Vivi Returns!

Good heavens, she would rather be hung in the dungeon and whipped than eat this disgusting stuff.

Ah... well, if I were to be whipped by Draco, Pansy thinks it wouldn't be so bad to be whipped by him every day for the next few days.

"It seems you don't like it."

Dumbledore reluctantly stuffed the cockroach back in, then carefully selected one and put it in his mouth.

After a long while, his face froze.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Harry asked with concern.

Professor Dumbledore suddenly disappeared from the Headmaster's Office with the Phoenix.

He returned after a while, his face pale and his eyes red, looking as if he had just S.P.E.W..

"That cockroach was real." Professor Dumbledore's expression was grim. "No, the whole jar was full of real cockroaches..."

To Dumbledore's surprise, Lucius was now laughing heartily with Professor Snape in the Potions Class office.

"Well, well," Snape wiped away tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, "I really didn't expect that my old senior—you would have such a perfect idea. To be honest, I've wanted to do this for a long time. Dumbledore always makes me brew him the Tooth-strengthening Potion, and now I feel like throwing up just from the smell..."

Lucius smiled with great restraint, but couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

In the Headmaster's Office, Professor Dumbledore drank three cups of lemon syrup before he felt a little better of suppressing the nausea.

Good heavens, he felt he would never eat Cockroach Clusters again in his life—he would probably remember the disgusting taste every time he picked up Cockroach Clusters in the future.

"If I were you, I would never eat Cockroach Clusters again," Harry earnestly suggested.

At this moment, everyone in the Headmaster's Office burst into laughter, led by Phineas, as they all mocked Dumbledore's plight.

"I think you're right," Dumbledore said, his face ashen. "My God, this feeling is awful."

"How about eating some more Cockroach Clusters calm down?" Harry asked tentatively, his tone quite cunning; he was doing it on purpose.

Dumbledore felt a churning in his stomach and gagged.

"Huff..."

Harry found it very novel. In his memory, Dumbledore was never one to show his emotions, and he had never seen him lose his composure with just a few words.

"I think you should leave," Dumbledore said curtly, issuing the order to leave. "And Miss Parkinson, I will inform your father of your behavior at school!"

Pansy nodded vigorously; she had thought she was going to be fired.

Fortunately, it was just a letter to her parents. While feeling relieved, she also warned herself not to come into contact with any items related to Dark Arts.

That feeling was unbearable, especially the feeling of being Mind Control and manipulated by others... She vowed she never wanted to experience it again.

However, to everyone's surprise, Voldemort did die after being detonated by Harry's Ancient Magic —but he wasn't completely dead.

Only he himself knew that he possessed Horcrux, so after his main soul exploded, his consciousness automatically transferred to another Horcrux.

When Voldemort regained some consciousness, he found himself in complete darkness.

He wasn't afraid, after all, he knew he had Horcrux and wouldn't die completely—but he was definitely wasting a life.

Where am I?

As he was thinking this, he heard an old voice in his ear.

"The shameful young master Sirius left, and he has even managed to escape some good fortune—because he was a bad boy, always breaking the rules and hurting the mistress's heart... But Young Master Regulus is very well-mannered; he knows what the Black family name and his noble Pure-blood mean..."

The aged voice seemed to be repeating the same phrase endlessly, which annoyed Voldemort.

What exactly happened? Where did this come from?

After Pansy's interlude, Hogwarts returned to tranquility.

Dumbledore returned to the Headmaster's seat, but only a few professors knew it was all a setup.

At the banquet welcoming Dumbledore back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore sat at the head of the Faculty Table, staring at the desserts in front of him for a long time without taking a bite.

"What's wrong, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked tentatively. "This is the first time I've seen you without an appetite for sweets—are these desserts not to your liking?"

"No, I'm fine, Minerva," Dumbledore said, shaking his head.

"I admit I was too strict with you before, but your teeth can't withstand the damage from too much sweet food—good heavens, Severus says you've even developed a resistance to the Tooth-strengthening Potion!" Professor McGonagall said worriedly.

Unexpectedly, Snape, who usually disliked speaking, suddenly spoke up.

"Albus, want some Cockroach Clusters?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dumbledore's expression immediately became quite interesting.

"Severus?" Professor McGonagall looked at Snape curiously. She knew that Dumbledore loved Cockroach Clusters, but she didn't expect that the name "Cockroach Clusters" would make him feel S.P.E.W..

Are they just tired of eating it?

Professor Flitwick, who was always very gossipy, also came over. He looked at Dumbledore and then at Snape, and his intuition told him that Snape must know something.

"You must know something, Severus," Professor Flitwick said in a shrill voice. "Don't worry, Severus, I think you should just say what you need to say. Albus won't blame you."

"Yes," Professor Sprout added.

"Alright," Snape said sternly, clearing his throat, "It's just that Mr. Malfoy, the acting Headmaster, accidentally replaced the Cockroach Candy in the Headmaster's Cockroach Clusters candy jar with real cockroaches."

Upon hearing Snape's words, everyone's expressions became quite interesting.

Albus?

Eating cockroaches?

Hahahaha!

Finally, the usually stern Professor Cat broke down first, clutching her stomach and bursting into laughter.

This laugh caused everyone at the Faculty Table to laugh along.

The students below were still wondering what was going on with the professors.

Perhaps they were welcoming Professor Dumbledore back, they thought, and began to fight for the chicken leg in front of them again.

In the Gryffindor seating area, Ron nudged Harry with his elbow and asked, "What's going on, Harry? Why are the professors suddenly looking at Dumbledore and smiling?"

"Maybe it's to welcome him?" Neville asked tentatively.

"No." Hermione looked at Harry. "Harry, do you know why? I have a feeling this has something to do with you."

"You're wronging me, Hermione," Harry quickly said. "It's just that Draco's father—Mr. Lucius Malfoy —while serving as acting Headmaster, replaced the Cockroach Candy in Professor Dumbledore's jar of Cockroach Clusters with real cockroaches..."

Upon hearing Harry's words, the friends tensed up, then burst into laughter.

They really didn't expect Draco's father to do such a thing.

but...

That's really interesting.

That evening, Harry returned to the Map Chamber.

"Veratia," Harry said happily, "Voldemort is dead—or at least his remnant is dead."

"I don't think Dark Wizard like him would die so easily, Harry," Veratia said softly. "Like we analyzed last time, that Notebook was a Horcrux —but here's the problem: Dark Wizard like Voldemort, who has the ability to make one Horcrux, must have made Horcrux ..."

"Yes, the method of making Horcrux is very complicated, but the most evil part is that it requires killing someone to make them," Professor Rackham said. "His first Horcrux was probably made from poor Myrtle, which is why Miss Merope, who was causing trouble in Slytherin, looks so young."

"So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, how many Horcrux will he have?" Harry asked.

"Seven is a magical number," Professor Rackham said. "Arithmancy diviner Bridget Winlock was the first witch to discover the magical properties of the number seven, and many experts believe that seven is the age when magical abilities should manifest."

"But the age at which our Ancient Magic manifests is fifteen," Harry told Professor Rackham.

"So it's Ancient Magic," Professor Rackham said with a smile.

"So you mean Voldemort has seven Horcrux?" Harry asked tentatively.

"It's hard to say, but it's also very possible." Professor Rackham smiled and nodded. "It's just a guess."

"But your most pressing matter should be rescuing your girlfriend from Slytherin's Study as soon as possible," Professor Rackham suddenly said. "She's waited for you for a hundred years. Now that your materials are ready, are you going to make her wait a few more days?"

"You're right, Professor," Harry said quickly. "I'll be there in a bit..."

"No need to rush, Harry," Veratia suddenly said. "I suggest you wait a couple of days, make some more preparations, and then come to the study to rescue me during the Christmas holidays."

"Why?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"You forgot?" Veratia said softly, "I was in Slytherin's Study, and the door to that study can only be opened by using the Cruciatus Curse on someone..."

"Oh..." Harry said suddenly, realizing he had completely forgotten about it.

"Today is December 7th, Harry," Professor Rackham said. "You have a week to prepare—is your dark witch ready?"

"Why does it have to be a witch?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"Are you stupid?" Professor Rackham said, exasperated. "A hundred years is enough time to erode most clothes. Do you intend to let the wizard see something he shouldn't?"

"Oh... oh!" Harry exclaimed, realizing that it made sense.

Thank you, Professor Rackham!

Even if they were witches, Harry didn't intend to let them see anything they shouldn't see.

Well... after all, they are Dark Wizard. After using the Cruciatus Curse on them, we can't just release them.

What if word gets out that Harry Potter at Hogwarts likes to use the Cruciatus Curse? Will I still be able to attend Hogwarts in the future?

But Avada is too evil and too extreme, Harry thought, um... how about giving Alfonso a treat?

Forget it, doing that seems even more evil. Let Alfonso give her a painless death instead.

As for Alfonso... poor little Alfonso can't eat such filthy things!

Why...

Harry suddenly remembered the dark witch who had been hired in Knockturn Alley.

Alright, you're the one!

After consuming the Cruciatus Curse, we can also recycle the waste, for example, by having everyone conduct some practical combat drills...

That's what we'll do! He thought.

"By the way," Harry suddenly asked, "the Slytherin Basilisk's name Alfonso, why is that a Spain name?"

"Because Salazar seems to be someone from the Iberian Peninsula," Headmaster Fitzgerald said. "The name ' Salazar ' comes from a Portugal family surname, and 'Salazar' is sometimes spelled 'Salasar'."

"So that's how it is!" Harry exclaimed, no wonder the Basilisk was named Alfonso.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Harry began his Christmas holiday.

During this time, Harry didn't stay idle; in his spare time, he began preparing Christmas present for everyone.

For example, Snape's gift was a snake slough he had found in the Chamber of Secrets; Dumbledore's gift was a Cockroach Clusters...

For Pabbie's gift, Harry carefully selected some berries that Unicorn love to eat and had an owl deliver them to her Alchemy Hut ahead of time.

However, Pabbie implied that she had found her nephew, Newt Scamander, as well as Theseus Scamander.

According to Pabbie, Newt Scamander is considering applying to be a professor of the Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts next semester.

Dumbledore had told Mr. Scamander about this more than once, saying that the original professor of the Care of Magical Creatures was overwhelmed and wanted to resign, but Mr. Scamander had repeatedly refused on the grounds that he was too busy.

But this time, for his aunt's sake, he still shouldered the heavy responsibility.

Since he's Pabbie's nephew, I can speak up for him, Harry thought. So he wrote a letter to Pabbie, asking her to ask Mr. Scamander to let Hagrid be his deputy... or rather, teaching assistant.

Harry always remembered Hagrid's dream—not just to raise dragons, but also because this adorable friend craved recognition from others.

Let him start by working as a teaching assistant under Mr. Scamander. They share the same interests, and Mr. Scamander is Hagrid's idol.

This is the Christmas present Harry prepared for Hagrid.

As for Ron... Harry prepared some chess manuals for him, all written by people who were particularly good at Wizard Chess back in the day; Hermione's gift was a pair of Two-way mirror so that she could talk to her parents anytime, anywhere.

As for Neville, the gift he received was a pile of herb seeds, which is hard to say whether it was a Neville or a burden for him.

Seamus's gift, on the other hand, consisted of advanced manuals on Explosion Charm, which Harry intended to help him improve his skills in Explosion-related spells.

After preparing the gifts, Harry arranged for the owls of Hogwarts to deliver them, while he himself took advantage of the holiday to visit Knockturn Alley.

Upon arriving at his first stop in Knockturn Alley, he knocked on the door of the dark witch Farina.

"Who is it?" Farina's impatient voice rang out.

She walked to the door, opened it, and found that it was Harry.

"Long time no see, my employee," Harry said to Farina.

The Imperius Curse had long since lost its effect, but she was too terrified of Harry to run away—because Harry had placed a marking Charms on her.

No matter where she went, Harry could find her.

"You..." Farina asked hesitantly.

"Oh, I'd like to ask you for a small favor," Harry said. "Here you go, shall I offer to do it, or will you do it yourself?"

"I'll do it myself," Farina said confidently.

Harry opened his wallet and shouted into Alfonso's Parseltongue, "Alfonso, I'm sending someone down—you better watch out, don't open your eyes. If you kill him, I'll never throw meat down there again!"

"Yes, Master!" Alfonso hissed in reply.

Farina jumped aside in fear the moment Harry spoke.

Damn it, am I the Dark Wizard Dark Wizard, or are you?!

How the hell do you speak with Parseltongue?!

As everyone knows, Parseltongue is a signature phrase of Dark Wizard...

"Come on," Harry, opening his wallet.

Farina closed her eyes and jumped in.

She thought there would be a solid floor inside, but she didn't expect to fall onto something cold and hard.

"Hiss... hiss hiss hiss... (Hello)" Alfonso closed his eyes, feeling the warmth, and brought his face close to Farina's.

Farina was surrounded by darkness, but she felt a cold voice ring in her ears.

She mustered her courage and picked up the magic wand.

"Lumos!"

As it turned out, this photo had a terrible effect; she now deeply regrets it.

I should have known better than to take that picture!

Before her was a snake head as big as Fire Dragon's head, its eyes closed and its tongue flicking at her.

"Ah----!!"

Farina let out a high-pitched scream.

Harry didn't care how the employee would react; since Alfonso had promised not to hurt the person, it wasn't a big problem.

He craned his neck to look into Farina's room.

To be fair, Farina wasn't a good person either; she had a boy with dark circles under his eyes tied up in the house.

The boy looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, and was very handsome—even his panda-like dark circles under his eyes couldn't hide his good looks.

"Hey? Wake up?" Harry walked over and patted the boy's face.

To everyone's surprise, the boy's first words upon waking were. "I definitely can't do it today! Please let me go, Sister Farina!"

"You're free," Harry said. "Farina has been arrested for unlawful detention."

"Cool!" The boy smiled. "Are you a police officer from the Wizarding World? That's impressive. I thought I was going to die here... My name is Chris, Chris Wellesley."

Harry untied him and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not Auror —I'm just an ordinary student at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Chris was clearly a little disappointed.

"You shouldn't be disappointed. If I were Auror, you would have your memories erased," Harry said to Chris. "That's the only consequence for Muggle like you to know about the wizarding world."

"That's not cool." Chris clicked his tongue. "Actually, the Magical World is pretty good—you know, Sister Farina gave me a lot of Potions. I used to be quite weak, but now look..."

As he spoke, he raised his arm and struck a muscular pose.

"The boy she was taking care of was already dead when I last came here," Harry said succinctly. "If you hold on for a few more days, you might die too."

"That wouldn't be cool," Chris said, shaking his head. "So, wizard, could you take me home?"

Harry grabbed his arm and Apparition him to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Where is your home?" he asked.

Chris felt a sudden dizziness. He bent over, vomited twice on the ground, wiped his mouth, and said, "My God, is this magic? How cool!"

"You need to be careful of Dark Arts; it kills quickly and painlessly," Harry said.

"That's even cooler!" Chris's eyes lit up. "My God, with such powerful wizarding abilities, why would we submit to the America? Look, we've become their missile base!"

"Because there are wizards in America too, Mr. Wellesley," Harry said helplessly. He really hadn't expected that Mr. Wellesley in front of him was such a radical.

"Alright." Chris nodded, told Harry his home address, and then said, "So, would you like to let me experience this teleportation magic again?"

"No." Harry waved, and a taxi pulled up in front of him.

"Get in the car," he said. "You should go back. Your family must be very worried about you after all these years."

"Then leave me your contact information—" Chris said eagerly, "I want to find time to repay you for saving my life."

"No need," Harry said, pushing him into the car. "I don't think you can help me much. Get in, Mr. Wellesley."

With that, Harry turned and walked into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Huh?" Chris looked up in surprise. Harry was just in front of him a moment ago, how could he have disappeared in the blink of an eye?

He was quite certain that Harry hadn't used any Charms, but had simply vanished.

The taxi driver honked the horn twice.

"Are you getting on the bus or not, kid?"

"Here we are." With no other option, Chris got into a taxi.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry first went to Diagon Alley and bought several women's clothes at Madam Malkin's Robes.

"You should know, my dear," Madam Malkin said helplessly after Harry gave her the measurements, "that waist size wouldn't fit a seventeen-year-old girl—"

"I'm quite sure, madam," Harry sighed. "Please cut it to my measurements."

Since the customer made the request, Madam Malkin had no choice but to comply.

However, before Harry left, she gave him several more instructions.

If the size doesn't fit, don't come looking for trouble with her—after all, she's already warned you.

After putting his clothes away, Harry planned to go somewhere else, perhaps to buy some food for Alfonso.

This guy really eats a lot, but Harry didn't complain about it.

This Basilisk... to be honest, it's not annoying. It's like a child, like a blank sheet of paper, with not much of its own thought.

If used properly, it will definitely be a great help in the future.

After everything was ready, Harry returned to Hogwarts.

He first went to the Map Chamber.

"Veratia," Harry said, pushing open the door and pulling out clothes to look at Veratia's portrait, "I've prepared all your clothes..."

"Really?" Veratia replied with a smile. "Harry, you're so kind—you still remember my size."

"Madam Malkin simply couldn't believe your waist was that small..." Harry shook his head and said, "But she did it anyway after I insisted."

"After all, a hundred years have passed, so it's normal that that body type isn't popular these days," Veratia said nonchalantly. "Each generation has its own aesthetic."

"Even we find it somewhat hard to understand," Professor Rackham suddenly remarked sharply.

Headmaster Fitzgerald glared fiercely at Professor Rackham: "Can't you shut up, Charles?"

"It's driving me crazy," Professor Rackham said, expressing his true feelings.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Harry asked, "Like, where should I put those different materials?"

"On the desk in the study, there will be a disc with the corresponding shapes engraved on it—you should see it, right in front of me. Just put those materials in the corresponding positions," Veratia replied.

"Then I'll go to Slytherin's Study now," Harry said. "Wait for my good news—don't worry, Veratia, even if I rescue your original form, I'll come back to visit you often."

"Okay," Veratia replied with a smile.

After Harry left, Headmaster Fitzgerald asked, puzzled, "Veratia, I'm curious, why didn't you tell Harry the truth? Like I said, showing some gentleness in front of him would have been more likely to evoke his protective instincts."

"No, Professor," Veratia said sadly, "You don't understand Harry. Harry's personality... sensitive, careful, and cautious, and somewhat... self-doubting. He's not good at expressing love, nor is he good at discovering love. That's why I have to be tolerant of him, understand him, care for him, and become someone he can rely on. So I can't show any weakness in front of him."

"That Potter kid, he really got lucky," Professor Rackham said, rolling his eyes. "But you're going to get tired of this."

"Tired?" Veratia asked somewhat lightly. "Compared to enduring a hundred years of solitude in the Map Chamber, this is nothing, Professor Rackham."

"What if Harry comes to the Map Chamber and finds your portrait is gone?" Headmaster Fitzgerald suddenly asked.

"Just say I've already absorbed the memories," Veratia said lightly. "Anyway, Harry's a bit of a scatterbrain, he won't notice anything amiss."

After saying that, she added, "Thank you, professors, for your companionship over the years. I think it's time to say goodbye now."

"It's not like we'll never see each other again," Professor Rackham said. "Aren't you planning to come back sometime?"

"That's true." Veratia nodded and stepped out of the portrait.

Then, with light steps, she gracefully left the Map Chamber.

Harry was unaware of the little incident that occurred in the Map Chamber.

He now had all five materials with him and had arrived at the edge of Slytherin Common Room, ready to enter Slytherin's Study.

Taking advantage of the holiday and the fact that no one was paying attention to him, Harry went to the entrance of the study, faced the wall, and used Revealing Charm.

"Revelio!"

The incantation flashed, and sure enough, three marks appeared on the wall.

At the same time, three candlesticks appeared in corresponding positions on both sides of the corridor.

"Confringo!"

Harry flicked his wand, using the Exploding Charm to light the candlestick, and a door suddenly appeared in the wall, swung open with a rumble.

Harry went inside and set all the candlesticks in the room ablaze with Blazing Flames.

This is a long corridor, which has obviously been modified by Veratia, and you can move forward without using Parseltongue.

He walked slowly forward, constantly using his Revealing Charm to see what changes had occurred here over the past hundred years.

However, apart from Veratia changing the landscape, nothing else changed.

Harry walked forward until he reached a small Ancient Magic door sealed inside.

He released the dark witch Farina, and before she could react, Harry raised his wand.

"Cruciatus Curse!"

Farina screamed as she curled up on the ground, her mind burning with pain and confusion.

Then, the seal on the small door was removed, a flash of violet light appeared, and the door clicked.

Without saying a word, he stopped casting the Cruciatus Curse and put the Dark Witch back into his wallet.

Strangely enough, ever since he awakened Ancient Magic, he no longer needs to use any of his spells with emotion; he can release them completely freely.

Harry opened the door and stepped inside, where he found himself in the familiar Slytherin Study.

However, what surprised Harry was that the furnishings in the study had been completely changed, replaced with what Veratia used to use—including the desk.

Veratia leaned back in the chair behind the desk, her eyes gently closed, seemingly unaware of Harry's arrival.

"Veratia!"

For the past year and a half, Harry had never felt his friend from a hundred years ago so close. He rushed forward and tried to wake Veratia.

However, when he reached Veratia's side, a flash of bronze light blocked him from entering.

Harry knew that this must be Veratia strengthening the Time Magic seal.

He searched carefully and found a stone disc on the desk in front of Veratia. It was engraved with angels, Fire Dragon, Phoenix and Basilisk, and there was a small compartment in the middle, which seemed to be the place where the Time Sand were stored.

Without saying a word, he took out the Dragon Heart and pressed it onto the Fire Dragon's spot.

A violet light flashed across the disc, which then gently rotated, making a clicking sound, as the Dragon Heart was completely absorbed into the disc.

Harry picked up the Angel Feather again—unlike what Harry remembered, the Angel Feather wasn't white, but colorless, yet it wasn't transparent either.

It's a very strange and bizarre state.

He placed the Angel Feather in the angel's position, and a violet light flashed across the disc again. The disc spun, emitting a mechanical turning sound.

Harry placed the Phoenix Tears and Basilisk Fang on the disc again, and the disc absorbed them without fail, its spinning speed increasing as if it were about to take flight.

Finally, Harry placed the Time Sand in the center of the disc.

The disc shone with a brilliant violet light, and it began to spin rapidly, making a squeaking sound.

Harry stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do, and could only let the disc spin rapidly.

After a short while, the disc slowly stopped spinning, and the violet light on it was so dazzling that it almost made the entire disc look like a purple gemstone.

At the same time, bronze light shimmered on both sides of the Veratia chair, rippling outwards like a bronze water curtain.

Slowly, the bronze-colored water curtain dissipated.

Harry stepped forward and cautiously reached out to touch it.

He found that this time there was no resistance and he could put his hand in normally.

Harry wanted to reach out and shake Veratia, but was afraid something might happen, so he froze in place, his paws clenched.

What should we do?

Veratia was still fast asleep and showed no sign of waking up.

Harry was getting anxious; he wished he could fly back to the Map Chamber immediately and ask the professors what to do.

"Veratia?" he asked tentatively.

There was no response.

He scratched his head, trying to calm himself down and find a good solution.

However, just as he lowered his head to scratch his hair, Veratia's eyes rolled almost imperceptibly twice, and at the same time, she let out a faint sigh.

The anxious Harry didn't notice that he looked up again.

"Veratia? Can you hear me?"

However, there was still no response.

Just as he was pacing anxiously back and forth...

A miracle occurred.

"Harry?"

A barely perceptible sound rang out, and Harry quickly moved closer to her.

"I am here!"

Veratia slowly opened her eyes, revealing her violet pupils.

"Harry?" she whispered. "I've been waiting for you..."

She slowly straightened up from the back of the chair, but Harry was astonished to find that Veratia's golden hair had suddenly begun to fade.

It faded from a dazzling gold to a silvery-white...

"Your hair?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Oh." Veratia reached out and picked up a strand of hair, chuckling softly, "This must be the result of the erosion of time— Harry, if I become an old woman in a while, you won't mind, will you?"

"How could that be?" Harry's nose tingled with emotion. He knew that Veratia's dazzling blond hair was her greatest pride.

However, it has now turned silvery-white.

Fortunately, Veratia's changes only appeared in her hair—perhaps this was just a superficial change.

"Can you stand up?" Harry asked.

Veratia tried to stand up, but her legs gave way and she slumped back into the chair.

"No, I've been stuck here for too long, my legs are a bit weak," she said with a wry smile.

"Let me help you try," Harry said, placing his hand on Veratia's clothes.

However, what he didn't expect was that this action would have serious consequences. Veratia's clothes suddenly appeared to him as if they were disintegrating into sand.

Harry swallowed hard.

"Is it pretty?" Veratia asked.

Harry nodded vigorously, then felt it was inappropriate, so he quickly turned around and took out the clothes he had prepared from his wallet.

As he took out his clothes, he was still thinking, "These clothes are so white... no, these clothes are so big... no, these clothes are so delicate..."

A rustling sound rang out, and soon after, Veratia's voice rang out again.

"Okay, turn around now."

Harry quickly turned around, his face still flushed with a suspicious redness.

"Are you blushing?" Veratia tilted her head to look at Harry, teasingly saying, "No matter how you look at it, I should be the one blushing, right? You naughty little Harry..."

"Haha..." Harry scratched his head and laughed awkwardly but politely.

"Alright, I won't blame you." Veratia laughed lightly. "Stay with me in the study for a while. I feel a little weak right now, let me adjust."

"Okay," Harry said.

As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of fire appeared beside Veratia.

"What's that?" he asked in surprise, and quickly went over to take a look.

"It's Fiona," Veratia said. "When I came to the study, Fiona voluntarily entered the time seal with me, and now she seems to be reborn and regaining her power."

Harry looked down and sure enough, there was a small fire on the ground, with a baby bird raising its head and chirping at him.

"Fiona." He reached out and picked up the small Phoenix. "We meet again!"

Fiona nuzzled Harry's hand affectionately, making a soft chirping sound.

"Professor Dumbledore also has a Phoenix," Harry said. "His name is Fawkes, oh yes—a male."

"Then I should remind you, Harry," Veratia said, reaching out to tickle Fiona's Harry. "If you remove the time of the seal, Fiona is just a seven-year-old girl—you absolutely mustn't let that Fawkes know she exists."

"Why?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Phoenix are rare these days, and Fiona is a girl," Veratia said softly. "I'm really worried that Fawkes will get attached to her..."

Harry thought about it for a moment, and then, in a very malicious way, he thought it like a father-in-law maliciously speculating about his new son-in-law—

Professor Dumbledore is a giver, then could it be that his Phoenix is also a giver, and he only likes male Phoenix?

Hmm... it's not impossible. After all, like father, like son; like master, like favorite. It's hard to say whether Dumbledore's Phoenix might be tainted by it... hmm...

It's hard to say!

"How are you feeling now?" Harry asked Veratia. "Are you hungry? I have some snacks here that can give you some energy."

"I'm fine," Veratia said softly. "I feel okay, but... aren't you going to tell me about what's been happening lately?"

Harry paused for a moment.

"What happened recently?" he asked uncertainly. "Don't you already know?"

Then he suddenly realized and said, "Oh, I forgot, it was your portrait that knew, not you."

So he explained to Veratia in detail what had happened.

Upon hearing that Gellert had taken all of her vault, Veratia's smile turned noticeably dangerous.

Harry shuddered. It seemed that both the portrait and Veratia were equally dangerous.

He began to mourn for Gellert, oh my god, your sister is going to come after you!

"Looks like I need to go to Nurmengard myself." Veratia snorted. "I want to personally confront my foolish brother about why he took all the money I kept in Gringotts!"

"And alchemical materials," Harry added. "All he left you was a Diadem... wait, that Diadem looks familiar."

"It's the one I'm wearing," Veratia said softly. "Do you remember? The Diadem you took down from the tree for me in Vienna in 1888."

"Oh, I remember now," Harry said suddenly. "That explains why it felt so familiar... By the way, what happened to those people who bullied you? I don't recall ever hearing about them?"

"They're all dead," Veratia said with a smile. "Look—so many years have passed, they must all be dead by now, right?"

Harry suddenly remembered the China professor named Haoying who had told them about an emperor named "Zheng Ying". Apparently, when he was a child in "Handan", the capital of "Zhao State", he was bullied. After returning to his country and becoming king, he built up his army and conquered Zhao State. Because of the grudge from his childhood, he buried all the children who had bullied him.

He shuddered; Veratia shouldn't be the type to hold a grudge like that.

"Haha," Harry chuckled dryly, "So what about Gellert? What are you going to do with him? After all, he's your own brother; you wouldn't kill him, would you?"

"Ha." Veratia snorted. "Being defeated and having it recorded on the Chocolate Frog Card is the ultimate disgrace! I would have much preferred him to use my money to make something of himself! But I really didn't expect that he would spend my money and achieve nothing..."

"I think he should pay it back," Harry suggested indirectly. After all, Grindelwald was Veratia's younger brother; he should be spared...

Look at Pabbie, she has two little nephews by her side, and the nephews have children, so that's practically four generations living together, what a happy family life!

But Gellert...

Harry thought for a moment that if Gellert could get married and have children like Newt, perhaps Veratia would let poor Gale off the hook because of his adorable junior.

but...

He came out.

This is just...

But Veratia has just returned, so it's obviously inappropriate to tell her such explosive news.

What if her magic suddenly explodes and floods the entire study?

The study was ruined, that's one thing...

If they were to overturn the castle, we'd be finished.

Fortunately, Veratia didn't seem too angry. Thinking this, Harry said to her, "Veratia, I think we should find somewhere... After all, you're not a Hogwarts student anymore, you can't exactly stay in our dorm, can you?"

"It's holiday time now, so it's not a problem for me to stay in your dorm, is it?" Veratia asked with a smile, she didn't object to sleeping in the same bed as Harry.

"No, Ron and Seamus are both at school," Harry said quickly. "They didn't go home for the holidays; apparently, something came up at home."

"Ron Seamus?" Veratia asked with interest. "You haven't told me about your friends yet. After a few more years at Hogwarts, you must have made some new friends, right?"

Her tone was so deceptive that Harry thought she was genuinely interested in asking the question.

"Oh, Ron and Seamus are my roommates, and Neville too," Harry said with a smile. "We also hang out with Hermione, but..."

"But what?" Veratia asked with a smile.

Harry leaned close to her ear and said, "But I always feel like Hermione has a thing for Ron, and Ron likes Hermione too... but Hermione always likes to control Ron, so Ron is a little afraid of Hermione —neither of them wants to admit they like each other, and they're always bickering..."

"Oh? There's such a thing?" Veratia's smile widened, her eyes now brimming with laughter. "But why does this kind of story feel so familiar?"

"Really?" Harry thought for a moment, but he didn't expect that among the people he knew, there were people with similar relationships to the two of them.

"Of course," Veratia said.

"Who?" Harry asked with interest.

Veratia looked at Harry with the same look she gave him when he was a little fool, and said softly, "I won't tell you."

Harry sniffed, turned his head, and snorted.

"Ha ha..."

Veratia reached out and cupped Harry's face, laughing as she ruffled his messy hair for a while.

"Look, you feel pretty good, as good as ever—I've never petted you this big before."

"Really?" Harry blushed.

"Heh." Veratia flicked Harry's forehead with her finger. "Speaking of which, what about Cassandra? Have you heard anything about her?"

"No," Harry answered truthfully. "I've only seen one letter Trelawney wrote to her, that Oracle, Cassandra Trelawney."

He recounted the contents of the letter to Veratia verbatim.

Veratia fell silent.

"I can imagine how much that letter must have hurt her," Veratia sighed softly. "Back then, I tried to persuade her to come into the time seal with me... but she told me with great disdain that she didn't want to find a boy who had nothing to do with her... But as it turns out, Harry, she cares about you more than anyone else."

"Really?" Harry asked, his voice tinged with bitterness.

"Of course," Veratia reached out and ruffled Harry's hair. "Believe me, I know Cassandra better than anyone else."

As she spoke, she slowly stood up.

"We've rested enough, I think we should go too," Veratia said to Harry. "Come on, since we can't go to your dorm, let's go to the Leaky Cauldron... Fiona!"

Fiona sensed her master's call and flew to Veratia's shoulder.

However, after grabbing Harry's arm, Veratia fell into a long silence.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked with concern.

"I think..." Veratia's voice was very soft, "I... have lost my magic."

(12,000 words delivered!)

(Please vote with monthly tickets!)