The students at Hogwarts were, in fact, quite happy—this even included many of the sixth and seventh year Slytherins.
Professor Snape had always been too strict, and his sharp tongue was rciless.
If there were no alternative, they could tolerate it.
But... there was an alternative. Compared to Professor Snape, the equally competent, responsible, and now no-longer-feared-for-being-a-werewolf Professor Lupin, or the slightly less skilled but enthusiastic, generous, and handso Professor Black—both were much better options.
They cheered with relief!
Professor Snape hadn’t even lasted half a year in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Aside from a letter from Malfoy and so greetings from the Potion Masters’ Association, Snape lay in St. Mungo’s, cared for only by Dumbledore and Harry. He had no real friends.
Harry returned to Hogwarts.
He was seen in classes and the library alike.
This reassured many of the younger students, giving them a sense of safety—that as long as Harry was around, nothing would go wrong.
Indeed, right up until the final exams and the start of sumr vacation, nothing did go wrong.
The latter half of the school year ended peacefully.
This year’s House Cup went to Ravenclaw. With Harry gone and no ready replacent Seeker in Gryffindor, they lost the Quidditch Cup. Ravenclaw edged out the win by just enough points from their Quidditch victory.
Students gradually left for the holidays.
Hermione and Harry didn’t take the train.
They remained in the Gryffindor common room.
After half a year of training under Professor McGonagall’s supervision, Ciri had successfully mastered a small portion of her Elder Blood powers—just enough to briefly freeze ti in a localized area.
That was the prerequisite for soul separation from a Horcrux.
"Ready?" Harry asked, glancing at Ciri.
Ciri nodded stiffly, nervous. "Ready."
Harry looked at Dumbledore.
He was much calr and gave a slight nod.
"Let’s begin," Harry said softly.
Ciri extended her hands. Weak bolts of lightning flickered between her wrists. In the next mont, golden light flared.
The air suddenly froze.
All sound stopped instantly.
Hermione and Yennefer clutched their throats in discomfort. Even Dumbledore was visibly affected.
Quick-thinking, Harry cast Bubble-Head Charms on Hermione and Yennefer.
Dumbledore followed suit for himself, Ciri, and Geralt.
"Even the air stopped," Dumbledore said with lingering unease, looking at Ciri. "Such a terrifying power."
Ciri shrank her head. "I didn’t expect that either."
Harry took out his wand and tapped the cage near Dumbledore’s feet. Under Ciri’s suspended ti, the cage creaked open, and a coiled snake—Nagini—flew out onto the long table.
It was the first "surgery," and Harry naturally wasn’t going to do it himself.
Nagini, who Dumbledore had long planned for, was the perfect test subject.
Though this Horcrux was relatively new and Voldemort’s soul fragnt hadn’t fused deeply with hers, Nagini’s own soul was fragile—almost equal to one-eighth of Voldemort.
The procedure went exceptionally smoothly.
With ti frozen, neither her body nor soul could resist. Dumbledore had ample ti to cast the slow, delicate enchantnts needed one by one.
When the final sliver of Voldemort’s soul was excised—
Harry took out a drop of basilisk venom and sizzled it away.
Ciri’s face turned pale as she withdrew her power.
"How do you feel?" Harry asked.
Ciri held her forehead. "Dizzy. That took more out of than I thought."
"But I’m not at my limit. I could probably manage two more hours."
Harry said nothing and tossed her a calming draught.
She drank it and looked a little better. "Thanks. This helps. I might manage another hour now."
"That should be enough to remove the one inside Harry," she said.
Dumbledore smiled gently. "You don’t need to worry so much. When it’s Harry’s turn, it should go faster."
Ciri blinked and looked at Harry, then back at Nagini.
One so big, the other so small—how could they take the sa ti?
"The ti needed doesn’t depend on the soul’s size," Dumbledore explained. "It depends on the size of the Horcrux."
"After all, that’s what we’re removing."
Ciri nodded in sudden realization.
The surgery had clearly affected Nagini. She lay listlessly on the table, unmoving—even when Dumbledore personally picked her up and placed her back in her cage, she didn’t react at all.
They weren’t going to proceed with Harry’s procedure right away.
Ciri needed rest.
Prolonged ti suspension took a lot out of her.
They also needed to monitor Nagini’s condition to ensure the separation hadn’t damaged her soul.
Dumbledore sighed.
Poor Nagini.
During the ti freeze, he had carefully examined her soul and flesh. The curse embedded in her was irreversible, and as a snake, she was nearing the end of her lifespan.
She’d never beco that brave, lovely, clever girl again.
Just like Aurelius... he wasn’t coming back either.
"What are your plans next?" Harry asked, gesturing for them to sit. "Hagrid says they’ve figured out how you can have children?"
Yennefer smiled and nodded. "Of course."
"Poppy helped a lot. She repaired my uterus."
"Thankfully for Mr. Scamander," Geralt added with a hint of lingering fear. "Hagrid was too dangerous—he even wanted to experint with my parts and animals."
"That was just his curiosity about what made you different from regular people," Yennefer said, giving him a glance.
Geralt shook his head. "I don’t want my first kid to be with a horse, even if I do like horses."
"Planning to marry?" Harry asked bluntly.
Geralt nodded. "Yes. I think Yennefer and I are ready."
He reached out and held her hand.
"You?" he asked in return.
Harry looked at Hermione and held her hand too. "At least after graduation."
"Although that wasn’t really the question you were asking," Harry added.
"You’re staying in this world?" Geralt asked.
Harry looked at Ciri. "It’s not a farewell."
Having a ti-traveling sister—
Visiting another world was no different than taking a train to a friend’s house.
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