The Gryffindor common room buzzed with excitement and chatter as the new students settled in. Warm fires flickered, casting dancing shadows on the stone walls, and the red-and-gold banners swayed gently with the cozy draft. Harry stepped into the first-year boys' dormitory, his eyes scanning the room where four-poster beds with crimson curtains awaited.
Ron was already sprawled across one bed, unpacking his trunk haphazardly. Seamus Finnigan sat cross-legged on his bed, fiddling with a small box that occasionally sparked. Neville nervously organized his things, his pet toad Trevor safely tucked in a tiny box on the nightstand.
"Roommates, huh?" Ron grinned, holding up a half-melted chocolate frog. "Guess we're stuck with each other for the year."
"Looks like it," Harry replied with a small smile. "Let's make it work."
They chatted briefly—Ron grumbling about Percy's prefect status, Seamus enthusiastically promising future fireworks (literally), and Neville cautiously hopeful about Gryffindor.
Later that night, while everyone else was getting ready for bed, Harry pulled the curtains around his bed and sat cross-legged. The castle's ambient magic hummed around him, and the flickering candlelight danced on the old stone walls. With a deep breath, he slipped into meditation, something that had become a nightly ritual to maintain his focus and balance.
Within moments, his senses shifted, and he found himself in his internal magical space—a dark, endless void illuminated only by a bright, swirling orb.
His magic core.
He opened his inner Library's Appraisal Mode, letting its cool, analyzing presence wash over the glowing orb of power before him.
A translucent pane of magical script unfurled in front of him:
Magic Core: Harry James Potter • Status: Recovering from long-term magical stress • Cause: Ancient sacrificial protection placed by Lily Potter • Effect: Delayed core development; slow but stable recovery underway
• Ancestral Favour:Lineage: Peverell – Favoured by Death Effect: Hard to kill when facing significant threats or challenges. Favors survival during fateful events.
• Recent Event: Absorbed purified soul fragment of Tom Marvolo RiddleEffect: Magic core has been reinforced by high-purity soul energy. Fusion Status: Complete – Residual identity removed by Phoenix Force Result: Soul Strength increased
• Acquired Trait:Parseltongue Status: Permanent – Passed on genetically if conditions met
Harry exhaled slowly. So, this is what I've become…
The Phoenix Force hadn't just destroyed the Horcrux—it had repurposed it. Cleaned it. Strengthened him. The soul fragment hadn't tainted him… it had merged with him. He was whole, stronger, and something more than he had been.
He closed the panel with a thought, filing it into the Library's deeper memory.
As he gently exited his meditation and opened his eyes, he felt… clearer. Not in brute magical power, but in soul clarity. In presence.
The stars outside the tower window seemed to shine brighter. Hogwarts wasn't just a school. For him, it was the place where his true journey was beginning.