Chapter 649: Important Milestones
Chapter 649: Important Milestones
As February rolled in, the snow on campus began to melt, the air turning damp and chilly. With the first cold rain, Professor Mcgonagall summoned the seven most promising students to remind them that the rainy season had begun, and they were likely to encounter thunderstorms.
Of course, this was what she told the students to instill a sense of urgency and prevent them from slacking off. Privately, Felix had already assured her that he could bring storms to Hogwarts at any time.
Another sunset, Harry completed the Animagus spell. As he cast the spell, he felt his heart rate quicken slightly, but he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination. After hesitating for a while, he decided to wait two more days before reporting to the professor, just to be certain.
He walked into the courtyard and saw two familiar figures. One of them quickly left as soon as he appeared. Harry quickened his pace.
"Luna?"
"Hi, Harry", Luna waved enthusiastically, even though Harry was already standing in front of her. "It's been a while."
"It hasn't been that long", Harry muttered. "You were just talking to Ron, right?"
"Yeah, but we didn't get to say much. He saw you and left. I think he was avoiding you", Luna said.
"Thanks for letting me know", Harry said. Luna had a knack for bluntly pointing out uncomfortable truths, a trait he had never seen in anyone else. "So... um, what did you talk about?"
Harry tried to steer the conversation back on track, not wanting to let Luna wander off too freely.
"He told me to 'get lost'—"
"Not that part—sorry, Luna. I apologize on his behalf. Ron has been in a bad mood lately and has been acting like a real jerk... partly because of me."
"It's okay", Luna said calmly. "Ginny told me a bit. She said she shouldn't have been so impulsive, even though she spent more time proving she was right and that Ron deserved it... She also mentioned Hermione and Neville. So, my friends have been arguing behind my back?"
Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. From the way Luna spoke, it sounded like this was some kind of beneficial group activity that they hadn't included her in.
"No, Luna. I just want to know if he mentioned anything specific, like—"
"His birthday", Luna said, a bit dreamily. "He said he's messed everything up and told me not to bother him anymore. He looked pretty upset, but that's not surprising, is it? It is his coming-of-age ceremony... I remember your birthday is at the end of July, right?" Her tone became less dreamy at the end.
"Right", Harry said absentmindedly. That wasn't what he wanted to know. "Thanks, Luna, but I actually wanted to know where he's been hiding—wait, coming-of-age ceremony?" His mind raced. He knew Ron's birthday was on March 1st, and he had already prepared a gift, but he hadn't really thought about it in the context of the coming-of-age ceremony.
He suddenly realized something: among Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Hermione was the first to come of age, followed by Ron, and then himself—July 31st, which was less than six months away.
There wasn't much time left. He thought wistfully.
Maybe Ron was trying to use the Animagus transformation as his coming-of-age gift, and that's why he reacted so strongly to his failure? Harry subconsciously found excuses for Ron. By then, Luna had already started answering Harry's second question.
"...I took it to Felix. My two gifts seemed to merge and couldn't be separated—Ginny's model Fire Cup and the Runic Script Fire Cup. He said it was a good sign, though unexpected... Ron was there at the time."
"You said you saw Ron in Professor Hup's office?" Harry sharply caught the key phrase. "What was he doing there?"
"...His mouth was full of chocolate cake, and I almost didn't recognize him", Luna said, as if she hadn't heard Harry's question. "I only saw him once, but he might have been there more often."
Harry returned with even more questions than before.
He hadn't expected Ron to be in Professor Hup's office, as he didn't recall the professor having any private interactions with Ron. Even detentions were always with Harry and Ron together. And what was with the chocolate cake?
Meanwhile, Ron had walked a long way, circling around to the front of the castle, climbing the moving stairs, and surreptitiously knocking on the door to the Ancient Runes professor's office.
Waren opened the door.
"Is Professor still in Classroom 7?" Ron whispered.
Waren nodded woodenly. From past experience, it knew its snacks were about to be plundered again. Ron eagerly slipped inside. Sure enough, an animated show was playing.
On the table were fruit preserves and Waren's homework left by Professor Hup.
Felix had been there the first time, but on subsequent visits, Waren had been the one to greet Ron. The reason was simple—Waren hoped someone would help it with its homework. Most of the time, this role was filled by Hermione, but she hadn't been around much lately, apparently busy researching how to transform into an animal.
Waren found the idea quite strange. It had repeatedly confirmed with Ron that the Animagus transformation only allowed wizards to become ordinary creatures, not magical ones.
What was the point of learning that?
Waren thought about the various forms the Dark Lord had taken—strange creatures with bat wings, snakes that could grow and shrink, invisible beasts, Puffskeins that could disappear and reappear, thunderbirds that controlled lightning, and weasels that could split into two...
Because the list was so long, Waren, lost in thought, appeared to be daydreaming.
Ron opened his backpack, taking out his textbook and parchment. He paid the price for his actions; now he had to do the homework himself, with no one to reference, but he wanted to prove he could do it without anyone's help.
Although the results of his efforts usually ended up with him and Waren watching cartoons and snacking, at least Waren's homework didn't require much thinking. It could write while watching, but Ron couldn't, which made him even more frustrated.
Was he really incapable of doing anything right?
He frowned, spreading out the parchment and began to write a letter. This was one of the few people he could still talk to—excluding Lavender, who seemed to have a crush on him and had been extremely present lately, making her someone he needed to avoid.
Waren shifted its gaze from the screen, looking down to check. It was fine, no lines were mixed up... It then glanced at Ron, leaning in to take a peek. Ron looked up warily, covering the parchment.
"Chirp?"
"What did you say?"
Waren sighed. Teaching Niffler language was a daunting task; so far, only three people could communicate with it directly. Waren took out its special wand and wrote in the air—its handwriting was now both fast and neat: 'Who is "Dear Collins"?'
Ron gasped.
"Her name is Collins, not 'Dear Collins'—" he tried to explain the structure to a Niffler, "It's a formal greeting, like 'Hello'..."
The little stick continued to dance, and new words appeared in the air.
'Dear Lavender?'
Ron shook his head repeatedly, "No, you can't use it like that."
Waren looked at him sidelong, as if scrutinizing a liar.
...
When Felix emerged from Classroom 7, Ron was staring intently at the screen, the plot of Tom and Jerry reaching a critical moment. His mouth was stuffed with strawberry-filled cookies. "P-p-professor?" Ron said nervously.
"Hmm", Felix said, "Here you are again. So, things are still tense, huh?" Ron remained silent. "Never mind, if you want to stay, you can. I'll just tell everyone you're in detention. Just don't disturb me."
He suddenly thought of something, "Right, your birthday is March 1st, isn't it?"
"Yes, professor", Ron said, swallowing hard, "A month before Fred and George Weasley."
Felix sat behind his desk, propping his chin with his right hand, lost in thought. Time flies, the sixth-year students were gradually reaching adulthood, the latest being... the latest should be Harry's group, about a year after Dobby and Hermione. Hmm, I wonder if their grades and birthdays are directly related.
Felix's movement suddenly paused.
Adulthood...?
If he remembered correctly, the blood protection spell Dumbledore cast on Harry should automatically lift after he comes of age, right? Felix stared at Ron thoughtfully, making him feel uncomfortable.
"Professor?"
"Shh, be quiet", Felix whispered, deep in thought.
Harry had two layers of protection.
One from Dumbledore, tied by blood, which would automatically expire after he came of age; the other from Harry's mother, Lily Potter, specifically against Voldemort's Killing Curse, but it was supposed to be permanent. However, every spell has its limits. After resisting and rebounding Voldemort's Killing Curse, how much of Lily's protective magic remained effective?
He and Dumbledore had similar concerns before. But that was more due to Voldemort's increasing power, indirectly strengthening the connection between him and Harry. Now that Voldemort's consciousness was dormant, the influence was minimal.
But this indicated there was still some influence. In about half a year, Harry's own soul defense would drastically decrease.
Felix wasn't sure how much Harry's coming of age would affect the soul fragment in his mind. But he did feel a long-lost sense of tension, as if... time wasn't as plentiful as he thought. After a moment of contemplation, he tore a piece of parchment, dipped his quill in ink, and glanced at the calendar to find the nearest weekend—
'February 8th, at the entrance of Classroom 7; keep it confidential, try to solve the problem at 8 AM.'
Felix folded the note and handed it to Ron.
"Give this to Harry."
Ron's hand hovered in the air, stammering, "Professor, can Hermione deliver it? I, I—"
"Sure", Felix didn't insist.
"Professor, what's the note about?" Ron asked, swallowing hard, suspecting the professor was planning to give Harry private tutoring, like Professor Bashaat did.
"Hmm", Felix looked at Ron thoughtfully, "There's no harm in telling you. You should already know—do you know who is being held deep in Classroom 7?"
"…Voldemort."
"Right, it's time for Harry to face him."
Thud.
The cauldron cake in Ron's hand fell to the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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