Arthur nodded.

"This is indeed the Black Knife."

"It’s just that Hewg reforged and enhanced it."

Realization immediately dawned on Melina.

No wonder the quality was noticeably superior to the Black Knife she remembered.

She gently traced the blade with her fingers, the more she looked at it, the more she liked it.

After all, this was a dagger capable of carrying the Rune of Death itself.

There was no weapon more suitable for her.

Standing beside her, Arthur asked,

"Do you want to come along tomorrow?"

Hermione had already made it very clear that she intended to go with him.

As for Ranni—

she had never been interested in this kind of matter.

Now only Melina remained, and Arthur still didn’t know what she planned to do.

Melina nodded calmly.

"Of course."

She had just obtained a new weapon, making this the perfect opportunity to test it.

Moreover, she also wanted to see how the power of death in this world differed from her own.

"Alright then," Arthur said.

"Get some rest early. Once Dumbledore arrives tomorrow, we’ll head out immediately."

After saying that, Arthur turned and left. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

He still needed to go back and sleep while hugging his cat-eared little witch.

Meanwhile, Melina found an open area inside the Zen Garden and began familiarizing herself with her newly acquired weapon.

...

The next morning, Arthur woke up unusually early.

After leisurely finishing breakfast, he sat and waited for Dumbledore to arrive.

At exactly nine o’clock, Dumbledore appeared at Arthur’s house together with Harry.

"Morning," Arthur greeted casually.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly before replying,

"Good morning."

"If possible... could I trouble you for a sandwich?"

Arthur instantly revealed a speechless expression.

He had only asked casually.

Yet somehow, despite it already being nine in the morning, Harry still hadn’t eaten breakfast.

Glancing at the dark circles under Harry’s eyes, Arthur immediately understood why.

Most likely, after hearing that he would finally get a chance at revenge, Harry had been so excited that he barely slept the entire night.

He probably only fell asleep shortly before dawn—

and then overslept until Dumbledore came to pick him up.

Arthur turned and instructed the house-elves to prepare breakfast for Harry.

The moment Dumbledore saw the house-elves inside Arthur’s home, he immediately thought:

Good heavens.

So that’s where the missing Hogwarts house-elf from two years ago went.

Arthur had actually abducted it home.

Still, Dumbledore said nothing.

He was no longer Hogwarts’ Headmaster.

Matters like these were no longer his responsibility.

Besides...

the name written on Hogwarts’ property deeds was Arthur’s.

Strictly speaking, the Hogwarts house-elves technically belonged to Arthur anyway.

Meanwhile, Harry was more concerned about something else.

He couldn’t understand why Arthur had looked so speechless earlier.

Had he accidentally said something foolish?

So he quietly asked Dumbledore about it.

Dumbledore chuckled softly.

"Harry, you should understand something."

"In the East, when someone asks whether you’ve eaten, it doesn’t necessarily mean they intend to invite you to a meal if you say no."

"Most of the time, it’s simply politeness—or a greeting."

"Much like us saying ’hello.’"

Harry immediately understood.

He hurriedly turned toward Arthur.

"Sorry. I caused you trouble."

Arthur waved it off without caring.

"It’s fine."

"Besides, Lucius and Snape still haven’t arrived yet anyway."

The moment those words left his mouth—

the subjects themselves appeared.

Snape and Lucius walked in from next door looking utterly exhausted, both wearing expressions of people who had just crawled out of bed.

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t tell me you two haven’t eaten breakfast either?"

Snape yawned before answering,

"We already ate."

Arthur continued,

"Then why do both of you look like you just woke up?"

Snape replied expressionlessly,

"Last night, a certain someone used the excuse of ’old friends catching up after not seeing each other for a long time’ to keep talking to me all night."

"As a result, I’m somewhat sleep-deprived."

As he spoke, his eyes shifted meaningfully toward Lucius.

Honestly, Snape couldn’t understand it at all.

Lucius had just experienced a life-and-death crisis during the day.

Logically speaking, shouldn’t he have collapsed asleep the moment his head touched a pillow?

Yet somehow, the man had remained absurdly energetic the entire night.

Arthur noticed Snape’s gaze immediately.

There was no need to ask who this "certain someone" referred to.

Arthur sighed.

This was already the second time he had been left speechless this morning.

One young man and two middle-aged men—

yet all three had a worse sleep schedule than Dumbledore, an actual old man.

Arthur pulled out three test-tube-shaped potions and asked,

"Do you want some Invigoration Draught?"

Everyone present recognized the potion immediately.

It was a common potion frequently used in the Hogwarts infirmary for treating minor colds.

After drinking it, the user would become refreshed and alert—

while their ears continuously emitted steam for the next several hours.

The mere thought of meeting Voldemort while looking like steam engines made Snape, Lucius, and Harry simultaneously shake their heads.

The moment Arthur saw their expressions, he immediately understood what they were thinking.

"Relax," he explained.

"I already improved the formula."

"I removed the smoking ears side effect."

Only after hearing that did the three finally accept the potions from Arthur.

After all, in their current exhausted state, they truly wouldn’t be able to perform at full strength during the upcoming battle.

If Arthur knew what they were thinking, he would probably tell them they were overestimating themselves.

He had never considered any of them actual combat power to begin with.

After all, hadn’t he told Dumbledore yesterday that he didn’t mind bringing a few extra spectators?

After drinking the improved Invigoration Draught, the three immediately became energetic and refreshed.

Snape stared thoughtfully at the empty vial in his hand.

This thing...

could still be improved further.

Remove the cold-treatment properties completely.

Retain only the refreshing effect.

That way, not only would production costs decrease—

its practical applications would also expand enormously.

For example, situations like their current sleep deprivation.

Drink one bottle—

and instantly regain enough energy to continue working or studying efficiently.

Productivity would increase dramatically.

If promoted properly throughout Hogwarts...

they would no longer need to worry about students suffering from low study efficiency.

Snape silently memorized the idea.

Later, he planned to ask Arthur to continue refining the potion.

As for why he wouldn’t do it personally?

Naturally—

because he had no time.

Once the school term began, he would officially become Hogwarts’ new Headmaster.

At that point, he would likely be busy beyond belief.

Where would he possibly find the time to research potions himself?

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