Support me and be 20 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
******
By the time Harry returned to camp, the moon was high overhead, casting long shadows that flickered with the flames of the bonfire.
Compared to two hours earlier, there were far fewer people in the camp. Out of the original group of twenty-four, fewer than ten remained. Most had chosen to break their badges and use a Portkey to leave. The future Harry had painted for them was tempting, almost within reach; he had even purchased the Falmouth Falcons team, and the means to empower them lay right there. But getting a taste of that future would require far more than they'd expected.
Only two or three had left without trying, but the majority had stubbornly endured a single session before giving up. As sheltered children, cherished by their families, this level of pain and torment far exceeded their tolerance. Although the initial shock was brief, those who lost consciousness during the process avoided the ongoing pain.
However, Harry had made it clear that these initial allowances were only temporary. Faced with the daunting prospect of a painful, grueling path, any hint of reluctance rapidly turned into a desire to escape.
Only six remained: the Weasley twins, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, and, unexpectedly, Marcus Flint.
Exhausted, they lay sprawled on woven mats around the campfire. Even the burly Marcus looked far from intimidating as he absentmindedly poked at the flames with a charred stick.
"So, it seems only you all have chosen to stay?" Harry's voice reached them, and they all looked over. With their leader back, they felt a strange sense of relief.
"Captain, what's that in your hand?" one of the twins asked.
"A Quintaped. I thought I'd killed them all last night, but it turns out a small one slipped away. Lucky for us, we've got fresh meat for tonight. Fresh always tastes better than frozen, and the young ones are more tender."
Harry tossed the small Quintaped aside and sat down with them. Although few had stayed, it was enough for him.
"Quite a few people left, Captain," murmured Cho, hugging her knees. Her face, softly lit by the firelight, showed a slight flush rather than the pallor of the others. Yet, it was clear she was saddened by the departure of her fellow Ravenclaws.
"Yeah, a lot left. But that was bound to happen." Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Honestly, if too many had stayed, I'd be worried about the budget. After buying the Quidditch team, I really don't have much left."
"Huh?" The twins, aware of Harry's fortune, were surprised.
"About two million Galleons, give or take. If we're careful, it should last us a year."
Now, it wasn't only the twins who were wide-eyed. Marcus's jaw nearly hit the ground, and he stared, mouth agape.
"Two million Galleons..." Cedric began calculating on his fingers. "My dad makes 140 Galleons a month, which is 1,680 Galleons a year. To save two million, he'd have to, uh...save for..."
"One thousand one hundred and ninety years," Cho quickly calculated, giving Cedric's arm a playful squeeze.
"That's terrifying!" Cedric gasped, drawing in a sharp breath.
"Not quite," the twins chimed in, rolling their eyes. As neighbors, the twins often visited Cedric's family, a short walk away, and knew their dads both worked at the Ministry of Magic. "If they only earned that much, there's no way my dad could keep up a household of nine on his seventy Galleons a month."
"True." Cedric chuckled awkwardly. His father worked at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and as second-in-command, he often encountered incidents like "dragon rampages" and "magical creatures invading Muggle neighborhoods." It was only natural he'd bring back the occasional "souvenir" from his work.
"But it's still a bit mind-boggling. Two million Galleons is like a wizard family's fortune accumulated over a century, right?"
Cedric looked toward Marcus. Flint's family was one of the twenty-eight Sacred Families, a pure-blooded wizarding clan, and the usual tensions between them had eased somewhat since they'd all decided to stay.
"Hardly," Marcus scoffed, shaking his head. He wasn't the brightest or the best student, but he wasn't entirely clueless.
"I've never seen two million Galleons piled high. You wouldn't even see that in a vault."
"Only the Malfoys could amass that kind of fortune in a century," Marcus murmured, pausing as if reluctant to name someone. "Especially since... You-Know-Who. My father told me our family contributed a lot of gold back then, and we weren't alone. Other wizarding families, especially the Blacks, poured money into his cause. Without it, You-Know-Who couldn't have armed so many followers. Giants, for example, are bottomless pits for gold, not to mention all the others."
"Wow, contributions," one of the twins quipped, grinning slyly.
"My uncle was a Death Eater, but he's dead. My father wasn't, and neither am I," Marcus shot back, waving a hairy arm. "I might be dumb, but I'm not stupid. Back then, how many wizarding families didn't have a Death Eater?"
That shut the twins up. Families like the Weasleys, who had firmly resisted Voldemort, were rare. His pure-blood supremacy appealed to a small but powerful segment of the wizarding world.
"Don't worry about the money," Harry interrupted. "I'll handle it. Feeding this small group is manageable." He then shifted the topic with a casual wave. "So, why did you all choose to stay?"
"We've been with you from the start, boss!" The twins, grinning from ear to ear, were the first to respond. "We're your initial investment, after all. For our dreams—and to protect those we care about in the future—this little pain is nothing! We can grit our teeth through it."
"The wizarding world might face a war soon," one of the twins added with unusual seriousness. "Our brother Charlie hinted at it. But you predicted it long before that, Captain. So, we're in."
"War?" Cedric looked at the twins, puzzled. "What kind of war?"
"The Abyss."
The group fell silent. Everyone, including Cho, fresh out of her second year, knew what that meant. Harry had given her a private lesson on it with Professor Flitwick before this gathering; she'd need that knowledge for third year anyway.
"And you, Wood?" Harry asked, turning to him.
"Me?" Wood looked a bit surprised, then answered simply, "I want to play in the Quidditch World Cup. I've loved Quidditch since I was a kid, but I know I'm not a natural talent. Charlie's ten times better than me... But that's why I'm so driven. Just once, I want to soar across the World Cup stadium and show everyone who Oliver Wood is!"
"You'll be living that dream soon, Wood!" The twins threw their arms around him, grinning and laughing.
"And Marcus, what about you?"
"No idea." Marcus's answer was immediate, with no hesitation. But after glancing around, he added, a bit sheepishly, "Honestly, this training doesn't even hurt as much as getting thrashed by the Captain."
He scratched his head awkwardly. Harry had truly hit him hard that first day, landing a blow to his liver, not to mention the "loving punches" that followed whenever Marcus got a bit thick-headed.
"Cho, what about you?" Harry asked.
In truth, he was surprised she'd chosen to stay. She was the youngest in the group apart from Harry and didn't have any physical advantages. But when Harry handed out potions, he made no exceptions—everyone was treated equally.
"Well…" Cho hesitated, then replied, "It honestly wasn't so bad. I don't know if it's just me, but it didn't feel that painful to channel magic into my body. Without the sensory-enhancing potion, it might not have hurt at all."
"What?"
Harry's brows shot up. Her response sounded similar to Marcus's, but the essence was different.
"I didn't black out," she added, a bit embarrassed. "It just felt like a pain I could handle."
"Could you describe the sensation?"
"It felt like… getting pricked by a needle, more or less. Maybe I'm just less sensitive?"
Hugging her knees, Cho looked around at the others. While their faces were pale, hers looked quite normal.
"Interesting…" Harry started, but then abruptly stopped. A daring thought crossed his mind.
"By the way, Cho, when did you come to England?"
"Around five or six, I think? I went to a Muggle primary school in London before Hogwarts. My parents are both wizards, but my dad said a basic education is essential."
"Are your parents both from China?"
"Yes. They're magical linguists who came here to study ancient runes—Runic writing, specifically."
"Would you go back if they finish their research?" Cedric asked anxiously, cutting Harry off before he could even open his mouth.
"Maybe?" Cho answered uncertainly, nibbling on her fingernail. "But probably not anytime soon. I really hope they make progress soon, but studying ancient magic languages is really difficult. They've only published one paper in all these years."
She looked over at Cedric and smiled, lighting up his face like a sunrise. "I'll probably be here until I graduate from Hogwarts."
"That's great!"
Cedric leapt to his feet, seemingly infused with newfound energy. Taking a deep breath, he looked straight ahead as if making a momentous decision.
"Captain!" he declared loudly, though his shaking legs and downcast gaze hinted at his nerves. "I have only one reason for staying!"
"Whoa!" The others immediately understood, whistling and cheering. Cedric and Cho had been practically inseparable for the past six months. Being a year older, Cedric looked out for her in various ways, not only offering warmth and support but also tutoring her in Transfiguration, her weakest subject.
Hogwarts students falling into sweet romances was nothing new, and the group thoroughly enjoyed the pairing of Cedric and Cho. Cedric's public declaration, however, was a rare sight indeed.
With his friends' encouragement, Cedric gathered his courage and transformed a bouquet of roses with a flick of his wand, showcasing his talent in Transfiguration. Cho, her cheeks faintly pink, accepted the bouquet with a soft nod.
"Yes."
Cho wasn't the type to hold back her feelings, especially when faced with someone she already liked.
"Come on, you can't just say yes so easily to this idiot!" The twins, Cedric's mischievous friends, couldn't resist chiming in.
"Here, look! We've got thirty-two guidelines for being a great boyfriend," one of them said, pulling out a small booklet. "Guaranteed to keep Cedri—ah! Cedric! Let go! Hey! Let go!"
"He's biting! Cedric's biting!"
"I'm not—" Before Cedric could defend himself, they wrestled him to the ground, turning a moment of tender romance into one of rowdy camaraderie.
Watching the happy scene unfold, Harry moved closer, a slight smile on his face. Even though he had black hair and pale skin, his heart held some familiarity, some wisdom to pass on to his "compatriot" from another world.
"Cho, there's one phrase that can keep Cedric in line. Works like a charm on guys."
"What is it?"
Curious, Cho leaned in to listen. After a moment, she nodded thoughtfully. "Should I give it a go?" she asked, winking at Harry.
"Why not?" Harry leaned back, ready to enjoy the show.
After a brief moment of preparation, Cho turned to the boisterous group, her expression suddenly shifting. She lifted her chin slightly and frowned.
"I'm counting to three!"
Though she hadn't raised her voice, the effect was immediate. As if shocked by electricity, the group scattered, with Cedric and the twins collapsing to the ground, feeling a strange sense of dread as if they'd been caught cheating on an exam. A bead of cold sweat trickled down each forehead.
"It really worked, Captain!" Cho's eyes sparkled, and she playfully waved her fist at Harry.
"Told you." Harry chuckled, crossing one leg over the other and tapping his foot rhythmically.
"It's a mysterious charm from the East—a 'soft-knees' curse that targets men."
"All right, all right. It's getting late. Pack up and get some rest. We've got training in the morning," Harry said, signaling for the night to wind down.
After everyone dispersed, he stretched and let out a yawn.
"Not my world, but I wish it strength and prosperity," he murmured. "Magic infusion, huh? The others started enhancing their people's magic levels decades ago, and a nation where all stand as dragons isn't so bad either.
"England isn't where I'll stay forever. This place can't keep up with the times."
He looked up, gazing into the night. "Outdated traditions, indeed… remnants of an era long past."
(End of Chapter)