Months passed quickly with classes, secret work in the Room of Requirement, and our regular workouts near the Black Lake. Victor and Elara rarely missed a morning session anymore. According to Kathey, Elara who had once been a little on the unhealthy side , now had lost a noticeable amount of fat and was steadily getting into shape.
"You're definitely lighter," Kathey told her one morning while they stretched after training.
Elara rolled her eyes but smiled. She then turned towards me raising her mahogany wand at me and Victor "If you tell anyone I used to struggle with stairs, I'll hex you." I chuckled at it.
Watching Victor was interesting too. His posture had improved, his reflexes were sharper, and even the way he handled his wand had changed. One morning he finished a quick sparring round and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"You two are ridiculous," he said, looking between Kathey and me. "How are you both this good already?"
Kathey shrugged casually. "We're not even trying that much."
Victor and Elara both stared at us.
"…You're joking," Victor said.
We weren't.
Over time each of them had developed their own style. Victor preferred speed above all else, relying on quick casting and rapid movement rather than overwhelming force. Elara took the opposite route, building strong defenses and patiently waiting for the right moment to counter. Kathey leaned naturally toward environmental Transfiguration, violent Herbology Plants imbued into fighting which she kept in a small bottomless pouch in her pockets and obviously she had spells to grow things too.
As for me, my style stayed the same—direct, explosive, and focused on strong defensive counters mixed with aggressive spellcasting and smooth tactics.
Classes went well too. Kathey's growing friendship with Pomona Sprout turned out to be incredibly useful. Professor Sprout frequently discussed rare magical plants with her and eventually even recommended several specialized Herbology greenhouses scattered across Europe and beyond. There weren't many of them, but they produced enormous quantities of rare herbs.
Kathey followed the leads carefully.
One evening she burst into the common room holding several letters.
"They replied!" she said excitedly.
"Who?" Victor asked.
"The greenhouses I contacted. A few of them approved me as a dealer."
Victor blinked. "Dealer? Like… business?"
Kathey grinned. "Anonymous names, of course."
That quietly opened a huge new opportunity for the future.
Around the same time came Kathey's first Quidditch match. The Quidditch pitch of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry roared with excitement as the Gryffindor Quidditch Team faced the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Victor, Elara, and I sat in the stands among the shouting crowd.
Victor leaned forward nervously. "She'll be fine… right?"
"She'll dominate," I replied calmly.
Kathey flew as Gryffindor's Beater, quickly settling into the chaos of the match. Bludgers tore across the sky as she struck them away from teammates and occasionally redirected them toward Slytherin players.
The decisive moment came when both Seekers suddenly dove after the Snitch, but a Bludger tore straight across their path.
Kathey reacted instantly, accelerating across the pitch and striking the iron ball at the last possible second. It spun violently away, clearing the path.
Moments later the Gryffindor Seeker rose into the air with the Golden Snitch clenched in their hand. The stadium erupted.
"THAT'S KATHEY!" Victor shouted, nearly falling over the railing.
Later that evening we celebrated at the hut of Rubeus Hagrid. I had promised him we would visit again, and he welcomed us enthusiastically.
"Come in, come in!" he boomed. "Heard yeh played brilliant, Kathey!"
The evening was filled with laughter, food, and Hagrid's enormous mugs of tea and something much stronger. By the time the night grew late, Hagrid was swaying slightly.
"I think… I think I'll jus' lie down fer a bit…"
Victor and I helped him to bed while Kathey and Elara tried not to laugh.
"Well," Elara whispered once we stepped outside, "that was… memorable."
We slipped quietly back to the castle after that.
My own progress with Severus Snape continued during breaks. I usually visited him rather than waiting for him to call me.
One afternoon we were brewing Wolfsbane Potion together. My version had already reduced the number of expensive ingredients and required smaller quantities overall. I wanted Snape's opinion before attempting to market it. While adjusting the potion, a splash of boiling liquid spilled across my hand.The burn should have been severe.
But the damaged skin began knitting itself together almost immediately. Snape watched the healing process carefully.
"Fascinating, Peverell," he murmured. "I didn't expect your adaptations to be this strong. Are you certain they came only from the experiments?"
"No, Professor," I replied. "I had minor adaptations even as a child while imprisoned. The rituals just enhanced them and removed the limits."
Snape considered that quietly.
"Hmm. Intriguing."
Meanwhile I had also been making regular trips to the Owlery. Letters moved back and forth between me, Arcturus, and certain Goblin contacts. I had begun searching for three specialists I would eventually need.
The first would handle protection, intelligence, and underworld operations.
The second would manage business affairs because no one would believe a child could run everything alone.
The third would be a master of potions and magical herbs.
After months of searching and more sleepless nights than I cared to count, I finally found them.
The first was Mackie Thornwood, a retired Auror pushed aside by the Ministry's absurd bureaucracy under figures like Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge. He still commanded respect among skilled fighters and younger Aurors but lacked funding to support his operations. He even had a small group under him, and he had contacts of some other Academy graduates through years of Auror work. If paid well, he will be giving great intelligence as he can train sleeper agents, he can do a protection services for important people and obviously aid ministries for operations.
The second was Elizabeth Cunnours, a brilliant financial manager who had once worked with Gringotts Wizarding Bank and later helped manage operations for the Daily Prophet. She had been pushed out after refusing corrupt bribes. She had even worked for various other countries banks, both muggle and magical too. Damn. And she's jobless- hehe, I'll step in fs.
The third was Morlous Tenorie, a Russian-born British wizard skilled in potions, herbology, and advanced runes. Political interference had destroyed his career, leaving him working in a questionable apothecary in Knockturn Alley, just to get the required resources and to survive.
I planned to meet them after the school year ended. Till then I sent my Journals of the buisness plans, everything written step by step to the Retired Auror and The business handler
And series of my improved journals of potion making and Herbology to the potioneer.
Because of that, I chose to remain at Hogwarts during winter break.Kathey stayed as well.
"You're not grinding through all that alone," she said simply.
With most students gone, the castle became quiet. We spent entire days working inside the Room of Requirement, occasionally visiting professors or watching Kathey's Quidditch practice.
Our projects neared completion.
My communication device only needed the final addition of two-way mirrors before testing. I had already chosen a name for the company Magitex. The devices themselves would simply be called Text Boxes.
Kathey had finished her project earlier and was waiting for the school year to end so we could begin the larger plans.
Soon exams arrived. Neither of us needed much preparation. Both theory and practical tests passed easily. Before leaving, Minerva McGonagall handed out the final reports in the Gryffindor common room."Excellent work this year," she said, looking particularly impressed with our results.
Before leaving the castle, I also handed one of the 10 finished Text Boxes to Snape.
"When did you construct this?" he asked.
I simply smirked. "Trade secret."
To my surprise, he smiled.
Looking back, I realized how much had changed. I had reached roughly sixth-year level in most subjects even those I would only officially study later. Victor had climbed to roughly fourth-year dueling ability, and Elara had improved just as much under Kathey's guidance.
And just like that, our first year ended.
The return journey on the Hogwarts Express felt calm. Victor sat nearby reading one of my Charms journals. Elara had fallen asleep against Kathey's shoulder.
Kathey stretched comfortably across the seat with her legs resting on my lap while watching the countryside pass by outside the window.
And like that, our first year came to an end.
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