harry nodded. "As for what will happen next, it all depends on their choice."

"You have done very well." Draco put his arm around his waist. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Harry leaned on him. "Yeah."

Hermione showed a look of disdain, and glanced at Ron who was completely out of state with a look of regret.

It was raining when returning to Hogwarts, with thunder and lightning, wind and rain. As soon as Harry sat down, he was entangled by Alisa. She yelled that she wanted to see Harry's snake. Abel and Caesar had already accepted their fate and came out obediently to let her touch it.

In the sorting ceremony, Colin's brother was sorted into Gryffindor. Colin ran over excitedly to introduce his brother to Harry. Harry was surrounded by a circle of people, and almost everyone noticed his unique single earring and praised it.

Harry looked really good with this earring.

Inevitably, Ron brought up the issue of house-elves at Hogwarts in this life, and Hermione was so angry that she refused to eat anymore.

During dinner, Moody arrived late, and Dumbledore briefly introduced their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to everyone. Harry secretly used a self-created detection magic on the kettle when Moody passed by, and found that it was Polyjuice Potion.

Next, the news of the Triwizard Tournament was announced. When the Weasley twins heard that this competition was only open to students over the age of seventeen, they protested loudly.

Harry stopped eating - for him in this life, this was enough to express his surprise. Draco didn't seem suspicious, and Harry continued to eat his dessert after listening to Dumbledore's announcement of the age limit.

Aipho was almost peeled off by Alisa's touch, and slid back to Harry's collar.

On the way back to the Ravenclaw dormitory, almost everyone was excitedly discussing information related to the Triwizard Tournament. Michael said loudly, "If Harry was not old enough, he would definitely be the champion this year." And this year Harry no longer had to go to Hogsmeade through the secret passage. Sirius signed for him.

This week, all students were looking forward to the arrival of the other two colleges. The only drawback was the blasting-tailed skrewts that appeared on time in the Care of Magical Creatures class, and many students had their hands burned. Draco expressed doubts about the use of these blasting-tailed skrewts.

"It's hard to say. After all, this is a newly born species, isn't it?" Harry teased the extremely docile Blasting-tailed Skrewt under his command - magical creatures often respect and obey beings that are much stronger than themselves - "When wizards first tamed dragons, they probably didn't know that they had so many uses."

"This is much worse than dragons. Also, why are your Blasting-tailed Skrewts so well-behaved?" Draco frowned at the Blasting-tailed Skrewts that ate whatever Harry fed them.

"Not everyone likes dragons like you." Blaise rolled his eyes.

Harry just laughed.

The Blasting-tailed Skrewts are actually useless, but in his previous life, Harry discovered that the blood of the Blasting-tailed Skrewts and the tail needles used for attack have a special property because of their hybridity. With this property, Harry successfully made a powerful slow-release agent.

Ordinary slow-release agents are generally used to relieve damage and pain caused by black magic or powerful harmful spells. The extremely powerful slow-release agent developed by Harry can even treat the mental damage caused by the Cruciatus Curse. In the previous life, Neville's parents regained their sanity by relying on the potion made by the blasting-tailed skrewts.

Although the blasting-tailed skrewts can be used for almost nothing else, the effect of this slow-release agent is enough to change the attitude of future generations towards the blasting-tailed skrewts.

Although the blasting-tailed skrewts are very docile in front of Harry, Harry has not been able to test what they like to eat, because no matter what Harry hands them, they will eat it all.

In the divination class, Trelawney still predicted Harry's tragic fate this semester. Harry sighed and began to think about whether he really needed to take this class. He really wanted to explore his almost non-existent talent for prophecy, but Trelawney's teaching did not make Harry feel any progress.

He really had no talent for prophecy. Although Trelawney gave him a good score for his standard homework, it was all the result of Harry observing the planets and calculating according to the textbook. It is more like mathematics than prophecy.

Maybe he should take arithmetic divination.

Harry taught Ron and Draco his trick of "making up a tragic fate as homework" to get high scores, and Crabbe and Goyle expressed their strong gratitude to him.

It's obvious that they are even less talented than Harry in divination.

Harry and Draco quickly made the potion in the potion class, and Harry took the opportunity to use the magic output formula he created with the stirring method to shorten the brewing time. When others were still throwing the third herb in, a pot of perfect potion was freshly brewed in Harry's hands.

"How did you do it!" Jones stirred the potion with a slightly strange color in the crucible with sweat on his forehead. "The second step of the potion is to stir it every five minutes before adding the next herb. It's only been about five minutes since you set up the crucible!"

Harry just smiled and said nothing. He couldn't publish this formula until graduation, and Draco didn't even know it.

Professor Moody, or Barty Crouch Jr., walked into the classroom. Harry used the Marauder's Map to identify him in advance, and watched him point out Lavender who was deserting his post as he did in his previous life.

The three unforgivable curses. Harry looked at the three spiders, and Ron shrank back.

Ron answered the Imperius Curse after being pointed out by Moody, and Harry once again enjoyed a spider dancing and performing various performances. Harry heard Jones beside him laughing quietly, but Harry couldn't laugh at all. He knew what kind of spell it was, and in his previous life, he had to use it in some situations.

Next was Neville's answer to Cruciatus Curse. His parents are still lying in St. Mungo's because of this spell.

"So, does anyone else know this kind of spell?"

Moody glanced at the classroom "I remember a teacher told me about a know-it-all—Harry."

"Avada Kedavra." Harry stood up and answered softly.

"Yes, this is the most powerful spell, the Death Curse, the Kedavra Curse, it's all this." Moody took out the third spider.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light - the spider died, and the body slid down the edge of the podium stiffly.

"Not pretty." Moody said, "Very unpleasant, there is no cure. So far, only one person has escaped this curse, and he is standing in front of me now."

Moody looked at Harry with both eyes.

Great actor, Harry commented on little Barty Crouch in his heart.

After class, Harry went to comfort Neville.

"It will be fine." Harry gave him a hug. "I've heard about your parents, you know I'm very good at potions. Maybe I can help them in the future, with potions or spells or something. Neville, everything will be over."

"Yeah." Neville followed Moody to the office, and before leaving, he looked back at Harry with a wet look.

"What happened to him?" Draco, who had just finished class, came over and looked at their backs.

"Neville was frightened by Professor Moody's content in class, and he was going to comfort Neville." Harry said briefly, "Moody mentioned the three unforgivable curses in class, and Neville's parents had mental problems because of the Cruciatus Curse."

"This is the first time I've heard of it." Draco blinked, "I have his class tomorrow, is he teaching well?"

"Not bad." Harry walked towards the hall, "What did Dobby do today?"

"Same old." Draco followed him back, "By the way, speaking of Dobby, is Hermione tinkering with something recently? I heard from Ron that she is particularly concerned about the house-elves."

" Probably." Harry thought about it for a moment. "Hermione was born in a Muggle family. She doesn't have the pure-blood wizards' view that 'house elves should serve humans'. She regards elves as lives like us, not vassals of wizards. It's normal for her to be surprised and resistant to this, otherwise she wouldn't be the Hermione I know."

"Draco, do you also subconsciously think that house elves are servants?"

Draco nodded. "There are many house elves in our family. To be honest, I haven't paid much attention to them since I was a child, except that I would tell them about you when I was a child-"

Draco stopped talking suddenly.

"Talking about me?" Harry's face was covered with a triumphant smirk. "Talking about me what?"

"Nothing, you heard it wrong." Draco retorted with red ears. "I mean, although I have been taken care of by house elves for a long time and have talked to them, I have never thought about this problem."

Harry stared at him with a smile and stopped talking.

Draco looked more and more guilty. Harry had teased him enough and spoke in a good mood, "This is one of the benefits of being born in a Muggle family."

His green eyes sparkled in front of Draco, "They don't have innate prejudices and fixed perceptions. Hermione saw that house-elves can think, speak, have their own personalities and persistence, so she thought that they were no different from humans except for their body and appearance."

"And pure-blood wizards are always used to treating these creatures as inferior servants who depend on them. Because of their prejudice, they naturally cannot realize that their behavior of enslaving house-elves is no different from enslaving slaves in essence."

"--It's just that house-elves are willing to serve humans." Draco murmured and continued Harry's words.

"Being born as a Muggle made Hermione see the plight of the elves, and also made her ignore the strong desire of the house elves to serve humans." Harry sat back to back with Draco on the long table. "You see, the world is always so fair."

Draco looked at the steak and pie in front of him, and looked at Hermione who was wolfing down and seemed to be in a hurry to do something.

"Yes." Draco replied.

The SPEW badge appeared on time, and the group of people around Harry, including Jones and Alisa, were pestered by Hermione to introduce it. Alisa was very interested, but Jones couldn't understand why Hermione would go through so much trouble for these little guys.

Harry happily picked up a badge and did not suggest changing the name - because of the very iconic name S.P.E.W. in the previous life, Hermione's corresponding equal rights department was established very smoothly and soon impressed many people.

"That's great." Hermione nodded. "Ron, you will be our financial manager, Alisa will be our secretary. And Harry can be our chief of staff."

"Hermione." Harry stroked the badge in his hand. "I know you are kind, but the future you expect will be realized a long time later. And if you are not in the Ministry of Magic, it will be even more difficult to rely on publicity and speeches."

"What do you mean?" Draco looked at him.

Draco always liked to see Harry explaining something to others.

"Let's put aside the wizards and just look at the house-elves." Harry took a slow breath. "If you go to the kitchen of Hogwarts now and tell the house-elves that they are all free, they will definitely cry and scream on the spot, as if the sky is about to fall."

Hermione frowned.

"Many house-elves are born to believe that they should serve humans and enjoy it. This means that if you want to achieve this goal, in addition to changing the views of wizards, you must also make the elves realize the meaning of freedom. This cannot be done overnight."

"Oh..." Hermione looked much calmer. "It doesn't matter. I didn't think I could achieve this goal easily, but I will keep working hard-they shouldn't be treated like this!"

Harry looked at Hermione hurriedly recording something, turned his head and smiled at Draco.

"Do you want one too? Be the director of SPEW or something." Harry pointed to the badge on his chest.

"Forget it." Draco declined.

Chapter Text

"Harry!" Jones ran over in a hurry. "Draco! He is quarreling with others!"

"What's going on?" Harry frowned as he looked at Jones who rushed into the library, and then suddenly remembered that this was the time when Draco was turned into a ferret by Moody in his previous life.

Harry lifted his robe and ran out, and Jones followed him closely. "It seems that the senior Slytherin had a conflict with Draco. You know, those senior Slytherins don't like our class. They said that Draco, as a Slytherin, was close to Ravenclaw and even mixed with Gryffindor."

"Now there is a senior Slytherin named Alnon. I don't know why he had a conflict with Ron. It was quite a big fight. Draco and Cedric went there!"

Harry's brows were frowned more and more as he listened.

Harry had heard of this person. His name was Alnon. Both his parents were loyal supporters of Voldemort and believed that pure blood was supreme. He has more problems than Draco in his previous life, and he is arbitrary and tyrannical, which makes him very unpleasant.

A rotten tree cannot be carved, Harry thought coldly in his heart.

"Shoot an arrow in the back - despicable boy!" Harry heard Moody's shout as soon as he arrived. His heart skipped a beat, and he squeezed through the crowd and walked into the center of the chaos, and saw a ferret standing on the ground in a daze.

"Draco!" Harry ran over, and the ferret seemed to understand what happened, and its hair all stood up, especially after seeing Harry. Ron and Hermione, whose faces were red with anger, were stunned, and the noisy crowd fell into a brief silence.

"Draco, be good, come to me." Harry squatted down and stretched out his hand to him, "I'll take care of anything, okay?"

The ferret paused for a while, slipped into Harry's sleeve with a swoosh, and disappeared under his robe.

Abel suddenly emerged from Harry's collar, curling up the tip of his tail that Draco had bitten, and yelled.

Draco nestled in Harry's chest. Harry raised his hand to hold the protruding piece of his robe, and turned to look at the crowd and Moody who was staring at his chest.

"Can anyone tell me what happened here?" Harry looked around the crowd, his tone was frightening, the teacher's unique sternness to the students, "I just got here and saw a teacher violate the school rules and punish students with Transfiguration- Cedric?"

"This matter was instigated by Alnon." Cedric put down his raised hand and walked out of the crowd. Alisa nodded vigorously behind him to show her approval. "He started by insulting Weasley's parents and family, and even ridiculed Granger and Longbottom. His words were very ugly. Everyone here can testify."

There was a murmur of approval from the crowd. Pansy and Blaise expressed their approval loudly, and the Slytherin standing on Alnon's side was silent.

"Draco heard it nearby, and he joined them in an argument with Arnon. Then Professor Moody came, and he wanted to take the opportunity to slip away, and that's when Draco pulled out his wand. Professor Moody probably thought he wanted to do something to his classmates, and then what happened was what you just saw."

Harry nodded to Cedric to express his gratitude, and glanced at Arnon standing aside, "How did you insult them?"

Alnon snorted, but because the professor was watching, he didn't act too presumptuous.

"He called Hermione a mudblood!" Neville shouted angrily, "He said that a Muggle-born wizard like her shouldn't come to Hogwarts to study, and only such lowly people would pay attention to the equally lowly house-elves. He also said that it was a pity that she was not killed when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, and those mudbloods deserved to be killed. He also insulted Ron's family, saying that his family was a shame to the purebloods just like the Malfoys of this generation!"

Harry's eyes turned colder, and he touched Draco's back through his robe as if to comfort him.

"Draco was wrong to attack someone from behind, I apologize to you on his behalf." Harry bowed slightly to Arnon, "But you insulted others first, you also have to apologize to Ron and Draco."

"Insulting other people's families, kid." Moody nodded, "You should apologize more than them."

Alnon apologized with a hum, and his bow was quick and perfunctory.

Moody frowned, but still said nothing.

"Because Mr. Alnon made rude remarks, insulted classmates, discriminated against bloodlines in public, and made personal attacks on Hermione Granger involving life safety, Slytherin was deducted 20 points. And a special mark will be made for three days. I hope all students will take it as a warning."

Everyone was stunned.

At this moment, on the scoreboards of the four colleges, Slytherin's hourglass lost several gems, and a paragraph of green, extremely conspicuous words appeared out of thin air above the hourglass.

Special marking is also a mechanism that Harry tinkered with when he was the headmaster in his previous life. Generally, only when a serious mistake is made will it be marked above the college hourglass. Being marked too many times will also affect the test scores of NEWTs and OWLs, making it difficult to apply for positions related to the Ministry of Magic. It is similar to a weakened version of the demerit punishment in Muggle schools. Only when the student truly repents and obtains the permission of the professor can the special mark be cancelled.

It’s just that the Ministry of Magic doesn’t know this so-called special mark mechanism at all. Harry’s deduction and special mark will take effect because he is the owner of the Hogwarts cornerstone magic circle and the soul mark left by the headmaster in his previous life, which will be recognized and obeyed by Hogwarts.

Although Harry never said it, he really has the power to add or subtract points from the houses. And his power is given by Hogwarts. He can even punish professors, deprive them of the right to add or subtract points or the right to put them in detention.

Harry took the ferret out of his robes, drew his wand, pointed it at him and chanted a spell.

The ferret turned back into Draco with a bang, and almost pressed Harry to the ground when he was caught off guard.

Draco put his arm around Harry's waist to steady him, with a barely perceptible red on his ears. Harry knew that he felt ashamed of being turned into a ferret, so he patted his back and turned to disperse the crowd.

Most of the students came to watch the excitement, and now they were talking to each other and walking away. Arnon's eyes widened as if he had just reacted. "What did you say? You deducted points - you are not a teacher, how could you deduct points from me?"

"I am the successor of the four founders and the current owner of the Hogwarts cornerstone magic circle. Isn't it normal to have the power to add or deduct points?" Harry looked at Arnon with a squint. "If everything is fine, I'll go back first."

"What's the matter with your special mark?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Harry turned and left, and when he passed by Moody, he bumped his shoulder lightly, like a warning reminder.

Moody's magic eyes stared at Harry for a long time, but in the end he said nothing.

"By the way, why did you bite the tip of Abel's tail?" Harry turned to look at Draco. "Abel scolded you for a long time while I was talking."

"I haven't told you this yet!" Draco's emotions immediately began to swell. "Look at your snakes. The white snake is on your chest, the basilisk is wrapped around your thigh, and the black snake's head is almost buried in your collarbone! Can't you let them behave a little bit——"

Draco immediately shut up.

"You are jealous of snakes." Harry blinked and whispered in his ear, "They didn't notice this at all, and I don't think it's a big deal. Besides, the black snake was created by your magic, and his behavior will inherit your will to some extent."

"You are the one who wants to kiss my collarbone, right?"

Draco's ears turned red, but his eyes became increasingly dangerous. "Try it tonight?"

"Try what." Harry jumped away from him, and the gems on his earrings swayed with his movements. "I don't want it, do you think I'm stupid?"

Draco stopped talking.

He knew that Harry was resisting now, but Harry would never really refuse him anything. As long as Draco was firm enough, he could get anything he wanted from Harry.

He was just enduring.

After the ferret incident, Alnon's special mark on the Slytherin scoring hourglass attracted everyone's attention, and the news that Harry was eligible to add or deduct points for the houses spread like the wind throughout Hogwarts. For this reason, the teachers came to him once, and they were relieved after learning about Harry's strict attitude towards adding or deducting points.

Since then, Moody's attitude towards Harry seemed to have changed, and he became more cautious and vigilant.

In the second week of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Moody mainly trained students to resist the control of the Imperius Curse. Many people involuntarily made funny and absurd movements under the influence of the Imperius Curse, and the others laughed on the side, waving their hands or jumping while laughing.

The Imperius Curse will leave certain sequelae for wizards, which can be recovered in about one to two days without potion treatment.

When Moody pointed his wand at Harry, he heard a voice telling him to jump onto the table.

It was just that the voice had no appeal to Harry. It felt like someone talking normally next to your ear. Harry just glanced at the table coldly, then looked up at Moody who was showing a surprised expression.

"I refuse." Harry said, obviously sober, "This is too stupid."

"Very good!" Moody was stunned for a long time before he said loudly, walked up and patted Harry on the shoulder, "The only one who successfully resisted the Imperius Curse, very good!"

Harry was not surprised by this result.

Just as Moody said to students when he taught the three unforgivable curses in his previous life, "Each of you can take out your wand and cast Avada Kedavra on me. I suspect I will only have a nosebleed at most." And Bellatrix once said to Harry, "Your Cruciatus is too weak, as weak as your hatred."

The power of the spell will be greatly affected by the magic reserve, emotions and motivations. With the current magic power of this fake Moody, let alone casting the Imperius Curse on Harry in this situation, even if he casts the Imperius Curse when Harry is completely unprepared and relaxed, the impact will not be much greater than the first time Harry was Imperius Cursed by Moody in his previous life.

Just like a dagger can kill a mouse, but can only leave a painless injury on an elephant.

Not long after this class, the news that representatives of the other two schools will arrive on Halloween Eve. Harry plans to participate in the Halloween dance this year and strive to get Halloween candy from Snape.

The growing blasting-tailed skrewt in the Care of Magical Creatures class gave Harry hope for the birth of the slow-release agent that could cure Neville's parents, so he was probably the most active student in Hagrid's class.

Ron complained to Harry more than once about the overly nervous Filch. Once, he just walked into the castle in a rain-soaked robe, leaving a few drops of clean rain water on the corridor, and was scolded by Filch.

On the day when the warriors arrived, Harry, like many others, waited at the door in advance.

In the evening, Beauxbatons' carriage pulled by Pegasus descended from the sky, and Durmstrang's ship rose from the Black Lake. Hogwarts was decorated anew, and two extra tables were added on both sides of the four long tables in the hall to entertain guests from afar.

As a celebrity in Hogwarts, Harry naturally attracted the attention of the visitors. To Harry's surprise, Krum came over from Slytherin and said he wanted to shake his hand.

"Hello." Krum said so.

"Hello," Harry extended his hand and shook his. "Is this the first time we meet?"

"Actually, it's not for me." Krum looked at him with a light in his eyes. "I just saw a photo from a student. He said it was taken at your school's Quidditch match last year, repeating the flight where you caught the Golden Snitch. Your turn and sprint are as fast as lightning, very, very extraordinary, incomparable, I am not completely sure I can do it. Nice to meet you, Your Highness the Prince of Ravenclaw."

"What?" Harry staggered. "Where did you hear this title from- who told you!"

"It's the student who showed me the photo." Krum couldn't help laughing. "He admires you very much. I have also seen many photos of you. If you are free, would you like to fly together?"

"Of course." Harry replied with a smile.

Draco's eyes were grim, and his eyes wandered from Harry and Krum's hands that were still clasped together and the long table of Slytherin College. It seemed that he was hesitating whether to chop off Krum's hand first or find the fanatic fan who took many photos of Harry.

Blaise held him down tightly.

Harry was approached by no less than three groups of Beauxbatons girls at dinner. The problem is that it was not just a chat, but this kind of chat was not the kind of chat that wanted to develop a relationship with Harry, but the kind of chat that treated Harry as a close friend and sister and wanted to come and get to know him so as to openly appreciate his appearance.

There were also a few girls who wanted to chat with Draco, but Draco's attention was all on Harry, completely ignoring the girls around him.

Some of the boys from Durmstrang were eager to make a move on the girls around Harry, and the girls from Beauxbatons surrounded Harry and asked him what conditioner he usually used to maintain his hair.

"Merlin, I really haven't used any maintenance products." Harry answered weakly amid the chattering questions, "It grew like this completely naturally."

Fleur continued to sniff Harry's hair, then exclaimed, "It's true, there's only the smell of that natural shampoo and a very wonderful body scent, there's no smell of any conditioner or nourishing products at all!"

Harry covered his face and fell on the long table of the college, hoping that Fleur wouldn't say that in a voice that could be heard by the three long tables next door.

Even Cedric looked over here!

It seemed that a few girls touched Harry's collarbone and neck restlessly - maybe it was misplaced, but in Draco's eyes, they just touched.

Draco was completely furious, rushed up and waved away a group of Beauxbatons and a few Durmstrangs who wanted to get close to him, and protected Harry in his arms. A few girls who surrounded Draco and really chatted with him were vigorously brushed aside.

Fleur had guessed that the green-eyed kitten might have a master since she saw the snake-shaped earring. At this time, Draco rushed over and hugged Harry. His hair color and eye color perfectly echoed the single earring on Harry's ear.

Her guess was confirmed.

Fleur sighed secretly in her heart, thinking that this gay friend might not be able to be kidnapped.

The other girls stopped when they saw the good, and they all dispersed with laughter.

"Are you jealous?" Harry patted Draco on the back. "They all came to make friends with me, but the girls on your side have feelings for you. You'd better worry about it."

"I'm worried about nothing." Draco snorted coldly.

"Don't you believe me?" Harry looked up at him, and only the two of them could hear the voice in the noisy hall. "Do you think I will be seduced by those people and break up with you and choose them?"

"Of course you won't!" Draco immediately retorted.

"Then why are you jealous?" Harry rubbed his neck and kissed his collarbone secretly.

"I'm just not happy that they're pestering you." Draco pinched out the black snake that was coiled on Harry's chest, "... I don't want them to covet my Harry."

Harry sighed, still smiling, "You're not a snake, you're obviously a dragon."

"I am." Draco agreed with Harry, "and you're my treasure."

Hedwig flew in with a note in her mouth, with a small paper bag tied to her leg.

Harry unfolded the note.

"Tonight at eleven o'clock."

In the paper bag was a small stone, emitting the unique magical fluctuations of the door key.

Harry took a moment to manifest - there was still half an hour.

"Albel are you sure you want to go with us?" Harry looked at the white snake huddled in his robe.

"Of course! I want to learn hunting too." Albel raised his head.

"You don't have the same body size as me." Caesar ruthlessly shattered Albel's fantasy. "You just followed the master to broaden your horizons this time. You just learned to listen to human language not long ago, and you want to hunt like the master?"

Albel hissed at Caesar angrily. Harry didn't bother to use the Confusion Spell on his bed to pretend that he was still asleep. His actions tonight would probably last until dawn, and he would definitely spend a long time catching up on sleep the next day. It would be better to let Jones know from the beginning that he was not in the dormitory, so as to avoid him from having wild thoughts when he was catching up on sleep.

At exactly eleven o'clock, Harry, with two snakes on his body - the black snake was left in the dormitory by Harry - touched the door key.

His belly button was hooked suddenly, and then he felt dizzy.

Harry landed gently on the ground, and Remus and several people were standing there waiting for him.

"Fuck, this is the helper you mentioned?" One of them frowned fiercely. "A child? What use is he?"

"I developed the potion that cured you myself. What use can I be?" Harry chuckled, and an invisible sense of oppression immediately enveloped him. "If you want to change from a werewolf back to a human, just listen to my orders."

The werewolf closed his mouth.

"Let the hunt begin." Harry hissed in Parseltongue, and Caesar came out of Harry's sleeve with his yellow eyes open.

The half moon hung high above their heads.

Chapter Text

"Greyback is in the town ahead." Lupin pointed to the town in the distance. "He has set his sights on the children in this town. Under my guidance, he brought a group of his confidants here to scout the area. On the next full moon night, they will turn into werewolves, and then each of them will be responsible for the children and teenagers in an area, and try to make all the children turn into werewolves."

"They are here tonight to scout the area and allocate the areas they are responsible for. There is also a small group of confidants outside the village to meet them, to keep watch and to prepare for unexpected situations. Although Greyback is cruel, he is extremely cautious."

Harry's eyes became colder.

"What are the abilities of the people you brought?" Harry glanced at the werewolves over there.

"On a full moon night, their strength will be much worse than that of real werewolves, because they are all close to recovery, and the symptoms and pain of werewolfing on a full moon night are greatly reduced. But in normal times, they are all wizards with quite good strength." Lupin's attitude was a little restrained.

"Very good." Harry took out his wand from his pocket. "Did you bring the personal belongings of Greyback that I asked you to bring?"

The werewolf who had questioned Harry just now took out a tattered piece of clothing.

"Caesar." Harry called the basilisk softly, and Caesar slid along Harry's raised arm to the side of the clothes, sniffing carefully for a long time with his tongue.

"Can you smell where the owner of this piece of clothing is?" Harry asked in Parseltongue.

"There." Caesar pointed to the area in the center of the town with the tip of his tail. "Although the prey are all wild beasts, this beast smells particularly fishy."

"Very good." Harry put Caesar back into his robe. "I already know the location of Greyback. After you deal with the group of confidants who are handed over, surround the town and don't let anyone escape. As soon as Greyback dies, I will send a signal. Except for the part responsible for the siege mission, the rest will immediately subdue the enemy closest to you. If you can't subdue it, try to delay as much time as possible until I or other helpers arrive. If you can't hold on, send a signal, understand?"

Everyone nodded. Harry began to distribute the healing potion he had prepared in advance to them.

"Let's move."

Harry cast a weight-reducing spell on himself in the dark, and walked silently and quickly in the direction pointed by Caesar with an invisibility cloak.

After more than ten minutes, Harry slowed down. He saw Greyback wandering around a house, sniffing from time to time and peeking in through the window.

"Three children." Harry heard him mutter, "Three children, not bad. Although the oldest one is not the most suitable age, it's not bad either. This family must be remembered. Um, wreaths, wreaths on the door, the family near the square. Next full moon night I will bite their parents to death and inject the power of werewolves into their blood."

Greyback suddenly sniffed.

"Who's there?" He turned his head suddenly and looked in the direction of Harry.

Although he couldn't see Harry, his overly sensitive nose was enough for him to smell Harry's scent.

"I can't smell it wrong...Disillusionment spell, or invisibility cloak? Who are you? Come out, I can smell that you are just a child."

Greyback's face was covered with a grim smile.

The transparent cloth in front of him was lifted, revealing a pair of bright yellow, scary eyes underneath.

Before Greyback could say the next sentence, he stopped breathing forever.

Harry cast a temporary space spell on the invisibility cloak to accommodate the basilisk that was too big after it was restored to its original form.

A huge snake head emerged from the invisibility cloak and opened its mouth towards Greyback's body.

Like a python swallowing a mouse, Caesar even complained to Harry that the prey was too small to eat.

"Why didn't you complain when you ate chicken before?" Harry shrank the basilisk after eating it, but did not cancel the space spell cast inside the invisibility cloak.

"When I ate chicken, it was not as big as it is now. A little bit is enough to eat." Caesar said, nestling in Harry's robes. "Are those humans not done yet? They are so weak."

Harry continued to wait for a while, and estimated that Lupin and the others should have completed the encirclement, so he raised his wand and pointed it to the sky.

A huge white phoenix appeared under the night sky, circling around the town.

The white phoenix flashed by, but it was enough for the other werewolves to realize that something was wrong.

They roared to wake up the townspeople and create chaos so that they could escape, but the rest of the werewolves immediately cast silence or lock their throats on them under Lupin's prior order. Several spell lights suddenly lit up in the darkness, accompanied by subtle fighting and chanting.

But overall, it was still quiet.

A red spark suddenly lit up. In the code they agreed on, this was a signal for help.

Harry immediately threw his invisibility cloak and ran in that direction.

The people who were asking for help were besieged by three werewolves who gathered together. The three werewolves cooperated very well, and they were fierce in every move while fighting three against one.

Harry threw out a quick lock, followed by three consecutive knockdowns.

The quick lock was to prevent the werewolves from hurting the member of Lupin's faction who was caught off guard and was besieged, and Harry's silent knockdown was powerful and there were three consecutive knockdowns. The spell light seemed to have only flashed for a moment, and the three werewolves had already fallen to the ground.

The member's eyes widened, and he realized who helped him after seeing Harry take off his invisibility cloak.

"Take them out of the village, don't alarm the villagers." Harry whispered to him, and turned to rush to the next prey that Caesar had smelled out.

The village is not big, and the people Lupin brought are not ordinary people. Except for the members who were attacked by multiple werewolves, the rest can perfectly complete the delaying task. Harry's wandering and help allow more members to withdraw to help the rest.

Two hours later, the werewolves in the village have been basically cleared. Two of the werewolves who were hiding were also caught by Caesar and Harry.

All the captured werewolves were placed in the forest near the village, where there was a simple camp set up by Lupin and his team. Next to the camp was a pile of confiscated wands, neatly tied into a bundle with ropes.

"This group is Greyback's confidants. Because we were just scouting tonight, they were very relaxed. We successfully ambushed them without much effort." Lupin pointed to the three tied people. "Except for them, the others are here to scout the area and prepare for the werewolves who will come here on the full moon night next year."

This group of werewolves has 18 people, not counting the confidants. Even if it is not the full moon night, they have more or less wolf characteristics.

One of the members took a basin of water and poured it directly on one of the werewolves.

The werewolf who was splashed with water coughed and woke up. When he opened his eyes, he was facing Lupin and his colleagues.

"This is Fed, the weakest and most opportunistic one in Greyback's faction." Lupin introduced softly.

"Not bad." Harry leaned over and pinched Fed's chin, asking him to look around at the circle of werewolves that were captured.

"See clearly." Harry gave him a barely perceptible smile. "Everyone in your faction is here. If you don't want to die, answer our questions obediently."

Feder nodded tremblingly.

"Has Voldemort contacted Greyback?" Harry asked him.

"Yes... yes." Feder carefully observed Harry's expression. Although he looked like a half-grown child, the people around him stood around him. Obviously, he was the real core of this team. He was very good at observing people's expressions and judging the situation, just as Lupin said.

So he betrayed his old master without hesitation.

"Although Boss Greyback said that the person he handed over to was a Malfoy instead of the You-Know-Who himself, that person showed the Boss the Dark Mark on his arm and tried to persuade him to join their team. The Boss originally hoped to stir up trouble in the wizarding world and infect more people. If he cooperated with the You-Know-Who, all his requirements would be perfectly met, so he immediately agreed and boasted about it to us very proudly."

"It seems that everything is going well." Harry said, "So, do you remember who these people are, and how many people they have infected and killed?"

"How can I remember so much." Fed shook his head, "They carry out an attack every month, and they have visited many smaller towns. A month is enough time for us to find targets and enter. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Then, the basilisk's head, which was a little bigger than before, poked out from the invisibility cloak and swallowed Fede in one gulp before he could scream.

Caesar ate heartily.

"Harry!" Lupin's face turned pale.

There was no response, and it was as quiet as death inside the invisibility cloak. The basilisk swallowed the fruits of tonight's hunting bit by bit, and even felt a little full in the end.

After being shrunk by Harry, Caesar quickly fell into the drowsiness brought by the fullness, yawning and fell into a deep sleep.

"Have you considered contacting the Ministry of Magic and putting them in Azkaban, or letting Dementors eat their souls, instead of letting me use Caesar to lynch them here?" Harry turned to look at Lupin, his face was frighteningly pale. "Think about it, if that stupid guy Fudge knew the news, wouldn't he publicize this achievement? Would he believe the news that Voldemort has returned? He would definitely publish this matter in every newspaper - look, Fudge has caught so many werewolves who have harmed others during his time in power, they will ask... After clearing the charges, give each of them a Dementor's kiss under the intense reaction of the people..."

"If they are imprisoned in Azkaban alive, I am sure that they will be rescued from there by Voldemort in the future."

"Rather than handing them over to Azkaban and letting the news leak out, it is better to let them disappear from this world tonight."

"For you, you can use this opportunity to show your strength, successfully seize the power in Greyback's hands, and take over the entire werewolf camp. And, you can safely spread the word that you have the ability to cure "This is the best and only way." Harry looked at Lupin and the members behind him who also looked a little uncomfortable.

"At least Caesar told you not to worry about how to make these twenty-one people evaporate out of thin air."

"I know, Harry, I know this is the only way." Lupin looked at him with a pale face.

"I just can't accept witnessing the death of so many people all at once."

"Think about their sins." Harry touched the sleeping Caesar's head. "How many children have they infected and how many people have they killed? You are one of them, aren't you, Remus? Because of their behavior, there are so many people who join you. They reap what they have sown. Even if they are sentenced by wizard law, they will finally get a Dementor's kiss. "

"Don't embarrass yourself with your conscience for the death of a group of scum and beasts."

"They don't deserve it." Harry's tone was calm and cold, and Lupin was surprised to find that he actually calmed down in his voice and lost his sympathy for these twenty people. Lupin recalled the sight of a werewolf drooling over a one-year-old baby in the window when he participated in the capture.

"They are indeed unworthy." He continued in a very light voice.

Harry was not like this when he was young in his previous life. In his previous life, he was immediately recognized because he only used Stunning Spells and Expelliarmus on Death Eaters while escaping on broomsticks with seven Potters who used Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as him.

He was still a very kind child at that time. The few times he used the Unforgivable Curse were all forced by the situation to complete the goal, or under extremely intense emotions.

But later he grew up and found that the world of adults was much more complicated than he had imagined. There are many people who can even use their own lives as chips on the gambling table for money and power.

When Harry was the headmaster, many people thought he was a headmaster who was too young. After the war, there were several people competing for the position of Minister at the Ministry of Magic. When Hermione just became the Director of the Legal Department, several candidates for Minister came to win her over and test her position.

The man who defeated the other candidates and became the new Minister wanted to become the headmaster of Hogwarts and appointed his confidants as professors.

Because he felt that if he became the headmaster, he could become the object of their admiration and worship when the students were young. Then when they grew up, they would naturally support him who was also the Minister of Magic. In this way, he could sit in the Minister's chair for a long time and pass on the position of Minister.

And Harry realized at that time that being just a headmaster would not be enough to completely protect Hogwarts.

So he severely reprimanded the newly appointed, greedy Minister in his office. At that time, many teachers gathered around the headmaster's office, and Draco stood behind Harry to give him silent support. Flitwick loudly rebuked the minister. Even before Principal McGonagall's body was cold and Hogwarts had not recovered from the grief of her death, he hurried over with his men to question McGonagall's decision.

"Harry is too young. He doesn't have the qualifications and level to be a principal - not to mention that his, oh, husband, is such a bastard. Obviously, I am the most suitable candidate." The minister and his subordinates were arrogant.

What will interests and power turn people into?

Harry fully understood the answer to this question after that day.

He stood up like an angry lion.

The lion's roar resounded in every corner inside and outside the office that day. Harry grabbed the minister's collar and threw him to the top seat in the hall reserved for the principal, and asked the students sitting at the long table loudly whether they were willing to let the minister replace him and become their new principal.

The minister was frightened by Harry's anger and roar, and his face turned pale. Harry grabbed his collar and threw him to that position like a lion holding a trembling prey.

The voices of the four colleges were surprisingly unified that day.

It was on that day that Harry transformed himself from a headmaster into a king.

His loyalty and strength were recognized by Hogwarts, and she obeyed the rule of this king.

Later, the minister came up with a solution. He found a high-sounding excuse and sent Harry to Asia to do a trivial matter. He thought that if Harry left Hogwarts, he could do whatever he wanted.

Harry took Draco away and encountered a wintersweet tree in the winter of Asia. When they came back a few months later, the minister and his chosen men could not step into Hogwarts.

After that, the minister did not give up and made a lot of trouble, including but not limited to creating public opinion unfavorable to Harry and constantly putting pressure on the school. And what really angered Harry was the attack on his marriage with Draco. The minister even thought of finding a crime to hold Draco, who was once a Death Eater, hostage to force Harry to obey.

Harry was furious. He threw away all his patience and tolerance and forced the minister to step down with the support of the pure-blood families headed by Malfoy and the professors in the school.

The minister who was helped to take office by Harry was a seventh-grade student he taught in his first year as a professor. He was impeccable in all aspects. But such a good child changed his heart after tasting the taste of power, and was getting further and further away from the kind and fair appearance at the beginning.

He went from being protected by others to protecting others. When he grew up, he was thrown into the world by fate and rolled around. Only then did he realize that not everyone would always stick to their original intentions.

Later, Harry became stronger and stronger, and achieved more and more. He even repelled the core of the black fog in that disaster and saved the magic world again.

Everyone knows that Harry is the uncrowned king of the magic world. His majesty and kindness, his justice and iron fist, and the long-standing romantic story between him and his husband are always known to people.

After finally becoming a protector, Harry finally understood that in many cases, under the premise of fairness and appropriateness, cruelty, toughness, and blood must be shed.

——For the greater good.

After simply dealing with the villagers who saw them in the town, using Obliviate on them and dealing with all traces. When the operation was completely over, the sky in the distance had turned pale.

Harry accompanied Lupin back to the werewolf base camp, and after confirming that the remaining people of Greyback's faction could not cause any trouble, he returned to Hogwarts with peace of mind using the portkey.

It was already 6:30 in the morning when Harry returned to Hogwarts, and Jones had already gotten up. He simply washed up, pulled down the curtains of the four-poster bed and fell asleep.

The effect of the refreshing potion had dissipated completely during the fight in the early morning, and Harry fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow. In order to prevent Draco from sensing that he was not in Hogwarts, Harry specially left the pocket watch on the bedside table.

Harry slept until four in the afternoon. When he opened his eyes, he was still drowsy. He woke up after Draco washed and changed his clothes. He yawned.

"Where did you go last night?" Draco squinted at him, sat on the bed with Harry, and touched his waist restlessly.

Harry was no longer sleepy because of that hand. He just said that he went to the secret room of the cornerstone magic circle to study books at night, and found a very interesting magic book. Because there is no day and night change in the secret room, and he forgot the time because of his fascination with the study, he realized that it was already dawn when he reacted.

"Don't do it next time." Draco pinched the flesh on his waist and squeezed out a gasp. "If I find you again, I don't mind letting you sleep after consuming some physical strength, so that you won't run around, right?"

Harry blushed and slapped his hand away.

"Are you still going to study the book from last night?" Draco put his head on Harry's shoulder and kissed his face. "The candidates for the Triwizard Tournament will be revealed tonight. Do you want to go and see?"

"No." Harry frowned. "What's the point of going? I'm not interested. It happens that everyone is in the Great Hall tonight, and there are not many people in the school. Why don't you go on a date with me?"

He will definitely be one of the candidates for the Goblet of Fire tonight. Harry is too lazy to go there and be talked about by everyone. Harry originally thought of hiding at Snape's place. Anyway, no one dared to look for him there.

But Draco came, and Harry immediately changed the location.

"I'll ask Dobby to deliver our dinner there." Harry smiled and kissed Draco's lips. "What about a candlelight dinner?"

Chapter Text

"Viktor Krum, the champion of Durmstrang." Dumbledore read out the name on the note.

Applause and cheers rang out in the hall, especially from Durmstrang. Ron looked around in the noise, "Where's Harry? Why isn't he here?"

"I don't know, Draco isn't here either." Hermione replied, "Maybe they went on a date in Hogsmeade."

"Fleur Delacour, the champion of Beauxbatons!"

A new round of applause and cheers rang out, and many boys cheered loudly, even standing on the table to attract her attention.

"Why isn't Harry even interested in the announcement of the champion's identity?" Ron muttered, no one in the noisy hall could hear him talking.

"The next one is Hogwarts!" Jones shook Michael's shoulders excitedly. "It's a pity that Harry didn't come!"

"I think this is in line with Harry's character." Michael nodded seriously. "Harry might be studying some spells or potions in the library."

"Hogwarts's champion, Cedric Diggory!"

"Okay, now the three champions have been selected. Please go to the next room, and no matter which college you are from--"

The Goblet of Fire suddenly burst out red sparks again.

Dumbledore frowned and grabbed another piece of parchment that appeared from it, and read out the name on it.

"Harry Potter."

"What?" Ron and many others were stunned. The hall suddenly became quiet, and then there was a burst of noise.

No one stood up.

"Harry?" Dumbledore called again.

"Headmaster, Harry is not here!" Michael answered loudly, "He is not in the hall!"

"Does anyone know where Harry went?" Dumbledore asked.

No one answered, Jones stood up hurriedly, "I will go back to the dormitory to find him, Harry may be there!"

"But - today is Hogsmeade Day!" Hermione was also a little flustered, "Harry and Draco are not here, they may have gone to a date somewhere, or somewhere else -"

The hall was in a mess.

"Dobby's cooking skills are getting better and better." Harry drank a sip of the wine poured by Draco. He didn't know what kind of wine it was, but he could taste that the wine was very light. Even if Harry had a poor alcohol tolerance, he would not get drunk after drinking a bottle in a row.

"Yeah." Draco picked up the wine glass and clinked it with Harry's. "Dobby has always been very enthusiastic about you. Even though he has been keen on talking to Hermione about SPEW recently, he has not neglected his service to you."

Harry chuckled with an ambiguous meaning, pushed away the empty plate and stood up, took all the light wine in the glass into his mouth, leaned over and kissed Draco's lips across the table.

It took them three minutes to finish this half sip of wine.

Draco's breath was hot, he walked around the table and hugged Harry, and kissed him again regardless of anything.

The matter of daily quota was forgotten by the two.

"Enough." Harry pushed him away after feeling Draco's body reaction.

"Won't you help me?" Draco lowered his head to kiss Harry's ear with the golden snake. "We still have a long time."

With a loud bang, the door of the Room of Requirement was kicked open by someone.

Draco was startled, and his face darkened immediately after he turned his head. "Blaise, what are you doing here?"

Blaise was panting heavily, as if he had just done intense exercise. "Harry, go find Principal Dumbledore - you have been selected as the champion of Hogwarts!"

"Are you kidding?" Harry raised his eyebrows. "I didn't put my name in, and I'm not old enough to participate in the competition. How could I be selected as a champion?"

"Don't ask, go first, many people are looking for you!" Blaise wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his expression became even more speechless after seeing the layout of the Room of Requirement. "You- it's so chaotic outside, you still have the mind to have a candlelight dinner here?"

Harry smiled and patted Draco on the shoulder, threw him a look of "solve it yourself", and left the Room of Requirement leisurely.

In short, when Harry came to the room where the warriors gathered, a long time had passed.

"You're here." Fleur looked at Harry. "You've kept us waiting for a long time."

"Sorry." Harry said. "But I didn't put my name into the Goblet of Fire, so I didn't know I would be chosen."

Moody still spoke out loudly about the possibility that Harry might have been murdered, just like in his previous life. Harry enjoyed the scene of the culprit crying thief for a while.

After some heated discussion, they were briefed on the rules and warned that the first task would "test their courage." Harry knew that the other schools—Beauxbatons and Durmstrang—would leak the task to their champions ahead of time.

Harry gave a cold look toward Madam Maxime and Karkaroff.

Dumbledore wanted Hogwarts to win too, but he would never leak the task.

Harry walked out of the room shoulder to shoulder with Cedric, letting out a heavy sigh.

“It’s okay, Harry.” Cedric patted his shoulder. “Whoever tried to get you hurt won’t succeed. The professors will keep you safe.”

“You believe me?” Harry asked, looking up.

“Of course—I don’t believe for a second that you put your name in the Goblet! Sure, you might be able to get past the age line, but you’d never do it for attention. I know what kind of person you are, Harry. I’ve played enough Quidditch with you to know.”

"Thank you." Harry finally showed a real smile. When he returned to the hall, he saw his friends still sitting at the long table of the college waiting for him, even Alisa was there.

"Harry!" Hermione stood up immediately after seeing him. "What did Professor Dumbledore say?"

Before Harry could answer, Cedric spoke first. “The professors aren’t blaming Harry. But he can’t back out of the Tournament—he has to compete.”

Then Cedric mentioned Moody’s theory about someone Confunding the Goblet to get Harry killed through the dangerous tasks.

“Harry!” Hermione’s face paled. “You have to be careful. I’ve read descriptions of the past Triwizard Tournaments in the library—people really died in those!”

“I’m not afraid,” Harry replied crisply, his tone oddly flat. “I mean—aren’t any of you suspicious? That maybe I did put my name in?”

“What are you talking about, Harry?” Anthony sighed. “We know what kind of person you are. If you really did it for attention, we’d be more inclined to believe you were a Polyjuiced imposter.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll be fine. I know how to take care of myself. You all should head to bed—it’s late.”

Before leaving, Ron clapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Harry. We don’t know who’s trying to harm you, but we’ll always have your back.”

Harry’s eyes softened as he looked at his friends. “I know. And I believe in you all too.”

He remembered how, in his past life, Ron stopped talking to him for weeks over this—but then showed up pale-faced and frantic after the first task, running to the hospital wing to make sure he was okay.

That night, Ravenclaw hosted a loud celebration. Professor Flitwick had originally come to tell them to quiet down and sleep, but ended up getting pulled into the party, drinking butterbeer along with his students.

“I’m worried about your safety, too, Harry,” Luna said, dragging him into the party. “But being worried and being happy that you’re a champion aren’t mutually exclusive. Come on, have some butterbeer!”

After Harry was forced to drink three cups of butterbeer in a row, someone still wanted to drape the Ravenclaw banner on him. He was so annoyed that he fled back to the dormitory and wrote a letter to Sirius to explain the matter.

But when Harry wanted to sleep, he couldn't sleep because it had not been long since he woke up in the afternoon.

Harry sighed heavily, got up from the bed in the middle of the night, set up a crucible and boiled a dose of life and death water for himself.

Caesar had slept until now after eating, and Abel didn't wake up no matter how he called him. He was so angry that he slept next to Harry's pillow and swore that after Caesar woke up, he would ignore him for a whole day.

Early the next morning, Harry received a reply from Sirius. In the letter, he comforted Harry and told him not to worry too much, saying that he could come to him at any time if he encountered any problems in the competition, and sent him the two-way mirror.

"The password is my name," the letter said.

No friends alienated him because of suspicion, no badge with the words "Potter Stinky Shit", everything was fine, except Professor Trelawney in the Divination class.

She had somehow gotten wind of Moody’s suspicions and spent the entire class talking about omens of death, acting like Harry was destined to die in the Tournament.

To avoid the stares and gossip at Hogwarts, Harry spent most of his free time either brewing potions with Snape in the dungeons, or studying the books and manuscripts left in the Founders’ hidden chamber.

And a diary left by Godric Gryffindor aroused Harry's interest.

One page of it said that he dreamed of a person when he was dreaming at night. The man looked like a golden ghost, playing chess with another stranger. Godric wanted to get closer to see their chessboard, but was stopped by the man.

The man asked him "Who are you?"

He replied "I am Godric Gryffindor."

The man said "Oh, I know you. You are one of the four people who built Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I have watched you."

Godric frowned in his dream and asked the man "Who are you?"

The man said "You can call me: Merlin Ambrosius."

Godric suddenly woke up from his dream.

Harry was very interested in one sentence in this dream diary.

Merlin in the dream said to Godric "I have watched you."

And in the third grade, the phrase "Merlin's watch" also appeared in Trelawney's prophecy.

Are the two related?

Merlin died a long time ago. Although the wizarding world generally believed that Merlin was immortal after becoming a god, and often talked about Merlin's beard in daily life, no one had ever seen him.

Merlin is to the wizarding world as God is to Muggles.

Has anyone really seen Merlin? No. But Merlin always lives in the minds of every wizard.

Harry sat on the sofa in the secret room and fell into deep thought, and finally decided to put it aside for the time being.

He had more urgent things to deal with.

It wasn't long before Rita Skeeter came to interview the warriors. Harry finished his potion early in the potions class, handed it in, and left with Colin.

Harry had seen her before when Sirius was vindicated, and at this time, he just sat in front of her calmly when facing her interview.

“So, Mr. Potter. Do you still remember your parents?” Rita asked, eyes blazing with interest.

"Of course." Harry nodded calmly. "They loved me with their lives and let me escape the death given by Voldemort - how could I forget them?"

Rita’s quill had been writing, “His emerald eyes welled up with tears at the mention of his parents.” But hearing his reply, she quickly crossed it out and wrote what he had actually said, adding, “His voice carried a quiet, enduring sorrow.”

“I hear your grades are excellent?”

“It’s all thanks to my professors.” Harry’s tone was modest but subtly confident. “I’m simply standing on the shoulders of those who came before me.”

In his past life, that damn quill had slandered him countless times. But Harry had since learned how to deal with Rita and her magic quill—while it hunted for gossip, it also respected strength. Both Rita and her quill were like magical beasts: reverent before superior power.

So, Harry discreetly released a wave of magical energy, coating the room in a subtle, heavy pressure.

The interview went smoothly. Harry saw the notes—nothing outrageous.

Because of the lengthy interview, by the time Harry did his wand-check, the other champions had already finished.

He handed over his wand.

"Yes, yes, I remember this wand. Burgundy wood and thestral tail hair, thirteen inches, and gold wire and gems used to stabilize the material. This combination is a collision of life and death. After my great-great-grandfather made it, it waited for a full 182 years for you to become its master."

Olivander chattered, picked up the wand and waved it.

A ball of dark gas floated out, constantly decaying and dying, and at the same time nourishing golden new life after decaying. The gas kept changing between black-green and gold-white, cyclically and endlessly.

Like a phoenix that died and reborn again and again.

"It's in very good condition, obviously, isn't it? And this wand always fits you perfectly, which is rare."

Olivander handed the wand back to Harry, and Harry took the frangipani wand and put it back in his pocket.

That night, Harry received a reply from Lupin.

The reply briefly summarized what happened to the werewolf camp after Greyback's death during this period. Lupin won over almost all the werewolves with the healing version of the wolfsbane potion, and he is now the leader of the werewolf camp that is about to disappear.

At the end of the letter, Lupin said that he had learned about the recent events in Hogwarts from Sirius. He cared about Harry for several words, saying that although he absolutely trusted Harry's ability, if he needed it, he and Sirius would always be behind him whenever he encountered difficulties.

These words gave him strength.

In the days before the game, Krum followed Hermione to the library as he did in his previous life. Ron complained to Harry in the hall about the group of girls who always followed Krum to the library but chattered instead of studying.

"You just don't like Krum." Harry said slowly while drinking his soup.

Ron was stunned, "How could that be? I admire him very much. His fake move in the Quidditch World Cup..."

His voice slowly lowered, and then Ron said puzzledly, "I seem to dislike Krum a little, but why? There is no reason."

Harry sighed in his heart.

Of course it's because Krum has taken a fancy to your future wife, and you don't even know you like her yet.

Harry just patted Ron on the shoulder.

For matters like feelings, he still has to see it himself.

Not long after, Hagrid sent him an invitation.

“Midnight. My hut. Bring your Invisibility Cloak.”

Harry knew: Hagrid was going to show him the dragons.

Draco, who just wanted to spend a romantic night with his boyfriend but got ditched last minute:
“Mr. Crouch Jr., what could possibly be so urgent?”

Chapter Text

The Hungarian Horntail roared and collapsed after being hit with multiple Stunning Spells by the dragon handlers.

Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders, ignoring Hagrid who was deep in conversation with Madame Maxime. Unlike his first shock at facing a dragon in his past life, Harry's focus this time was elsewhere.

The combined Stunning Spells from the dragon handlers had created an effect powerful enough to take down even a Horntail. If it were him casting, Harry mused, his own Stunner would need to be equally potent - just enough to incapacitate a dragon.

This time, Harry had no intention of confronting the dragon on a broomstick. Instead, he would use the two-way mirror developed by Fred and George to show everyone the scene of Voldemort's resurrection. With the coming panic, Harry needed to demonstrate absolute, overwhelming power from the very beginning - to steady the wizarding world's nerves.

After his resurrection, Voldemort would undoubtedly try to take control of the Ministry, and Harry wouldn't let him succeed this time. Harry's future plans depended heavily on this display of strength.

A weak leader inspires no confidence. Only when people witness their champion's unparalleled power and skill will they believe in and support him.

Harry remained silent during the return journey, mentally preparing his strategy for tomorrow's confrontation with the dragon.

---

The next day, Harry informed Cedric about the dragons - just as he had in his previous life. Since he and Cedric were much closer now than before, Harry shared the news directly without hesitation.

The fake Moody once again praised Harry's noble character, though Harry knew the man must be secretly furious - Harry had voluntarily given up a significant advantage.

Now that he thought about it... Had Moody manipulated Hagrid into showing Harry the dragons?

---

As the first task approached, the atmosphere at Hogwarts grew increasingly tense. While the other three champions appeared nervous and constantly preparing, Harry's calm composure became a topic of discussion. After three years of hearing about Harry's adventures, Hogwarts students were convinced he must have found some brilliant solution. Students from the other schools, resentful that Hogwarts had two champions, claimed Harry had simply given up, knowing he couldn't compete.

Harry didn't need to prepare - or rather, what he needed to face the dragon couldn't be acquired through last-minute preparation.

Powerful magical reserves and an Auror's combat experience couldn't be gained in a few days. He had all the foundation he needed for confidence.

Meanwhile, strange rumors circulated through Gryffindor - the ever-inventive Weasley twins had developed something new, which Dumbledore had permitted for use in the Tournament.

"Harry will definitely come first in any competition!" Michael declared loudly at the long table the night before the task. As one of Harry's most devoted fans - nearly as bad as Colin - he added, "Harry always wins!"

Harry bonked Michael's head with a breadstick.

---

The next morning, Harry was called into the champions' tent to select his dragon. As expected: Hungarian Horntail.

After playing with the miniature model for a moment, Harry pocketed it, keeping it away from the ever-curious Abel.

Caesar still hadn't woken from his meal, and since Harry didn't constantly speak Parseltongue, Abel had grown bored enough to try teaching the black snake to talk.

Before the task began, Harry's diary lit up repeatedly with messages from Draco:

"Harry - it's dragons! They're making you face a dragon to get the golden egg!"

"I know," Harry wrote back.

"This is dangerous!" Draco's handwriting grew frantic. "Do you have a plan? Don't be scared, don't panic."

You're the one panicking, Harry thought, tapping the diary with his finger.

When his turn finally came, Harry tied his long hair into a low ponytail, gripped his wand firmly, and stepped out of the tent.

The crowd's cheers hit him like a physical wave.

The Hungarian Horntail crouched in the arena, smoke and sparks puffing from its nostrils. Harry released his magic, creating a palpable pressure that only magical creatures could sense.

Magical creatures naturally submit to beings far stronger than themselves - and this dragon was no exception. The Horntail immediately sensed Harry as a serious threat.

With an angry roar, it shielded its eggs and adopted a defensive stance.

"What's happening?" Bagman's commentary rang with confusion. "Harry hasn't done anything yet, but the dragon already seems alarmed!"

The dragon moved.

It suddenly spewed extremely high-temperature flames at Harry, who cast a powerful Shield Charm. The white-glowing protection was completely engulfed by roaring fire.

The stands erupted in screams.

Then - a burst of blue light tore through the flames with unstoppable force!

Harry's modified, enhanced Freezing Spell exploded across the arena. The ice-blue magic swallowed all the dragonfire's heat, chilling the entire area instantly.

The Horntail shrieked and redirected its flames to warm its eggs instead.

In that moment of distraction, Harry flicked his wand.

"Sectumsempra!"

The arena filled with the dragon's pained roar.

Deep gashes appeared along the Horntail's wings and body. Though its natural healing ability slowly closed the wounds, the injuries remained gruesome.

These were wounds that had penetrated dragonhide.

Harry had secretly used mithril - the anti-magical creature metal he'd transfigured from a matchstick in first-year Transfiguration. Pressed against his wand tip, it allowed his spells to bypass much of the dragon's natural armor.

Enraged, the Horntail took flight, determined to shred this human with gravity-assisted claws.

Harry raised his wand again.

As the dragon dove, Harry cast a Cushioning Charm against the wind, rolled away from its talons, then used a Lightening Charm-enhanced jump to clear the sweeping tail.

At the perfect moment - when the dragon passed overhead - Harry channeled all his magic into a single, overpowered Relashio.

The spell struck the existing wounds, bypassing the dragonhide entirely. The Horntail's wing muscles went limp mid-flight.

CRASH! The dragon fell like a meteor, shaking the ground.

Unlike other champions who'd distracted or tricked their dragons, Harry had chosen the most direct approach - overwhelming magical force that shattered all defenses.

His graceful movements suggested he still had energy to spare.

Harry casually collected the golden egg from the incapacitated dragon.

In truth, those spells had drained most of his magic. But appearances mattered - he needed to project absolute strength.

The crowd was silent.

Then - "Merlin's beard! Did you see that? Harry Potter - our youngest champion - has retrieved the golden egg in record time!"

The stands exploded. Ravenclaws jumped up, screaming Harry's name and waving banners.

Holding the egg, Harry bowed elegantly, as if concluding a grand performance.

Back in the champions' tent, Cedric - face still smeared with ointment - hugged him fiercely. "You actually defeated it! Merlin, Harry, your power is unbelievable!"

Harry smiled and offered him a small vial. "Try this. Works better than that salve, and no scarring."

Their friends burst in moments later. Hermione's face was scratched from nervous clawing. "You were brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Draco looked worse - lips bloody from biting, face deathly pale. He crushed Harry in a trembling embrace.

Draco's heart pounded. He'd heard about Harry's past dangers, but witnessing it was different. When those flames engulfed Harry, when the dragon dove - he'd been terrified.

Yet Harry had cut through everything like a sword. That powerful, elegant bow had stolen Draco's breath.

His trembling wasn't from fear... but excitement.

He wanted to kiss him.

Merlin, that bow had done things to Draco. Harry's triumphant smile nearly...

"Out, all of you!" Madam Pomfrey shooed them. "One visitor per champion!"

Not even Ron protested when Draco stayed.

Alone, Draco kissed Harry hungrily against the tent wall - all teeth and desperation. Harry responded until his lips went numb.

"Enough," Harry finally pushed him back. "Someone could come in."

"Tonight then," Draco breathed. "The Room of Requirement?"

Harry answered with another kiss.

When Harry returned for scores, even Karkaroff dared not lowball him. Bagman's perfect ten put Harry securely in first - just as Michael had predicted.

Harry knew Bagman had bet heavily on him. The man had even tried leaking tasks.

That night, Dobby served a feast worthy of kings, leaving a note: "Dobby watched! Harry Potter is being the greatest wizard! Serving you is Dobby's honor!"

Harry also witnessed Neville turn into a canary from Weasley sweets. He made a mental note: The twins' improved two-way mirrors would be perfect for the underwater second task.

Amid celebrations, Harry slipped to the Room of Requirement under his cloak.

Draco pinned him the moment he entered.

After mutual... relief... Harry produced the Horntail model. "Like it? I know you still miss Norberta."

Draco's eyes darkened. "Let's actually do it."

"We're fourteen," Harry pointed out.

"The Room provides," Draco countered, making Harry swat him.

"Just get your Yule Ball robes ready," Harry said. "You're dancing with me."

"They don't allow same-sex pairs for the opening dance."

Harry smirked. "They will after we've already done it."

Later, Harry contacted Sirius via two-way mirror.

"Clever trick with the mithril!" Remus praised. "But Merlin, Harry - that power! Even Dumbledore—"

"Found a date yet?" Sirius interrupted with a wink.

Harry grinned boyishly. "I'll ask him."

"Wait - HIM?!" Sirius choked as Harry quickly disconnected.

Honestly, Harry thought as he pet Caesar, how much more obvious could he be? The hair? The earring? Even Hermione had figured it out first year!

Harry thought as he touched Caesar's head, who had not woken up after eating, and fell asleep under the quilt.

Chapter Text

Ever since Harry came out to Sirius that night, his godfather had been subtly—and not-so-subtly—trying to figure out which boy had caught his godson’s heart. Sirius had accepted it quickly—or rather, he’d realized that Harry’s preferences weren’t something he could change, so he’d had no choice but to come to terms with it.

Sirius’s first guesses had been Ron and Jones, but Harry refused to budge, only saying that Sirius would find out at the Yule Ball.

Somehow, Sirius had managed to wrangle an invitation to the event, determined to uncover the mystery.

When Draco found out, he’d been nervous for days, dragging Harry into secret dance practices every night.

They were practicing a waltz written by a wizard centuries ago for his male lover—a dance with no "lead" or "follow," only equal partners supporting each other. Harry, considering the outfit he planned to wear, chose the most graceful and understated version.

Harry had never been much of a dancer in his past life, but after marrying Draco, he’d attended enough balls to become decent. Draco, however, had never learned this particular dance, leaving Harry to teach him step by step.

(Whether Draco had *deliberately* needed extra instruction was something Harry chose not to dwell on.)

Meanwhile, Hermione, just like in Harry’s past life, had accepted Krum’s invitation. Harry had tried—and failed—to nudge Ron into action, but the redhead remained oblivious.

If you’re so jealous, just ask her yourself!

Harry wanted to scream.

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

----

The Great Hall glittered with enchantments as the Yule Ball began. Draco stood near the dance floor in an aristocratic black robe embroidered with the Malfoy crest in gold—his finest, shipped from home just for tonight. Ron, thanks to Harry’s gift of proper dress robes, no longer had to suffer through the ghastly hand-me-downs, looking far more polished than in Harry’s past life.

Draco tapped his foot impatiently, eyes fixed on the entrance. Sirius, lurking near the staff table, was no calmer, gaze darting around for any sign of Harry.

The Ball was about to start, and the Triwizard Champion was nowhere to be seen.

Draco barely noticed Hermione’s grand entrance on Krum’s arm.

Then—

Silence fell over the hall like a spell.

Harry had arrived.

Draco’s breath caught.

Harry’s hair, usually tied back, cascaded freely past his waist tonight, the left side tucked behind his ear to reveal an unusual earring. The gemstone dangling from it nearly brushed his shoulder.

His robes were white, the fabric shifting into translucent layers at the hem, like water. Silver and gold constellations shimmered across the fabric, sixteen sapphires marking the stars of Draco’s namesake constellation—the Dragon—stitched across his back.

Luxurious. Elegant. Breathtaking.

Draco’s chest tightened with déjà vu.

Harry’s eyes—vivid green without his glasses—locked onto his.

This outfit was the same one Harry had worn at their first wedding.

(Their *first*, because after wizarding law finally recognized same-sex unions, they’d held a second ceremony.)

The original had been even more elaborate, designed entirely by Draco, with details impossible to replicate now. The translucent effect had been achieved with Demiguise hair—Harry had spent weeks trying to mimic it with charms. Even this rough approximation was stunning.

And the earring? A silent declaration: This one’s taken.

Harry walked toward him.

Draco barely registered the faint blush on Harry’s cheeks.

This is unfair, Harry thought, struggling to keep his ears from burning. Draco looked TOO good—his sharp features and aristocratic poise were downright lethal under the enchanted lights. His grey-blue eyes were more mesmerizing than the gemstone Harry had given him.

Sirius’s jaw dropped further.

Draco extended a hand, bowing slightly.

Harry placed his palm in Draco’s, accepting the invitation.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

The music began.

Around them, people stumbled over their partners’ feet. Goblets shattered. But none of it mattered.

They moved as if they’d danced together a thousand times before. Draco’s body remembered steps his mind didn’t—Harry’s beauty under the lights felt like a half-recalled dream.

The dance was intimate, fluid, sensual. The choreography, written by a wizard for his lover, was so entwined that it might as well have been foreplay.

When the music ended, Harry leaned back in Draco’s arms, their faces inches apart.

Draco closed the distance.

The hall erupted.

Sirius roared. More glasses shattered.

“Do you have *any* idea what you’ve just done?” Harry murmured, smirking.

The expression shattered his ethereal aura—suddenly, he was all mischief, like a lion baring its fangs.

“I’ve never been more certain of anything,” Draco replied.

----

Gifts piled up beside Harry’s bed as usual. The Weasleys’ presents were as heartfelt as ever, Hermione had gifted him The Moon and Sixpence, and Pansy and Blaise had once again sent him bafflingly extravagant trinkets. Pansy seemed convinced that she and Harry had some sort of "gay best friends" dynamic, and her gifts were always intricate and impossible to describe.

Harry sighed, tucking the nail polish she’d sent into his bag.

Hagrid’s gift was, predictably, food for snakes—though since Caesar was still in hibernation, Albel had already eaten half of it. The serpent had hissed that if Caesar didn’t wake up in two weeks, he’d finish the rest and leave nothing behind.

Draco’s gift this year was the key to Malfoy Manor, carefully nestled in a velvet-lined box. It wasn’t a replica—the intricate engravings on the bow were centuries old.

In return, Harry had given Draco a gemstone. Not a mined one, but one forged from his own magic—a fusion of his Animagus feathers and the ashes left after a phoenix’s rebirth, tempered in dragonfire.

A single gemstone represented one cycle of death and rebirth.

Harry hadn’t told Draco its significance. Even without that, the jewel—half the size of a fist, shimmering in hues of blue and white—was priceless on its own.

----

Hermione found them first, gushing compliments before sighing about Ron’s obliviousness.

“He’s *seething* over you and Krum,” Harry said, grinning. “But Merlin forbid he actually *do* something about it.”

Hermione huffed. “Exactly.”

“Blaise and Pansy?” Harry glanced around.

“Off snogging somewhere,” Hermione muttered. “They’ll regret missing this.”

Draco smirked, pulling Harry closer.

“Let’s go,” Harry whispered. “Too many eyes.”

They slipped outside.

The winter air was crisp. Harry led Draco toward the gardens, spotting a peculiar beetle perched on a rose—one with markings eerily resembling a certain reporter’s glasses.

Before it could flee, Harry trapped it in a jar.

“Research,” he said innocently.

Draco raised a brow.

Then Harry yanked him into a kiss.

“Tell me you’re not planning to fuck in the bushes,” Harry teased between breaths.

Draco growled. “Would you rather an audience?”

Harry laughed, petals swirling around them. Gone was the untouchable star of the ball—here, he was just a boy in love, green eyes alight with summer warmth in the heart of winter.

(They didn’t, in the end. Some things were meant to be private.)

On their way back, Cedric intercepted them.

“You were brilliant tonight,” he said earnestly. Then, lowering his voice: “The egg—take it to the prefects’ bathroom. Password’s fresh pineapple. ”

Harry smiled. “Thanks. And—congrats.”

Cedric followed his gaze to where Cho waited, blushing. “Yeah. Thanks for that, too.”

Draco grumbled once he was gone. “He has a girlfriend and still invites you to bathe?”

Harry kissed his pout away. “You’ve caused *enough* scandal for one night.”

----

Dumbledore’s office was warm, the headmaster’s eyes twinkling. “Congratulations on your public debut.”

Sirius, however, looked ready to murder someone. “Harry—Malfoy? Are you SURE he hasn’t slipped you a potion?”

“I’m sure.”

“It’s dangerous,” Sirius hissed. “Lucius was a Death Eater. If Voldemort returns—”

“Lucius is on our side.”

Sirius stared.

“I know what I’m doing,” Harry said softly. “And I don’t regret it.”

---

Meanwhile, in Snape’s dungeons:

“Do you love him?” Snape’s voice was icy.

“Yes.”

“Then end it. For his sake.”

Draco didn’t flinch. “I’d die for him.”

Snape’s lip curled. “He’d hate you for saying that.”

“And I’d hate him for saying the same. But it doesn’t change the truth.”

A long silence.

“Fools,” Snape muttered. But there was something hollow in his voice.

---

Harry and Draco met in the corridor afterward, wordlessly pulling each other close.

“Snape?” Harry murmured.

“Worried I’ll corrupt you.”

“Dumbledore?”

“Told me to be gentler with the next task’s creatures.”

They both knew the unspoken warnings. They didn’t need to say them aloud.

“Sometimes,” Draco sighed, kissing Harry’s forehead, “I wish you weren’t so clever.”

Harry grinned. “I’m a Ravenclaw. That’s not changing.”

They parted with one last kiss.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, when Harry entered the Great Hall, dozens of eyes immediately tracked his movements.

The once-unnoticed serpent earring now drew fervent whispers after last night's kiss—its emerald-and-silver hues unmistakably Slytherin.

"Merlin's beard! How did we miss that snake earring all term?"

"Think he's worn it since September!"

"They've been inseparable since first year! Bet they've been—"

The gossip was abruptly cut off as Draco shoved past the speaker, his shoulder strike deliberate. He loathed these discussions about his relationship with Harry.

What Draco didn't know was that Harry had begun orchestrating public perception since last night.

The Prophet would have a field day once "Death Eater's Heir and Savior" became official.

Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill would twist it into the scandal of the decade—which was precisely why Harry had intercepted that beetle-shaped eavesdropper.

"I know it's you, Rita." Harry tapped the glass jar containing the struggling insect. "Even in animagus form, your magic reeks of that foul journalism."

"You'll withhold Hagrid's story. As for Draco and me? You may report it—but only when I permit, and never with your usual fabrications." The beetle's frantic nodding was almost comical.

"Good. Remember—I could've slain that Horntail in the first task. Cross me, and you'll wish you were facing that dragon instead."

His tone remained conversational even as magic thickened the air with unspoken threat. With a twist of the jar's lid, Harry released the beetle into the night.

---

Harry remained at Hogwarts for Christmas, as did many others due to the Triwizard Tournament.

One midnight, he smuggled the golden egg to the Prefects' Bathroom—alone. Bringing Draco would be disastrous; the boy had become frighteningly proficient since those reincarnation dreams.

Only the lack of certain... supplies prevented Draco from claiming him right in the Slytherin dorms.

The bath was purely indulgent—Harry already knew the egg's secret. But Cedric's tip offered a perfect excuse for a soak. As steam curled around the mermaid mosaics, he submerged the egg.

The eerie chorus confirmed his theory: the Black Lake would claim Draco as his "treasure" again. This time, however, gillyweed wouldn't be necessary.

'That revolting seaweed nearly made me vomit last life.'

Besides—"Moody" wouldn't be giving hints. The impostor's fate was sealed after Harry slipped the Marauder's Map to Dumbledore post-Yule Ball.

With Crouch Jr. soon bound for Azkaban via Veritaserum, only one threat remained in Hogwarts: Snape. And when the Dark Lord turned scrutiny on his spy, Lucius Malfoy's loyalties would inevitably come under fire.

'By term's end, this ends.'

Now, Harry tested his alternative underwater spell. After topping the first task, he intended to dominate the second with theatrical flair.

Ancient syllables rolled off his tongue. Azure scales erupted along his legs as they fused into a sinuous tail—not the brutish merfolk variety, but the ethereal form of Eastern "Sirens". Transparent fins unfurled from his ears and spine, their iridescent membranes billowing like living silk.

'This beats Bubble-Head any day.'

A sudden movement interrupted his aquatic ballet. "Harry?"

Caesar's voice! His familiar had awakened—and was now undergoing a metamorphosis. The serpent's shed skin glistened as his body expanded, golden eyes burning with newfound power.

"Your prey carried potent magic," Caesar hissed, flexing revitalized coils. "To experience such growth at my age is unprecedented."

"Just in time," Harry chuckled, shrinking him back to pocket size. "Another week, and Albel would've devoured your Christmas treats."

As the snakes bickered, Harry stored the precious shed skin with other potion ingredients. With the holidays ending, he needed to draft Draco's Valentine's poem—and thanks to Hogwarts' secret passages, he'd avoid Filch entirely this time.

---

Hagrid's absence brought unicorns to Care of Magical Creatures. While the creatures typically favored maidens, one particularly snowy specimen kept nuzzling Harry—the very foal he'd saved from Quirrell in first year.

"Still remember me, eh?" Harry scratched its silver mane.

"Maybe it thinks you're a girl," jeered a Gryffindor named Igor, elbowing Harry suggestively. Ron immediately stepped between them as Hermione scowled.

"You lot used to be proper Gryffindors," Igor sneered. "Now you suck up to some Ravenclaw—"

The insult died as the unicorn rammed him with its horn.

"I did save this one from a rather... *draining* experience," Harry remarked dryly. "You'd have wet yourself witnessing what I saw that night."

Professor Grubbly-Plank approached. "That explains its unusual friendliness! Most stallions won't tolerate males at all."

Thanks to Harry, even Ron got to stroke the mythical beast. The incident confirmed what Harry already knew: prejudice would follow him and Draco forever. Even in his past life, after inventing the Dark Mark removal potion and watching Draco rebuild the Malfoy name through sleepless nights of work, bigots still claimed nepotism.

'That coward waited until the scandals died down before proposing.'

But Harry was prepared this time. Let them whisper—he'd still write sonnets, still steal kisses. Especially since Draco's retaliation for the denied bath included *very* thorough compensations.

---

The real Moody returned after Christmas, his patched-up appearance evidence of imprisonment.

"Owed you thanks, lad," he growled, magical eye whirling. "That map saved me from rotting in that trunk.

Dumbledore's keeping it quiet—no need to panic the masses."

He studied Harry intently. "Heard about your dragon-slaying spell. Impressive work, piercing Horntail hide like parchment."

Harry merely inclined his head before retreating to Ravenclaw Tower.

On Valentine's Day, a familiar silver specter galloped into the Great Hall. Blaise nudged Draco. "Your boyfriend's right there, yet this mystery poet's still at it? Talk about dedication."

Draco glared at the towering Patronus—he'd researched this. Advanced Charms texts stated Patroni could evolve with profound emotional shifts, while size reflected magical strength. This three-meter-tall unicorn suggested staggering power.

'Who at Hogwarts could—'

The Patronus began reciting:

"Last night I dreamed of us
Beneath wintersweet in bloom,
Your face half-lit by moonfrost,
A silhouette carved in snow—"

Draco's breath hitched. The poem wove imagery of pearlescent peacock feathers and snowbound kisses, each line thrumming with quiet longing. When the final verse spoke of

"dreams pooled in my eyes when you gaze at me,"

Draco's head snapped toward the Ravenclaw table.

Harry smiled, sunlight catching his emerald eyes—eyes that held the answer.

'It was him all along.'

Those previous Valentines, the silver unicorns dissolving like morning mist... All this time, Harry had been the secret poet. Draco's chest ached with the need to kiss him senseless.

Harry, meanwhile, doubted his poetic skills. Despite a lifetime of experience, translating love into words remained elusive. How could mere verses capture the way Draco's kisses made time stop? The decades-late reunion that still left him breathless?

All he could offer was this Patronus-shaped confession, these clumsy words cradling his heart. Pressing lips to the jade brooch Draco gave him first year, Harry met his lover's gaze across the hall.

---

Their romantic interlude left Harry limping from the Room of Requirement, thighs chafed raw. Several times, Draco had nearly breached his last defense, settling instead for marking his neck while muttering filthy promises.

'Perhaps some distance is wise,' Harry mused—though he knew one glance from those stormcloud eyes would obliterate such resolutions.

---

Rita's article dropped days before the second task:

"Dragon-Slayer Secrets: Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter"

The front-page spread featured Harry's "Sectumsempra" slicing through dragonhide, accompanied by flowery prose about his "revolutionary" technique:

"By channeling spells through mythril needles—a substance medieval Muggles believed harmed supernatural creatures—Potter bypassed dragon-scale defenses. While simple in theory, experts confirm this requires both immense power and surgical precision..."

The piece dripped with uncharacteristic reverence (a side effect of Harry's earlier intimidation). Rita's quill might spin lies, but her influence was undeniable—a useful tool for shaping public opinion.

As the second task commenced, Harry prepared to stun the wizarding world once more.

---

Author's note : The love poem incorporates phrases inspired by Yu Guangzhong's "Absolute Beauty"
a stunning piece worth reading!

Chapter Text

"Welcome to the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo Bagman's magically amplified voice boomed across the Black Lake. "This year, thanks to two ingenious Hogwarts students, we've upgraded our viewing mirrors—look this way, everyone!"

A massive enchanted screen split into four quadrants appeared behind Bagman, each displaying a champion's perspective with automatic angle adjustments. Harry examined the thumbnail-sized, umbrella-shaped mirrors orbiting him like tiny satellites.

"Do these work underwater?" Fleur asked, poking one curiously.

"Flawlessly," a Ministry official confirmed. "Champions, prepare to dive!"

"Three... two... one!"

Harry plunged into the icy depths as Bagman's muffled commentary reached him through the water. Krum—now sporting a shark's head—streaked past while Harry closed his eyes, focusing on the complex transfiguration.

The mirror fragments suddenly swarmed excitedly, one zooming in on his ears as cerulean scales emerged along his cheekbones. Other mirrors fanned out to capture the full transformation—his trousers floating away as they revealed...

A shimmering blue-white mer-tail, its delicate membrane fins undulating like living silk. The scales shifted between opalescent hues under dappled sunlight, mesmerizing in their otherworldly beauty.

Sirens truly were magnificent creatures.

With a powerful flick, Harry propelled himself forward. The mirrors struggled to keep pace as he navigated with uncanny precision—those sensitive ear-fins detecting water currents and distant merfolk songs alike. Soon, the mer-village materialized through the gloom, four bound figures visible among the seaweed.

First again. Harry's reincarnation knowledge and sirens agility had saved precious time. He dodged guarding merrows, severed Draco's bindings with a silent Diffindo, and cradled him in a swift ascent.

The crowd's roar grew as they neared the surface. "Harry Potter emerges first once more! Merlin's beard, that tail—transfiguration mastery meets aquatic ballet!"

Harry deposited a groggy Draco onto the platform. "Enjoy the show?" he teased, resting his arms on the ledge. His soaked white shirt turned translucent while that magnificent tail coiled beneath the surface.

Draco needed no further invitation—he cannonballed back into the water, claiming his merman in a kiss that sent the stands into hysterics. The mirrors captured every smoldering glance, making several witches fan themselves.

As Cedric and Krum surfaced, Harry noticed Fleur's absence. The viewing screen showed her frantically searching—her sister still trapped below. Though Ministry safety measures existed, Harry refused to gamble with a child's life.

He dove again, siren's speed leaving whirlpools in his wake. Merrows shrieked as he blasted through their ranks, Grindylows scattering before his wandless magic. When he breached with a coughing Gabrielle, even the merfolk surfaced—keeping wary distance but smiling approvingly.

"Saint Potter," Draco grumbled, though his eyes shone with pride.

"Rarely from you," Harry chuckled, retrieving his submerged trousers while the mirrors tactfully looked away. As he bowed to thunderous applause, Fleur's tearful gratitude required a handkerchief.

Wrapped in thick blankets despite siren's cold resistance, Harry sneezed until Draco layered warming charms. Madam Pomfrey distributed steaming chowder from Dobby, followed by mandatory Pepperup Potions.

"Your tail wasn't ordinary merfolk, was it?" Cedric admired. "The biomechanics were... transcendent."

"Eastern sirens," Harry confirmed. "More hydrodynamic than our merpeople."

While awaiting scores, Gabrielle's shy kiss on his cheek earned a glower from Draco—until the announcer boomed: "A unanimous first place! Even biased judges dare not lowball Hogwarts' darling!"

"Predictable," Draco smirked. "Though I'd crown you even if you'd sunk like a stone."

"Your approval's trophy enough," Harry murmured, kissing away Gabrielle-induced pouts as their friends fake-gagged.

The Prophet's next edition featured Harry's aquatic grace alongside scholarly analyses—including McGonagall's breakdown of his oxygen-extraction magic. The unusually academic tone reeked of Dumbledore's influence.

Rita, deprived of Harry-bait, instead vilified Hermione: "The Second Champion's Prize: Calculated Seductress" accused her of ensnaring Harry, Draco, and Krum. Even Jones' benign comment about her academics got twisted into jealous ambition.

Harry shredded copies violently until Draco suspected a Sonorus charm. When hecklers cornered Hermione, unlikely defender Igor barked: "So a witch befriending blokes automatically means seduction? Potter's gay—should we interrogate Weasley next?"

Harry caught Igor's eye with an amused wink, earning a disgusted but oddly proud huff. Like a prickly student recalling his favorite professor, Harry mused, remembering the troublemaker who'd later introduced him to the sirens.

As finals loomed, Harry drilled wandless magic—preparing for worst-case scenarios. No Amortentia-laced portkey would claim Cedric this time.

"You're scheming again," Draco observed during pre-task jitters. Their friends offered generic encouragement, but Draco knew better. "Need a luck kiss?"

The resulting PDA drew catcalls until Sirius arrived scowling. "Hogwarts invited your aunt..."

Petunia entered the tent, Dudley barreling past to hug Harry. "We came via Floo powder! Mum's read all about you—you're brilliant!"

Harry froze. This repentant, almost... mature Dudley mirrored his post-war self. "I keep dreaming you're fighting some dark wizard while we cower helplessly," Dudley admitted. "Stay with us this summer—I'll handle Dad."

Warmth flooded Harry as he surveyed his supporters: beaming teachers, Narcissa's nod, even Kreacher waving Gryffindor colors. When Snape's gaze held concern rather than scorn, Harry knew—this second chance had changed everything.

As the starting horn blew, Harry strode forward not as a competitor, but a sovereign entering his domain. The mirrors zoomed in, capturing the exact moment sunlight gilded his determined face—a king with his kingdom at his back.

Chapter Text

As the highest-ranked champion, Harry entered the maze first. The enchanted viewing screens split into quadrants, his figure dominating the central display.

"Point Me," Harry whispered, his wand spinning to orient him. The Ministry had adjusted entry intervals—competitors now entered every ninety seconds, diminishing his lead. Without Crouch Jr.'s interference, Cedric and Fleur would be genuine rivals this time.

'So be it.'

His unbound hair whipped behind him as he ran—deliberately sans Draco's serpent earring. The last thing he needed was Voldemort noticing that telltale heirloom.

A blast-ended skrewt loomed around a corner. Hagrid's creations recognized their frequent feeder, merely sputtering harmless flames before letting him pass. Next came the golden mist—a disorienting trap that inverted gravity. Harry leapt without hesitation, landing squarely as the fog dissipated.

Then, the acromantula.

Cedric battled the beast, his spells ricocheting off its armored hide. "Petrificus Totalus!" Harry's jinx froze it mid-lunge.

"How—?" Cedric panted. "My spells just bounce off—"

"Aim for the eye joints or abdominal seams." Harry hauled him up, noting the gashed leg. "Can you walk?"

"Slowly. You go on—Hogwarts needs that cup."

With a nod and a healing potion pressed into Cedric's hand, Harry pressed forward.

The stone guardian blocked his path.

"Answer correctly, and I shall bring you nearer the cup." Her voice echoed like shifting sand.

"And if I fail?"

"Perhaps a return to the maze's start."

Harry recalled the spider-riddle from his past life—but this was new.

"Name three things without beginning or end."

"Time," Harry began. The Sphinx inclined her head. "A parabola across all domains... and a circle."

The creature seemed to consult some invisible arbiter before stepping aside. Space warped around him—

—and he materialized beside a juvenile Whomping Willow.

Dodging its furious branches with auror-honed reflexes, Harry emerged unscathed. As he sprinted toward his wand's guidance, Albel hissed a warning:

"Someone's trapped beyond the hedge—magical fumes!"

'Fleur or Krum,' Harry thought, but the Triwizard Cup now gleamed ahead. Relief flooded him—until familiar magic rippled beside him.

Cedric appeared, gaping. "I solved the Sphinx's riddle! Guessed 'spider' and—*poof*—here I am!"

Harry's smile didn't reach his eyes. This wasn't luck.

'Fate wants him here.'

"You touched it first," Cedric began.

"Let's take it together," Harry overrode him. "Hogwarts wins either way."

Their hands closed on the cup simultaneously—

—and the hook-behind-the-navel yank of a Portkey dragged them into darkness.

Harry's wand still nestled in his pocket. As Death Eaters apparated in to kiss their master's robes, he burned his bonds away with silent magic.

"You won't have that day, Tom," Harry spat, raising his wand.

Voldemort's lipless mouth twisted. "Let us bow—Imperio!"

The compulsion slithered into Harry's mind—bow, submit, kneel—but shattered against his occlumency shields.

"Crucio!"

Agony seared every nerve. Harry bit through his lip rather than bend, counting silently: 'Eight... twelve... fifteen...'

The curse lifted.

"Still stubborn, I see." Voldemort sneered. "Avada—"

"Expelliarmus!"

The duel exploded in a storm of light. Harry wove between killing curses, his retaliatory spells mismatched to their incantations—a Shield Charm that fired a "Petrificus" , a whispered "Lumos" that unleashed "Sectumsempra".

On the tenth second, Voldemort finally cast a shield.

Harry's next Disarming Charm came silent and faster than sight. The Dark Lord's yew wand soared—

—and Harry's follow-up "Reducto" met only Wormtail's flesh as Voldemort vanished with a crack.

Before Harry could breathe, Wormtail thrust forward a pulsating black orb—its core a jagged crystal oozing darkness.

'An Abyssal Shard.'

Trelawney's prophecy echoed: "...the Dark Lord's servant returns with a weapon unearthed..."

The void tendrils coiled around Harry, leaching his vitality. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he aimed through the miasma—

"Orsekus!"

Golden light speared the crystal. The shard shattered; the darkness dissipated.

"Remember this night," Harry rasped to the remaining Death Eaters. "Your master fell to me. Follow him, and you'll fall harder."

With the last of his strength, he transfigured a pebble into a Portkey—

—and collapsed onto Hogwarts' lawn as a white phoenix, his body dissolving into blue-flamed rebirth.

A unicorn—the very foal Harry had saved years prior—gently lifted his wand in its teeth. Albel coiled protectively around the pile of ashes where a fledgling phoenix stirred.

Somewhere, Draco was already running toward the flames.

Chapter Text

Sorry for not updating for so long, due to exams and finals in competition I didn't had time to update :D, now onto the story, I hope you enjoy!

-

When Harry next opened his eyes, he found himself nestled in a soft, feather-lined cradle - warm crimson plumes surrounding him while three snakes (one white, two black) coiled protectively around the perimeter.

"Caesar? Albel?" The words came out as a high-pitched chirp rather than Parseltongue.

Harry blinked, looking down at himself.

A fledgling phoenix, barely fledged.

His Animagus form, forced into prolonged avian state by the Abyssal Shard's corruption.

Normally, even an AK to the chest would only require one rebirth to restore his human form, but void magic demanded multiple cycles.

Fawkes, curled beside him, nuzzled his downy beak affectionately.

"You're awake!" Albel slithered closer.

"Three days you've slept."

Harry tried to respond, but only managed a series of peeps. The snakes exchanged glances - no Parseltongue in this form.

Struggling free of Fawkes' wing, Harry surveyed the Hospital Wing. Someone had fashioned a nest from blankets, his moly wood wand placed carefully beside it.

With a sigh, he levitated a water glass using wandless magic, sipping delicately. At least traveling as a phoenix taught him how to handle this, he mused, recalling past journeys across continents on white wings.

The door burst open.

"Blimey! You're really—? I mean, are you—?"

Ron gaped at the chick displaying its lightning-shaped scar beneath fluff. Hermione bit her lip.

"Can you not transform back?"

Harry bobbed his head, then shook it—not yet, but eventually. His gaze darted behind them, seeking platinum blond hair.

"Draco got called home," Pansy said grimly.

"The Dark Lord's taken residence at Malfoy Manor. Father confirmed it—he's badly injured thanks to you, but he's already given Draco a task."

She produced a tiny vial.

"Snape's formulation. Better than having Fawkes regurgitate potions into your beak like yesterday."

The fledgling gave a comically human sigh before pecking at the three-drop dose. So it begins, Harry thought.

With Voldemort wounded prematurely, would Draco still be ordered to kill Dumbledore? Or—cold dread pooled in his crop—had the target shifted to himself?

Over the next two days, visitors streamed in: Sirius raging about Fudge's denial while pressing the Triwizard winnings into Harry's nest ("You're a proper celebrity now—the 'Savior Star,' they're calling you!"); the Dursleys, where Dudley whispered,

"That snake-faced bloke... you can beat him, right?" as Harry scribbled replies with a floating quill; the Weasleys with Fred and George vowing to keep his unregistered Animagus status secret; and Cedric, eyes bright with awe: "I'd be dead if you hadn't pushed me aside. You will end this war."

Their faith sat heavy in Harry's hollow bones. By the third evening, fledgling feathers had hardened enough for flight.

Snape's potion finally allowed a shaky transformation back to human form—just in time for Harry to slip from the Hospital Wing window as a small white bird, indistinguishable from an ordinary owl.

The Malfoy Manor window was shut. Harry tapped the glass with his beak. "Hedwig?" Draco's voice, raw with exhaustion. "Has Harry—?" Then freezing at the sight of emerald eyes glowing through the pane.

The moment the wards admitted him, Harry shifted back, crashing into Draco's arms. Up close, the shadows beneath Draco's eyes were bruise-dark, his lips bitten raw. "You idiot," Draco choked into his hair. "Crucios, killing curses, that—that void—I thought—" His fingers dug into Harry's shoulders. "Then you turned to ash—"

Harry let him tremble, absorbing the fear Draco would never show others. Eventually, the story spilled: "Father summoned me back. The Dark Lord's ordered me to kill Dumbledore. And after... to capture you." Draco's laugh was brittle. "As if I could. As if I'd ever—"

Harry caught his face. "I'm scared too." The admission spilled like a curse breaking.

"Everyone expects me to win this war. But what if I can't?" His fingers twisted in Draco's shirt.

"I never wanted prophecies or fame. I'd trade every galleon, every bit of power, just to—" His voice cracked. "Just to have parents who lived."

Draco kissed the words away. "To me, you've never been the 'Chosen One.' Just Harry. The boy who writes terrible poetry and fights dragons before breakfast."

They clung together as moonlight painted silver streaks across the floor. Before leaving, Harry learned something new—when the Abyssal Shard had struck, Draco had remembered: A flash of Harry, older, with snow-white hair, swapping places with Draco to intercept the void's attack. Harry dying in his arms.

"Why phoenix?" Draco whispered against his temple. "Of all forms... why this one?"

Harry had no answer. As the white bird vanished into the night, Draco finally slept—dreamless, but with the taste of ashes on his tongue.

Chapter Text

The morning after Harry returned from Malfoy Manor, he sent Rita Skeeter an owl inviting her to Hogwarts for an interview guaranteed to be "explosive and newsworthy."

While Harry had been recovering, Dumbledore hadn't been idle. He'd immediately contacted the Weasleys and attempted to convince Fudge of the truth. "Yet it's been utterly useless," Harry told the journalist now seated before him. "Fudge refuses to believe the Dementors would follow Voldemort and still has them guarding Azkaban. I'd wager within a year, under Voldemort's command, they'll release scores of Death Eaters—including Barty Crouch Jr., who just got imprisoned."

Rita's eyes gleamed as her Quick-Quotes Quill danced excitedly. "So Fudge is denying You-Know-Who's return purely because—"

"Write what you will. You know what generates attention," Harry said, steepling his fingers. "If you can't get this into the Daily Prophet, I'll introduce you to the Quibbler's editor."

"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Potter," Rita said, tucking away her notepad. "I have my connections. While the Prophet is controlled by the Ministry, Fudge doesn't monitor every edition. By the time he notices and stops the presses, I'll have gained everything I wanted from this."

"Assuming you can withstand the backlash," Harry noted pointedly.

"In media and public opinion, you still have much to learn," Rita replied with a cunning smile. "I've never lacked for critics. If I feared them, I'd have left this business long ago. You may see me as a sensationalist, but I know what I'm chasing. Fudge can't touch me—I wouldn't be here speaking with you if I didn't know how to protect myself."

"I became an Animagus just to get exclusive stories."

"And now you serve me?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Now, I serve you—confirmed that you'll provide sufficient benefits. Prince of Ravenclaw," she answered slyly.

True to her professional reputation, Rita worked with remarkable speed. The day after her Hogwarts visit, the Daily Prophet published a front-page article certain to infuriate Fudge:

YOU-KNOW-WHO NOT RETURNED? OR IS FUDGE'S POWER SLIPPING AWAY?

The piece dissected Fudge's attempts to dispute Voldemort's return, sharply piercing the veil of secrecy he'd drawn over the Ministry. Most irritatingly, Rita blended outright fabrications with factual accounts, making the lies seem credible alongside the truths.

Harry read the article with deep satisfaction, realizing how pleasant it was to have Rita's quill aimed at his enemies rather than himself.

"According to exclusive sources within Hogwarts, Fudge plans to appoint a Ministry official loyal to him as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Sending an inexperienced political appointee to teach at Hogwarts at this time—this reporter dare not speculate openly about Fudge's motives. But one must wonder: if You-Know-Who hasn't truly returned, why is Fudge working so hard to suppress the news?

Readers will recall the mystery of the fourth Triwizard champion. Harry Potter's name was secretly entered into the Goblet of Fire, and when he touched the Triwizard Cup—transformed into a Portkey—it transported him to a graveyard where You-Know-Who used his blood to regenerate. This perfectly explains why Harry became the fourth champion: had he not been powerful enough, You-Know-Who would have simply killed him.

We have reason to suspect Fudge may have secretly aligned with You-Know-Who's faction, diligently concealing his master's return..."

Dumbledore set the newspaper on his desk. "Ms. Skeeter is quite skilled at shaping public opinion, isn't she?"

"Indeed," Harry said, stroking Fawkes as the phoenix attempted to preen his hair. "I haven't forgotten what she wrote in my previous life. She claimed you and I had an 'evil, inappropriate relationship,' and described my volatile adolescence—my headaches from Voldemort's horcrux—as attention-seeking behavior in class."

"Her quill wouldn't serve me if I hadn't shown both power and benefits."

"She actually wrote that?" Dumbledore glanced at the newspaper.

"Yes, and after your passing, she published The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. She's less a journalist than a talented fiction writer," Harry said with an eye-roll.

"Young Mr. Malfoy surely didn't let that pass unnoticed," Dumbledore chuckled. "Merlin's beard, how does she conceive such ideas? I'm an old man."

"Precisely because you're an old man that it attracts attention," Harry sighed. "Albus, are you prepared?"

"I've already spoken with Haggs. The werewolf faction has completely dissolved. If you're agreeable, we could publish another piece about your Wolfsbane Potion formulation—it's hardly a secret among werewolves now."

"If you think it wise, have Skeeter arrange an interview," Harry said dismissively. "Voldemort's residing at Malfoy Manor. He's ordered Draco to kill you, then find a way to deprive me of my magic and deliver me to him."

"He's growing impatient," Harry narrowed his eyes. "Last time, he didn't give Draco that order until a year later."

"Of course he's impatient," Dumbledore's gaze sharpened. "He believed conquering the wizarding world only required removing me, but now you've emerged—younger, more threatening, more gifted, with limitless potential. He's frightened, Harry."

"I assume you've decided on the Order's headquarters?" Harry smiled.

"Indeed, it seems you already know." Dumbledore's expression mingled pride and trust. "The wizarding world is fortunate to have a Savior who returned with such power. Do you know why you were reborn?"

Harry shook his head. "I only know it relates to the Deathly Hallows, though they're not the primary factor. Albus, have you noticed you're no longer the master of the Elder Wand?"

"I discovered it quite early," Dumbledore nodded. "Initially I was perplexed, thinking some unknown event had occurred. But when you told me your true age, I guessed the possibility. No wizard lives that long unless he's the Master of Death."

"The Hallows refuse to change masters," Harry said quietly. "I don't crave immortality like Voldemort, nor do I wish to live alone. I tried many methods, but the Hallows wouldn't acknowledge any master but me."

"It seems you've been chosen once more," Dumbledore nodded.

"There's something else I must tell you, Albus." Harry took a quill and wrote an incantation in the newspaper's margin.

"Osekus?" Dumbledore examined the word. "A spell?"

"Yes. One I developed in my previous life specifically against the Void," Harry confirmed.

"The Void? Those black mists?" Dumbledore studied the incantation closely. "They seemed to cause you great pain."

"I researched them extensively. The Void is essentially a product of human negative emotions combined with some unknown corruption. It continuously grows and strengthens. I first encountered it after becoming Headmaster—it caused another catastrophe affecting the entire wizarding world."

Harry drew a diamond in the air with his wand, then circled it. "The Void's core is a crystalline diamond shape, surrounded by attacking black mist. The mist can drain life force and grow increasingly powerful by absorbing vitality."

"The only way to destroy it is to shatter that black crystal core. I never expected the Void to appear this early."

"Unknown corruption?" Dumbledore seized on the point Harry had glossed over.

"I don't know what it is," Harry sighed. "I found where the Void originates. The corruption looks like Muggle petroleum, constantly seeping from fissures in the ground. I pondered long what to call it, and found no better term than 'corruption.'"

"Is there a way to eliminate it completely?" Dumbledore asked, eyes narrowed.

"No. I never found one in my previous life. I could only seal the area completely, preventing anyone from contacting it, which stopped new Void from forming," Harry said grimly. "I don't know whether Voldemort found a Void fragment or the corruption source itself. If it's the latter, he could manufacture Void endlessly."

"Then he wouldn't be so urgently ordering young Mr. Malfoy to kill me now," Dumbledore looked somewhat relieved. "When time permits, I'd like to visit the source with you to find ways to cleanse or seal it. Perhaps I can offer new insights—you remember its location?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. Summer approaches. I'll have Rita interview you about the Wolfsbane Potion in the coming days," Dumbledore said, returning the newspaper to his drawer. "Black Manor may host many guests this summer."

"Mrs. Black won't be pleased," Harry smiled.

"A boy your age should smile more," Dumbledore said fondly. "Though you're older than me chronologically, you inhabit a fourteen-year-old's body. You should smile more often."

"Regardless, Voldemort needs time to prepare and considerably more time to heal. The advantage is ours. You'll have ample time for rest and relaxation this summer." Dumbledore pushed a box of Lemon Sherbets toward Harry. "Lucius has corresponded with me. He plans to deceive Voldemort, claiming he took inspiration from Severus's actions—sending Draco to 'gain Harry Potter's trust' within the Order's headquarters, while he himself will infiltrate as a spy, remaining truly on our side."

"Double agents," Harry smiled. "Severus and Lucius have gained Voldemort's trust—they'll be valuable assets. The watch I gave Lucius should protect him from Voldemort's Legilimency."

"And they became Voldemort's favored followers under your direction," Dumbledore watched Harry take a sweet. "Though they might have attempted it regardless, your assistance made their mission smoother."

"Ultimately, what matters is they're safe," Harry said, his words slightly muffled by the candy.

"Off to the Great Hall, Harry," Dumbledore stood. "Don't forget your speech."

"What speech?" Harry looked up, surprised.

"Well, a speech to unite the students after Voldemort's return?" Dumbledore pondered the title momentarily. "Regardless, everyone hopes you'll say something, Harry. I meant to tell you earlier, but I've been rather busy. Still, having been a Headmaster yourself, you must be quite experienced with such occasions by now."

Harry slumped inelegantly against the back of his chair.

On the night of the House Cup announcement, Draco finally returned to Hogwarts. He looked much better—at least the dark circles under his eyes had faded. In contrast, Pansy and Blaise seemed subdued, likely because their parents had received either invitations or threats from Voldemort.

At the start of the term, Harry had sent letters to the parents of Crabbe, Goyle, and others—delivered through their children. So far, he hadn't received any replies, which wasn't surprising. Unlike Lucius, these parents weren't initially aware of Harry's capabilities. Now that news of Voldemort's return had spread, he expected many would eventually respond.

One thing was certain: Crabbe and Goyle's parents had witnessed his duel with Voldemort firsthand, including the moment Caesar swallowed one of the "heavily bestial-smelling" Death Eaters.

"...and now, let us welcome Harry Potter to say a few words."

Dumbledore's voice pulled Harry from his thoughts. He looked up at his headmaster, then slowly walked to the podium under the gaze of the entire Great Hall.

"Everyone here has seen the footage of Voldemort rising from that cauldron," Harry began without preamble. "If Fred and George hadn't developed those special two-way mirrors, most of you would think I was seeking attention—that Fudge was right, and I'm just a glory-seeking fool using rumors of his return to gain fame."

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Krum shaking his head firmly from the Durmstrang section.

"But my injuries were real. The blood I shed was real. The danger Voldemort poses is real. None of this disappears just because we cover our ears, close our eyes, choose to ignore or deny it."

"Many say I'm powerful." Harry lowered his gaze. "You believe I drove Voldemort back, that I can protect the wizarding world. During that battle, when the Cruciatus Curse hit me, I refused to kneel. Because I knew you were watching... I knew you needed to see someone strong enough to protect you."

"I know you're watching me, and I've strived to be worthy of your expectations. This isn't a Quidditch match where we chase the Golden Snitch. I can only win—I cannot lose."

"But if I fail? If I run? If I give up? Will you stop resisting Voldemort? If I die by his hand, will you quietly surrender and bow your heads for execution?"

Harry's voice echoed through the hall.

"Never!" Neville's voice rang from the Gryffindor table. "We'll fight him to the death—whether we can win or not, we'll never surrender to Voldemort!"

Shouts of agreement spread from Gryffindor, rippling outward until the entire hall seemed to burn with defiant energy.

"This is what I wanted to say." Harry smiled faintly. "No matter how powerful I am, I'm just one person. And all people have weaknesses—all can be defeated. No one can be perfect forever, victorious always. Not me, not our teachers, not anyone here."

"But if we stand together..."

"I've heard that before I came to Hogwarts, Gryffindor and Slytherin were constantly at odds." Harry's gaze swept over both house tables. "Each despised the other."

"But never forget—whether Gryffindor or Slytherin, you're all Hogwarts."

"Just as Gryffindor produced Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed my parents and made me an orphan... Slytherin produced Severus Snape, who defended Hogwarts and never truly bowed to Voldemort. Don't let stereotypes blind you to potential friends. Don't mistake the Sorting Hat's assessment of our traits for a division of allegiances. Hogwarts houses shouldn't be enemies."

"I hope you'll join me in resisting Voldemort. I hope you'll cling to light even in endless darkness. I hope you won't let prejudice turn you against each other. I hope you all understand what love means—and continue loving your families, friends, teachers, and this school."

"Hogwarts is our home. We might have conflicts with family, but this will always be home."

"I'm willing to die for this home—for love and protection."

"And when facing Voldemort, I hope I can be as brave as all of you."

Harry bowed, ending his speech.

He hadn't prepared any notes, so his words might have been disjointed, but they came from his heart. As he spoke, he remembered the Slytherin house's decline after the last war, his fallen friends, and his recent confession of fear to Draco.

Now he looked out at the crowd—some applauding, some raising fists and shouting, others embracing friends. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students watched him intently even as they clapped.

And his lover watched him with rapt attention, applauding fiercely.

Harry thought perhaps the speech had been successful after all.

Chapter Text

Harry gave his Triwizard Tournament winnings to Fred and George, just as he had in his previous life, ignoring their protests before turning back to the train compartment.

Draco sulked about this for a while, demanding three kisses from Harry before finally calming down.

On the train, Pigwidgeon kept chirping excitedly, annoying Albel so much that the snake bared its fangs. Ron quickly shielded the tiny owl from the fire-breathing serpent.

Though the shadow of Voldemort's return loomed over them all, life beneath that shadow continued much as before.

Some things would never change.

This time, his aunt, uncle, and Dudley were waiting for him at the station too. The difference was that Dudley immediately rushed forward and gave him a tight hug, beaming. "You're back to normal!"

"Yeah." Harry's gaze softened.

The older Dudley had always hugged him with the same intensity as Mrs. Weasley. He'd been the only one in the Dursley family to support Harry after he announced his relationship with Draco. Dudley had even asked Harry to be godfather to several of his children, but Harry had declined.

"I don't want your children to only see their godfather a few times a year," Harry had said with a laugh. "Being St Mungo's godfather is enough for me."

Who would have thought this close pair of cousins had such miserable childhood memories?

"I had that dream again," Dudley told him on the drive home. "I dreamed you saved me from two scary hooded figures. Whenever they got close, I felt so cold, like I'd never be happy again."

"Those were probably Dementors," Harry said, noticing Uncle Vernon's knuckles whitening on the steering wheel.

"It was really scary," Dudley murmured. "You made a deer appear - from your wand - and drove them away."

"That's the Patronus Charm." Harry smiled. "Those things never happened. Maybe you had a premonition, Big D. You seem to have more talent for divination than me - I always got average grades in Divination."

"What are you talking about - Diddykins would never be one of your freakish kinds!" Uncle Vernon slammed the steering wheel, making the car horn blare.

Harry suddenly remembered that Dudley wasn't completely without magical ability.

His talent was just too minimal. With such low magical power, he'd never exhibited the accidental magic typical of magical children. It wasn't until years later that Harry realized Dudley could see Dementors.

Muggles without magic couldn't see Dementors - Dudley's magical level was similar to a Squib from a wizarding family. When Harry told the thirty-year-old Dudley about this, he immediately asked to see wizarding books and even expressed interest in working at Hogwarts like the Squib caretaker. Though Harry hadn't agreed to that.

All of Dudley's children, including his wife, knew he had a wizard cousin. Dudley would proudly show Harry off, talking about how amazing his cousin was. Every Christmas, Harry would visit the Weasleys first, then the Dursleys - the former had given him warmth from the beginning, while the latter had become another home in a way Harry never expected.

When Dudley was dying, Harry rushed from Hogwarts to the Muggle hospital. Dudley, tears streaming, grabbed Harry's hand and said he was always sorry for what he'd done during their childhood.

Dudley said he'd truly thought Harry was going to die when he saw him taken away by the Aurors. Especially since Harry never contacted the Dursleys after the war, Dudley had assumed Harry was dead and grieved for a long time. When he learned Harry was still alive, his attitude did a complete turnaround.

"Maybe I suddenly realized I really wanted a little brother," a half-drunk Dudley had said the day Harry returned. "The older I got, the more I valued family. And you're my cousin... I thought you were dead, and one day I realized I knew nothing about you, had barely ever spoken properly with you."

Harry knew Dudley had been a spoiled child. If his parents had continued indulging him, he might have stayed that way, possibly even become truly wicked. But Harry's "death" - or what he believed was Harry's death - Harry's protection from the Dementors, and Dudley's "thank you" to Harry had sparked change and awakening.

And now, Dudley carried echoes of that previous life's influence.

Harry remembered Dudley's wife, who always admired him so much, and the children who rushed to hug him when he visited. Dudley raising a toast at the dinner table to Harry and Draco, wishing them eternal happiness together forever.

"You clearly love each other," Dudley had said. "I don't care about that sort of thing at all. What era is this? Why should two people in love be criticized?"

Seeing the adult Dudley, it was hard to imagine he'd been such a bully as a child.

After returning to the Dursleys, Harry moved back into the small bedroom.

After dinner that evening, Harry knocked on Aunt Petunia's door.

"What is it?" She looked down at him, lips pressed tightly together.

"The man who killed my mother," Harry said softly. "The one who killed my parents, he's back."

"What are you talking about?" Aunt Petunia's expression turned fierce. "That man is dead!"

"He's alive again." Harry said. "You know magic can have all sorts of effects. He performed a dark ritual to make himself immortal... He's returned. But his resurrection required my blood. You saw him - the one I fought in the final task."

"That snake-faced man with no nose?" Aunt Petunia took a sharp breath.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "You watched him climb out of the cauldron."

"I didn't know it was him." Aunt Petunia took two steps back, seeming fearful yet speaking through gritted teeth. "I didn't know that's what he looked like. He killed my sister!"

"Mm." Harry nodded. "He wants to conquer the wizarding world. The people at my school plan to stop him."

Aunt Petunia stared intently at him.

"I'll go if there's nothing else." Harry lowered his gaze and turned to leave.

"You—" Aunt Petunia spoke just as he reached the stairs. "You'll defeat him."

"He killed my parents, killed many innocent people, all for his so-called power and immortality." Harry's voice was cold. "I have to defeat him."

Aunt Petunia fell silent. Harry stood at the staircase, also quiet.

Harry started cooking, but even after he finished eating, no sound of a closing door came from the master bedroom.

Aunt Petunia remained standing there.

Harry's three snakes were still feared by Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, but this time Dudley mustered the courage to pet the gentlest black snake.

Harry knew that soon, due to Mundungus's negligence, two Dementors would attack him, and Fudge would use this as an excuse to put Harry on trial and attempt to control him.

But this time, Harry no longer had the Trace on him. He stayed in his room studying and doing homework, occasionally went out for walks with Dudley, and could even secretly brew a few potions at night.

Harry told Sirius about the Dursleys' changes through the two-way mirror, his tone particularly complex.

Dudley's attitude change still had traces of their previous life to follow, but Aunt Petunia, in Harry's memory, had always been silent with tightly pressed lips.

When Harry told her Voldemort was dead, her face had shown clear emotion. And when Harry announced he was with Draco, she and Uncle Vernon had screamed together, until Dudley stopped his father to prevent another beating.

In Harry's memory, she always opposed the magical world while remaining silent, occasionally revealing an unconscious longing.

Harry didn't believe she felt nothing for her sister. And even though his childhood had been difficult, she had always given him shelter, never sending him directly to an orphanage.

She took him in, raised him, but never really liked him.

That was all.

"Sounds nice," Dudley remarked. "I don't understand your wizarding lyrics, but the song itself is pleasant."

Harry nudged the ground with his toe, setting the swing in motion. "The lyrics are about a potion, but this particular potion doesn't actually exist in the wizarding world. The songwriter is using this fictional love potion as a metaphor for the protagonist's pursuit and cultivation of love. The potion with the closest effect is Amortentia, but honestly, Amortentia isn't a good thing either."

"Amortentia?" Dudley's curiosity was piqued again.

Just as Harry began to explain Amortentia's effects and principles, a sudden, bone-chilling cold swept towards them.

—Dementors.

So soon! Caught off guard, Harry was fortunate the two Dementors were still some distance away, only their influence reaching them.

Last time, the Dementors hadn't come until August, and now it was only ten days into July!

This was somewhat understandable. Due to Harry's actions, far more people believed Voldemort had returned compared to last time. The Ministry was desperate for an excuse to eliminate Harry as a threat.

But Umbridge clearly didn't know Harry no longer had the Trace.

Harry could almost picture Fate making those cauldrels that caused Mundungus's absence appear ahead of schedule.

Dudley stared wide-eyed at the two Dementors. "What are those things!"

"You can see them?" Harry was startled, then realized this might also be an effect from their previous life. If he could inherit his past magical power and memories, it wasn't unreasonable for Dudley to have some lingering effects too.

But Dudley's magical reserves were only enough to let him see Dementors.

Harry jumped off the swing and waved his wand.

A silvery-white unicorn leaped from his wand tip, landing on the ground and driving the two Dementors away.

Dudley's eyes widened further. After chasing the Dementors off, the unicorn trotted back to Harry, dissolving into a cloud of silver mist.

"Are you okay?" Harry turned to Dudley.

"I'm fine, just felt a bit cold... and like I suddenly couldn't be happy anymore." Dudley shivered. "What were those monsters?"

"Dementors. The hooded creatures from your dream. They came for me." Harry answered succinctly. "Come on, let's go back."

Dudley hurriedly followed Harry home. Harry shut himself in his room immediately, pulling out the two-way mirror Sirius had given him.

"Sirius Black!" Harry called into the mirror.

The mirror shimmered, showing the living room of Grimmauld Place.

"Harry?" Sirius sounded surprised. Harry could hear Moody and Lupin's voices in the background. "What's wrong? I'm a bit busy—"

"I was attacked by Dementors." Harry's simple statement instantly silenced the other end.

"Mundungus!" Sirius gritted his teeth after a brief silence. "That bloke—Harry, you must have received a letter from the Ministry by now? Listen, where you are isn't safe anymore. We'll arrange something immediately. Stay there and don't go out!"

"I didn't get a letter from the Ministry." Harry said, noticing Lupin visibly relax. "My teachers got me a permit for underage magic outside school. The Ministry can't send me a letter for that."

"That's good." Sirius nodded. "If you'd used magic illegally, Fudge would latch onto that chance. To control you, I've no doubt he'd call a full Wizengamot trial. But you're exposed now. We need to move you tonight."

"Alright." Harry nodded. "Good timing. I'll go tell my aunt and uncle now."

Harry extinguished the mirror, wrote a quick note to Draco in his diary about the attack, waited a few minutes for a reply that didn't come, then hurried downstairs.

"Harry!" Dudley peeked out as he descended. "We're going out tonight, you... uh, want to come?"

Uncle Vernon surprisingly didn't object, it seemed Dudley had already told them Harry had saved him.

"No, thanks." Harry sighed. "Those Dementors this afternoon were after me. They're controlled by the man who killed my mother, trying to kill me. Dudley, you got caught up in my mess... But don't worry, I'll leave tonight. You won't be involved."

Uncle Vernon looked ready to explode upon hearing Harry had brought this trouble, but seemed to hold back for some reason.

After saying goodbye, Harry returned to his room and continued writing the derivation process for the second foundational formula of his self-developed potions theory.

The first formula was the foundation for the improved Wolfsbane Potion. Under the theoretical conditions achievable by this formula, one could even brew a Felix Felicis in three days.

The second derivation formula contained a series of sub-formulas used to define the properties of ingredients.

Inspired by Eastern medicinal texts, Harry categorized ingredients by the nature of their effects. These redefined properties, under the action of the third foundational formula, would exhibit astonishing combinatory potential.

It was precisely because of the latter part—the property definitions—that Harry's potions theory could evolve from a theory into an independent potion system, rather than just personal innovation or theoretical progress.

Snape had underestimated Harry's ambition. He thought Harry establishing the first foundational formula was his complete theory, not realizing Harry had only laid the foundation.

He intended to present a complete, revolutionary potion system with entirely new definitions and ratios upon graduation—one that would cause waves.

These seemingly outrageous definitions and combinations became reality under the premise of the first formula.

Thus emerged a series of astonishing potions: the Wolfsbane Potion that cured lycanthropy, the slow-release antidote that neutralized the Cruciatus Curse's after-effects, the antidote for Basilisk venom, the life potion that healed damage from the Void, and more.

Furthermore, this theoretical system could, with sufficient data, calculate specific antidotes for rare diseases and uncommon poisons.

Someone had even defined the vampire's need for human blood as a disease and, using this formula system, calculated a recipe for a blood substitute.

Poisons could be made, antidotes could be made. With a large enough database, anything could be calculated.

This was a significant, brilliant achievement from Harry's previous life, arguably the most important in some respects.

The Snape in the portrait had praised these formulas for a full ten minutes.

While he hadn't directly praised Harry, for him, that was astonishing enough!

And this time, he intended to present this system upon graduation - perhaps even sooner, if the Wolfsbane Potion's impact wasn't striking enough.

Rita Skeeter proved highly efficient. Soon after Dumbledore's arrangements, she published the news of Harry developing the cured version of Wolfsbane Potion prominently on the front page of the Daily Prophet. Through her Inflammatory and emotionally charged writing, Harry's name once again echoed through every street and alley.

Because this was truly astonishing.

A child who hadn't even celebrated his fifteenth birthday, who had faced Voldemort and repelled him, had independently developed a cure for lycanthropy. And through the implications in Rita's words, it was suggested that Harry's research extended far beyond just this.

Harry knew this was the accumulation of his previous life, but the wizarding world didn't.

They cheered, almost lifting Harry up as a new object of faith, using public opinion and morality to place him high upon a pedestal, hoping he would become a monarch, hoping this monarch would conquer territories for them, protecting them from Voldemort's grasp.

And the monarch accepted their hopes. Hogwarts stood by his side, its glory shining upon her as well.

The monarch's people stood with him, swearing to advance and retreat together.

Harry's goal was achieved.

No matter how much Fudge resisted and denied it, Harry, just as after repelling the core of the Void in his previous life, had once again become the uncrowned king of the wizarding world.

Although this king currently held no real power, he had to shoulder the responsibilities required of him from this moment onward.

The invisible crown once again pressed heavily upon his head, tightly constricting his temples.

He drew the Sword of Gryffindor from its scabbard and placed it upon the shoulder of Dobby, who had appeared at his summons.

—A dubbing ceremony.

"Dobby, you and Kreacher will handle a matter for me," Harry said, his voice as cold as the sword in his hand.

He was going to start destroying the remaining Horcruxes. Why not begin this summer?

"Harry, we're here!" Sirius's voice sounded at the door as many people filed into the already small room, making it exceptionally crowded.

"Sirius, Lupin, Professor Moody," Harry greeted those familiar to him, nodding toward Tonks.

"Quite a polite child, isn't he," someone in the crowd remarked.

"Are you sure it's him?" Moody's magical eye swiveled to look at him. "I don't want to bring back an impostor."

Moody's skepticism wasn't as intense as in his previous life. Harry guessed he had already formed a preliminary judgment based on Harry's demeanor.

"Dobby!" Harry called. The house-elf appeared with a soft pop.

"Alright, it's him," Lupin stepped forward and patted Harry's shoulder. "If Harry were someone in disguise, he wouldn't be able to summon Dobby."

Moody nodded. Harry began gathering the half-finished essay on the desk.

"Let's take this chance to introduce everyone—this is Nymphadora Tonks, she prefers people use only her surname," Lupin indicated to Harry, who blinked, remembering the little one named Teddy who always clung to him.

This time, he wouldn't let Teddy lose both parents.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, and Professor Moody, you're familiar with him already."

"Will you still be teaching us next school year, Professor Moody?" Harry put away the last sheet of paper and looked up at Moody.

"No," Moody shook his head. "Dumbledore seems to have arranged for someone new—or rather, the Ministry has arranged someone. I've never held their decisions in high regard."

"Everyone knows Fudge is a fool," Tonks remarked sharply. "Alright, there's no time for this now. We need to leave."

"Right, all these people—are they all coming with me?" Harry glanced around the crowded bedroom.

"Primarily for your protection," Lupin nodded. "And everyone wanted to meet you. We've prepared a surprise for you at Grimmauld Place, Harry."

"What surprise?" Harry's interest was piqued.

It couldn't be an early birthday party, could it?

"You'll know when we get there," Sirius winked at him. "But we need to head over first—on broomsticks. You fly well, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes, the Floo Network and Portkeys are being monitored," Lupin added. "That Portkey you made last time wasn't registered with the Ministry or connected to the official network. It was a miracle it landed you within Hogwarts grounds. We can't afford to gamble on that."

"I understand," Harry picked up his small leather bag. "I'm ready to go whenever."

This time, Harry's Warming Charm worked perfectly. Since, in Sirius and the others' understanding, Harry had already obtained permission to use magic outside school, he simply cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.

Upon entering, Harry bowed a very formal, antiquated noble greeting to the displeased-looking portrait of Mrs. Black, noticing her frown ease considerably.

Though he didn't feel particularly cold, Mrs. Weasley gave him a big hug and a cup of warm hot chocolate the moment he stepped inside.

"Weren't you saying there's a surprise?" Harry looked toward Lupin, selectively ignoring Sirius being scolded by Mrs. Black's portrait.

"Look up. Your surprise has been waiting for you for a long time."

Harry froze, then abruptly looked up.

A blond head peered over the second-floor railing, a silvery-white phoenix perched by his ear.

"Draco!" Harry laughed, spreading his arms to welcome Draco as he rushed over. "Your father let you come?"

"Father told Voldemort he wanted me to gain the Order's trust. He trusts the Malfoys greatly now, waved his hand and let Father and me come here."

"Even though Father lost his diary?"

"That was a mistake. He was furious about it, but it doesn't affect his trust in Father," Draco held Harry tightly. "And—you're calling him 'Father' already?"

"Shouldn't I?" Harry kissed his lips, their earrings touching as they moved. "I thought you'd like me calling him that?"

"I do like it," Draco's eyes darkened. "Don't tempt me. I really won't be able to hold back."

Harry giggled, nibbling his lip before pulling away. "Alright then, I'll go tidy my room. Or... would you be willing to sleep with me?"

"Absolutely not!!" Before Draco could answer, Sirius's roar came from the entrance hall. "Harry isn't even fifteen yet!"

"Indeed, it is a bit early," Mrs. Black's portrait unusually sided with Sirius.

"But didn't Father and Mother get engaged while still in school?" Harry blinked innocently.

"That doesn't mean you can decide your own..." Lupin struggled for the word, finally not uttering it, "...And your father and mother weren't engaged during school."

"Hm," Draco added dryly, "He meant *my* father and mother."

Before Sirius could process this, Harry darted into his room.

Once inside, the smile vanished from Harry's face as he watched Dobby and Kreacher appear with a soft *pop* before him.

In Kreacher's hand was a locket.

Chapter Text

"What is it, Kreacher?" Harry's tone was as warm and friendly as always - he'd never treated house-elves poorly.

"Kreacher has come to ask the young master for a favor." Kreacher bowed deeply, his nose touching the floor and not lifting.

"Kreacher has nothing to repay the young master with, but if the young master is willing to do this, Kreacher would die for him, do anything for him, just begging the young master to grant Kreacher's request—"

Ever since Mrs. Black had acknowledged Harry's status, Kreacher had been calling him "young master."

"Get up, Kreacher." Harry helped the elf straighten up by his shoulders. "It's alright, of course I'll help you. First tell me what you want me to do, okay?"

"Kreacher hopes the young master will help destroy this locket." Kreacher handed Slytherin's locket to Harry with both hands.

"Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to destroy the locket, but Kreacher couldn't no matter what he tried. Young Master Harry is a powerful wizard, more powerful than any wizard Kreacher knows. Kreacher hopes he might have a way..."

This time Harry had come early enough - Mundungus hadn't had time to take the locket away yet.

Harry took the locket and opened it.

"You think starting over can change anything?" A dark figure rose from the locket, hissing at him in Parseltongue. "Nothing will change. You can't save anyone. They'll all die, except you. You deserve to live on, until everyone is dead and only you remain, you—"

Harry snapped the locket shut.

"It seems this is the real thing," he murmured in Parseltongue.

His soul had grown stronger due to his rebirth - this level of intrusion could no longer affect his emotions.

But that didn't stop Harry from feeling a slight tremor at those words.

"Caesar." Harry hissed, watching as the basilisk emerged from his collar.

Kreacher stared unblinkingly at Harry.

Harry opened the locket again. As the shadowy figure emerged, Caesar sank his fangs deep into it.

The figure let out a loud, terrified scream - Harry estimated it would alarm people downstairs - but Caesar wasn't frightened, continuing to bite firmly into the figure, some venom passing through the incorporeal shadow to land inside the locket.

Draco burst into Harry's room, relaxing when he saw the screaming was just coming from the locket, followed closely by Sirius and Lupin.

The screaming faded after a moment, leaving only a locket stained with basilisk venom.

Kreacher burst into loud sobs, startling everyone.

"Kreacher completed Master Regulus's order! Kreacher completed Master Regulus's order!" Kreacher cried, gasping for breath. "But Master—Master will never return, he can't see Kreacher complete his order!"

"Kreacher." Harry crouched down, patting the elf's shoulder. "It's alright, don't cry. If Master Regulus were here, he wouldn't want you to grieve so much for him. And it seems Sirius has questions for you - would you mind answering them for him?"

Kreacher sniffled and looked up at Sirius.

"What happened to Regulus?" Sirius stared intently at him. "I only knew he died - what orders did he give you?"

"Let's go downstairs to talk." Harry stood and patted his shoulder. "Mrs. Black will want to hear this too."

When Kreacher, between sobs, painfully revealed the truth of what happened years ago, Sirius's eyes grew unusually red.

Drinking the potion protecting the locket himself, sinking into a lake full of Inferi. And to the end, unwilling to let Kreacher take the risk, using his own life to defy Voldemort.

And in his previous life, Sirius had died still believing his brother was just a Death Eater who followed Voldemort, a foolish person.

"I never knew," his voice was heavy as Lupin silently patted his back. "I just thought he joined You-Know-Who and died fighting for the Death Eaters in some unknown corner. How dare he betray You-Know-Who at that time..."

Harry sighed deeply.

"I never knew he was so brave," Sirius rubbed his eyes hard.

"Of course he was brave," Mrs. Black looked as if she had aged over a decade in moments. "And I was wrong - I truly believed that Tom was working for pure-blood interests... Many were deceived by him. That's why so many later betrayed him."

"In the future—" Harry spoke softly, "—when there's a chance, I might be able to find a way to bring Regulus back."

Sirius looked up sharply at him.

"Dumbledore is searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes. He probably already knows where the locket was hidden. If possible, I can try to bring... Regulus's remains back."

"We can't leave him alone there," Harry said, looking at the locket in his hand.

Sirius hugged him tightly. "I'll go with you! We'll all go with you! Kreacher too, we have to—we have to bring Regulus home."

Harry nodded against his chest.

Because of this interlude, everyone's mood was somewhat subdued during dinner. It only lifted a bit when Hermione arrived at Grimmauld Place.

Ron rushed downstairs excitedly to carry Hermione's luggage. Harry watched their interaction from the second floor, silently exchanging a look with the twins.

"Don't tell me you think they..." Draco and Harry both wore thoughtful expressions.

"Very likely," Harry's eyes sharpened. "These two weren't this clingy before. No wonder Ron looked so upset after Hermione accepted Krum's invitation to the Yule Ball. And remember? Hermione only danced one dance with Krum!"

"Should we test them?" The twins suddenly appeared beside Harry.

"Test them," Harry's tone grew determined. "I've watched them stick together for four years! Today they'll become a couple whether they want to or not!"

"Pfft." Draco couldn't help laughing. "What is this? Let me think - Blaise and Pansy are together, you and I are together, Hermione and Ron are together. Have you thought about what Crabbe and Goyle will do?"

"The pressure's on Crabbe and Goyle now," Fred laughed.

"Maybe they'll follow your path and get together," George added.

"What kind of horror story is that?" Draco looked horrified.

"Get all the Weasleys," Harry nudged George with his elbow. "We'll ask them together."

"Aye aye!" George gave a sloppy salute, and he and Fred left with expressions full of mischief.

That evening after dinner, before Ron and Hermione knew what was happening, the twins pushed them onto the living room sofa. Harry and Draco had arranged for Sirius and others to form a circle around them.

"Confess—"

"Our Ronnie and dear Miss Hermione—"

The twins drew out their words mischievously.

"Are you two together?!"

"What?" Ron's face instantly turned red under their synchronized questioning. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"Blushing so hard—"

"Still dare say you don't like Hermione?"

"Alright." Hermione, her face red, stopped the crowd ready to tease. "Don't play pranks now! I'm not together with Ron!"

Mrs. Weasley, who had been full of expectation, immediately looked disappointed.

"But dare you say you don't like him?" Harry leaned against the wall with a mischievous smile. "Fine, if you want us to end this prank, say 'I don't like Ron.' Say it and we'll let you go."

Hermione's slightly red face immediately turned very red. She struggled to speak several times but couldn't get the words out.

Sirius whistled first.

Then the entire living room erupted. The Weasleys shouted and hugged each other while Ron, with an expression of grim determination, crashed his lips against Hermione's.

Lupin applauded with a smile while Draco raised an eyebrow at the green-eyed kitten full of mischief. Harry blinked at him, and Draco immediately pounced to kiss him.

Their kiss started a new round of whistling. Mr. Weasley laughed and kissed Mrs. Weasley while the twins sighed and kissed each other's foreheads. Sirius finally cheered up completely, then angrily tried to pull his godson away from Draco, but Lupin forcefully stopped him.

Leaning against Draco, Harry watched Ron and Hermione blushing over a simple kiss, scratching Draco's palm. "They're so sweet, aren't they?"

"You and I are better," Draco nibbled his lip, restraining the misbehaving cat's paw. "Have you forgotten what happened when we got together?"

Harry's face suddenly turned red. This rare shy expression made him even more captivating, and Draco completely lost control of his desire to kiss him.

No, perhaps he wanted more.

"So what happened when you got together?" Sirius emerged beside them.

Harry abruptly pushed Draco away. Against the golden snake earring, his ears appeared even redder. "N-nothing happened..."

"You didn't... do it, did you?" Lupin also looked shocked.

"No!" Harry loudly denied the idea.

"How could we? This guy set a quota for me in our first year together - maximum one kiss per day." Draco's expression immediately turned resentful.

"It seems you made the right decision," Lupin teased them. "Otherwise, judging by how Mr. Malfoy was biting your lips earlier, you probably would have been devoured by him last year."

Sirius glared with gnash one's teeth at Draco.

Harry finally managed to cool his face and hurried back to his room.

Draco gritted his teeth, barely suppressing the urge to bite him.

Such a shy, pure Harry was a rare sight.

The next morning, Dumbledore arrived at Grimmauld Place with Snape and Lucius.

Harry knew they had come to discuss matters and manage the Order of the Phoenix, but he was still happy to see them.

"Albus! Severus!" Harry, still in pajamas shortly after waking up, ran down from the second floor. The movement caused his pajamas to slip off one shoulder, revealing fair skin.

"Get dressed properly." Snape sighed and pulled Harry's pajamas back up, his expression a mix of disdain and helplessness.

Harry blinked.

Since he was no longer disliked by Snape after his rebirth, he often sensed emotions similar to what he'd just felt from Snape.

Emotions present only in subtle ways but everywhere.

Just as Harry would unconsciously show a more childish side in front of him, Snape held an almost indulgent affection for the post-rebirth Harry who resembled James less.

Like a father.

Had Snape ever looked at him like this before? He would take care of him because he was Lily's son, but would there be brief moments when he saw Harry as his own child?

Harry instinctively felt this transference wasn't ideal, but just as Sirius was his godfather, he sometimes sensed a quality in Snape similar to Sirius's.

Caring for him, protecting him, seeing him as a child, always silently guarding him.

If James had lived, hadn't died in that incident, would he have been like this after maturing?

"Why are you spacing out?" Dumbledore smiled and patted Harry's head. "Let's talk in the room."

Harry nodded and led them into the room previously used for secret discussions.

"You destroyed another Horcrux?" Dumbledore's eyes shone brightly.

"Yes. I was confused when Kreacher first made the request, but when I opened the box I understood what it was." Harry's eyes darkened. "After opening the locket, Voldemort's fragment would see your deepest fears and shadows, using magic and words to instigate your negative emotions. I suspect that even just wearing the locket without opening it would gradually affect one's emotions."

"Understandable," Snape snorted. "That's exactly like him."

"But how did Kreacher get Slytherin's locket?" Dumbledore blinked. "Tom would definitely protect his Horcruxes strictly."

So Harry told them what Kreacher had revealed yesterday - about Regulus's actions, his loyalty, kindness, and bravery.

"I had some contact with him at Hogwarts," Snape's tone was low. "He wasn't a bad person at heart, always acting alone... I bumped into him a few times secretly looking toward Gryffindor. He was probably watching his brother."

"Sirius only learned yesterday what an extraordinary person his brother was," Harry sighed. "I promised him I'd bring Regulus home from that lake."

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Dumbledore looked at Harry.

"Of course not," Harry shook his head.

"Only three Horcruxes remain now," Dumbledore breathed a long sigh. "It's almost over."

"The reason there are still three is because they're hard to handle," Harry narrowed his eyes. "Helga Hufflepuff's cup is in Bellatrix's vault, Nagini is with Voldemort, and the ring - I don't know where the ring is."

"I have an idea," Dumbledore chimed in. "But I might need you to come with me. There's likely a quite powerful enchantment there."

"I happen to have learned many enchantments in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts. As long as it's not too complex, I can try to solve it. But breaking an enchantment isn't simple - more complex ones would take me days to calculate. You could first draw the pattern of the enchantment, and I'll try to solve it. If that doesn't work, we can consider forcing our way in."

Dumbledore nodded, approving the plan.

"Regarding the cup, I'm already working on it," Harry slightly narrowed his eyes. "That will be a major operation. Right now Voldemort and the Death Eaters are at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa might have a way into the vault, but this definitely won't escape Voldemort's notice. I can't let their family take such a high risk of exposure."

Here, Harry blinked at Dumbledore.

This was Harry's way of hinting that he had already dealt with this matter in his previous life.

Thus, Dumbledore relaxed and entrusted the matter to him.

"Now that official business is concluded, perhaps we could discuss why you were staring at Severus earlier?" Dumbledore changed the subject. "What was going through your mind? It's rare to see you so lost in thought for so long."

"Nothing," Harry shook his head. "I was just suddenly wondering what my father would be like now if he were still alive."

"What else would he be like?" Snape snorted. "Impulsive, reckless - I can easily imagine he wouldn't have matured much even with a child. Most likely would have spoiled you into an absolute menace."

"I've heard about my father from Sirius," Harry recalled briefly. "He was apparently quite mischievous during his school days, completely different from me according to Sirius."

"I agree with that," Snape looked down at him. "At first I thought you were a copy of Lily, but later I stopped thinking that. You exist somewhere between resemblance and difference."

"How can I be both similar and different?" Harry laughed. "That sounds contradictory."

"But it's the phrase that describes you best," Snape sighed. "Dumbledore reminded me recently that I shouldn't always project my feelings for Lily onto you."

Harry froze.

"I... was quite fond of your mother during our school days," Snape's eyes softened. "She was a wonderful person, and even today, I still love her. But at the same time, I was the one who pushed her away, and I've regretted it ever since. Truthfully, I know that even if I hadn't insulted your mother back then, I ultimately couldn't have been with her."

"But I just can't let go."

"Initially, I thought you were just James made over, since you look almost exactly like him. But your demeanor when you first arrived resembled Lily's when she suffered injustice growing up. If Lily had experienced a childhood like yours, she might have turned out like this too - kind, gentle, humble, thirsting for knowledge. And your potion-making is excellent, even better than Lily's."

Snape paused here, and Harry didn't rush him. He knew how difficult such self-revelation was for Snape.

"But later I realized you're not like Lily. Or rather, your similarity lies at the core. You share her gentle strength, willing to sacrifice everything for those you love. But your exterior is quite formidable - you'll stop at nothing to protect those you care about. This creates a special contrast with your usual demeanor. To many people, your personality is incredibly compelling."

"You think so too?" Harry tilted his head slightly, his tone both proud and playful.

Like a praised child presuming upon affection.

Snape knew he was deliberately being lively, trying to pull him away from those unhappy memories.

"Yes," Snape nodded decisively. "Because of this, I've thought... if I had actually ended up with Lily and had a child, I'd want them to be just like you."

"So talented, so powerful - it feels like even if the entire wizarding world placed their hopes on you, you wouldn't collapse."

"Even with your short, messy hair, always irritating me, bumping around the school like a troll, and acting as though your head's full of flobberworms. But I know your most essential qualities - that courage and gentleness - will never change."

"If only you were truly my child."

"Aren't I?" Harry looked up at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears, yet wearing a smile - forced but undeniably beautiful. "I've lived with the Dursleys since I can remember. I didn't know I was a wizard until I received my Hogwarts letter. There wasn't a single photo of my parents there. They told me my parents died in a car crash, that my father was an unemployed layabout."

"It wasn't until I came to Hogwarts that I learned about my father through others' words and trophy room plaques. I—I found letters my mother wrote to Sirius while cleaning the old house, mentioning my first birthday."

Harry took a breath, suppressing the involuntary sob in his throat. "And when I encounter Dementors, I hear the sounds from that night."

Snape instinctively tightened his grip on the armrest.

"My father telling my mother to run, and my mother rushing upstairs toward my room. He blocked Voldemort, even if only for a moment. And my mother begging him not to kill me."

"That's why I couldn't produce a Patronus at first. Because I kept hoping... hoping to hear their voices again when facing Dementors. Not through anyone else's accounts, not through photos and letters - finally hearing their voices with my own ears, feeling their love for me."

"I ate so much chocolate learning to deal with Dementors."

Snape looked as if he was about to embrace him.

"So when I learned Sirius was my godfather, I was truly happy. Because besides friends and a lover, I could still have family from my parents' generation, I could still... have a father."

"And your favoritism toward me is obvious to everyone." Harry gave them a genuine smile through his tears. "Maybe at first you favored me because of my hair or my outstanding grades, but later, we've had many deep conversations like this. I know what foods you like, what you enjoy doing, when you're being sarcastic, when you're speaking truthfully. Sometimes, like when I was writing essays in your dungeon office and you scolded me for not taking care of myself but still handed me hot chocolate, I truly felt that you were my father, and your office was a little home you built for me at Hogwarts."

"How many times have I brewed potions or written essays in your dungeon until after curfew? And you never once deducted points."

"And if you were facing someone else today - just Albus or Minerva, or any other friend of yours - could you have spoken these words?"

"I thought after four years together, I could already be considered your child."

Snape finally gave him that embrace.

Dumbledore watched cheerfully nearby, his expression both touched and lament.

He had witnessed two people making peace with their past.

-

Authors notes : Some might find my portrayal of Snape a bit OOC, but that's largely because I haven't spent much time depicting Harry and Snape's daily interactions.

Harry would spend late nights in the dungeons two or three days a week, and he always went on weekends. During these times, Snape and Harry were always brewing potions together. If you think there was zero conversation beyond their research, even Peeves wouldn't believe that.

After four years of such frequent interaction—especially since this Snape holds immense appreciation for Harry's flawless Potions performance and astonishing theoretical framework—coupled with the fact that this version of Harry lacks the impulsiveness and fiery passion typical of his teenage years in his previous life, and instead understands the cunning and duplicity of Slytherins all too well, making him a walking master of emotional intelligence... Moreover, he's terrifyingly powerful: capable of defeating a dragon in single combat and strategically dismantling the werewolf ranks in advance while facing Voldemort's return—incredibly reliable.

When you spend four years in such relatively close quarters with someone, and that someone is a 180-year-old emotional intelligence master like Harry, any sense of distance simply vanishes.

Also, this Harry's personality is vastly different from his canonical counterpart. But having lived over 180 years, who would believe your character never changes? The old man just isn't as energetic as a young lion anymore! So, my approach to Harry's character blends the authority and calmness from his previous life with the vitality brought by his youthful body and school life in this rebirth. As a result, Harry's personality naturally carries a contrast—the lingering influence of his past life.