After teaching Lupin the meditation method, Scarlet finally cleared her schedule for this holiday and enjoyed some well-deserved rest. Neville’s ritual would take a long time just to gather the necessary materials, leaving that as her task for the Easter break.

Black and Harry came over almost daily. Black had even arranged for a Floo Network connection to her house, installing a new fireplace just for that purpose, which crossed another item off her to-do list.

One afternoon, as they all relaxed in the living room with the TV playing softly in the background, Harry approach Scarlet, who was absorbed in a Muggle science textbook, and asked curiously, “The day before the professor from China left, you were talking to them for quite a while. Is everything alright?”

“Of course, why do you ask?” Scarlet replied, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“Because,” Ron chimed in, “every time you get to know someone and learn about their problems, you always take them on yourself and start running around trying to fix things. Not exactly the best habit, if you ask me.”

Scarlet glanced at Harry, who nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Like Fred and George,” Ron continued, rolling his eyes. “They’re completely hooked on video games, practically glued to the controller, and now they’re saying they want to make games like that. And what do you say? You’d help them! Just let them figure it out on their own, Scarlet. You’ve already got way too much to deal with.”

Scarlet chuckled, “Like what?”

“Your novel, for starters!” Ron gave her a pointed look. “When’s the next book coming out? Any chance it’s soon?”

“No, it’s still in the editing stage,” Scarlet laughed. “I’d say at least two months from my end, and then my editor needs to review it, get it ready for printing, do the advertising, stock it in the shops...It’ll probably be out around the start of next school year.”

Ron and Harry groaned in disappointment.

But soon, they say up straighter, letting the topic drop as they shift to discussing the Chinese hidden realm. Scarlet explained what was happening there and mentioned that she’d be having a spar session with them.

“I’m thinking of scheduling it during the summer holidays after my third year at school,” Scarlet said thoughtfully. “We’ll see how things go.”

The boys exchanged puzzled looks. “What’s a spar?” Ron asked.

“It’s kind of like duelling, but more for practice than competition,” Scarlet explained. “It’s a friendly way to test our limits, like when Gryffindor and Hufflepuff have those unofficial Quidditch matched in the off-season. You spot each other's strengths and weakness, then give feedback and help each other improve.”

“So, it’s like a wizard’s duel?” Ron asked, trying to piece it together.

“Sort of,” Scarlet shrugged. “Oh, and I got a prophecy from the mighty crow.”

“What?!” Ron nearly jumped. “A prophecy?”

“What prophecy?” Black and Lupin both turned towards her, their faces serious. Before Scarlet could respond, Kyle waved a dismissive hand.

“Relax, it’s nothing important.”

Both grown wizards stared at him in shock. “You knew about this?” Lupin asked incredulously.

“Er...yeah?” Kyle looked confused. “She told me that night after she heard it.”

“How can you be so casual about it?” Black exclaimed, his brow furrowed. “Prophecies aren’t a joke, Kyle!”

“Are they?” Kyle replied, still looking puzzled. “It just sounded like advice from a wise elder to me. Scarlet’s smart – she'll do fine with or without it.”

“No, you don’t understand, Kyle,” Lupin interjected, his tone earnest. “We have to take prophecies seriously, especially from a reliable Seer; they can change everything. I doubt the crow brought by the Chinese professor would just offer random advice and call it prophecy – it's not mere coincidence.”

“Scarlet’s the magic expert in our house, so she’ll decide what to do with the prophecy.” Kyle raised both hands in mock surrender. “I have no control over this, and I trust her judgement.”

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Black, staring at Scarlet, asked, “And Scarlet, you really think that prophecy is just advice?”

“Well, the crow said I’d meet someone soon, and that being friends with them would help make things smoother for me, that’s all.” Scarlet shrugged. “I’m pretty picky about my friends, so I’ll wait and see if I get along with this person when I meet them. But I get it, prophecies can be heavy. For now, let’s just relax - there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”

Lupin nodded thoughtfully. “It does sound pretty straightforward.”

Black, still frowning, didn’t seem entirely convinced but remained quiet. He knew Scarlet well enough to trust she had her own tricks up her sleeve – hidden well enough that not even he or Remus could figure them out. “Fine, but we’ll be keeping an eye on this. Prophecies don’t just disappear.”

Everybody enjoyed a wonderful New Year, and soon it was time for school to start again. Students boarded the Hogwarts Express, reuniting with friends after the holiday break.

“Look! You’re wearing the same sweater as the Weasleys!” Maya exclaimed with a giggle when she found Scarlet in the compartment. “You could practically pass as one of them!”

“I know,” Scarlet said, flipping her hair playfully. “Maybe I’m their long-lost sister, sharing some ancient ancestor from a thousand years ago. Haha!”

“So, Harry would be the adopted one, then?” Amelia pointed out, noticing Harry wearing the same Weasley-branded sweater. Harry shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

“Why didn’t I get one?” Hermione asked, glaring at Ron, who gave an exaggerated pout and replied, “We weren’t exactly on good terms until a few weeks ago, so maybe my mum didn’t know we were friends yet?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered, “What can I say? Boys!”

After the long journey back to Hogwarts, everyone gathered for dinner in the Great Hall. Professor Sprout warmly welcomed the Hufflepuffs back before the students settled down. Suddenly, a loud murmur arose from the Gryffindor table, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What’s going on?” Maya asked, curious.

Amelia dashed off to investigate and returned shortly after. “There’s a new transfer student in Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall is introducing her – she’s from America.”

“A transfer student? Midterm?” Maya frowned, cutting into her steak. “Why didn’t she come at the start of term in September? It’d be hard to fit in halfway through.”

“I know, right?” Amelia agreed. “And she seems...a little odd. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. I’ll find out more and let you know.”

“Thanks,” Maya said with a shrug. “Though, I don’t think I need to know much. What do you think, Scarlet?”

“It’s always good to have a bit of information about someone,” Scarlet replied, glancing over at the girl Amelia pointed out. She was sitting with the third years, so they weren’t likely to cross paths unless it was intentional.

So, this is the one I’m supposed to befriend? A foreign star like me? Scarlet thought to herself, taking a bite of her meal. It might take a while to get to know her, especially since she’s not in my year...

Scarlet’s daily life finally settled into a routine. She had a nicely organized schedule balancing physical practice, classes, homework, novel writing, business management, and news updates from her hired assistants and William. Life felt more relaxed now that she had postponed her Muggle textbook studies until the summer holidays – she wasn’t starting from scratch, after all, having already found some useful shortcuts.

In contrast to her quiet and productive life, there were quite a few rumours buzzing around school, most of them about the new transfer student in Gryffindor.

“Her accent is so funny!” Maya said excitedly one day while the three of them were in the dorm. “It’s a bit different from what I’ve heard in American movies and TV shows.”

“It sounds too...” Amelia struggled for the right word, frowning, “...bubblegummy? Is that even a real term? Whatever it is, she sounds like her brain is just there for decoration. Her homework’s a total disaster!”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that? Did you see her homework?”

“I caught a glimpse when I passed by her table in the library,” Amelia said with a dramatic wave of her hand. “She’s really struggling with every single subject. I heard even Snape has shifted his sneering from Harry to her if they’re both in front of him.”

Maya’s eyes widened, “That’s why she was crying the other day!”

“What?” Scarlet and Amelia turned to her, curious.

“You know, my book club always look quiet places to exchange book and talk about what we’re reading. One time, we met up near the Astronomy Tower and heard someone crying. We followed the sound and found her curled up in a bush under a tree.”

“Is she being bullied?” Scarlet frowned.

“If you count Snape’s sneering as bullying, then yes,” Maya replied, rolling her eyes, obviously disliking the Potions professor. “He’s been extra harsh with her. Her Potions paper was crumbled in her hand, completely covered in red marks. She was muttering something through her tears.”

“Muttering curses at Snape? How dare she!” Amelia exclaimed, though she looked more thrilled than appalled.

“No, it was more like, ‘this isn’t what I was expecting,’ if I remember right,” Maya said with a shrug, “Her words were a mess because she was crying so hard. I’ve seen some of the Slytherins sneering at her too. Fred and George pranked them in retaliation, and it turned into a chase. They all got an hour’s detention with Filch.”

“Sounds like she had high hopes for transferring to Hogwarts,” Amelia commented. “I mean, our professors are good...except for Snape, obviously.”

Maya turned to Scarlet. “Speaking of which, I’ve never heard you complain about him.”

Amelia glared at Scarlet suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you actually like that gloomy bat.”

“I don’t like him, but I don’t dislike him either,” Scarlet replied with a shrug. “My father’s Asian, and in case you didn’t know, Asian parents love strict teachers. They believe that great students come from strict teachers. Professor Snape fits their idea of a perfect teacher. If we were living in ancient times, my dad would probably beg to have me under Professor Snape. And as for Quirrell, he’d be the first one they’d ditch, seeing as he didn’t teach us anything useful.”

Maya and Amelia both shuddered. “Thank Merlin we don’t live in ancient times,” Maya muttered.