Thestral Bookmark, Absent Harry

Back in his dorm room, Lucien was still pondering the "magic of love."

The claim that Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter is widely circulated.

Harry is universally hailed as the Boy Who Lived and a legend who defeated the Dark Lord.

But the truth is that Harry's mother, Lily Evans, used her own life and her love for Harry to activate a protective spell.

It was this magic that protected Harry and deflected Voldemort's Killing Curse.

It was precisely because of this magic that Voldemort was not only unable to harm Harry, but would also suffer severe backlash if he came into contact with Harry.

Dumbledore's last words were:

Love is the greatest magic in the world; it has created countless miracles and given birth to infinite possibilities.

Lucien believed this, as Voldemort was at his peak at the time, and apart from figures like Dumbledore, few could stop Voldemort.

But Lily did it.

She didn't defeat the infamous Dark Lord as a wizard, but as a mother who protected her child.

"Love" is something Voldemort will probably never understand.

Tom Riddle, perhaps his birth was a mistake, a product of Amortentia, how could he possibly understand love...?

Lucien sat down at the desk and took out a book.

I slowly turned the pages until I reached the side with the bookmark.

A jet-black bookmark lies quietly between the pages, its feather-like strands appearing sparse and graceful.

This is one of the bookmarks Hagrid gave me, made from Thestral Tail Feather.

Only those who have witnessed death can see the Thestral.

Lucien twirled the Thestral bookmark; it felt icy cold to the touch.

"I can see Thestral now."

The next morning, Lucien was having breakfast in the Great Hall. There were very few young wizards at this time; most of them were sleeping in.

With the pressure of schoolwork gone, summer vacation is just around the corner.

This week has been the happiest and most relaxing week for the little wizards!

However, there are a few exceptions.

"Wood, we also really want to win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor."

"But without Harry, it's really tough without Seeker."

The Weasley Twins argued back and forth, trying to calm Wood's agitation. There was no other way; although the exams were over, the Quidditch finals were still to come.

So Wood led everyone in extra training, and with Harry joining this year, Gryffindor is finally one step closer to winning the Quidditch championship after several years!

But Harry fell ill at the crucial moment!

"No, we must still do our best, squeezing out every last drop of potential..."

As Lucien sipped his red bean porridge, he glanced in the direction of the Weasley Twins.

Oliver Wood is the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

According to Harry, Wood was extremely passionate about Quidditch and would often get the players up early in the morning to discuss tactics and practice.

Wood was strict with both his teammates and himself.

Seeing Wood's slightly reddened eyes, Lucien shook his head almost imperceptibly. This guy was really unlucky; he finally got a genius Seeker, but he still missed out on the championship.

After saying that, Wood led his team to get up and head to the Quidditch Pitch for training.

As they were leaving, Fred and George saw Lucien, seemed about to say something but in the end they just greeted him and listlessly picked up their brooms and left.

Good morning, Lucien.

Lucien raised his head again, and a black-haired girl was already sitting opposite him.

Good morning, Qiu. Are you going to Quidditch practice too?

"Mmm."

Just like during training, Qiu still had her hair tied in a neat high ponytail. Presumably because she had just finished morning training, there was still a little bit of sweat on her forehead.

"Lucien, you seem more relaxed today."

Qiu looked at the junior in front of her and suddenly said this.

Lucien wasn't surprised by this.

During my year at Hogwarts, I learned a lot and also paid off two heavy and time-consuming annual loans, which made me feel much more relaxed.

Although there is still a yearly loan for the Magic Weaving to raise Norbert into the Dragon King of the clan, it has only just begun and is in the initial stage of laying the foundation.

"Perhaps it's because I just finished my exams, so I feel completely free of debt?"

Lucien's words made Qiu cover her mouth and chuckle.

"Haha, Lucien, you're making it sound like you're talking about taking out a loan to go to school."

"By the way, you'll be a sophomore next semester, how about trying to join the Quidditch team?"

Quidditch?

I find it more interesting to watch others play Quidditch. By the way, how many times has Qiu Quidditch to me now?

This senior student seems to be quite passionate about this sport.

It's like I'm having a hallucination from a past life when I was in college, and I met that senior student who was trying to sell me membership cards...

"Um, senior, I'll think about it next semester. Good luck with your competition!"

Lucien visited Harry and Ron in the Hospital Wing.

Ron, however, was already awake and enjoying his medical meal.

Harry, however, remained unconscious, presumably because his soul was also affected by his encounter with Voldemort.

As for whether something went wrong while Lucien was controlling Harry to play the flying man, Lucien was quite confident about it. He even put the Iron Head Charm on the kid, so the protection was definitely thorough.

During the days Harry was in a coma, the Quidditch final finally came to an end.

Positions like the Chaser and Beater are relatively easy to manage; if one is missing, it's not a big deal, at most it just weakens the defense and offense a bit.

But the Seeker is absolutely crucial.

Catching the Golden Snitch scores 150 points, often enough to end the game!

Once your team loses its Seeker, the opposing Seeker can focus solely on finding and catching the ball.

Therefore, in their duel with Ravenclaw, Gryffindor lost with an extremely poor score, once again missing out on the championship.

However, this can only be considered a minor news item.

The real big event has captured everyone's attention.

Quirrell, the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, is actually coveting Hogwarts ' treasures!

A dark wizard has infiltrated the school!

"I told you long ago, based on my observations, something's off about Quirrell!"

"Heh, come on, were you awake in any Defense Against the Dark Magic class?"

"Sigh, is our school's Defense Against the Dark Magic class really cursed after all...?"

"Who can argue with that? Anyway, since I enrolled, not a single professor has ever lasted a full year!"

Such discussions are commonplace at school, and Lucien hears them several times a day.

Besides the young wizards' strong curiosity and love of gossip, it's likely that Dumbledore's covert promotion also played a part.

Although Harry was only a first-year student, Dumbledore had already begun to promote him.

We need to cultivate Harry's courage and confidence, and also strengthen his image as the Chosen One.

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps came from behind, followed by Ron's voice, which interrupted Lucien's thoughts.

"Lucien, I've finally found you, Harry Harry wants to see you."