Aaric woke up with sunlight shining on his face through the window, the best sleep he’d had in some time. After a shower and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs and saw Nibbin preparing breakfast. His parents sat on the sofa, chatting with Harry about Hogwarts—and the chaos Aaric had apparently caused.

“Oh, I have to tell you what Aaric did in Potions cla—” Harry started, but his mouth was shut by a swift hand as Aaric appeared beside him, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

“Good morning, everyone! Let’s talk about what Harry was up to,” Aaric said quickly.

Now it was Harry’s turn to sweat, clamping a hand over Aaric’s mouth as the two boys began whispering furiously, trying to make deals. Simon and Edwina watched in amused silence.

“Harry dear, do continue—I’m very curious,” Edwina said sweetly.

Aaric panicked. “Sweet mother, I have a gift for you. Won’t you take a look first?”

Edwina stopped teasing and Aaric rummaged through his bottomless pouch, which he kept on himself at all times.

“Close your eyes first,” he said with a grin. Edwina complied. “Now open.”

Aaric held a flower in front of her face. Edwina gasped at the sight. “A Vitalis Bloom—where did you get this?” she asked, inspecting the petals.

“Salazar Slytherin gave it to me,” Aaric replied casually. “But that’s not important. Let’s show Harry the castle today.”

Simon and Edwina exchanged glances, question marks practically hovering over their heads, but said nothing more.

Breakfast was served as Harry asked about the mysterious “castle,” with Aaric dodging the question playfully. Later, the family explained everything, and Harry was thrilled—it sounded like something out of a fairy tale.

They moved to the basement where the ward stones were kept. In one section stood a thunderbird statue. They placed their hands on it and said, “Nightshade.” A flash of electricity enveloped them, and they appeared in the castle’s portkey chamber—where a matching statue awaited, with Thimrill standing nearby. He bowed to them in greeting.

Harry explored the island in complete awe as Thimrill guided him through enchanted groves, glowing ponds, and quiet courtyards. As night approached, Harry stood by the lake near the castle, feeding glowing fish. Then he saw it—a stag walking across the water, moving toward him.

Thimrill appeared beside him in a flash of blue lightning.

“This is a Caelvenor—the Moonstreak Stag. It is a being of light and purity, much like unicorns,” he explained.

The stag had antlers made of translucent moonstone, veined with silver rune-thread. Its brown fur shimmered slightly. It walked up to Harry and gently placed an antler in front of him.

“They shed antlers every five hundred years. Take it. It won’t harm the creature,” Thimrill said as he noticed Harry’s hesitation.

Soon, the entire Hawthorne family appeared as well. Magical beasts began gathering—basilisks, dragons, phoenixes—all forming a quiet, harmonious scene around them.

They spent the rest of the night playing with the creatures and chatting. By the time they returned to the castle, they were tired but deeply satisfied.

Later, the family explained to Harry the ritual they had performed using the gifts from the island’s magical beasts. They asked if he’d like to try it himself—under the promise of complete secrecy, of course.

Harry agreed.

The ritual was performed, and the antler was absorbed into Harry’s body. But something unexpected happened.

Harry was a Horcrux. A second partial soul—Voldemort’s—existed inside him. And when the ritual began altering Harry’s body and soul, that foreign soul screamed, curled up in fear, and was burned badly. It gave out a silent scream and shrank, hiding in the corner of Harry’s magical core.

That same core had always been unusually large, a side effect of Lily’s protective magic constantly straining it. But it had remained locked at an immature stage due to Harry’s inexperience.

The ritual broke that barrier. His core advanced to the next level. Magic now coursed through Harry’s body without resistance. The constant struggle he’d felt while performing spells was gone.

Now, it flowed like an unobstructed river.

Aaric stepped into the garden with his gourd tucked under his arm. The night was cool, moonlight brushing across the lawn. He saw Harry and Edwina near the far tree, going over basic wand drills—nothing fancy, just steady movements. Harry’s grip still needed work, but it was holding better than last week.

Nibbin passed by with a basket of snacks, humming to himself, cheerful as always. Aaric gave him a smile and turned toward the scene again.

He sat on the edge of the porch for a minute, listening to Harry laugh as Edwina corrected his stance again. Simon appeared in the doorway behind him and stepped out with a quiet thud.

“You did good helping the boy” Simon said gently.

“Was it me?” Aaric gave him a side eye at which Simon coughed “Well it was my duty…”

“I am proud of you dad” Aaric added “And i you, son” Simon placed a hand of Aaric’s shoulder and sat beside him.

“You know, Harry should also get some training don’t you think? look how fidgety he is.” Aaric said slyly. Simon looked at the boy and nodded, he then called out to harry “Yes?” Harry asked.

“From tomorrow onwards you will have physical training with Aaric. At 7am sharp” He then turned and left.

Harry looked at the wide eyes of Aaric and side “You tried to dig a hole for me and jumped in it with me, right” Aaric did not respond and just looked down at the ground.

Harry flicked his forehead and went beck to practice magic with Edwina.

A/n: A short one today,

Thoughts and stones please.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep