"So, that person is Voldemort, right?"
Although William already had the answer in his mind, he asked out of caution, and Harry didn't hold back—probably due to a resonance between Emotion Magic, the boy had almost mistaken William for his mother many times. Though later, with William intentionally controlling it, this resonance disappeared.
But that sense of familiarity didn't really disappear.
Even though William always felt a bit strange about this, he didn't intentionally correct it. After all, Harry was a poor kid, without parental love from a young age...
And after receiving confirmation, William became increasingly convinced that his speculation was correct. It probably was Little Tom that encountered some accident. Although he had previously ruled out problems from this aspect during the check, the involvement of souls was indeed too complex for him to fully grasp.
More research was needed, and regarding Harry's safety—William thought that there wouldn't be a big issue in the short term, as long as the Magic Potion was administered, his soul couldn't be harmed.
Although this would mean that Harry would be challenged to play as the team captain for the flame awhile.
But, was he getting used to it?
Thoughts swirling with countless twists and turns, William no longer dwelled on Voldemort, who had once possessed Professor Quirrell, and began to ponder other matters. Meanwhile, Lupin was evidently still surprised by what seemed to be a casual question from William—
Voldemort didn't really die?
Although Dumbledore had hinted at it, and William had said it before, without seeing the facts, it seemed that none of the people in the Magic Realm were willing to acknowledge or believe that Voldemort was actually alive. This was the mark that the Dark Lord had left on this land within a few short years.
Just like how encountering William on the road was akin to bumping into ghosts for the Ashwinder convoys.
"Doesn't this mean we can't use Boggarts for Patronus Charm practice?"
When Harry asked this, his face turned slightly pale, clearly recalling the scenes from the day before, when he repeatedly faced Dementors under William's supervision. Just thinking about it made him feel like crying—not because of sadness, but purely because he remembered the feeling of his eyes swollen from multiple flashes.
Although William would provide healing Magic Potion afterwards... but still, after being "beaten up" and then "being healed," wasn't this the torture of interrogation?
"...Perhaps?"
Lupin's expression turned a bit bitter; he could obviously think of what Harry did. William's Patronus Charm was somewhat excessive. He was always curious about the appearance of William's Patronus. But the body was so large that the train car couldn't even be filled to capacity, not even clear enough to actually see.
What could be so big?
"Actually, there's another way, but... you might need to endure some hardship."
William interrupted their painful exchange and gave them a glimmer of hope amidst despair.
"I can!"
Harry quickly regretted his resolute answer; he couldn't help but think back to the previous semester when William and Cedric talked about enduring some suffering, after which Cedric's experiences left him... feeling like sitting on pins and needles.
It might not be that apt, but definitely vivid.
Then again, was there really anything more painful than being flashed and blinded thirty-two times within half an hour?
No way!
The boy looked at William with a more determined gaze.
William decided to grant his wish, reaching out to pat the boy's head like some techniques for abductors. Harry's expression froze the moment William's palm touched his head, but then two seconds later, a huge fear emerged from his eyes—
"I did say you'd need to endure some hardship."
Looking at the boy, frightened and nearly unable to breathe, William sighed—a quick dreamscape for others was a magic he'd mastered before the summer holidays, and he had even experimented with it on a group of Death Eaters.
He could guess why Harry wasn't most afraid of Dementors now. By logic, based on Dementors' nature of inducing fear, everyone who had been in close contact with them might develop a deep fear—fear enough to impact Boggart's judgment.
But Harry was different. He had just been repeatedly flashed thirty-something times by William's Expecto Patronum the day before, along with Dementors coming close... in a common phrase, he had already developed antibodies against those monsters, and the ranking for Dementors fell, naturally letting Voldemort (the Quirrell version) rise.
Understanding the principle, the solution was simple.
Further expose Voldemort to develop antibodies and subtly let Harry encounter a Dementor again, doesn't that solve the problem? This was the dreamscape content that William created for Harry—a stark, unhidden nightmare.
"Harry, are you... alright?"
Lupin pursed his lips; he still felt that William's Dream Magic seemed rather Black Wizard-like, manipulating a real-seeming dream was somehow no different from directly manipulating a soul... but he didn't intend to care, as long as he could confirm the other meant no harm to him. As for those legal and moral issues?
Wouldn't passing it to the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore be better?
If they couldn't solve the problem, there wouldn't be any impact if he intervened.
"It's... fine."
The road chosen, gritting teeth and pushing forward, though the expression was like crying, Harry still tried to force a smile.
"Then let's give it a try."
William moved his finger, causing the drawer to burst open with a bang, and a figure draped in a black robe emerged from inside. But the capability to bring others cold and fear seemed greatly diminished as he saw this "Dementor," Harry almost instinctively wanted to cast Expulso...
"Expecto Patronum!"
But Lupin was the one who extended his wand first; white mist pushed the Boggart back into the drawer—he didn't intend to act until he unintentionally glanced at William about to attempt. While curious about the shape of William's Patronus, he really didn't want to suffer through a flash calamity.
Seeing the matter take a turn for resolution, Harry and Lupin both let out a sigh of relief, even their pallid complexions eased slightly.
But just before the three were about to leave the room, Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks, his curious voice rang out inside the room, "William, is there... anything you fear?"
"..."
This phrasing was so odd?
Harry realized immediately that his phrasing was peculiar, but he wanted to understand what Boggart would turn into when faced with someone as strong as William. But William interrupted the boy's embarrassed explanation, strolling to the front of the desk—
Honestly, he found himself curious as well.
What would he fear? A self made ugly under the influence of Dark Arts? The end of the world? Dying alone?
After a loop of pondering, William suddenly discovered he seemed unable to pinpoint exactly what he feared, so he decided to directly experiment, fingers moving slightly, the drawer containing the Boggart instantly sprang open, and a shifting, ethereal black-white mist was yanked out by him—
Eventually, after much conflicted transformation, a silver-red Muggle truck suddenly flashed its headlights, bursting forth from the mist.
At the same time, William heard an advert softly resonating beside his ear—
"Dash across the world, Dayun Motors!"