"Headmaster Dumbledore!" The handsome Harry Potter looked at the approaching Dumbledore with a face full of surprise and delight.
"Headmaster Dumbledore!"
The handsome Harry Potter looked at the approaching Dumbledore with a face full of surprise and delight.
After just escorting Sirius Black to the old family house, Regulus Black had arranged for him to stay behind with the Aurors who had accompanied them.
But Harry could tell that this was actually a way for Regulus to have the Aurors keep an eye on him. And the Aurors were indeed doing just that.
A few of them took positions at the kitchen door and windows, while the handsome Harry Potter busied himself preparing food for them.
"Harry! Come here and let me see you. Are you alright?"
Dumbledore spotted the busy Harry Potter, and it was clear something wasn't right.
Everyone who had been attacked by Dementors was in the same condition as Sirius—on the verge of death.
The Muggles involved had their memories wiped by the Aurors and were sent to the hospital. Even now, doctors hadn't been able to diagnose the issue. They remained unconscious, their condition equally dire.
The only person who had returned lively and energetic was Harry Potter. That alone was deeply abnormal.
According to Harry himself, he had also been attacked by Dementors. He too had been slammed against the wall and forcibly held there, just like Sirius—only for a slightly shorter time. Yet his condition was drastically better.
Dumbledore hugged Harry Potter and subtly used magic to probe his body. A powerful, dark magic was surging within him, though it remained dormant. This hidden power was the reason Harry appeared so energetic.
Suddenly, an owl flew into the Black family home, clutching a letter in its beak.
"Harry Potter, this is a notice from the Ministry of Magic's Oversight Committee. Due to your use of magic in a Muggle-populated area, and in accordance with the Underage Wizardry Decree, you are to appear before the Ministry tomorrow for a disciplinary hearing. Alternatively, you may skip the hearing and proceed directly to withdraw from Hogwarts."
The letter leapt up on its own, transformed into a pair of bright red lips, and loudly read its contents aloud before landing on the table.
"Headmaster Dumbledore! Am I going to be expelled?"
The handsome Harry Potter was visibly flustered. He still had three more years of school to go!
"Calm down, Harry. There's still the Ministry hearing. The truth will come out."
Dumbledore consoled him. Judging by Harry's current state, he showed none of the signs once seen in Tom Riddle. He was still very much the same Harry Potter as before. That was something that even habit couldn't change.
Thinking back to the time of the Triwizard Tournament, when Harry had just returned to Hogwarts, there had been something undeniably off about him—his speech, his movements, his aura. There had been a faint shadow of the old Harry, but more than that, he had felt like a complete stranger.
But now, Harry still retained his original demeanor and mannerisms, even though he and Regulus Black had already merged souls.
Clearly, the Ministry had its own agenda, and Hogwarts could not afford to simply compromise.
Dumbledore was determined to defend Harry Potter.
When all the other students boarded the Hogwarts Express, the handsome Harry Potter was taken to the Ministry of Magic by Regulus Black.
Although Harry was supposed to be the main focus that day, he wasn't actually the center of attention.
Led by Minister Fudge, certain members of the Ministry believed that Harry was lying and that the Muggles had been attacked either by him or by Sirius. Therefore, Harry's actions were interpreted as an attempt to help his godfather cover up a crime.
Members of the Order of the Phoenix, on the other hand, believed that the Dementors had been dispatched by the Ministry itself. Even though the number of Dementors had dwindled, the Ministry still had enough to send on such a mission. After all, Azkaban didn't always require constant surveillance—there wasn't a jailbreak attempt every day. The true goal of the Ministry, they believed, was to force Harry to use magic, giving them grounds to expel him.
In response, the Ministry protested and refuted the claim. They pointed out that Muggles couldn't see Dementors, and Sirius, being Harry's godfather, was an unreliable witness. As for Harry himself, who claimed to have been attacked by Dementors, he showed no visible signs of injury at all.
The Order countered again—Dementors drain life force, which doesn't require physical injury. Harry's wand had only cast one spell: Expecto Patronum. That alone was enough to prove that the target of the spell had to have been a Dementor.
Meanwhile, Harry sat ignored on the courtroom bench, as both sides clashed in a flurry of words and accusations.
Minister Fudge felt he was the one being wronged. After all, Voldemort was sealed inside Harry Potter's body.
Yet even amidst the heated argument, neither side dared mention that topic.
The Ministry wanted to downplay everything related to Voldemort. The Order of the Phoenix, however, was filled with unease over the disappearance of the seal.
After the Dementor attack, the six-fold seal bracer was taken by the Dementors. This was unknown to the people at the Ministry of Magic, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix didn't dare bring it up. As for the fusion between Harry Potter's soul and the fragment of Voldemort's soul, only a few people knew about it, and it remained classified.
The handsome Harry Potter sat there, having been a listener for most of the day. Naturally, he didn't interrupt casually, avoiding drawing the attention and firepower of both sides onto himself.
In the end, the matter of Harry Potter casting the Patronus Charm during a moment of crisis was brushed aside in the midst of the argument.
During this time, Regulus Black remained in his office. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had a rather spacious office, and there were plenty of documents awaiting his review as the Department Head. Fortunately, his secretary had already sorted them by importance, waiting only for his approval.
It had to be said—the Ministry of Magic offered truly excellent benefits. As a department head, the perks were even more generous, including the provision of a beautiful female secretary.
"Penelope, are you adjusting well to the job?"
Regulus Black looked at the stunning woman who had just brought in the documents. He had once promised to help her pursue a career in film, but various matters had delayed that plan. Still, the two had maintained a close relationship over the years, and when Regulus landed the position of Department Head, she was the first person who came to mind.
"These are the documents that need your approval."
The brunette with soft curls placed a stack of papers on the desk. Penelope Clearwater genuinely enjoyed her job. Working at the Ministry of Magic gave her a strong sense of accomplishment. As a former Ravenclaw prefect and head girl, she found more satisfaction in politics than she imagined she would in the entertainment industry.
Regulus Black skimmed through the documents, opening and closing them one by one. As he reached the signature section of each file, a flourish of handwriting appeared—his signature in elegant script.
"You didn't even read them carefully! And stop using magic to sign. It doesn't count if it's not handwritten."
Penelope Clearwater felt like her hard work was being taken lightly. If a signature was written using magic, it could be considered forged.
"My dear, I trust your judgment. I've already read all the documents. Would you like me to recite them for you from memory? And of course I signed them by hand. I was just so fast that you didn't see it clearly."
Regulus Black closed the final document and playfully defended himself to the smart and perceptive woman before him.
"How is that even possible?"
With a slightly curious look, Penelope Clearwater tapped one of the documents with her wand. The spell confirmed that the signature was indeed handwritten, not magically generated.
"My dear Penelope, am I really that untrustworthy?"
Regulus Black's physical abilities had long since been enhanced. His current speed could easily surpass the sound barrier.
With the strength of his body now, even breaking the sound barrier with a punch was no challenge.
"A man who doesn't follow through on what he says isn't worth trusting."
With a playful lift of her brow, Penelope Clearwater folded her arms across her chest.
"If you're still genuinely interested in becoming a star, I can make it happen now."
Back when he first encouraged her, Regulus Black hadn't yet ventured into the film industry. But things were different now. With two films already under his belt, he was now very much a part of the entertainment world.
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