*BOOM! Pshew! Screeeech!*
The sounds of spells colliding echoed throughout the Forbidden Forest.
"Kyahahaha! Longbottom, do you really think you can avenge your parents with that pathetic display? Oh, or did you want me to send you to the same place they are? You should have just said so! Kyahahaha!"
"Sh… shut up! My parents are still alive!"
"Oh my, I had no idea. To think they're still clinging to life after all that. The Longbottoms are so dreadfully tenacious!"
Since Neville had joined the fray, the battle had become much more complex.
The core of the fight was between Harry and Bellatrix, with Neville's attacks intermittently harassing her.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!!"
There weren't many spells Neville could use. Most of them lacked any real polish, so the Stunning Spell was the only one that could have any meaningful effect on Bellatrix.
Thus, Neville fired a Stunner at Bellatrix whenever he saw an opening.
As a seasoned witch, Bellatrix easily dodged or blocked Neville's attacks, but she was inevitably forced to split her attention.
"Aargh, you're so annoying!"
But if she focused on Neville for even a moment, she would surely be struck down by Harry's fierce magical assault.
In the end, Neville grinned at the sight of Bellatrix throwing a hysterical fit, like someone infuriated by a buzzing mosquito they couldn't swat.
Meanwhile, Harry was feeling a sense of difficulty himself.
Neville's participation was certainly a positive variable, but a variable nonetheless.
Harry's original plan had been to bring Neville in only after Bellatrix was almost completely subdued.
Neville joining the battle, outside of his control, was not part of his plan.
But his hesitation was brief.
Harry soon began to attack Bellatrix with his full power.
[*Silly. Assist me.*]
[*~As you wish. But my name is Silly, not Siri…~*] (TN: 'Siri' (시리) is how Harry pronounced her name here. It is a common name in Korea and also the name of Apple's AI assistant.)
[*~It just feels more fitting to call you Siri when I'm giving orders.~*]
[*~What is that supposed to mean?~*]
*Flash.*
The thread snake coiled around Harry's neck, Silly, fixed her gleaming yellow eyes on Bellatrix.
"Hngh… what's this now?!"
Because she was in the form of a tiny snake rather than her original Basilisk form, the full effect of her petrifying gaze didn't manifest.
It didn't kill, nor did it even stiffen Bellatrix's body.
Nevertheless, it was enough to make her falter for a split second.
And as these minor interruptions continued, Bellatrix inevitably began to lose her rhythm.
"Potter, you're getting on my nerves! Just fall down quietly!"
As if she had lost all reason, Bellatrix's eyes rolled back in their sockets as she began to frantically fire the Cruciatus Curse in all directions.
"Hngh, Neville! Get down and hide! And close your eyes!"
It was too dangerous for Neville to be involved any longer.
A rational Bellatrix would keep an eye on Harry before targeting Neville, but the actions of a person thrashing about like a madwoman were unpredictable.
Fortunately, Neville understood Harry's words immediately and scrambled to hide himself.
After magically confirming that Neville's eyes were closed, Harry immediately raised his wand.
The only way to fight a Crucio was with another Crucio.
"Bellatrix, you'd better brace yourself!"
And from his holly wand, a beam of fresh, blood-red light shot out.
*KRA-KOOM!*
The two Cruciatus Curses collided in mid-air.
As if by silent agreement, Harry and Bellatrix wordlessly poured more power into their spells.
[*Silly!*]
[*~Yes!~*]
Perhaps it was because she could not win against Harry, who also had Silly's help.
The sphere of light created where the two currents met swayed back and forth as if in a tug-of-war.
Finally, it began to push, slowly but surely, toward Bellatrix.
"Hngh… no, impossible!"
A look of dismay crossed Bellatrix's face, while Harry, glaring at her fiercely, continued to push his magic forward without a word.
Slowly, but definitively.
Bellatrix's curse was being pushed back.
"Nnnngh! Dam… mit!"
As Harry's curse reached a point just before her nose, Bellatrix twisted her wand desperately to avoid the Torture Curse.
*Kreeee—BOOM!*
But unable to withstand the backlash, Bellatrix's wand splintered.
The wand, knocked from her hand, flew into the distance and burst into flames.
The victor had been decided.
Though she had sacrificed her wand to evade the Cruciatus Curse, the after-effects of the spell remained. Clutching her tingling right arm, Bellatrix sank to her knees, glaring venomously at Harry.
Harry pointed his wand straight at her.
"Bellatrix, it seems the match is decided. Don't you think so, loser?"
Bellatrix stared at Harry as if she wanted to tear him apart and muttered, "…Potter, you damn 'Boy Who Lived.' You've gotten stronger in five years. Fine, yes. You won this time, Potter. But… will it be the same next time?"
"Hah, Bellatrix. You really think you're going to get a next time?"
In truth, had Neville not been there, Harry, who had become so thorough under Aisen's tutelage, would have finished Bellatrix with a Killing Curse long ago.
The possibility of Bellatrix escaping from this situation? It was non-existent.
To Harry, Bellatrix was no longer even a trial.
His training had paid off.
In the end, despite the unforeseen variable, Harry had managed to accomplish his original goal splendidly. No, he had done even better.
The moment that pride surfaced in Harry's heart, Bellatrix raised a corner of her lip as if to mock him.
"Potter. Still so soft. If you wanted to take away my next chance… you should have done this."
In that instant, a new wand shot out from Bellatrix's left sleeve.
The wand she had been using was one she had taken from the Aurors at Azkaban. Of course, it wasn't her only one.
And the ball of light gathering at the tip of this new wand swirled with a malice on a completely different level from any of her previous spells.
A fluorescent green omen that seemed to have no place in the mortal world. The Killing Curse was coming.
*Rumble!* But before the curse could even be completed, a defensive wall of stone shot up in front of Harry, as if he had naturally anticipated a final, desperate act from her.
The Harry who had faced Bellatrix in prison would have been caught completely off guard by this hidden trump card, but the Harry of today was different.
No matter how desperately Bellatrix struggled, there was no way for her to do anything to him.
As a confident smirk formed on his face, Harry's gaze met Bellatrix's. And… Bellatrix was smiling.
A smile? No, a smirk.
An inexplicable unease washed over Harry, and his gaze momentarily faltered.
And in that fleeting glance, he noticed the angle of the new wand Bellatrix held.
*Ah.* Realization dawned in Harry's mind.
She had no way of doing anything *to Harry*.
The one who had been in his blind spot throughout the battle.
The tip of the wand was pointed at Neville, who was hiding on the ground far away.
Harry's pupils dilated so wide he could feel them tremble as his eyes read the words forming on Bellatrix's lips.
*'I'll kill your, friends, one, by, one.'*
At Bellatrix's ice-cold declaration, Harry's thoughts began to race.
Is there anything I can do to protect Neville right now? Could Neville block the spell on his own? No, could I at least help him dodge it?
In that fleeting moment, like one's life flashing before their eyes, Harry considered every option but realized there was nothing he could do.
The moment he understood that he could only watch helplessly as Neville died, Harry was seized by a terror unlike any he had ever known.
He had been wrong. Neville, who should have been sleeping peacefully at Hogwarts, was about to die, and it was solely because of Harry's arrogance.
There was nothing he could do.
*Rumble!*
In the instant the streak of green light shot toward Neville faster than a bullet, Harry was so overcome by the heart-stopping terror that he squeezed his eyes shut without thinking.
*KRA-KABOOOOOM!!*
And then, lightning fell.
***
*That evening. Before Harry had even left Hogwarts.*
Albus approached me as I lay comfortably on a sofa in the Headmaster's office, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"Sunbae. You're now treating the Headmaster's office as your personal lounge."
"What, you have a problem with it? Harry has taken over the Room of Requirement, so I can't get into my hideout. It's only natural that I borrow my junior's, isn't it?"
Albus sighed at my utterly shameless response.
In terms of being a place where no one was likely to show up, there wasn't much difference between the Room of Requirement and here, anyway.
Seeing me lounging comfortably, Albus cleared his throat and said, "Sunbae. Speaking of Harry…"
"Speaking of Harry?"
"It may be sudden, but I am worried about him."
At the mention of Harry, I sat up and asked, "What's this all of a sudden?"
"Harry… has almost no experience with failure. And his experience of growth is completely different from others."
*Just like us,* his tone implied.
I immediately understood the context of what Albus was trying to say.
I gave a bitter smile and asked, "Albus. Do you see your old self in Harry?"
"I do. My past self, who was arrogant, dogmatic, and brimming with confidence… the days when the entire world seemed like my personal playground. Of course, Harry is an incomparably purer and cleaner child than I was. But even so, I worry about his confidence."
The belief that one will never fail can, at some point, blind a person, turning them into someone who cannot see an inch in front of their face.
It's not a matter of character, but of inertia.
I nodded and said, "I understand. But you don't need to worry too much."
"But."
"It's fine. I've been sensing that myself recently."
The reason I had paired Harry with a normal student like Neville was, in fact, for that very purpose.
Sometimes, a small shock is necessary to prevent a larger explosion.
I grinned and said, "So, if Harry happens to cause any trouble tonight, try to go easy on him."
And that evening, passing through a corridor, Dumbledore glanced toward a corner where he sensed a human presence and let out a soft chuckle.
In the end, it was all within the scope of his predictions.
***
*KRA-KABOOOOOM!*
Lightning fell from the sky, piercing through the heart of the Killing Curse and deflecting it.
Neville looked bewildered, as if he had no idea what had just happened, while Harry stared blankly at the sky and collapsed onto the ground.
*Tch.* The vacant look in Harry's eyes struck me as rather amusing.
It was just as I had expected.
I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
With one corner of my mouth turned up in a smirk, I asked, "Well, Harry. Did you learn anything?"
Harry answered in a trembling voice.
"Master?"
"Yes, it's me. Snap out of it, Harry."
"B-because of me, Neville."
"Yes, he almost died. But he didn't. Now stop it and tell me what you learned."
Harry hesitated at my words, then haltingly began to speak.
"I realized… it was a delusion to think that things would all go according to my plan."
"And?"
"It's not easy to protect everyone around you."
I nodded and said, "Of course. Why do you think Albus and I are so wary of Bellatrix? We could take down people like her in a single blow if we fought them. It's because we don't know what she might do to the people around you, not to you. Understand?"
"Yes…"
While I was lecturing Harry, Bellatrix glared at me and shrieked hysterically, "Damn it, where do all these brats keep popping out from?!"
"Shut it, you vermin."
"Wh-what?"
*Snap!*
The moment I snapped my fingers, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the wand in Bellatrix's left hand.
*CRACK!*
The lightning bolt, a direct hit, incinerated only the wand before vanishing.
*Thump.*
Bellatrix collapsed, startled by what had just happened right in front of her.
"You, you! Who are you! Who are you that my Lord—!"
Bellatrix began to spout nonsense, as if she had truly gone mad. It would be easier to just kill her, but with Neville here, it was better to refrain.
I just needed to hit her with a Stunning Spell and drag her to Albus.
However, the world was full of ironic coincidences.
As if to prove that the idea of things going entirely according to one's plan was utter nonsense, a voice I had never even imagined hearing reached my ears.
"Aisen… Knightly?"
*Thud.*
At the sound of that all-too-familiar voice, my entire body froze.
***