Unlike Ron, Draco, and the others, Percy and Hermione frowned at Harry's words, just like Gemma.
"Harry, you need to learn to respect authority. Once you enter the working world, no one will—" Percy's words caught in his throat when he realized his theory didn't hold up where Harry was concerned.
Fudge's favoritism was plain for anyone to see.
"Magic is authority. We're wizards, Percy," Harry said.
Hermione's frown deepened, but Gemma's smile blossomed once more.
"Thank you, Harry. You've helped me understand that... No, I was just about to forget."
The icy blue eyes, seemingly warm but keeping everyone at a distance, thawed.
Wait, girl...
Why are you giving in so easily? I don't have a Veela trait either.
If you don't fight back, how am I supposed to complete my task?
Harry was speechless.
He more or less understood the situation.
Dumbledore had protected this country too well, and modern magic made it difficult to see the gap in combat strength.
In this country, even Voldemort had to organize the Death Eaters. He wouldn't dare try to dominate everyone alone.
The century's battle between Grindelwald and Dumbledore had also been kept outside the country's borders. The wizards lucky enough to witness it were either old now or had died during Voldemort's rise.
Compared with Ancient Magic, where people casually tore up mountains to hurl at their opponents and competed to see who could make the biggest crater, modern magic—where low- and mid-level fighters competed in speed and agility and relied mainly on mechanics—made it difficult to see the difference in skill.
As a result, people in this country generally had little accurate understanding of the combat strength of top-tier wizards.
Dumbledore was also far too easygoing. When the British Ministry of Magic asked him to fight Grindelwald, he let Ministry officials put a warning band on him and obeyed their order to stop teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.
It wasn't until Harry, the Leviathan of Knockturn Alley, had crushed a whole crowd of Dark wizards and walked away unscathed that the British Ministry of Magic realized a powerful wizard's combat strength couldn't be matched by simply piling on numbers.
Gemma was probably not from a particularly prestigious family. Though she excelled in her studies and was highly skilled at magic, she was close to graduation and didn't dare offend anyone. As a Prefect, she had to hold herself back at every turn.
Now that her misconception had been shattered, she realized she could turn her magic into a livelihood and support herself without breaking the law.
However... Percy and Hermione were still frowning, their faces full of disapproval.
What's that got to do with me? Do I need other people's approval?
I'm not some bird-man desperate for love.
Harry's eyes were full of disdain as he swallowed a piece of lamb chop.
He planned to keep enjoying his rare meal in peace.
[ Ding ding ding! Long-term task [Overturning Preconceptions] triggered. Make your future followers understand what a top-tier wizard is. Progress will be assessed once a year.]
You've got to be kidding me. You're sabotaging me, aren't you?
"You two seem to have some trouble understanding?"
Harry smiled at Percy and Hermione.
"Try thinking outside the box. Magic can't create food out of thin air, but it can make it expand..."
Meanwhile, deep in the Forbidden Forest.
"What a pity."
A black-haired man wearing a Silver Crown, immune to the power of being completely naked, sighed. His slender, pale fingers caressed his body.
"To think I've only just discovered that a Horcrux can shape a body. So compatible, so perfect... and yet I have to abandon it."
"'As long as you're a wizard, you should be able to express your magic with almost any tool, but the best results will always come from the closest bond between a wizard and a wand.' Ollivander, you were wrong."
"A Horcrux is the best casting medium for a wizard. I don't need that little stick at all anymore."
The man had red sclerae and a blurred, twisted face. Ominous magic steamed around the outline of his body.
The grass withered at his touch, and the earth cracked.
Even the Acromantulas, as large as calves and terrifying in appearance, became lifeless specimens after the magic swept over them, withering into ashes.
They were 4X-class magical creatures, recognized as dangerous and requiring specialized knowledge and experienced wizards to deal with.
"What a pity. I have to return to that feeble body again, and I'll have to go to the trouble of stockpiling life force."
"So many Acromantulas, Rubeus. I wish I could thank you in person."
The moment he finished speaking, the Diadem fell from his head and dropped into a crack in the earth.
The grass sprang back to life, and the earth's wounds healed.
But the inhuman body turned into black smoke that blended into the night in an instant.
Hagrid, the man had mentioned, was sitting with Sirius.
"Your motorcycle's still with me."
"Motorcycle..." Sirius recalled the happy summer vacation in his sixth year, when he and James had played tricks on Muggle police officers.
He couldn't help looking toward Harry, too.
"He's so tall... For a moment, I thought he was James."
"No, his smile isn't like James's. More like Dumbledore's."
"He's sturdier and taller, more handsome, and his features are gentler."
"But... it's nice. Even in Slytherin, his friends are still Gryffindors."
"Hey, there's a girl in there too."
"Her hair's a mess, and her front teeth are too long, but her features are pretty nice."
Sirius's words made Hagrid sigh. "Yeah. It's nice."
"Wait, who's that pale-faced kid?" Sirius recognized him, but couldn't believe the answer he'd come to.
"Malfoy's evil little brat!" Hagrid's expression darkened. "He must be waiting for a chance to take revenge."
"What did you say? Revenge?" Sirius's anger stalled. "Is Malfoy that loyal to You-Know-Who?"
The Blacks and the Malfoys were fairly closely related by marriage. Sirius knew the Malfoys' character: they never took a fixed position and simply stood behind whoever was winning.
It was hard to imagine that the Malfoys, now the family most thoroughly separated from Muggles, had once made their fortune through Muggles. One head of the family had even proposed to a queen, only to be rejected.
Lucius Malfoy put away the letter in his hand.
He felt glad that Draco had finally grown up and would carry on the family, but also mourned the fate awaiting him.
"Draco, what..." Narcissa noticed that something was wrong with her husband. "Lucius, what's the matter?"
"Draco's finally matured. He knows he should stand only behind the winner. He's even more mature than I am. He hasn't let hatred rule him." Lucius Malfoy forced a smile. "Narcissa... I'm afraid I really will have to go to Azkaban to see your sister this time."
He didn't notice the strand of hair on the gleaming floor, which should have vanished before it even finished falling.
Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.
"You're not going to send Lucius Malfoy to Azkaban? Where did you put that Dark Magic artifact?"
"Why did you hire Sirius Black?"
"Letting the Ministry of Magic plant an employee at Hogwarts—have you gone mad?"
Hakip hissed at Dumbledore.
Snape's attitude displeased nearly all the Headmaster portraits hanging on the walls, except for Phineas, who had been a Slytherin.
"You should understand your place."
"Dumbledore is the Headmaster."
"Dumbledore is the best of us."
"He always has his reasons."
Snape sneered at that. "You're going to let these dead men speak for you."
Despite Hakip's hissing, Dumbledore remained perfectly calm.
He smiled. "I do have my reasons."
"A Malfoy head who's been sent to prison is worth something different from a Malfoy head who's joined our side."
"That artifact has nothing to do with you. Don't let your prejudice blind you. Sirius is excellent."
"And finally, why not be a little bolder? What if Tonks had been one of us from the start?"
"Her? A Hufflepuff? A girl who just barely qualified as an Auror thanks to her Metamorphmagus talent, despite lacking a N.E.W.T. certificate?" Snape's pupils contracted.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "You should admit that she didn't take your Advanced Class and lacked the crucial Potions certificate because you rejected a student whose O.W.L. results included an E."
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