The Ministry of Magic's investigation into Regulus Black ended without a conclusion.
Three underage girls, and a widowed woman with two young daughters—both sides admitted to partial truths while concealing certain details.
It turned out that Regulus Black had spent the first half of the night with one party and the second half with the other. Judy Fox, who was leading the investigation, nearly lost her temper.
No wonder Regulus had been so evasive during questioning—he had ambiguous relationships with all of them.
In the final report, Judy Fox generously left out any explicit details but delivered a verbal briefing to Fudge.
"Of course, the Ministry trusts Regulus's character. As for his personal preferences, we don't need to dig too deep into those, do we?"
Cornelius Fudge chuckled as he tried to console Judy, much to her frustration.
"If you trust him so much, why did you make me investigate him in the first place? Damn you, Minister!"
The Hogwarts Express departed on schedule. Regulus Black, as usual, had claimed a compartment early and gathered a group of girls for a tea party. The tea party, a tradition borrowed from Ravenclaw, had become quite popular with girls from all four houses.
Many of the girls who had been first-years were visibly taller now. At fourteen, they were nearly as tall as Regulus himself.
No wonder they often looked at him with such wistful, longing gazes.
He had originally set a moral boundary: to wait until the girls were of age before making a move. But he'd underestimated the rapid development of Western girls. During puberty, their bodies matured quickly, making them nearly indistinguishable from adults. Was he supposed to give up his principle of only pursuing girls after graduation?
Regulus Black sat holding a cup of hot black tea, conflicted.
"All the girls have gone to Assistant Professor Black's compartment."
Harry Potter and Ron now had an entire couch each to themselves. There was so much space on the train that no one even needed to fight for seats.
"Candy for sale! Candy for sale!"
An elderly witch pushed her trolley down the aisle. Harry got up and bought a few things. He was no longer the naive boy who once bought out the entire cart just because he had money. Still, he was willing to buy some sweets for his friend Ron.
"Thanks, Harry, but I've got my own money. I'll take a box of Chocolate Frogs and a pack of Fizzing Whizbees."
Ron had long shed the image of a poor, underdog sidekick from the original story. As a chess grandmaster, he had no equal among Muggles. The only thing holding him back was the rules of Muggle competitions.
As a minor, Ron couldn't compete in official adult tournaments, even though he had already defeated many adults in unofficial matches.
However, the rumor had already spread: once he came of age, the future chess grandmaster would be crowned king.
His Muggle manager had already arranged his schedule in advance. On Ron's birthday, his official journey toward the chess throne would begin.
So no, Ron was no longer poor. Even though he didn't have much cash on hand, he could buy his own snacks—no need for Harry to treat him.
Harry felt a bit awkward about his friend's refusal. After all, it meant one less way to feel useful.
"Then I'll just take two pumpkin pasties and a box of Chocolate Frogs."
Since he wasn't treating anyone, Harry decided to buy less for himself as well.
In the original story, this was the moment Harry first met Cho Chang. After seeing Cedric, he then encountered Cedric's girlfriend. Unaware of their relationship, he fell in love with Cho, even though she already had a boyfriend.
Ah, first love—such a heart-wrenching yet beautiful emotion, full of pain and longing.
At this moment, Harry felt an inexplicable sense of loss. Was it because Ron no longer needed his generosity? Or had he already missed someone he was meant to meet?
Meanwhile, in Regulus Black's compartment, he happened to be thinking of this very scenario. As someone who had worked as a screenwriter on two films, he crafted a nameless story—one defined only by the relationships between its characters. A tale about two boys and a girl's first love began to unfold.
A girl, while buying snacks on the train, met a boy for the first time. The boy, captivated by her candy-sweet smile, fell into the throes of first love. But when he invited her to the Yule Ball, he learned she already had a tall, handsome boyfriend. Compared to him, the boy was lacking in every way.
Then the story took a dramatic turn. To earn her attention, the boy embarked on a daring adventure—only to be saved by her boyfriend. The boyfriend sacrificed himself in the process.
Because of the boy's recklessness, the other died. Now, with the obstacle gone, the two were free to fall in love—but the memory of the dead boyfriend became a lingering shadow between them. No matter how sweet their time together, he remained an unavoidable presence.
In the end, the couple brought their painful relationship to a close and returned to their ordinary lives, passing each other like strangers.
"How could it end like this? This kind of romance is just too tragic."
"A first love like that is so hard… and in the end, they still broke up."
For a moment, the girls in the train compartment were all caught up in discussion about the story's plot. At first, they thought Regulus Black was using it as a metaphor for one of the girls' love lives, but after asking around, they realized the story didn't match anyone's situation.
"I feel like I'm that girlfriend, torn apart by the love of two boys."
Watching the others enthusiastically discussing the story, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but feel a deeper ache in her heart. After all, a story is just a story. No matter how tragic it might be, it's meant to be talked about, not lived through.
But Zhang Qiu felt terrible, as if the story were about her, even though it was nothing like what she'd experienced.
And yet, she didn't know why it hurt so much.
Another school year's opening ceremony began. But this time, it was noticeably different. The newly enrolled children were sorted quickly, and the Sorting Hat, which normally rambled on and on, didn't even sing the school song. Both the professors' podium and the student seating area had been expanded. Clearly, guests were arriving—many of them, judging by the setup.
"Today, I have something very important to announce. The Quidditch matches will be cancelled this year. Instead, we will be hosting another major event—the Triwizard Tournament."
Upon hearing that Quidditch was canceled, the most dissatisfied were, of course, the Quidditch team members from all four houses. But the announcement of a new tournament soon had all the students cheering.
Regulus Black was assigned by Dumbledore to receive the guests from the two visiting schools.
So while the students gathered in the Great Hall, Regulus Black and a few school staff stood outside in the cold wind.
These staff members, who weren't even qualified to sit at the teachers' table, were mostly Squibs—and every one of them looked strange and unpleasant.
Even Mrs. Norris's husband, the caretaker Argus Filch's cat, looked better than this lot. No wonder they were rarely seen around the school.
Regulus silently grumbled about Filch in his mind. He wondered if the cat had ever cuckolded him.
In the distance, a white blur streaked across the sky—it was the carriage from the French wizarding academy, Beauxbatons. Though it was called a girls' school, it actually admitted boys as well. However, since the female population vastly outnumbered the male, it was commonly regarded as a girls' academy. This imbalance made it even harder for them to recruit boys.
Seven Abraxan horses slowly pulled the massive carriage down to land, guided by lights held by the ground staff. It came to a stop beside the Black Lake.
First, a boy jumped down and pulled out the staircase beneath the carriage door. The interior of the carriage was like an enchanted tent—its space comparable to an entire building, with every girl having her own private room.
"As expected, boys in a girls' school really are treated like servants!"
Regulus Black said nothing aloud, but inwardly, he was furiously sarcastic.
"Welcome! I'm Regulus Black. Headmaster Dumbledore is waiting to receive you in the Great Hall."
Madame Maxime, the headmistress of the visiting school, held out her hand for Regulus to kiss—a woman of giant blood.
"What a massive hand. She could probably slap someone's head clean off. Only that oaf Hagrid would be a good match for her."
Still, the girls of Beauxbatons were all stunning—especially the headmistress's favorites, the Delacour sisters.
Suddenly, a massive dark shape emerged from the surface of the lake—Durmstrang had arrived.
This was another eccentric school, with over ninety percent of its students being boys. Known for teaching the Dark Arts, it was also the alma mater of Dumbledore's old flame.
Ha! There's just so much to complain about.
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