The sun was beginning to set, dyeing the sky above the Black Lake in shades of orange and purple. Virtus and Cedric were gathering the remains of their picnic, folding the blanket while the water remained in an almost supernatural calm. The atmosphere was serene, but the conversation buzzed with the energy of what they had just read.
"It's horrifying," declared Cedric, storing the book in Virtus's backpack. "I can't believe Harry lived in those conditions. It seems so exaggerated, you know? I've seen Muggles in Ottery St. Catchpole, and they are decent people. Nothing like those... Dursleys."
"It's true," Virtus nodded. "The way they act seems like it's from a cartoon." Mentally, however, he thought that if they really behaved like that, what they needed wasn't the arrival of a half-giant, but a good dose of Muggle child services. But even he, who had read the story in his past life and rewritten it in this one, couldn't know that sometimes reality surpassed fiction. After all, the first book had been conceived as a story for children, and the more sordid details were softened. Without thinking more about it, he continued the conversation. "Hey, can you imagine living under the stairs?"
Cedric, who was carrying the food basket, made a face of genuine horror.
"If I angered my mother that much,she'd most likely make me sleep in the garden!" he exclaimed.
The idea was so absurd that both burst into laughter, the sound traveling over the lake's calm surface.
After a while, the laughter died down and Cedric sighed, his face turning serious.
"What I don't understand is why the Headmaster left him there.Professor McGonagall warned him, and still...?" said Cedric as they entered the castle.
"Well," interrupted Virtus with a shrug, "it's a storybook. It might all be false." Mentally, he told himself: When he finds out it's real, he's going to fall over backwards.
"Yeah, I suppose it's just fiction," Cedric conceded, though he didn't seem entirely convinced. "Did you see when he freed that snake from the zoo and then talked to it? It was fantastic, but also a bit... strange. Can you imagine? The Boy Who Lived, the one who defeated You-Know-Who, is also a Parselmouth." It seemed to him an irony as great as it was ridiculous that the hero and the villain shared that rare ability.
As they headed towards the kitchen entrance, Virtus responded:
"Hey,I'd love to be able to talk to animals. If I awakened an ability like that in the future, or found a spell that helped me, it would be fantastic," he said with genuine longing.
Cedric, thinking about his father's work, nodded.
"It's true.Sometimes I'd like to know what some animals are thinking. Being able to communicate with them would be incredible. But..." he shook his head, "I don't think such a spell exists. My father works very closely with animals and has never mentioned it."
"Well, if it doesn't exist, we'll invent it!" declared Virtus, raising a determined fist.
Cedric smiled, raising his own to bump it against his friend's.
"Deal!"
They reached the painting of the fruit bowl and, after gently stroking the pear until it giggled, the door to the kitchens opened. The spectacle they found was overwhelming. A hundred house-elves, with their large eyes and bat-like ears, moved in an organized ballet. They wore impeccable little white robes with cream-colored aprons, and in the center of each apron, a large pocket displayed the Hogwarts crest. They looked infinitely more dignified and cared for than 99% of the elves serving in so-called "noble" families.
An elderly-looking elf, with wrinkles that spoke of centuries of service but a spark of joy in her eyes, approached limping.
"Jin welcomes the young masters!"she said in a crackly but energetic voice. "Was the food to your liking? Can the elves prepare more? You are always welcome!"
"No, no, thank you," Virtus said quickly, smiling. "The food was fantastic. We thank you very much."
"Yes, everything was delicious!" added Cedric.
"Jin is happy!" said the elf, bowing. "Come back whenever you want!"
Bidding farewell with smiles, Virtus and Cedric left the warm, bustling kitchens. As they still had time before dinner, they decided to continue strolling through the Hogwarts corridors. They watched students of all ages pass by, saw paintings changing scenes, ghosts gliding through walls, and even a solitary suit of armor that suddenly turned its head with a metallic screech to look at them.
"You know," said Cedric, returning to his topic, "having magic hidden from you for ten years must be horrible."
Virtus laughed.
"You know I'm Muggle-born,right? I didn't know anything about magic until two months ago."
Cedric instantly blushed, embarrassed.
"I mean!Having it hidden from you and being treated badly at the slightest attempt to be different," he corrected quickly. "I don't know what I would do in that situation." His tone turned a bit sentimental at the end.
Virtus looked at him for a moment, understanding his friend's empathy.
"Yes,it must be horrible," he agreed. "Apparently, I read that if a magical child represses their magic due to abuse or trauma, it can generate an Obscurus. It's a creature of resentment that, growing inside the child... ends up killing them. There's no record of any child over eleven surviving that." He thought of the Headmaster's nephew, but since the Fantastic Beasts movies were canceled, he didn't know how "canon" they were in this reality.
Cedric let out a puff of air, amazed and terrified.
"So...if the Dursleys had been worse in the book..." he didn't dare finish the sentence.
"Yes," Virtus confirmed solemnly, his gaze distant. "It's likely the Boy Who Lived would have died before reaching Hogwarts."
"By Merlin's pants..." murmured Cedric. "It's a good thing that, although horrible, they aren't the worst of the worst." He shook his head, wanting to change the gloomy subject. "Let's talk about the tail Hagrid gave Harry's cousin."
"Yes, hahaha! He deserved it for being the way he is," Virtus agreed, happy to change the somber topic. "But did you see that Hagrid said he wasn't allowed to do magic and still managed to do that with an umbrella? Do you think he hid his wand inside?"
"That's true!" exclaimed Cedric, intrigued. "Maybe when we see him, we can ask him."
They were now walking down a corridor adorned with giant, slowly moving paintings that seemed to depict past events, their steps echoing softly on the stone.
"Hey, do you think it was Hagrid who sent all those letters to Harry?" Cedric asked suddenly.
Virtus thought for a moment, and then an image so vivid and absurd crossed his mind that he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Cedric looked at him, confused.
"What?What's so funny?"
"It's just that..." Virtus managed to say between laughs, wiping a tear. "I imagined Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore in his office, very serious, talking about Harry not responding. And Professor Dumbledore, in his gravest voice, says: 'This is serious, Minerva. Send all the owls.' And Professor McGonagall, with eyes like saucers, replies: 'All of them, sir?' And he, very solemnly: 'Yes, Minerva. All of them!'" Virtus did a dramatic imitation of Dumbledore's voice.
The image was so ridiculous that Cedric also burst into laughter, the sound of both filling the empty corridor.
"Merlin!That must have been a sight!" said Cedric, breathless.
As their laughter faded, they ventured into a narrower, dimmer corridor. Their gaze was captured by a large painting depicting a fierce battle. Wizards in ancient robes were fighting what looked like small goblins with rusty armor and expressions of ferocity disproportionate to their size.
"Looks like a depiction of the Goblin Rebellion of 1612,"murmured Virtus, recalling his readings.
At that moment, a dragging noise and a grumpy mutter interrupted their observation. From behind them, limping heavily with an old broom in his hand, passed Mr. Filch. The caretaker was a man with a sallow, wrinkled face, bloodshot eyes, and greasy grey hair. He wore a ragged brown robe that smelled of dust and disinfectant.
"...bloody poltergeist..."he muttered angrily. "...14th-century vases shattered in the Trophy Room... I'll ask the Headmaster to catch you this time, Peeves, hang you by your thumbs, I wish I could..."
Behind him, following with a stealthy, hurried step, was Mrs. Norris. The cat was thin with dusty grey fur, and piercing yellow eyes that saw everything. As she passed the boys, the cat slowly turned her head and fixed her gaze on Virtus. He, almost reflexively, held her gaze. For an instant, he caught something more than simple feline cunning; a spark of sharp, calculating intelligence in those yellow eyes. Before he could even think of petting her, Mrs. Norris turned her head with disdain and followed her master, who was already hobbling away down the corridor.
Virtus and Cedric looked at each other and shrugged in unison, a complicit smile on their faces before continuing.
Resuming their stroll, Virtus changed the subject.
"In the book,Hagrid talked about the Ministry, about the Minister... Do you know anything about that?"
"Of course!" said Cedric, perking up. "Cornelius Fudge was just elected Minister for Magic two months ago, in the July elections. The previous minister, Millicent Bagnold, retired after her second re-election." He lowered his voice a bit. "They say the fact that the war with You-Know-Who ended during her term made her very popular, but she was exhausted."
Virtus nodded, thinking that poor Fudge had some very difficult years ahead of him, and couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
"Hey, how was your shopping trip to Diagon Alley?" asked Virtus. "Was it anything like Harry's?"
"Not at all!" laughed Cedric. "Being a wizard's son, no professor guided me. My parents, Amos and Eleanor Diggory, took me. I didn't need to go to Gringotts either; my mother had withdrawn the money beforehand. The most memorable thing was buying my wand. It took six tries, but in the end, one of ash and unicorn hair, 31 centimeters, chose me." He pulled his wand from his robe pocket to show him.
"That's great!" said Virtus. "Professor Sprout guided me, and my parents came along. Before going to the Alley, she explained everything: currency exchange, classes, supplies, how to communicate... She told them what Muggle parents need to know to feel secure." He paused. "When they found out it was 5 pounds per Galleon, with a maximum exchange of 100 Galleons per year for Muggle-born wizards, they found it more cost-effective to buy gold and exchange it at Gringotts. It's cheaper and they can exchange as much as they want."
Cedric looked at him with wide eyes.
"So...you're rich?"
Virtus blushed slightly.
"Well...my mother owns a chain of restaurants in the Muggle world, and she's also the head chef of the main one. My father has a food transport and distribution company across the UK. So... money isn't a problem."
"Incredible!" exclaimed Cedric. "My father is the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and my mother has a potion shop in the Alley, 'Eleanor's Cauldron'. We don't want for anything either, but that sounds... big."
Virtus continued recounting his trip as they walked down a corridor with large, arched windows. Through them, they saw the sun setting on the horizon, dyeing the sky a deep, dark blue. Ghosts and students passed by them. At that moment, they recognized the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost. He was a round, cheerful figure, dressed in a monk's habit, with a shiny bald head and a perpetually jovial expression. As he passed right by them, floating half a meter off the ground, both nodded to him respectfully. The Fat Friar responded with a huge smile and a broad, friendly wave before continuing his ethereal journey.
"My mother bought many more books than required," continued Virtus. "My father chose books on magical law and commerce, and my mother, on magical cooking and magical world history. My love for books and history comes from her."
Cedric smiled hearing that.
"My journey to get my wand was long too,"Virtus confessed. "I went through nine wands until one of cherry and dragon heartstring, 33 centimeters, chose me." Like Cedric, he took out his wand to show it; unlike Cedric's, which had a more yellowish color with brown tones, his was completely a pale pink, almost white. "And in the end, my parents bought me Lux and an owl to keep me entertained and in touch with them."
"I have an owl too!" said Cedric. "My mother ordered me to send her at least one letter a week to know how I'm doing," he added, his cheeks blushing with a bit of embarrassment.
Virtus just smiled.
"My parents said exactly the same thing."
Realizing that night had fallen completely and the torches were magically lighting up on the walls, Virtus pointed ahead.
"We'd better head back to the Great Hall,or we'll miss dinner."
On the way back, they saw Professor Sprout once more. They had seen her several times during the day, always carrying pots with curious plants or scrolls of parchment. Undoubtedly, she seemed to be preparing her lessons for Monday.
"Hey," said Cedric, lowering his voice, "did you see how Professor Quirrell appeared in the Leaky Cauldron in the book? He seemed very different from the professor we saw yesterday."
"Yes," Virtus nodded. "Well, maybe he went through something intense in these two years, or maybe it's just... the author's creative liberty."
Cedric was about to respond, but they realized they were already in front of the great doors of the Great Hall. The murmur of hundreds of voices and the delicious aroma of food enveloped them.
"We'd better hurry," urged Virtus with a mischievous smile. "I want more of that chocolate cake."
Cedric smiled and, with a nod, both pushed the heavy doors and entered the bustling, warm hall.