Harry Potter and the Cataclysm

Carnie felt a chill run down his spine under Dumbledore's piercing gaze.

"Alright, let me put it this way, Headmaster." Carnie took a deep breath. "The Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw hidden inside the Room of Requirement, the Resurrection Stone ring in the Gaunt shack, the Slytherin locket in Grimmauld Place No. 12, the Hufflepuff cup in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts, and Tom Riddle's diary at Malfoy Manor."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "And these are?"

"Horcruxes," Carnie stated firmly. "The Diadem is sitting in the junk storage area of the Room of Requirement. You can check it right now."

CRACK!

Before Carnie could say another word, Dumbledore vanished, Apparating away on the spot.

Carnie blinked.

"Holy shit. He actually left. Time to run."

Without hesitation, Carnie bolted out the door, activated his Ghost Step spell, and rushed back to Gryffindor Tower.

By the time he reached the dormitory, everyone was asleep.

Well, almost everyone.

"Harry? What are you doing?" Carnie asked, spotting the boy sitting by the window.

Harry turned his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "Carnie! You're back."

Carnie squinted. "Are you… meditating?"

Harry nodded. "I thought about what you said. I might as well use my time to learn something useful. Is this 'cultivation' thing really as amazing as you make it sound?"

Carnie smirked. "Of course! Right now, I can already punch a hole through a desk. Give me a bit more time, and I'll be smashing trolls with a single strike."

Harry chuckled but didn't say anything.

"Alright, I'll let you get back to it." Carnie stretched. "Once you can feel the energy flowing inside you, you'll be close to getting started."

Yawning, he flopped onto his bed without bothering to wash up.

Harry narrowed his eyes and went back to meditating.

Meanwhile, back at the Room of Requirement, Dumbledore reappeared with a loud CRACK!

His gaze immediately locked onto the Diadem.

He carefully examined it—and, sure enough, there was a lingering trace of dark magic.

His heart clenched.

"Carnie was right."

He looked around the room, but Carnie was long gone.

"Although things didn't go as I originally planned, this is… a promising development."

He frowned slightly. "Did my methods make him wary of me? No… judging by his expression, he was simply trying to get away as quickly as possible."

Dumbledore turned toward the Mirror of Erised, still covered by the cloth.

"This should still be left for Harry."

With a flick of his wand, the mirror vanished.

He let out a deep sigh.

"Only five Horcruxes? That means there's still more to be found…

"A Seer, huh? Let's see how much of the future he actually knows."

Dumbledore's glasses reflected the dim light as his mind raced.

The Next Morning.

Carnie woke up to find Harry asleep on the floor near the window.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… this proves it. Only the main character can master things as easily as I do."

Shaking his head, Carnie muttered, "Guess I'll let him sleep."

Before leaving, he scribbled a quick note for the dorm mates.

Like clockwork, Carnie had been bringing breakfast for everyone every single weekend. The Gryffindor Common Room usually didn't allow food unless there were special circumstances—like the Troll Incident.

The Great Hall.

By the time Carnie arrived, breakfast was already in full swing.

The moment he stepped inside, he noticed students whispering all around him.

"What's all the chatter about?"

Before he could ask, a familiar voice called out—

"Over here, Carnie!"

Hermione was waving at him from the Gryffindor table.

Carnie made his way over and sat beside her. "Morning. What's everyone talking about?"

Hermione leaned in, lowering her voice. "The Ministry. The Minister of Magic is here."

Carnie blinked. "Minister of Magic?"

Hermione nodded toward the staff table. "That's him. Sitting next to Dumbledore."

Carnie turned his head, and sure enough, he spotted a middle-aged, slightly overweight man in a ridiculous-looking hat.

"Cornelius Fudge? Ugh. He looks greasy. I'll just call him Oil Slick."

The so-called "Oil Slick" was gesturing wildly as he spoke to Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Dumbledore looked completely uninterested—and even had the nerve to wink at Carnie.

Carnie immediately turned back around.

"Why's the Minister here?" he asked.

"Obviously because of last night's attack," Hermione whispered. "A group of Aurors came with him too. They left with Hagrid earlier to investigate the surrounding areas. I think they might even be checking the Forbidden Forest."

Carnie shrugged. "The Forbidden Forest? That place is full of weird stuff. Maybe I should take a look in there one day."

Hermione gasped. "The Forbidden Forest is dangerous! There are werewolves in there!"

Carnie immediately cut her off. "I'm bored. Any fun activities?"

Hermione pursed her lips. "The library?"

Carnie deadpanned. "I'm sorry. I asked the wrong person."

Before Hermione could protest—

"Oi! We heard something about fun!

"We have the perfect idea!"

Carnie didn't even have to turn around.

The Weasley Twins.

Fred and George flanked him on either side, slinging their arms over his shoulders.

"Why, if it isn't our dear Carnie!" Fred grinned.

"We thought you weren't the type to join in on mischief!" George smirked.

Carnie rolled his eyes. "Since when was I ever a 'goody-two-shoes'? Your so-called 'group activities' are just reckless nonsense."

"Speaking of reckless nonsense…" Fred leaned in.

"Have you ever wondered what's under Quirrell's turban?" George added.

Carnie almost choked on his pumpkin juice.

"Excuse me?!"

"You guys are insane."

Carnie wiped his mouth. "That thing is literally 'touch-and-die.' You realize that, right?"

Fred and George shrugged.

"Our house is already in last place," Fred reasoned. "What's a few more points?"

"Exactly!" George nodded. "If we're going to be bottom of the barrel anyway, we might as well have fun."

Carnie sighed. "You two really have no sense of self-preservation, do you?"

Before the twins could respond, Hermione cut in.

"Are you two seriously planning on pulling off some kind of stunt?! Gryffindor is already in last place!" She huffed. "If you can't help earn points, at least stop losing them!"

Fred and George looked at each other.

Then—

"But if we're already last—"

"Then we might as well have fun."

Carnie sighed again. These guys…

"Alright, forget the turban," Carnie said. "I have a better plan."

The twins' eyes lit up.

"You know the rules," Carnie whispered.

"When someone says, 'I have a plan,'" Fred and George said in unison, "You lean in."

All three of them huddled together.

Hermione, unable to get close, strained to listen from across the table.

Carnie's voice was low and conspiratorial.

"We do this… then that… and finally, we—"

The twins' faces lit up.

"Brilliant!"

"We've always wanted to do this!"

Fred and George practically jumped out of their seats, pumping their fists.

"Absolutely not!" Hermione scolded. "That's far too dangerous!"

Carnie smirked. "Relax. Right now is the safest time to do it. Besides, there's nothing else going on."

The twins turned to Carnie.

"Do we need anything?"

"Are we the only ones going?"

Carnie thought for a moment. "Bring empty sacks, ropes, and some empty bottles. And let's check if Harry and Ron want to join."

The twins saluted.

"Got it! Time to get ready!"

"Finally—a proper adventure!"

As the twins ran off, Carnie finished the last bite of his breakfast.

Hermione still looked deeply concerned.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

Carnie grinned.

"Relax. It's the weekend. What could go wrong?"

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