For Harry Potter, without a doubt, this was the easiest, happiest, and most carefree summer vacation he had ever had.
Now that he was seventeen, he could use magic outside school as much as he wanted. Apparating from bed straight to the dining room for breakfast was, honestly, brilliant.
Even life at Number 4 Privet Drive had become a lot more interesting.
Professor Severus Snape had visited again and met with Aunt Petunia.
Harry had no idea what the two of them had talked about, but after that day, Aunt Petunia's attitude toward magic improved noticeably.
Uncle Vernon and Dudley changed as well. At the very least, they suddenly seemed far less hostile toward magic than before.
A few months ago, Harry never would have imagined there would come a day when he could live peacefully with the Dursleys. He never would have imagined there would come a day when he could repair his relationship with Professor Severus Snape, either.
Sometimes, life really was unbelievable.
Aside from Professor Snape, another wizard also came to visit Number 4 Privet Drive.
Sirius Black, Harry's godfather.
Because of his past as a "wanted man," Sirius was obviously not especially welcome in the Dursley household, though they tried their best not to let it show on their faces.
Sirius had come to take Harry away. Now that Harry was officially seventeen, and now that the Dark Lord whose name could not be spoken was dead, he would finally no longer have to return to his aunt and uncle's house every summer.
It should have been good news.
But when the moment of parting actually arrived, Harry suddenly felt a faint reluctance to leave.
Looking back, he had spent sixteen full years here. Those sixteen years had not exactly been pleasant, but his aunt and uncle had still raised him, bit by bit, and let him grow up healthy enough.
"Goodbye," Harry Potter said.
He waved at Number 4 Privet Drive, at Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley.
And with that, he said goodbye to his childhood as well.
...
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Deputy Headmistress Professor Minerva McGonagall had been extremely busy lately, with almost no time to rest.
Part of it was school business.
Although Hogwarts had already entered summer break and the students were all at home enjoying their holidays, the teachers' work was far from over.
Professor McGonagall first had to handle matters concerning the new students, sending acceptance letters out one by one. The Muggle-born first-years also needed guidance from the Heads of Houses. Then there were the transcripts for returning students, especially those who had taken their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. There could be no mistakes there. And that was not even mentioning the graduates, whose career guidance and post-graduation follow-ups Hogwarts was also responsible for.
Of course, Hogwarts also needed two new professors: one for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and one for Potions.
Professor Galatea Merrythought had decided to resign. She was simply too old now to endure Hogwarts' chaos any longer. Professor Horace Slughorn, due to certain personal matters, was no longer willing to teach at Hogwarts either.
Professor McGonagall had brought Professor Snape back. Now that his name had been cleared, he was no longer burdened by the restrictions of being a Death Eater.
He had also agreed to return to Hogwarts as both Potions professor and Head of Slytherin House.
As for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, that troublesome matter had tormented Professor McGonagall for more than a month. For various reasons, the post was not easy to fill.
All of this should have been the Headmaster's responsibility.
However, Headmaster Jon Hart had "mysteriously disappeared" more than a month ago.
Of course, he had not vanished completely. Every few days, he still sent Fawkes the phoenix back to Hogwarts with a letter, "pretending" to inquire about the school's situation.
As Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall was practically grinding her teeth in frustration over this young Headmaster.
But she had no choice except to take on the work herself and keep Hogwarts running.
The other matter was connected to You-Know-Who, who had been destroyed not long ago.
The news that Hogwarts' young Headmaster, Jon Hart, had defeated the most terrifying Dark Wizard of the twentieth century had already spread throughout the entire wizarding world. Countless letters were being sent from all over the country, and naturally, every one of them was addressed to Headmaster Jon Hart.
The Headmaster's Office was already in complete chaos. At least dozens of owls passed through it every day. If the mess was not cleaned up in time, the owl droppings and feathers there might very well outnumber those in the owlery.
To be honest, Professor McGonagall had lived for a long time, but this was the first time she had ever encountered anything like it.
Ordinary letters would have been bad enough, but many excited witches and wizards had sent Howlers. If those were not dealt with quickly, the result was simply dreadful.
Professor McGonagall was nearly worn down to the bone. She was exhausted.
...
Then, one day in mid-August, a weary Professor Minerva McGonagall sat behind the Headmaster's desk, bringing another exhausting day to an end.
At that moment, she heard a noise from the ugly stone gargoyle downstairs.
"Damn it!" Professor McGonagall's expression sharpened at once, and she sprang to her feet.
There was no question about it. Only one person could enter the Headmaster's Office so easily.
"Headmaster Hart!" she roared, yanking the door open.
But the person standing before her was not Headmaster Jon Hart.
It was a young girl.
Headmaster Jon Hart stood behind her, looking positively radiant.
"Oh, Miss Greengrass…" Professor McGonagall's expression shifted slightly. "All right, this isn't directed at you, but I have matters to report to our Headmaster. Many, many matters…"
Her voice was thick with anger.
"Jon, Professor McGonagall…" Astoria Greengrass said softly, "I'll step out for a moment…"
She quickly turned and walked down the stairs.
Professor McGonagall could not even wait for her to leave. She pointed straight at Jon Hart's nose and launched into her accusations.
There was all the work at Hogwarts, those wretched Howlers, the owl droppings, the feathers, and every other disaster he had left behind.
Jon looked rather embarrassed. All he could do was explain, "Well, Professor McGonagall… I'm very sorry. During the battle with Voldemort, I suffered a few injuries… so for this past month, I've actually been recovering. Yes, recovering…"
It was a terrible excuse.
Yet somehow, it deceived the "innocent" Professor McGonagall.
"Are you all right, child?" she asked at once, concern filling her face. "Are your injuries still serious?"
"No… I'm fine…" Jon said guiltily, shaking his head quickly.
Of course, there had been no recovering at all.
Jon had spent more than a month on vacation. After his trip to Greece ended, he had gone to Geneva.
The headquarters of the International Association of Quidditch was located there. Jon's main reason for going was to discuss the matter of new Quidditch rules. During the spare time on his vacation, he had written up some plans for improving the sport of Quidditch.
They included abolishing the Seeker position, changing the game to a timed format, giving Beaters better tools to control Bludgers, and providing Keepers with stronger protective measures, among other things.
Because of this, he had a cordial discussion with Mr. Hassan Mostafa, President of the International Association of Quidditch.
"Professor McGonagall, is there something wrong at Hogwarts?" Jon asked as he sat down.
"Not really…" Professor McGonagall's expression eased a little. "It's just that we need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
"Don't worry about that." Jon smiled. "I've already found one."
"Oh?"
"Her name is Professor Vinda Rosier!"