In the last few days of the holiday, Harry and the group didn't train much anymore and started to look forward to the new term. Neville reluctantly said goodbye to them and went back to his grandmother's house, after they had arranged to meet at King's Cross Station.
"Why do I feel you've been acting weird lately?" Ron looked at Harry with a puzzled look on his face, while unceremoniously attacking Harry's White Queen piece when he got diverted.
" Have I?" Harry asked with a jolt of sensitiveness.
Ron's eyes widened, "Of course you did. Let's see, you're often erratic and distracted, including the last few days we spend at the Burrow, and you can't even bring yourself to play Quidditch with Cedric! And Voluntarily gave up the opportunity to Ginny, who also behaved erratically these days..."
His expression became doubtful with suspicion, making Harry look embarrassed for a moment: "I mean, do you guys have some kind of secret?"
Hermione sighed behind her books, Ron finally realized it? But unexpectatly, his words took Hermione by surprise, when Ron asked with certainty: "Harry, did you plan to go to Godric's Hollow and Ginny happened to know about it?"
Harry froze in his seat.
"What makes you think so?" Hermione asked, in surprise.
"I guessed it, I saw Harry staring at that picture a few times," Ron said smugly, but the next second he got serious, "Harry, Mum forbade us to go out, at most, we can go to the burrow to get some fresh air, but of course, if you insist, we can slip out using invisibility cloak and Apparition to get there and back! --"
Harry shook his head, "Remus advised me not to be impulsive for some time, and I, uh, I have not figured it out for now."
" Then what happened?" Ron pressed on.
"Because, because," Harry took a deep breath, it is time, he thought. "I've mastered three Unforgivable Curses."
"Unforgivable Curses!?" Ron shouted, as his eyes widened, and Hermione was also stunned, the thick book in her hand slipped to the floor, this is not exactly what she had imagined.
After a long while -
"What do you guys think?" Harry looked at them with nervousness.
Ron slapped Harry's shoulder hard, "That's so cool man, how did you do that? Did Professor Hap secretly give you a little tutoring?" He guessed, "Or maybe it was Dumbledore, you guys have been going out quite a lot lately."
Hermione did not look kindly at that, "No way, the professor would never teach us those curses! There were strict restrictions on Aurors - even in the period of war back then - and this is something that Tonks told me."
Harry hesitated for a moment, but he still told his abnormalities, starting with the night he returned from the Ministry of Magic, recounting the special feeling he had when he woke up from bed, the next morning Professor Hap took him to test three curses, and the various questions Dumbledore asked him after that, and finally the two memories he asked for.
He became short of breath at the thought of one of the memories, which contained the scene of Ginny kissing him on the corner of his lips, something he should have gotten rid off!
But Dumbledore asked for the memory to be complete as possible, Harry then handed it out in his mind without much thought, causing him to regret it every time he thought about it now. Now when he and Dumbledore went out alone to meet his friend, he was not very keen on talking ... and Harry did not know whether to feel sorry, because he did not get much opportunity to spend time with Ginny alone, which made him inevitably suffer from the suspicion of being self-conscious.
Ron and Hermione struggled to digest the shocking news.
"That easy? You learned those two curses in less than a single morning?" Ron still found it incredulous.
"Aren't you listening carefully, Harry is obviously under the influence of the You-Know-Who, the professor was just further verifying that. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been that easy." Hermione looked at Harry and said seriously, "Harry, the professor is right, you must not relax your training on the Occlumency."
Harry answered sullenly.
"This is not a joke, Harry, from your symptoms-"
"Symptoms?!" Harry snapped in annoyance.
"Well, the indications." Hermione picked her words carefully, "Your connection with the You-Know-Who is getting stronger and stronger - which is very bizarre, since when it started?"
"Probably after Voldemort's resurrection." Harry said.
"-but since it has developed into the acquisition of his evil knowledge, it is not trivial, Harry," Hermione explained patiently, "Dark magic affects one's sanity, and you can imagine what would happen if part of V, Voldemort's ideas and your fused together? Your personality may change without you realizing it, or he may even plant a certain idea in your head and make you think it's your own. Maybe that's what the professor and Dumbledore are trying so hard to avoid."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"Work on the Occlumency, and, uh, keep yourself from slipping into negative emotions more importantly." Hermione said what she had read from the book, but they are all old tricks, "I-we can help you with that, right?" She looked to Ron, who busily nodded along.
At dinner, Fred and George told them in graphic detail about the new guards at Sword Castle.
"About a dozen feet tall, they're like enlarged golems, created using more precious materials and enchantments. When they lit up, the magical glow around them could literally illuminate ... You'll see them when you go to Diagon Alley, there are two standing at the entrance."
"You guys participated in its creation? What are the capabilities of those guards?" Tonks, who stayed for the meal, asked with interest.
Fred sighed, "Professor Hap made them all by himself, a week before our Anti-Spell series finished, I wish I could poach him for our prank workshop-" he said with a grin.
Mrs. Weasley looked at him sternly, and he dutifully made a gagging motion and stopped talking before the word 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. But Harry knew that Fred and George had signed a contract for a store, right in the Hogsmeade village.
"Is there only two?" Harry asked.
Fred and George looked at each other, "It's a secret."
Harry subconsciously held his breath, "So ... there are many?"
" Well honestly, we are not sure," Fred said, "There are about a dozen of them on laying out there," He counted them one by one on his fingers, "Two at the door, another two as soon as you enter the front door, and a few sporadically placed on each floor after that ... but those can't be all of them."
"That's right," George picked up, "Ever since the professor came out of the lab, Fred and I have found several storage rooms with locks on them, but we can't open them, and there are only a few people who have access to it."
He spread his hands.
"We tried to convince Penelope to let us wander in while Professor Hap was away, but she was dead set against it. I bet there's an army of golems in there!"
Fred and George looked excited, at which point Tonks also became interested: "Is this thing can be produced quickly? Maybe I should suggest for Ministry to purchase a batch if it's really cost-effective."
"Not for now," Fred dismissed her idea, "only Professor Hap can make those guards for now, and I heard it involves extremely advanced memory magic ... but he's not in the company right now. "
"Professor Hap is not in the company? Where did he go?" Harry asked.
The twins shook their heads.
"Penelope and Clammy would know, they have a way to contact the Professor on an emergency matter in their hands, Remus should have one too, but we can't meet him very often."
"The Professor is probably off dealing with the Muggle world, he takes a few days for that every year." Hermione said.
"He mentioned it to you?"
"Oh, uh, I took a wild guess." Hermione said.
When Felix reappeared, it is the last day of the holiday, and he brought three envelopes with him.
"Took some time to go back to school, Minerva was busy, so I helped her to bring this book list." Felix said as Harry, Ron, and Hermione each took their own letters and opened them impatiently.
"It's supposed to be here sooner," Ron said as he opened the envelope, "school starts tomorrow."
"Professor McGonagall was probably too busy, and only in the last two days did she have the time to deal with the school matter." Harry guessed as he opened the envelope, which contained two sheets of parchment, one to remind him that the school would start as usual, and the other with the names of the books that would be used during this term.
"There are two new books that need to be purchased," Hermione read the contents of the top, "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5; and Practical Runes for Beginners, by Felix Hap and Hedstrom Vera. Professor, have you published a new book?"
Felix nodded slightly.
"Huh, who's the other author?" Hermione asked, staring at the title.
"He's the president of the Ancient Rune Society, you guys would have met him, he and Professor Marchbanks came to the school for a briefing." Felix explained, "Because of time constraints, Mr. Vera and I simply sorted out the practical runes that would be used in all five grades from 3rd-7th grade and organized them into a book in order of difficulty and teaching order, which would be separated later when we get a chance, and the textbook would be published by L.C.A. Publishers."
"How come there is no new book on Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked, looking repeatedly at the list of books.
"Sirius didn't tell you?" Felix asked.
"No, he-"
"Did he forget about it?" Ron shook the envelope, "Huh, well, there's one more paper, let's see-" His mouth suddenly opened wide, and he didn't move.
"You got another one there?" Harry somewhat curiously came up next to Ron, and at that moment, Hermione on the opposite side had flipped her envelope upside down, as a golden red object slipped into her hand. Harry subconsciously squeezed his own envelope, and it was empty.
"Our Grade Prefect." Ron uttered, "I've been chosen as a Prefect."
Ron and Hermione became fifth-year Gryffindor House Prefects. Felix was a little surprised by this result, but after a little thought he understood Dumbledore's intention, the Prefect had both power and responsibility, and Harry is already carrying too much responsibility on his back.
But Harry obviously did not understand it, at the moment his heart is empty, he can only say congratulations in a vague tone, far less sincere than Mrs. Weasley who arrived upon hearing the news.
In fact, there would be no one more surprised than her, not even the recently emerged Prefect himself.
"I can't believe it! I can't believe it! Oh, Ron, it's fantastic! You're Prefect!" She hugged Ron excitedly, water stains dripped from the wet rag in her hand. She generously promised a gift to her youngest son.
"Can I get a new broom?" Ron asked expectantly.
Mrs. Weasley looked at him with some difficulty, and then smiled, " Of course, I will call you in a few minutes then, first I have to get Fred and George's shopping list, besides the broom, I have to get you new books, oh yes, and Ginny's portion, that's a lot of stuff." She chuckled and left.
Ron stopped where he was, for a while, and his eyes twinkled, "Fred and George are going to die of jealousy, they absolutely will! But who cares, I'm a Prefect, and I'm about to get a new broom! Oh, crap-"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked dryly, feeling as if his voice had come out of someone else's mouth.
"I should add some more money from my prize money - so I can get a better broom." Ron said gleefully, his eyes starting to light up, "That's right. I'll go and talk to Mum now."
"Professor," Hermione asked Felix in a whisper, "can I call home? From the pay phone outside in the neighbourhood? Mom and Dad will be happy to know the significance of the Prefect post."
Felix thought about it, "Let's do this, Miss Granger, you have not been home for a long time, take this opportunity to just stay with your family, and later in the evening I will pick you up."
" I-I, I have to pack my bags too." Harry blurted out awkwardly.
He went back to the bedroom alone, the suitcase laid on the table wide open, like a big mouth, which seems to be silently mocking him. Harry grabbed one of the dirty clothes on the bed and sat down in a daze, only now he had a moment to think.
He'd almost forgotten about the Prefect before, but when the news actually arrived, he wasn't able to pretend like he didn't care about it. If it was necessary to choose between the two of them, he definitely would have been a more preferable choice to be the Prefect than Ron. Harry had some hard feelings inside, did they believe he is Worser than Ron? Without wanting to seem arrogant and cocky, he desperately tried to find a justification for himself. I'm better at Quidditch and better at dueling ... but other than that? There's no big gap between Ron and him in terms of other schoolwork. But outside of schoolwork - Harry thought indignantly, all those adventures they had shared, all those life and death struggles - he had done everything much better than Ron, and Headmaster Dumbledore knew it perfectly well.
But then he couldn't help but correct himself; Ron had always stood by his side, even when they had faced Voldemort, he had never flinched. Unlike him, he has no reason to be an enemy of Voldemort, so it looks as if Ron seems more heroic? At that moment, a voice popped up in Harry's head, but Ron stole the honour that belongs to him.
"No, that's what he deserves." Harry whispered to himself, yet the voice started to buzz again, incessantly, which Harry miraculously understands. I did more than him and yet it was not appreciated, not to mention I didn't receive what I deserved; that voice transmitted more dark thoughts to him, maybe I should teach him some lesson, with the newly learned curse ...
"That's not my idea," Harry said to himself, "Ron is my best friend." He jerked to his feet and nearly fell over. He gasped, his face rapidly switching with expressions that at one point looked like he had turned into another person.
"Someone needs to get their head checked." The blank canvas in the frame on the wall taunted him.
Harry stared at the canvas, but there is nothing there, maybe it is one more piece of proof of the Black family's ancient, noble, magical heritage, as he had seen clocks that fire nuts at people, snuff bottles that bite, and display cabinets that cough and spew out large puffs of dust when the doors of the cabinet opened.
"You're wrong!" Harry said aloud, but the canvas did not respond to him.
After a short while, Harry heard footsteps, so he hurriedly lowered his head and stuffed the clothes he was holding haphazardly into his trunk as Ron came bouncing in.
" In time!" He said happily, "I put half of my prize money at stake, just in time to replace the Cleansweep series with the Nimbus 2000, in fact, I can afford to buy 2001, but I figured I should save it, I have a birthday present to buy, and in case 'Future World' company released a new product ... are you okay?"
"Great, Ron, I mean - you're finally going to have a good broom to join the regular team soon." Harry paused after he said that, and was relieved that the words sounded both genuine and sincere.
Ron's smile gradually disappeared.
"I thought you would be the one who would receive it, I totally didn't expect this-"
"No, th-that's what you deserve." Harry said firmly, which sounded more like he wanted to hammer these words through his own head. "You fully deserve the honour of being a Prefect. As for me, I've got enough trouble of my own ..."
"Oh, well, you're right, maybe Dumbledore didn't pick you for that very reason - is he still coming over today, I mean that inexplicable afternoon tea?"
"Yeah, I think so." Harry felt glad that Ron had changed the subject and that the school year would start soon, and he wouldn't have to eat a bellyful of fruit preserves at Dumbledore's friend's place anymore; he couldn't stop the nauseous feeling whenever he thought about that stuff.
...
In the evening, Sirius returned, and Harry welcomed him joyfully.
"Should I call you Professor Black?"
"You can leave that for the dinner tomorrow." Sirius broke into a smile.
At dinner, he sat down next to Felix and whispered, "Felix, I heard you're the security staff of tomorrow's Hogwarts Express?"
"Yeah, just one of them," Felix glanced at him and let a jam jar fly into his hand, "as I recall, you are going to be a part of it too."
Sirius turned his head a little awkwardly, "I'm going to take a leave of absence ... and work tomorrow morning."
"Why?" Felix asked curiously, it didn't sound like something he would say.
"I was supposed to go on a visit to Azkaban with Amelia today and set up a thief's downfall, but I got an alert that a dementor had appeared in a muggle town, which later proved to be a false alarm...
Anyway, uh, I thought - in order to have a perfect beginning and an end - I need to visit Azkaban for once, and say goodbye to the past once and for all."
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