Harry Potter: Reunion with the Enemy

A memory.

Seventh grade after the war. A few months before graduation.

Slytherin dormitory.

Draco was carefully unpacking a package that had been sent from home. The wrapping paper was the same as his mother Narcissa's, which usually indicated that the contents were expensive or rare. Draco did not open it directly at the long breakfast table as usual. In fact, he had not done so for a long time.

If there is anything worse than Hogwarts being almost destroyed by the Death Eaters, it must be the atmosphere of sadness that hangs over the entire school. People's memories will give new meaning to buildings. Before this war, every corner of Hogwarts was marked with daily happiness: the lawn was a place to date with lovers, there were funny accidents with magic tricks in the corridor, and there was a wonderful game on the Quidditch field...

But after the war, everything is different. This area is where Tonks died, a few steps ahead is where Lupin died, Fred is on the other side of the wall, and Snape is in the Shrieking Shack... The buildings can certainly be restored to their original state, but the memories left here stubbornly remain where they are, like thick fog that is difficult to dispel.

Draco always avoided everyone's gaze when walking in school. There was one unchangeable fact - the Malfoy family stood on the side of the Death Eaters. Even if they didn't, someone else would do it, or Narcissa chose to switch sides at the last moment. The classmates in Hogwarts didn't even attack him with resentful eyes or words. All they saw were sad eyes.

Inside the package was a cute-looking doll that was about half the size of a pillow.

Draco was stunned. Graduation was approaching, and most of the people who could still stay in Hogwarts to complete their studies were clearing out the things left in school in advance, so that they would have less to carry when they left. However, his mother gave him a less important item. Although one of the main reasons for Draco to stay in school was to make his parents feel that everything was normal, he actually found himself suffering every day. Every time he wrote home, he tried his best to pretend to be relaxed. His parents might have seen through all this. Narcissa obviously felt that her son needed this cute doll. There was also an envelope delivered with the package. Draco opened the envelope and read it carefully.

"Lucius's wounds from Voldemort's punishment have healed a lot, and his eyes, which had been unable to open, are gradually regaining their sight. Last time you wrote back, you said that you decided to go home and inherit the family business. Lucius and I fully support this. Of course, if you have any career path you want to explore, we will support you as well."

The reverse side contains a description of the doll.

"This is a new magical invention that your father finds very interesting - the Empathy Doll. If you put a wizard's hair in the doll's pocket, you can have the same feelings as the doll. If you need to, you can put your hair in and have an owl take you home. I can sing you a lullaby at night - just like when you were a child. Don't let the past disturb your mood. If you are in a bad mood, you can always go home."

Draco looked up at the doll again. It was soft and looked very cute. Draco's nose was a little sour. His mother didn't know that at present, he might be the one who least needed such comfort in Hogwarts. After all, although the Malfoy family suffered a lot from Voldemort's torture because of the savior's escape, he didn't really lose his family after all.

As if to test the quality of the doll, Draco actually put a strand of hair inside. He squeezed the doll's hand, and the same touch was immediately transmitted to his fingertips. Draco spent two minutes thinking of several uses for this invention - one was to send it home to listen to goodnight songs as his mother said, the second was to allow lonely people to hug themselves, and the third was to make it convenient for him to beat himself.

Every time he saw his classmates crying for no apparent reason in class, at the long table or in the lounge, Draco would occasionally have the urge to beat himself up. He used to find it ridiculous to see the house elves punishing themselves, but now he would suffer for every sin he helped to commit. This pain came from the contradictions hidden deep in his heart - the pure-blood concept taught by his family for many years, Voldemort followed by his father, the shocking and cruel war, all of which repeatedly pulled at his thoughts.

Draco put the doll back into the exquisite box that his mother had wrapped. But before the owl took off, he changed his mind and took down the note and rewrote it. "Give my regards to my father. All the best for your studies. Don't send the doll back to Malfoy Manor for now. I'm not a child anymore, and I sleep well, so don't worry... Love you, Draco."

In fact, Draco was indeed uneasy. In addition to the guilt and self-doubt that entangled him all the time, there was also the attention to the savior that he could no longer remember the origin. As long as Harry Potter appeared in his field of vision, all of Draco's senses would rush to him.

But as he grew older and as the situation with Voldemort changed, this attention could only become more and more secretive.

The seventh year was originally the year before Hogwarts students were about to start their careers. Just as McGonagall's career guidance talk in the fifth year said, it takes a lot of effort to obtain NEWT certificates, which are essential for many professions. The chaos before the war and the post-war desolation meant that most students needed to spend multiple times more time to make up for the missed learning content.

Every class after the war was as silent as a pool of dead water. Except for a few exchanges between students from the same college, most of the time everyone treated each other as air - or just treated the Slytherin students who stood on the side of the Death Eaters during the war as air.

Everyone knows that silence is the highest level of tolerance.

But there are still rumors about the savior in the school.

Because of the excessive casualties and lack of talent among Aurors after the war, the temporary Minister Kingsley decided to recruit some graduates as Aurors, and Harry was one of them. For example, Principal McGonagall personally tutored Harry Potter, because she had promised that she would help Harry become an excellent Auror even if it was the last thing she did before her death. McGonagall once openly challenged Umbridge for this during the fifth-year career guidance.

There was also the Savior's occasional emotional outbursts during this period. Although he was revered as a hero by everyone after the war, he looked heavy-faced and guilty most of the time - especially when facing the Weasley family who supported the activities of the Order of the Phoenix and protected Harry with all their strength. This guilt made him choose to end the relationship, because Harry thought he was responsible for Fred's departure, and as an Auror, he still had to face the situation of being apart and facing life-threatening situations in his subsequent life. The lives of Auror children do not seem to be as bright as their parents' resumes, and Teddy, Neville and Harry himself seem to be examples.

The doll was put into the box and Draco never thought of it again.

Graduation day is approaching, and it is only a matter of time before they go their separate ways. The atmosphere in Hogwarts has not improved because of the upcoming separation. When the seventh-year NEWT exam came to an end, the students dining at the long table seemed a little more lively. Draco propped up his head and flipped through an Auror training manual sandwiched in the review materials. He didn't know why he was reading this, just like he didn't have to take these exams. If necessary, he still wanted to keep some options for himself, although Draco didn't know what he would choose, it was just an idea in his mind.

"Students." Professor McGonagall stood up from the teacher's seat, and the students who were about to finish their meals looked up at her. "I think everyone knows that the seventh-year students are about to graduate. You have experienced a lot in this school, Hogwarts. In fact, in the past seven years, your class has faced many dangers and witnessed the advent of great victories."

Some students who were still whispering pricked up their ears when they heard this, and listened quietly to Professor McGonagall continue: "Graduating from Hogwarts is not the end of your life. When you grow up and look back on this period of time, you will find that your time in school is just an insignificant comma. The life you are about to experience has many more possibilities."

"I will not avoid the war we have experienced. If the war has had a great impact on you, then I hope that you will become more mature people in the future and be able to face the future calmly. After all, regret and pain are the norm in life, and what has happened is difficult to reverse. If the war has limited impact on your life, then you can think of yourself as a blank parchment with countless spaces for you to express yourself."

Professor McGonagall looked at the young faces in the audience and continued, "Our beloved former headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, has asked me to express his best wishes to you all. He hopes that when you leave school, you will be proud of graduating from Hogwarts, because many great wizards have been trained here, and we have reason to believe that you will become one of these great figures."

"Professor Dumbledore also proposed that we hold a graduation ball for the seventh-year students. He also hopes that the seventh-year students will prepare a gift for exchange - a random exchange between the four colleges. Just as there is no end without a beginning, there will be no new beginning without an end. He hopes that everyone can leave the school with their best wishes and give their wishes to friends who are also about to leave the school."

Some of the younger students began to talk to each other, which had never happened at previous graduations - a gift exchange between the four houses, which undoubtedly carried Dumbledore's hope that the students would stop being hostile and indifferent to each other.

"What are you sending?" a Slytherin student nearby asked with a frown.

Draco raised his eyes from the Auror Training Manual.

"What do you want to give?"

"Gift exchange. Dumbledore proposed an exchange among the four houses. Were you not listening?"

"I don't know. Whatever." Draco answered nonchalantly. "They don't have to put the Slytherin gifts through a Dark Arts test, do they? Dumbledore's romance is hard to understand, isn't it?"

Draco soon forgot about it and was unaware of the deadline for submitting gifts.

On the day when Draco was dragged by Lucius to attend the investment report meeting, he suddenly heard the following conversation in the Slytherin lounge: "It's time to exchange gifts at dinner tonight, and I'm actually looking forward to it - I put a magical musical instrument that I like very much in the gift box."

Gifts? Draco realized that he hadn't prepared anything yet, and he was about to attend a party hosted by another friend of Lucius. He would not attend the dinner in person. Draco immediately decided to go to Hogsmeade to make amends. Although a large number of hardcover signed books seemed uncreative and not attentive enough, at least they would not make people feel that they were harboring evil intentions. What could be wrong with books?

"If the person who collects gifts comes, please help me give the box to him. As for the exchange - just pick one for me." Draco threw a large box of books to the table with great effort, then hurriedly told his roommates and left.

Lucius's friend's party was just like any other. Compared to the speed at which his father's wounds healed, the speed at which some wizards returned to the center of power after the war was even more astonishing. With a group of old faces and a few new faces exchanging and flattering each other, the laughter and joy made the party look flashy and noisy, as if it had never experienced any setbacks or trauma.

"The interrogation we are about to face will most likely not cause any problems." Lucius patted Draco on the shoulder and said as if to comfort him, "In addition to our old friends, the Ministry of Magic will soon have new friends."

Draco nodded and was about to say something, but he felt as if he was thrown away and the world was spinning around. He almost lost his footing and fell backwards.

"What's wrong?" Lucius had a puzzled look on his face.

"Nothing, father." Draco was still frightened, but the uncomfortable feeling did not reappear. He smiled and pretended that everything was normal. "Introduce me to our new friend."

The party was a great success, with even the finest ingredients used in every corner of the food.

Just when Draco was about to forget that strange dizziness - he returned to Malfoy Manor and received NEWT's report card with very good grades, and Lucius and Narcissa were in a better mood, a voice suddenly rang in Draco's ears.

"What did you receive?" a boy's voice.

Draco suddenly stood up from the armchair in Malfoy Manor. There was a warm fire burning in the fireplace, and his father and mother were chatting happily beside him - it was not an illusion.

There was a sound of packaging being torn open.

"A doll," it was Harry's voice, and Draco didn't need time to figure it out.