John had more or less figured out where that bottle of Veritaserum had gone.
Malfoy was always very invested in any information about Harry—so much so that he already knew Umbridge was secretly adding Veritaserum to the tea in order to interrogate Harry.
"Did you eavesdrop on them?" John asked with deep suspicion.
Malfoy awkwardly averted his gaze.
But giving Veritaserum to Umbridge so casually to interrogate students—this didn't seem like Snape's style at all.
If it were just used on students, maybe it would be forgivable. But the key issue was that Harry was among them.
So John doubted the authenticity of that so-called Veritaserum.
Just then, a flying disc trailing fire shot in front of John.
He raised an eyebrow and reached out to catch it.
The flames left no mark on John's skin. He looked up and saw more flying discs and fireworks soaring through the corridor.
He even heard the cheers of the Weasley twins. Those two jokers always managed to bring laughter during Hogwarts' most depressing times.
John had been about to act, but now he relaxed his hand and let the fireworks go free.
Malfoy's mouth hung open in shock—he was clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of fireworks.
John walked over to where the Weasley twins were hiding and asked with a smile, "How much did you prepare?"
"I don't even know—we just used all of it," George shrugged. "Originally, we were planning to leave it to the younger students after graduation."
"Silverhand gave us enough funding, so there's no need to be stingy," said Fred.
Fireworks exploded all over the castle. They looked incredibly dramatic, but not a single one harmed even the portrait paintings on the walls.
Umbridge came rushing out in a panic—none of the professors stepped in to help her.
John spotted Professor Flitwick in the crowd secretly making a fist pump; it was clear he was just as delighted.
Umbridge was left to fight the chaos alone. Even Filch had dragged out a chair and was sitting there with Mrs. Norris in his arms, watching the fireworks like a show.
He even took the time to list the names of each type of firework for her.
After so many encounters with the Weasley twins, he practically had them all memorized.
The students burst into laughter when one firework lodged itself into Umbridge's bun and exploded—turning her hair into a massive afro.
John noticed Pansy's little boyfriend trying to help, but the people around him deliberately blocked his way, not letting him through.
All day long, you could see Umbridge running all over Hogwarts, chasing down stray fireworks.
Meanwhile, the professors simply closed their doors and turned a deaf ear to it all.
That day, Umbridge was so busy she didn't finish cleaning up until late in the evening.
For the Weasley twins, the good news didn't end there. A letter arrived from Silverhand Angel Investments—impressed by their inventions, they decided to increase their investment.
George and Fred high-fived in celebration and linked arms, tap dancing in the common room with joy.
…
The Gryffindor common room celebrated late into the night—until Professor McGonagall showed up with a dark expression and sent them all off to bed.
Ron told Harry that when Professor McGonagall turned around just now, she definitely smiled.
Yawning, Harry climbed into bed. Soon, his vision began to blur, until everything fell into complete darkness.
From within the darkness, a faint light gradually emerged. Harry noticed that the glow was coming from the wand in his hand.
He was walking.
The corridor he was in felt very familiar—it was the same corridor in the Department of Mysteries.
He had been here many times before, but never once had he managed to open the door.
But this time, the door opened.
He was the one who opened it.
He entered the circular room, crossed through it, and stepped into a long rectangular chamber.
A ticking sound came from beside his ears—mechanical and rhythmic, like the ticking of a second hand.
He didn't stop. He kept walking.
At the far end of the room was a door. He opened it.
Inside was a dimly lit space, as vast as a cathedral.
Row upon row of tall shelves stretched out before him, each one lined with dusty glass orbs.
Harry's heart was pounding—he knew exactly where he needed to go.
There was something in that room he desperately wanted.
But just then, a loud bang startled him, sending a jolt through his body.
He woke up with a start. The dark dormitory was filled with laughter.
Seamus and the others were still chatting about the fireworks—another one had just exploded outside.
Harry wanted to get up and look too, but his body was growing weaker by the second.
The fireworks before his eyes seemed to morph into a giant serpent's head, which opened its jaws and swallowed him whole. Darkness fell around him.
The sounds vanished completely.
He tried to call out to Ron, but realized he couldn't make a sound.
"Let me go!"
The sharp scream was terrifying. Harry felt his hands and feet were bound.
His body seemed to be stuck against a massive stone, being relentlessly pulled apart by some force.
He could feel tiny, threadlike things crawling up along his skin.
"Stop running away, Tom."
A cold, emotionless voice echoed in the darkness.
Harry's eyes widened as he looked around, but he couldn't see anything at all.
"You should know, I have the power to destroy you."
The voice continued, and Harry saw what looked like a flame igniting in the darkness.
The flame was a dazzling gold, and even his soul trembled before it.
"No, impossible! How can this be?!"
The shrill scream rang out again. Harry felt as if all four of his limbs were on fire.
He struggled to see clearly, and the dazzling golden flame transformed into a pair of eyes—cold, merciless, and full of judgment.
Harry's scar throbbed even harder, and the pain was so intense that it woke him up.
It felt like someone had shoved a fireball into his skull, and it was about to explode.
He buried his head into his pillow, and only after an unknown amount of time did the pain start to subside.
He groggily looked up. All that remained outside were a few faint explosions from lingering fireworks.
Ron and the others had long fallen asleep. From the sound of Ron's snoring, it was clear he was exhausted.
Harry figured he really needed to work harder on Occlumency—otherwise, one day, his head might actually explode.
Monday.
Harry was preoccupied and hesitant during dinner.
Cedric had walked over to the Ravenclaw table, comforting Cho Chang. Her friend had betrayed the D.A., and it was hard for her to accept.
Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table—Malfoy instantly noticed his gaze and gave him a nasty grin.
Harry's stomach churned. It had been a while since he last saw Snape.
The last time they met, he had used a Shield Charm to rebound Snape's Legilimency attack—Snape had probably wanted to kill him right then and there.
Finally, after enduring dinner, Harry dragged his heavy steps toward Snape's office.
He had barely entered when he heard Snape's cold voice.
"You're late, Potter."
Harry saw Snape raise his wand to his own temple, extract some thoughts, and carefully place them into the Pensieve.
After doing all that, Snape gave Harry a frosty look.
"You've practiced?"
"Yes," Harry lied, eyes shifting away, unable to meet Snape's gaze.
But he had forgotten—besides Legilimency, Snape was also someone who had lived twenty years longer than him.
Such a poor lie—Snape was simply choosing not to call him out on it.
Just as they were about to begin, a knock came at the office door.
Snape frowned. He had already told the students not to bother him at this time.
When he opened the door, he saw Professor McGonagall.
"Severus, I think we need to discuss this matter first. Filius and Pomona are in my office," McGonagall said.
She gave Harry a brief glance. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Potter, we'll continue this lesson tomorrow night," Snape said with a sideways glance at Harry, not even bothering to ask his opinion. He nodded, stepped out, and closed the door behind him.
Harry caught a few words—something about Horcruxes, teachers, and so on.
Fuming, he shoved his wand back into his robe pocket, about to leave.
But then he noticed flickering light dancing across the doorframe. He paused and turned back—the light was coming from the Pensieve, just like what he had seen in the Department of Mysteries in his dreams.
The silvery substance inside the Pensieve was swirling gently. Harry stared at it.
He suspected Snape was hiding something from him. Perhaps something related to the Department of Mysteries—or maybe something about John.
Lately, Snape had been repeatedly stressing that he shouldn't get close to John.
Harry hesitated for a long moment, thinking Snape probably wouldn't be back right away… and that brave, reckless Gryffindor heart of his gave a dangerous flutter.
He drew out his wand and gently tapped the silvery substance.
The silver liquid began to swirl rapidly. Harry leaned forward.
The swirling surface transformed into something like a skylight, and through it, he could see into a room.
It looked like the Great Hall—almost identical to how it was now.
In the end, his curiosity got the better of him. He took a deep breath and plunged his face into the Pensieve.
At once, he was falling through a cold, dark void, and then—he landed in the Great Hall.
_________
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