The End of the Year
The end of the year arrived quickly, and with it, the summer holidays. Unsuspecting Harry found himself once again immersed in the excitement of an extraordinary event. This time, it was the Quidditch World Cup, and the Weasleys had invited him to join them for the experience. Harry, happy to spend time with his friends and discover the magnitude of this magical event, didn't question the twins' true motives. The Weasleys were a little more pushy than usual, but Harry saw it as an effort to include him in their group.
In the previous months, a major event had taken a toll. Sirius Black, long considered a criminal and a dangerous Death Eater, had finally been found innocent after a thorough investigation. His charges were dropped, and he was released. However, due to the psychological trauma he had suffered during his years incarcerated in Azkaban, Sirius had been hospitalized in a psychiatric institution. The hospital imposed a one-year communication disability to aid his recovery, and he could only be discharged when his condition was sufficiently stable. Meanwhile, Remus Lupin, true to his friend and his word, had taken over Harry's guardianship, giving him a stability he had never known before.
Although Harry was surrounded by caring people, he was far from understanding what was happening around him, including the Weasley twins' efforts to catch his attention. Fred and George, though full of humor and laughter, had another agenda. Their flirting came through small gestures, often discreet but laden with innuendos. They offered Harry enchanted candies, trying to charm him with their wit. Sometimes, it involved persistent winks, smiles, or even small affectionate touches, like brief hugs they would give him without apparent reason. Fred had even given him a magical heart-shaped pendant, which he claimed was a "good luck charm," though it was clear that the true intention was much more personal.
Harry, naïve and deeply absorbed in the events of his own life, didn't notice any of these advances. He simply assumed that the twins were like brothers to him, and that their friendship was as strong as the one he had with Ron. He didn't perceive the underlying tension in their smiles, nor the gestures which, to others, were attempts at romantic approaches. None of it reached him, as if a veil of total ignorance was protecting him from reality.
As the Quidditch World Cup raged on, the situation remained the same. Fred and George, desperate to make Harry understand what they felt, redoubled their efforts. During the match, they pressed against him, brushing their arms against his and looking at him with an intensity almost painful. But Harry, fascinated by Quidditch and his innocent laughter, had no idea that each gesture, each smile they sent him, concealed a deeper desire.
But reality struck hard, and after the World Cup, as the crowd dispersed and flashes of green light suddenly burst in the night, the threat of the Death Eaters proved to be more dangerous than ever. Masked figures appeared in an instant, attacking the spectators in indescribable chaos. Shards of curses flew everywhere, sowing panic among the revelers. But Harry, still unaware of the danger, instinctively turned towards his friends. Fred and George, increasingly protective, surrounded him, trying to keep him away from the violence that was descending upon them. But the attack was swift and savage.
In the panic, Harry focused instinctively. He felt a surge of energy inside him, a familiar warmth he had felt during his previous encounters. He closed his eyes, concentrating deeply, before raising his wand. A blinding flash of light shot from his wand, destabilizing the Death Eaters. In an instant, he cast a spell far more powerful than anything he had ever attempted. "Confringo!" An intense explosion of fire erupted from Harry's wand, striking the Death Eaters with devastating force. Several were thrown backward, screaming in pain as an explosion shook the ground. Their figures disappeared in a cloud of dust and debris. The few survivors, disoriented and frightened, fled in haste, abandoning their attack in the face of such power.
"Harry! You... you repelled them!" Fred exclaimed, wide-eyed.
But Harry, still absorbed in the magnitude of the scene, didn't really understand what had just happened. He simply smiled, as if this was all very ordinary to him. "It was nothing," he replied casually, as if repelling Death Eaters in the middle of an attack was part of his routine.
In the minutes that followed, the atmosphere changed radically. The Ministry of Magic authorities rushed to the scene, accompanied by the Ministers of Magic from Bulgaria, France, and Fudge, the British Minister of Magic. They arrived in a flurry of hurried steps and loud voices, surrounding Harry, who was still there, in his innocence, in the middle of the chaos.
"Mr. Potter! You saved everyone!" exclaimed the Bulgarian minister, his eyes shining with gratitude. "What power! You were remarkable, young man."
The French minister, a tall, thin man, nodded with a deeply admiring expression. "This is incredible, Harry. You're a true hero. It's an honor to meet you."
Fudge, the British minister, stepped forward, a glint of interest and pride in his eyes. "Harry, you did something extraordinary. Your courage and magic exceed anything we could have hoped for. You stopped the attack with such... efficiency."
Harry, still a little lost, scratched his head as he looked at the various ministers and officials who were smiling at him with gratitude. "Uh, I... I didn't do... much, really. It was nothing special."
"Don't be so modest," Fudge replied, with a broad smile. "Not everyone can master such a powerful and precise spell under such pressure."
The ministers and officials continued to surround him, congratulating him again and again, insisting that he had changed the course of the event. But Harry, still unaware of the implications of his actions and the situation as a whole, didn't really understand the full extent of what had just happened. In his mind, he had simply repelled a threat, instinctively, as he had done many times before.
"You were amazing, Harry," said the French Minister of Magic with a wink. "A true display of power."
The Weasley twins, who had themselves gotten up after being struck by the explosion of light, approached him with an expression of relief, but also frustration. They couldn't believe their eyes. Fred, shaking his head with a sad smile, whispered to his brother: "He doesn't even know what he just did..."
"He's completely out of it," George replied, shaking his head. But there was no time to dwell on it. "Come on, Harry, let's go. We've got other things to do."
The ministers, despite their enthusiasm, began to withdraw, not without a final salute. The Bulgarian Minister of Magic, before leaving, turned to Harry one last time: "I'm sure we'll meet again, and next time you'll have a real role to play in the magical community." Then he walked away.
And as the Weasleys picked up Harry to bring him back to their campsite, Harry, completely unaware of the magnitude of the event, allowed himself to be guided by his friends, his mind more focused on the memory of the Death Eaters he had just repelled than on the ministers' congratulations. The twins, on the other hand, exchanged discreet glances. An unanswered question hung in the air: Would Harry ever understand what was really happening around him?
"The end is the beginning of all things." - Plato