Harry Potter: The Bard of Hogwarts

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had sprung into action once again.

Of course, this time it wasn't a major incident, just a trace alert indicating that young wizards had used magic outside of school.

Normally, this would have warranted just a warning letter, but after determining the location of the incident and identifying the young wizard involved, the department decided to take it seriously and dispatched personnel on duty.

...

4 Privet Drive.

Faced with the inquiries from the Ministry of Magic officials, Harry offered no defense, candidly admitting his mistake.

This honesty caused the two officials present to look bitter.

They hadn't expected the Boy Who Lived to be so honest. If he had made up any reason, they could have easily brushed it off, as the incident wasn't severe—only a Muggle had been stunned.

Besides, they had checked and the injured Muggle was not seriously harmed.

"Mr. Potter, are you sure you deliberately attacked Mr. Vernon Dursley, rather than it being an accident or magical mishap?"

Yet, despite this almost suggestive question, Harry still silently nodded.

"Yes, I intentionally attacked Uncle Vernon!"

Harry understood the hint, but the vague worry in his heart made him reluctant to stay there.

Compared to the worst possible outcome, being temporarily detained at the Ministry of Magic seemed like the correct choice.

"Alright, Mr. Potter," sighed one of the Ministry officials, standing up slowly.

"Considering last year's incident of inflating a Muggle, this is your second violation. Therefore, I regret to inform you that you need to come with us to the Ministry."

After the Ministry staff left with Harry, Petunia, upon confirming that her husband was fine, went alone to the garage, got in the car, and drove off quickly down the street.

...

In the sky.

With all her might, Hedwig finally saw the towering castle and familiar towers just before dawn.

Hogwarts Headmaster's Office.

Unlike other professors, Dumbledore chose to stay in the castle during both summer and Christmas holidays.

Not because he had nowhere else to go, but because he truly considered Hogwarts his home.

With the urgent knocking on the window, Dumbledore awoke from his sleep.

Hedwig flew into the office, hooting urgently, as if urging him.

Seeing this, Dumbledore wasted no time. He recognized this was Harry's owl.

Opening the envelope, the hastily written words seemed to reflect Harry's inner turmoil.

Moments later, Dumbledore silently set down the letter.

The appearance of that old notebook confirmed Tom's secret to immortality, and with the appearance of Slytherin's locket, he was sure there were more than one Horcrux.

But today's letter troubled him, indicating that Harry seemed to have some kind of connection with Tom.

Two people who should have no connection were linked.

Opening a cabinet, Dumbledore took out the precious Pensieve, a Hogwarts legacy.

With his wand moving away from his temple, a silvery strand appeared, softly floating into the Pensieve like a feather.

At the same time.

While Dumbledore was bent over the Pensieve, an almost-new Aston Martin slowly drove into the dilapidated Spinner's End.

This night seemed destined for many sleepless people.

...

Fate always seems fair.

While some couldn't sleep, others slept soundly.

Dawn's light shone into Hogsmeade.

In a small house, Ino sat up in bed, stretching lazily.

Last night's banquet had lasted until midnight, causing him to fall into a deep sleep as soon as he hit the bed.

After a quick wash, he picked up the Daily Prophet from the table.

He had expected the Malfoy Manor banquet to be the headline, but the bold print on the front page reported something else—

"The Boy Who Lived Grabs Headlines Again, Attacks Muggle Guardian with Wand"

Squinting at the exaggerated headline, Ino couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

He knew Harry's nature, whether through stories or their interactions at the castle.

Unless provoked or encouraged, Harry was fundamentally a well-behaved student.

And such an act of attacking a guardian with magic was simply impossible for Harry.

"They really stop at nothing for sales, daring to use any headline..."

Though he mocked, he habitually read the paper, as sometimes rumors were interesting.

This probably also captured the public's psyche; strict news is always uninteresting.

Reading with the intent of finding entertainment, Ino started perusing the article.

Quickly, the content made him frown unconsciously. In the interview, Harry not only admitted his mistake but also mentioned being out of control...

To others, this might seem like a poor excuse from a boy who made a mistake.

But knowing the full story, he was sure this wasn't impossible, especially in the current situation.

In the original story, Harry learned Occlumency in his fifth year, which was in 1996.

Coincidentally, besides the Horcrux notebook being destroyed in the second year, the earliest Horcrux destroyed, the Gaunt Ring, was also in 1996.

"It seems the reduction in the number of Horcruxes is allowing Tom to gradually increase his control?"

Ino wasn't sure, but this hypothesis also made sense in the timeline of the original story.

Moreover, there was one point: in the newspaper interview, Harry mentioned being out of control.

In the original story, destroying the second Horcrux only gave Harry a headache. But now, with three Horcruxes destroyed—Slytherin's locket and Ravenclaw's diadem—it seemed to support this hypothesis, that the number of Horcruxes was inversely proportional to the control.

Although uncertain if the hypothesis was correct, Ino felt somewhat relieved. Originally, he planned to take some time before the World Cup to destroy the remaining Horcruxes.

If he had really destroyed the Cup and the Ring in one go, Voldemort's remnant soul in Harry's scar might have caused real trouble.

This hypothesis had one flaw: in the final battle, even with all Horcruxes destroyed, Harry could still fight Voldemort unscathed.

...

In the upstairs bedroom,

Ino sat quietly in a chair, trying to recall the story as best he could.

If the hypothesis was correct and now presented a different result, there must be a different cause.

"The first year..."

Although his memory was a bit fuzzy, the main stories of each school year flashed by like a slideshow.

"The Goblet of Fire... the father's bone, the enemy's blood..."

Images flashed through his mind like lightning across the sky, illuminating the darkness.

Ino roughly understood the root of the problem. Voldemort using Harry's blood to resurrect seemed to bypass Lily's protective magic but also lost direct control over Harry.

This maneuver appeared to be a fair exchange on the surface, with neither side losing.

In reality, if Voldemort had realized Harry was a hidden Horcrux, he probably wouldn't have used Harry's blood for his resurrection.