A Heart of Gold {Sequel to 'The Undiscovered Triplets'}

[Chapter 7-Harry]

Harry

"Hey, Harry? Can I have a word?" Gabby asked me.

"Uh...yeah..." I said. "Give us a minute, will you?" I said to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes at my rudeness but they cleared off.

"So," I said, turning back to Gabby. "what is it?"

"You know the experiment Eracs wanted to use me for?" she said quietly. 

"Yeah..."

"Me and Aria figured out what it is. The experiment is...well..." she hesitated.

"Go on," I urged. 

She sighed. "It turns humans into gold."

"What?!" I yelled.

"Shhh!" Gabby hushed me, glancing nervously around the common room.

"Sorry," I whispered. "but are you serious?"

She nodded, biting her lip. "Dead serious." She checked her watch. "Holy crap! I've gotta go! Talk to you later!" she called over her shoulder as she sprinted out of the common room.

I walked over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting. Hermione was doing her homework (of course) and most unusually, Ron was reading a book.

"Ron, what are you reading?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard," Ron murmured absent-mindedly.

"What?" Hermione and I said together.

Ron looked up. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," he said. "You know, the kids book."

"Er - no, we don't know," I said while Hermione shook her head.

"Come on, you must have heard of some of them, what about...the Warlock's Hairy Heart?" Ron asked.

"Er...no..."

"Here, I'll read it to you," Ron said. 

And so he did.

"There once was a handsome, rich and talented young warlock, who observed that his friends grew foolish when they fell in love, gambolling and preening, losing their appetites and their dignity. The young warlock resolved never to fall prey to such weakness, and employed Dark Arts to ensure his immunity.

Unaware of his secret, the warlock’s family laughed to see him so aloof and cold.

‘All will change,’ they prophesied, ‘when a maid catches his fancy!’

But the young warlock’s fancy remained untouched. Though many a maiden was intrigued by his haughty mien, and employed her most subtle arts to please him, none succeeded in touching his heart. The warlock gloried in his indifference and the sagacity that had produced it.

The first freshness of youth waned, and the warlock’s peers began to wed, and then to bring forth children.

‘Their hearts must be husks,’ he sneered inwardly, s he observed the antics of the young parents around him, ‘shrivelled by the demands of these mewling offspring!’

And once again he congratulated himself upon the wisdom of his early choice.

In due course, the warlock’s aged parents died. Their son did not mourn them; on the contrary, he considered himself blessed by their demise. Now he reigned alone in their castle. Having transferred his greatest treasure to the deepest dungeon, he gave himself over to a life of ease and plenty, his comfort the only aim of his many servants.