Perhaps it's a tradition, that on the afternoon after every year's O.W.L. exams, students would invariably gather on the grassy shores of the Black Lake.
The giant tentacles lay lazily on the shimmering surface of the Black Lake, with a hint of summer in the sunshine on the lakeside, the shadows of the beech trees blocking all its heat.
"...Haven't you noticed that Harry has been acting a little strange lately?"
Ron mindlessly plucked the grass by his feet, glancing occasionally at the lakeside not far away.
"No."
Hermione shook her head, her quill continuously scribbling on paper.
"I still feel he's hiding something from us..."
After playing with the lawn underfoot, Ron shifted his attention to the rat in his pocket, pulling Scabbers' tail to hold it in his palm, and started plucking hair from around its rump.
"Alright."
Hermione nodded again.
"...Are you listening to me?"
"Mm, I haven't eaten yet."
"?"
"...Right now, what you should be worrying about isn't Harry, but tomorrow's Potions exam,"
Finally lifting her head from the book, Hermione couldn't help but sigh, "Otherwise, Professor Snape will definitely make things difficult for you—his temper has been quite bad lately, even more obvious than Harry's odd behavior... And, your rat is almost bald."
The end of the O.W.L. exams also signifies the impending start of the year-end exams for the other grades. To avoid a shortage of exam supervisors, they typically aren't held at the same time.
"..."
At the moment Ron let Scabbers go, a loud splash echoed from the lake surface, sending a shower of water towards the lakeside, only to transform into steam and vanish mid-air.
"Potter, control your strength."
Lying under the tree, William waved his hand, and the drowsy Niffler sleeping on his forehead rolled to the ground, dazedly lifting its head, "Alright, that's enough for today, you all should go back to study..." William said while covering the Niffler back over his forehead.
He wanted to lie down a bit longer, the early summer breeze making him sleepy.
There aren't many chances to clear the mind like this...
"...A strong Blasting Curse."
To avoid the charm, Cedric had just rolled twice on the ground, patting the grass off of his clothes, looking at the boy standing not far in front of him with a somewhat complicated expression.
"Actually..."
Harry's expression was equally complicated, but not because of the astonishing power of the Blasting Curse he had just cast—rather, it was the sight of a figure approaching from afar, hoping desperately that the girl was coming for him, though cold reality only told him it wasn't possible.
"Why are you here?" Cedric asked softly.
"After the exams, we're heading to Hogsmeade..." Cho Chang reached out to help the boy brush off his robe.
Watching the two whispering together, Harry tucked away his magic wand.
...
Harry walked somewhat lost towards the beech tree.
"...Harry, are you alright?"
Hermione finally shifted her focus from the Potions textbook, glancing at the two people nearly leaning into each other not far away, blinking.
"Wait, when did you become so strong with that charm just now?"
The boy and girl's attention differed greatly, Ron, somewhat baffled, sat up; the commotion Harry made attracted plenty of attention, but not many had noticed who caused the splash, as few saw it from start to finish.
But Ron was different; he had been watching that direction from beginning to end.
"...I don't know either."
Harry looked a bit dazed at his own palm—he lied, how could he not know?
William had explained very clearly the impact of "ingesting" Voldemort's soul; first of all, he inherited all of Voldemort's talents, and the effects weren't a simple 1+1, but a terrifying 1x1... Uh, maybe not.
Anyway, Harry knew well why he'd improved so rapidly, but he had no intention of sharing it—
Consuming souls, no matter how you heard it, sounded like something only a Black Wizard would do, especially since he didn't want to be associated with that murderous maniac... If Ron and Hermione knew he had Voldemort inside him, what would they think?
So as long as he didn't speak...
"...Harry, Harry?"
"Mm?"
"You're spacing out again."
Ron blew at the strands of hair dangling in his eyes, looking at Harry, he said.
"Is that so..."
Harry looked at his palm again... then quickly shook his hand.
Being easily distracted, that's also a side effect of soul fusion. As William put it, the rules of Alchemy are equivalent exchange; there aren't so many things in the world where you can gain something for nothing, and for a rapid short-term power surge, naturally, you bear the costs—
"Not to mention, you're very resistant to Voldemort's soul? This symptom typically only lasts a month... You're over two and a half months now."
A few days ago, when William asked, Harry nodded helplessly.
"So, William's special training is really that effective?"
Thanks to Ron, Hermione also became interested in the recent surge of Harry's power—during the Duel Club, although they hadn't practiced together again, the commotion caused by Cedric and Harry's sparring was often the largest, sometimes even leading Professor Flitwick to clear an area for the two.
To prevent flying charms from hitting innocent bystanders.
And as a second-year student, Harry's charms had even reached levels many who had finished the O.W.L. exams couldn't achieve; his progress seemed excessively exaggerated, but when people noticed how close he had become with William recently, they were relieved—
Yes, a transfer student who could be 'on par with' professors just after two months of enrollment... Comparatively, Harry's progress seemed oh-so-normal.
"Of course."
Harry nodded without hesitation.
"If only I could participate too..."
Hearing Harry's confirmation, Ron, clutching the rat in his palm, drooled with envy, "Then, I could smack those Slytherin jerks with charms—"
"...Ron, do you remember those extra 'assignments' I had?"
Harry's expression stiffened a bit, seeing Ron's eyes filled with envy, he couldn't help but interrupt his fantasy.
"Yes, what about them..."
Ron blinked, puzzled.
"Those are also part of the 'special training'.
Harry sighed; he still remembered after translating an entire Parseltongue dictionary, looking forward to William guiding him in dueling, when the other brought out that stack of books—those 'Hellish' days lasted straight for three weeks.
"Alright, stop, I suddenly don't envy you anymore."
Ron grinned; he vividly remembered Harry's state during that period, summed up in four words—walking dead.
"Honestly, I can accept... Can you copy William's book list for me?"
Listening to the boys' conversation, Hermione was quite determined, but before Harry could answer, a very annoying voice suddenly sounded not far away—
"Hey, Scarhead, where's the fire on top of your head?" Malfoy walked over, surrounded by a group of younger year Slytherins, his pale face showing a clear blush, "What? Not planning on being a circus clown anymore?"