Vita Magicis (HP SI-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 49: Between Secrets and Summer Dreams

Giving the password to the stone gargoyle, some sort of Muggle candy I hadn’t heard of before, I watched as the statue shifted aside and the spiral staircase began to rise.

Waiting for it to reach its destination, I stepped forward and climbed the stairs until I reached the Headmaster’s office, where Dumbledore was already waiting behind his desk.

“Ah, come in, come in. You’re just in time, Mr. Cordelia,” Dumbledore greeted jovially, his eyes twinkling as always while he stood to welcome me. “Please, have a seat.”

“Hello, Professor,” I returned politely as I walked forward and took the offered seat. “Thank you.”

“Feel free to indulge in some Licorice Snap before we begin. Though, I must warn you, they’re a wee bit sharp,” Dumbledore said, gesturing to the large bowl of candy sitting on his desk.

“No thank you, Professor. I’ve never been too fond of licorice myself, so I’ll have to pass,” I replied with a small shake of my head. Even in my past life, that flavor was a no-go.

“A shame, but understandable nonetheless,” Dumbledore said with a kind smile.

Wanting to get this meeting over with, I cleared my throat politely. “Apologies, Professor, but may I know the reason you wanted to speak with me? As far as I know, I’m not failing any courses, nor have I participated in any pranks to my knowledge. At least not for a few months.”

Normally, that last part was better left unsaid, but with Dumbledore it hardly mattered. The man knew most of what happened at Hogwarts anyway. Of course, that only applied to things we didn’t mind the man finding out. Anything we wanted to keep hidden was protected by Company defenses, whose protections trumped anything the old man could dig up.

“Hahaha, no, you’re not in any trouble, I assure you,” Dumbledore said with a genuine chuckle, shaking his head before fixing me with a knowing look. “If I were seeking to punish mischief, I imagine I’d have called for a few of your friends instead. In fact, I’ve it on good authority that I owe you thanks for keeping certain pranks from going too far.”

‘He must be talking about Illya,’ I thought silently. ‘She’s the only one who’s been pulling pranks just to amuse herself.’

That still didn’t explain why I was here, though. Or why the old man was dragging this out.

“I see,” I said simply with a polite nod. “Then I’m a bit confused as to why I’m here, Professor.”

Dumbledore’s expression finally shifted, turning more serious as he folded his hands over his desk and regarded me with that odd mix between a kindly grandfather and a calculating villain.

Yeah… that look raised about ten red flags in my head.

“You live alone, correct, Mr. Cordelia?” Dumbledore asked conversationally, as though commenting on the weather. But I didn’t miss the way his gaze sharpened ever so slightly, watching for any flicker of emotion on my face.

Unfortunately for him, I had Smooth Talking, Poker Face, and Deception all maxed out at Level 10 thanks to my Satou template. Lying came as naturally to me as breathing. Add in my total immunity to mind reading, and I was probably the worst person in the world to interrogate.

This old man would be getting jack shit from me.

“That’s correct,” I replied evenly, not a twitch out of place. “Ever since my parents were murdered a few years back, I’ve been under the care of a distant relative who checks in on me from time to time. My daily needs are taken care of by my family elf.”

The distant relative was complete bullshit of course, it was just something that the Company arranged for all Contractors to make the transition easier and I never bothered asking any further questions.

“I see. Such tragedy, what happened to your parents,” Dumbledore said softly, shaking his head, his face creasing with what looked like genuine sadness. I simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“But you have plenty of friends now, from what I’ve gathered,” Dumbledore continued with a grandfatherly smile. “I imagine they keep you company during the summer as well?”

‘I see. So this is about Rose and Harry after all,’ I thought, finally piecing together the real reason behind this little chat.

The old man must’ve noticed his gadgets monitoring the Dursleys’ home stopped working and gone to investigate. Too bad for him his little spy, Mrs. Figg, had already been Stamped and sold to the Company. He probably didn’t even realize what happened, especially since the Dursleys themselves had joined her, minus Dudley, who was currently enjoying life in an orphanage.

None of that showed on my face, of course. Instead, I gave him a pleasant, genuine smile.

“That’s correct,” I said warmly. “The manor feels much livelier when one of them visits. My elf certainly enjoys having more people to cook for.”

Looking intrigued now, Dumbledore leaned forward slightly. “That’s wonderful. Friendship is truly a precious thing, something to be cherished. Life is far more fulfilling when we have someone to share it with.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said smoothly. ‘At least we agree on that much.’

“Have all your friends managed to visit you?” Dumbledore asked curiously. “You seem to have made friends across all four Houses, a rare accomplishment, I must say. And yet, despite the usual rivalries, your group seems remarkably harmonious. Fascinating, wouldn’t you agree?”

‘Got you,’ I thought in amusement. ‘Couldn’t resist slipping that in, could you, old man?’

“What does it matter what House one belongs to?” I replied evenly. “None of it will matter once we leave Hogwarts and enter the real world. In my opinion, while the rivalries promote healthy competition and unity, they also divide students who might otherwise form meaningful friendships.”

I saw the faint twitch in his brow, half pleased, half annoyed.

“That’s a truly wise mentality to have for one so young,” Dumbledore said finally, smiling again. “You continue to surprise me, Mr. Cordelia.”

“Thank you.” I smiled pleasantly. “As for the others visiting me—” I paused for a moment when I noticed how the old man suddenly focused on what I was saying again. “All of my friends have visited me once by now.”

I finally gave him what he wanted to hear.

Not that it would help him much. My manor was protected by extremely powerful enchantments, some native to this world, others courtesy of Rin and Illya, and finally a set of defensive wards straight from my Satou Template. At this point, my home was quite literally the most secure piece of property on the planet.

Looking very interested now, Dumbledore leaned forward slightly. “And have you also managed to visit all of their homes?”

Pretending to think for a moment, I let him stew before shaking my head, enjoying the faint flicker of disappointment in his eyes. “I haven’t. I’ve only visited Luna’s home and the Weasleys’.”

“I see.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully, though I didn’t miss the hint of frustration behind his calm expression.

“Why the interest, Headmaster?” I asked curiously, tilting my head in that perfect impression of a clueless fifteen-year-old.

Blinking at my question, Dumbledore quickly shook his head before slipping back into that warm smile. “Just curious to see how you’re settling in, that’s all,” he said lightly.

“Right. I appreciate it, sir.” I nodded politely, though internally, I rolled my eyes at the blatant lie.

Realizing he wasn’t going to get anything more useful out of me, the conversation shifted to lighter topics, mostly about my studies. Apparently, every professor had nothing but praise to give, and Dumbledore even asked if I wanted to test out of the year early. I politely declined and the conversation continued.

Throughout our talk, I noticed Fawkes, perched by the window, keeping a steady gaze on me. The phoenix’s eyes were filled with curiosity, as if he couldn’t quite figure me out. Then, before I left, he suddenly fluttered over to land on the arm of my chair, chirping softly and drawing both my and Dumbledore’s attention.

“You have a magnificent friend, Headmaster,” I said, reaching out to pet the bird in the same way my own phoenix girl liked. Fawkes trilled happily, clearly approving.

‘Could it be due to my affinity for White Magic?’ I thought silently.

“Ah, Fawkes,” Dumbledore said fondly, watching us. “He has been my companion and friend for many years. You couldn’t ask for a better confidant.”

The moment was surprisingly peaceful, the tension that had lingered since I arrived seemed to ease a little.

“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave, Professor. I’m sure one of the others is already looking for me.” I stood, withdrawing my hand as Fawkes chirped again, almost sadly, at losing the attention.

“Yes, I imagine they are. I won’t keep you any longer,” Dumbledore said with a small nod. “Thank you for keeping this old man company.”

With nothing further to add, I turned and made my way out of the office, my mind already racing.

‘It seems we won’t be able to keep Sirius’s survival a secret much longer. I need to talk to Rose about this.’

=====

Later That Evening

After classes were over for the day, I pulled Rose aside to have a private talk. We made our way to the Room of Requirement, where we now sat sipping tea and nibbling on biscuits.

“So that’s what happened,” I said at last, setting my cup down and reaching for another biscuit, savoring its sweetness.

“I see… he’s been getting really nosy lately, but I mostly just ignored him. Seems we can’t do that anymore.” Rose sighed softly, leaning against my shoulder before looking up at me with a small frown. “Sorry for getting you involved in this, Aether. You’ve already done so much for us.”

Chuckling, I smiled and reached over, gently tilting her chin up. Before she could react, I leaned down and captured her lips in a short but meaningful kiss, pulling back just enough to see her wide, flushed expression.

“In case that kiss wasn’t enough of a hint,” I said with a teasing smile, my thumb brushing her cheek, “you’re my girl, and I care a great deal about you. Helping you isn’t a bother, it’s something I want to do. So get that out of your cute head, okay?”

“O-Okay,” she murmured, still pink and clearly flustered.

“Good,” I said, smiling fondly. “Now, Sirius and I both knew this was bound to happen eventually. There’s no avoiding it, so we’ll just go ahead with what we planned last summer.”

Rose blinked, curiosity overtaking her shyness. “A-And that is?”

“We’ll reveal that Sirius survived Azkaban’s attack and has already been pardoned of all his supposed ‘crimes.’ As your official godfather, there’s nothing anyone can do to challenge that.”

Her eyes widened slightly before softening in understanding. “That means we can finally tell Professor Lupin too, right?”

“Yes. Sirius was already planning to talk to him this summer, this just speeds things up a bit.”

Rose smiled, then lowered her gaze with a faint blush. “T-Thank you, for always worrying about me… and my stupid brother.”

“It’s my pleasure,” I said warmly, brushing a strand of her red hair from her face. “Though I’ll admit, Harry can be a bit of a headache sometimes.”

“True,” she giggled, before turning an even deeper shade of red and fidgeting in place. Scooting closer until our shoulders touched, she peeked up at me shyly. “Now… I believe you have some explaining to do, mister, about this whole ‘I’m your girl’ thing.”

“Oh? Do I now?” I asked, grinning as I leaned in until our lips were barely apart, close enough to feel her breath hitch. “Are you rejecting me?”

“O-Of course not!” she yelped, slapping my chest lightly with both hands before averting her eyes. “I just… want you to properly ask, that’s all.”

‘So that’s what this is about,’ I thought with an amused smile.

“In that case…” I cupped her cheek gently, guiding her to meet my gaze. “Rose Potter, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend? Crazy life and all?”

Her lips parted slightly, her face glowing with warmth. “…Yes. I will.”

This time, she was the one to close the gap, pulling me into a kiss. It was soft at first, hesitant, but quickly deepened into something that made time blur.

We stayed like that for quite a while. So long, in fact, that by the time we returned to the common room, curfew was only minutes away. Judging by our rumpled uniforms and flushed faces, it didn’t take Rin, Luna, or Astoria long to figure out what had happened. Rose’s entire face turned crimson as Luna and Astoria gleefully dragged her away, peppering her with teasing questions until she looked ready to faint from embarrassment.

Rin, however, walked up to me calmly. Compared to the others, she only leaned in close, disguising her whisper behind a brief hug.

“Did you run into any problems with the old man? Want some help?” she asked softly, her tone carrying that dangerous edge that only appeared when someone she cared for was being threatened.

Rin liked to act aloof, but she was fiercely protective of those she loved, me, Sakura, and even Illya so far even if she denied it. She wouldn’t let anyone interfere with the happiness she’d worked so hard to build, not even the so-called greatest wizard alive.

Smiling in fondness, I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it handled. But… thank you for worrying, Rin.”

“G-Good,” she stammered, instantly reverting back to her usual tsundere self. I chuckled softly and guided her toward the fireplace, where we sank into one of the cozy couches and just sat together, quietly enjoying each other’s warmth.

‘Next year will be interesting that’s for sure, for more than one reason.’

=====

Several Months Later — End-of-Year Feast

Another school year had come and gone, and with it, Ravenclaw had once again claimed the House Cup. Gryffindor, on the other hand, took home the Quidditch Cup this year, so there was more than enough reason for celebration.

The girls were especially giddy, their excitement barely contained as they whispered about what awaited them this summer. The thought of our next great adventure had everyone buzzing.

Thankfully, Dumbledore hadn’t summoned me to his office again since our last talk, though I had a nagging suspicion he’d try to keep tabs on me over the break. Probably still hoping to figure out where Rose and Harry disappeared to every summer.

Good luck with that, old man.

As for me, I had far more important things to worry about, like finalizing plans for our upcoming trip to the Pokémon world. I still had to buy enough tents once I got home, and make sure all the girls could come along without any issues.

Now, aboard the Hogwarts Express on our way back to London, I found myself surrounded on all sides by excited chatter and endless questions.

“Please, relax everyone,” I said, raising my hands in mock surrender as a dozen voices spoke over each other. “I promise I’ll answer everything soon!”

Thankfully, they quieted down, retreating back to their seats with expectant looks.

“The only thing you really need to bring,” I began with a smile, “is a few changes of clothes, however many you think you’ll need. I’ll take care of everything else.”

A chorus of cheers followed my words.

“Whooo~!”

“I’m getting a Pikachu!”

“A Ditto looks cute!”

“I want a Growlithe!”

“A Lapras sounds perfect for me!”

“I wonder if we could catch a Legendary~”

“I’m calling dibs on a flying type!”

Listening to their eager voices, I couldn’t help but smile, shaking my head in fond amusement.

This summer was going to be interesting, and very, very busy.