Arthur and the two girls lingered on the open balcony, chatting casually while admiring the nightscape of Hogwarts.
At some point, Fleur arrived, pulling Penelope along with her.
Just like that, the balcony's headcount rose from three to five.
The five of them talked, gazed at the moon, and enjoyed a calm, harmonious atmosphere.
Seeing this, Arthur simply took out some hot food along with a table and chairs, turning the balcony into a small private gathering spot.
As for the cold wind and snowfall, a single magic barrier was enough to block them out entirely.
There was no need to worry about the night breeze cooling the food.
Among the five, Fleur and Penelope were already starving.
Although they had eaten dinner earlier, they hadn't dared to eat too much in order to fit into their form-fitting gowns for the ball.
After dancing for so long, what little food they had eaten was long since burned away.
A large portion of the food Arthur brought out disappeared into their stomachs.
The Yule Ball lasted until midnight.
Students from all three schools had an amazing time.
That night alone, Hogwarts gained quite a few new couples.
Of course, not everyone left with a happy ending.
Hagrid, for example, had his heart broken.
Madame Maxime personally proposed a breakup.
The half-giant returned to his hut in despair, clinging to his big brother Radahn's spirit ashes and crying his eyes out.
Harry, like most students, had an enjoyable night.
If he had to describe it, he was even happier than when he'd won the golden egg and reconciled with Ron.
He found that being around Ginny made him feel relaxed in a way he'd never noticed before.
What Harry didn't realize was that deep in his heart, the lingering pain left by Cho Chang had quietly faded.
This time, the person occupying that space was no longer Cho.
Harry himself didn't notice the change—but Lily did.
As the saying goes, a mother knows her child best.
Lily was keenly aware of the subtle shifts in her son's emotions, even more so than Harry himself.
She had seen his sadness earlier that evening, when he learned that the Ravenclaw girl he liked already had a boyfriend.
She had even considered comforting him later.
But by the end of the ball, Harry had completely forgotten about that girl, dancing happily with the Weasley daughter all night long.
Seeing this, Lily chose not to interfere.
Matters of the heart were best left for Harry to sort out on his own.
After the ball ended, Harry returned to his dormitory and fell asleep in a good mood.
The exhaustion from a night of dancing quickly dragged him into sleep—
but this time, his dreams were anything but pleasant.
He dreamed once again of the nightmare he'd had after attending the Quidditch World Cup.
Harry jolted awake.
Perhaps because parts of that dream had already come true, his memory of it this time was unusually vivid.
In the dream, he had seen Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, and an unfamiliar Death Eater discussing how to capture him.
He had also seen Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at someone.
Harry panted, turning on his bedside lamp, about to think more deeply about the dream—
Only to look up and see Ron staring at him with a gloomy expression.
Harry nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What are you staring at me for?" he snapped.
"Nothing," Ron replied quietly.
"I just still can't figure out why you invited Ginny."
Harry answered honestly, "I couldn't find a dance partner, so I asked Arthur for advice. He told me to try inviting someone from a lower year."
Ron pressed on, "Then why Ginny?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Because she's the only lower-year girl I actually know."
"Just that?" Ron asked stubbornly.
"Just that," Harry said helplessly.
Ron nodded. "Alright. Good night."
With that, he turned away, pulled his blanket over himself, and stopped looking at Harry.
Harry muttered under his breath, "You're seriously weird."
He had no idea what was going on in Ron's head and briefly wondered if his best friend had something wrong upstairs.
He even considered dragging Ron to the hospital wing the next day.
That strange conversation successfully distracted Harry from analyzing his nightmare any further.
Sleepiness washed over him again. He turned off the lamp and drifted back to sleep.
The next day, Arthur paid a visit to Snape's office.
When Snape saw him, he looked up from behind his desk.
"What do you want?"
Arthur casually pulled over a chair and sat down.
"You looked pretty lonely at the ball last night. Ever thought about bringing Leah to events like that?"
Snape frowned. "What are you getting at? You're not here to mock me, are you?"
Snape knew Arthur understood perfectly well why he kept Leah away from the wizarding world.
He had too many enemies—and Leah was a defenseless Muggle.
If those enemies learned of her existence, she would become an easy target.
That was why he insisted she remain in the Muggle world.
And yet, he could clearly see her longing for magic.
Arthur waved a hand.
"That's not what I mean. I recently obtained an item that can turn a Muggle into a wizard. I wanted to ask if you'd let Leah try it."
Snape shot to his feet.
"Really?"
Arthur nodded. "Of course."
Snape was about to agree immediately, but then hesitated.
"Are there… side effects?"
"That depends on how you define them," Arthur replied calmly.
He then explained the effects of the Glintstone Blade.
Snape was deeply shaken.
He had assumed Arthur meant artificially granting magical bloodlines.
Instead, this was a transformation at the soul level.
Although Arthur didn't say it outright, Snape immediately grasped a terrifying implication.
If the soul were converted into glintstone, the importance of the physical body would drastically decrease—
because bodies could be replaced.
And if bodies could be replaced, then aging could be circumvented.
In a sense… wasn't this also a form of immortality?
Snape felt a wave of emotion.
Voldemort had gone to extreme lengths to achieve immortality, ultimately creating the deeply flawed Horcrux system.
Arthur, on the other hand, hadn't even been seeking immortality—and yet he already possessed two such methods.
At least, in Snape's eyes, both the Philosopher's Stone and the Glintstone Blade qualified.
The contrast was almost cruel.
If Snape had recently entered Arthur's Zen Garden, he would've been even more stunned.
The garden had undergone massive changes—and now contained numerous new plants, including the Immortal Tree, whose fruit granted eternal life.
Meaning Arthur possessed far more than just two paths to immortality.
After a long silence, Snape finally spoke.
"Could I… try this method first?"
On one hand, he wanted to test its safety before letting Leah undergo the transformation.
After all, Arthur himself had said that while there were many successful precedents, he hadn't personally performed the procedure yet.
Even with Arthur's assurance that failure wouldn't cause harm, Snape still wanted to be the one to take the risk.
After all, it involved piercing the heart with a blade.
If not for his trust in Arthur—and his confidence that Arthur could save him even then—
Snape would've thought this was a joke.
On the other hand… Snape himself wanted this transformation.
An alternative form of immortality was impossible to resist.
If Leah succeeded and gained a long lifespan, only for him to grow old and die first—
that was unacceptable.
He could rely on the Philosopher's Stone to brew an immortality potion, but he didn't want to keep burdening his student.
If he could achieve it in one step, why not?
Arthur had no idea what was going through Snape's mind.
Even if he did, he wouldn't object.
For him, it was just one more conversion—and a chance to refine his technique.
He nodded.
"Of course. When would you like to do it?"
"Any suggestions?" Snape asked.
"Choose a night with clear, brilliant starlight," Arthur replied.
"And preparation?"
"None in particular. Just keep yourself in good condition—especially your soul."
Arthur paused, then added, "You might also want to familiarize yourself with glintstone magic in advance."
As he spoke, Arthur took out an ancient, timeworn spellbook.
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