Chapter 110: 3-1

On Sunday, a letter arrived for Ron from Percy, bringing a nostalgic anti-Dumbledore smear campaign. Ron tore it to pieces in front of Harry with a look of utter disgust.

"What's this—about the danger—of losing—my badge!"

"How very like Percy."

"Maria, you're really too carefree."

As I chuckled while tying Hermione's hair into a ponytail, she gave me an exasperated shrug.
Because I know. —Just how fiercely Percy will hold on to his love when standing before his brother's lifeless body. He's infuriating, but you can't hate him.

"Still, the part about Umbridge caught my attention. What does it mean—that things will get easier for Umbridge from now on?"

Smoothing out the ends with a brush to finish. Hermione shook her fluffy hair and turned back to face us.

"—We'll find out tomorrow."

I gazed at the blank faces of the three children. Outside the window, it was dark. Terrible weather. —Adult agendas were beginning to entangle Hogwarts.

The next day, the three of them looked bitterly at the huge headline of the Daily Prophet spread out before them. "Dolores Umbridge Appointed First-Ever High Inquisitor"—Having quickly grasped the contents, the brilliant Hermione's eyes blazed fiercely.

"This is awful. That woman has gained the right to interfere with the other teachers. This is what the Ministry of Magic has been aiming for."

"She'll get thoroughly crushed during McGonagall's inspection."

"...You shouldn't underestimate what a piece of trash she is."

A girl's voice dropped low. It was Maria's voice. In my mind's eye was the image of Professor McGonagall collapsing after being hit by multiple Stunning Spells. Hermione and Ron exchanged meaningful looks.

"...You're showing quite a lot of hostility, aren't you?"

"I just don't like her as a person."

"Maria, you have strong likes and dislikes when it comes to others—but it's rare for you to show it this much."

The two were startled by Harry's words. As for me, my heart skipped a beat, having been seen right through with such a matter-of-fact expression.

"If Maria hates her, then I hate her too."

"That's—"

"Because—I am you, and you are me, right?"

"Harry..."

An indescribable atmosphere drifted around the four of us. Only Dolores Umbridge in the newspaper was smiling, completely out of place.

Umbridge's inspection took place during Divination. Ah, I remembered. At this rate, Trelawney could be driven out of Hogwarts entirely by Umbridge's abuse of power. She wasn't a teacher I liked, but I at least had enough heart to feel sorry for her. But—as a child, there was nothing I could do. I was not the adult Harry Potter working in the Auror Office. I was Maria Potter, a fifth-year girl enrolled at Hogwarts. An ordinary girl. I didn't have the power to cross swords with an adult who possessed legal authority. "I" learned after becoming an adult that some things cannot be solved by martial prowess alone. You cannot survive in the adult world unless you choose your battles.

Umbridge trailed behind Trelawney, sticking to her like Hagrid's treacle fudge. Trelawney was visibly irritated. She interspersed her observation with strictly business-like checks and questions, and finally tested Trelawney by asking for a prophecy about herself.

"I can see it—you—you will soon—it is terrible—"

"......I see. That will do."

Umbridge replied coldly with a smile like a Noh mask. The way she wrote on her clipboard looked just like a chief judge's gavel.
Next was Umbridge's own Defense Against the Dark Arts class. There, too, a confrontation took place between Umbridge and Harry.

"I suppose the Ministry of Magic has no idea what Quirrell was being controlled by, do they?"

"...What is it you are trying to say, Potter?"

"You can't avert your eyes forever. Voldemort is back."

"—Detention."

Hermione, in the seat next to me, and I both slumped our shoulders in dismay. Ron was looking up at the ceiling. I wondered if "my" best friends back then had felt this way too.
I understood how Harry felt. How much stress the current Harry was bottling up. Surely, excluding Harry himself, I understood it best. However—it was difficult for me to drop down to a child's mindset and comfort him. Precisely because I understood his thought process, I wanted to scold him and tell him that this wouldn't do.

"Harry."

I once again handed a potion vial to Harry, who had also just clashed with Angelina, the Quidditch Captain. This time, it wasn't smashed on impulse. My few days of special training hadn't been in vain.

"Harry, from me too."

What Hermione handed over was Murtlap Essence. Calmness finally returned to Harry's haggard face. Furthermore, because Umbridge had been thoroughly beaten down during Professor McGonagall's inspection, Harry seemed to be in high spirits for the first time in days.

—But still, the nightmares would not overlook him.

"Harry. ...Should we try writing a letter to Sirius?"

I softly stroked Harry, who had painful-looking dark circles under his eyes from insomnia. Harry gave a small sniffle.

"What do you want me to write?"

"About your dreams. About your scar hurting. You don't want to contact Dumbledore, right? Sirius will definitely help you."

—Because the Sirius here can see "you", Harry. I smiled at his emerald eyes, which only seemed to darken.

If we did that, Harry's condition would probably be passed on from Sirius to Dumbledore as well. As for the Order of the Phoenix, there was nothing the child *me*, Maria, could do without borrowing Dumbledore's hand. If necessary, they would contact us from their end. Right now, we could only wait for that. If the words came from Sirius, they would resonate even with the current Harry.

"...Okay."

I stared at Harry's back as he returned to fetch some parchment. —Had "I" looked like that too? It was an unstable back, looking as if it could collapse at any moment.

Being kept in the dark without knowing the reason is agonizing. I know that. But I also know the adult circumstances that dictate why things must be hidden from Harry. The current Harry, lacking Occlumency, could very well become Voldemort's personal information repository through the bond of the Horcrux. ...I'm sure Dumbledore intended to teach him everything the moment "I" mastered Occlumency. And that intention had been derailed beyond repair—

"...It's difficult."

I could see the agendas on both sides. It didn't seem like I could play the part of a child who knew nothing.

"We can't go on like this."

It's finally here, I thought—giving a vague nod to the girl who was firming her resolve before me.

"I think it's about time. We—we have to do it ourselves."

"Assassinate Umbridge?"

"Ron, I'm being serious."

"I'm being serious too."

No doubt about it. Comparing my two best friends, who both had entirely serious expressions on their faces, I turned my head away along with Harry and chuckled secretly.

"We can't even learn first-year spells from that woman. Do you understand? We're fifth years, you know? These O.W.L.s will determine our future. At this rate, this year's fifth years will universally turn into rubbish."

"Er, well. So, what are we going to do?"

At Ron's prompting, Hermione's brown eyes glinted brightly, just like her pet's.

"—We're going to study on our own. Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Ron let out a groan. He threw both arms up in the air as if to say he'd had enough. Calluses from practice were visible on the hands of the boy working hard as a Keeper.

"You want us to study even more? Do you have any idea how much homework we're buried under?"

"I know. And I also know that Maria is secretly helping you."

All three of us quietly averted our eyes from her.

"I won't say anything regarding that matter. Let's get back on topic. The Ministry of Magic doesn't want us to gain wisdom and power—even though this is a school! They're saying they want to strip us of our right to learn. And who loses out because of that? We do! We have to stand up for ourselves."

"But it's not like we can do much, right? If you just mean reading books, that's no different from what we're doing now."

"Exactly. That means, what we need right now is—a teacher."

I was looking at Harry. Hermione looked at Harry too. Caught up in it, Ron also turned his innocent eyes toward Harry. Harry was blinking rapidly in surprise.

"............What?"

"Don't you get it?"

"We're talking about you—Harry."

Ron, catching on faster than Harry for once, beamed with joy. "That's a great idea!"

"What's a great idea?"

"That you're going to be our teacher."

"Me—what? Me—but I'm not a teacher."

"Yes. But you have a far better track record than our current teacher."

"A track record?"

Both Ron and Hermione smirked. It was the face they made when teasing someone. For example, yes—about me and Draco.

"First year. Who was it that protected the Stone from 'You-Know-Who'?"

"That was—you guys know that, right? We just got lucky—"

"Second year. Who stood up to a monster like the Basilisk?"

"I—Maria was there with me!"

"Third year. You perfected the Patronus Charm."

"That was a fluke. Lupin and Dumbledore helped me—"

"Fourth year. You two made it back alive for a fourth time from a confrontation with 'Him'."

"That's why—listen to me!"

Harry exploded. The smirks vanished from the other two. As for me, I kept my composure and watched over Harry.

"It was all just dumb luck! I had no idea what I was doing. It just worked out in the end. Stop talking like you know everything, I was the one who was there! We're the only ones who know. That terror of having to run blindly without even knowing if it's the right answer. Real killing doesn't happen like it's written in textbooks. There's no time to think about every little thing. They don't just stand in front of you with a single wand like a textbook example. They don't announce what spell they're going to use next like in a class. Do you think we made it through because we're brilliant? No—it was all just luck!"

"And—we were the ones who grasped that luck."

Six eyes looked at me all at once. To those frightened eyes, I smiled, acting as grown-up as I possibly could.

"Luck is a skill too—right?"

Ron let out a small laugh, and a rational light returned to Hermione's eyes.

"Harry, you're right. You didn't survive because you're special—and because you know that, we thought you'd be a perfect teacher. ...Only you and Maria know the reality of fighting Voldemort."

As Hermione spoke Voldemort's name clearly with a trembling voice, Ron and Harry stared at her with startled expressions.

"I don't think you're perfectly safe just because you're special. I swore it on that night in our third year. You, Maria, and of course us too—it wouldn't be strange if any of us died at any moment. That is exactly why I want you, who survived despite all that, to tell us how out of your own mouth."

Her eyes were dead straight. Harry found himself nodding, drawn in by them. Harry's outburst subsided, and both Ron and I felt relieved.

"Think about it, okay?"

"...Yeah."

Following Hermione's glance, I headed back to the girls' dormitory with her. After the boys were out of sight, Hermione directed an imploring look at me as well.

"Truthfully, I wanted to ask you too. But you—"

"...Sorry."

"I won't force you. ...Just think about it."

Looking up at me with the same resolute eyes she had directed at Harry, Hermione curled her lips into a smile and crawled into bed.

—I couldn't say anything.

Harry Potter had kept running without knowing the right answers. And now—he is standing paralyzed once again before a path with an unknown end.