Ten days later, Dumbledore reappeared in the small seaside village, accompanied by two Harrys and two Hermiones.
"Professor, are you certain the soul-link device Professor Flamel crafted can function across multiple parallel worlds?" Harry Two asked, inspecting the intricate set of runic amulets adorning his body.
"Flamel assured me that when the other five amulets, tethered to the soul fragment in your scar, are linked as a whole… well, in theory, it should work," Dumbledore attempted to explain. However, the principles behind this alchemy surpassed even his expertise. He could grasp them himself, but conveying them to a Gryffindor with no grasp of alchemical theory was a futile endeavor. His only effective course of action was to refrain from explaining altogether.
This time, Dumbledore's arrival didn't stir unease in the camp, but the sight of two young Harrys and Hermiones sparked whispers among the villagers.
"So, you're the fifth-year and seventh-year versions of us that Professor Dumbledore mentioned?" said a battle-scarred Harry, cleaning his prosthetic eye while fixing his remaining green eye on his otherworldly counterparts. He gave a satisfied nod. "My magic tells me your strength is quite impressive. That means, in the upcoming mission, we're unlikely to drag each other down."
"Forget the fighting for now, Harry Seven…" Harry Two leaned in with a mischievous grin, slinging an arm around both the prosthetic-eyed Harry and the warlock Harry's shoulders. He whispered into Harry Seven's ear, "I'm more curious about… your relationship with this world's Hermione. You look a good few years older than us, so… have you two made it official? Or, you know, gone further—have you slept together?"
"What kind of question is that?!" Harry Seven's face flushed crimson. He cautiously glanced at Hermione, who was chatting with the other two Hermiones, seemingly unaware of their conversation. He let out a relieved breath.
"Come on, mate, no need to be shy with yourself! Just be honest—did you or didn't you?" Harry Two chuckled, clapping Harry Seven on the shoulder. "Take me, for example—I've slept with my Hermione."
"Well… I've slept with my Hermione too…" Harry Seven stole another glance in her direction, only to freeze in shock. The three Hermiones were huddled together, faces red, whispering intently, with his Hermione gesturing animatedly about something. "But we're not planning on kids just yet…"
Harry Two's eyes widened in disbelief. "You actually slept with Hermione?!"
"Why are you so shocked?" Harry Seven shot him a sidelong glance. "Didn't you just say you slept with your Hermione?"
"I meant my Hermione and I just shared a tent to keep warm—nothing as scandalous as you're thinking!" Harry Two grinned, rolling his eyes playfully at Harry Seven.
Harry Seven barely restrained the urge to deck his parallel-world self.
But when Harry Two teasingly asked if he wore Moody's prosthetic eye to sneak peeks at Hermione, Harry Seven's patience snapped, and he lunged at him.
A day later, fully rested, Harry One, Harry Two, Hermione One, Hermione Two, and Dumbledore followed the lead of the local Harry Seven and Hermione Seven. They bid farewell to the students and staff of New Hogwarts and Apparated to a stream three miles from Malfoy Manor.
"From here on, an Anti-Apparition Charm blankets a radius of at least three miles around Malfoy Manor," Harry Seven explained. "Hermione and I have scouted this area several times but couldn't find a way inside. The manor's protective spells are incredibly dense, and estates like this typically have magic to block unauthorized entry. Without Professor Snape's memories, I wouldn't even know its approximate location."
Per Dumbledore's earlier plan, they would split into three teams to pinpoint Malfoy Manor's exact position and then force their way in. However, after hearing Harry Seven and Hermione Seven's briefing, Harry One and Hermione One came up with a bold hypothesis.
"What about the air? Have you tried infiltrating from above?" Harry One asked.
"We did," Hermione Seven sighed. "Harry tried flying over Malfoy Manor on his Firebolt, but…"
"The manor's protective magic blocked my approach unless I climbed above a thousand feet," Harry Seven said, shaking his head with a wry smile. "At that height, scouting the manor was impossible. And for missions requiring stealth, I usually fly at around three thousand feet."
"But you can see Malfoy Manor from high above, right?" Hermione One pressed.
Harry Seven nodded slowly. He had a hunch that these alternate-world Harry and Hermione had devised some ingenious infiltration method, but he wasn't entirely sure. After all, their idea seemed… well, a bit too Gryffindor.
Hermione One furrowed her brow in thought, then waved her wand, transfiguring the ground beneath her into a chalkboard. She began scribbling calculations.
The other Harrys and Hermiones gathered around, curious, but not only were Harry Two and Harry Seven baffled, even the other two Hermiones stared in confusion.
"What exactly are you calculating?" Hermione Two asked, eyeing the unfamiliar yet vaguely familiar symbols on the chalkboard—symbols she'd never encountered in Arithmancy.
"What, even you don't know?" Harry One looked at the other two Hermiones in surprise. "Didn't you say you started studying secondary school material after primary school?"
"I did, but what do these symbols have to do with that?" both Hermiones replied, puzzled.
"Free fall motion! Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Don't tell me you've forgotten that basic knowledge?" Harry One said, incredulous.
The other two Hermiones sheepishly averted their gazes under his disbelieving stare.
"It's been too long… I've completely forgotten some things…" they mumbled.
Meanwhile, Harry Two and Harry Seven grew intensely curious about Harry One's usual learning environment. From the way Harry One and Hermione One spoke and acted, it seemed they hadn't neglected Muggle knowledge while studying magic in the wizarding world.
Soon, Hermione One finished her calculations. She clapped her hands and waved her wand, reverting the chalkboard to the ground.
"I've worked it out. Starting from three thousand feet, our maximum descent speed will be roughly 150 to 210 feet per second…" Hermione One began explaining her plan to the group.
"Number One, are you sure this plan is reliable?" Hermione Two asked, her legs already trembling at the thought of jumping from three thousand feet. Hermione Seven, equally unaccustomed to such daring feats, felt the same.
Hermione One merely flashed a confident thumbs-up. "Trust me and Harry. We've got plenty of experience with this sort of thing."