Chapter 177: 2-2
He’s a sly old fox.
Watching the old man muffle a rather fake-sounding "ho, ho, ho" into his white beard, I can't help but think: no matter the era, he is the only one who never changes. He’s like smoke.
"Dum—ble... dore... really...?"
"Indeed. To think my name is known even to our guests from the future... I am truly honored. It seems living a long life has its perks."
"Let him talk. This old geezer will easily live another hundred years."
"Sirius! Show some respect to Professor Dumbledore!"
With my mother's voice scolding Sirius ringing behind me, I look up at the man who was apparently the reason we were brought before the old man. James Potter shrank his lean yet solid frame—likely built through years of Quidditch—and sulked.
"When he looks at you with that face and says, 'It seems you've safely found your treasure, haven't you?', there's no way you can play dumb. The sly old fox."
He looked exactly like a child whose petty mischief had been exposed. Even though they were all already of-age seventh years, in Dumbledore's hands, they were no different from puppies and kittens. My impressions of my father and Dumbledore unexpectedly overlapped, making me realize once again that blood will out. —Now then, what about Harry?
"..."
...Ah, it's no good. My dependable older brother had completely frozen. It couldn't be helped.
"Harry Potter, and Miss Maria Potter, if I am not mistaken?"
"Yes."
I answer on Harry's behalf. I never thought we could keep hiding from this man's eyes anyway. If there were an object capable of such a feat—it would undoubtedly be named the Invisibility Cloak.
Dumbledore cast a silent glance at our parents and their friends. Implicitly urged to leave the room, the adults reluctantly but heavily obeyed the great wizard.
Now, it is just the two of us facing Dumbledore. Originally, I was all alone. This, surely, is a stroke of luck.
"Why have you come from the future to the present?"
"We don't know."
"Any ideas?"
"None at all."
I answer honestly. Dumbledore gave a soft "Hmm..." and nodded, still smiling, before looking at Harry.
"What do you wish to do now?"
I pull on Harry's hand. Tracing the direction of Dumbledore's gaze, I look at him.
"Harry, what do you want to do?"
"Maria..."
"You have to decide."
—It has to be you, Harry.
"I... I want to watch a little longer."
His voice dropped, growing thin.
"Dad, and Mum. Sirius. Lupin. ...Pettigrew. —And you, too."
Green eyes locked with star-like blue. It felt like merely a second, or perhaps dozens of times longer. It was a pause where a silent conversation took place only between them.
"There are a few conditions."
"Yes."
He nods stiffly, still tense.
"First, the days you spend here will eventually vanish. Even from your parents' memories."
"..."
I held my breath. That meant—even the three days where I was me, Harry—were no exception.
"And, I want you to answer a single question. Just one."
"...Yes."
Before I knew it, the hand I was using to hold Harry's had been squeezed back by him. Dumbledore stared intently at Harry's lightning-bolt scar. The blue of his profound wisdom seemed as though it was trying to read the future directly from it.
"—Will I die?"
Answer. Harry answers. Hesitation is not allowed, and no conflict, escape, or delay is granted.
"You will die."
Another pause. —Eventually, Dumbledore let out a deep breath. In the next instant, he had returned to the kindly old man's face we knew so well.
"Very well. Then, let's see... Maria, would you care to take the name Evans?"
Because it was such a nonchalant proposal...
"......Huh?"
With a sudden plop, the painful pang of loneliness tumbled right out of my open mouth.
"—So, I mean, um."
"It seems that from this moment on, Maria Potter is Maria Evans, and instead of your daughter, she will be your younger sister."
"......"
Exposed to gazes of curiosity and suspicion, we marched boldly to the Gryffindor common room. Upon our personal delivery by Dumbledore, our parents—who had apparently been eagerly awaiting our return—flew to the portrait hole, grabbed us, and pulled us into their room with the speed of the wind. They paid no mind to the housemates eavesdropping in the common room.
"Is that even possible?"
"Who cares if it's possible! Oh, thank you, Lord Dumbledore... Now, come here. My son and little brother, Harry!"
Harry was abruptly snatched up by James. Déjà vu. —Ah, it's James and Albus. It looks exactly like our family's biggest troublemaker relentlessly teasing his reluctant younger brother. Moreover, Harry going limp in James's arms is exactly like Albus, too. And in front of me is Lily. My heart felt helplessly tickled.
"But how on earth are we going to explain this to Mum and Dad... No, if it's just Mum and Dad, I feel like we can get through it by saying it's 'magic.' They're Muggles who don't know anything, after all. Right, the problem is Tuney."
"Ah, that unsociable horse-faced woman..."
"James!"
At Lily's furious expression, James shrugged while still holding Harry. Behind him, Sirius laughed, and Professor Lupin massaged the bridge of his nose. The relationship dynamic was truly easy to understand. Pettigrew, of course, was in charge of nodding next to Sirius.
"It seems things will work out somehow on my end. They're optimistic people by nature, anyway."
"Well, they are the people who raised you to be like this."
At this cute sarcasm—which showed she couldn't entirely hate it—James chuckled under his breath. That face looked exactly like the mischievous Harry running away from pre-exam Hermione with Ron. He was probably thinking something like, Harry looks exactly like Maria. I know it. Because it's me. And—my one and only other half.
"There's no need for that."
I shake my head at our parents, telling them it's a needless worry. —The moment Harry finds the answer, we will be forever lost from them. That is how it should be.
"More importantly, let's go get dinner. Due to some circumstances, we haven't been able to eat a proper lunch. We're starving. Right, Harry? Is that okay... big sister?"
"B-big sis...! Y-yes, of course! You two, follow your big sister Lily!"
Harry and I smirked at our success as Lily got predictably pumped up. Even the princess of the Potter family, the youngest child Lily, used to act like a big sister and doted on her younger relatives when she first welcomed them, perhaps because she was usually treated as the youngest. It might just be the destiny of those born as the youngest child.
We strode down the corridor in the same formation as the morning we moved from the Forbidden Forest to Hogwarts. James acted quite like a king. Sirius—rather than a king, seemed like a knight with his wand at the ready. His roughness stood out more than any politeness. I exchanged glances with Harry next to me; I felt a strange sensation that we were in the exact same situation but without the feel of the Invisibility Cloak.
"Hey, James! Who are the munchkins? Your miniatures?"
"Hey, look at that. Hehe, there are two Lilys. So cuuute."
True to their popularity, casual greetings were tossed at our parents from all over. Some crude jeers like, "When did that couple manage to make two kids?" were mixed in, but since it wasn't entirely wrong, we couldn't say anything and just smiled wryly.
As a matter of course, we were led to the Gryffindor table. Eating while being watched from a distance by students of a different era—who had eyes like they were looking at rare beasts—reminded me of the feeling of being Harry Potter on a day he'd messed up after a long time. Back then, this level of piercing stares was par for the course.
The explanation to the painfully curious students was postponed to tomorrow—after all, we had absolutely no idea at this point how Dumbledore intended to integrate us into this era—and the next problem was the dormitories for sleeping.
Naturally, there was no space in the first-years' rooms to accept two suddenly added people. Mentally speaking, it would be cruel to force children who had just left their parents and already formed communities within their age group to suddenly get along with a new addition. On the other hand, it was also unreasonable to shove us into another year's room. Thus:
"Harry can sleep in my bed, and Maria can sleep with Lily. We're siblings, so it's not bad for an emergency measure, right? Is everyone okay with that?"
The faces ambushing us in the common room nodded with smiles. There wasn't a single student in Gryffindor who would dare oppose this cheerful red king. For better or worse, they were all good-natured folks with a festival spirit. Behind James, the Prefect—who was completely used to being bossed around by his arrogant best friend—just shrugged as if to say, Do whatever you want.
Interactions were kept brief as bedtime hurriedly approached. Parting ways with Harry, who had been caught by a James who clearly hadn't talked enough, I was led by Lily through the door of one of the seventh-year girls' dormitories. Inside were three young women. One of them looked somewhat familiar.
"We've been waiting for you, Lily! And for the rumored little one, too."
"Hey, Lily, Lily. Aren't you going to introduce this lovely lady to us? I heard she's your sister. You really are identical! Why did you keep it a secret that you had a sister?"
"She is so cute! It reminds me of Lily at this age. Having such beautiful sisters, your parents must be so proud. If I recall, you have an older sister too, right? I haven't seen her, but I bet you're a trio of beautiful sisters!"
I was swarmed by the women who suddenly rushed over. By now, I've inevitably gotten used to being treated at such close quarters by women as a woman, but it's still not good for my heart. It's just, well—things press against me. In various places. Those two plump... things.
"You guys, if you aren't gentler, you'll crush Maria! She's so small. The details will have to wait until tomorrow. Probably, um... I think Professor Dumbledore will explain. Today, we're just going to sleep."
"Aww."
"No 'awws'! That's a Prefect's order."
"Yes, mum... It must be tough having such a nagging big sister, Maria."
"Mary! I heard that!"
Giggling and laughing, the ladies finished their bedtime preparations and crawled into their respective beds. Truly noisy. It was just like watching Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati. The powerful energy of girls never changes, no matter the era.
"Now, Maria. Let's get you changed into pajamas. They're my hand-me-downs, but... they've been washed properly, so I think they'll be fine. But first, a shower. It's late today, so I'll let you use the Prefects' bathroom as a special treat. Keep it a secret from everyone, okay? It's technically against the rules."
I relax my cheeks and smile at my mother as she playfully winks at me. I'm sure my mother, too—the person whose dying figure "I" witnessed that day—must have been someone capable of making everyone around her smile with her overflowing charm during her girlhood. If I had just grown up with her, just as Harry—we might have had exchanges like this as parent and child.
"Maria?"
But, because I am Maria. Because I am entrusted with the name Maria. Wishing for that—would be cowardly, and completely missing the point.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
I run. I chase after my young mother's back. I savor this fleeting, impossible moment. —Will you be able to let this go, Harry?
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