Clearance Settlement

The two walked over to Quirrell. Oren kicked him a few times to make sure the man was thoroughly dead.

Oren flattered him, "Just as expected of Headmaster Dumbledore. The sheer force of your presence killed this guy the moment you appeared."

Dumbledore...

"This was merely Quirrell after Voldemort abandoned him."

"So the real one already ran off?"

Dumbledore returned to Harry's side and said, "He was truly brave."

Oren nodded. "Indeed. He faced that thing alone for quite a while."

Dumbledore pointed at the Mirror of Erised. "Do you see that mirror? I placed a spell on it. Only someone who wanted to obtain the Philosopher's Stone without intending to use it could get it."

Oren shrugged. "Impressive. I doubt even I could manage that. No wonder Voldemort had been waiting here for so long."

Dumbledore bent down, took the Philosopher's Stone from Harry's pocket, and said, "Take it, child. I believe you can use and protect it better."

But what he was thinking was: Take it already, little ancestor. We agreed that once you took the Philosopher's Stone, you wouldn't keep coveting Horcruxes.

Oren did not stand on ceremony and immediately put away his clearance reward.

"Come, child. Let us go. We must not let Mr. Potter catch cold here."

"What about that guy? Who's going to clean up the dishes?"

"Do not worry, child. Professor Snape will come clean up."

"Forget it, Headmaster. I'll do it."

A flash of blue fire, and not even ashes remained of Quirrell.

Dumbledore's eyelid twitched wildly at that practiced, max-level corpse disposal.

The moment the two left the boss room, they saw Hermione, as anxious as a worried father outside a delivery room.

"I'm so glad you're all right." Hermione let out a breath. "Headmaster Dumbledore, I feel like Oren knows everything. Did you tell him? Did you know what was happening here all along?"

The young witch fired off question after question like a machine gun.

Dumbledore gave Oren a look: You gave yourself away?

Oren returned a look: I never even pretended.

Dumbledore: Why didn't you pretend?

Oren: That costs extra!

Dumbledore...

The two stared at each other, their eyes practically sparking.

"Miss Granger, you must understand that Oren has always been very perceptive." After saying that, Dumbledore gave Hermione a playful wink.

Oren rolled his eyes and grumbled inwardly, Right, right, right. I've got some kind of all-seeing eyes that can fucking see through everything, okay?

Hermione was doubtful. She suspected that Headmaster Dumbledore was brushing her off, but she had no proof.

Inside the Hospital Wing.

"Wake up, Harry! Hurry up and wake up! You've been asleep for almost a whole day!"

Harry groggily opened his eyes and saw Oren patting his face.

"You're finally awake. Here, look in the mirror first. It'll help you wake up."

Harry accepted the mirror in a daze. In his current state, he would probably accept a grenade if someone handed him one.

"Who is this?" Harry asked in confusion. "Wait, why does this voice sound a little unfamiliar?"

"Harry, that's you!"

"Me?" Harry stared at the red-haired, green-eyed young witch in the mirror and slowly formed a question mark.

Oren nodded. "The operation was a success. You're a girl now."

"No, that's not me at all!"

"Face reality. This is you now."

"Impossible. That's fucking not me!"

Ron hurriedly reassured him, "Calm down, Harry, stop screaming. It's one of Oren's prank potions. It only lasts half an hour."

"Ron, why do you know so much about it?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Ahem, well, when I was in the Hospital Wing, Oren gave me the... what did Oren call it again? Oh, the full package."

Harry...

"How long was I unconscious?! What happened with the Quidditch match?!"

Hermione said, "They just found someone to be Seeker. Anyway, they lost terribly."

"Don't remind me!" Oren said angrily. "They just dragged some random person in to be Seeker, and that guy didn't even understand the rules!"

"Could someone like that fly? He couldn't fly at all! If someone like that stays on the team, they'll lose to Ravenclaw, then lose to Hufflepuff, and then lose to Slytherin until there's no one left to lose to. They have absolutely no shame!"

The three little ones...

Dumbledore poked his head through the crack in the door. "Um, children... I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

The three little ones quickly waved their hands. "No, no!"

"Let's go first. It's time for Dumbledore and Harry's question-and-answer session." Oren pulled the other two out of the Hospital Wing.

Outside the Hospital Wing.

"Oren said, "Hagrid, you're here too?"

"Waaah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have let Fluffy's information slip!"

"We don't blame you, Hagrid," Hermione comforted him. "Harry won't blame you either."

The young witch kept shooting looks at Oren, calling for support.

"It's all right, Hagrid. Stop crying." Oren patted Hagrid's shoulder.

Ron also comforted him. "Yeah, Hagrid. No one blames you."

It took everyone quite a bit of effort to calm Hagrid down.

"Let's come back tonight. By then, Harry will probably be released from his Hospital Wing sentence."

Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.

That evening, in the Great Hall, at the end-of-year feast.

"Harry! Madam Pomfrey finally decided to let you out?" Oren set down his drink and called out.

"That's right. She gave me a full examination before letting me go."

"Another splendid year has passed," Dumbledore announced loudly. "Before the feast begins, I must trouble everyone to listen to this old man's tired old speech."

"Now, the points for each House: Gryffindor, 312 points. Hufflepuff, 352 points. Ravenclaw, 426 points. Slytherin, 472 points."

"Slytherin has performed well, but several recent events must also be taken into account."

"Mr. Ron Weasley won Professor McGonagall's chess challenge. Fifty points to Gryffindor."

"Miss Hermione Granger remained calm enough to reason through the flames. Fifty points to Gryffindor."

"Mr. Harry Potter displayed remarkable courage. Fifty points to Gryffindor."

"Mr. Neville Longbottom stood firm in his convictions even when facing his friends. Fifty points to Gryffindor."

"It seems we shall have to make some changes to the decorations here."

Oren dug at his ear. The cheers from the little lions around him made his eardrums ache, especially the Weasley twins repeatedly shouting, "That's our brother!" Their commotion was particularly loud.

The three little ones were delighted, but they still forcibly held down their smiles. Hermione asked, "Why didn't Headmaster Dumbledore give you any points?"

"Shh." Oren made a silencing gesture and quickly slipped his hand into his pocket, revealing a corner of the Philosopher's Stone.

"That's the Philosopher's—mmph!"

Oren hurriedly covered Harry's mouth. "Know it quietly. Don't make a fuss."

Oren gave the three of them a meaningful look. "When it comes to being a person, the most important thing is timing—ptui, ptui, I mean, you can't be greedy."

The three little ones: Can we trade House points for a Philosopher's Stone too? Asking for a friend. Urgent...

In the blink of an eye, it was the morning before they left school.

The group sat in a corner of the common room, whispering among themselves.

After hesitating for a long time, Harry finally asked, "Oren, that day Voldemort said he wanted you to help him like your elders did. What did that mean?"

"Oh, that? I thought you were constipated. I wasted all that time looking for laxatives for you."

Harry...

"The Black family is probably full of Death Eaters. That means I'm a crooked-rooted, dark-grown seedling too." Oren did not even look up as he continued reading.

Harry protested excitedly, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

After hesitating for a while, Ron said, "It's not impossible..."

Oren waved a hand. "Harry, it's entirely possible."

Suddenly, he put down his newspaper. Harry and Ron asked nervously, "What's wrong?"

"I need to find Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Wh-why?" the two asked.

"I've made a decision that goes against my ancestors! No, the Headmaster needs to pay more!"

Harry...

Ron...

Hermione returned to the tower from outside, dazedly tripping over her own feet and throwing herself onto the sofa.

"Take a look. The exam results are out." Hermione weakly tossed over a piece of parchment.

"Let me see." Oren took it and began reading. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Hermione, second in the year? Not bad. Keep it up next time."

"Oh? Isn't first in the year me? Just as I expected. I have to thank Hermione. Without her History of Magic notes, I definitely wouldn't have scored this highly."

The young witch clutched her chest: Killing someone wasn't enough? He had to stab them in the heart too!

"I... you..." Hermione's fingers trembled with her heartbeat. "Forget it. I'll definitely be first next year. Did you all receive the notice saying we can't use magic outside school?"

"The Dursleys don't know that." Harry gave a wicked smile. "Hehehe. I'm going to have some fun with Dudley over the holidays."

Oren rolled his eyes. Fine, fine. Another sweet-faced little devil, huh?

"It's such a shame we can't use magic during the holidays," Hermione sighed.

"I'm fine. I can still use it at home." Ron casually tossed the notice into the rubbish bin.

Harry asked curiously, "Oren, where will you be during the holidays?"

"Hogwarts, of course."

"I'm suddenly so jealous of you. Can I ask Headmaster Dumbledore if I can stay at school over the holidays?" Harry asked expectantly.

"You can ask, but the odds aren't high."

Harry's tone was full of disappointment. "All right."

Oren clapped his hands. "Everyone, time's almost up. Your luggage should be packed already. Get ready to scram."

The three little ones...

Hermione asked, "What are you planning to do during the holidays?"

Oren wanted to tease the young witch, so he deliberately lowered his voice. "Of course, I'll stay in the Library and try to finish learning all the second-year material."

The light gradually vanished from the young witch's eyes.

"And I'll do some research while I'm at it."

"Research on what? The Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked, lowering his voice as well.

"Hehe... hehehe..." Oren did not answer. He merely smiled, though the smile was somewhat sinister.

The next day, Oren charged into the Headmaster's Office.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Dumbledore, who had nearly choked to death on tea-flavored syrup, took a long while to recover before saying, "Child, is something the matter?"

"Of course. Who comes looking for you when nothing's wrong? I want to borrow your place for some research."

Dumbledore...

"Oh? Child, you haven't done any strange and messy things in quite some time. Why have you suddenly remembered this now?"

"Didn't all those people go home for the holidays? With no one around, it's the perfect chance to do some loud magic."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, sensing that things were not simple. "What magic?"