The school year was coming to a close.
By tomorrow, the final exams of the year would start and would go on for a one week. The conclusion of the year if I were to believe in the rising tensions in the common room and ever more stressed classmates. Honestly speaking, most of my time had been preoccupied in the library, so the exams came as a surprise to me.
Luckily, nearly all of the attempts to sabotage me had ceased. I suspect the reason was due to infighting, and the charging of emotion due to previous causes. When one jumps in the battle, just for a single time, the probability of getting targeted increases dramatically. Revenge and heated emotion are strong biases when choosing potential targets for sabotage. That aggregation of the fighting and “accidents” decreased the number of casualties from the side, and all of the incidents and Hospital wing visits accumulated on the few people that I suspected were causing the scenes. It was fascinating to observe from the side who were the suspects, since I only had two persons in my mind, but was surprised how there were seven main victims. On top of them, there were others, less frequent victims, one of which was Oscar. That was a small surprise, since I hadn’t thought he was so proactive to causing trouble. I knew he was obnoxious, but didn’t suspect him of any of the incidents. Leon, on the other hand, had stayed out of the harm’s way, similar to me. As a reward for his good behavior, I tried to give him at least a single friendly smile per day, to encourage his good behavior. However, the ungrateful bum didn’t appreciate my kind gesture, and instead looked very weirdly and confusedly at first but then with indignation whenever I smiled at him. So, to preserve our amicable relationship, and avoid getting cursed when I was asleep, I magnanimously stopped my rewarding behavior and Leon's conditioning training with my smile. It seems I must postpone my planned conditioning schedule of my roommates. Unexpected issues lead to indefinite delays.
I digress, I found the whole evolution of the violent competition a fascinating thing. The whole appearance of the pattern of violent behavior, which began from practically nothing. Perhaps an accident led to conscious acts or maybe just a misunderstanding, but as soon as the first violent act happened, the frequency of acts multiplied explosively as the behavior pattern adopted. However, as soon as it appeared, it began to concentrate on the once who propagated it the most. And as the violent acts increased even more, most of the cases were from this small group of people stuck in the cycle of revenge. So, as the pattern was growing, it imploded do to its very own nature. What a fascinating sociological mode propagating in human interactions. Like an energy mode that is inherently unstable, that grows exponentially at the total population, but starts to converge quickly. Finally, the convergence will overcome the total mode population until the mode itself will vanish in the infinitesimal width peak that is the perturbation. The only open question in my mind was that who was the corresponding peak in the troublemaker students. Who will be the end of the circle of revenge? Who will be the last one standing? And more importantly, what will the end look like? Will all the revenges accumulated in this single person just detonate in the form of madness, or does the analogy itself breakup? Does the model break for few enough people? After all, it’s hard to keep up a circle of revenge by yourself, so will the implosion end with just a couple of people in a small fizzle not an ear-shattering explosion?
More than the exams, I was nervous about the end of the year. I mean, the school would end soon after the exams. And more importantly, I would need to leave the castle for the orphanage, and consequently, I would be leaving the library. That was the pickle, as I was not ready for that departure. I think me and the library had been getting along perfectly, I would spend a significant amount of time in the library, and the library would provide me with an unending supply of interesting books. Most of my time in the school was probably spent in the library, with sleeping in my bed as a close second.
For that reason, I had hatched a plan. More precisely, it’s not much of a plan, but more of a friendly request for the school to be able to stay in the school during the summer. That request was the reason I was not currently reading in the library, as it was still open, and instead I was standing in front of Flitwick’s office, just next to the charm’s classroom. I had prepared for the request extensively. I knew the request a hard sell and seemed quite unprecedented based on my small research, but I would do my best to sell it. I had to. For the library, I would go through any tribulations. After going through in my mind all the relevant points that could stick, while simultaneously recalling how unlikely the success was, I knocked on the door.
“Come in.” A muffled, but surprisingly clear voice could be heard inside, Flitwick’s voice. No time like now, I said to myself as I opened the door.
“Good day, Paige. How are you doing? Having trouble with the exams?” Flitwick spoke as soon as I stepped in to welcome me with a friendly smile, while simultaneously waving his wand to fetch a box of candy and a tea set.
“Good day to you too, Professor Flitwick. No, I am not worried about the exams. I just have a request to the school I would like to propose.” All right, better to get straight to it with no regrets.
“Is it possible for me to spend the summer here in the castle?” I checked for his initial reaction with nervousness bubbling inside me and followed up with my best reasoning.
“From my education perspective, I would learn a lot better here where I could access the library, compared to being stuck up in the orphanage. On top of that, in recent times the attacks against muggle-born wizards have increased, which makes me, a defenseless orphan muggle-born student, an excellent target. In Hogwarts, I would be safe. Finally, like my behavior has demonstrated, I am a responsible student who does not do vandalism. Therefore, I could help with some tasks or, even better, cleaning the library and taking care of the books.” I was heaving heavily after getting everything off my chest. The speed of my speech was so high and unusual that even Flitwick seemed taken back by the clear expression of emotion. Despite that emotional reaction, I could see the dejection in Flitwick’s face. Covered by warm friendliness and sympathy was the cold, hard fact that this would be an impossibility.
“Dear Paige. I’m sorry to say that that would be impossible. Your points are valid and fair, but you are also exaggerating the points quite a bit. Although, there have been two attacks involving muggle-borns in the current year, they are not yet at a level of a serious security threat. The addresses of students are also not shared, so there is no need to fear. I’ll ask headmaster Dumbledore just in case, but your request is highly unlikely to be fulfilled.” Flitwick responded sympathetically with an almost certain answer. He did offer to ask from Dumbledore, but even he thought that Dumbledore accepting was a non-existential possibility.
“The summer holiday is a time for students to let go and relax, and I hope you too can relax with some of the muggle friends in the orphanage. Relaxing is an important aspect of the education as without any breaks, burnouts can happen with wild magical effects.” Flitwick continued explaining the school's reasoning for such a long summer holiday.
Well… It’s not like this was a complete surprise, as I did expect the outcome. It’s not like the school is here to accommodate to student's every wish. The school is for education, and the education happens during semesters. It would be foolish to think that a housing during the summer could be provided. Since, after all, I did have an orphanage I could stay in. Nevertheless, the rejection hurt. Hurt due to the certainty that I would not be able to visit the library in the summer. What had been shrouded in the mystery of fear was now exposed to sunlight, giving a painful rejection. In a way, this meeting was a cathartic experience, that finally gave alight the uncertainty for a clean slate. It’s better to know a depressing future, than forever hope for the best with no solid reasoning.
“I see. Thank you, Professor. I didn’t have anything else.” I turned to leave, since my mood had very little patience for conversations with anyone, even Flitwick. To the library then. As I was walking away from the workstation, Flitwick interrupted me.
“Don’t be sad, Paige. The world is full of wonders other than the library, and the library will wait for you when you arrive back in the autumn. Try to make friends and enjoy all your time while you can.” Flitwick was looking at me with sad but encouraging eyes. I didn’t fully turn back, as my interest in spending time with even Flitwick was very low. After giving him a glance from the door, I nodded as a small form of recognition and closed the door. As the door fully closed, I only heard a quiet sigh from Flitwick as I turned away to clear my head in the library.
After a minute or two, I was back in my private reading place, with a book from some kind of muggle studies section. I just arrived at the edge of the section a few days ago, so I didn’t have a complete understanding of the subject, but the books were addressing the multitude of cognitive differences in our world compared to muggles. However, most of the books were heavily outdated with their discussion, as I hadn’t seen a single sword fight or a horse carriage when I was at the orphanage. They still gave an interesting picture of their time, and the observations told more about the observers themselves.
Usually, I would hop straight into reading, but this time I didn’t want to. It’s hard to behave like yesterday when today I know something I knew not yesterday. Instead of opening the book and starting reading, I just caressed my hand on the cover of the book and traced its title, “The Lies We Tell”. A rather new book from maybe two decades ago. I was not a professional historian, of course, but I had handled so many thousands of books in my hands, that I felt like I was pretty accurate. It could have been a reprint, of course, but it didn’t feel like it. There was no specific feature of the covers I could point out for that interpretation, I just felt like it. Moreover, I felt like I was right. To be fair, that might be a clear sign of mental illness, but I had stopped diagnosing myself with those and doubting myself ever since the faithful meeting with McGonagall nearly a year ago.
With a soft voice, I apologized. Not to the books of the library for leaving, but for myself that I had only taken the steps to request for the stay two weeks before the end of term. I apologized, for my indecisiveness, and the fact that the books had to see it. The books who had always given everything they had, leaving nothing halfway. With a promise, to myself, but more importantly to the library, that I would do better, I opened the book and began reading.
The book introduced different events and places in which magic like memory charms and repelling charms have been used with lasting effects to create cultural heritage, like the famous city of Pompeii, which was purged by wizards due to getting exposed. With many atmospheric charms and illusions, the purging had been successfully camouflaged for muggles as an eruption by the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, but magical records told a different story. More importantly, the book had a final chapter discussing the overarching effects of these kinds of artificial constructs on the muggle history, and society overall. The takeaway message resonated with me, that it’s better to live in certainties whether it be a lie or not, instead of the chaos of ambiguity. At least, at that time, the certainty of me leaving Hogwarts was a relief, that led me to look forward into the summer instead of the looming day of departure.
The exams were amusing. Amusing due to how much the impact of their existence showed in the everyday life in the Hogwarts school life from dawn until dusk, from the Great Hall to the absence of students playing around outside in the early summer days. Overall, the stress levels were higher, but it was fascinating to see how differently different people took the approaching exams, and how the responses had remarkable similarities within the houses. Outward, the most silence response was from the Slytherins which had a surprisingly quiet response. Looking at their faces, however, it was clear to see that most of them were under a significant amount of stress and fear. Hufflepuffs, I would consider having the most balanced response, with a little more crying, more cohesive groups, and an abnormal amount of studying for Hufflepuffs. Gryffindors were similar to Hufflepuffs, but with less crying and more panic. That said, none of the three houses combined came even close to the amount of stress the Ravenclaws were having. I would have considered the behavior of the Ravenclaws highly amusing, if not for the fact that I was among them. Ravenclaws were like walking time bombs, ready to erupt with all their grievances for the slightest of stimulus from brushing past them, to even looking too long at them. However, while other Ravenclaws could still keep themselves somewhat together, there were three exceptions, the final three troublemakers who had incidents every other day. Where most Ravenclaws had the learned material at their mental support, the troublemakers realized only the day before that the exams were beginning. So, with the knowledge of impending doom somewhere in the back of their minds, they were absolutely volatile. Not necessarily from physical confrontations, as they had learned to hatch their plots in secret from the teachers. After all, no Ravenclaw had yet received a point penalty or detention from a rule break, so I think they were highly professional. However, volatility and risks were radiating them. They were on the brink of the edge, and I would not like to be near them if any of them took the final step over.
The exams were divided into one subject per day, with a written, theoretical portion and a practical portion (except history). The written exams had been a breeze, only asking the information from the corresponding textbooks for each class and a single applied question, which provided nice entertainment on the otherwise trivial test. The practical exams were similarly demonstration of spells, all learned in the class. Of course, depending on the subject, the exam scopes varied as Astronomy only had a single spell demonstration of time – telling spell tempos, compared to the 2 potions we needed to brew for the Potions exam.
However, whereas the exams themselves were pleasant, the atmosphere was getting more dangerous. With each exam, the three musketeers were getting closer and closer to the brink. In the second last exam, the transfiguration exam, a complication appeared. During the private spell demonstrations of turning a bouncy ball into a glass ball, an explosion happened in the test room. I did not see it firsthand as I was waiting in the corridor for my turn with the others, but we heard an ear-shattering shockwave and felt the compression wave hit us in the chest. I was already certain that McGonagall and the student had died, but out of the black smoke walked out McGonagall with an unharmed appearance, with not a scratch on her clothes. Behind her, a panther was carrying the student’s limp body, that was in surprisingly good condition, considering the previous sound. After instructing the panther to bring the student to the Hospital wing, McGonagall started waving her wand and using spells to bring back the classroom to a presentable condition. She was spelling at a blindingly fast speeds, but I am reasonably confident that one of the spells she used was the ancient crystallization charm from Crete, although for what she used it, I don’t know. After a few minutes, when the black smoke had disappeared and outwardly everything looked normal except for the still startled expressions of the students, McGonagall continued on with the exam, much to the shock of the students.
One down, two to go. While one of them had received substantial injuries, they were not something a week in a magical hospital could not fix. However, two people were still on the brink, perhaps partly due to the pressure from the family, but they were trapped animals locked in a cage, an accident waiting to happen.
When the next morning came, I saw them again at breakfast with eyes dark from studying late at night to know anything, anything more for the exam. They looked ready, at least ready in themselves. Like psyched up athletes, already convinced of their success, as nothing else could be on option. A honed edge by giving oneself no other opportunity than to success or die. Practically speaking, I don’t believe they would really die, but the method was similar, give no retreat, so the advancement is the only option.
Everything went well in the written exam, with a stimulating applied question of how the levitation charm could be used for limited flying. The old book I bought from the used bookstore had touched on this subject, so I was probably over prepared for this question, but I also managed to fit in some of my own musings on the topic as well. The main idea is that the charm would need to be spelled indirectly, as a direct spell would have interference with the will and intention of the being, the spell would need to be targeted at a non-interfering object.
However, an incident happened again on the practical portion of the exam. I was already done with my exam, in which I showcased practically all the charms I had learned in the class this year. The best reaction was when Flitwick asked for an assignment to have a pillow fight by levitation with our wands. Initially, he was quite disappointed as my charm broke after the first collision, with such a difference, that hundreds of feathers were left falling in the air. However, he looked with a delighted gaze full of admiration as my second charm sent all the newly freed feathers into the battle to overthrow the big bad pillow. The second usage was thanks to the small wavelike understanding the magic could have. Instead of the feathers themselves, the charm was more universal, like a velocity field dictating how the objects would behave in it.
Anyway, back to the point, after the first of the remaining two risks went inside, I was already tense, as the moment the break it or make it was among us. I finally gave a relieved sigh when the girl came outside with a victorious but relieved smile, clearly marking her success. Sigh… One bomb defused, another one remaining… But while the other was clear, the remaining boy looked even more trapped in the corner, even the final accomplished had left him, so he was on his own now.
Poetically, he was the last student to go inside. The final chapter and climax of the story before the epilogue. And like a usual story, the final needed a twist for a contrast to the successful girl. There were no explosions to be heard to mark a tragedy, but after five minutes, far more than for anybody else, running steps were heard approaching us. McGonagall came running to dismiss all of us back to our rooms at the end of the exam and went inside the testing room. The whole time I had been hopeful with the success of the previous girl, but with each moment, my instincts were tingling that the god of drama was not so merciful, until I knew with the arrival of McGonagall that something had gone down. Compared to the loud explosion, McGonagall was far more distressed, and the pressing atmosphere told the same story. Despite the lack of explosions, something far more serious and lasting had happened.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
We were never really told what happened to the boy, apart from that, he had a serious magic accident, leading to him being treated in the St. Mungo’s Hospital, the wizarding hospital of the British wizarding world. There were other, smaller hospitals in Britain, but St. Mungo’s was by far the largest and with the best coverage for different ailments.
I was satisfied, but at the same time morbid, of the prediction of the results of the competition. I could not have guessed that the results would be so radical, but that was due to me not believing in the model in the end. It was only a curiosity, until it wasn’t anymore.
After the exams, we had four days of freedom before the term would finally end, and I would need to leave. That whole time I had spent in the library as much as I can, going back to me recluse days of Christmas holiday of skipping lunch and dinner in favor of reading. Two days before the departure, I was sitting in the chair reading a stack of books from the same field of muggle studies, except these were closer to descriptions and musings of different muggle objects and devices. It was interesting to read about the wizard's perspective on the telegraph lines and how quickly a large gap had formed in the wizarding understanding of the muggles in just the last century. However, I was interrupted from my thoughts by a familiar voice of Flitwick.
“Here you are, Paige. No wonder your classmates have had a hard time finding you. I would be just as lost if not for the wonderful gift of magic and charms.” Flitwick came with a relaxed posture, twirling his wand pompously to emphasize the last sentence with a small, contagious laugh.
“Indeed, here I am, Professor. It seems I must find an even better hiding spot to escape the charms!” I postured with a similar laugh in my lips, and mirth in my eyes. With a small laugh, Flitwick sat opposite of me, clearly having something to talk to me, so I shut down the book I was reading to give him my full attention. Like usual Flitwick, had an immaculate appearance of control, like his clothes had decided not to let down the manners in which he conducted himself, and were trying to follow up. In that crackless exterior, however, were ripples in his eyes. Ripples formed from sadness and ripples formed from tiredness. As invincible as he was, even he wasn’t untouchable by the happenings inside the castle. Just as he was molding us students in the path of charms, we would also leave a mark on him, mark in mutual memories from shared experiences. And that was his weakness, the Achilles heel of caring too much. Not that I cared for his weaknesses, but it was enlightening to see that even Flitwick, the all graceful, had a human side to him. Our staring contest ended after he gave up.
“I forwarded your request to Dumbledore, with the result of denial.” Well, I guess this was not a staring contest, but he did break the silence.
“I see.” Honestly speaking, I had already forgotten that Flitwick promised to forward the request to Dumbledore, as I had already given up on the issue. There was no emotional reaction, as I had already accepted the fact.
“Thank you for forwarding the unexpected request.” I was truly thankful that he forwarded my unreasonable request that was in its initial steps already doom for failure. Knowing all that, he still sent it through to Dumbledore. To show my appreciation, a gave him my heartfelt smile, that was probably quite an ugly grin, due to showing very rarely, and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Thank you for your understanding.” Flitwick responded with a smile, that seemed to read my intentions. I had always been an easy kid to interpret, but Flitwick seemed to have an even greater ability to understand my purposes.
As Flitwick was taking his leave, I interrupted him with a question I had wanted to ask since the exams.
“Is the boy okay?”
Flitwick turned serious from his rather mild expression in a natural transition, but so quick it must have been in a blink of an eye. He looked at my eyes, as if looking for something, but answered with a softer expression.
“Cedric is fine, still not out of the blue, but he will live.”
After a moment, he continued, giving advice with an even softer tone, like a parent talking to his child in the bed.
“I only wish that you will never chase yourself into a corner. Bad things can happen when one fights against their magic.”
And with those words of warning, Flitwick left the reading space. Left me to muse over his words and contemplate just what happened to the poor child.
The train was leaving soon. I would need to leave for the train in fifteen minutes, but I wanted to say my goodbyes to the library. After all, it was the place I had spent the most of my time in. I didn’t come here to read books. No, I had read through the whole end of the year feast, to experience all the books I could before leaving. While others were celebrating with appetizing foods, I was celebrating with intriguing stories of adventure in the muggle world. No, now was the time for goodbyes. With a similar ritual to leaving my orphanage library, I just rolled my fingertips against the spines of the books as I walked through the empty library, taking in all the smells of old books and recalling the numerous memories I had already created with my industrious goal of reading all the books in the library. From shelf to shelf I went through the library, from floor to floor and even giving a small caress to the stalled grandfather clock as a goodbye. I can’t say for certain, but I was almost certain that the library was also faring me his goodbyes. In the end, I arrived at the library entrance and before leaving I gave the library a bright sunny smile and a furious hand wave, before furiously running to the station, to not miss the train.
On the train, I decided to join Oscar’s and Leon’s carriage, which occupied by two other Ravenclaws from the same year. I decided to spend some time with them, to compensate for the last days of only spending time at the library. Most of the time we spent by playing Gobstones, an utterly foolish game with no practical usage whatsoever. Nevertheless, that foolishness and absurdity worked as a glue to connect us with laughter and joy, a happy epilogue for the holiday.
I was already ready to leave after I fared my classmates well at the station. I took a final glance at the view of the Hogwarts Express, the same trusty locomotive that would bring me back to Hogwarts in a few months, and I was ready to step in the doorway, when I was disrupted by an evil giant. Sorry, my mistake, not by an evil giant, but by the red devil. The head girl who had disturbed my reading with her inquiries and her following hooligan fan club. Speaking of the devil, the gang of hooligans was right behind her.
“Hahaa… little one. Your first school year is now over. I apologize if I was bothering you, as I don’t think you needed company that much after all. Anyway, I won’t be protecting you anymore, so take care of yourself.” If you promise to never ever contact me again, I promise I will forgive you. Unbelievably rude behavior, from an unbelievably rude person. I nodded and thanked her as a small response, since I am not a barbarian and have the manners of a civilized person.
After she left, with her boyfriend in tow, I waited, for my safety, for the last of the marauders to leave, but I noticed that the tall handsome devilish dog stayed behind. He walked to me, at which point I was certain I was about to get robbed of my precious books, so I hurriedly tried to hide my bag behind the large trunk. The tall hoodlum came before my looking incredulously and amused at my hiding attempt with a boisterous laugh.
“You dropped this.” He said as he gave me a piece of folded parchment. Before I even had time to process what the parchment was, he turned to leave, while simultaneously calling out:
“Leave it as a gift for future students to find when you leave Hogwarts.” The whole situation was so ridiculous from the start, as I had no idea what he was talking about when he had already left. Leaving me alone in the station, my bags behind me and an empty folded piece of parchment in my hand.
After looking at the parchment confusedly and feeling its surface texture with my fingers for a long moment, I realized. That was my map! I knew they had stolen it. The little rats! At least finally I got it back. So, with a familiar expectation, I opened the parchment which would show my beautiful map, and nothing was there. The parchment was empty. What have you buffoons done to my map!?
INTERLUDE 1
“Sigh…”
A depressed sigh was heard in a room full of sounds of writing and flapping of parchment. The room was neatly decorated, with a surface touch of warmness and friendliness, but an overall layout of efficiency. The stools were warm and cozy but positioned in a way to allow for optimized movement between the doors, the table, and the bookshelf. A façade of friendliness covering the steel cold, brutal efficiency underneath.
And behind a gothic pompous table was a man, a small man, sitting in the middle of stacks of parchments, flapping through them while making small marks from time to time. The table was so full of parchments that the only thing apart from parchment on it was the bolted golden name plaque announcing the current inhabitant of the room, Professor Filius Flitwick.
Currently, the Professor was in a rare moment of pickle, buried under the innumerous number of exams that needed to be graded. This was a rare moment since exams were organized only once per semester, and the exams in the first semester were far smaller and less laborious. While normally, the Professor was an epitome of grace, keeping an uncanny gracious mustache, where not a single strand of hair was out of place, currently that control had slipped, as the mustache was sagging from the right side and few strands of his shoulder long black hair were loose. Hair, which was usually swept elegantly straight to back, with no exceptions. Furthermore, few splashes of ink were tarnishing his ordinarily pristine hands, which were now working overtime to grade written exams. However, despite their ink-stained appearance, the hands had left no extra marks of ink on any of the handled papers, as even if Flitwick would compromise on some aspects of his control, he had strict boundaries in which he would never cross under any circumstances. And tarnishing the students’ exam papers was one of those.
Outside the room opened the grounds of Hogwarts on a sunny summer day with beautifully singing colorful birds, green grass oozing with life, and a crystal blue lake rippling in a practically non-existent wind. All of this breathtaking scenery could be seen from the huge decorative windows that gave an irresistible view. Professor Flitwick, however, did not seem that thrilled with the view, as each time he glanced at the green rolling hills leading to the azure blue lake he only became more depressed and continued with his work. After catching himself sneaking glances at the outside again, Flitwick waived his wand with a look of frustration, creating a more comfortable working environment for him. The view, which had shown the intoxicating summer day, now showed a different view entirely. A view from inside instead, from a similar room to Flitwick’s, but where a colleague of his, Professor McGonagall, was similarly grading exams in despair. After gathering energy and motivation from McGonagall’s weary appearance, Flitwick smiled with a satisfied grin, a grin of comradery. With that extra motivation, Flitwick found the extra strength to continue grading with newfound vigor.
After many hours, most of the birds had already stopped singing, and returned to their nests, the sun had fallen until everything was shaded with a red hue; the lake had returned to its black color, void of any sunlight to fill it with life. Of course, these could not be seen from Flitwick’s office, where the only difference was an even more disheveled Flitwick and a table that had been cleared of the chaotically placed parchments and were now stacked in a neat pile many feet high. Flitwick himself was rolling his shoulders and blinking his eyes to drive away the characters and letters that were dancing on the edge of his vision. After the emergency care, he admired the pile he had managed to create and checked the window for a view of his companion in misfortune. Flitwick released a small victorious shout as he saw that McGonagall was still in the middle of the grading, with a significant pile of papers still lying on her desk. So, with the energy boost from the view, he released the charm on his window to fully enjoy from the last remains of the fabulous summer day. A few minutes and a few cleaning charms later, he left the room, immaculate as ever and fully in control of every aspect of his being, all for a dinner in the Great Hall.
Flitwick was welcomed to the Great Hall by the automatically opening massive doors, that presented the otherwise unnaturally empty Hall. For most of the year, the Great Hall was full of life, hustle and bustle filling its every corner from the shenanigans of the students. Cries of excitement from youngsters still not in full control of themselves, not yet ground down by the expectations of the society. Instead, the Hall was currently empty and silent. So silent, that the single quiet conversation between Headmaster Dumbledore and Astronomy Professor Moonfeld only accentuated the desolation and silence in the hall. Echoes of the conversation that would normally fade out the silence, only emphasized it with the difference. In fact, the contrast of life in the castle between a week ago and now was so great that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the castle was asleep. Everything from armors to moving staircases, every response was muffled. Like hibernating animals in the winter, the castle became a pristine clear winter day, in which the time stood still. The ghosts were rarely seen, and even Peeves, the poltergeist of the eternal pain, was nowhere to be found.
“Good evening, dear Filius.” Dumbledore made a friendly greeting to Flitwick, when a small pause in his fascinating conversation about Planet alignments presented itself. Flitwick had just arrived at the teachers' table to take his place and wait for the arrival of McGonagall to smugly proclaim how easy and fast the grading this year was. In the end, there are only so many ways to entertain oneself, and Flitwick had realized that the playful game with McGonagall was one of the best ones.
“Good evening, everyone.” Flitwick found his seat, while nodding and giving friendly smiles in greetings to the few people at the table. Horace was always busy in the summers, so he could not be seen in the Hogwarts in the summer. Most of the younger staff and teachers ate dinner far earlier, and usually only the senior wizards liked to spend time with each other that late in the evening. This time, similarly, only the oldies were left, consisting of the headmaster, the astronomy Professor, the care of the magical creatures Professor, Silvanus Kettleburn, and the Professor of the study of ancient runes, Peter Oldry. Normally, headmistress McGonagall would also be present but due to grading of the exams, she was still preoccupied.
“You look a little tired, Filius. Remember to keep breaks and take care of yourself. Age does not come on its own.” The headmaster leaned in to give small advice to Flitwick, who was seated next to him.
“Perceptive as always, Albus… Thank you for your advice. These were the final written exams, so I’ll take a good relaxing break until the semester starts again.” Flitwick responded with a friendly manner that turned into a joke, they both chuckled.
After eating and drinking for a ten to fifteen minutes while simultaneously having small talk with that merry group of friends, Dumbledore interrupted him for a more serious conversation.
“How did young Reed take the rejection?” Dumbledore asked, with the same relaxing smile, but with a presence far more present and concentrated than a moment ago. The appearance of the headmaster had not changed, but a will inside was awakening and listening carefully.
“Disappointed, but not surprised. I think he was already expecting a rejection, but it was still a surprise to see such a clear emotion and stance. Usually, the boy is very pragmatic and holds no positions, so it was nice to see that there are still some things he cares for.” Flitwick was recalling the course of events in the last private meeting with Reed and tried recalling all the details.
“He is better composed than most final year students, so it was a surprise to see such a dejected reaction. Although I find it curious, how despite his expressionless face with no clear ticks, it is easy to read his thoughts from his face. He is easy to ready like an open book despite all the composed and controlled expressions.” Flitwick continued, already intrigued himself.
“Yes… He is a rather peculiar child.” Dumbledore interjected, with the same ordinary expression and tone, but something was pressing on the surroundings. After a few moments of pressing silence, during which the cogs in the headmasters head were undoubtedly turning with blinding speeds, Dumbledore continued.
“How did he adapt to the school life?”
“Paige blends into the background very well. He never causes any trouble, and his only real interest seems to be reading books, as from the brief descriptions of his classmates, that is his only feature standing out. More than his time, I am afraid that he hasn’t found any meaningful connections in the castle, as, although he’s well known and gets along with everyone, that is all.” Flitwick spoke with a concerned expression.
“Do you think he is pushing others away?” The headmaster was clearly more and more interested, as even the friendly surface started to crack to reveal the blindly intelligent, calculating interior.
“Yes… you might be right.” Still deep in thought, the Flitwick responded without noticing the change of atmosphere around Dumbledore.
“I see…” Dumbledore’s cold, bright blue eyes were shining with intensity, processing the information with blinding speed and creating connections between the potential threats to the safety of the wizarding world. After Flitwick woke up from his memories, he noticed Albus’ abnormal state. Flitwick sighed tiredly, knowing full well his old friend’s habit of classifying danger beforehand.
“I think I might have given a misrepresentation of his character. I agree that he would probably drop all his shallow relationships to have the opportunity to stay the summer at the library, but I also don’t think that he has been getting along with his classmates to better project power onto them. Perhaps the biggest misconception you seem to have is that Paige doesn’t seem to be reading the books for power or to be the strongest wizard. I do not know the precise reason for his obsession with books, but rather than means to an end, the books appear to have a much more central focus and higher status.” Flitwick didn’t want his old friend to compartmentalize the small student and make his life harder, all for a misunderstanding. Flitwick wasn’t infallible, though, so he continued with a caution.
“Or at least that is based on my observations. It might be that my wit is not as sharp as it once was, but I think I got an excellent read on Paige. Initially, he was an easy person to interpret, but as time went by, it was easier and easier to understand his reasoning, as we got to know each other.” Satisfied with a balanced picture of character he portrayed; Flitwick smiled a reassuring smile to Dumbledore.
“You might be right… Just a bad old habit of mine, nothing to worry about. Dumbledore responded with the same reassuring and friendly smile, matching Flitwick’s.
“Did you visit Mr. Franholmz today?” Flitwick asked, with a far more serious expression. Similarly, as soon as Dumbledore heard the name, he got more serious.
“Yes, yes, I did.” With a deep sigh, Dumbledore continued. Dumbledore had indeed used the day to visit the student and his parents at the St. Mungo's Hospital, where he had been treated since the incident.
“Cedric Franholmz will not be continuing in the school. He is currently stable, but will require special attention to his psyche and magic, which his parents decided would best be provided with homeschooling.” Dumbledore spoke with sad eyes and offered his condolences.
“Sigh… I already suspected that, as it is not uncommon for the competition to result in first year drop out. It’s a shame as I thought this spring seemed promising based on the first semester. I guess some things are just inevitable…”
And with that conclusion and a toast, they ended their discussion on the first years. They were having their third drink, when a sight entered Flitwick’s view that worked better to dispel the somber mood than a hundred drinks; A tired Professor McGonagall was finally at the dinner. So, with a vindictive and victorious mood, he called out with a toothy grin to rub his victory in her face.
“Good evening, Professor McGonagall!”