Chapter 151: 1-2

Before the "Seven Potters Take to the Sky"—no, the "Eight Potters' Journey Through the Sky" operation, Harry was furious.

"There's no way we can do this! Making everyone act as decoys for me—because of me!"

"It's not a matter of whether you can or can't. We are doing it."

Mad-Eye flatly shut down Harry's retort and pulled the Polyjuice Potion from his robes. To a battle-hardened warrior like Mad-Eye, the tantrum of an underage Harry was even more insignificant than a child having a magical outburst. I quietly slipped behind Harry, who was still unconvinced and trying to argue further.

"Harry."

"Maria, stay out of—Ouch?!"

With a nasty ripping sound, Uncle Arthur, who was standing in front of us, clutched his own scalp. He was completely pale. Looking closely, Ron next to him was looking at me with the same eyes he uses to look at Hermione right before an exam. How rude. I thrust out the black hair tangled in my fingers toward Mad-Eye. Harry was crouching at my feet.

"This should be enough, right, Professor Moody?"

"Hmph... I never got the chance to teach you as a professor, but never mind that. It's quite clear that the older sister has more nerve."

"I'm the older brother..."

I lent a shoulder to Harry, who was still clutching his head and tearing up a little. The Polyjuice Potion containing Harry's hair was distributed to the seven people playing the role of Harry Potter. To Ron, Hermione, Fleur, Fred and George, Mundungus, and finally—me.

"Maria..."

I—Harry—having regained Harry's appearance for the first time in seventeen years, smiled brightly at Harry with Harry's face.

"To be blunt, out of everyone here, I can be the best Harry. Your habits when waving your wand, your pronunciation, the way you laugh, how you flick the tail of the letter 'g' when you write, and how you try to play it off by touching the frame of your glasses when things get awkward—I know everything."

After all, I am you.

I changed into Harry's clothes, placed the familiar glasses on the bridge of my nose to correct my nostalgically blurry vision, and ran a hand through my messy hair, my heart leaping at the long-lost sensation. I pondered which side of my trousers to tuck the dangling thing between my legs into. This sense of size—yep, it's me. Finally, taking advantage of the fact that we were now at eye level, I hugged Harry, who was still looking unconvinced.

"It's going to be fine, Harry. It's just... well, I want you to grant me two favors."

Arms wrapped hesitantly around my back. He must be feeling incredibly strange right now. Being hugged by himself, after all... I understand the feeling all too well.

"First, Harry, I want you to lend me your Firebolt. I'll fly with it."

"No way! Maria, you and brooms—?"

"I'm James Potter's child and Harry Potter's older sister, you know? There's no way I'd be bad at it."

I heard a poorly stifled snort of laughter from behind. ...I'll give whoever that was a light smack later.

"And then—let's say goodbye to Hedwig here."

Harry's eyes wavered in distress. The surroundings quieted down in a considerate manner, and all eyes drifted toward Hedwig's cage.

"Hedwig..."

"Even if everyone carries a dummy cage, a pure white Snowy Owl is going to stand out no matter what happens from here on out. Hedwig herself will become the marker for Harry Potter. ...Let her go. Before she gets killed by them. You can't take her with you on your journey."

"…………"

Harry's eyes remained fixed on Hedwig. He slipped out of my arms and unlatched the lock on Hedwig's cage.

"Hedwig."

The owl slipped out of her cage and perched on Harry's arm with a look that said this was exactly where she belonged.

"Hedwig..."

She clung to Harry's arm with a proud look, as if being there was a given—as if this was her rightful place. She is smart. —She understands.

"...Please, Hedwig."

I knelt in front of Hedwig and stroked her soft, smooth feathers with my fingers. She's warm. She is alive. I pleaded with this noble creature. Please, survive whatever comes next—I prayed. Even if you are no longer my Hedwig.

"If you're going to release the owl, better do it now. I'll cast a Disillusionment Charm on her. Is that acceptable?"

"Please do."

With Mad-Eye's spell, the Snowy Owl's body faded into invisibility at the end of Harry's arm. Harry and I watched it happen. We burned her fading figure into our memories so we would never forget it. From thin air, the sound of her flapping wings could be heard. It was a familiar sound. Harry's arm dropped for a second, then lifted again as it lost its weight.

"Ouch."

I instinctively grabbed my finger, a stray tear falling from my eye. Harry saw this and laughed.

"Maria, did you turn back into a crybaby?"

"No. She bit me for real before she left."

...Not that I'm bleeding or anything. The beloved sound of wings retreated beyond the window. Tracking the invisible presence with only my eyes, I took Harry's hand.

—Have a safe journey, our flying friend.

"—Are you done talking? Come on, how long are you going to keep crying? Blow your nose and get on with it, Hagrid. We'll confirm the pairs one more time. Fred is with Arthur, George is with Remus. Miss Delacour will—"

Bill immediately answered Mad-Eye's roll call.

"I'll take her on a Thestral."

"Right, I'll leave it to you. Miss Granger will also be on a Thestral with Kingsley. Ron is with Tonks—"

"Leave it to me, Ron!"

"Y-Yeah..."

Ron looked at the real Harry with eyes that showed absolute zero confidence. All we could do was offer a wry smile. Tonks certainly is unbelievably clumsy, but she's managed to survive this long one way or another, so...

"Harry is with Hagrid. And Mundungus is—"

"About that, Mad-Eye. I think it would be better if I went with you."

Mad-Eye's magical eye swiveled around to glare at me. He remained silent. It didn't seem like he was angry about the interruption.

"Like I said earlier, out of everyone here, I'm the one who can do the best job as a decoy. I guarantee it. Excluding Harry, I'll handle the most dangerous position. So, as a trade-off, if you will—"

I looked back. Amidst the bizarre sight of several soon-to-be seventeen-year-old Harrys lined up, his blond hair stood out quite a bit. Though he acted cool and stayed out of the conversation, he was staring intently at me.

"—Draco, I want to entrust this to you."

Those infuriating ice-grey eyes smiled coolly.

"Maria, are you really okay? ...Er, you are Maria, right?"

Weapons in hand, the guards and the seven Harrys were looking up at the night sky. One of the Harrys—the one next to me—quietly asked me this. The person standing beside him was Tonks, which meant this was Ron. The Harry leaning affectionately against Bill was Fleur, and the Harry having a complex discussion with Kingsley was Hermione. The Harry trying to set Uncle Arthur's rear end on fire was Fred, and the Harry plotting to transfigure Professor Lupin's suit jacket into a tailcoat was George. A ton of parallel-world Harrys, all in one night. Harry (Ron) timidly looked at the Firebolt in my hand.

"I mean, well—the Firebolt is a professional-level broom, and sure, you're an honors student who completely aced flying lessons, but it's not like you played Quidditch. If you're planning on flying like Harry..."

"Ron."

The one who interrupted Ron's words wasn't me or the real Harry, but Draco, who still sounded a bit awkward calling him by his first name.

"Anything more than that is none of your concern. She knows her own capabilities best."

I reflexively looked up at the face on my other side. (I realized right then that Draco was taller than Harry.) Ron trailed off, looking unconvinced, but Draco put on an indifferent air as if the conversation was over. So easily—I mean, that's a Firebolt, you know—even when I rode it for the first time, it didn't go well... At Mad-Eye's signal, eight pairs of shadows shot into the air.

I gripped the handle tight. Accelerated. It might be nice to meet you for the first time from your perspective—but I know you very well. I'm counting on you, Firebolt! Just as predicted, an absurd number of Death Eaters were lying in wait high up in the sky. As planned, we scattered and shook off a few of them. With Mad-Eye at my back, I deliberately and with exaggerated motions hit a Death Eater in front of me with a Disarming Charm.

"That's him—that movement—that's Harry Potter!"

"Potter!"

"Look at that—the idiots fell for it."

I weaved through a storm of Killing Curses and Unforgivable Curses using nothing but broomstick maneuvers. Mad-Eye, who had been fighting hard to act as a shield around me, eventually seemed to decide I would be fine if left to my own devices. He stopped flying in a defensive formation and focused entirely on counterattacking the Death Eaters.

—Come on, come and get me—Voldemort!!

I continued to fly, taking hits from a few spells along the way, when suddenly, the Death Eaters vanished. We had crossed into the defensive wards set up in advance by members of the Order of the Phoenix. We had arrived at one of the twelve safe houses prepared to protect Harry. —And by then, Voldemort had never appeared before us. I was confident we had drawn the largest number of Death Eaters—over ten, even at a rough estimate—but we couldn't drag out our primary target. In the end... did he go after the Harry he was connected to by soul?

"Mad-Eye."

"There was a betrayal. And—we are alive. You're alive, and I'm alive."

"...Yeah, you're right."

I lent a shoulder to Mad-Eye, who had broken his wooden leg in the fierce battle, as we made our way toward the house. One of my eyes was blinded by blood, and I had probably broken a bone somewhere. Still, there was no way I could just leave Mad-Eye, who had dropped his broom in what was practically a crash landing, lying on the ground. —Because we were alive. Moving at a pace slower than an elderly person's stroll, we stood in front of the house. We both breathed a sigh of relief. Once I propped Mad-Eye up against the side of the door, he broke into a coughing fit before I could even knock.

"I'll do the talking. Please don't push yourself and just rest, Professor Moody. ...Professor?"

"—Looking to go pro?"

I froze, startled by the completely out-of-place words that spilled from his mouth despite him being covered in injuries. Mad-Eye's magical eye darted back and forth between me and the Firebolt.

"...That doesn't sound too bad, either."

Catching Mad-Eye's mutter, which was impossible to tell whether it was a joke or dead serious, a delayed laugh escaped me.

When we took the Portkey to the Burrow as promised, Harry's group, Fred and George, and Hermione's group had already arrived. And—Draco was there.

"Maria!"

The moment I saw Draco looking seemingly uninjured, all the tension left my body at once. He rushed over and caught me in a tight embrace. Since I hadn't been healed yet, whichever bone I had broken creaked, sending flares of intense pain, but through sheer willpower, I somehow managed to pat his back.

"Where's Mundungus?"

"He fled. And I didn't go after him. I value my own life too much, you see. ...That's what you were expecting, wasn't it?"

"Spoken like a true partner in crime."

I tried to laugh out loud, but it only ended up coming out as a groan. Leaning on Draco's hand, I walked into the house, where Mrs. Weasley—serving as the welcoming party—was crying and stroking George.

"George..."

"Wow. Did you happen to drop your eyeball somewhere? I thought that was Mad-Eye's signature trick. I dropped an ear, by the way."

"You look surprisingly energetic. ...At least your mouth does."

Taking the place of Mrs. Weasley, who had grown frantic upon seeing me covered in blood and rushed back to fetch a first-aid kit, I knelt beside George, who was lying on the sofa. I stared at the blood-stained bandages stretching from his ear to his neck. —It's better than dying. I shouldn't say such things. I shouldn't even think them. But still.

"I'm so glad you're alive."

Drip, drip—tears fell onto his bandages. Draco silently pulled me close. Harry spoke up in a teasing tone, "Looks like Maria really did turn back into a crybaby."

"Sorry to interrupt you two youngsters, but treatment comes first."

"And I apologize to you, Molly, but I must verify something before the treatment."

Professor Lupin stepped up beside Mrs. Weasley, who had returned with her wand, potions, and various medical supplies. My appearance had long since reverted to Maria. The reason Professor Lupin still hadn't dropped his guard was—because it was believed I had once been put under the Imperius Curse. ...What an awful lie.

"—What form does your Patronus take?"

At Professor Lupin's quiet question, Hermione's shoulders jumped in the background.

"Harry's is a doe—and mine is a stag."

The eyes of everyone except Hermione, Professor Lupin, and Draco widened in shock. Professor Lupin was wearing a rather peculiar smile. Harry was staring at me with heavily reproachful eyes. ...Looks like I'm going to get an earful later.

By the time my treatment was finished, Ron and Tonks, as well as Bill and Fleur, had also arrived. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione couldn't stop crying out of relief. I gazed at the scene in a daze.

No one died. Not Harry, or Draco, or Ron, or Hermione. Not Hagrid, Professor Lupin, George, Fred, or Uncle Arthur. Not Bill, Fleur, Tonks, or Kingsley. —Not Mad-Eye.

There was no need to mourn anyone. Everyone here would be able to celebrate the couple getting married. Draco squeezed my hand. I squeezed back. Somehow, I felt like there was no happiness greater than this sight.