Edward smiled. "What? That eager for a new gun and bullets?"
"No!"
He immediately denied it. "I just thought we were friends, so I came especially to say hello, just like Hermione goes to see Audrey."
His words momentarily stunned Edward.
Last time, after saying, "We're friends," Harry had lent him even his family heirloom, the Invisibility Cloak, without hesitation. That showed how genuinely sincere the boy was, and how much he longed to make friends.
Yet Edward had previously treated him as no more than a passing acquaintance he knew through Audrey. He had only given him a gun because he knew Voldemort would target him, purely as a precaution.
At that thought, he couldn't help feeling a little more guilty.
Seeing Edward remain silent, Harry hesitated. "So, are we friends?"
"Of course!"
Edward reached out and patted Harry on the shoulder, saying earnestly, "Of course we're friends. At Christmas... or perhaps sooner, I'll definitely give you a present you'll like."
Harry relaxed and nodded with a smile. "Me too!"
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's Office.
By the time Dumbledore learned that the Dementors had slaughtered one another, two hours had already passed.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility of Edward clashing with the Dementors upon his return. He had even prepared an explanation well in advance. But Dementors slaughtering one another, with three dying on the spot...
That still far exceeded his expectations.
Before today, the wizarding world had possessed no means of killing Dementors. Even the Patronus Charm, which they feared most, could only drive them away.
Now, at last, there was a way to kill Dementors-make them slaughter one another.
"Ah-but will the Ministry of Magic believe they died fighting one another?"
Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed his temples helplessly. "You've given