Innocent Twins

The Burrow Garden.

The sun was still shining brightly in early August, but fortunately the scorching heat of midsummer was blocked and alleviated by the hills and forests surrounding the village, so the sun was not scorching and felt warm and comfortable on the skin.

Charlie leaned against a rock by the pond, flipping through the Daily Prophet's predictions and strength analysis for the Quidditch final. Thinking about the humiliating defeats of all three England teams, he couldn't help but mutter, "What a disgrace!"

"What?"

Fred turned to look at him; he and George were discussing how to improve the Fake Wand.

"I have to say, this year's Quidditch World Cup has been a complete disgrace," Charlie said with a long face. "England team lost to Transylvania team 10-390, Wales team lost to Uganda, and Scotland team were thrashed by Luxembourg team... It was absolutely terrible."

George waved his hand. "Oh, that was a month ago, Charlie. Try to think positively."

"Exactly..." Fred agreed wholeheartedly. "On the bright side, this way they can start preparing for the next Quidditch World Cup earlier, right?"

"And even if they advance, they will be eliminated by Ireland team. Ireland team this year is too strong. They beat Peru team in the semi-finals."

"Do you really think Ireland team can win the championship, Fred?"

"That's obvious."

"But Bulgaria team has Viktor Krum."

"Krum is good, but he's just one person. Ireland team has seven good players."

"..."

Both teams that made it to the finals had a chance to win, but boys of this age are as stubborn as a runaway Gorgon. The three brothers quickly started arguing about which team would ultimately win the competition, and no one could convince the other.

Not far from them, Ron cautiously looked up around the garden to see if his family was busy chatting, then asked Harry in a very soft voice, "You said... your scar flared up again, and you dreamed that Voldemort killed a Muggle?"

Loren and Hermione looked up and glanced around, then listened intently to Harry's story.

"Yes, in a very old house. As before, he seemed to have some ulterior motive towards me, but I didn't hear any specific plans."

Harry paused. He felt so happy and content that he shouldn't talk about his dream from last night; he didn't want them to worry.

"Did Dumbledore reply to you?" Hermione asked in a low voice. "You dreamed about Voldemort last time."

"It's been many days, and there's still no news..." Harry said in a muffled voice. "Dumbledore probably thinks I'm just a child and doesn't need to tell me too much."

This sounded somewhat like a complaint...

Loren glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Did you practice your Occlumency during the holidays? You don't need a wand for that."

Harry paused for a moment, opened his mouth as if to say something, but couldn't say anything.

Loren said softly, "I think that's why Dumbledore didn't reply. Like I said before, if you can see information about Voldemort, he might also see information about you... Now that he knows he's plotting something about you, Dumbledore is even less likely to tell you any relevant information."

Harry's brows furrowed.

Occlumency.

Another Occlumency.

He refused to believe he couldn't learn it, so he started practicing this afternoon. Luckily Loren and Hermione were both there, so he asked them to be his professors.

Not far away, Charlie and the Twins were arguing heatedly, but Charlie soon realized that he couldn't win an argument with George and Fred by himself, especially since the two younger brothers' mouths were even more annoying Peeves's.

He clenched his fists, resisting the urge to argue with body language, tilted his head, and shouted to the other side, "Harry, Ron, tell me, who will win Ireland team and Bulgaria team?"

Ron couldn't sit still any longer. He jumped up, grabbed Harry, and scurried over. "Of course it's the Bulgaria team!"

Harry thought about it carefully—

Okay, I'll start practicing tomorrow.

Hermione, have you considered getting a new hairstyle?

"Just tell me how you want your hair styled."

How about twin tails?

"No." Hermione yawned. She had been thinking about which runes to use all night and didn't go to sleep until very late. With only two days left until Runes 'Loren birthday, she planned to start making them as soon as possible. "The twin ponytails hanging down on both sides are easy to get in the way."

Loren clicked his tongue in regret. "Twin ponytails are so nice..."

"I think short hair is best. It's easy to manage and won't get in the way."

Noticing that the hair tie was secured, Hermione leaned back lazily against him, stopping his hand from playing with her hair. "Mrs. Weasley said we could go play in the paddock up in the mountains if we were bored, but Ginny and I don't want to go. What about you boys?"

"Harry and Ron are going, Charlie, George, and Fred. I don't know about the others." Loren squeezed her shoulder. She was thin but not without any flesh, and soft and fluffy. "Yesterday she said she wanted to practice Occlumency, but then she felt that it was not easy to come to the Burrow for summer vacation... She hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to practice after school starts."

Hermione frowned and tilted her head, wanting to persuade Harry, but she also felt that it was indeed a rare opportunity to be a guest at the Burrow during the summer vacation, and the Weasley family had been very kind to Harry, so he really shouldn't refuse their kindness.

"And you, are you going to go up the mountain to play?"

"I don't want to go. They just want to go to the paddock for a two-person Quidditch match. I want to stay in the garden and sunbathe."

"Um?"

"Charlie and Ron supported Bulgaria team, but George and Fred supported Ireland team, and they ultimately decided to use Quidditch to decide who was right."

"What?" Hermione was a little confused.

"Whoever wins is the one who understands Quidditch better..." Loren shrugged, he couldn't quite explain the logic either. "George and Fred are on one team, Charlie and Ron are on the other, and Harry is the referee."

"..."

The hunting grounds are on a hill near Stoat Hill, where there are trees everywhere, so the villagers below won't be able to see them. But you can't use real Quidditch balls; if they accidentally fly into the village, things could get complicated.

Ron's old Meteor was so slow that it could even be left behind by butterflies on the roadside, so he had to borrow Harry's Nimbus 2000.

After breakfast, Percy and Arthur went to work together, while Harry, Ron, Charlie, George, and Fred winked at each other and carried their brooms up the mountain.

Bill, on the other hand, stayed at home to help Molly deal with the old furniture she cleared out of the storage room. Many of the items were over a decade old, even older than Percy, and only Bill could help identify them.

Hermione and Ginny stayed in their room, and no one knew what they were doing.

Sneaky and secretive.

The cube-shaped Mithril, imbued with Magic Power, remained motionless in the small copper crucible. As it was continuously heated by powerful Fire Charm, the metallic color of the Mithril gradually turned red until the red light filled the entire Mithril. The edges of the cube gradually softened and melted, and it could no longer maintain its shape.

Hermione, wand in hand, constantly adjusted the Magic Power supply of the Fire Charm, keeping the Mithril in a semi-melted but not completely melted state. This ensured that she could use her Special Brush to pick up the liquid Mithril, and that the Mithril would solidify within three to five seconds of landing on the Goblin Silver Coin, transforming into the Runes she had designed.

This was a meticulous and strenuous task, requiring a long period of maintaining Magic Power energy and concentration, coupled with the intense heat of the flames at close range. After completing the first step, Hermione had a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Is this what you learned in your elective course on Ancient Rune?"

Ginny had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, blinked. She had been staring at the flames for just as long as they had been burning her, without blinking or shifting her gaze in any particular pattern. Now, everything in front of her was a blur of colors, and she couldn't even see Hermione clearly, who was right next to her.

"It's not just about Ancient Rune; it also requires some knowledge of Alchemy and Charms ..." Hermione dipped her finger in the viscous Mithril liquid and carefully traced patterns on the Goblin Silver Coin, even breathing very softly, not daring to be distracted.

"You studied so hard just to prepare a special gift for Loren?" Ginny blinked repeatedly.

"Of course not..." Hermione finished drawing a Runes and saw that the Mithril in the cauldron was cooling down. She put down her brush and heated the Mithril with the flame again. She smiled. "It's just that I happen to know this knowledge, so I can use it to prepare a gift... Just like you might be better at Quidditch, and Harry loves Quidditch, so you can give him a Quidditch -related gift."

"Anyone can give him Quidditch -related gift..." Ginny muttered. "That's nothing special, Hermione. Do you have any other ideas?"

"Whether a gift is special does not depend on the gift itself, but on the thought that the giver puts in. If you prepare it with care, he will definitely notice the thought and respond accordingly."

Hermione held her breath and drew a Runes on the silver coin.

Ginny thought back to the effort she had put into giving those cards and greeting cards; she had prepared them carefully, even taking Luna's advice, but in the end...

Ginny's lips twitched. Oh well, Hermione is definitely more reliable Luna.

Her eyesight gradually returned to normal, and the distorted colors disappeared. She leaned closer to examine the silver coin. It was slightly larger Galleons, but definitely smaller than her palm. The symbols on it were even smaller, making it difficult to see clearly.

It looks like Hermione will have to draw countless more of these symbols on it, Ginny gets a chill just thinking about it.

Ginny paused, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Would Loren also put this much effort into you?"

"Him?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh, putting down her brush to rest her eyes and hands. "He first celebrated my birthday in my first year, when we were both new students at Hogwarts. I don't know how he knew my birthday..."

The morning sun had already risen, but it wasn't yet noon when it was at its brightest. The glowing Mithril emitted radiant ripples, raising the temperature near the crucible considerably, making it even warmer than the sun outside the window.

Under the trees in the garden of the Burrow, Loren, who was leaning against the tree trunk with his eyes half-closed but not completely asleep, tilted his head and hid in the shade of the branches to avoid the glaring direct sunlight.

He thought about the ominous dream Harry had described, his thoughts rising and falling like waves in his mind.

His distant memories could no longer foresee many things in this world, such as the Werewolf Inferi in New York, or how Voldemort, without his Wormtail, would plot his resurrection...

Charlie returned to the Burrow under the pretext of watching the Quidditch World Cup, but he still occasionally went out, and it was easy to guess that he was busy with the Fire Dragon... The time for the Triwizard Tournament was approaching, which also meant that the moment Voldemort would truly be resurrected was approaching.

Although Voldemort's actions cannot be fully predicted, some foresight is enough to thwart Voldemort plans and prevent him from resurrecting using Harry's blood.

However, Loren had some uncertainties. He wasn't sure if disrupting Voldemort's resurrection plan would damage the strange bond between Harry and Voldemort, making it impossible for Harry to completely kill Voldemort...

By the way, the Quidditch World Cup final doesn't seem to be going well either... Who's causing trouble again...?

Well, that's something Dumbledore should worry about... We'll just feed the information to Old Dumbledore and see what he does.

As a leader of justice, Dumbledore doesn't worry about it, who will?

Could it be me?

Thinking this, Loren shifted his head to a more comfortable position, covered his face with a leaf, and prepared to take a short rest there.

In the bright summer sunshine, Loren, who was taking a break under the shade of a tree, suddenly had a glimmer of Magic Power light flash in his peripheral vision. Accompanied by a loud explosion, the window on the Second Floor of the Burrow suddenly shook, and the entire the Burrow shook as well.

Bang--

The window of the Fourth Floor storage room was flung open from the inside, and Molly, wearing an apron, poked her head out, her face full of anger. "George! Fred! Just because I allow you to tinker with those things doesn't mean you can blow up the house!"

Loren, who had been hiding under the tree, moved aside the leaves and slowly stood up. He met the gaze of the furious Mrs. Weasley, his expression somewhat complicated. After a pause, Loren raised his voice slightly:

"Actually, George and Fred went up the mountain to play Quidditch; they're not home."

"Not at home..."

Molly opened her mouth, looking completely bewildered. "Who is that...?"

"Sorry, it was us."

The windows of the two girls' bedroom on the Second Floor were open, Hermione and Ginny, looking somewhat disheveled and covered in ash from the explosives, poked their heads out. Their dirty little faces wore pitiful and somewhat comical expressions.

Molly seemed quite surprised, and her words were somewhat incoherent. "Oh, darling, what are you doing?"

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley, it was my Ancient Rune homework..."

Hermione nodded.

Poor thing, Loren could actually see a shy blush on her dark little face.

"Ah... Ancient Rune ..." Molly paused, "If you're not too confident, you can do it in Arthur's shed; it's safer there."

"Okay, Mom!"

Ginny read it aloud crisply and reached out to close the window.

"Wait a minute—" Loren called out, "What Runes homework? Can I help with it?"

"It's alright, no need!" Hermione hurriedly closed the window.

Strange...

Loren scratched his head and lay back down under the tree.