HP: Beyond Miracle

The next day...

Dark clouds hung low across the sky.

The scarlet Hogwarts Express raced through the countryside with its whistle echoing across the fields.

After nearly half a year of silence, Hogwarts finally welcomed the beginning of a new school year.

Yet...

The Harry who had eagerly awaited this day only yesterday was now in a thoroughly miserable mood.

It wasn't difficult to understand why.

Over the past several weeks, he had been constantly haunted by the appearance of the enormous black dog.

Then yesterday in Diagon Alley, he'd ended up in a direct confrontation with Dawn Richter.

After returning to the Leaky Cauldron, he had accidentally overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley discussing the escaped Azkaban prisoner.

According to them, Sirius Black was a dangerous wizard who had blown up more than a dozen Muggles...

And Harry himself was the target.

To be fair...

Harry had already suspected as much after reading the recent Daily Prophet.

Still...

The adults' refusal to trust him left him feeling more than a little upset.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

Earlier, aboard the train...

The Hogwarts Express had been searched by an entire group of Dementors.

The foul creatures had radiated deathly cold while draining away every trace of happiness.

The most humiliating part...

Was that Harry had been the only student on the train to collapse.

No one else had reacted nearly as badly.

"Malfoy's going to laugh at me. He definitely will." Harry rubbed his stiff face in frustration.

He could already imagine Draco's mocking voice.

"You fainted, Potter? The Dementor actually scared you unconscious?"

"Merlin's beard, Potter. You're so brave."

Brilliant.

Just brilliant.

"Harry? You alright?"

Hermione reached over and touched his forehead with concern.

"You look awful."

Harry forced himself to smile.

"I'm fine, Hermione. Really. I feel much better after eating that chocolate Professor Lupin gave me."

The smile remained strained.

Together with Ron and Hermione, he climbed off the train.

He even helped Hermione carry several of her bags.

The new first-years gathered near the mist-covered trees, chatting excitedly before following Hagrid toward the castle.

The older students, meanwhile, climbed into the horseless carriages pulled by invisible Thestrals, which carried them toward Hogwarts.

"Looks like it's going to rain."

A breeze carrying the scent of damp earth drifted through the carriage.

Hermione adjusted the stack of books in her lap as she spoke casually.

Harry had just opened his mouth to reply... When Ron suddenly pointed out the window.

"Look!"

His voice was filled with astonishment.

"What?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled glances before leaning out of the carriage together.

Following Ron's finger...

They looked down toward the grounds below.

A large group of adults wearing Ministry robes was hurrying toward the castle.

"They're from the Ministry."

Harry immediately recognized Fudge along with several Aurors who had visited him during his stay at the Leaky Cauldron.

"That's not what I mean."

Hermione tugged on Harry's sleeve before pointing toward the center of the group.

"There."

"There!"

Harry adjusted his glasses and squinted through the gloomy afternoon light.

Then...

Amid the sea of gray...

A striking flash of crimson caught his eye.

"Dawn Richter!"

Harry recognized him immediately.

His voice rose in disbelief. "What's he doing here?"

"Maybe he's coming back to school."

Hermione offered a thoughtful guess.

"Everyone says he was innocent now. So returning to Hogwarts isn't impossible."

"Merlin's beard... Please don't let that happen."

Ron looked utterly horrified.

"Having Malfoy around is already bad enough. If Richter comes back too... No!"

He clutched his messy red hair before clasping his hands together like someone making a desperate wish.

"Maybe... Maybe he committed another crime. And they finally caught him.

They're just bringing him here to investigate."

"I doubt it." Hermione crushed that hope immediately. "If this were an investigation... There'd be no reason to bring Dawn himself."

The three continued speculating as they leaned halfway out the carriage window.

Eventually...

The Ministry delegation disappeared into the castle.

Why had Dawn come to Hogwarts?

There were two reasons.

The first...

He intended to memorize Dumbledore's complete special trait patterns so he could eventually recreate the Headmaster and search through his memories.

The second...

Was to officially introduce himself in his new role as Inspector.

After all...

Dumbledore deserved to know that Dawn would now be appearing around the castle on a regular basis.

Naturally...

That wasn't his only motivation.

Annoying Dumbledore certainly sounded entertaining.

But more importantly...

Dawn wanted to uncover the castle's hidden secrets.

The Castle Consciousness, for example.

He remained deeply fascinated by how the Four Founders had managed to create something capable of drawing upon the minds of generations of Hogwarts students.

Whenever he grew tired of research...

He wouldn't mind exploring Hogwarts for hidden mysteries.

To Dawn...

Occasionally crossing paths with Dumbledore hardly counted as an inconvenience.

It certainly wouldn't interfere with his experiments.

Dumbledore, however... Clearly felt otherwise.

"Fudge..."

"Was this your idea?"

Inside the Headmaster's office...

Dumbledore's expression became remarkably colorful.

It resembled a husband watching his mistress stroll boldly through the front door.

Disbelief.

Suspicion.

Anger.

Every emotion seemed to appear at once.

He glanced toward Dawn before taking a slow breath to compose himself.

Even so...

The pressure in his blue eyes only grew stronger.

"So you're telling me... The Ministry has created the position of Hogwarts Inspector...

And you recommended Dawn for the job?"

Standing among the Ministry officials...

Dawn quietly curled his lips into a malicious grin.

Seeing the usually unshakable Headmaster this furious felt immensely satisfying.

Meanwhile...

The unfortunate Minister for Magic wilted beneath Dumbledore's gaze.

"W-well... It's to compensate... For the consequences of our previous mistake."

"The consequences?"

"Exactly."

Fudge deliberately raised his voice.

As though trying to prove his own fairness, he glanced behind himself toward Dawn before reciting the explanation he had prepared beforehand.

"Because of a misunderstanding... Mr. Richter was forced to leave Hogwarts.

That was deeply unfair to a young wizard. I therefore believe... He has every right to return."

What a flimsy excuse.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes.

He no longer had the slightest doubt. Fudge was completely under Dawn's control.

Exactly like Slughorn before him.

The old Headmaster's gaze briefly lingered on the bandaged wrist hidden beneath Fudge's sleeve.

Truthfully...

He had never imagined the Unbreakable Vow could become such an effective weapon in political matters.

Fudge could no longer remain Minister.

Dumbledore quietly reached that conclusion.

He had never desired political power.

But under the current circumstances... Doing nothing was no longer an option.

The problem was...

Without undeniable evidence... Replacing the Minister for Magic was no simple matter.

When he had previously delivered Peter Pettigrew to the International Confederation of Wizards...

He had raised the issue.

Unfortunately... His old friends had all agreed there simply wasn't enough evidence to intervene.

While considering ways to persuade Fudge into retirement... Dumbledore answered almost absentmindedly.

"So... You intend for Dawn to return as Hogwarts Inspector."

"That's correct."

Fudge nodded righteously.

By now...

Dawn had watched enough of the performance.

Stepping past the Aurors standing in front of him, he smiled broadly.

"I couldn't help it, Headmaster. Your misunderstanding of me runs far too deep.

If I simply asked to return as a student... Would you ever have agreed?"

"Absolutely not."

Before Dumbledore could even respond...

A cold, raspy voice cut through the room.

The rejection was immediate.

Dawn turned toward the doorway.

Flitwick and Snape entered together, both wearing unusually serious expressions.

Clearly...

They had rushed over as soon as they'd heard the news.

McGonagall and Sprout were absent.

Most likely...

They were still preparing the Sorting Ceremony for the incoming first-years in the Great Hall.

Ignoring Snape completely...

Dawn instead focused on his former Head of House.

After a brief pause, he asked curiously, "Professor Flitwick... Perhaps it's just my imagination..."

He pointed toward the side of his own head.

"But... Is there a rather large lump over here?"

"..."

Flitwick's dignified expression instantly froze.

He was reminded once again of the dream months ago... When that enchanted book had struck him squarely on the head.

The magical swelling had stubbornly refused to disappear ever since.

"...It's nothing. Just a small accident."

"I'll deal with it."

He coughed awkwardly.

Maintaining an air of complete composure, he conjured a hat and placed it firmly atop his head.

Snape shot Dawn a dark look before turning back toward Dumbledore.

"Don't tell me... You actually intend to let this creature remain inside the castle."

Fudge frowned immediately.

True...

He was intimidated by Dumbledore.

But Snape?

Please.

Straightening his robes, the Minister spoke sharply.

"Professor. We all know Mr. Richter has been proven innocent.

Why shouldn't he remain at Hogwarts?"

"Innocent?"

The word nearly made Snape sick.

It was like watching someone point at a writhing maggot and insist it was a butterfly.

No one understood Dawn's true nature better than he did.

The newspapers' excuses... The endless attempts to rehabilitate his image...

Utter nonsense.

That boy was a Dark Lord in every sense of the word.

Worse...

He possessed every vile quality Voldemort had ever displayed... Combined with all of James Potter's most infuriating traits.

A monster rotten to his very core.

Cold fury burned inside Snape's black eyes.

Dawn couldn't have cared less. He didn't even spare Snape a glance.

Instead...

He fixed his gaze squarely upon Dumbledore once more.

Without speaking another word...

He quietly began committing the Headmaster's countless intricate trait patterns to memory, one by one.

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