The next package was rather large, and Harry knew immediately it was from Hermione. He eagerly opened it to find a beautifully crafted bookshelf inside.
The note read: "Harry, your suitcase is an absolute mess! I bought this bookshelf in London, and I tried adding a self-cleaning charm to it, but it wasn't very successful (｡•́︿•̀｡). I hope you don't mind."
Meanwhile, Hedwig didn't hurry off. Hermione unwrapped Harry's package, which contained a box. Curious, she opened it to discover it was filled with quills made from the feathers of various magical creatures.
Seeing Hedwig arrive with Hermione's letter, Harry knew she wouldn't be able to resist writing back. He opened the letter (which also contained 7 Galleons): "Merry Christmas, Harry. I absolutely adore the quills you sent, but I must know, how on earth did you get phoenix feathers? P.S. These Galleons are for The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
Harry reluctantly put away the Galleons. Hermione clearly remembered him saying The Tales of Beedle the Bard was her Christmas gift. But now that he'd sent her another present, she'd sent the money back. He quickly scribbled a reply, just a single line: "A beautiful chunk of golden snakewood."
Just then, Hedwig gave Harry a reproachful peck.
"Don't worry, Hedwig, this is the last trip. After you deliver this, you can have a good rest," Harry comforted her.
After delivering the letter to Hermione, Hedwig ignored her pleas to stay and flew straight off.
(In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore looked at Fawkes perched on an unfamiliar yet beautiful piece of wood, wondering if he was suffering from old age dementia.)
As soon as the Christmas holidays ended, Hermione couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. The moment she saw Harry, she pestered him: "What does 'golden snakewood' mean? Is it related to phoenixes?"
"A secret makes men man," Harry said mysteriously.
"?"
At lunch, Hagrid happily informed them that no unicorns had been harmed for quite some time. "Dumbledore said that dark wizard got away. Pity I didn't get to catch him myself and get revenge for the unicorns," Hagrid lamented. Harry, however, doubted Hagrid could truly defeat that dark wizard, especially since it was most likely Voldemort.
Harry intercepted Dumbledore in the corridor and shared his suspicions. "You've guessed quite accurately, Harry. Only the most evil wizards would need unicorn blood," Dumbledore said.
Soon, Harry had no time to worry about Voldemort, because Hermione had devised an incredibly complex study schedule. "Harry, you've sent me so many lovely quills, I just can't stop using them to write!" Hermione even tried to drag Harry to the library, but Harry always managed to escape with various excuses, including but not limited to: "Humphrey's hungry again," "I need to help Hagrid feed the dragons," and "Quidditch practice."
There was good news, though: Harry's detentions had finally ended. He no longer had to endure Snape's biting sarcasm in his office. As Easter approached, Harry glumly noticed that the teachers were assigning more homework. Even Professor Flitwick was no longer exempting him. Faced with Harry's complaints, Professor Flitwick said regretfully, "Harry, I know you've completely mastered this charm, and I don't want to give you homework. But the Ministry of Magic requires students to leave a paper trail of their work, or they won't let you progress to your second year."
Confound the Ministry! Confound Fudge! Harry thoroughly cursed the bureaucracy of the British Ministry of Magic, forced to accept this unfortunate reality.
On Easter Day, Harry received a letter from Aunt Petunia, but Harry couldn't be bothered to open it.
A few days later, Hagrid, looking grim, told them another unicorn had been killed in the Forbidden Forest that morning. "It'd been so many days without anything happening. I thought that dark wizard had fled, so I had a bit of brandy with Norbert."
"Who would have thought today... If I hadn't stayed in my hut drinking brandy, maybe the unicorn wouldn't have died," Hagrid said, beginning to sob.
"Don't blame yourself, Hagrid, you've done more than enough," Harry comforted him.
Harry had a faint, ominous feeling. He suspected this was Voldemort's doing again; he'd returned. Just as he was about to tell Dumbledore this news, Dumbledore sought him out first.
In the Headmaster's office, besides Dumbledore, two stern-faced wizards were present. "Harry, these are John Dawlish and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. Kingsley has something to tell you." Dumbledore offered Harry a cup of tea, gesturing for him to sit and take a sip. Once Harry was seated, Kingsley spoke in a formal tone.
"Mr. Potter, I regret to inform you that your aunt and uncle were attacked by a dark wizard, but through the Ministry's relentless efforts, we successfully rescued them."
"Harry, I assure you, they're quite alright now," Dumbledore added.
But Harry remained surprisingly calm. He remembered Aunt Petunia's letter from Christmas. "Was it Easter?"
"What?"
"Were they attacked on Easter?"
Kingsley and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
"How did you know?" Dawlish asked eagerly.
"I received a letter from Aunt Petunia on Easter."
"Tell me what the letter said," Dawlish said, unconsciously using a commanding tone.
"Are you interrogating me?" Harry retorted unceremoniously, then looked at Dumbledore. "I didn't read the letter, but now I suspect he wrote it."
"You—"
Kingsley restrained Dawlish, preventing him from questioning further. "Professor Dumbledore, may we see the letter?" Kingsley asked politely.
"Of course, you may. However, it's quite late now. You two go have your dinner first, and I'll bring the letter over after you've eaten." Dumbledore was concerned there might be information detrimental to Harry in it, so he intended to read it first himself.
"Very well." Kingsley turned and left promptly. As he departed, Dawlish still seemed indignant and wanted to say something, but under Dumbledore's watchful eye, he held his tongue.
Once the Aurors had left, Harry simply pulled out his wand and summoned, "Accio Petunia's Letter."
Watching the letter fly in through the window, Dumbledore cautiously stood in front of Harry and poked the envelope with his wand. "Indeed, Harry, I sense traces of magic on the letter, but it doesn't seem to be Tom's magic." Dumbledore said, opening the envelope. Inside was only a thin piece of paper.
The paper read (very scrawled): "Happy Easter Harry, Vernon and I miss you very much, we want to see you, tonight, on xx Street, xx London. Love, your Aunt."
Dumbledore pointed his wand at the paper and cast Aparecium. Soon, another set of words appeared:
"Potter, I am Quirrell, tell Dumbledore to save me."