Sagres watched Dobby's small, hunched figure writing furiously and subtly moved his tongue again inside his mouth.
The stinging sensation was fading, leaving behind only a faint numbness.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Thankfully, the claws of misfortune had only grazed him this time—just a few bites on the tongue.
No spilled ink, no exploding exam papers, no rebellious quills. In the string of bad luck he'd suffered over the past two days, this counted as a relatively peaceful moment.
Straightening his back, Sagres turned his gaze toward the blurred outline of the Forbidden Forest beyond the window. The only sound in the room was the steady rustle of Dobby's quill moving across parchment.
…
While students waited for their exam results, the tense atmosphere in the castle quickly melted away, replaced by noise and energy everywhere.
The corridors were filled with loud chatter and laughter, common rooms bustled with groups making plans for the holidays, and even the portraits seemed infected by the joy, humming off-key tunes.
The air itself seemed filled with the scent of freedom.
With the holidays drawing near, Hogwarts had become a celebration on the verge of ending.
Outside the torrent of noise, Sagres stood by his office window, silently watching the busy campus below through Noctis's eyes.
He needed to ensure one thing: Astoria Greengrass must not become the target of family scrutiny during the summer holidays for certain reasons.
"Write a letter for me," Sagres said without turning around. "Send it to Greengrass Manor. Don't soften the wording—make it clear that all family members are to maintain proper interactions."
He paused, then added, "Remind them that holidays are for family reunions, and excessive harshness is detrimental to one's mental and physical well-being."
"And if anyone ignores the reminder…" He thought of the stubborn old relics hiding in the Manor's shadows, and his voice cooled. "They will also have to deal with detrimental mental and physical well-being."
"Dobby obeys!"
The House-elf nodded frantically, his large ears flapping.
Through the raven's sight, Sagres scanned the noisy crowd and stopped on a corridor near the Ravenclaw Tower.
Several students gathered there, but their mood contrasted sharply with the surrounding cheerfulness.
Luna Lovegood, still dreamlike as ever, held a roll of parchment listing her lost items (including a shoe embroidered with House-elf patterns, a carrot necklace, and a copy of The Quibbler).
Beside her stood her friend, Astoria Greengrass—who usually spoke softly but now looked like a frightened kitten.
Several Ravenclaw boys and girls blocked their path, their faces twisted into mocking grins.
"Hey, is the crazy girl hunting for her hallucinations again?" Larry deliberately raised his voice, attracting the attention of students nearby. "What did you lose this time—your Blibbering Humdinger catching net?"
His companions covered their mouths, laughing.
One of the girls deliberately brushed against the notice board with her shoulder. The lost-and-found notice Astoria had just painstakingly pinned up slipped sideways with a soft whoosh.
Astoria's cheeks flushed bright red. She jerked out her wand, gripping it so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Her eyes—normally timid and soft—now burned with a trembling mix of fear and anger.
"Get lost!"
Her voice shook at first, but then rose sharply. "You've gone too far!"
"We've gone too far?" Larry widened his eyes in mock innocence, spreading his hands as if baffled. His gaze swept dismissively over Luna. "You're the ones putting these 'special' things everywhere. Shouldn't someone clean them up?"
His companions chimed in with smug little agreements.
"Don't think I don't know—it was you who hid her things!"
Astoria's chest rose and fell violently. She practically shouted it, attracting even more onlookers.
She raised her wand high, her slender arm trembling with fury and tension, as though it might snap at any moment.
"I'm warning you! Give them back right now! Otherwise—"
She drew a deep breath.
"Otherwise, I'll challenge you to a duel!"
When she spoke the last sentence, her voice carried a firmness that sounded as if she had gathered every ounce of courage she possessed.
A collective gasp rippled through the nearby students.
Astoria—timid, soft-spoken Astoria—challenging someone to a duel for the sake of "the crazy girl" Lovegood?
This was so rare it might as well be front-page news in The Daily Prophet.
Mason Larry froze for a second, then burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! A duel? You? For this crazy Lovegood? Has your brain rotted too? Or…"
His eyes dragged slowly over Astoria, dripping with disdain. "Are you just like her? Another Loonie freak?"
"Shut up!"
Dangerous sparks crackled from the tip of Astoria's wand, but Luna gently tugged her back.
"It's okay."
Luna's dreamy voice drifted into the tense air, completely untouched by the hostility around them.
She softly held Astoria's hand. "Don't be angry, Astoria. Lost things always return in unexpected ways. And anger will only make the Nargels revolve and the Blibbering Humdingers nest in your ears."
"Hear that? Even she doesn't care! You—" Larry began, his voice twisting into the start of a nasty curse.
"CAW—!"
A harsh, cold cry—like metal scraping against rust—exploded through the corridor, immediately smothering all other sound.
Every student froze as if struck by Petrificus Totalus and turned toward the source of the noise in perfect unison.
A raven perched steadily on the high stained-glass window ledge, like a carved obsidian statue.
Its pitch-black eyes swept coldly over the corridor and locked directly onto Mason Larry and the loudest of his companions.
The hallway fell instantly silent—so quiet a pin drop would have echoed.
"It's Professor Greengrass's raven…" someone whispered in shock.
The raven spread its dark wings, glided in a smooth arc through the air, and settled lightly on Astoria's slender shoulder.
It tilted its head, glanced at the lost-and-found notice in her hand, and then—like a flash of lightning—pecked forward, snatching the parchment with its sharp beak.
A beat later, its wings snapped open with force, and the bird shot through the air like a black streak straight toward Mason Larry.
To everyone's disbelief, the raven opened its beak!
Thwack!
The parchment slapped directly onto Mason's face.
Before he could even react, the raven alighted on his opposite shoulder, its talons digging faintly into the fabric of his robes.
Mason Larry went pale with terror. He knew exactly whose raven this was.
And the memory of a certain professor cutting off Umbridge's finger in full view of the school—and walking away without consequence—flashed vividly through his mind.
"Find them."
The raven's harsh, grating voice sounded right by his ear, making every hair on Mason Larry's body stand on end.
~~~~~~~
o(*≧▽≦)ツ💫 Read up to 12+ chapters in advance on P@treon/DarkDevil1