"Harry Potter! Harry Potter! This way, this way—behind that door lies your destiny. It belongs to you." Lately, the dashing Harry Potter had
"Harry Potter! Harry Potter! This way, this way—behind that door lies your destiny. It belongs to you."
Lately, the dashing Harry Potter had been doing fairly well during the day, even carrying himself like a proper teacher.
He managed the entire D.A. (Dumbledore's Army) with great efficiency, and the spell training inside the Shrieking Shack had become a regular routine.
However, things weren't as smooth when it came to sleep. Every night, a gloomy voice echoed in Harry's dreams, always speaking to him. A corridor lined entirely with black tiles and a vault-like door deep inside appeared repeatedly in these dreams.
Harry had no idea where the place in his dream was, nor what the "destiny" mentioned in the voice referred to.
All he knew was that he was tormented night after night by the same dream, unable to wake himself up—every morning, Ron Weasley had to rouse him.
"Harry! You must be exhausted lately. Maybe I should tell everyone we need to take a few days off."
After waking up, Ron Weasley had discovered Harry sweating and twitching in bed as if caught in a nightmare. Alarmed, he immediately woke Harry. Thinking their recent activities might be the cause of such fatigue, he made the suggestion.
In truth, Ron himself was beginning to feel worn out. Each mission cost them precious time, and they still had to rush back to the dorms before curfew. On top of that, they lived in constant fear of being discovered—their nerves were stretched thin.
If Ron Weasley felt that way, it was even worse for Harry, who had to lead and teach the others.
"All right. We should ask the others what they think. I've been having nightmares lately, but I don't understand them at all. I don't even know what the voice is saying."
Harry, now far from looking dashing, buried his face in his hands. The cold sweat on his face could've washed it.
After freshening up and eating breakfast, their first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
As usual, Gryffindors and Slytherins shared the class. A few minutes before it started, everyone was already in the room.
Dolores Umbridge had absolutely zero tolerance for tardiness.
Parvati Patil had recently learned a paper bird charm from her twin sister Padma Patil.
By folding and cutting an ordinary piece of paper, then infusing it with magic and giving it a gentle blow, the paper bird would flap its wings and take flight.
It was a simple yet delicate charm that required precise control of magical energy.
No specific incantation was needed, nor any defined wand movement—just a sense of intent was enough to cast it.
In fact, that was the true essence of magic: spells born from the heart.
Young witches and wizards often produced bizarre magical effects under intense emotion or excitement. That, too, was real magic. But if you asked them to reproduce it, most would fail.
That's the difference between doing it consciously and unconsciously.
Even Harry Potter had once inflated Aunt Marge like a balloon.
At the time, he had been too overjoyed to wonder how or why it had happened—or how to do it again.
If he had been able to fix the pattern of that magical effect, it would have essentially become a brand-new spell. Judging by the effect, it could have been named "Righteous Fury", since it had been triggered by Harry's anger.
The paper bird flitted through the classroom, and Dolores Umbridge couldn't immediately identify who had conjured it.
For a moment, all the students turned their attention to the flying bird. Some tried to catch it by hand, others blew on it to make it fly higher, while a few aimed slingshots to knock it down. But aside from helping it ascend, all malicious attempts were deftly avoided by the nimble bird.
However, no matter how agile the paper bird was, it couldn't evade direct magical interference.
"Fwoosh!"
The paper bird burst into ashes. Dolores Umbridge was standing outside the doorway, staring straight at Parvati Patil.
Clearly, even if the bird had flown chaotically, she knew exactly who had made it.
The pink toad-like woman entered the room with an air of smug omniscience.
"Soon, you'll all be taking your Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations."
As she spoke, she used her wand to write large letters across the blackboard: Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations.
"Study hard, and you'll pass. If not, the consequences will be very serious."
Dolores Umbridge was about to begin praising the virtues of the new textbook.
"In the previous versions of this course, the quality of the textbooks was inconsistent, which was quite troubling. However, it's reassuring that from now on, you will be using a carefully organized Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum approved by the Ministry of Magic."
Dolores Umbridge was very pleased to see that all the students had taken out their textbooks. Everyone had a copy—how wonderful.
"In my class, there is no need to use spells. You will learn magic in a safe, risk-free environment. The Ministry of Magic believes that mastering theoretical knowledge is enough for you to pass your exams smoothly. And that is the very purpose of school."
Now that things had already diverged from the original storyline, Harry Potter no longer emphasized that Voldemort lived inside him. Even if Hermione were to take this class, she wouldn't bother arguing with this pink toad, because Regulus Black had already explained to them that the textbook was still useful. It simply omitted the practical and instructional sections, focusing solely on theory and analysis. And because half of the content had been removed, the theoretical and analytical parts were exceptionally detailed and thorough.
So, the textbook was still worth studying. As for the pink toad's remarks, everyone just played along.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Right! Right! Right! Good! Good! Good! Whatever you say, we'll go along with it.
Seeing the children so obedient and enthusiastic about learning, Dolores Umbridge was already convinced this was all thanks to her.
Although the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was dull and tedious, the textbook itself was detailed enough that even students who weren't good at studying could understand it easily—so long as they were willing to concentrate.
"Harry Potter, come to my office after class."
Dolores Umbridge suddenly said, prompting the handsome Harry Potter to glance up from his book and look at her.
"What are you planning to do to me?"
The handsome Harry Potter suddenly crossed his arms over his chest in a mock-scared gesture.
As if going to Dolores Umbridge's office after class would result in something inappropriate for children.
Having grown up in the Muggle world, Harry was far more familiar with Muggle culture than most wizard-born kids.
He did it purely for the sake of comedy—and to gross out Dolores Umbridge a little.
The whole class turned to look at the handsome Harry Potter—at his expression, at his exaggerated gestures—and then burst into laughter.
"Silence! Harry Potter disrupted the class and will be punished after school. One month of detention!"
Dolores Umbridge's face turned bright red, as if she felt completely humiliated.
"You went too far this time. You're in trouble," Ron Weasley whispered, then pretended he hadn't said anything.
Harry had indeed pushed it too far. He pursed his lips helplessly—if you don't seek trouble, trouble won't find you.
"Looks like today's the perfect day to take a leave," the handsome Harry Potter murmured to Ron.
Though vague, Ron immediately understood what he meant.
It actually worked out well. Taking a break from activities for a while could be a good rest. The only uncertainty was what the detention would involve. Compared to teaching others how to use spells, would this end up being a worse deal?
Very soon, Harry realized—it was definitely a worse deal.
When Regulus Black heard about this provocative incident, he immediately knew that a scene from the original book was about to repeat itself. Was the wheel of history really this hard to change? Hadn't he already altered the course of the original story by successfully collecting all the legendary artifacts?
"I just wonder if that kid can get through it. Harry Potter is still quite charming right now. I hope he'll be all right," Regulus Black muttered to himself.
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09