Regulus Black thought to himself carefully. He had already disrupted Harry Potter's entire academic life. Many events that were originally
Regulus Black thought to himself carefully. He had already disrupted Harry Potter's entire academic life. Many events that were originally supposed to take place during Harry's fifth year—uncovered secrets, revelations about the past—had all been dealt with in advance.
As a result, Harry Potter was now set to experience nothing but a long stretch of ordinary school life from fifth year until graduation. There would be no surprises, and no danger.
But that all depended on one key condition: that Voldemort's soul no longer resided within him.
Thinking back to the original story, Dumbledore had ultimately concluded that Harry Potter had to sacrifice himself so that Voldemort could destroy the fragment of his own soul within Harry. Only after that did Harry turn the tide and achieve victory.
In order to destroy the Horcruxes, Dumbledore had even allowed himself to be injured. In the end, he used the remainder of his life to do one final favor—and threw Professor Snape under the bus, making him, in Harry's mind, the second greatest villain after Voldemort.
Now, Voldemort was inside Harry Potter's body. That had become an open secret.
At first, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was quite pleased. The Triwizard Tournament had concluded smoothly, and Harry Potter had emerged victorious. This brought both honor to Hogwarts and prestige to the British Ministry of Magic.
However, Fudge chose to selectively ignore the issue of Voldemort. Though The Daily Prophet's official reports aligned with the Ministry's stance, privately circulated news revealed the unfiltered truth.
All the students at Hogwarts could attest to the fact that Voldemort and Harry Potter had fused. Without Regulus Black's protective hand-seal, Harry's charming and charismatic demeanor at the time would have certainly raised suspicions. People might have even questioned whether he was truly Harry Potter.
The Ministry could no longer suppress these rumors. Regulus Black, as the newly appointed Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was being summoned daily by the Minister.
Naturally, these meetings were far from pleasant. Fudge was becoming increasingly paranoid. He even went so far as to imply that Regulus Black could eliminate Harry Potter—an idea that was flatly rejected.
So, as if the wheels of history were turning once more, the events of the original story seemed destined to unfold again.
The now-charming Harry Potter was living full-time in the Black family's ancestral home. The blood protection of the Dursleys was no longer effective in suppressing the Voldemort within him. Naturally, under Regulus Black's supervision—and with Sirius Black's companionship—it was safer.
Throughout the entire summer, Harry never left the Black residence. Still, the newspapers continued to deliver news from the outside world.
"Dumbledore Has Gone Mad—Spreading Fear and Panic!""Harry Potter: Fraud or Savior?""Hogwarts Blames Ministry After Triwizard Tragedy!"
Headlines like these kept appearing in The Daily Prophet. The reporter best known for writing such pieces, Rita Skeeter, was in full form. Her articles were highly sensational, yet always managed to deflect any responsibility from the paper itself.
Of course, all content had to pass through Ministry review—and Regulus Black's "review" as well. Due to her ill-timed phrasing, Rita Skeeter had been "punished" multiple times, yet remained stubbornly unrepentant despite appearing to accept criticism.
"They can't do this. Dumbledore never did any of the things the papers claim," said the charismatic Harry Potter as he set the newspaper down, his expression utterly calm. The original Harry would have jumped to his feet in outrage.
"Harry! This is just the Ministry's doing. The Daily Prophet is merely following orders," said Sirius Black, clearly troubled. He didn't know how to handle his godson anymore. Just by looking at him, this person didn't feel like Harry Potter—but that face, nearly identical, offered a reasonable explanation. This really was the fused version of Harry Potter.
"Don't you want your godson to be a little more dashing?" Regulus Black had said when he brought the new Harry back.
At the same time, Regulus had given Sirius a secret task: to monitor this version of Harry Potter. Every detail of his daily life had to be preserved in memory, ready for review.
Because Regulus couldn't guarantee that his Soulguard Seal Sextet would always effectively suppress Voldemort. After all, the Dark Lord was on par with Dumbledore, and Regulus himself was perhaps just a bit below their level.
Thus, the summer holiday passed quietly under the watchful eyes of godfather and godson. The Black residence now belonged to Sirius, with Regulus leaving Shimmer to assist him, while Kreacher had been taken to work at the Crimson Manor. Naturally, this place once again became the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
Sirius spent the entire summer adjusting to the charming new version of Harry Potter. But this peaceful situation was about to come to an end—Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts was about to begin.
"Harry! Tomorrow's the day we head back to school. Is there anything you want to buy?"
Sirius Black had finally remembered that Harry Potter still needed to purchase many of his school supplies—and it was already the last day.
"Are we going to Diagon Alley?"
The handsome Harry Potter immediately lit up with joy. Although it was impressive enough that a child like him had managed to stay indoors for the entire holiday, the thought of finally being able to go out shopping still made him genuinely happy.
Since they had decided to go out, Sirius wasted no time. He took Harry outside, pointed his wand to summon the Knight Bus, and they were soon dropped off in front of the Leaky Cauldron—the entrance to Diagon Alley.
As they entered the Leaky Cauldron, they were immediately greeted by a witch in a pink cardigan. She had a chubby face and figure, with tightly curled brown hair held stiff with hair gel, and she spoke in a shrill voice.
"Well, what a surprise to run into you two here—Sirius Black and Harry Potter. Regulus Black had assured the Ministry that you'd both stay put in the old Black residence."
Dolores Umbridge—the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Or, more accurately, his loyal lapdog.
She spoke these words outright, not only revealing the deal between Regulus Black and the Ministry, but treating the two of them as if they were criminals.
"We're here to buy school supplies. If you don't have a problem with that, then step aside."
Sirius Black's eyes were blazing with anger. This pink toad was truly unbearable.
"Oh! So you're buying school supplies. Well then, I won't keep you from Diagon Alley. Just remember to go straight home after you're done shopping. Don't let your dear brother Regulus worry too much."
As she mentioned Regulus, Dolores Umbridge's expression suddenly turned bashful. Clearly, aside from being the Minister's loyal lackey, she was also something of a fangirl for Regulus Black.
Sirius Black felt a chill run down his spine, and many others in the pub seemed to shiver as well.
Didn't they all know what Regulus Black's preferences were?He would fall for this pink toad? More likely, he'd squash her underfoot!
Sirius no longer wanted to exchange another word with her—not even to insult her. He quickly led the handsome Harry Potter away and headed into Diagon Alley.
Their first stop was Gringotts, where they rode the roller coaster-style carts and withdrew some Galleons.
Next, they went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Children grew fast at this age, and Harry had shot up quite a bit over the summer.
Following the school list, Harry bought all his fifth-year textbooks at Flourish and Blotts.
For his studies, they also stopped by the Ink Emporium to pick up new quills, ink, and a thick stack of parchment.
As they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium, they bought a bag of food for Hedwig.
Finally, they arrived at Ollivanders, where Harry planned to have his wand serviced.
"Honored sir, your wand has been fully maintained. There will be no charge."
Throughout the entire process, Ollivander didn't dare to lift his head to look at Harry, as if he were standing before Voldemort himself.
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