Summoned to Dumbledore’s office, Harry has to use every scrap of Occlumency and Slytherin subtlety Severus taught him to lie about his vision and Arthur Weasley’s attack. He refuses Grimmauld Place, chooses to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, and makes it clear that Neville is his true ally now, not Ron and Hermione. Later, safe in Severus’s quarters, Harry makes coffee, accidentally speaks Parseltongue over a mysterious Gaunt book in a Gringotts auction, and then finally tells the full story of the Third Task: the maze, Cedric’s death, the graveyard ritual, torture, the duel, Priori Incantatem, and his escape. Severus listens, steadies him, and bluntly insists Harry stop blaming himself, offering a transfigured couch, tea, and the kind of honest comfort no one else ever has.