Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 302 Swap

Thea had a dream, a very long dream.

In her dreams, her body was healthy and light, unlike the dilapidated state she is in now.

She dreamt of many fragmented images: the snow at Hogwarts, long-forgotten books, a warm fireplace, and... the crowd behind her cheering her on with all their might.

The dream was so beautiful that when Thea woke up, she had the illusion that she was loved.

"Potter."

Seeing the other person's wary eyes, like a frightened bird, Thea slowly and deliberately crushed that illusion in her mind.

She may have been loved, but that was probably in the past.

Before she revealed her true colors, when she was still the "gentle and kind" Miss Blake.

"Come for a walk with me."

Thea gave orders with an unquestionable tone, and even if Harry cursed her in his heart, he dared not object. He could only resign himself to wrapping his clothes tighter to protect himself from the wind and snow outside.

It was the height of the heavy snowfall, and the fluffy snowflakes quickly enveloped the two of them.

Harry walked forward with difficulty and mechanical steps, afraid to make a sound, lest he catch a cold from the sweeping wind.

He had reason to believe that if he were to fall ill, Blake would stand by and do nothing, perhaps even lamenting that the savior had died too easily, but his hands would honestly be there to see him off.

But why hasn't she made a move yet?

Are there concerns?

Or is it disdain?

"Because I'm bored,"

The sudden sound startled Harry, and he almost lost control and crashed straight into it.

Fortunately, Thea dodged in time, and Harry also managed to stop the car just in time.

Seeing the obvious "you're just killing time" look on her face, Harry wisely refrained from asking how she knew what he was thinking.

They hadn't noticed while walking, but now they realized the snow had lessened considerably, and the place where they stopped was also quite subtle—a wedding venue.

It was simple and rough, even shabby, but it was filled with happiness and love.

At this moment, Harry didn't care what Thea was trying to do. He followed his heart and almost greedily memorized the details of the wedding with his eyes.

It seems that this allows one to imagine the scene of their parents' wedding.

Playful and adorable dolls, a Christmas tree that hasn't been taken down yet, gentle deer, festive red, a pure white wedding dress, and the rosy cheeks of the newlyweds.

A variety of colors, vibrant and colorful, together outline the happiness of the wedding.

Thea was also watching the wedding at that moment.

Unfortunately, she didn't feel anything special. She just felt like a stray dog ​​who was kicked from a distance as she passed by a warm home.

Aren't you leaving yet?

"If we don't leave now, the Death Eaters will be here."

Harry, who was abruptly interrupted, glared angrily at Thea, but Thea, who was bullying him, didn't care and even planned to do it again.

The two continued walking forward.

When they stopped again, this time it was Thea who urged Harry to go and see.

"You didn't have a chance to take a good look last time, did you?"

"Now's the opportunity, are you... sure you don't want to go take a look?"

Looking at his parents' gravestones not far away, Harry trembled with rage. If it weren't for... if it weren't for the fact that he didn't have a wand, he would definitely have drawn his wand and avenged his parents in front of them!

Thea glanced at Harry's expression, which looked like he wanted to pounce on her and bite her to death, and then looked away.

She felt that her logic was correct!

Harry left in such a hurry last time that he didn't even have time to say goodbye to his parents. How could someone as kind as her not give him a chance?

“During holidays, almost everyone in Godric Valley comes here to offer a bouquet of flowers. You came in such a hurry last time that you probably didn’t see those flowers, did you?”

Are you sure you don't want to go take a look?

"They are heroes, and heroes deserve to be remembered."

For some reason, upon hearing the last sentence, Harry abruptly turned to look at Thea.

Her face remained expressionless, but there was a hint of...melancholy in her eyes?

Harry wondered if he was seeing things, but he didn't look again. Instead, he quickly turned his head and stiffly walked toward the cemetery.

He must have misread it. How could someone like Blake feel melancholy while looking at his parents' gravestones?

Only after Harry's figure gradually disappeared into the distance did Thea turn around and walk out, taking out a very ordinary-looking mirror from her bosom.

After a few turns, Thea turned directly into an empty house.

"Hello, Professor."

Thea's tone rose gently, as if she were very happy to see Dumbledore again.

"Thea".

Even when awakened, Dumbledore showed no impatience; the same gentle mask remained on both of their faces.

In the end, it was Thea who first surrendered after this pointless duel.

"Give my regards to Mr. Grindelwald."

"If possible, it would be even better if we could have a brief face-to-face conversation."

Faced with Thea's sincere request, Dumbledore immediately recalled Grindelwald's overwhelming popularity in Paris.

"I'm sorry, Thea, he's already resting."

Trying to ignore his roommate's sinister smile, Dumbledore maintained a serious expression.

“Well,” Thea said dismissively, “what a coincidence.”

Before Thea could continue her tirade of admiration for her predecessor, Dumbledore quickly changed the subject.

"Why is Thea calling so late? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing!" Thea said, her tone rising. "I'm just a little bored!"

What should she do if the Dark Lord's heir says she's bored?

Shall we kill a few people for her to liven things up?

Even with Dumbledore's wit, he couldn't think of anything to say for a moment.

Instead, Thea continued, "Professor, how about I put on a show for you?"

"By the way, Potter should have finished his mourning by now, right?"

"How about we bring Porter along too?"

"Let's call the show 'Murder'!"

Thea unleashed a barrage of attacks like a machine gun, and at this moment, not only Dumbledore fell silent, but even Grindelwald was silenced.

Noticing that Thea had put the two-way mirror back in her bosom, Grindelwald finally spoke: "She's the one who brought you here?"

"Why do I feel like... my mind isn't quite right?"

Dumbledore: "…………"

Finally, someone understands my suffering!

God knows how painful it was for him to be forced to deal with Thea!

Thea, who had already put the two-way mirror back in her arms, didn't know how Grindelwald evaluated her, but even if she did, she wouldn't care.

Seeing Harry's dejected expression, Thea also felt unusually down.

"Did you see that?"

"Wh...what?"

Harry didn't react for a moment.

"Your parents left you an indelible medal in the last moments of their lives, but my parents were even more remarkable. They didn't even have to pay the price of their lives to leave me with a quagmire that I can never escape in my lifetime."

"It wasn't until I was in the thick of it that I understood why everyone envies the chosen ones..."

"If it were possible, I'd love to switch places with you..."

Harry initially dismissed Thea's earlier rant as just another of her usual tantrums, but the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, until the very last sentence.

Perhaps because he had just met his parents, Harry's mood inexplicably dropped, and he couldn't help but think about what Thea had suggested.

Finally, I couldn't help but smile wryly:

"How do you know I don't want to switch with you?"

"If possible, I wouldn't want to have lost both my parents when I was young."