Scarlet hadn’t had the ce to present her proposal to Professor Dumbledore because he was out of Hogwarts, busy with something outside the school.

  “Well, in the inal timeline, nothing really happens around this period, like, if I’m not mistaken,” Alexis said, now officially registered to access Scarlet’s training room. She’d been enlisted as an official member of the Weasley twins’ game-developing team, earning herself a pce beside Fred and Gee’s workspa Scarlet’s room.

  Fred and Gee were currently preoccupied with expanding their business selling the Rainbow Quill – the ade quill Scarlet had issioned. Apparently, it had bee wildly popur, especially among girls and women, and orders kept rolling in. Following Scarlet’s advice, the twins started small, distributing pamphlets for orders aering their workshop and patents to secure their rights. They’d earned a det sum from this first batch of orders, bringing them oep closer to their dream of owning a joke shop.

  With their focus shifted to quill produ, Fred and Gee had little time for learning game development; they’d set up their experiments in Scarlet’s room, where there was more space to work in case any magical acts happen, while using their dorm as a manufacturing base. However, game development remained a high priority for them, so they’d sent Alexis to Scarlet’s room to help with the prep work.

  Now, Alexis sat beside Scarlet, helping to fill in the gaps in her uanding of the inal storyline whenever she could remember something. She wasn’t a genius with a photographic memory of the entire Harry Potter series, but she recalled the most important and signifit events - enough to be useful to Scarlet.

  “Also, Hagrid wasn’t supposed to breed the dragon, like, this early,” Alexis he Romanian Dragon Sanctuary had already retrieved the hatched dragon a few days ago, and Ron’s brother, Charlie, had even paid a visit during the process. Alexis tried her best to ret the first book’s key events, tig them off on her fingers as she went:

  “Harry, Ron, and Hermione bee, like total BFF after the troll i, then Harry totally won the Quidditch match...At Christmas, Harry got his dad’s invisibility cloak and saw that weird mirror...What else? Oh, the sed Quidditch match, where Harry overheard Salking to Quirrell, which made him think Snape was trying to steal the stohen Hagrid tried to hatch the dragon egg, which Quirrell used to trick him into spilling the beans on how to get past Fluffy...I ’t remember what came first or if it happened before the Easter holiday. And, wait - did they even have aer holiday in the first book? Anyway...Oh! They got detention for helping smuggle the dragon to Charlie and his colleagues, who came to collect it, and then they saw dead unis in the forest. I ’t remember if they met the taurs here, but I think they did?”

  Scarlet pondered for a moment. “Guess I’ve interfered with the story more than I expected.”

  Alexis looked at her, puzzled. “How?”

  “I invited all the Weasley boys to my house for Christmas.”

  “What?!” Alexis leapt from her seat. “So Harry was, like, all alo Hogwarts for Christmas? You ’t be serious!”

  “I’m serious. And Harry went home with Sirius, his godfather.”

  “WHAT?!” Alexis’s eyes widened in shock. “I thought Sirius was still locked up in Azkaban!”

  “Not anymore, because I turned Peter Pettigrew in.”

  “Peter Pettigrew?! But how...” Alexis was utterly stunned. Scarlet shot her a narrowed look, clearly displeased. Alexis, feeling the weight of that gaze, wracked her brain for an answer but couldn’t e up with anything after a few minutes.

  Scarlet sighed. “Think outside the box, Alexis. Who am I?”

  “You’re Scarlet Hong. A ,” Alexis replied somewhat wryly.

  “And?”

  “You’re currently a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, and like, most students here totally dig you.”

  “...ly what I was aiming for, but fine. And?”

  “...You’ve decided to hunt the Horcruxes?”

  “And why do I dare to do that?”

  “Because you were a caster in your previous life, and you’re bonded with Scáthach, the Queen of the death realm...Oh!”

  “And now you ‘oh’.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Took you long enough.”

  “The magic bestowed upon you must like totally be linked with death, ah is always tied to soul,” Alexis said, everything finally clig into pce. “You must have, like, sensed something off about the rat’s soul and figured out it wasn’t really a rat. You iigated, and found out it eter Pettigrew!”

  Scarlet nodded, “Exactly. Alexis, you’ve got to stop thinking ihe box. I handle most surprises, but acts happen. We're up against one of the greatest vilins iory, someone who’s caused tless deaths in the inal storyline. As much as I’ll try to protect you, I ’t always guarantee I’ll be there. You o adapt quickly to that reality.”

  Alexis fell silent, clearly pting for a while before finally saying, “How about I bond with King Arthur, like you bonded with Scáthach?”

  “...”

  Scarlet didn’t say a word. Instead, she smacked Alexis on the head with the notebook she’d been scribbling in.

  “Okay, okay! I know it sounds dumb, but it’s a good suggestiht?” Alexis offered an awkward thumbs-up while rubbing the spot where Scarlet had smacked her, smiling sheepishly to soften Scarlet’s mood.

  Scarlet sighed, exasperated. “I bonded with a legendary figure because that’s my area of expertise. It’s fn to you, and it’s not something you master in a short period. I’ve spent nearly three decades in my previous life, plus almost another decade in this oo reach this level. And you think you catch up to me just like that?”

  Alexis bit her lip, regret fshing across her face. “Sorry, Scarlet. I’m not good at thinking through plicated stuff.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Scarlet patted her shoulder. “But don’t try to e. You have your own strengths.”

  “...Game-making?” Alexis asked, bewildered. “How’s game-making supposed to help with hunting Horcruxes?”

  “I don’t know,” Scarlet replied with a shrug. “That’s for you to figure out. Fe your own path - one where you sher than anyone else.”

  Alexis paused, then straightened her posture and gave Scarlet a deep, formal Japanese bow. “Thank you, Akahime-sensei. I will study your advice carefully and present my best self.”

  “...Just shut up. I’m nobody’s sensei,” Scarlet muttered.

  The school days passed calmly, just as Scarlet had anticipated. Of course, students tinued causing mischief here and there. She would occasionally hear Professonagall shoutiions at students, withe dramas of teenage romances – students falling in love or breaking up, some even jinxing their exes for cheating. Cauldrons exploded in Potions css, and more thaudent ended up in the hospital wing for a week after eating something questionable from Herbology...

  Meanwhile, Fred and Gee had finally fiheir quill orders and were now w on their first game. Alexis, still pting how her game-making skills could help her advance, quietly worked beside them.

  As the Easter holiday approached, Scarlet found it increasingly difficult to meet with Professor Dumbledore. He was always busy, and when he was free, her own schedule seemed to csh with his.

  Finally, the Easter holiday arrived, and Scarlet ag to head home.

  Through a series of owl posts, she had been discussing the soul recovery ritual with Mrs. Longbottom and had now finalised her pn. There were no records in the knowledge passing down from the Queen of the death realm on how to heal a cracked soul – unsurprisingly, given that the Quee with death, not medie. Scarlet had to bine her own knowledge from her previous life with what she’d learned from the Queen to craft a ritual specifically for the recovery of Neville’s parents. If successful, it could potentially save all the patients in that ward. She hoped, more than anything, that it would work.

  Just as she was about to head to breakfast, Fred and Gee burst into her training room. Each grabbed one of her hands and dramatically k before her, as if they were knights awaiting orders, much to the shock of Alexis, who followed behind.

  “Midy! We beg yrace for our most humble request!”

  “For this Easter holiday is olden opportunity to seek further knowledge of the unknown!”

  “...What?” Scarlet was fused.

  Alexis facepmed. “They want to speer break at your house so they py video games.”

  “Not to py, you misguided damsel!” Fred protested.

  “To further our studies and craft the greatest creation known to wizard-kind!” Gee added, full of mock chivalry.

  Alexis turo Scarlet, expining their plea. “They’ve bought into the idea of creating a magic version of a MOBA game and D&D TRPG. They think it’ll be, like, a total hit.”

  Scarlet thought back to the caster interns, who often pyed games on their phones even during missions. She nodded. “I agree, it could definitely be popur, but developing it would take time, wouldn’t it?”

  “And we haven’t even figured out how to make something simple, like Snake or Tetris, using runes!” Alexis sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “Those are b! We should start with something like Super Mario,” Fred retorted, sounding pouty.

  Alexis facepalmed again. “Look, you don’t cast Lumos Maxima before you know how to cast Lumht? So why would you try to make Super Mario before you’ve figured out something simpler, like Snake or Tetris?”

  The twins exged a ghen shrugged simultaneously. “Because we cast Lumos Maxima without knowing how to cast Lumos?”

  “...” Alexis took a deep breath before muttering through gritted teeth, “Sometimes I really hate geniuses.”

  Ign her frustration, the twins turheir best puppy-eyes toward Scarlet. “Pleeeese, Midy of the Red House, our long-lost honorary sister, allow us to apany you for Easter!”

  Scarlet couldn’t help but chuckle before straightening her expression. “Well, you’re both wele at my house, of course. However...” She paused, cutting of their cheers. “I might not be able to eain you the whole time. My schedule is packed for the entire Easter holiday. Will you be alright keeping yourselves occupied?”

  “Of course we will.”

  “You t on us!”

  No, I suspect you two would cause chaos beyond my wildest imagination, Scarlet mused wryly. Her mind fshed back to the prank Fred and Gee had pulled just a few days ago. Mud ponds had been scattered all over the hallway, leading to a group of naughty students joyfully spshing in the mess, while Mr. Filch was absolutely livid. Another detention for the twins. If she wasn’t around, she feared her house might end up submerged in mud ponds...And the thought of Meiko fag off against the Weasley twins - Jutsushi vs wizards – was not something she wao witness.

  “Alexis, I’m putting you in charge of looking after the boys,” Scarlet said, shooting her a pointed gre. “I trust you ha.”

  “...Sure? As long as your house ain’t somethin’ pletely bizarre,” Alexis nodded with slight hesitation, w what kind of magical tricks a caster’s house might hold, suspeg it could be something as mysterious as Hogwarts.

  “It’s just an ordinary household,” Scarlet replied, before pausing and adding, “Think of the kind of mansion you’d see in anime – a wealthy family’s home in real life, an isekai version.”

  “You’re rich?” Alexis blurted out, eyes wide. Then, quickly shifting to a more ed tone, she asked, “Do you, like, have a butler?”

  “Sort of. I think him more as my manager.”

  “Great, a female Batman,” Alexis whispered to herself, though the whole room clearly heard her. “Should’ve figured it out when I noticed you always have backup pns, and all those gadgets and information.”

  “...My dad’s still alive.” Scarlet deadpanned.

  “Fanfics. Makes sense.” Alexis sighed, then added, “Don’t worry. I’ll ha.”

  “Great. I’ll leave the room to you guys. I’m starving,” Scarlet waved them off, heading out to get breakfast.

  As Alexis turned back to the twins, she noticed the gleam of excitement in their eyes. “...What?”

  “You two have gotten awfully close all of a sudden.” Fred said, rubbing his .

  “What could be the reason for that?” Gee added, mirr his brother.

  “Could it be some sort of secret?”

  The two mischievous, handsome redheads advaoward Alexis with a menag grin, causio take a step back. “May we humbly inquire as to the reason behind it?”

  “...Um, have you guys ever watched the Batman series?”

  Qiya