Harry didn't sleep much, only an hour, and when I asked him how he felt, he said he was already better, that the pain he'd felt wasn't physical, but he didn't know how to explain it, and that resting had helped.
Since we both had our clones attending classes for us, I took advantage of the time to continue telling him about what would happen during the final task of the tournament, especially about his wand and Riddle's being sister wands and the effects that had. I mentioned having a spare wand he could use in an emergency and took several out of my bracelet, which I'd found while sorting through the Room of Requirement.
Luckily, one of those wands worked well for him, though not as well as his own; he'd just need to practice with it to get used to it. I even mentioned that we could see if one of them would work for Sirius, since he didn't have his wand when he escaped.
When the topic of Sirius came up, Harry wanted to tell him what we'd learned about Dumbledore's plans, but we weren't sure Sirius would believe us. I'm practically a stranger, and he'd probably prefer to doubt me, since he doesn't know me, rather than Dumbledore, whom he's known for years.
Harry felt frustrated and agreed with me about not telling him yet until Sirius could trust me. I also told him that if Sirius didn't want us to contact Amelia, and since we wouldn't have any way to prove her innocence without the Pensieve, I mentioned the possibility of capturing Peter Pettigrew and showing him to the Aurors. But the only time we could do something like that would be at the end of the tournament, when Peter is in the graveyard.
We discussed possible ways to capture him and came up with a rough plan. This plan requires Harry to master the spells I'm teaching him, at least until he can use them at an acceptable level, since we plan to have a clone of him participate in the final task.
Harry will create this clone with 85 or 90% of his total mana so it can be resilient and defend itself in the maze and hold the Riddle for a while. Harry, I, and several of my clones will go to the graveyard where the ritual will take place and remain invisible, waiting for the right moment to attack Voldemort and his followers. We'll knock Peter unconscious so Harry can return using the Portkey when we're finished, making sure everyone sees Peter. I'll try to get Madam Bones to attend the tournament final so we can hand Peter over to her, since the Minister can't be trusted; he'd probably try to kill him on the spot.
We'll use this time to see if we can deal with the Horcrux inside Nagini. If we can, Harry will try to finish off Riddle there, but to do that, we have to deal with his followers. That part will fall to me and my clones, since it has to be done quickly so they can't react in time and defend themselves. That's why I'll be the one to handle them, as I can cast spells without a wand, as can my clones, and that way I can deal with several at once.
If we don't find Nagini, we'll try to inflict as much damage as possible on Riddle, either to make him escape or to buy Harry enough time to grab Peter and leave with the cup. I'll then teleport back to the castle. We also want to capture Barty Junior, and for that, we might need Hermione's and the others' help, so we're considering when would be best to tell them.
I wouldn't tell you what I know about it based on my memories, but we'll tell you that we discovered some strange things, and while investigating, we came across the fake Moody. He was the one who put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, so we'll need your help to keep an eye on him during the final task.
We came up with several possible plans, but we haven't settled on one yet, as there are several things we need to consider, and we might be missing something. We might need to make some adjustments later, and perhaps the others can contribute some other good ideas.
Since we were going back to our seats for classes during lunch, Harry said he would practice the Invisibility Charm. While he was practicing, I took out my bracelet to continue repairing it.
I had previously asked Ragnok to help me buy the other one that was at Borgin & Burkes, as I didn't want anyone to know it was me buying it. Since with the help of goblins you can do almost anything as long as you pay them properly, I asked him to buy it for me. He delivered it when I had to go to approve the budget increase for Hogwarts.
As it was the first time I'd dealt with an object like this, I needed to examine it carefully, especially all the runes on it, so I could compare them to the other one in the shop. I knew that one worked, and once I figured out the difference, I could begin the real repair process. This took longer than I expected, as there were runes I didn't recognize and had to look them up. It took me longer to find the book I needed than it did to learn those runes.
When the moment came to retrieve the clones' memories, both Harry and I frowned. This was due to the students' behavior towards Harry. We weren't surprised by the Slytherins, since Harry had a bad relationship with them, but we didn't expect at least half the Ravenclaws and all the Hufflepuffs to look at him with disgust and say sarcastic or mocking things about him. I thought that if Harry took the oath in the Great Hall, explaining that he hadn't put his name in it, things would be different... but it didn't seem to work very well. I'm not sure if it's because they didn't know what it meant to take a magical oath or if they simply didn't care that he did it.
I was trying to think of something to stop that kind of behavior from continuing, but Harry pulled me from my thoughts when he took my hand as he led me out of the Room of Requirement and said...
"Don't think about them... it doesn't really matter, let's just get something to eat... that is, if you don't mind being seen with me."
Harry had a small smile when he said that last part; I knew he was trying to show he didn't mind, but I noticed a hint of hidden pain in his eyes. I tried to smile back and wrapped my arm around his as I replied,
"That's no problem. Let my charming and brilliant self brighten your dreary day by allowing you to join me for lunch."
My words brought a bigger, more genuine smile to his face, and that pleased me... I like seeing him smile for real, not when he wears a fake one.
Harry and I arrived at the Great Hall still arm in arm, joking and laughing together, ignoring everyone whispering as we passed. We reached the Gryffindor table where Hermione and Neville saved us seats. When they saw us, Hermione raised an eyebrow and, with a mischievous smile, said, looking at my arm wrapped around Harry's...
"Did something good happen to you two?"
Seeing where Hermione's gaze had gone, I followed it and only then noticed that I was still holding Harry's arm. It had been so natural for me to continue like that that I hadn't realized. I felt my ears burning and tried to think quickly of something to say, but no words came out of my mouth. Luckily, Hermione took pity on me and, after letting out a small laugh, said,
"Sit down, we've saved you places. If you don't hurry, you won't have time to eat before the next class."
Ugh... I hadn't realized before how much Hermione enjoys teasing us. I just hope it's soon that Viktor tries to win her over so it'll be my turn to tease her... Speaking of Viktor, I'm not sure, but maybe Hermione's rejection had something to do with the potions she was taking... I guess I'll find out later, and if it turns out she really likes Viktor, maybe I can do something to help them...