The End and a New Beginning

The next few months for Avada were essentially no different from a vacation.

Normal classes, normal homework, normal revision and exams—aside from time spent studying knowledge and analyzing the Diadem, everything else went to chatting with friends, relaxing, picnics, tea parties...

No Dark Lord lurking at the back of his head causing trouble, no Basilisk in the sewers glaring at everyone, no Dementors drifting through the air, and no one locking their own soul into a Horcrux and begging for help... If there was any life more comfortable than this, it would probably be graduating, skipping work, lying at home, and collecting twenty Galleons a month from the Ministry of Magic to loaf around in bliss.

As for the things Professor Baker had given them, Avada and the Baron studied them for a while before setting them aside, with no plans to touch them for now—the Crystal Ball was still cooling, the notes on the "Repentance" magic were completely incomprehensible, and even the five hundred Galleons had nowhere to spend at school since they couldn't go to Hogsmeade yet...

However, Avada had carefully examined the sealed giant book and estimated that he could manually break the seal on it by next year.

He wondered what was recorded inside that Professor Baker called it "the deepest, most fundamental mystery."

Then came the first-year final exams.

Confident in his own abilities and believing that only the Baron could threaten him in the entire year, Avada had set his sights on the top spot. But after making a pear dance Swan Lake, brewing a perfect Forgetfulness Potion, turning a mouse into a snuffbox that might get Disney to sue, accurately identifying Devil's Snare hidden among vines, and recalling that the wizard who invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron was named Gaspard Shingleton... he got one question wrong in Astronomy.

So the perfect score and first place in the year went jointly to the Baron and another clever, hardworking Ravenclaw girl.

Still, aside from Astronomy, Avada scored full marks on the other six exams, barely snagging second place. He became a fairly respected figure in the Hufflepuff common room—though still no match for Cedric, who had topped their year for two consecutive terms.

Beyond that, Hufflepuff's big sister Tonks returned at the end of term to take her N.E.W.T.s, earned five certificates, and was officially hired by the Ministry's Auror Office. The Hufflepuffs set aside an entire day for a grand celebration by the Black Lake, with endless food and drinks flowing in, students from other houses crashing the party in droves—and even several professors joined in at Professor Sprout's invitation.

Notably, the Baron finally accepted an invitation to attend, which filled Avada with relief.

In the end, at the final year-end feast, thanks to Professor Snape's extreme maneuvering, Slytherin won the House Cup by an overwhelming margin, securing a sixth consecutive victory. The Great Hall was decked out in silver and green, and the Slytherins' cheers echoed through the entire school—mostly from the lower years; the upperclassmen were already numb to winning.

But this time, Hufflepuff didn't come in last, because Senior Tonks had officially become the first Auror in four years, and Dumbledore added a hefty chunk of points in her honor. So last place went to Hufflepuff's brothers in misfortune, Gryffind... Gryffindork.

Anyway, next year The Chosen One would start making his move, so Gryffindor wasn't losing out.

Speaking of which, with Tonks's return and student gossip, the whole school knew that the famous The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, would be attending Hogwarts next year. Naturally, everyone's conversations inevitably drifted toward him—where he was living now, which house he'd be sorted into, whether his magical skill had already surpassed Dumbledore's, and so on.

Avada hadn't planned to join these discussions, at most listening to others' wild theories for a laugh. But what caught him off guard was that as the topic spread, the professors themselves started giving him strange, amused looks.

At first, he was puzzled, but then his brain clicked: Harry Potter was the first person in history to survive the Killing Curse, earning him the title "The Boy Who Lived"...

The moment he figured it out, Avada was exasperated by the professors' twisted sense of humor—what, did they want him to literally perform an "Avada Kedavra" to vindicate the Killing Curse?

Or was it that next year would bring so many juicy events they needed "Avada to chow down on the big melon"?

Besides the Harry Potter business, another thing stunned the Hogwarts staff and students: Benjamin Baker, the professor who had been diligent, powerful, knowledgeable, kind, and lively in class ever since the post-Christmas months, voluntarily resigned.

The official reason given was that Professor Baker had suffered an accident while trying to break through a bottleneck and complete a magical transformation, leaving him severely weakened—which was also why he had been so listless in January and February. So he needed to quit his job and focus on recovering, aiming for a full Reparo without lasting damage.

But Avada and the Baron knew that Professor Baker was likely going to deal with the problem of his soul (consciousness) fragments. They just didn't know how he would ultimately handle it—would he create another container, or find a way to reintegrate himself?

"Oh, right, would you like to visit my home this summer?"

On the Hogwarts Express racing toward King's Cross, the Baron, who had just finished discussing Professor Baker's whereabouts with Avada, clapped his hands and looked at him with some anticipation.

"Of course, as long as your parents don't mind!"

"Don't worry, my family doesn't buy into blood purity nonsense. No one will look down on you for being Muggle-born. Especially if my dad finds out you're second in the year, he'll definitely welcome you."

"Then I'm honored—but before that, I'd like to go back to the orphanage for a while. My friends there haven't heard from me in a year, so I have to check in and let them know I'm safe."

"No problem. What's the address of your orphanage? I'll come pick you up then."

"It's called Muller Orphanage, the address is... Wait, how are you planning to pick me up? My side isn't the wizarding world—be careful not to break the International Statute of Secrecy."

"My family has a car too. As long as we don't activate the magic inside, it's no different from an ordinary Muggle vehicle. The driver is a House-elf who can disguise himself to look exactly like a human..."

"Alright then, what date are we setting?"

"Mid-August or so, hmm... How about August tenth?"

"Deal, thanks for the invitation!"

With a long whistle, the train slowly pulled into King's Cross station. The platform was already crowded with adult wizards waiting to pick up their children, all standing on tiptoes, craning their necks to spot their kids in the crowd.

"Next semester, everything begins..."

"Harry Potter, the trio, the Philosopher's Stone, Quirrell, Voldemort..."

After saying goodbye to the Baron and leaving the crowded platform, Avada stood on the street, took a slow deep breath, then hailed a taxi.

"To Muller Orphanage."