After arriving at Utopia, Sterling called over Ron, who had been hiding and sleeping in a corner, to sit with Harry.
"I need to clear up some things with you."
Terry immediately realised what Sterling wanted to say, but he didn't speak up. He also believed they shouldn't conceal information about Harry's enemy under the pretence of "for Harry's good".
At worst, if Harry wanted to go blow up Voldemort, they'd hit him with a Stunning Spell to calm him down.
Ron and Harry exchanged glances, the warm light from the floating candles casting uncertain shadows across their faces. Though unsure what Sterling intended, they obediently sat properly, the leather chairs creaking softly beneath them.
"I lied to you before about what happened on Halloween night. That dark wizard was Voldemort, the You-Know-Who and Dark Lord you speak of."
The words hung in the air like a physical weight. Ron's face drained of all colour.
"Oh, what kind of deception is that? Just Voldemort... wait, who? You-Know-Who?!"
Ron jumped straight up from his chair, nearly knocking it over, covering his head as if fearing Voldemort might suddenly leap from some dark corner of the room and hit him with Avada Kedavra.
"How is that possible? Isn't You-Know-Who already... already dead?"
"You can tell from his name. Voldemort, flight from death."
Sterling looked toward Harry, who displayed a strange silence. The boy's green eyes had gone distant, reflecting the flickering candlelight like emerald pools.
"So Voldemort is currently in the Forbidden Forest in an unprecedentedly weakened state?"
Harry raised his head, emotions flashing in his eyes that felt familiar to Sterling. There was something fierce there, something that reminded him of the way dragons looked before they breathed fire.
"Correct, but that's still not something you can contend with."
Seeing Harry still somewhat unconvinced, Sterling sighed and used Transfiguration to transform an ink bottle someone had left on the table into a huge green sphere, tossing it toward Harry. The transformed object whistled through the air before Harry caught it.
"Voldemort's Killing Curse can expand to this size, and I'm talking about his current weakened state. If it were normal times, you should recall the grey-white lightning in the Forbidden Forest that night."
"You should know the Killing Curse's effects quite clearly."
Harry indeed knew very clearly. After entering Hogwarts, he'd collected information about his parents and understood the Killing Curse well. The weight of that knowledge settled on his shoulders like a heavy cloak.
Death upon contact.
"But..." Harry wanted to say more, but after meeting Sterling's steady gaze, he completely lost his voice and lowered his head.
"I hid this from you before because I feared you'd act impulsively after knowing." Sterling walked to Harry's side and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder while Ron gripped Harry's hand in support.
"Then why are you telling me now?"
"Because I just realised I shouldn't impose what I think is good for you onto you, nor should I underestimate you. I'm telling you the truth, telling you Voldemort's strength. I believe you might have momentary excitement but will ultimately realise what you should do."
Sterling's voice carried the weight of careful consideration. "If you insist on throwing your life away, Terry and I will stop you. If you choose to avoid confrontation for now, I'm happy this decision comes from your own will."
Sterling also rarely scratched his head, the gesture making him seem younger than his years.
"I don't know if this is strange. Though I've told you the facts, I'm really not giving you two choices. But I felt I had to tell you. Perhaps it's contradictory?"
"No." Harry's voice trembled slightly, but there was strength beneath the tremor.
"I'm glad you could tell me this. You're right. I currently have absolutely no ability to avenge my parents."
"But knowing my enemy still lives is already a great help to me."
Harry's hands clenched into fists on his lap. "Sterling, could you teach me more magic?"
"You can already contend with Voldemort now, and when you grow up, you'll definitely be able to defeat him, right? If so, by learning from you, someday I can defeat him too!"
Harry's gaze suddenly reminded Sterling of Galahad. Those were green eyes without any confusion, clear as mountain streams.
"Of course. Isn't Utopia's purpose mutual learning? As long as you want to learn, I'll naturally teach you."
Harry and Sterling looked at each other, and both smiled, the tension in the room easing like morning mist.
Crystal tears gathered at Harry's eye corners. He forcefully wiped them away, as if also discarding his confusion. "Honestly, I rather hope Professor Dumbledore can't find him, letting him live outside a bit longer until I can defeat him, then let me go defeat him."
"I think your wish might well come true."
Sterling thought of the prophecy he'd received. At least this year, Voldemort couldn't possibly exit the stage.
"Ron and I actually have a secret we haven't told you either."
Harry's sudden statement instantly made Ron nervous. He looked around frantically, confirming Hermione wasn't there before sighing in relief, his shoulders sagging.
"Oh? What secret?"
Terry moved closer, curiosity lighting his features. He wasn't good at comforting people, so he'd hidden away earlier.
"We often visit Hagrid, and from him we got information about that three-headed dog in the forbidden corridor. We even teamed up with George and Fred to go to the forbidden corridor again."
Terry's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, if Hermione knew, your ears would be filled with safety regulations!"
Safety regulations were something new Professor Vitam had created, much beloved by Hermione. Her quotes had now switched from Hogwarts school rules to these.
"Don't say that. Hermione's much more reasonable now, as long as you have reasons for going." Sterling paused meaningfully. "You had no reasons."
Seeing Ron's cold sweat beading on his forehead, Sterling delivered his verdict with mock seriousness.
"Alright, it was my competitiveness that made Harry and George accompany me for another attempt." Ron laughed awkwardly, the sound echoing strangely in the room.
"But we did break through the three-headed dog's blockade. Fred mixed Draught of Living Death into meat and fed it to the dog. After putting it to sleep, we all entered the trapdoor."
Harry quickly helped Ron out, picking up the thread. Terry was obviously more interested in adventure stories, leaning forward with bright eyes. "Then what?"
"Then we were entangled by a bunch of unknown things and couldn't break free no matter what. Since we were inside, George didn't dare use Blasting Curses either. Finally Professor Dumbledore appeared and rescued us and didn't even dock points."
Ron covered his face with both hands, with Harry following suit in shared embarrassment.
No points lost? Sterling marvelled inwardly. So the great Dumbledore does play favourites with his fellow Gryffindors!
Sterling felt somewhat speechless about Harry's secret, understanding why they hadn't told him about this.
Embarrassing.
If they'd managed to pass even one or two more trials, Sterling believed Ron would have enthusiastically shared with them. But having passed nothing except the three-headed dog that Sterling had already beaten, Ron would want to tell, but Harry would hold him back.
Telling it now was probably just because Sterling had confessed something to them, so they wanted to confess back.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells"
Bell sounds rang from outside, melodic and cheerful. Sterling knew Hermione and Padma were arriving with the celebration cake.
When they'd walked toward Utopia, Terry had secretly slipped into the kitchen to communicate with Hermione, having them bring the cake directly and ring bells before entering to create a surprise for Harry.
Though now this atmosphere... at least it was better than before.
Thanks to this somewhat funny secret, Utopia's atmosphere was at least not as bitter and vengeful as when Sterling had just finished telling Harry.
"Harry, the surprise Hermione and the others prepared for you is arriving."
"Oh? But I'm currently..."
"Harry, do you think your parents would want you to enjoy life or wallow in hatred?"
Sterling pushed Harry gently toward the door, his voice warm with understanding.
"It's my fault for telling you at this time. Should have waited until tomorrow. But Harry, your parents definitely want you to be happy, definitely."
"So..."
Sterling's voice overlapped with Hermione, Padma, and Neville entering, and Terry at the table, creating a chorus of warmth and friendship.
"Don't forget the beauty around you."
"Harry! Happy first Quidditch victory!"