The dragon lazily stretched on Harry's bed.
"Aiden!" Ginny was annoyed with Aiden snagging Harry's breakfast.
"It's fine. Last night Aiden ran around everywhere for my sake. He's exhausted."
Harry was generous, saying to eat more and placing the plate before the dragon.
Aiden held the bread in his mouth and showed off to Ginny.
"Don't spoil him so much!" Ginny clenched her fists.
"By the way, you don't know about last year's prophecy yet, do you?" Harry said, skillfully changing the topic to prevent Ginny from committing fratricide.
Ron leaned over with interest.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
Harry told everyone the content of the prophecy.
"So you're that child?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry nodded.
"Not necessarily. Longbottom was also born in July, but that's the wonderful thing about prophecies—your choices become part of it."
Aiden waved his hand. Silver threads were pulled out by him.
Having become a Discerner, he could manipulate the collective unconscious sea to a certain extent.
At this moment, what he held was prophecy. As long as others input the content they wanted, with Aiden's ability as guarantee, things would develop in the direction he preset. This was both a prerequisite for the Author's abilities and a manifestation of the Visionary pathway's extraordinary power in this magical world.
"This is prophecy. Does anyone want to try?" Aiden held out the threads.
Ron was about to step forward to make a wish but was pulled back by Hermione grabbing his ear.
"Isn't Voldemort's fate enough to serve as your warning? The world of magic has costs. So what's the cost here!"
Hermione looked seriously at Aiden, her eyes filled with reproach.
"All right, all right, just teasing Ron. Although I have the ability to push prophecy forward, I wouldn't take it out so casually. As for the cost, prophecy will shape a nemesis for you that you can never escape. For example, Tycho Dodonas has a famous avenger," Aiden explained.
"What's Tycho Dodonas?" Ron asked, scratching his head.
"A prophecy of the Lestrange family. My roommate Edmund is deeply involved. Now their family members have to face Bellatrix Lestrange."
Aiden smiled, as if already seeing Edmund's sorry state.
Suddenly, Hermione felt the cushion was uncomfortable. Reaching down, she pulled something out.
A telescope came out in her hand. Curiously, she brought it to her eye.
"Don't touch that!" Aiden tried to stop her, but it was too late.
Then a fist popped out from the telescope and heavily struck Hermione's eye socket.
She was sent flying, her eye socket turning completely black and blue.
Aiden: "..."
"Ow, what is this!" Hermione said, covering her eye socket and throwing the telescope to the ground.
"A prank developed by George and Fred. It has special spells on it. The bruise can only be healed by time. Until then, no potions or spells will work."
Aiden blinked, not daring to tell Hermione he'd helped design this thing.
Ron took Hermione to find Mrs. Weasley. After working for ages, they still couldn't remove the bruise.
Fortunately, another matter diverted Hermione's attention.
The O.W.L. results arrived. Hermione eagerly opened her report card.
Nine Outstanding grades gave her considerable comfort, but the Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts was quite glaring.
Ron and Harry also achieved good results, though Harry was a bit disappointed because his grades were still some distance from his Auror dream.
Time quickly came to July 31st. Today was Harry's sixteenth birthday.
Also the only birthday anyone had celebrated with him.
On his birthday, Aiden uncharacteristically gave him a Crisis Management Guide.
It actually contained instructions on what to do if Aiden and Dumbledore died.
Harry smiled. Could anyone in the world possibly kill Aiden?
After thinking it over, he still accepted the gift.
However, this year's birthday wasn't pleasant either. Harry could see news of people being killed almost every day.
Because of Death Eater activity, the Ministry specially assigned additional defensive personnel to the Burrow. They cast protective magic outside the house.
On Harry's birthday, the gifts sent by his friends were all checked one by one by Aurors, depriving him of much of the surprise.
August 1st
Mrs. Weasley paced anxiously in the room.
"Damn it, why hasn't Arthur come back yet? What about the children's things?" Mrs. Weasley muttered.
"Maybe we should go ourselves. The Dark Lord can't be hiding behind a bookshelf, can he?" Ron shrugged.
"So more than half the shops in Diagon Alley are all on vacation?!"
Ron's joke immediately angered Molly. "If you think safety is a joke, then your father and I can buy things while you stay home until the very last second before departure!"
Molly's roar echoed through the entire Burrow.
Ron wanted to explain, but Aiden promptly covered his mouth to prevent him from making things worse.
"Aunt Molly, I know you're worried about her attacks, but you need to understand one thing—she doesn't dare appear before me and Dumbledore. She's been defeated by us twice already, hasn't she? So relax. I'll watch over Ron."
Aiden spoke while applying a soothing spell on Molly.
Molly paced for a while before finally sitting on the sofa.
"All right, I agree you can go to Diagon Alley yourselves. But listen—if anyone dares leave Aiden's sight, I'll personally go to Hogwarts and bring you back, understand?!"
Mrs. Weasley's scolding was mainly directed at Ron and Ginny, but Harry and Hermione inexplicably felt they were being implicated.
Aiden first took the group to Gringotts to withdraw money. The surrounding goblins instinctively dodged when they saw Aiden. Not one was willing to handle their business.
Bill used his authority to withdraw money for Harry. Ron thought his big brother was giving family benefits.
So he foolishly stepped forward, asking, "What about mine, brother?"
Then received Bill's extremely disdainful look.
Coming out of Gringotts, more than half the shops on the street were closed. It seemed the wizarding world's business was also suffering under Voldemort's reign.
After taking everyone to buy items on the school supply list, the group visited Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Hello, ladies," the twins' voices overlapped.
Ron, Ginny, and Harry went to browse other products in the store.
Hermione was attracted by a potion the two had developed that allowed users to have lucid dreams for thirty minutes.
"How did you do this?" Hermione asked.
Then both simultaneously turned their gazes to Aiden, who was holding Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.
"I let them study me a bit. Free time, I can take you to see," Aiden said, knowing what Hermione wanted to say without turning around.
After sending Hermione away, Aiden began his routine accounting check.
"How's business for protective items?" Aiden asked the twins.
"Fantastic!" George said.
"They're eagerly anticipating new products," Fred added.
"I can cut my profit margin by ten percent. Similarly, you also need to reduce your prices. In times like these, sell as many protective items as possible."
Aiden sighed and walked out. The twins solemnly saluted Aiden with respect.