The intensive practice of combat and defensive spells yielded an unexpected bonus—Harry finally mastered the Patronus Charm. His Patronus, just as in the original timeline, was a magnificent stag with branching antlers.
"My dad!" Harry was so excited he could barely form words coherently. "I have to show Sirius this next time!"
"He'll be so proud of you," Orli said with a gentle smile. If her memory served correctly, Harry would be seeing Sirius very soon.
The long, tedious final exams dragged on for an entire week, just like every year. This time, Orli felt confident about most subjects—except Divination. She wasn't sure whether the stories she'd fabricated this year would satisfy Professor Trelawney.
As for Potions, naturally there was nothing to worry about. During the exam, she'd even made a small improvement to her potion based on notes from Snape's old textbook. When she handed in her vial, she thought she glimpsed the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of Snape's mouth. To this day, she still wasn't certain whether it had been her imagination.
The day of the tournament happened to coincide with the final day of exams. That day's test was History of Magic, but everyone's minds had already flown to the Triwizard Tournament and summer holidays. Orli noticed Ron diagonally ahead of her, frantically scribbling with his quill to fill every inch of parchment—perhaps he believed Professor Binns graded based on answer length.
Finally, every single exam was over. Everyone relaxed—except Harry, who was more nervous than ever before.
Just as the four of them sat in the Great Hall eating and discussing Blast-Ended Skrewts, Professor McGonagall approached their table along the Gryffindor bench.
"Potter, the champions are to gather in the chamber beside the Great Hall after you've finished eating," she said.
"But the task doesn't start until tonight!" Harry accidentally scattered bacon and scrambled eggs across himself. His hands were as rigid as if he'd been hit with a Petrificus Totalus.
"I know, Potter," Professor McGonagall replied. "The champions' families have been invited to watch the final task. You'll have a chance to meet with them."
"Sirius! Is Sirius here?" Harry leaped to his feet with excitement. Without even saying goodbye to Orli and the others, he rushed away from the long table.
Before long, Harry returned with a whole procession of people trailing behind him: Sirius had his arm around Harry's shoulders, with Mrs. Weasley walking right beside them. Bill followed behind, still dressed like a rock star.
"Mum—Bill!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"
"We've come to watch Harry in the final!" Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully. "I must say, it's a lovely change—no cooking tonight. How did your exams go?"
"Oh... not too bad," Ron said, helping himself to a steak and kidney pie. "I couldn't remember all those goblin rebellion leaders' names, so I made up a few. Doesn't matter."
Mrs. Weasley gave him a stern look. "They all have names like Urg the Unclean and Gringott the Goblin—making them up isn't exactly difficult."
Fred, George, and Ginny came over to join them as well, and now half the table felt exactly like the Burrow's kitchen. Sitting across from them with Hermione, Orli felt as though there was some invisible barrier separating her from this group.
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