"I'm not questioning your abilities."
After Ron and Hermione left the office, Sterling sat across from Terry.
"I know. Even if you don't know Hermione's and the others' level, you should know mine. After all, you've sparred with me the most."
Not only in Utopia, but also on the way to classes, to Utopia, and to the common room. They would often toss transfigured objects to each other for fun, then try to resist each other's attempts to break the transfiguration. Sterling had started this first, a practice method he'd developed to train his Transfiguration level.
"Actually, even if you asked me to go along, I was planning to stay anyway."
Sterling's eyebrows rose slightly. This was beyond his expectations.
Terry was a pure Ravenclaw. Could he resist this obviously fascinating Avalon with so much new knowledge waiting to be discovered?
Evaluation: Like Ron hugging Malfoy—completely unbelievable.
"Don't look at me like that." Terry's mouth quirked. "Padma and Neville are still here. With just those two in Utopia, it would become pretty empty, wouldn't it?"
Terry spread his hands. He could already imagine what would happen with those two without common topics together.
Padma reading newspapers, Neville growing plants.
That's it.
Neville would definitely not actively chat with Padma, and Padma would find it hard to bring up herbs Neville was interested in. Though from India, she quite liked cleanliness.
Naturally, she wasn't very close with Neville, who often used magical creature dung to fertilise plants.
In short, Terry thought if they all left, Neville and Padma might not even go to Utopia anymore.
"But this?"
Sterling still didn't understand. Utopia becoming empty—he knew this was a metaphor for deserted, but what did this have to do with Terry not wanting to go to Avalon?
Terry sighed, the sound carrying unexpected weight.
"I actually quite like Utopia. At least during these seven years at Hogwarts, I don't want to see it become cold and empty there."
"Of course, that's just one reason. More importantly, my magic seems about to improve. I have this feeling." He tapped his temple. "I think in my unstable state, I'm not suitable for adventures."
Terry's eyes crinkled with a smile, his hands making motions as if stroking something soft and feathered.
"Just help you watch Robin. Honestly, have you completely forgotten about it? This little guy is quite pitiful; you as its owner don't care about it at all."
Robin? Though embarrassing, Sterling indeed didn't care much.
No choice—Christmas timing had been too perfect. During the holiday was the "discovery of foster father's memory incident", and the first day after the holiday ended exploded with the "Harry Potter mystery case".
This alchemical bird that originally matched Sterling's aesthetics was naturally overlooked by him.
"Those are indeed very sufficient reasons," Sterling said carefully.
Not referring to caring for Robin, but the magic breakthrough part.
Terry's intuition was quite strong too. Things like daily fortune could be predicted with eight or nine out of ten accuracy. Though not as accurate as intuition monster Sterling, among ordinary people he was already at the ceiling.
Since Terry said his magic breakthrough might affect his condition, Sterling chose to believe him.
Though in his knowledge, the present world had no concept of "breakthrough" in magic practice.
Whether it was simple Lumos or difficult Expelliarmus, improvement came only through practice. The breakthrough concept seemed more fitting for Avalonian magic.
"Aren't you curious why I won't let you go? What you just said were reasons you don't want to go, right?"
"Not curious." Terry shook his head without hesitation.
"I can tell you're concealing something in your Avalon description. You care a lot about Avalon. It's not as simple as you say."
"But I believe your words about protecting Hermione and Ron aren't jokes, just like believing you have reasons for not letting me go."
"If you want to tell me, then tell me. If not..." He paused, meeting Sterling's eyes directly. "No, I think between us it's at most 'can't', not 'won't'."
"That proves this answer has only harm, no benefit for me now. So why must I press? I'm not some Gryffindor who must get to the bottom of everything without considering anything else."
It's back, all back.
Sterling had been a bit uncomfortable seeing Terry rarely say such a long string of words, but hearing him stomp on Gryffindor at the end, the familiar feeling returned like slipping into well-worn shoes.
"Don't talk like that. Why do you dislike Gryffindor so much?"
"No no no, can't say that." Terry quickly waved his hands, as if warding off a hex. "I'm just objectively stating some Gryffindor flaws. I've never disliked specific Gryffindor wizards."
So disliking Gryffindor house itself?
Sterling thought about it—it felt even stranger than disliking Gryffindor students. But whatever.
"Terry."
"Mm, are you going to tell me why now?"
Sterling shook his head, pulling out an exquisite small box from his bag and handing it to Terry. The wood was dark and polished, catching the dim light of the potion-filled office.
"Consider it an early birthday present."
Terry opened the box with careful fingers. Inside was a bracelet formed from an obviously broken thin cord coiled together, the pieces woven with obvious care and precision.
Looking at this familiar thing, Terry looked up in surprise, his expression unguarded for once.
"I always felt that necklace style wasn't very suitable for boys to wear, so I added a clasp to turn it into a bracelet. I also barely restored its other functions."
Sterling rolled up his sleeve, showing Terry an identical-looking bracelet on his right hand. The cords gleamed faintly with magic.
"I hope you can spend more time with Harry."
"I don't know if the signal it sends can reach inside Avalon, so I additionally added Apparition magic inside. Stolen from Fawkes, won't be restricted by Hogwarts' magical defences."
"Oh, I understand."
Terry now looked at that bracelet with some theatrical disdain. "So it's just a messenger device."
"When your real birthday comes, how about I give you an alchemical sword?"
"Really?" Terry's disdain evaporated in one second, replaced by eager brightness. "You say British people don't lie to British people."
Even Terry, whose family had all been Ravenclaws for generations, who'd grown up expecting to follow that tradition and listening to King Arthur legends and stories of Godric Gryffindor, one of the Four Founders, had once fantasised about owning a magical sword.
"Of course. British people don't lie to British people."
Unexpectedly, Sterling actually repeated it with perfect sincerity. Terry first froze, then laughed heartily, the sound echoing off the stone walls.
"What are you laughing at!" Sterling frantically tried to stop him, his own composure cracking.
After a good while of commotion, even Sterling's mouth corners had a slight upward trend, the ghost of a real smile.
Two first-year Ravenclaw representatives sat without ceremony before the tank containing Harry Potter's floating form, the green potion casting strange shadows across their faces.
Like in tough guy movies, they fist-bumped, the gesture simple but weighted with meaning.
"Sterling, I'll watch over Harry Potter."
"I've always trusted you, my best friend."