"Returning Home and Trouble at Harry's House"

"Returning Home and Trouble at Harry's House"

After that strange moment in the headmaster's office, Stephen headed to the Gryffindor common room, where he found a cheerful Harry excitedly recounting how he had saved Dobby, the house-elf, from the Malfoys.

"Boss Stephen, I managed to trick Lucius into freeing Dobby," Harry said happily upon seeing Stephen arrive.

Stephen looked at him for a few seconds, and for some reason, his proud expression irritated him, so he gave him a smack on the head.

"Why was that?" Harry asked, offended, rubbing his head.

"If you have kids in the future, I hope they don't give me trouble," Stephen said, ignoring a confused Harry as he made his way to his room. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to Harry.

"Uncle, cousin, brother... What did they mean?" Stephen pondered over the way the children addressed each other and their parents.

"It doesn't matter. The future will tell," he said, continuing on his way, leaving the Golden Trio very confused.

"What's up with him?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, but I need to study, so if you'll excuse me," Hermione said, returning to her book on the history of house-elves.

Arriving at his shared dorm, where the twins were playing and fighting, Stephen glanced at them momentarily before lying down to sleep, paying them no further attention.

"Fred, let's make this competition more interesting with a bet."

"What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, you'll have to name your kid after me—if you ever have one."

"Sure, and if I win, you'll name yours after me. It's time to settle this rivalry once and for all," Fred agreed to the ridiculous bet.

"So that's how they got their names… No wonder they have that personality if their names were based on a joke," Stephen muttered before falling asleep.

After a few peaceful days of training, playing, and studying, the moment many students had eagerly awaited finally arrived: the end of the school year.

"With 553 points, the winner is Gryffindor," Dumbledore announced as the Gryffindor students jumped with joy.

"Well, this time, they can't complain that Dumbledore added points at the end because we earned them when we fought the basilisk," Ron said cheerfully.

Indeed, after defeating the basilisk, all the participants were Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw, so they each earned 50 points, nearly reaching 1,000 and breaking many records. However, they ended up with 553 points, thanks to Snape's efforts and the troublesome Gryffindors who felt freer knowing they had enough points.

"If you guys hadn't lost so many points, we would have broken another record," Hermione complained, remembering how her housemates had gone wild in the last few weeks.

"Alright, shorty, let the kids have some fun," Fred said, resting his arm on Hermione's head, just as Stephen often did.

"That's right, shorty, we won anyway," George added teasingly.

"You two were the ones who lost the most points!" Hermione yelled angrily, pushing Fred's arm off.

"Alright, don't bother her. You guys really should have held back on the pranks," Stephen said, helping Hermione, whose cheeks looked like they were about to explode.

"You're the last one who should be saying that," Harry and Ron muttered, eyeing Stephen, who was having fun stretching Hermione's face.

"By the way, Harry, you might have to go back to your uncle and aunt's house for a few days," Stephen said, letting go of Hermione, who shot him a death glare while rubbing her cheeks.

"W-why? Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked quickly, standing up as if he were about to be sent to Azkaban.

"Well, the temporary guardianship we had obviously expired. Don't worry, I'll come get you after a few days," Stephen said, reassuring Harry, who was now making odd faces.

"Boss, I heard from Dad that the Minister is still furious about his encounter with you. Do you think he'll make things difficult for you when you go train with the Aurors?" the twins interrupted.

"I doubt it. The Aurors are under Rufus Scrimgeour's command, and, in any case, the head of Magical Law Enforcement is Amelia Bones, who hired me," Stephen replied while eating pudding among the desserts.

"Who's Rufus?" Harry asked Ron, his benchmate.

"Rufus Scrimgeour is the head of the Auror office. They say he's pretty powerful," Ron answered, stuffing himself with desserts.

"He's just a grumpy old man with a bad face, addicted to fame. Be careful, or you'll end up as the Ministry's best propaganda piece," Stephen warned Harry.

"I should work as a talent scout for a training company," he added, leaving the Golden Trio astonished and intrigued by Stephen's comments.

The twins chimed in with their own input: "Scrimgeour shows up at training sessions from time to time to ask the boss to appear on a program where Aurors catch dark wizards."

"I also heard that he calls Magitech every day, trying to get them to approve the program for broadcast on TV," the twins said, without mentioning that the head of Magitech was Stephen himself, who was doubly annoyed by it.

"Actually, I think it would be interesting," Ron said, intrigued, while Harry nodded.

"Wouldn't that help people see the Aurors' efforts to punish the bad guys?" Hermione asked in favor of the idea.

"Really? And what about exposing tactics, skills, and even the individuals responsible for catching dark wizards, so that their friends or family can take revenge or prepare in advance?" Stephen said sarcastically.

"I see. I'm sorry," Hermione said, understanding Stephen's rejection of the idea.

Besides revealing all that, it would also expose dark wizards to how destructive and powerful they could become by learning Eldritch magic. After all, while Stephen had allowed magic to be freely available in the wizarding world, he still maintained relative control over how most people used it. Dark wizards despised it, believing it to be light magic. But if they realized how powerful it truly was, it would be quite problematic—so it was better for them to remain distrustful.

"Well, I'm going to get ready to head home," Stephen said, cutting the conversation short and leaving. The others hurried to finish their desserts and do the same.

"He went to sector B, catch him!" shouted a young Auror as he ran after a wizard dressed in black.

Meanwhile, a few veteran Aurors stood atop a building, holding folders in their hands and taking notes. Among them was Stephen, along with several other Aurors, watching with interest.

"And these are the new recruits who just finished three years of Auror training. Just a bunch of idiots running after another idiot," Stephen said disdainfully. The Aurors behind him tried to hide their embarrassment, as they themselves had once been the same.

As everyone observed the young recruits, the sound of a phone ringing caught Stephen's attention. Following the sound, he answered the call.

"Ring... hello..." Stephen said, gesturing apologetically to the others before stepping away slightly to take the call.

"Grandma, what's up?... You want to visit Harry's house?... If I meet you there, then... Alright, I'll bring a gift, don't worry..." Finishing the call, Stephen put away his phone and noticed the others looking at him with interest.

"I have to go. Take care of finding some interesting recruits," Stephen told the Aurors accompanying him. They were there to recruit new Aurors for his team.

In reality, he didn't need to pay attention to all the recruits, as Stephen's team was well-known among Aurors—considered an elite squad. Some even referred to them as the Auror Special Forces. As a result, all recruits dreamed of being chosen to join. However, Stephen only selected those who caught his attention, and not just the top performers in their class. This made the competition to join his team fierce.

Due to the numerous merits of Stephen's team, Amelia and Rufus had to reorganize the Auror office and create a new command unit called the Auror Legion, where the best and the special forces were stationed. They were responsible for the most dangerous missions, even assisting the International Confederation of Wizards. Naturally, Stephen remained their instructor.

Since the Legion was still small, they needed to recruit more people.

After saying a few farewell words and greeting the examiners, Stephen used a Portkey and appeared on Flamel Island.

"Grandpa, didn't you go with Grandma?"

Upon arriving, he saw a man in his 30s patiently waiting for him. It was Nicolas Flamel. Stephen, using magic he had learned from the Ancient One, had managed to create an alchemical tool that restored youth in exchange for a large amount of magic.

Since Nicolas and Perenelle were wizards with so much magic in their bodies that using it fully could harm them, this item was a blessing. It restored their youth at the cost of barely being able to use magic. Not many would accept such a trade-off, but the Flamels had even more powerful alchemical tools anyway.

"I was waiting for you. Your grandmother went ahead with Misty," Nicolas said cheerfully upon seeing his grandson.

"Ugh, I technically work for the Aurors, and they don't let me use portals or Apparition. It's ridiculous!" Stephen complained as he approached his grandfather.

"They let you work with the Aurors even though you're underage—they're not going to break any more rules," his grandfather said with a smile, motioning for Stephen to take his arm.

"They tricked me into working for them anyway," Stephen muttered, grabbing Nicolas' arm as he activated a Portkey that transported them to where Perenelle was.

"Urgh, I hate traveling with these things. I can't wait to be able to use portals," Stephen grumbled, holding his head after traveling twice via Portkey, feeling dizzy.

When he looked at his grandfather, he saw him staring ahead with a serious expression. Following his gaze, he saw that Harry's house was about to explode; even the walls were creaking, struggling to contain something.

"Uh-oh, is that Grandma? Who made her angry?" Stephen asked, realizing that what was warping the house was Perenelle's magic, on the verge of losing control.

"Isn't the youth necklace supposed to absorb all of a person's magic, leaving only the minimum?" Nicolas asked his grandson teasingly.

"It's obviously a prototype. Grandma insisted on using it no matter what. Let's see what happens," Stephen defended himself, ignoring his grandfather's amused look as he pulled out his phone.

"Come to 4 Privet Drive, bring an Obliviator," Stephen said. After ending the call, he saw his grandfather toss a circular object to the ground, causing a curtain to appear around Harry's house while an illusion formed, making it look as if nothing unusual was happening.

"Old man, why didn't you tell me you had that? It would be really useful during raids in the Muggle world," Stephen complained as he followed his grandfather, who entered the house with a worried expression.

"Monster! Monster!" screamed an obese woman hiding under a table as they entered. Meanwhile, the Dursley family was kneeling in front of Perenelle, who was glaring at them furiously while keeping Harry behind her.

It seemed that Perenelle's anger had caused her to lose control of her magic, creating a well-known magi-accident.

"Aren't kids the only ones who lose control of their magic—" "Shh," Nicolas interrupted Stephen before he could finish, silencing him so that Perenelle wouldn't hear.

"Powerful wizards can cause them too. Since they have so much magic, they need more control. That's why the older a wizard gets, the calmer they become or they retreat to comfortable places," Nicolas explained, pointing out that ancient wizards are rarely seen in the magical world because most of them withdraw to peaceful locations.

"That's why they always keep an eye on Dumbledore. If a wizard as powerful as him were to lose control, he could cause massive damage without meaning to," Nicolas continued, mentioning that although Dumbledore was a hero, he was constantly monitored due to the risk he posed.

"Or maybe they just watch him out of fear that he'll steal all the sweets in the world," Stephen joked as he approached Harry...

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