Chapter 154: 2-2
A month was about to pass pointlessly in a state of near house arrest. The three of them were getting impatient. Just where on earth was Hufflepuff's Cup hidden?
Draco knew the answer—Weasley had told the story of breaking into Gringotts countless times over drinks, only to be scolded by his wife and Harry each time for exaggerating too much—but he kept it a secret behind an innocent face. Because Maria—because "Harry"—did not want this journey to be interfered with.
They had truly inherited Dumbledore's ideology.
Amidst these frustrating days, Lupin visited the house.
"Harry, you're a wanted man."
The Daily Prophet Lupin had brought was dominated by an unsettling headline: Suspicion Surrounding the Death of Albus Dumbledore. It claimed there were witnesses who saw Harry Potter fleeing the scene of Dumbledore's murder. And considering the cruelty he showed by mercilessly slashing the young girl who supposedly tried to stop him (none other than Maria Potter, to those who knew)—his own blood sibling, no less...
Harry had to fight the urge to tear the newspaper to shreds over the contents that followed. The fact that he had wounded Maria with Dark Magic would forever remain a scar on Harry's conscience.
But the noteworthy parts didn't end there. The Muggle-born Register and the Compulsory Attendance for School-Age Children—these were proof that Voldemort's control was steadily advancing.
"I want to help you."
Leaving his best friends to worry about whether they should add another companion, Harry felt something was off about Lupin's attitude.
"What about Tonks? Tonks and you...?"
"That's right. Where is she now? Why isn't she with you?"
"............She is pregnant."
Hermione and Ron let out cries of joy. In days filled with nothing but dark news, it was undoubtedly a happy tidings. But Harry, on the contrary, became certain.
"—You want to use us as an excuse to run away. From your wife and child."
A flush of red quickly swept across Lupin's worn face. Then, it turned white. Harry's provocation had pierced right through to Lupin's hidden true feelings.
"Tonks is fine. She's at her parents' house. The child will be fine, too."
"How can you be so sure? If it were me—I would want my parents by my side!"
"—Maria said she would be fine!"
Driven by anger, Harry stood up, about to snap at the cowardly man's irresponsibility—before her fist slammed down between the two of them.
"Even Maria makes mistakes!"
"Hermione..."
"Don't deify her. Don't force your ideals onto her. She might be a 'witch,' but—she's human!"
Hermione was remembering. The pitiful man who, on the night they cornered Sirius believing him to be a murderer, had babbled that he never thought James would die. She had sworn it then. Harry is not a hero. And Maria, too—she is not omniscient or omnipotent.
"I shared a room with her, so I know. She cries when she sleeps. She calls out for Cedric. She mutters Sirius's and Dumbledore's names. Are you trying to add yourself to that list?"
"But Maria—"
Lupin looked at Harry. The truth that only Lupin knew was right there.
"—It's better not to have a father that the child would be ashamed of."
Finally, Harry was about to roughly grab the stubborn father's shoulders when—a voice spoke, cold as ice.
"A child ostracized because of their parents truly is a pitiful thing."
The gazes of the four gathered on a single person. —Draco Malfoy.
"It must be painful. No matter how kind or cute the child is themselves—no matter how pure their heart—they will constantly be pointed at because of their parents' stigma. Mocked, despised. The world of children is far more unreasonable than adults think, and it exists in a place adults cannot reach. Even so—children watch their parents."
For some reason, Lupin felt that Draco's words were more empathetic to him than anyone else's in the room.
"Children watch their parents' backs—and sometimes, they end up loving them."
Draco Malfoy could understand. For he had struggled to grasp the hand of his own child whose lineage was doubted. He knew the name of his fear. He knew the heart that becomes cowardly out of love. The two of them were cowards.
"And Maria knows this—and I know it too."
Lupin was truly confused. This young man speaking as if he understood everything... yet his parents didn't seem to harbor a flaw terrible enough to be a stigma—then, he realized.
"Don't tell me............you too?"
Maria Potter's true identity. The boy who had stayed by Maria's side despite being in the exact opposite position. The two who understood each other. That was—the secret that laid there was...
"Then, your Boggart—that was—he is—"
He felt as if he had finally learned the true name behind the lingering shadow of his best friend.
"Remus Lupin, we cannot take you on this journey. Because—he will not allow it."
Lupin was already on his feet. He passed by Ron, whose eyes were darting back and forth unable to keep up with the developments, and left the house. There were no words. Only Dobby looked puzzled, wondering, "Whatever is the matter with our guest?"
The remaining three looked at their foreign companion. Draco had long since settled back onto the sofa and was tilting his teacup.
"—It's just like Maria."
A sense of loneliness seeped into Harry's murmur.
The woman with her rich brown hair tied back, whose facial features resembled her older sister's yet possessed a gentleness that proved she was an entirely different person from that infamous villainess, whispered softly.
"Are you sure you won't see her before you go? She—Dora is terribly worried about you. Most people know you're safe, but... won't you at least show her your face?"
"Thank you, Andromeda. But I don't want anyone to know where I am. That's exactly why I'm here."
The house. Due to the owner's principles, it was a modest yet splendid manor that couldn't quite hide its original extravagance.
It was the new home supported by her relative, Alphard, when Andromeda Black lost her place in her family home. It was the lingering scent of the House of Black that had remained untouched since the time she married Ted Tonks. And now—it was Maria Potter's safe house.
She looked at the calendar. It was past September. The cage called a school, which forcefully gathered the children, was beginning to move. If so—then it was time for me to move, too.
"I'm heading to Hogwarts. Truly, thank you for all your help up to this point. And for everything to come. Please tell Tonks to get along with Professor Lupin—and to give birth to a healthy baby boy."
"Maria..."
Turning her back to Andromeda's sorrowful gaze, I placed my hand on the doorknob. All I needed was the Marauder's Map and the coin. And myself—I will struggle against fate in my own way.
"I'm off. —Goodbye."
Andromeda watched the back of the girl who, no matter how brave, still looked so fragile, and then put a hand to her cheek in puzzlement.
"I wonder why she thought Dora's child would be a boy. He hasn't even been born yet."
The youths who felt the heat of the coins jumped up, despite being in the middle of class. Fortunately, the Death Eater Carrow siblings' classes hadn't started yet, so the traditional teaching staff feigned ignorance. With the exception of the Carrows, the teachers were now completely on the students' side.
"Neville."
"I know."
Seamus and Neville exchanged a meaningful look. The coin read: Gather in the Room of Requirement. A room where the Carrows cannot enter, and only those who truly respect Dumbledore can. Someone from the D.A. had made a move.
Seamus found it unexpected. He had assumed that it would be Neville, who had started showing true charisma, who would make the first real move. Just who could it be? Ginny, having lost her patience? Or perhaps Luna?
—At the answer, every single D.A. member who had gathered after receiving the coin's message cried out.
"—Maria!"
"Wow, what a warm welcome. Um—how are you all doing?"
The redhead sitting cross-legged in front of a cauldron as if it were the most natural thing in the world chuckled in amusement.
Ah, thank goodness—everyone looks well. It seems I made it in time.
"Why aren't you—with Harry?"
"I got left behind. Will you comfort poor little me?"
"This is no time for jokes! Hogwarts is in a really dangerous state right now. Especially—for you guys."
I nodded affirmatively as Neville pressed in close. —That's exactly why I'm here.
"Don't worry. I won't leave this room. I'm going to support you from here. —You guys weren't planning on sitting quietly anyway, were you?"
When I looked up at Neville with expectant eyes, he sighed, then broke into a soft, gentle smile. It was the smile of the kind-hearted boy I had watched since our first year.
"I can never win against you, Maria. Harry's the same, but you guys are really unprecedented. But what are you going to do for meals? And what... are you making?"
The contents of the cauldron was a potion. Beside it lay a battered copy of Advanced Potion-Making. —The Prince's textbook.
"It's a healing potion. Murtlap Essence is good too, but this removes the pain while letting the scar heal over a few days... It's what helped me back when I was serving detentions with Umbridge."
It was a potion I made during my special training with Professor Snape. Truly—what a terrible man. Your traces are the only things surrounding me.
"I want you guys to carry this. I doubt the Carrows will let you go to the hospital wing so easily, and I want you to save as many injured kids as possible. As for the ingredients—I'm sorry to say, but I plan on nicking them from Snape's private stores."
"...You will?"
"No—he will."
Where I pointed my palm, there stood an old, yet straight-backed house-elf, holding a meal in both hands.
"Please rest assured, everyone. Kreacher shall take care of Mistress Maria."
"I've told him to stop calling me Mistress, but..."
"Mistress is Mistress."
Seamus burst out laughing at the title for Maria Potter, which was second only to "Princess" in how poorly it suited her. The laughter became contagious. The hearts of the children, which had been eaten away by the threat of darkness, began to ease.
"Will you let me fight alongside you? Neville. Everyone. ...Ginny."
As dependable faces nodded one after another as if it were obvious, the girl I loved most was looking down, her lips pressed tightly together.
"...I was worried."
"I'm sorry. I made you worry."
"I thought you were with Harry."
"I wanted to be, but I chose Hogwarts."
"Harry is safe, right?"
"Absolutely. Ron and Hermione are with him... And Draco, too. The strongest lineup, right?"
"...I was worried."
She repeated it earnestly. The others considerately cleared a path to her. Neville gave a slight, knowing smirk, as if to say, See? —And then, the girl threw herself at me.
"Idiot—I was worried! I was so worried about you!"
"Ginny..."
A wave of profound happiness washed over me at the warmth in my arms. I loved this person so incredibly much. Running my fingers through her rich red hair, I took in a deep breath of her scent.
"Thank you, Ginny. —I love you."
Deep in the ticklish depths of my heart, I savored the fact that it was different from his scent.
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