RAB
Hermione is right; it's never wrong to improve your own abilities.
Harry began to study on his own for the first time ever, especially after receiving his OWLs exam results. He devised a study plan: first, review the material from grades one to five; then, preview the elective courses for grade six; and finally, use the remaining time to practice some practical magic—or perhaps ask Sirius to teach him, if he wasn't too busy—he worked as hard as if he had changed his surname to Granger.
Queenie saw his serious expression and for a moment thought about whether she should also preview the university courses, but ultimately decided against it, as she wasn't even sure if she would be able to enroll this year.
Harry set up a practice room on the second floor, similar to the one he used at Hogwarts.
Queenie sat cross-legged on the floor watching him wave his wand, with cookies and herbal tea beside her. "Didn't you say that minors are prohibited from using magic outside of school?"
“The trail has a limited range and usually fails in wizarding areas because—it petrifies—because it can only detect magical fluctuations around me, but cannot determine who cast the spell… I fainted—” Hermione therefore moved into the Burrow ahead of time; they had originally agreed to play together for two weeks before school started.
"That doesn't sound very smart."
“It’s a Ministry of Magic product, after all.” Harry recalled his various unpleasant experiences with the Ministry and couldn’t help but scoff. “Who can expect them to be of any real use? Fragmented—”
"It sounds like you have a deep-seated grudge against the Ministry of Magic."
"They deserve it. Shattered to pieces—" This incantation was uttered with extraordinary sincerity.
Queenie stuffed a cookie into her mouth, thinking of the Death Eaters who had escaped from prison earlier. Well, they were somewhat incompetent.
She rubbed her hands together and grabbed a few textbooks Hermione had mailed for them. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms... You're only studying these three?"
"These three skills are most useful in actual combat. Restore to original condition—"
Queenie blinked, watching as the pile of tattered cushions in front of him became perfectly intact, as if a movie were playing in reverse.
Okay, it does work.
She then shifted her gaze to Harry's face. He had a serious expression, with a hint of dissatisfaction between his brows regarding the result of his spell. Then he raised his wand again, the thin muscles on his forearm taut with each deft swing, which looked rather pleasing.
But Harry seems to have grown taller; she had to tilt her head back slightly when she kissed him today.
Sirius didn't appear until evening. His face was gloomy, and even his usually flowing hair was drooping, hanging obediently to the side of his face.
Queenie and Harry had just finished dinner. She nudged him and gestured with her lips, indicating that he should go and talk to Sirius, while she went into the kitchen to prepare something for Sirius.
Harry slowly walked over to the sofa next to Sirius and sat down. "Um, Sirius, how's it going with you guys? I mean, the Horcruxes..."
“Oh, a Horcrux…” Sirius perked up. “We found a fake Horcrux today.”
"Fake Horcruxes?" Voldemort had even carefully made several fake Horcruxes to confuse the issue.
Sirius didn't explain, and continued rambling, "Well, we picked Regulus up and took him home today."
"..." Who is Regulus? The name sounds familiar.
"This is the first time I've ever seen so many corpses."
"……"What?
Fortunately, Sirius didn't say anything more incoherent. "Regrus... is my brother."
Then Harry remembered that he had seen the name on the family tapestry at the Black family mansion, right next to the burned-down "Sirius Black".
Sirius rubbed his temples wearily. "From a young age, I looked down on his weak nature, despising his stupidity and cowardice... I never imagined he would be the first to discover Voldemort's secret, and even dare to switch the Horcruxes... You know what? He left a note in the fake locket." Sirius recited the sentence word for word, as if he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind—
"To the Dark Lord: I know I will be dead by the time you read this letter, but I want you to know that I discovered your secret. I have taken the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as possible. I risked my life so that you, when faced with your destined opponent, would be nothing more than a mortal of flesh and blood. RAB"
“But he was a fool. He never imagined that Voldemort possessed more than one Horcrux, and he wasted his life on it—” Sirius leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the chandelier. “I always thought he was killed because he was afraid of Voldemort’s methods and wanted to quit.”
"..." Harry finally pieced together what had happened, and he didn't know how to comfort Sirius—he thought he needed comforting.
“Cowardice and courage might be antonyms,” Harry stammered, “but no one says they can’t both be in one person, right? Like Wormtail?”
Upon hearing the name, Sirius instinctively made a face as if he had been disgusted.
“Well, I was just using an analogy, it might not be quite right.” Harry licked his lips. “Anyway, turning to the light is much better than turning to the dark. Your brother is fantastic.”
Sirius turned to look at him, his gray eyes appearing red in the light.
“He was also…he was also very polite.” Harry racked his brains, trying to lighten the mood. “He even wrote ‘To the Dark Lord’ on his last note. If it were me, I would have added at least five vicious adjectives.”
But he quickly realized that talking about Sirius's brother like that wasn't a good idea. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just not good at comforting people." Harry tugged at his hair in frustration.
“No, you’re absolutely right.” Sirius placed his hand on his shoulder, his expression still haggard, but his eyes were no longer dull. “Regulus is indeed a polite child, ever since he was little.”
Sirius suddenly perked up. "I have to avenge him—is there anything to eat? I haven't eaten all day, I'm starving."
“We have Queenie sandwiches.” Queenie tapped her plate with her fork at the opportune moment. “Are two enough? If not, I’ll have to grill some raw Buckbeak meat for you.”
Because of the Horcruxes, everyone in the Order of the Phoenix was unusually busy, and Sirius, who was still wanted by the Ministry of Magic, became the most idle one in comparison.
However, this also meant that he had time to instruct the Gryffindor trio. Sirius spent all his time taking them to the valley, and the trio loved their classes more than ever before—except for Hermione, who loved every subject—oh, except for Divination.
Sirius happens to be most skilled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Charms, making it a perfect fit for his profession.
A few days later, in the evening, just as they emerged from the valley, Harry received a text message from Dumbledore inviting him to meet him in front of the church in the center of the village.
Harry had already learned the Disillusionment Charm, so he wasn't wearing the Invisibility Cloak and walked towards the church as if he were invisible.
Dumbledore was sitting on a bench in front of the church, his eyes closed as if he were dozing.
"..." The deliberately forgotten memories resurfaced. Harry recalled the other person's "friendship" with Grindelwald, and his face twisted again, making it almost impossible for him to look at Dumbledore directly.
When he was about ten feet from the bench, Dumbledore suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping around the room. "Harry?"
Harry sat down beside him, and Dumbledore's gaze followed him the whole time, making Harry feel like he had nowhere to hide.
Dumbledore praised him generously, "You've learned the Illusion Charm? Amazing talent."
...Nothing can compare to your and Grindelwald's amazing performance.
Harry pursed his lips. "You make me feel like this spell isn't very effective."
Dumbledore chuckled. "The Disillusionment Charm is a very useful spell, it's just that I'm quite sensitive to magical fluctuations."
"Alright... Professor Dumbledore, what brings you here?"
"Harry, you haven't been back to the Dursleys lately, have you?"
“Uh.” Life in Godric Valley was so wonderful that neither he nor Sirius mentioned it. “I’ll go back tonight…”
“No rush, I have something more important to do tonight. I need you to come with me somewhere.” Dumbledore raised his arm. “Would you do me a favor, Harry?”
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