And like that, second year at Hogwarts ended and summer showed up without asking for permission.
For once, Victor didn't have anything immediate to deal with, which felt suspiciously convenient. Just a normal summer, which was already strange enough on its own.
Still, he didn't forget what had already been done.
Three Horcruxes were gone—Ravenclaw's diadem, Tom Riddle's diary, and Slytherin's locket. That part was clean, no loose ends.
What remained was easy to list and annoying to reach.
Hufflepuff's cup sitting somewhere he couldn't just walk into.
Marvolo Gaunt's ring, which came with the kind of side effects he wasn't interested in testing.
Harry, which wasn't something you "deal with" early unless you wanted everything to go wrong.
And Nagini, who wasn't even relevant yet, unless he planned to hunt down a random snake for future reasons.
So yes, everything left was out of reach.
Which meant this summer had nothing to do with chasing Horcruxes.
Victor decided to actually use the time instead of pretending to be busy.
He already had the three Unforgivable Curses, which was a nice collection to have if you ignored how illegal they were and how people reacted when you used them.
Now he moved on to everything else.
Not classroom spells. Not the kind professors graded.
Actual useful magic.
Spells that worked fast, didn't waste movement, and didn't announce themselves before landing. Cutting curses, binding spells, layered defenses, things that made fights shorter instead of longer.
No rush.
No pressure.
Just practice, refining what he already had and adding more to it, because sooner or later things would start moving again, and when they did, he had no intention of standing there figuring things out on the spot.
"First, I should learn the Patronus Charm," Victor muttered to himself, already thinking ahead.
Next year meant Dementors.
Dementor patrolling the school because of Sirius Black, which meant avoiding them wouldn't always be an option. And with his luck, he wouldn't just "run into them," he'd probably end up right in front of one at the worst possible time.
So yes, learning it wasn't optional.
That led to one problem.
The Patronus Charm required a strong happy memory.
Victor had those.
Technically.
His first lottery win. His first love. Moments from his previous life that were actually worth remembering.
The issue was what came after those memories.
Most of them didn't end well.
Which made things… complicated.
Still, a memory didn't need a perfect ending. It just needed to be strong enough to hold.
Victor exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
"Should work," he said, more as a conclusion than a guess.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
The form.
Patronus forms reflected something personal, something tied to identity, and considering what his Animagus form had turned out to be—
A basilisk.
He wasn't particularly optimistic.
"I really hope it's not something ridiculous," he muttered.
He didn't need a second situation where his magic decided to reveal something inconvenient.
Still, there was only one way to find out.
Victor raised his wand slightly, focus sharpening as he searched for a memory that was strong enough, clear enough, and didn't collapse under its own weight.
"Let's see what I get."
He kept at it for days.
The first few attempts didn't even produce mist, just weak sparks that faded before taking shape. The memory wouldn't hold, slipping the moment he tried to focus on it properly. Every time he reached for something good, the ending followed right behind it, dragging the whole thing down.
So he adjusted.
Instead of thinking about how things ended, he held onto the moment itself. The feeling, not the outcome. That was enough.
It took time.
Ten days of repetition, failed attempts, and small improvements that barely counted until they finally did.
By the end of it, he stood in his room, wand raised, focus steady.
"Expecto Patronum."
This time, it worked.
Silver light burst from his wand, stronger than before, gathering instead of fading. It took shape in front of him, solidifying into something clear, something real.
Victor stared at it.
"…well, that's new."
It wasn't a basilisk.
That alone was a relief.
But the replacement wasn't exactly subtle.
A dragon.
Not just any shape either—a fire dragon, formed from bright silver light, its wings spreading as it circled the room, leaving faint trails behind it. It moved smoothly, almost alive, its presence filling the space far more than a simple charm should.
Victor lowered his wand slightly, watching it.
"I was hoping for something less… noticeable."
The dragon continued to move, looping once around the room before settling briefly in front of him, as if acknowledging him before moving again.
He exhaled slowly.
"I really don't understand why this kind of thing keeps happening to me."
The Patronus gave no answer.
It continued to circle the room, its silver wings cutting through the air in smooth arcs, light reflecting faintly off the walls as it moved.
Victor watched it for a moment longer, his expression settling.
"…but it's at least something good."
*****
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